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\ : A , ' ' ■ ■! . IIHII 
 
TWENTY' YEARS 
 
 AMONG THE 
 
 Bulls and Beaks 
 
 OF 
 
 WALL STREET. 
 
 BY 
 
 MATTHEW HALE SMITH, LL.D, 
 
 : Such fact?, more strange than fiction's dreams, begot 
 Within the Poet's wierd, romancing mind, 
 Need but th' unveiling hand, <x> strike the world 
 With wonder and delight, or thrill the heart 
 With dread. — Here writ are witching tales of truth.' 1 
 
 " In lust for lucre lurk the darkest wiles, 
 The base and deepest passions of the soul."' 
 
 HARTFORD : 
 
 J. B. BURR <5c COMPANY. 
 
 1870. 
 
As 
 .s<o5 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by • 
 
 J. B. BURR AND COMPANY, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the United States for the District of Connecticmt. 
 
 Entered also at Stationers' Hall, London, England. 
 
 WILLIAM H. LOCKWOOD, 
 
 Elc«trotyp<T, 
 
 EilirOlD, COSH. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 One hundred and eighty-five years ago the short, narrow, and un- 
 attractive looking thoroughfare, known as Wall Street, was laid out, 
 when Dongan was Governor of His Majesty's Colonies. It sprang 
 at once into importance, as the centre of authority, fashion, and finance. 
 From that time, it has held its repute in the financial, political, and 
 social affairs of the metropolis. I have chosen to consider it as the 
 great centre from which radiate all the influences that affect society 
 in New York. Here the Government of the United States was 
 founded, and Washington held his first court. The early churches 
 were grouped within its influence. The eminent men of the nation 
 here resided and administered lav/ and justice. Wall Street, to-day, 
 is the mo-t potent thoroughfare on this continent. Its daily transactions 
 are telegraphed to every city in the Union, from the tea-board of the 
 Atlantic to the shores of the Pacific ; — to the most northern city of 
 civilization, amid the Arctic snows, down to the warm waters of the 
 Equator, across the Atlantic, and to the capital of every commercial 
 city -in the world. Wall Street is a type of our nationality. Its 
 operators are men of every clime, of every nation, of every tongue, 
 and of every religion. It is the " Cloth of Gold," on which hostile 
 sects, and nations antagonistic, meet in peace. The history of Wall 
 Street is the history of our national, political, and social organization. 
 To write the first chapter of this book, I had to consult over one 
 hundred volumes, in the great libraries of the city ; for a compact, 
 * continuous history of Wall Street to the present time, elsewhere than 
 now in this book, does not exist. Bankers, men who buy and sell on 
 the street, and many who have had a name among brokers for half a 
 century, have aided me in this work. Diaries, private memoranda, 
 
iv INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 anecdote and incident, which have been treasured up, and kept only 
 for the private eye, have been put at my disposal. The whole will 
 form, I think, a work of rare interest, and afford crisp reading for 
 travel or repose. The nomenclature of the street, so vexatious and 
 mysterious to the uninitiated, will be found all plain to him that 
 readeth. 
 
 While the street, through its excitement, fascination, and ventures, 
 presents glittering temptations to men in search of sudden gain and 
 allures within its treacherous whirl adventurers from all quarters, — 
 while Wall Street commands the shrewdest, the most talented, and 
 daring of operators, — while it is celebrated for the keen intellect, far- 
 sightedness, and quick movements, of financiers who do business on 
 its pavement ; — its history for nearly two centuries demonstrates that 
 no talents, quickness of parts, and no sharpness can guide to perma- 
 nent success, unless blended with unswerving integrity, industry, de- 
 votion to business, and an honest purpose, that no glittering allure- 
 ment can beguile. Unscrupulous, tricky, and reckless men, come to 
 the surface like volcanic islands heaved up in a night, and as soon 
 disappear. But men of honor, men of repute, men of tried integrity, 
 are like the Gulf Stream, that holds on its w#y regardless of tem- 
 pests, tides, cross-currents, and storms that sink navies. The history 
 of Wall Street is studded with beacons, that tell where engulfed char- 
 acters and fortunes lie buried. All along the pathway of the street 
 are noble characters who stand like light-houses on the tall, rocky 
 cliffs, unchanged and unmoved by the agitation, turmoil, and ruin, that 
 play around their feet. Let him that readeth take heed. 
 
 M. II. S. 
 
ILLUSTEATIO^S 
 
 r.v.i . 
 1.— WALL STREET FROM CORNER OF HANOVER, 
 
 LOOKING TOWARD BROADWAY, Frontispiece. 
 
 2.— WALL STREET IN OLDEN TIMES, .... 25 
 
 3.— FEMALE- BROKERS SECURING A CUSTOMER, - - 273 
 
 4.— THE GOLD ROOM, 81 
 
 5.— BROADWAY, NEAR WALL STREET, .... 231 
 
 6.— OLD TREASURY BUILDING, 43 
 
 7.— CURB-STONE OPERATORS, 71 
 
 8.— THE BOND OPERATOR, 334 
 
 9.— TOO MUCH SPECULATION, 345 
 
 10.— CATCHING A FLAT, - 323 
 
 11.— STOCK EXCHANGE, BROAD STREET, ... - 75 
 
 12— PARK BANK, 354 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 i. 
 
 WALL STREET IN OLDEN TIMES. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 EARLY SPECULATIONS IN THE STREET.— 1670 AND 1870 25 
 
 SHARP FINANCIERING, 26 
 
 FEDERAL HALL, 23 
 
 FASHION IN WALL STREET, 30 
 
 COSTUMES, 36 
 
 OLLvAjSTOMS, . . . • . . . ... . . 37 
 
 WA*L STREET RELIGION, .40 
 
 WALL STREET AND THE BROKERS, 42 
 
 II. 
 
 MODERN WALL STREET. 
 
 MODERN WALL STREET, 43 
 
 HIGH CHANGE/ 46 
 
 BULLS AND BEARS IN CONFLICT, 47 
 
 HOW STOCKS ARE BOUGHT AND SOLD 51 
 
 OPERATORS ON THE STREET, 53 
 
 HOW A TIGHT MONEY MARKET IS CREATED, . . . . 57 
 
 "BLACK FRIDAYS 59 
 
 III. 
 
 LANGUAGE OF WALL STREET. 
 
 "BUYER THREE. SELLER THREE/' 63 
 
 " CARRYING STOCK," 64 
 
 "A BREAK, - ' 65 
 
 "A BLOCK," 65 
 
 " BUYING IN," * 66 
 
 "A CLIQUE," • . .66 
 
 " A CORNER," 67 
 
 " A COVER," .67 
 
 "DEAD DUCK," 67 
 
 (vii) 
 
Vlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 " FLAT MARKET," . 
 
 " A FLYER," 
 
 " HOLDING THE MARKET,' 
 
 "A LET UP," 
 
 "LONG IN STOCKS," . 
 
 " SHORT IN STOCKS," . 
 
 11 MILKING THE STREET," 
 
 "WIPING OUT," . 
 
 "SALTING DOWN," . 
 
 "A POOL," . 
 
 " A GET OUT," . 
 
 " OFF MARKET," . 
 
 "A DELIVERY," 
 
 " CURBSTONE BROKERS," 
 
 " BULLS AND BEARS," 
 
 "COLLATERALS," . 
 
 "DIFFERENCES," 
 
 " WASHING THE MARKET,' 
 
 OTHER PHRASES, 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 . 68 
 
 68 
 
 IV. 
 
 STOCK EXCHANGE. 
 
 STOCK EXCHANGE, 75 
 
 AN INSIDE VIEW, 79 
 
 THE GOLD ROOM, 81 
 
 SALE OF GOVERNMENT BONDS, . • 83 
 
 THE CLEARING HOUSE, 83 
 
 GAMBLING IN STOCKS, . . 86 
 
 V. 
 
 THE ASTORS IN WALL STREET. 
 
 THE YOUNG ASTORS, 
 ASTORS START IN LIFE, 
 GAINS A FOOTING, 
 BECOMES A MERCHANT, . 
 TALK WITH PHILIP HONE, ► 
 ASTORS CHARITIES, 
 AARON BURRS LEASES, 
 WILLIAM B. ASTOR, 
 MR. ASTOR AT WORK, 
 HIS PUBLIC SPIRIT, 
 
 99 
 100 
 102 
 
 VI. 
 JAMES FISK, Jr. 
 
 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS OWN FORTUNE, 
 SETS UP FOR HIMSELF, 
 
 . 104 
 
 106 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 MR. FISK AS A BUSINESS MAX, . 
 PERSONAL TRAITS, 
 THK OPERA HOUSE, . 
 THE SEPTEMBER PANIC, 
 
 RUN ON THE TENTH NATIONAL BANK, 
 
 . i : 
 i i 
 
 . 112 
 113 
 
 . 115 
 
 VII. 
 
 COMMODORE VANDERBILT OX THE STREET 
 
 VANDERBILT AND COLLINS, 
 
 THK HUDSON RIVEB RAILROAD, 
 
 VANDERBILT "S REVENGE 
 
 VANDERBILT IN HIS OFFICE, 
 
 PERSONAL INCIDENTS 
 
 RAILROAD SLAUGHTER, 
 
 PERSONALS, . . ' 
 
 VANDERBILT AND HIS HORSES, 
 
 119 
 
 121 
 
 123 
 124 
 120 
 127 
 128 
 
 VIII. 
 
 DAXIEL DREW. 
 
 EARLY CAREER. 133 
 
 SEEKS HIS FORTUNE, 134 
 
 OPERATES ON RAILROADS, ' . .135 
 
 OPERATOR IN THE STREET, 136 
 
 XAL AND DOMESTIC, 137 
 
 IX. 
 
 " IRREGULARITIES " AXD CRIME OX THE STREET. 
 
 GENERAL SURVEY. 
 
 ATMOSPHERE OF THE STREET. 
 
 REIGN OF TERROR IN WALL STREET, 
 
 IMMORALITIES OF THE STREET, 
 
 A CASE* IN POINT, 
 
 A BHARP MERCHANT, . 
 
 THK '.It EAT PERIL, . 
 
 HOW THE MONEY GOES, 
 
 WALL STREET WRECKS, 
 
 135 
 140 
 142 
 145 
 147 
 149 
 160 
 151 
 153 
 
 X. 
 GAMBLING MANIA IX WALL STREET, AXD ITS FRUITS. 
 
 A CASE IN POINT, 
 
 NO MORAL PRINCIPLE, 
 
 158 
 159 
 
-x 
 
 CONTEXTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 THE INFATUATION, . . .163 
 
 SHARP PRACTICE, 1G5 
 
 THE STREET ON THE OUTSIDE, 167 
 
 THE SCHUYLER FRAUD, 168 
 
 LODGINGS IN A TENEMENT HOUSE, . . . . . .171 
 
 PERILS OF SPECULATION, 173 
 
 HONESTY LEADS, : 175 
 
 XI. 
 
 JOHN MORRISSEY. 
 
 BEGINS BUSINESS IN NEW YORK, 178 
 
 THE POLLS, 179 
 
 POLITICIANS WANT HIM, ISO 
 
 HIS BUSINESS AS A GAMBLER, *1S2 
 
 HIS INFLUENCE, „ . v . . .182 
 
 DAY GAMBLING HOUSES, 1S3 
 
 THEIR LOCATION, . ' 184 
 
 BEYOND THE GRATING, 185 
 
 XII. 
 
 STEWART, THE PRINCELY MERCHANT. 
 
 THE DOWN TOWN STORE, . 
 
 EARLY CAREER, . 
 
 SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING,. 
 
 HOW STEWART DOES BUSINESS, 
 
 HOSIERY, 
 
 STEWART AT HIS WORK, 
 
 RUNNING THE GAUNTLET, . 
 
 AN AUTOCRAT, 
 
 A NAPOLEON IN TRADE, 
 
 SHREWD INVESTMENTS, 
 
 PERSONAL OF STEWART, . 
 
 188 
 190 
 191 
 192 
 192 
 193 
 194 
 195 
 195 
 196 
 198 
 
 XIII. 
 
 MINISTERS IN WALL STREET. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW, 
 
 BOLD OPERATION, 
 
 DENUNCIATION OF STOCK GAMBLING, 
 
 A SAD CHANGE, 
 
 A MINISTER IN JAIL, 
 
 INCIDENTS OF INTEREST, 
 
 A BRILLIANT WEDDING, 
 
 LO ! THE POOR INDIAN, 
 
 202 
 203 
 205 
 203 
 209 
 210 
 211 
 212 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 XIV. 
 
 BONNER, OF THE LEDGER. 
 
 KIS BIRTH-PLACE, ETC., 
 
 FOUNDS THE LEDGER, . 
 
 HIS SYSTEM, 
 
 TACT AM) SHREWDNESS, 
 
 HIS POPULARITY, 
 
 BANCROFT AND EVERETT, 
 
 NORWOOD, 
 
 BONNER'S STUD, . 
 
 BONNER'S MEW'S, 
 
 AS A MAN, . 
 
 PAOX 
 
 . 214 
 21 I 
 
 . 218 
 219 
 
 . 221 
 223 
 
 . 1>J:J 
 
 224 
 
 . 22G 
 
 223 
 
 XV. 
 
 BENNETT, OF THE NEW YORK HERALD. 
 
 EARLY LIFE, 
 
 NEW YORK CAREER, 
 
 AS A JOURNALIST, 
 
 STARTS THE NEW YORK HERALD 
 
 HERALD BUILDING, . 
 
 ARRANGEMENTS INSIDE, 
 
 EDITORIAL COUNCIL, 
 
 DOMESTIC LIFE, . 
 
 THE HOUSEHOLD, 
 
 FOREIGN EMBASSY, 
 
 PERSONAL, 
 
 THE GREAT BEAR, . ' 
 
 ON THE STREET, 
 
 REVERSES, .... 
 
 231 
 281 
 
 232 
 233 
 234 
 235 
 230 
 ■237 
 239 
 241 
 242 
 246 
 24(5 
 24S 
 
 XVI. 
 
 JACOB LITTLE. 
 
 PORTRAIT, 245 
 
 THE GREAT BEAR, 245 
 
 ON THE STREET, 246 
 
 REVERSES, 248 
 
 IMITATORS 249 
 
 CAUSE* OF DISASTER, 250 
 
 XVII. 
 
 LEONARD W. JEROME. 
 
 HIS START, 252 
 
 ARISTOCRACY IN STABLES, 252 
 
 PANIC OF '57, 253 
 
 REVERSES 255 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 WALL STREET ON HARLEM LANE. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 CENTRAL PARK AND FAST HORSES, 257 
 
 HARLEM LANE, 258 
 
 DANIEL MACE, 259 
 
 ON THE ROAD, 261 
 
 CELEBRATED MEN ON THE ROAD, 262 
 
 ON THE PIAZZA, 270 
 
 XIX. 
 
 LADY BROKERS ON THE STREET. 
 
 A NEW SENSATION, 272 
 
 CLAFLIN, WOODHULL & CO., 272 
 
 THE OFFICE, 273 
 
 A LOOK INSIDE, 273 
 
 BUSINESS HABITS, 275 
 
 ANTECEDENTS, 275 
 
 OTHER CASES, 276 
 
 XX. 
 
 WALL STREET AT HOME. 
 
 FASHION AND CHARITY, 
 PERIL OF NIGHT, 
 A NIGHT ON MURRAY HILL, 
 MR. LENOX'S GREAT GIFT, 
 EDWIN D. MORGAN, . 
 AUGUST BELMONT, 
 R. L. AND A. STUART, 
 PETER COOPER, . 
 HORACE GREELEY, . 
 BROWN AND BROTHERS, 
 GEORGE- LAW, . 
 WILLIAM E. DODGE, 
 THOMAS R. AGNEW, . 
 
 280 
 281 
 282 
 283 
 2S5 
 286 
 287 
 288 
 289 
 293 
 294 
 295 
 
 XXI. 
 
 JACOB BARKER. 
 
 HIS COLORED RELATIVE, 298 
 
 NEGRO ENTERPRISE, 298 
 
 BARKER AT THE NORTH . . .299 
 
 BANKER OUTWITTED, 299 
 
 DERMATOLOGY, 300 
 
contexts. xiii 
 
 XXII. 
 
 KIDD THE PIRATE. 
 
 PAGl. 
 
 SAILS FROM WALL STREET, 301 
 
 NEW YORK HOME, • 802 
 
 PIRACY, 303 
 
 KIDD TURNS PIRATE 804 
 
 BURIED TREASURES, 304 
 
 TIIE GIBBET, 805 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 THURLOW WEED. 
 
 OPERATOR IN TILE STREET, . .' . . . .• . .307 
 
 ADVANTAGES, , 303 
 
 APPEARANCE, 308 
 
 POPULARITY, 309 
 
 TRAITS PERSONAL, 310 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 STOUT AND DICKINSON. 
 
 THE nOUSE, 312 
 
 OLD SCHOOL AND NEW, 313 
 
 HONOR AND SUCCESS, 314 
 
 COMMERCIAL VALUE OF MEN, 315 
 
 XXV. 
 
 DETECTIVES IN THE STREET. 
 
 BOLD OPERATORS IN CRIME, 317 
 
 QUALIFICATIONS OF A DETECTIVE, 319 
 
 TALENTS OF THE DETECTIVES, 320 
 
 FAILURES, . * 321 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 HUMOROUS SIDE OF WALL STREET. 
 
 SHARP MEN, 322 
 
 SHALL OF ITS AGE 323 
 
 SHARP TRADE, 323 
 
 DANGEROUS PASTIME, 324 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 TRICK TO GET MONEY, . 326 
 
 EXPERTS 327 
 
 SOLD OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME, 328 
 
 TELEGRAPH IN WALL STREET, ....... 329 
 
 SHADOWS ON THE STREET, . . 330 
 
 FASHIONABLE FUNERALS . . . . 331 
 
 A REASONABLE REQUEST, 331 
 
 RELIGION IN THE STREET, 332 
 
 THE WEALTH OF TRINITY-, 333 
 
 PRODUCING A SENSATION, . . . ... . . . 334 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 WALL STREET AND THE MILITARY. , 
 
 WALL STREET AND THE 'MILITARY, 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 COLLECTOR KING. 
 
 THE GLITTER OF OFFICE, "~ . . .333 
 
 RUINED POLITICIANS, ' . . . 338 
 
 DUCHESS OF ORLEANS 339 
 
 MR. KING IN HIS COUNTRY HOME, 340 
 
 OFFICIAL VEXATIONS .341 
 
 SUICIDE, . 342 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 WALL STREET AND FIVE POINTS. 
 
 WALL STREET AND FIVE POINTS, ..*.... 343 
 
 WALL STREET AND THE CLERGY, . . . ' . . . . 344 
 
 XXX. 
 
 UNLUCKY MEN IN WALL STREET. 
 
 OLD SUPERSTITIONS, .346 
 
 WIZARDS ON THE STREET, . . . ... . . % . 347 
 
 LUCKY AND UNLUCKY DAYS .347 
 
 LUCKY AND UNLUCKY MEN, 348 
 
 HOSPITAL FOR DECAYED MERCHANTS, 348 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF ILL LUCK, 350 
 
 THE DEVIL ON WALL STREET, . . 351 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 HUMORS OF BANKING. 
 
 TOO LITTLE INK, "~ . 
 
 INITIALS 
 
 Till: SHORT MAN OF THE BIBLE, 
 
 CERTIFYING A CHECK, . 
 
 HEAVY CHECK, 
 
 853 
 854 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 CURIOUS BANK HISTORY 
 
 OLD TYPE AND NEW, . 
 
 THE OLDEST BANK, 
 
 THE EIGHT ORIGINAL BANKS 
 
 BARKER, 
 
 CURTIS, .... 
 
 LORILLARD, 
 
 WOOLCOT, 
 
 GALLATINS, 
 
 PERIT, .... 
 
 TILESTON, . 
 
 ROOSEVELT, 
 
 JENKINS, . 
 
 STILLMAN, .... 
 
 BANKING HOUSE OF THE OLDEN TIME 
 
 XXXIII 
 
 BANK PRESIDENTS 
 
 THE BANKS IN THE STREET, 
 OLD FOGIES AND PROGRESSIVES, 
 BANKS OF HONOR AND DISHONOR, 
 BANK ASSOCIATION, 
 KEEN FINANCIERING, 
 MORRISON, MANHATTAN BANK 
 STOUT, SHOE AND LEATHER, 
 JONES, CHEMICAL, 
 TAYLOR, CITY. 
 
 WILLIAMS, METROPOLITAN, . 
 PALMER, BROADWAY, 
 LEYERICH, NEW YORK, 
 STEVENS, COMMERCE, 
 COE, AMERICAN, 
 KITCHEN, PARK, 
 KNAPP, MECHANICS, 
 BENEDICT, GOLD, 
 SOUTHWORTH, ATLANTIC, 
 DICKINSON, TENTH NATIONAL, 
 BPROULR, MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE, 
 
 2 
 
 . "' 
 
 355 
 
 . 855 
 
 ' 
 
 S56 
 
 . 857 
 
 857 
 
 . 357 
 S5S 
 
 ■ ■ 58 
 
 359 
 
 . 359 
 
 SCI 
 361 
 302 
 3-54 
 
 871 
 
 374 
 
 375 
 
 880 
 3«0 
 881 
 
 a 
 • 
 
 S«4 
 CS7 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 WALL STREET AT NIGHT. 
 
 WINDING UP THE BUSINESS OF THE DAY, 
 SILENCE OF THE STREET, 
 UP TOWN STOCK EXCHANGE, 
 BROKERS IN THE HOTELS, . 
 PERSONALS OF THE OPERATORS, 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 . 388 
 389 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 WALL STREET AT DORLAN'S. 
 
 CROWD IN THE LITTLE DEN, 394 
 
 APPEARANCE OF DORLAN, 395 
 
 RULES OF TRADE, 396 
 
 HIGH CHANGE, 396 
 
 WHY DORLAN DOES NOT ENLARGE, 397 
 
 WHY HE DOES NOT RETIRE, 397 
 
 THE OYSTER TRADE, 398 
 
 DORLAN WITH THE JEWS, 399 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 LEADING BANKING HOUSES. 
 
 J. W. SELEGMAN & CO., 
 CLARK, DODGE & CO., 
 FISH & HATCH, . 
 GROESBECK & CO., . 
 HOWES & MACY, . 
 LOCK WOOD & CO., 
 MORTON, BLISS & CO., 
 TREVOR & COLGATE, 
 ROBINSON, COX & CO., 
 HENRY CLEWES & CO., 
 OSGOOD & BROTHER, 
 DR. SHELTON, . 
 HALL GARTEN & CO., 
 EUGENE KELLEY & CO. 
 LEEDS & WALLACE, 
 DABNEY, MORGAN & CO., 
 HENRY A. HEISER'S SONS, 
 MARTIN BROTHERS, . 
 JOSEPH MILLS, . 
 VERMILYE & BROTHER, 
 CLOSSON & HAYES, 
 
 404 
 405 
 405 
 405 
 406 
 406 
 407 
 407 
 
 409 
 409 
 409 
 410 
 410 
 411 
 411 
 412 
 412 
 412 
 413 
 
XVI J 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 WALL STREET DEVOTIONS. 
 
 PACE. 
 
 CATHEDRAL SERVICE, 414 
 
 WALL BTREET AT PRAYER 414 
 
 BUSINESS MEN'S PRAYER MEETING, • 413 
 
 OF THE MEETING, 416 
 
 J:IRST MEETING, 413 
 
 nOW THINGS LOOK INSIDE, 419 
 
 OPPOSITION, 420 
 
 RELIGIOUS LOAFERS, 421 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 JAY COOKE. 
 
 HIS ANCESTRY, 424 
 
 COMMENCES BANKING AT SEVENTEEN 425 
 
 JAY COOKE & CO., 425 
 
 NEGOTIATES THE WAR LOAN, 426 
 
 MR. COOKE IN HIS COUNTRY HOME AND AS A MAN OF BENEVOLENCE, . 42S 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 RUFUS HATCH. 
 PERSONAL, . 430 
 
 XL. 
 GENERAL H. H. BAXTER. 
 
 " THE FINEST LOOKING MAN IN NEW YORK," 432 
 
 HIS EARLY CAREER, 433 
 
 HIS SUCCESS IN WALL STREET, 434 
 
 HIS IDENTIFICATION WITH GREAT RAILROAD INTERESTS, ... 436 
 
 HIS BENEVOLENCE AND HOSPITALITY, ETC. 437 
 
 " XLI. 
 WALL STREET AND THE FISHMONGERS. 
 
 FISHMONGERS' ASSOCIATION, 440 
 
 AIMS OF THE ASSOCIATION, 442 
 
XV111 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 REMOVAL OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE. 
 
 WHAT SOME PROPOSE IN REGARD THERETO, .... 
 WALL STREET FOUND TO BE THE REAL FINANCIAL CENTRE, 
 THE GREATEST OPERATORS LIVE IN BROOKLYN, ETC., 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 . 443 
 
 444 
 
 . 445 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 FAST LIFE ON THE STREET. 
 
 RECREATIONS OF THE FAST CLASS, 
 
 A RUINED MAN, ONCE A FINANCIAL KING, 
 
 THE FAST MEN OF THE CLUB HOUSES, . 
 
 THE CLUB HOUSES, AND HOW THEY DINE THERE, 
 
 446 
 
 447 
 448 
 449 
 
 XLIV 
 
 MARKED WOMEN OF WALL STREET 
 
 MARTHA WASHINGTON, 
 ABIGAIL ADAMS, . 
 ESTHER REED, . 
 LUCY KNOX, 
 MARY REDMAN, 
 LYDIA GATES, 
 MRS. GRISWOLD, 
 MRS. CALDWELL, . 
 MARY WASHINGTON, 
 MODERN WOMEN, . 
 
 450 
 450 
 451 
 451 
 452 
 452 
 453 
 454 
 454 
 455 
 
 XLV. 
 
 MEN OF THE BAR. 
 
 LAWYERS ON THE STREET, 
 
 POOR PAY, . 
 
 EMINENT MEN, 
 
 GEORGE WOOD— WHAT MR. WEBSTER SAID OF HIM, 
 
 JOHN GRAHAM, 
 
 THE McFARLAND TRIAL, 
 
 THE RECORDER, 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEY GARVIN, 
 MR. GRAHAM ON THE DEFENSE, . 
 MR. GRAHAM AFTER THE VERDICT, 
 
 456 
 456 
 457 
 457 
 458 
 458 
 459 
 459 
 460 
 460 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XIX 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 HORACE B. CLAFLIN. 
 
 IITS COMMERCIAL PALACE, 
 
 MR. CLAFLIN 'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE, 
 
 RIVALRY WITH STEWART, . 
 
 PAG P.. 
 
 . 475 
 
 476 
 
 . 473 
 
 XLVII. 
 
 HALF A CENTURY IN WALL STREET.— ROMANCE OF BUSINESS. 
 
 ARTHUR TAPPAN, 
 
 HOW A MILLIONAIRE WAS MADE, . 
 
 STEPHEN WHITNEY, . 
 
 HENRY KEEPS START, . 
 
 PETER GILSEY, 
 
 AMOS R. ENO, .... 
 
 JOHN J. CISCO, .... 
 
 WILLIAM B. DUNCAN, . 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK IN NEW YORK, . 
 
 ETIQUETTE WITH WASHINGTON, 
 
 RIVAL POLITICAL SAVANS, 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ON WALL STREET 
 
 ROBERT LENNOX'S PEW, . . 
 
 LILLY GRAYS COACHMAN, 
 
 ANECDOTE OF WEBSTER, . 
 
 THE KINGS TEA TRADE, 
 
 LULLS AND BEARS IN REAL ESTATE, 
 
 CORNERING MERCHANDISE, . 
 
 FATHER-IN-LAW OF PENNIMAN, . 
 
 PRESERVED FISH, 
 
 MAYOR LAWRENCE, . 
 
 OLD STYLE OF MERCHANTS, . 
 
 HUGE RAIL ROAD SPECULATIONS, 
 
 E. D. MORGAN IN TRADE, 
 
 MAYOR MICKEL. 
 
 OLD ABRAHAM BENINGER, 
 
 LINDLEY MURRAY, 
 
 HOE'S EARLY LIFE, 
 
 SCHUYLER LIVINGSTON, 
 
 IRVING'S LAW OFFICE, . • , • 
 
 DAVIES AND DELEVAN, 
 
 WILDER AND THE TRACT SOCIETY, . 
 
 BISHOP PROVOST, . . 
 
 GIRARD THE LAWYER, . 
 
 430 
 •M 
 4^1 
 485 
 4S6 
 4S3 
 4*S 
 480 
 4b9 
 4S9 
 4S9 
 489 
 400 
 401 
 491 
 492 
 493 
 493 
 498 
 494 
 494 
 491 
 405 
 495 
 496 
 496 
 407 
 497 
 493 
 498 
 499 
 499 
 499 
 500 
 
XX 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 XLVIII 
 
 NOTED HOUSES 
 
 I.10SE3 TAYLOR, 
 
 RICHARD SMITH, .... 
 
 KNOWLES TAYLOR, . 
 
 FREDERICK AND HARYEY SHELDON, 
 
 LANE, LAMSON & CO., 
 
 PHELPS, CHITTENDEN & CO., 
 
 DANIEL PARISH, 
 
 LORD & TAYLOR, .... 
 
 THE KINGSLANDS, 
 
 CALEB 0. IIALSTEAD, 
 
 WILLIAM II. CAREY & CO., 
 
 FAILURE AND HONOR, . 
 
 PAGE. 
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 601 
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 XLIX. 
 
 THE ROMANCE OF REFORM. 
 
 A LADY OPERATOR, . 
 STARTLING CONFESSION, 
 HEROIC SACRIFICE, . 
 ROMANTIC HUMANITY, . 
 AFFECTING SCENE, . 
 A NEW HOME, 
 
 507 
 507 
 60S 
 503 
 509 
 510 
 
 L. 
 
 THE PRESS AND LITERATURE OF WALL STREET. 
 
 TRYING IN WALL STREET, . 
 
 THE OLD NEW YORK PRESS, . 
 
 ITS EDITORS, .... 
 
 THE LITERARY CLUB AT WINDUST"S, 
 
 SPIRITUALISM, 
 
 DANDY MARKS, .... 
 
 PERSONAL OF THE OLD PRESS, . 
 
 WEBB, STONE, CLARK, BRYANT, HALE, 
 
 THE MAD POET, 
 
 THE MODERN PRESS, 
 
 EMINENT FINANCIAL EDITORS, . 
 
 THEIR PECULIARITIES, 
 
 THE FINANCIAL EDITORS, . 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT, 
 
 THE MAKERS OF PUBLIC OPINION, 
 
 A GENERAL REYIEW OF THEM, 
 
 THEIR INDUSTRY AND RESPONSIBILITY 
 
 "OF US BUT NOT WITH US,"' . 
 
 BE A CI 
 
 [, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 511 
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 5!4 
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 51S 
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 5£0 
 520 
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 521 
 
CONTENT. 
 
 .-NOW, TRIBUNE, 
 
 1KB, TRIBUNE, 
 THE RETIRED AND LIVING, 
 \ I LARKE, TRIBUNE, 
 KITTELL. HERALD. 
 
 - 
 :. HERALD, 
 JWALLIS, HERALD, . 
 3T, . 
 MARSLA 
 DTNSMORE, POST, 
 
 LL ADVERTISER, 
 THE PRES1 
 
 THE MORNT2 - . 
 
 STONE, JOURNAL Of • OMMERCE, 
 
 .... 
 MELLIS. WORLD, 
 
 ATRICK, OERAIJJ 
 3, TRIBUNE, 
 - 
 THE EVENING PR] - 
 JACKS E§g, 
 
 WHITr 
 DODSWORTH, COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER, 
 
 
 ! - 
 
 - 
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 522 
 525 
 
 '. 
 52 
 52 
 527 
 
 ■-' 
 - - 
 
 52 
 
 531 
 
 LI. 
 
 EMINENT CLERGYMEN IN WALL STREET. 
 
 DR. EDWARD PA - 
 WHITFIELD. 
 V. . 
 
 with? - n the street, 
 
 >. the ideal man, . 
 t;ie real man. . 
 
 kino down the pin- 
 hts v man <>f the world, 
 influence over the tous 
 
 • 
 
 \ 
 • 
 537 
 
 LI I. 
 
 MUTUAL LITE INSURANCE COMPANY. 
 
 THE SYSTEM 
 
 AVERAGE DEATH 
 
 •G MUTUAL LIFE. . 
 [DENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT, 
 
 . 
 
 642 
 643 
 
XXII 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 LIII. 
 
 WHO MAKE MONEY ON WALL STREET AND WHO LOSE MONEY. 
 
 THE WEALTH OF THE STREET, . 
 
 MONEY EASILY MADE, . . , . 
 
 POOR ROYS AND RICH MEN, 
 
 WHO MAKE MONEY, . . . 
 
 1st.— THOSE WHO RUY AND SELL, 
 2d.— WHO RUY IN A PANIC, . 
 3d.— WHO RUY, PAY, AND KEEP, 
 4th.— WHO AVERAGE STOCKS, . . 
 5th.— CONTENT WITH SMALL GAINS, 
 6th.— WHO CONTROL THE STREET, 
 
 WHO LOSE" MONEY, . 
 
 lst-ALL CAUGHT EY A PANIC, 
 
 MYSTERY AND TERROR OF A PANIC, 
 
 CAUSES OF A PANIC, 
 2d.— GREEN OPERATORS, . 
 3d.— SMALL DEALERS, 
 4th.— INFATUATED WOMEN, 
 5th.— INDUSTRIOUS SPECULATORS, 
 6th.-DEALERS IN POINTS, . . 
 
 PAGE. 
 
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 . 546 
 
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I. 
 
 WALL STREET IN OLDEN TIMES. 
 
 EARLT SPECULATIONS IN THE STREET. — 1670 AND 1870. GEN. WASHINGTON 
 
 IN WALL STREET. — SHARP FINANCIERING. — FEDERAL HALL. — FASHION IN- 
 WALL STUEET. — CURIOUS COSTUMES, AND CUSTOMS. — SLAVERY. — WALL 
 STREET RELIGION. — THE STREET AND THE BROKERS. 
 
 The early inhabitants of the city were in fear of an 
 invasion from the restless, energetic people, who lived 
 in Xew England. The Indians came to their very 
 cabin doors and scalped their victims in sight of their 
 friends. As a defence, it was resolved to build a wall 
 at the northern boundary of the city running from 
 river to river. The wall was composed of stone and 
 earth. It was covered with salt sods. It had a ram- 
 part. It was protected by a ditch and double stock- 
 ades. The wall was topped by palisades composed of 
 posts twelve feet long and six inches thick. These 
 posts were sunk three feet into the ground and pointed 
 at the top. The rampart behind the wall, called the 
 Cingel, was prepared for cannon. The entrance into 
 the city was through gates, which were wooden and 
 very heavy. The gates were closed at nine o'clock 
 and opened at sunrise. The opening and shutting of 
 them were announced by the discharge of guns. Along 
 this line of fortifications a new street was laid out in 
 
 -, .... - - 25 
 
26 WALL STREET LN OLDEN TIMES. 
 
 1685, when "Dougan was Gouarnor Generall of his 
 Majesties' Coll. of New Yorke." "The saide street 
 being laide out thirty-six foot in bredth ; — this service 
 being performed the sixteenth day of December." The 
 city was guarded by watchmen composed of "good 
 and honest inhabitants." They were on duty from 
 the hour of nine till daybreak. They patrolled the 
 city once in each hour with a bell in hand, proclaim- 
 ing the weather and the hour of the night. 
 
 The street laid out by the side of the wall took the 
 name which it has borne to the present time. It was 
 the extreme northern limit of the city, and soon be- 
 came a favorite residence of the uptown aristocracy. 
 The territory west of Broadway and stretching north, 
 was known as the King's Farm. Beyond the wall at 
 the north and east of Broadway, were high and pre- 
 cipitous hills occupying the site of the Maid's Patfr, as 
 Maiden Lane was then called, Beekman Street and the 
 site of the City Park. Cattle herded in the streets, 
 and Broad Street and New Street were famous as sheep 
 pastures. The city was full of tan-pits which were 
 early voted a nuisance and ordered to be removed to 
 the "swamp," beyond the gates. 
 
 SHARP FINANCIERING. 
 
 Over Wall Street the genius of speculation seems 
 early to have hovered. The very soil was friendly to 
 sharp practice. The street had hardly been laid out 
 before shrewd men commenced ojDerations. They 
 purchased large tracts for speculation. Against a 
 powerful opposition they took the Town Hall, the cen- 
 tre of authority, from the Battery and brought it to 
 
WALL STREET IN OLDEN TIMl - "J, 
 
 Wall Street. Where the Treasury building now stands 
 
 the City Hull reared its imposing front. Trinity Parish 
 was induced to plant itself in the new uptown location. 
 Authority, fashion, and religion united to give an early 
 celebrity to a street that has become so famous in all 
 parts of the world. For two centuries the tower of 
 Trinity has chimed the hour of prayer and tolled the 
 passing bell at the head of the short, narrow thorough- 
 fare, which for centuries has been the financial centre 
 of the continent, and made and marred the fortunes of 
 thousands. In 1670 as in 1870 land was more valua- 
 ble in Wall Street than in any other part of the city. 
 History does not go back so far as to indicate when 
 the money changers began their operations in this 
 famed locality. In every period of the history of Xew 
 York, Wall Street has been pre-eminent. As it is to- 
 day, so it always has been. The richest men in Xew 
 York are Wall Street operators. Men who live in the 
 most costly dwellings hail from Wall Street. In Cen- 
 tral Park the gayest equipages, and the most extrava- 
 gant turnouts, belong to brokers. The most costly 
 parties, brilliant receptions, elegantly dressed ladies, 
 the gay and extravagant at Saratoga and Newport, 
 are connected with stock operations. » In Wall Street 
 will be found the sharp, decisive, keen, daring intellect 
 of the nation. Its influence is felt in every portion of 
 the land. Men who "corner" stocks in Wall Street, 
 corner wheat, flour, and pork ; cotton, produce, and- 
 coal. They can produce a panic in an instant, that 
 will be felt like an earthquake, on the Pacific slope, 
 sweep like a besom of destruction over the great Lakes ; 
 be as irresistible on the seaboard as the long roll of 
 
28 FEDERAL HALL. 
 
 the Atlantic beating with giant strength its rock-bound 
 coast. A Wall Street panic comes suddenly like 
 thunder from a clear sky. No shrewdness can foresee 
 and no talent avert it. A combination without a mo- 
 ment's warning can be formed that will sweep away 
 the fortunes of merchants in an hour, shipwreck specu- 
 lators, ruin widows and orphans, make farmers grow 
 pale, and harm every industrial and mechanical inter- 
 est in the land. How this is done ; how fortunes are 
 made and lost; who loses and who wins, will be shown 
 in this book. 
 
 FEDERAL HALL. 
 
 Where the imposing granite building of the United 
 States Treasury now stands, brilliant in painting and 
 gilding — stood the humbler building of olden time, 
 known as the City Hall. It was built of brick. The 
 first story was open, like a market paved and without 
 stalls. In the second story was a receding portico 
 adorned with brick columns which faced Broad Street. 
 This building was the seat of authority. Here the 
 Courts were held, and justice administered. Its gar- 
 ret was a prison for debtors. Its dungeons, dark and 
 dreary, were for criminals. It had cages for the des- 
 perate. In and around the City Hall were instruments 
 of punishment peculiar to the age. The whipping- 
 post, the pillory and the stocks, occupied a conspicuous 
 place in Broad Street. The gallows was packed away 
 in the basement with other implements of civilization. 
 Where the Bull's and Bears now rage, culprits were 
 tied to the tail of a cart and whipped up and down 
 the street. This was a favorite punishment inflicted 
 on the Quakers. They were also fastened to a wheel- 
 
FEDERAL HALL. 2\) 
 
 barrow and compelled to do menial work about the 
 streets. A degrading punishment was riding in public 
 a wooden horse. The first culprit on whom this in- 
 famous punishment was inflicted was a woman named 
 Mary Price, and she gave her name to this mode of 
 torture. The victim was lashed to the back of a wooden 
 horse which was placed in the bottom of a cart. Be- 
 side the public exposure the populace were privileged 
 to greet the procession with any vile missiles that were 
 handy. 
 
 While the British held possession of Xew York, the 
 City Hall was crowded with prisoners who were under 
 the charge of a brute, named Sarjeant Keefe. On the 
 entrance of Washington into the city the prisoners 
 were filled with alarm, supposing that they would all 
 be butchered. Keefe was more frightened than all. 
 As he was fleeing from his charge, the prisoners asked 
 him : "What is to become of us?" "You may all go 
 to H — 1," was the gruff reply. " We have had too much 
 of your company in this world," they answered, " to 
 follow you to the next," 
 
 The City Hall soon assumed the name of Federal 
 Hall. From the balcony, fronting on Broad Street, 
 the oath of office was administered to Washington as 
 President of the United States amid the shoutings of 
 assembled thousands. In the building where the Dutch 
 ruled ; where that rule was transferred to the English ; 
 where the City Government absorbed the authority of 
 the town ; where the Colonial rule gave place to the 
 United States, — there the American nation began its 
 marvelous and irresistible career. 
 
30- FASHION IN WALL STREET. 
 
 FASHION IN WALL STREET. 
 
 Wall Street early became the fashionable centre of 
 New York. The establishment of the Federal Gov- 
 ernment there made it the Court end of the town. In 
 the immediate vicinity lived the officials, and the fash- 
 ionable families clustered around them. Washington 
 did not live in Wall Street, but it was the centre of 
 public promenades. Ladies and gentlemen rode on 
 horseback. There were few coaches at that time. It 
 was regarded as a mark of very great prosperity to set , 
 up a one-horse chaise. Three houses are memorable 
 as having been occupied by Gen. Washington. On the 
 crisp morning in November, when, as General of the 
 victorious army, in company with Adams, Hamilton, 
 Knox, and others, he moved through Broadway to the 
 City Hall and took possession, Washington had his 
 headquarters in the building still standing on the cor- 
 ner of Broad Street and Pearl. The room remains in 
 which warriors and eminent Americans offered Wash- 
 ington a crown. A dark cloud hung over the Ameri- 
 can people. Geographical disputes raged intensely. 
 Parties were numerous and pursued each other with 
 intense bitterness. No Government, it was said, could 
 be formed. The black gulf of anarchy yawned to re- 
 ceive the young nation. "George the first," who had 
 led the people to victory, could alone control them. 
 He was in supreme command. He was the idol of the 
 army. He could rule as beneficently as^ a king as he 
 had done as a warrior. The crown was within his 
 reach. He had but to stretch out his hand and take 
 it. As he placed it on his head, the nation would 
 
FASHION IN WALL &REET, 31 
 
 ratify the act with acclamation. Washington spurned 
 the insulting proposal with an indignation he did not 
 care to conceal. Congress, he said, was the source of 
 all power, from whom Government must proceed. Lest 
 he might be tempted, on that day, in the very room 
 where the proposal was offered to him that he should 
 accept the throne, he wrote that memorable letter in 
 which he returned his commission to Congress, sheath- 
 ed his sword, and retired to private life — to be called 
 back to more than kingly power. 
 
 After his inauguration as President, Washington re- 
 sided in the building now known as No. 1, Broadway. 
 Clinton had his headquarters in that house. In one of 
 its small rooms Arnold had his first personal interview 
 with Andre, — and like Judas at the Palace of the High 
 Priest, named the price of his treason, and struck 
 hands with the enemy of his country. After he fled 
 from West Point, Arnold resided near the headquarters 
 of Clinton. He was despised and insulted by British 
 soldiers. His house was protected by troops. When 
 he appeared in the street he was guarded by an escort. 
 He was known in the city as the " Traitor General/' 
 While in this refuge he met an American officer. 
 c; What would my countrymen do to me if they caught 
 me ?" asked Arnold. The officer replied : "They would 
 cut off your limb wounded in the cause of liberty, and 
 bury it with the honors of war. The rest of your body 
 they would hang on a gibbet." 
 
 State dinners and levees were held in the Franklin 
 House, at the nead of Cherry Streets Tea, coffee, and 
 cake were handed round, and here the first American 
 court was set up. At the levees, Washington was 
 
32 FASHIONS IN WALL STREET. 
 
 scrupulously exact. He wore a dark silk velvet coat 
 of the old cut, ruffles at the wrist, lace cravat, ruffled 
 shirt, breeches, black silk hose, low shoes with silver 
 buckles. He wore his hair powdered and in a bag. 
 A small dress sword completed his costume. He gave 
 the key-note to fashion. His habits were very simple. 
 He rose at four o'clock in the morning. He retired at 
 nine at night. On Saturday he rode out in state. 
 Then he used his coach and six, partly for style, partly 
 from necessity. It was the most splendid looking car- 
 riage ever seen in New York. It was very large, and 
 gave the six Virginia bays attached to it all they could 
 do to draw it. It was of cream color, globular in 
 shape, and ornamented with cupids, festoons and 
 wreaths arranged along the panel-work. The win- 
 dows were of the best plate glass. The President fre- 
 quently rode on horseback about the city, but more 
 frequently took his recreation on foot. Even his state 
 dinners were very simple. In a preserved letter we 
 find an invitation from the President to a dinner. A 
 bill of fare was then unknown. But the party invited 
 was notified of the repast that awaited them. " A 
 ham, roast beef, small dish of greens, pies, if the cook 
 could be made to understand that apples will make 
 pies," were promised. It was the President's practice 
 to eat of but one dish. In the absence of a chaplain 
 he himself said a very short grace. After the dessert 
 one glass of wine was passed round the table and no 
 more. No toasts were drank. Immediately after the 
 wine was passed, .the President arose from the table, 
 the guests followed, and soon departed without cere- 
 mony. Once a week Gen. Washington attended a 
 
FASHIONS I\ WALL STREET. 33 
 
 small theater in John Street, The whole concern, the 
 State-box and all, conld have been placed on the stage 
 of the Academy of Music. Mra Washington's levees 
 were very fashionable. Mrs. Adams wished to intro- 
 duce at these levees of state the French custom of an- 
 nouncing visitors. Mrs. Washington consented with 
 great reluctance, for she knew the repugnance of the 
 General to any attempt to ape the airs of European 
 courts. It was agreed that the custom should be 
 tried for once, and Mrs. Adams undertook to engineer 
 it through. Servants were stationed at proper dis- 
 tances from the main entrance, up the stairs, along 
 the corridors to the chamber of audience. Jefferson 
 arrived. His name was announced at the door. Sup- 
 posing some one was calling him he responded : — 
 k, Here !" He heard his name announced on the stairs. 
 He cried: — " Coming!" He heard it announced be- 
 yond the corridor. Annoyed at the pertinacity with 
 which he was called, he shouted : — "I'm coming, I tell 
 you, as soon as I get my coat off; can't you wait 
 a minute '."' , The simplicity of Jefferson covered Mrs. 
 Adams with confusion. The President positively for- 
 bade the repetition of the ridiculous service. 
 
 An Englishman had expressed a desire to see the 
 Sovereign of this country. He was standing on the 
 steps of Federal Hall, conversing with an American. 
 "I think you have desired to see our President," said 
 the New Yorker. "Do you see that tall gentleman 
 coming this way? That is Gen. Washington." "Can 
 it be possible, and all alone? Why he has no body 
 guard," said the Englishman. He had never seen a 
 sovereign in Europe who was not surrounded by a 
 3 
 
34 . FASHIONS IN WALL STREET. 
 
 guard to keep his subjects from being too familiar with 
 his anointed person. " Gen. Washington has the 
 most numerous body guard of any sovereign in the 
 world/' said the American. "Where is his body 
 guard, I don't see it?" "Here," said the New Yorker, 
 placing his hand on his breast, " here in my heart, and 
 in the heart of every loyal American." 
 
 Hamilton's residence was on the site of the old Me- 
 chanics' Bank, on the north-west corner of Wall and 
 Water streets. Here he wrote his contributions to the 
 Federalist The Mansion, down whose steps he went 
 to fight the duel with Burr, was on Broadway, just 
 south of Wall Street. His garden ran down to New 
 Street. Burr lived near Wall street, at the corner of 
 Nassau and Pine. Mrs. Arnold ran her brief, dashing 
 and ruinous career in this neighborhood. She was not 
 a suitable woman to make a poor man's wife, and a 
 poor man Arnold was. Goaded by her extravagance, 
 he struck hands with the enemy, and attempted to sell 
 his country for gold. It was the custom to arise at 
 dawn and breakfast immediately. The dinner hour 
 was twelve exactly. The teakettle was set on the fire 
 and tea punctually furnished at three o'clock. There 
 were no dinner parties. Going out to tea was very 
 common, and visitors came home before dark. In the 
 shades of the evening, families sat out on their stoops, 
 saluting passing friends, and talking to neighbors 
 across the narrow streets. The gutters ran in the 
 middle of the street. Serving women wore short 
 gowns of green baize and petticoats of linsey woolsey 
 quilted. "Tea water" was expensive. Everything 
 had to submit to scrubbing and scouring, and dirt was 
 
.V WAL ' 5 ET. 
 
 ■ endured Green tea and loaf sugar came in as 
 luxuries together. It was considered vulgar, to dis- 
 solve sugar in tea. A lump was placed by the side of 
 each guest, and a piece was nibbled off as the tea was 
 drank. One custom was to tie a lump of sugar t«> a 
 Dg suspended from the wall, which was thrown 
 from party to party, each taking a nibble as it pass 
 around. Well-to-do families cleansed their own chim- 
 ps, prepared their own fuel, and bore homeward the 
 meal they were to use for bread. 
 
 The first houses built in Wall Street were nu 
 of wood, very rude. The chimneys were made of 
 board and plastered. The roofs were thatched with 
 reeds, or covered with canvas. These yielded to 
 houses of Dutch brick, many of which were glazed and 
 ornamented. Nearly every house stood with gable 
 end to the street. The windows were small, and in 
 the better class, the room was ceiled with oaken panel- 
 work, which was well waxed. Many of the dwellings 
 had brick ends, the sides being constructed of planks 
 and logs. The gutters extended into the street, and 
 poured their contents upon the travelers, for there 
 were no sidewalks. Maiden Lane, originally known 
 as the Maid's Path, obtained its name from the custom 
 of young women going out into the fields to bleach 
 the family linen. 
 
 The furniture in the dwellings in Wall Street in the 
 earlier time, in the common houses was very rude. 
 Plain people used settees and settles, the latter with a 
 bed concealed in the seat. Pillows and blankets were 
 exposed as ornaments in the corner of parlors. Each 
 house contained an iron-bound chest for linen. The 
 
36 • COSTUMES. 
 
 settle maintained its place of honor in the chimney- 
 corner. In better times the chimney was ornamented 
 with Dutch tiles. Pewter mugs supplied the place of 
 cups. Settles were used to guard the back from wind 
 and cold. In wealthy families, small silver coffee and 
 teapots were used, with a silver tankard for toddy. 
 Gilded looking-glasses and picture-frames were un- 
 known. A huge chest of drawers ornamented the 
 parlor, reaching to the ceiling. These contained the 
 household treasures, and were overhauled before com- 
 pany. No carpets were used, but silver sand drawn 
 into fanciful twirls by a broom, adorned the floor. 
 Dipped candles in brass or copper candlesticks lighted 
 the room. The walls were not papered, but white- 
 washed. 
 
 COSTUMES. 
 
 The men and women were stiffly corseted, with 
 waists unnaturally long ; hips artificial ; shoulders and 
 breasts stuffed; and immense hoops. The women 
 wore no bonnets ; high-heeled shoes, dresses open in 
 front, displaying a stout quilted petticoat, sometimes 
 of silk or satin, usually of woolen, were common. 
 The " Queen's night-cap," as it was called, the style 
 always worn by Lady Washington, was in general 
 use. White aprons with large pockets, often made of 
 silk, and of various colors, were fashionable. The 
 shoes were of cloth. When very stylish they were of 
 calfskin. Ladies wore no veils. Masks were common 
 in the winter, with a silver mouth-piece, by which 
 they were retained. Umbrellas were unknown, but 
 ladies and gentlemen wore "rain-coats.' 7 Visits of 
 

 OLD CUSTOMS. 37 
 
 ceremony by ladies were performed on foot, or at best 
 on a pillion behind some gentleman. 
 
 The style of a gentleman's dress was a cocked-hat 
 and wig ; large cuffed, big-skirted coat, stiffened with 
 buckram. The beaux had large wadded plaits in the 
 skirts, and cuffs reaching to the elbow. Fine cambric 
 linen stocks were secured by a silver buckle on the 
 back of the neck. Ruffles for the bosom and sleeves 
 were worn. Boots were unknown, and shoes were 
 adorned with buckles. Gold and silver sleeve buttons 
 were set with paste of divers colors. Boys wore wigs, 
 and in dress were miniature men. As a mark of 
 wealth, large silver buttons were worn on coats and 
 vests, with initials engraved on them. The coming in 
 of French fashions in 1793 made sad inroads upon the 
 simple customs of ancient Wall Street. 
 
 OLD CUSTOMS. 
 
 The merchants of the olden time were content with 
 small shops, slenderly stocked. A shopkeeper took 
 down his own shutters, swept his warehouse, and was 
 ready for trade by the time gray dawn broke. A 
 bride and bridegroom had their hair arranged, by the 
 hands of the barber, the afternoon preceding the mar- 
 riage, and usually slept in arm-chairs that it might 
 not be disturbed. All marriages were duly published 
 three weeks beforehand. Courting in Wall Street was 
 a very primitive matter. It was done in the presence 
 of the family, and the lover was compelled to leave 
 when the bell struck nine, without a private adieu to 
 the damsel. Doctors went on foot to visit their pa- 
 tients, and were allowed to charge only a moderate 
 
38 • OLD CUSTOMS. 
 
 fee. Women did not attend funerals. A portion of 
 the burial service consisted of handing round hot- 
 spiced wines in the winter, and wine and sangeree in 
 the summer. Bowling, dancing, and drinking were 
 common pastimes. Swearing and cursing in the streets 
 were punished by fine and imprisonment. Ladies 
 never wore the same dresses at work and on visits. They 
 were very economical. A young lady, dressed gaily 
 to go abroad or to church, never failed to take off her 
 dress and put on her home garb as soon as she re-, 
 turned. On New Year's Day, cakes, wine, and liquors 
 were offered to callers. Punch was offered in great 
 bowls. 
 
 A slave market stood in Wall Street, near Water. 
 It was a portion of the block-house. Here negroes 
 and Indians were offered for sale. Slavery was a sort 
 of serfdom. It was a domestic institution. There 
 were no field negroes and no negro quarters. The 
 slave was a part of the family, scrupulously baptized 
 and religiously trained. The blacks were very free 
 and familiar, sauntering about the streets, joining the 
 whites at mealtime without removing their hats, and 
 entering familiarly into the conversation of those 
 around them. They were treated at times with much 
 severity, publicly whipped if out late at nights, or if 
 out after dark without a lantern, noisy in their gam- 
 bols, or caught gaming with copper pennies. Thirty- 
 nine lashes was the limit allowed by law. The public 
 whipper had twenty -five dollars a quarter for his ser- 
 vices. Every time a slave was whipped his master had 
 to pay three shillings to the church warden as a fund 
 for spreading the Gospel. The slave market was 
 

 OLD CUSTOMS. 
 
 voted a nuisance and an offence to the passers by — 
 
 the rendezvous of the worthless and the offensive, and 
 was removed by order of the council. 
 
 The streets were narrow, crooked, and roughly 
 paved. There were no sidewalks. The gutter ran in 
 the middle. This, together with the darkness, made 
 locomotion perilous. In 1697 an attempt was made 
 to light the city. Housekeepers were ordered to put 
 lights in their front windows. During " the dark time 
 of the moon, every seventh householder was to hang 
 out a lantern and a candle on a pole every night/' 
 The tradition is, that on the issuing of the order, par- 
 ties hung out a lantern without a candle. The law 
 was then passed that a candle should be placed in the 
 lantern, but it was not lighted. The law remedies 
 this defect by requiring the candle to be lighted. The 
 lantern, with the candle lighted, was hung out one 
 night and then taken in. Then came the statute — 
 " every night." The u Profession " were greatly an- 
 noyed by the inroads of u vile quacks and base pre- 
 tenders, who obliged true and lawful doctors" to 
 to the wall. The young roughs of the city disturbed 
 the peace of the dwellers in Wall Street, by their 
 pranks and lawless acts in stealing knockers, and run- 
 ning off with signs. Marriages were announced by 
 describing the character of the parties married, and 
 assuring the public that the bride was an "agreeable 
 young lady, possessed of every good quality calculated 
 to render the marriage state completely happy." The 
 navigation of the East and North Hi vers was very 
 perilous to life and limb. From New York to Brook- 
 lyn the boats were mere scows, the passage often con- 
 
40 WALL STREET RELIGION. 
 
 sumecl an hour, and was often taken by way of Gov- 
 ernor's Island. Passengers were kept out all night, 
 and nearly frozen. Disreputable persons dwelt in what 
 were then known as "Canvas houses," cheap, tem- 
 porary dwellings, with canvas roofs. Fortune-tellers 
 drove a brisk business. Conjurors, using spells and 
 incantations, were very popular. Fortunes were 
 sought, luck tried, men searched for hidden treasures, 
 and dug for buried gold, as foolish and as credulous 
 as their successors are in the present age. The 
 Wall Street men believed in ghosts, were scared 
 by dreams, and terrified by witches. Riotings were 
 common. Jay's treaty with 'Great Britain was es- 
 pecially unpopular. He was chased through Wall 
 Street by the excited populace, who accused him of 
 betraying his country to the British. On the steps of 
 the City Hall he was wounded in the head by stones 
 thrown at him, and was rescued only by the great 
 popularity of Hamilton, who stood by his side and 
 calmed the turbulence of the mob. A terrible riot 
 was raised about the doctors, and the cry rang: — 
 "Down with the doctors!" During the existence of 
 slavery the people were in great terror from fear of the 
 uprising of negroes and Indians. Slavery in Wall 
 Street was a slumbering volcano. The alarmed citi- 
 zens formed a patrol or vigilance committee, and kept 
 guard with lanterns. Grain was not allowed to be 
 distilled. If a drunken man was seen coming out of a 
 tavern, the innkeeper was fined. 
 
 WALL STREET RELIGION. 
 
 Religion followed in the wake of fashion and moved 
 up-town. In spite of all resistance, the Dutch Church 
 
WALL STREET RELIGION. ] i 
 
 in the Fort made an upward move, and was located 
 near where the Custom House now stands. Trinity 
 Church placed herself on the commanding eminence 
 which she still occupies. The Presbyterians took their 
 position between Broadway and Nassau. The humble 
 churches were content to locate on the outskirts. The 
 early clergymen were very formal in their official 
 dress. To perform service without gown and bands, 
 or to appear at a wedding, unless in full clerical cos- 
 tume, would have been regarded as a great indignity. 
 The early clergymen were very poorly paid, and 
 school teaching was resorted to, with other employ- 
 ments, to eke out a scanty living. The morals of Wall 
 Street were no better, in the estimation of the people 
 in those days, than they are now. An official letter, 
 sent to the Bishop of London in 1695, draws a sad pic- 
 ture of religion and morals at that time. According 
 to that report the city was given up to wickedness and 
 irreligion. Few persons attended public worship, and 
 those went to see the fashions, to show their vain per- 
 sons and dress, and not to worship God. The city was 
 filled with civil dissensions. The wages of workmen 
 were turned into drink. They idled their time in 
 taverns with pot-companions, in sottish debauch, ca- 
 rousing and gaming. Extravagance and idleness 
 abounded, and marriages, being performed by a Jus- 
 tice of the Peace and not by a clergyman, were not 
 considered binding, and were thrown off according to 
 the whim or caprice of the parties. Wives were sold, 
 exchanged, and abandoned, and, if the report is to be 
 believed, general immorality prevailed. 
 
42 WALL STREET AND THE BROKERS. 
 
 WALL STREET AND THE BROKERS. 
 
 It is difficult to ascertain when Wall Street became 
 the financial center of New York. In 1792, the Ton- 
 tine Coffee House was erected on the site now occu- 
 pied by the Bank of New York. It was erected as a 
 sort of joint-stock concern, for the benefit of merchants, 
 who held their gatherings in its parlors. Long before 
 that period, however, Wall Street was the center of 
 the early financial operations of the city. Govern- 
 ment, fashion, trade, industrial arts, religion, and 
 finance, from the earliest times, have had their head- 
 quarters in Wall Street. 
 
II 
 
 MODERN WALL STREET. 
 
 BIODERN WALL STREET. HIGH CHANGE. HULLS AND BEARS IN CONFLICT- 
 HOW STOCKS ARE BOUGHT AND SOLD. OPERATORS ON THE STREET. — 
 
 HOW A TIGHT MONEY MARKET IS CREATED. BLACK FRIDAY. 
 
 Wall Street gives its name to the locality where the 
 inonied men of the city, millionaires, speculators, heavy 
 brokers, and leading financiers have their headquarte - 
 It means more than the short narrow street designated 
 on the map as Wall Street, The heaviest operators 
 are not located on Wall Street proper. They arc 
 found on Broad Street, New Street, Nassau, Pine, 
 Cedar, "Williams, Exchange, and on Broadway. The 
 Stock Board is on Broad Street. The Gold Board 
 is on New Street. In "High Change" the surging 
 excited crowd who throng the sidewalk and raise the 
 din of Babel, are seen on Broad Street from Wall to 
 Pearl. The rooms and dens of the heaviest operators 
 who are on the street are off from Wall Street. So 
 are the regular Boards, and gathering places for 
 operators who are excluded from the regular market. 
 Early in the morning the whole street is quiet as Broad- 
 way on a Sunday. Business commences at ten. Busi- 
 ness men come in in droves. They come from every 
 direction and locality. Full half of those who do 
 
 43 
 
44 - MODERN WALL STREET. 
 
 business iir Wall Street live in Brooklyn, Jersey City, 
 Elizabeth, Long Island, and up the River, half way to 
 Albany. The new style of business is very marked. 
 The old brokers and speculators were content with 
 small chambers, back rooms, and even with dens and 
 cellars, bare floors, with hard furniture, coarse and 
 without ornament. Dark and dingy offices were filled 
 by the heaviest operators. The richest men, and the 
 most daring in speculation have no office of their own. 
 Each has one broker, some several, and when down 
 town these millionaires make their homes with those 
 who buy and sell for them. Some of the heaviest 
 houses are very plain. Belmont's banking rooms are 
 frowning, heavy, sepulchral, and are lighted by gas in 
 the day time after the English style. Brown k Broth- 
 ers welcome customers to iron seats, and stone pave- 
 ments. The men of the olden time walked to their 
 business, or at best took a street car or an omnibus. 
 
 As business opens Wall Street is full of coaches, 
 hacks, and cabs. As business draws to a close, the 
 street is occupied again by vehicles. The new race of 
 brokers adopt style. Some come to business in their 
 own elegant turnouts, with servants in livery. Others 
 hire coaches and cabs, and ride to and from Wall St. 
 Many do this who are as poor as rats, who, if they have 
 five dollars spend half of it for a cab, and the other 
 half for a lunch at Delmonico's. They often borrow 
 this sum. They go home to sleep in an attic or a 
 room in a tenement house, and remove from week to 
 week to avoid the payment of rent. The Chancel 
 style, as it is called, in Wall Street, is a modern thing. 
 An old broker, who had made his fortune in prudent 
 
MODERN WALL STREET { ." 
 
 and honest speculations, and was content with his 
 small den and green baize table, left his business with 
 his boys and went to Europe. On his return he found 
 "his house" in elegant chambers, adorned with costly 
 carpets, plate windows, mirrors, magnificent furniture, 
 walls frescoed in oil, and all the paraphernalia of mod- 
 ern style. The merchant was excited and indignant. 
 He denounced the extravagance. The idea of doing 
 business in a counting-room elegant as the chancel of 
 a church was preposterous. But since the old broker 
 has found himself at home in his Fifth Avenue palace, 
 he takes things more quietly. Besides Wilton carpets, 
 mirrors, and paintings, modern brokers who maintain 
 style, set an elegant lunch at a cost of $5,000 a year. 
 To this their customers are invited. Loafers, hangers- 
 on, and soldiers of fortune, are always ready to help 
 themselves. 
 
 Even forty years ago, business in New York was 
 very unlike what it is now. Men in mercantile life 
 went into business as apprentices at a compensation of 
 $50 a year. Wholesale merchants were few. Broad, 
 Wall, and Pearl Streets, were the business portions. 
 Porters carried goods in their hands, at a shilling, be- 
 low Canal Street, twenty -five cents above. Store boys 
 were sent with goods above Canal St. to save cost. 
 The youngest boy went to his master's house for the 
 keys in the morning to open the store, and returned 
 them at night. Customers came to the city to trade 
 four times a year, and traders knew when to expect 
 them. Merchants used the most rigid economy, and 
 were their own salesmen, book-keepers, and bankers. 
 They built the front of their dwellings with one ma- 
 
46 - HIGH CHANGE. 
 
 terial, and saved a few hundred dollars by building 
 the rear with a cheaper one. Forty years ago there 
 were not a dozen two-horse carriages in New York. 
 The city was compact and there was little use for them. 
 Above Fourteenth St. was beyond the "lamp district." 
 It was not lighted or policed, and people had to take 
 care of themselves. Merchants who bought goods at 
 auction obliged their clerks to take them home on their 
 shoulders to save portage. Less than fifty years ago, 
 one of our wealthiest merchants of to-day debated with 
 his brother whether it would be prudent to pay $350 
 rent for a dwelling house. Yet his business then was 
 very good. 
 
 HIGH CHANGE. 
 
 At ten o'clock, Wall Street, at the corner of Broad, 
 is an interesting spot. Men rush in from all directions. 
 Knots and cliques gather for the contest. Muscular 
 brokerage is at a premium. Young roughs are dressed 
 like expressmen, with low-crowned hats, docky coats, 
 "stunning" jewelry, and flaming rings. Old men are 
 nowhere. At the Gold Board, youngsters and clerks, 
 with powers of attorney, represent their firms. At the 
 Stock Board, none but members are admitted. But 
 each house has a young member who is trained for the 
 conflict. The stock room is quiet enough during the 
 monotonous call of the regular stocks. Members sit 
 in elegant chairs, or are broken up into little knots, 
 and quietly discuss matters. The cock-pit is empty. 
 But when an exciting stock is called all is changed. 
 Members rush for the centre of the room pell in ell. 
 The crowd, the rush, the jostle, the fierce pushing, the 
 
B I V./> - 1 NP BEARS IN < OX l' LI IT. 4 7 
 
 clang of conflict, is too much for old men. Young 
 men and mere boys raise the din, buy, sell, loan, and 
 borrow. Millions pass through their hands in a min- 
 ute. They tear up and down stairs, rush in and out, 
 race down the street, and across, and pitch into quiet 
 citizens as they furiously turn corners. Leading spec- 
 ulators begin to gather on the street. Each regular 
 house has its patrons and customers. In ordinary 
 times speculators remain in the office of their broker. 
 Plain-looking, cheaply-dressed, common appearing men 
 they are. Knowing nothing but stocks, they are ill at 
 ease. The click of the telegraph passes along the 
 prices. The indicator shows the rise and fall of gold. 
 Lunch comes and goes. Runners come in from time 
 to time with the reports. As stocks go up or down, 
 discussions are carried on. Usually all is listless and 
 without interest. 
 
 BULLS AND BEARS IN CONFLICT. 
 
 One class of brokers have stocks to sell. They re- 
 sort to every means to advance the price. They are 
 called Bulls. Another class have stocks to buy. They 
 resort to all sorts of schemes to send stocks down. 
 These are Bears. When men come in conflict in the 
 street, Wall Street is a scene of great excitement. 
 When it is known that a contest is to take place, the 
 Gold Room is thronged. This room is a very shabby- 
 looking place, as offensive as the stock room is elegant. 
 A few chairs, very common ones, are in the building. 
 The maddened throng have no time to sit. A strip of 
 gallery occupies one side of the room, and is crowded 
 with spectators. A heavy board partition keeps out 
 
48 . BULLS AND BEARS IN CONFLICT. 
 
 intruders from the Exchange. The centre, which is 
 lower than the rest of the room, is called the pit. In 
 the middle is a massive table, oblong in shape, to keep 
 the operators from trampling each other to death in 
 the excitement. A surging crowd, yelling, screaming, 
 gesticulating, stamping, fill every portion of the room. 
 One cool person occupies a seat above the din of the 
 conflict. He is calm amid the tempest and storm. He 
 touches a bell and the turmoil subsides. In a moment 
 the sale of gold is announced on all sides of the rooms 
 and sent quivering over the wires to 'the various offices 
 in the city. Many dealers have no connection with 
 the telegraph. Coumunication is made to these by 
 runners. The messengers crowd the avenues to the 
 Gold Room, fill vestibules and aisles and aid to keep 
 up the excitement. The bell of the President an- 
 nounces the sale of gold, and these parties start on the 
 run. Tearing down the street, rushing into alleys, 
 darting into doorways, they carry the news to their 
 employers. Old men, fat men, tall men, professor-like 
 looking men in spectacles, men looking wonderfully 
 like clergymen without a parish, and boys, are all on 
 the run. 
 
 At such times a broker's office is a suggestive place. 
 The crowd is so dense at times outside that teams can- 
 not drive through the street. Some brokers have a 
 strong guard of police around their offices. Inside 
 the office is very exciting. The wildest rumors fly 
 abo*ut. Banks, heavy houses, and wealthy men are 
 said to be going under. The slain and wounded are 
 seen — men who, ten days before, could count their 
 bank balance by tens and hundreds of thousands, by a 
 
BLLI.< AND BEARS IX CONFLH .]!» 
 
 single stroke have been completely ••cleaned out," and 
 
 are left without money enough to buy a lunch. In the 
 room some rail like mad men : others walk the floor, 
 -nap their lingers, knit their brows, shake their heads, 
 and mutter threats. Others in silence look at a par- 
 ticular spot on the floor, and pay no attention to the 
 mad throng rushing in and out. A young man, not 
 thirty, with an exhausted look and sad countenance, 
 in answer to the remark — "The vagabonds have com- 
 pletely cleaned you out,'' said: *'Yes, I am 8150,000 
 worse than nothing. But that is not the worst of it. 
 I am ten years older than I was ten days ago.'' During 
 this scene the telegraph holds on its way announcing 
 the panic in stocks. A comment or two will be heard 
 on each tumble. u Oh! that is Meigg's stock. Pity that 
 old house has gone down." Another tumble. "That 
 is Lockwood. The Pacific mail did that. 7 ' 
 
 Beyond Wall Street, and beyond broker's offices, 
 the movement of Bulls and Bears carries disaster. 
 Alarm spreads through the citv. Large houses reel, 
 and small ones totter down. The entire business of 
 the country is at the mercy of a few reckless men. 
 Shrinkages in dry goods stores produce ruin. Money 
 taken out of circulation tightens the market, and men 
 who borrow have to pay from 90 to 3G5 per cent., for 
 without money merchants cannot do business long. 
 
 The new mode of doing business intensifies the ex- 
 citement of Wall Street. Stock operators have their 
 brokers, as business men have their banks. Vander- 
 bilt has no office on Wall Street. He is seldom there. 
 Yet he is one of the heaviest operators. He has a legion 
 of runners who buy for him while he sits in his little 
 4 
 
50 . BULLS AND BEARS LN CONFLICT. 
 
 room in Fourth Street ; he buys in silence and no one 
 can track him. Drew has a little den of a room in 
 the third story of a building, to which he retires when 
 he wishes to be alone. He can generally be found in 
 the office of his principal broker, sitting on a bench 
 dozing, or sound asleep. Formerly, to fill an order 
 brokers attended the Stock Board in person and watch- 
 ed the market. Now they sit in their elegant rooms, 
 and communicate by telegraph, or give a quiet order 
 to messengers who disappear and make the purchase. 
 There is very little talking in a broker's office during 
 business hours. The rooms usually are crowded. Every 
 click of the machine carries fortune or ruin to some 
 one. Men get up, sit down, look out of the window, 
 walk out of the door, walk back, smoke, go out, take 
 a drink, discuss the chances, pull their hair, whistle, 
 slap their hands, or break out in abrupt expletives. 
 Outside, in stirring times, men are quite as excited. 
 One day a large crowd gathered in Wall Street. The 
 central figure was a well known operator in Clique 
 Stocks. It is said that he has made and lost more 
 money in speculations than any other man in New 
 York except Jacob Little. He was in the middle of 
 the street, hat off, face flushed, coat thrown back, ges- 
 ticulating with his hands, following a well known 
 locker-up of greenbacks, and was shouting: " There 
 goes Shylock ! What's the price of money, Shylock ? 
 What's the price of money ? There he goes, look at 
 him, look at Shylock !" The shouting, and the excite- 
 ment called all heads to the windows and filled the 
 street with the rabble, that followed the parties several 
 blocks. The man who was shouting "Shylock," was 
 
HOW STOCKS ARE BOUGHT AND SOLD. 51 
 
 one of the coolest, most self-possessed of men usually. 
 The man attacked was a tall, slim, fine looking person, 
 very slightly moved by the assault. "What's the price 
 ■ if Erie, Dick ?" " What's the price of Hudson ?" was 
 the response. 
 
 HOW STOCKS ARE BOUGHT AND SOLD. 
 
 The present style of business in the street enables a 
 man, with a very small sum of money, to do a very 
 large business. With SI, 000 he can purchase $10,- 
 000 worth of stock. With $10,000 he can purchase 
 Si 00, 000. He leaves his order with the broker, puts 
 up his "margin," and his stock is bought and carried 
 for him. The broker can well afford to do this. He 
 is perfectly safe, for he has the stocks and the margin 
 as protection. He has every motive to induce his cus- 
 tomers to buy largely. He gets the interest on his 
 money and a commission for buying and selling. As 
 his commission is only §12.50 on §10,000, he must do 
 a large business to make anything. When men buy 
 two millions of stock the commissions amount to some- 
 thing. The better class of brokers are not willing to 
 have customers w r ho cannot back up their sales. It is 
 troublesome to have to watch the market, and it is 
 unpleasant to sell a customer out. As the stock falls, 
 if buyers do not keep their margin good, the broker 
 must protect himself by selling the stock, and using 
 up the money deposited. 
 
 Immense sums of money are sent into the street from 
 outsiders, who, because they have been successful in 
 dry goods, and other branches of trade, think they can 
 turn $50,000 into $100,000 in the street as easily as 
 
52 • HOW STOCKS ARE BOUGHT AND SOLD. 
 
 they can dravf a check. In nine cases out of ten all 
 such investments are lost. Brokers of course get cus- 
 tomers where they can find them. A man in a successful 
 dry goods trade sends down a check with an order to 
 buy a hundred shares of a named stock, and to carry 
 it thirty days. The stock begins to go down. More 
 margin is called for. A sudden failure in a mercantile 
 house tells the story. The other day a merchant called 
 upon a broker in Wall Street, handed him $50,000, 
 and asked him to invest it in a stock named. "I will 
 do so, if you wish," said the broker, "but I advise you 
 to take a good look at your money, for you will never 
 see it again. I have been in business in Wall Street 
 thirty-eight years. During that time 98 out of every 
 100 who have put money in the street have lost it." 
 Gamblers in stock and in gold are usually outsiders. 
 They are the class who speculate in lots, in flour, pork, 
 and coal. Men who make "corners," or try to make 
 them, are model merchants, princely traders, large 
 donors to philanthropic institutions, stand high in so- 
 ciety, and preside on the boards of religious and re- 
 formatory meetings. These men, Bull and Bear stock, 
 make merchants tremble, increase the price of the poor 
 man's coal, lay a heavier tax on every ounce of bread 
 the laboring man eats, and ruin small traders. These 
 men produce the panics of the day, and not the brokers. 
 Brokers fill orders, and regular houses do as legitimate 
 a business as is done by any department of trade in 
 New York. 
 
OPERATORS ON THE STREET. 53 
 
 OPERATORS 05 THE STREET. 
 
 The street operators may be divided into three 
 classes. The first are regular brokers. In any other 
 business they would be called commission merchants. 
 They purchase stocks for their customers and are paid 
 a regular commission. They do not speculate on their 
 own account. As a class they are honorable, high- 
 minded, liberal, and successful. Their business is safe 
 and profitable. When they receive an order to buy 
 from a customer, a margin of ten per cent, is put up 
 and a regular commission paid. There is no credit in 
 stocks. Some one must pay cash when they are pur- 
 chased. The broker pays the cash, holds the stocks as 
 security, and with a small margin is safe. A sound 
 house will not accept less than ten per cent, margin. 
 As business is conducted $10,000 will carry $100,000 
 stock. $20,000 will carry $2,000,000. Except in ex- 
 traordinary times, such as the " Black Friday," broker- 
 can protect themselves. In some well established 
 houses the business in stocks is immense, especially 
 those that have the confidence of the street, A young 
 banking house which has been remarkably successful, 
 adopted at the start a few rules. One was never to 
 carry stock without a margin ; never to speculate in 
 stocks, and to do honestly a legitimate commission 
 business. If that led to wealth or led elsewhere, the 
 house would accept it. A celebrated capitalist gave 
 an order for the purchase of a large amount of railroad 
 stock. u Do you wish us to carry it?" said the broker, 
 u if so you must put up a margin." U A margin," said 
 the millionaire. ' "I am worth a hundred times that 
 
54 OPERATORS ON THE STREET. 
 
 amount." "I have no doubt of it," said the broker; 
 "we have but one rule in this office for rich and poor. 
 We would not carry stock for William B. Astor with- 
 out a margin." The man went out. Hangers-on shrug- 
 ged their shoulders. "We know that man," said one, 
 u he is the heaviest operator in the country, you have 
 lost a splendid customer." Before three o'clock a de- 
 posit came up of $50,000. The next day the capital- 
 ist appeared in person. "Young men," he said, "I 
 like your rule. You have begun right. Do business 
 on that basis and you will succeed. My money is safe 
 here, you shall have my business and my influence." 
 Brokers who are permanently successful, and move 
 steadily on to fortune are those who are simply brokers 
 and not speculators. 
 
 Speculators are the customers who employ brokers. 
 They are either adventurers who come into the street 
 to try their luck, or men who make trading in stocks 
 their business. Speculators do not make money except 
 by a turn as rare as good luck at a gambling table, 
 unless they make stocks their business. Of the count- 
 less thousands who throng Wall Street from year to 
 year, the great mass of speculators are ruined. Every 
 broker on Wall Street has an entirely new set of cus- 
 tomers once in three years. To trade in stocks suc- 
 cussfully, men must be able to keep their margin good 
 to any extent or they are ruined. A firm in Wall St. 
 agreed to carry for a customer $600,000 gold. A 
 margin of $250,000 was put up. Gold ran up to $1.65. 
 The house called for $250,000 more margin. In one 
 hour after the additional margin was put up gold drop- 
 ped to $1.30. The dealer swung from ruin by his 
 
OPERATORS ON THE STREET. ~o~) 
 
 ability to keep his margin good to a profit of 8180,000 
 in that transaction. Men who buy long and hold what 
 they buy, reap golden fortune-. They defy the fluc- 
 tuations of the street. A combination of such men 
 can corner stock, lock up greenbacks, tighten the 
 money market, and produce a panic in an hour that 
 would shake the continent. 
 
 Vanderbilt is one of this class, — the only railroad 
 man in the street, it is said, that makes money for him- 
 self and his stockholders. He goes into the market 
 and buys what he wants. It is a common thing for 
 him to buy five millions of stock. He pays cash for 
 all he buys and then locks it up. In the language of 
 the street he locks his stock in his tin box. He has no 
 credit, and is admitted to be the sharpest speculator 
 in Wall Street. He buys a controlling interest of any 
 stock he wishes to control, and holds it. He controls 
 the Central, Hudson River, and Harlem railroads, and 
 they are known as the Vanderbilt stocks. His fortune 
 is estimated at eighty millions. Men who buy and sell 
 for him are counted by thousands. Daniel Drew buys 
 in immense quantities. He has no office but operates 
 through brokers, — their name is legion. He can do 
 nothing himself on the street. He buys and sells on 
 his own judgment, but through his agents. He buys 
 by the hundred thousand dollars in stock, and gold by 
 the million. He is very unlike Vanderbilt, He is not 
 as shrewd, sharp, or successful. His gains are enor- 
 mous but his losses are terrible. Hejias often had to 
 draw his check for 8250,000, and even as high as half 
 a million, to cover his losses. He is not popular like 
 
56 , OPERATORS ON THE STREET. 
 
 Vanderbilt. He has no special line of operation. He 
 is a bull or a bear, as his fancy or judgment dictates. 
 
 Another class of operators, are brokers who unite 
 speculation with their regular business. It is an unsafe 
 combination. One in which a broker in. a crisis must 
 sacrifice himself or his customers. Usually the last, 
 sometimes both. The experience of a quarter of a 
 century does not point to a single house that joined 
 speculation with a commission business in stock that 
 has not gone under. A large house in the street was 
 reputed to be very wealthy. The chief of the house 
 was one of the most honored men in the country, the 
 head of religious and benevolent institutions. He built 
 him one of the most costly mansions in the land — at an 
 outlay it is said of a million and a half of dollars. The 
 head of the house was the treasurer of a great railroad 
 corporation. He deposited the money of the road with 
 a house of which he was a member. The house failed — 
 failed disastrously — some said disreputably. Men were 
 ruined right and left. Had the United States treasury 
 failed it* would hardly have produced greater conster- 
 nation. The treasurer of the road could not make 
 good the loss sustained by the failure of his house. All 
 the road obtained was a mortgage on the splendid 
 mansion for $850,000. If sold to-day, it is said, it 
 would not bring a quarter of a million under the ham- 
 mer. 
 
 This house, six months ago, was considered one of 
 the strongest and wealthiest on the street. The dis- 
 asters of that terrible crisis could not have been fore- 
 seen or anticipated by any shrewdness. When New 
 York Central went humming down from one hundred 
 
BOW A TIGHT MONEY MARKET IS CREATED. .~>7 
 
 and ninety to one hundred and forty-five, two- 
 thirds of the capitalists of the city reeled under the 
 blow ; when even the clearing house was driven to a 
 temporary suspension, this great house tottered and 
 went under. 
 
 HOW A TIGHT MONET MARKET IS CREATED. 
 
 Large dealer.- in stocks have power to create a panic 
 by making what is called a tight money market. They 
 lock up greenbacks and gold, and produce general dis- 
 tress and ruin. It requires a large combination to do 
 this. Men of heavy capital, of great resources, who 
 watch the market and strike together when the right 
 time comes. Ten men combining, who could control 
 ten millions, would agitate the street. But a combina- 
 tion, able to control twentv millions, would tighten the 
 money market and produce a panic. Money is limited. 
 The clearing house daily indicates the amount of cash 
 in circulation. All banks are required to keep 25 per 
 cent, of their deposits and circulation in the bank. 
 The cliques who propose to tighten the money market 
 understand that. Some banks are wicked enough to 
 lend themselves to such a combination. When the 
 scheme is ripe a well known party goes to a bank and 
 enquires, u how much money have you got?" " Two 
 hundred thousand dollars 1 ' is the reply. "I want to 
 borrow a million." A million is borrowed o£a bank that 
 has but two hundred thousand dollars to loan. The 
 interest is paid on this million for one, ten, or thirty 
 days. A certified check is taken by the borrower and 
 is locked up. A million is taken from circulation, for 
 the bank can make no loans as the certified check may 
 
58 - HO W A TIGHT MONEY MARKET IS CREATED. 
 
 turn up at any minute. Nineteen men are doing the 
 same thing with nineteen other banks. Twenty mil- 
 lions of greenbacks are locked up. The money is not 
 taken from the bank ; it is understood that it shall not 
 be. The bank, with two hundred thousand dollars 
 receives the interest of a million of dollars, keeps the 
 money in its own vaults and has parted with nothing 
 but a certified check. Speculators who have bought 
 stocks cannot hold them, for they have no money; the 
 banks cannot discount, money cannot be borrowed 
 except at ruinous rates. The cliques who have tight- 
 ened the market often ask as high as one per cent, a 
 day, for money. Speculators have to throw their stock 
 on the market, the market tumbles and the combina- 
 tion buy at their own prices. 
 
 Another method of tightening the money market is, 
 by a combination which wears a different phase, though 
 the result is the same. In this combination, fifty thou- 
 sand dollars control a million. Twenty or thirty men 
 conspire to make money scarce. A party borrows of 
 a bank $50,000 on one, or ten days. Interest is paid 
 and a certified check taken. The money remains in 
 the bank — it is effectually locked up, the bank cannot 
 loan it, for the certified check may be presented at any 
 moment. This check is taken to another bank and 
 $50,000 borrowed upon that. No money is removed, 
 but a certified check taken and placed in another bank 
 with like results. So the party moves from bank to 
 bank, till he has locked up a million with his fifty 
 thousand. Each member of the clique is doing the 
 same thing, and a panic in stocks follows. A third 
 method is, to draw greenbacks from the bank, seal 
 
BLACK FRIDAY. 59 
 
 them up and keep them till the market is ripe for tak- 
 ing off the pressure. An illustration of the power of a 
 clique to produce universal ruin may be found in the 
 
 famous 
 
 "BLACK FRIDAY." 
 
 The 24th of September, 1869, must always be a 
 memorable day in the history of Wall Street. On the 
 day preceding, 324 millions 524 thousand in gold were 
 sold at the gold board. On Friday, the sale reached 
 the high figure of over 500 millions. In seventeen 
 minutes — from 11.50 to 12.16 gold fell from 1.G0 to 
 1.30. In these seventeen minutes tens of thousands 
 of men were ruined. The ruin swept through New 
 York — up the river — up and down the Atlantic coast — 
 over the great lakes and prairies — carrying away for- 
 tunes like chaff before the gale. One man who stood 
 talking with a manager of the gold board, in those 
 seventeen minutes lost 8300,000. Without a word he 
 left the room and presented a certified check in pay- 
 ment of the loss before 2i o'clock. The combination 
 was a small one, but one of the most bold and daring 
 that has ever been known in the street. It was not 
 the work of brokers in the street, with one exception, 
 nor of regular dealers. The scheme was planned and 
 executed by outsiders. In nine cases out of ten men 
 outside of the street are the gamblers in gold and 
 stocks. No campaign was ever more skillfully -planned, 
 or gave greater promise of success, than that which 
 marked Black Friday. It seemed to possess all the ele- 
 ments of triumph. It had its tools and confederates 
 in the very treasury itself. The clique possessed, or 
 supposed it possessed, the secrets of the government, 
 
60 • BLACK FRIDAY. 
 
 and even its future intentions. Agents loitered about 
 the public buildings in Washington — dined and wined 
 prominent men — held some officials in their hands, who, 
 while they washed their fingers of all complicity with 
 the combination, had made nice little arrangements to 
 profit by the rise in gold. The Presidential Mansion 
 was invaded and an attempt made to involve the family 
 of the President in the unholy alliance. Government 
 matters taken care of, the next step was to tighten the 
 money market. The banks in this city not only keep 
 on hand the 25 per cent, in gold and currency which 
 the law demands, but also a margin of 30 millions ad- 
 ditional. The clique locked up the money in the 
 way mentioned in the paragraph above. Cash could 
 not be obtained even at the enormous rate of 365 per 
 cent, a year. A large political organization were in 
 the ring which sent gold up to its destructive height. 
 Millions of the city money were locked up, a large 
 bank controlled, and the individual members, many of 
 them wealthy, and more of them influential, united with 
 speculators in the terrible work of that day. The com- 
 bination boasted that on the morning of the 24th of 
 September it controlled the mighty sum of over 200 
 millions ; more than the Rothschilds ever controlled in 
 one year. 
 
III. 
 
 LANGUAGE OF WALL STREET. 
 
 "Buyer Three." — " Seller Three." — " Carrying Stock." — "A Break." 
 — "A Block." — "Buying In." — "A Clique." — "A Corner." — A Cov- 
 er." — " Dead Duck." — " Flat Market." — " A Flykr." — " Holding the 
 Market." — " A Let Up." — "Long in Stocks." — " Short in Stocks." — 
 "Milking the Street." — "Wiping Out." — "Salting Doavn." — "A 
 Fool." — "A Get Out." — "Off Market." — "A Delivery." — "Curb- 
 stone Brokkrs." — "Bulls and Bears." — "Collaterals." — " Differ- 
 ence." — "Watering the Market." — Other Phrases. 
 
 The Street has a language peculiar to itself. Short, 
 sharp, blind terms, — to the outsider conveying no in- 
 telligence, — yet exact and definite as the words in a 
 legal document drawn by an equity lawyer. All 
 trades have specific terms. Schools and professors 
 have their technical phrases. Wall Street has its own 
 modes of utterance. In the Gold Room the gavel 
 falls at 10 A. M. Around an oblong table in front of 
 the desk, is what is known as the Cock-pit, Buyers 
 and sellers crowd this space, and fill the pit. Trade 
 begins. A hundred instruments connect the Gold 
 Room with all the business parts of the city. Banks, 
 railroads, heavy merchants, and private brokers, send 
 by telegraph their orders for the day. The jargon of 
 the street commences at once. A half dozen men 
 shout: — " 112} ; Seller 3." Excited men on the op- 
 posite side reply : — "1121 ; Buyer 3." Others join. 
 
 61 
 
62 LANGUAGE OF WALL STREET. 
 
 From one or two voices the whole room becomes a 
 glow. Faces grow red, men shout, yell, and frantical- 
 ly gesticulate. A hundred men talk in the vocabu- 
 lary of the Gold Room. The intense excitement lasts 
 one minute, perhaps more, and then all is quiet. In 
 that brief space one or two millions of gold have been 
 sold, and amid the din and apparent confusion, the 
 terms and conditions are as well settled as if drawn 
 up by a lawyer. 
 
 During this maddened din and jargon, the amount 
 of gold offered has been stated, the price, the time of 
 delivery, whether the sale was regular, or at the op- 
 tion of the buyer or seller. Stripped of all techni- 
 calities, the meaning of the operation is simply : One 
 Broker says, I have any part of a million of gold, or 
 $50,000, or $10,000, to sell for 1121. The party who 
 wishes to buy, says, I will give 1121. Others join 
 with offers. The room rings with the proposals from 
 parties who are willing to buy, or are willing to sell, 
 at the prices named. If the party who wishes to buy 
 believes gold is going up, he closes with the offer of 
 112 2. If the party who wishes to sell, believes that 
 gold may fall, he closes with the offer, and sells for 
 1121. There are no witnesses to these contracts. The 
 transaction is between man and man alone. Yet no 
 mistakes are made, — no misunderstandings. Millions 
 change hands daily in these scenes of confusion. No 
 man backs down from his bargain. Meeting these 
 contracts often involves a loss of from $10,000 to $50,- 
 000. Yet during the seven years of the existence of 
 the Gold Board, there has not been one instance in 
 which a party failed to meet his contract. A person 
 
"BUYER THREE*— SELLER THlil 1 63 
 
 would be instantly expelled the Board should he do 
 so. In the Stock Board, at the Regular Board. Board 
 for the sale of Governments, the Gold Board, amid 
 the groups on the sidewalk, many of them coarse 
 looking, roughly dressed, mere clerks and messengers, 
 yelling, vociferating, shouting, not one among them 
 dare shirk a contract, or pretend to a misunderstanding 
 of the agreement. The lawyer, the doctor, the man 
 of science, merchants and tradesmen, theologians, have 
 their professional terms. But they make contracts 
 and do business in the common language of the world. 
 Wall Street buys and sells in its own jargon. A sin- 
 gle phrase binds a man to a loss of 850,000 as if it 
 were written with all the exactness of a black letter 
 contract. Losses entailed by the shouting of a single 
 word in the nomenclature of the street on the part of 
 an office boy, has obliged brokers to pay 8350,000, 
 and even half a million, before Old Trinity chimed 
 out the hour of two. Adjudicated legal terms are not 
 better understood, or more definite in their meaning, 
 than are the terms used in the street. 
 
 "BUYER THREE. SELLER THREE." 
 
 Stocks are sold for cash. All the sales at the Stock 
 and Gold Board are bona fide sales. Each line of Stocks 
 in the Regular Board is called in the order that it 
 stands on the list. If a 100 Central are sold, and no 
 terms are named, the stock is to be delivered the next 
 day before 2i o'clock. The party selling must de- 
 liver ; the party buying must pay. When stocks are 
 offered a condition is frequently annexed. Erie 35; 
 Buyer 3. Erie 40; Seller 3. This means that the 
 
64 ' " carrying stock:' 
 
 buyer will give $35 for Erie stock, and have the op- 
 tion of taking it anytime within three days. On the 
 last day he must take it, whether he makes or loses 
 by the purchase. In the other case, the seller an- 
 nounces that he will dispose of Erie at $40, with the 
 option of delivering the stock anytime within three 
 days. Sometimes the option is ten days, twenty days, 
 thirty days. When the seller has the option, the buyer 
 cannot demand the delivery of the stock until the 
 closing part of the last day named ; nor can the seller 
 oblige the buyer to take the stock until the time is up. 
 
 "CARRYING STOCK." 
 
 Carrying stock is really loaning money on the se- 
 curity of stock with a margin. A broker is willing to 
 lend a customer $4,000 on the security of $5,000. A 
 customer believes that there will be a rise in Central. 
 He leaves an order with his broker to purchase for 
 him a hundred shares. He puts up a margin of ten 
 per cent., which is all he need to pay. The broker 
 takes his own money and buys a hundred New York 
 Central at the price named. Beside the ten per cent, 
 the customer pays the broker interest on the money 
 with which the stock is bought. The broker holds 
 the stock for security, and also ten per cent, margin. 
 If the stock advances, the customer makes money; 
 if the stock declines, he must keep his margin up to 
 ten per cent, by depositing additional funds with 
 his broker. Should he fail to do this, the broker will 
 protect himself by throwing the stock on the market 
 and cleaning him out. In such transactions the buyer 
 does not touch the stock. He has paid nothing but 
 
• .1 BREAK."— -A BLOCK." 05 
 
 his ten per cent, on the purchase. The broker holds 
 the stock, or carries it from one to thirty days, as the 
 agreement may demand. If stock should be bought 
 at S3. 3 to-day, and be held for twenty days, and then 
 be sold for $G0, the customer would make by his in- 
 vestment the difference between S3 5 and $60. Should 
 stock go down, the buyer loses in the same propor- 
 tion. The broker who carries the stock will sell at 
 any time when ordered so to do. 
 
 "A BREAK' 1 
 
 When the market declines, it is called a break. The 
 price is put down. Xew York Central was selling at 
 2:17. It broke to 1 : 45, " first call." At the Regular 
 Board, the stock was called in its order, the first bid 
 was 1 : 45. A decline of 22 per cent. The market 
 breaking on a single call, produced a panic. Parties 
 who had bought on a speculation became frightened 
 and rushed to sell before it went lower. This helped 
 to make the break heavier. In the language of the 
 street, Central broke down. Atlantic Mail was 86. 
 At the first call it broke down to 80. The rush to sell 
 carried it to 45. A decline of 35 per cent. So At- 
 lantic Mail broke down. 
 
 "A BLOCK." 
 
 The purchase of a great quantity of stock at one 
 time is called "a block." Five hundred shares wou.d 
 be "a block." Fifteen hundred shares were offered 
 of a popular road. Five thousand were bid on the 
 first call; five thousand on the second call, and five 
 thousand on the third. Half a million at one blow 
 was a heavy block. 
 5 
 
66 ' "BUYING IN."— "A CLIQUE." 
 
 "BUYING IN." 
 
 When the market is high, shrewd men sell. Men 
 who are short, — that is, men who sell what they have 
 not got, — who have agreed to deliver stock at the op- 
 tion named, watch the selling to find the time when 
 they can cover their shorts. Thus Erie is 40. Seller 
 ten. That is, in ten days a party agrpes to deliver 
 Erie at 40. The market declines to 30. The seller 
 now buys in and delivers at 40. That is, he gets $40 
 a share for what cost him $30. A party sold $600,- 
 000 gold, 140 short. He had not a dollar of gold 
 when he sold it. If it had advanced, he would have 
 lost money. Gold declined to 112. He bought in and 
 delivered, and cleared $240,000 by that operation. 
 
 "A CLIQUE." 
 
 A combination of brokers formed to carry stock or 
 gold, is termed " a clique." It takes a number of 
 heavy men to form a successful clique. Rock Island 
 City Stock was bought up by a clique. The parties 
 and their friends then went to the Board and run up 
 the stock. Each of the clique bidding one above an- 
 other. Parties who were short on Rock Island began 
 to tremble. They snuffed the battle afar. They 
 bought to keep their contracts, and so increased the 
 excitement, and carried the stock up very high. Hav- 
 ing bulled the stock 20 or 30 per cent., the "clique" 
 changed their tactics. They bought quietly when the 
 combination was formed, as quietly they sold out, that 
 the alarm might not be sounded till they were clear. 
 One member of this clique on Rock Island made 
 
".1 CORNER."— "A COVER."— "DEAD DUCK." 67 
 
 ■'0,000 on one day's operation. Oilier members 
 were equally lucky. One house lost half a million 
 by the transaction. 
 
 "A CORNER." j 
 
 f When a clique form a combination to control the 
 stock of a road, so that parties who have stock to de- 
 liver cannot buy it,. stock is said to be u cornered." A 
 great many persons have to unite to form a corner. 
 Those who have cornered the stock can demand their 
 own price until it breaks, and can run the stock up to 
 500 per cent., if they will. The famous " Harlem 
 Corner" was the result of a wide-spread combination. 
 In that corner, Mr. Drew sold 200 shares at 130. lie 
 had to pay 250 for the stock that he sold at 130. The 
 matter was settled at a compromise, Mr. Drew paying 
 over half a million to settle. 
 
 "A COVER." 
 
 It is another mode for buying in. A party sells a 
 thousand New Fork Central at 98; Seller 10. He 
 has ten days to make his purchases. He buys the 
 stock at the best time to deliver. A party sold a thou- 
 sand shares of Central at 98; Seller 10. The stock 
 went up from 98 to 150. The party lost in the trans- 
 action heavily. 
 
 "DEAD DUCK." 
 
 When a speculator cannot meet his contracts he 
 goes under, and is expelled the Board. A "Lame 
 Duck " is one who has lost heavily by his transactions, 
 but has not failed. 
 
68 "FLAT MARKET."— "LONG IN STOCKS." 
 
 "FLAT MARKET." 
 
 Should a bank loan money to a party on security 
 without interest, it would be a flat transaction in the 
 Wall street sense. A broker buys stock for a customer, 
 he has ample security, but receives no interest for his 
 money, — another example. 
 
 "A FLYER." 
 
 This is a little outside transaction. The personal 
 speculation of a broker on his own account. He has 
 an order to buy a thousand of Harlem. He buys in 
 addition a hundred, or more, not as a broker, but for 
 himself, — :t as a flyer." 
 
 " HOLDING THE MARKET." 
 
 This is done by cliques and combinations. The 
 clique buy up all the stock that is offered, and so keep 
 the price up. The law of supply and demand is the 
 rule in Wall street. The stock cannot decline, for all 
 that is offered is taken by the clique. Shorts must 
 buy to cover, and the combination get their price. 
 
 " A LET UP." 
 
 This is the opposite of u holding the market." The 
 clique let go the stock they hold. Money locked up 
 comes out. The market being supplied, things go 
 down. 
 
 "LONG IN STOCKS." 
 
 A broker buys stocks for a customer, pays the full 
 value, and carries it. A man through his broker buys 
 a thousand shares of New York Central at 117. The 
 
. IX STOCKS."— "'MILKING THE STRE1 l ' 
 
 broker paya for it and keeps it. The customer 
 11 long " in CentraL 
 
 " SnORT IX STOCKS." 
 
 A man sells what he has not. lie sells a thousand 
 New York Central to be delivered in ten days. With- 
 in that time he must buy it at the best rate he can and 
 deliver it. If he sells at 110, and buys at 100, he 
 makes 10 per cent. If he sells at 90, and to deliver, 
 pays 100, he loses 10 per cent. I sell a span of ho: 
 and a carriage for S800. I have no horses and car- 
 riage, but I know where I can buy a team. In the 
 language of Wall street, I sell the horses and carriage 
 short. But I cannot buy the concern for 88 00. They 
 cost me SI. 000. I lose S200 by the operation. 
 
 "MTLETXG THE STREET." 
 
 This is a combination to put the price of the Street 
 down that parties may buy. The stock is then Bulled 
 by the holders who instantly sell out. The street is 
 in a maze. Speculators are puzzled. Dealers are 
 bothered. Men cannot tell what to do. Stocks are 
 rushed up and down rapidly. In the excitement the 
 combination reap a golden harvest. They have 
 milked the street. 
 
 "WIPING OUT." 
 
 When a margin is closed and the stock sold by the 
 broker, the operator is said to be ''wiped out." He 
 is used up. The street to-day has a vivid illustration 
 of this process. A man, still quite young, was re- 
 markable for his success in speculation. He rose rap- 
 
70 ' "SALTING DOWN."—" A POOL." 
 
 idly, and three years ago was worth three millions. 
 He had a style of his own, buying usually all that was 
 offered in the line in which he was dealing. If he bid 
 for a thousand shares of stock, he could be easily in- 
 duced to take three thousand. His very boldness 
 made him a marvel of success. His fortune turned. 
 Not so his tactics. His losses were terrible. He is 
 now poor. He has no money, no stock, and is of no 
 account in the market. In the language of the street, 
 he is " wiped out." 
 
 « SALTING DOWN." 
 
 When an operator has been lucky, withdraws his 
 gains from the hazard of the street, and invests in 
 good dividend paying stock, he is said to have salted 
 down his money. When gains are put into real-estate, 
 Government securities, or anything not subject to 
 much fluctuation, the operator is said to have "salted 
 down " his stock. Small dealers are doing this daily 
 in Wall street. A lucky speculation of $100,000, or 
 $200,000, is often put away, and held sacred for time 
 of need, but these small transactions attract but little 
 attention. 
 
 "A 'POOL." 
 
 This differs from a combination, or a clique. A 
 number of operators put up a sum of money. This 
 is placed in the hands of one of the party, who alone 
 can control it and use it. Not one of the party have 
 a right to inquire what is done with the money, or 
 how it is managed. The operator usually buys a 
 block of stock quietly, and manipulates it as quietly. 
 When the transaction is closed, the profits are divided 
 
 ■i 
 
CURB-STONE OPERATORS. 
 
u A GET OUT."— "CURBSTONE BROKEi 71 
 
 between the parties pro rata. If the transaction is a 
 
 loss, all share it alike. The Northwest and Michigan 
 Southern were the most celebrated pools on the street. 
 These pools were managed by the famous Henry 
 Keepe, one of the most successful operators that Wall 
 street ever knew. He was a man of honor, of un- 
 blenching integrity, and was trusted beyond most 
 men. 
 
 "A GET OUT." 
 
 When an operator is loaded down with stock, and 
 sells out, whether at a loss or gain, no matter how, he 
 "gets out." Parties to a pool when they get rid of a 
 stock, and the transaction closes, in the language of 
 street, "get out." 
 
 " OFF MARKET." 
 
 When stock declines, and strong stock becomes 
 weak, the market is said to be off 
 
 "A DELIVERY." 
 
 When stock is brought to the buyer according to a 
 contract, it is delivered. The buyer must accept it, 
 and give a certified cheek in payment. If the sale is 
 cash, it is to be delivered and paid for the same day. 
 If the sale is regular, it must be delivered and paid 
 for the next day before 2i P. M. If at the option of 
 the buyer or seller, stock must be delivered at the 
 time named in the contract. 
 
 "CURBSTONE BROKERS." 
 
 These operators are sometimes called gutter-snipes. 
 They do business outside of the Stock Board. They 
 
72 "BULLS AND BEARS." 
 
 have no office, but operate on the street. They are 
 small traders in stock, and are usually employed by 
 brokers on small commissions. They buy and sell 
 through others. Noted Bulls and Bears cannot attend 
 the Stock Board without creating an excitement. 
 They keep out of sight and employ these men. Par- 
 ties who have not money enough to buy a dinner, of- 
 ten take a million of gold, or a thousand shares of 
 stock. Curbstone brokers do not touch the gold, nor 
 receive the stock. They simply stand between the 
 broker and his customers. A large portion of this 
 class earn only a scanty living. Most of them are re- 
 duced speculators, who haunt the street, hoping that 
 fortune may change. Many of this class rode in car- 
 riages when the present millionaires of New York 
 were errand boys, or bootblacks, or porters. 
 
 "BULLS AND BEARS.' 5 
 
 Bulls have horns and toss up. Bears have paws and 
 press down. A bull in the market is an operator, who 
 buys stock when it is low — raises the market and sells 
 out. These men form combinations, cliques, and con- 
 spiracies, to send up the price of stocks, and are not 
 always scrupulous about the way it is done. They sur- 
 round the board, and with their associates bull the 
 market, as it is called. When they enter the room 
 their appearance produces excitement. They employ 
 small brokers often, to buy up stock while they keep 
 out of sight. Pacific Mail is offered at 31, bull offers 
 311 and more. Some one offers to sell at 311. Bull 
 shouts, take one thousand five-eighths and more. A few 
 passes of this kind, taking all that is offered and in- 
 
v COLLATERALS." 73 
 
 creasing the price constantly excites the market, 'i 
 stock is run up. Men who have sold short get alarmed 
 
 and rush in to buy while they can. Amid the < - 
 fusion and excitement the bulls sell out and go on their 
 way bellowing with delight. The bears depress the 
 price of stock or lower it. They form combinations, 
 and use the same tactics to lower gold that the bulls do 
 to raise it. Combinations are formed, rumors circu- 
 lated, startling telegrams read,- which often lower stock 
 or gold long enough to enable bears to accomplish 
 their purpose. Fortunes change hands in a minute in 
 Wall Street. If stocks are seventy, the bears offer to 
 sell at sixty-five. If that is taken stock is offered at 
 >:xty. In this way a panic is often created that sweeps 
 through the whole board. Parties who carry stock, 
 not knowing what is the matter, throw it on the mar- 
 ket and break it down. The bears then buy for the 
 rise which they know must come. The fall is artificial — 
 the rise inevitable. Or, the bears sell short at GO when 
 stock is 70. The combination runs the line down to 
 50, and makes the difference as profit. Stock is 
 borrowed. It is worth 70 to-day. To-morrow it fills 
 to GO. The party buys it at GO and pays back what he 
 borrowed yesterday, and sold at 70, making 10 per 
 cent. 
 
 " COLLATERALS." 
 
 These are first class securities or valuables on which 
 money can be obtained in the street. Government-, 
 gold bearing State-bonds, first class railroad bonds, 
 and bank shares, are gilt edged. With these collater- 
 als money can be obtained usually at -par, or within ten 
 per cent, of their value. Speculative stocks which are 
 
74 "DIFFERENCES."— OTHER PHRASES. 
 
 on the regular list can command money with a margin 
 of ten or twenty per cent. No collaterals are accepted 
 which are not bought and sold at the exchange. 
 
 " DIFFERENCES." 
 
 When a party sells stock and does not deliver it, but 
 pays the difference between the price of the stock on 
 the day sold and the day on which it was to be deliv- 
 ered, the transaction is called the difference, as no stock 
 passes. 
 
 "WASHING THE MARKET." 
 
 This indicates a sham transaction. Two parties 
 make an agreement to buy and sell from each other. 
 The transaction is bogus — it is designed to affect the 
 market. Washing the market is pronounced illegal 
 at the stock board. The parties to the transaction, if 
 the market is affected by it, are subject to fine or ex- 
 pulsion. 
 
 OTHER PHRASES. 
 
 A Stock jobber is one who bears the same relation to 
 the street as a jobber does to a dry goods house. Sad- 
 dling the market, is throwing upon it a great quantity 
 of stock — more than is called for. Scattering stock, is 
 distributing it among a large number of persons, in 
 contrast with selling it in blocks, or its being held by 
 a few. Twist in stocks, is putting on the screws, com- 
 pelling shorts to cover, or parties who have stocks to 
 deliver, to buy in. Ten up, is ten per .cent, deposited 
 in a loan and trust company to meet contracts where 
 parties are doubtful. Unload the street — the reverse 
 of saddling the market. 
 
«!CSB« jr 
 
 STOCK EXCHANGE, BROAD STREET. 
 
IV. 
 STOCK EXCHANGE. 
 
 The Gold Room. — The Clearing House. — Gambling in* Stocks. 
 
 The Stock Exchange is the name of the fine marble 
 building on Broad street and Wall, where the daily 
 stock transactions of the country take place. The stock 
 board is an incorporated company, and is the only 
 lawful association in the city for the transaction of 
 business connected with stocks. The board is com- 
 posed of ten hundred and fifty members, all other 
 boards having been consolidated with this. From 
 these members is chosen a council of forty persons* 
 who have absolute control over the exchange. The 
 initiation fee is $10,000. The party is admitted by 
 ballot, and four black balls defeat an election. But 
 few persons are initiated, Seats can be purchased at 
 a price of $5,000. A seat in the board is absolute 
 personal property. A member can sell out as he could 
 sell any other merchandise that he owns. The party 
 purchasing has to run the ordeal of the committee on 
 admissions. Here, as in the other case, four black balls 
 defeat an election. An admission fee of $500 is de- 
 manded of all who come into the board by purcha 
 The annual dues are $50. 
 
 In the lower story of the stock exchange there is a 
 
 (75) 
 
76 ' STOCK EXCHANGE. 
 
 large room, one portion of which is separated by an 
 iron railing. Behind this railing none but regular 
 members of the board are allowed to pass. Here, the 
 irregular sale of stocks takes place. The sales begin 
 at any time, and stocks are sold in order and out of 
 order. A dozen stocks can be sold at one time. 
 Parties begin the sale when they choose, and continue 
 it as long as they are disposed to. The room is a per- 
 fect bedlam from morning till* night. The sales are 
 irregular only in regard to the manner of selling and 
 the character of the stocks offered. None but regular 
 members of the board can buy and sell. The terms 
 of the sale and the rules of the board are strictly ob- 
 served, and expulsion would follow their violation as 
 in the regular room of the exchange. A portion of 
 the room is a lounging place for speculators, curbstone 
 brokers, and soldiers of fortune. Fifty dollars a year 
 is required as an entrance fee. • It is cheaper than an 
 office can be hired elsewhere. It is better than to be 
 lounging on the curbstone, or drenched by the pelting 
 rain. The crowd is a noisy, brawling, ill-dressed, ill- 
 behaved set, — turbulent and discordant. Huddled 
 together are all classes and conditions, foreigners and 
 natives, Jews and christians, seedy speculators and ad- 
 venturers ; they resemble the inmates of the "bummers 7 
 cell " in the Tombs of a Sunday morning. These men 
 operate through the brokers, who crowd the cock-pit 
 within the iron railing. The language of this room dif- 
 fers somewhat from that of the street. Little knots of 
 men can be found in different parts of the room, and 
 are known by specific names, such as "the Erie gang, 17 
 "Central clique," and the "Rock Island fellows.' 7 
 
STOCK EXi ha :■ 77 
 
 These men keep up the din and clatter all duy. li 
 
 i in a mock auction store, till the janitor drives the 
 parties into the street as he closes the doors. 
 
 Up stairs is the regular board, where busine 
 done in order. Only a certain line of stocks is allowed 
 on the list, and these stocks are called in order. At 
 half after ten o'clock precisely, the vice-president takes 
 his chair and calls to order. The morning sessions 
 are usually dull. The regular stocks are called in 
 a slow and monotonous manner. There are few 
 chairs in the room, a portion of which are occupied. 
 Loungers hang round listlessly, reading papers and 
 talking. Gradually the members file in. By twelve 
 o'clock the room is crowded. Every standing place 
 is occupied. In the absence of excitement in the sale 
 of stocks members recreate themselves by pastimes. 
 They joke, they scuffle, slap each other on the should- 
 ers ; knock a new spring hat down over the eyes of an 
 exquisite ; vary the excitement with cat-calls, whistles, 
 and imitations of domestic animals, especially those of 
 the barn-yard. When an exciting stock is reached the 
 whole thing changes. The great mass quiver with 
 excitement. They rush to the cock-pit in front of 
 the desk, pushing aside the slow, and trampling on 
 the feeble. Stock is offered and taken — u 500" — 
 "100,000"—" 50 and more,"—" any part of a million." 
 The whole room rings with excitement — five hundred 
 men yelling, stamping, screaming, swaying their bodies, 
 swinging their arms — hitting out right and left, while 
 the loud voice of the janitor increases the confusion as 
 he shouts out the name of some broker who is needed 
 on the outside, or for whom a telegram has been 
 received. 
 
78 . STOCK EXCHANGE. 
 
 This controlling institution is entered from Wall 
 Street and Broad. It is a marble building, of great 
 elegance. The Gold Room, where the daily sales take 
 place, js one of the most brilliant rooms in the city. 
 The vaults are models of security. They have in 
 them two hundred and fifty safes, each secured by 
 independent locks, which have in them a million com- 
 binations. No two locks are alike. Each member of 
 the Board of Brokers has a safe assigned to him. In 
 these vaults repose the treasures of the millionnaires 
 of New York. The board was organized in 1794. At 
 one time the entrance fee was fifty dollars. It is now 
 three thousand dollars. A candidate is put on proba- 
 tion for ten days. His financial honor must be without 
 a stain. Application must be made through some well- 
 known member, and the fact is made public. If no 
 objection is made, a ballot is had. Fourteen black balls 
 defeat an election. The initiation fee is put high, that 
 none but men of capital and honor may be admitted. 
 The rules are extremely stringent. A violation is fol- 
 lowed by summary ejection. Every contract is made 
 on honor, and must be kept to the letter, or the party 
 is expelled, whoever he may be. For instance, a hun- 
 dred shares of Erie are sold at the board by one broker 
 to another. The seller delivers the stock, and takes in 
 payment the check of the buyer. The check is known 
 to be worthless. The buyer cannot pay till he has 
 delivered the stock to the customer who ordered it. 
 But the check will be made good before three o'clock. 
 Millions of stock pass daily from one hand to another 
 in this way. During all the years of the existence of 
 the board but one member has been found guilty of 
 
AN INSIDE VIEW, 79 
 
 fraud. Some of the sharp, bold operators, who bull and 
 bear the market, cannot get into the board at any 
 price. They would give ten thousand dollars to be- 
 come members. Their financial reputation is bad, and 
 they cannot enter. These men operate through mem- 
 bers of the board. 
 
 AN INSIDE VIEW. 
 
 On entering the building, the members pass up a 
 broad flight of stairs into a small ante-room, where their 
 tickets are examined. They are then admitted into 
 the Gold Room. It is a very gorgeous room. It is as 
 elegant as wealth and taste can make it. The stuffed 
 arm-chairs are inlaid with gold. The walls are covered 
 with green silk, lapped in heavy folds, instead of paper. 
 The ceiling is elaborately painted, chandeliers hang 
 around. The president's seat is magnificent. The pres- 
 ident has no salary. His position is one of honor. 
 The work of the board is done by the first vice-pres- 
 ident, who from ten to one calls the stocks and declares 
 the sales. For this monotonous service he has a salary 
 of seven thousand five hundred dollars a year. The 
 second vice-president presides over the second board, 
 and has three thousand dollars a year for his work. A 
 regular stock list is made out. No stock can be sold at 
 the board that is not on the list. Guarantees are 
 required from all parties who offer stock, and -none can 
 be put on the daily list without a vote of the board. 
 At high 'change, the room, that will hold a thousand, 
 is packed. In front of the president's desk is a deep 
 basin, called the cock-pit. In this basin is an oblong 
 
80 .4A T INSIDE VIEW. 
 
 table, fastened to the floor by iron clamps. Without 
 this, the excited crowd who huddle together in the 
 cock-pit would trample each other to death. 
 
 Daily some stock excites the market. Its unexpected 
 rise or fall produces intense feeling. The lists of stocks 
 are usually quietly sold without attention. The ex- 
 citing stocks are well known, and when called, arouse 
 the whole chamber. Chairs are abandoned, men rush 
 pell-mell into the cock-pit, and crowd, jostle, push, and 
 trample on one another. They scream out their offers 
 to buy and sell. They speak all at once, yelling and 
 screaming like hyenas. The scene is very exciting. 
 Pandemonium is not wilder, or more disorderly. The 
 presiding officer stands erect, cool and silent. Several 
 hundred men surge before him, stamping, yelling, 
 screaming, jumping, sweating, gesticulating, violently 
 shaking their fists in each other's faces, talking in a 
 tongue not spoken at Pentecost. The president holds 
 in his hand a mallet of ivory, and before him is a block 
 of wood encased in brass. On this he strikes with his 
 mallet, to control the intense excitement. Without it 
 he would pound his desk to pieces in a short time. So 
 many minutes are allow T ed for the sale of stock. In the 
 midst of this mad frenzy and apparent disorder, every 
 word of which is understood by the initiated, the mallet 
 comes down with a-shower of vigorous blows. " Order ! 
 order ! " runs through the chamber. The noise and 
 tempest is hushed in a moment. " No more offers to- 
 day, gentlemen ! " the officer says, as the name of the 
 buyer is announced. If the sale is contested, the pres- 
 ident names the buyer. If an appeal is taken from his 
 decision, it is settled on the spot by a vote of the board. 
 
THE GOLD ROOM. 81 
 
 A Inn idrcd thousand dollars often hang on that de- 
 cision. The party against whom it is given can do 
 nothing but submit. 
 
 THE GOLD ROOM. 
 
 This is an organization distinct from the stock board. 
 Its rooms are not in the stock exchange, but are 
 reached by a passage-way in the rear of the stock 
 room. It was organized seven years ago, and confines 
 its business to transactions in gold. It is more excit- 
 ing in its methods of doing business than the stock 
 exchange. A large proportion of the persons who 
 crowd the gold room are young men, clerks, and even 
 boys. At the stock board none but actual members 
 can buy and sell. Junior partners are taken in to 
 represent the house at the board, now that muscular 
 brokerage is so prominent. In the gold room mem- 
 bers can be represented by their clerks, assistants, ox 
 messengers. All such must have a power of attorney 
 from the principal that he will be bound by the con- 
 tracts of his representative. This young element gives 
 a rough, uncouth, wild look to the gold room, and 
 makes strangers wonder whether these beardless 
 youngsters are the famous bulls and bears of which 
 so much is said. The transactions of the gold room 
 are on the highest principles of honor. Two men 
 talk quietly together, without a witness, a few min- 
 utes, and a million of gold passes. The gold dial 
 indicates gold at 1.13. Instantly twenty youngsters 
 spring to the cock-pit and commence screaming. A 
 portion of them shout 1.13, another portion 12 J. Appa- 
 rently exhausted, the confusion ends, and the little dial 
 6 
 
82 THE GOLD ROOM. 
 
 indicates gold at 121. Gold has dropped one-eighth, 
 and a million has been sold. Somebody makes, some- 
 body loses. But the contract made by the lads around 
 that oblong table is faithfully kept by their principals. 
 It must be, or the defaulting party would be immedi- 
 ately expelled the board. Gold is sold in lots — a mil- 
 lion lot is very common. The sale of gold in six days 
 in September, 1869, amounted to these enormous 
 sums: 98 millions 390 thousand; — 85 millions 436 
 thousand; — 93 millions 300 thousand; — 88 millions 
 500 thousand; — 324 millions 524 thousand; — and 500 
 millions. In all these sales except the last no man 
 shrank from his contract or failed to deposit his certi- 
 fied check to make good his losses at the board. The 
 gentleman who presides at the stock board is a min- 
 ister. He finds the salary of $5,000 a year and the sur- 
 roundings, more profitable than occupying the pulpit. 
 The exactness with which business is transacted is mar- 
 velous. Millions pass, not only without error, but 
 without the slightest irregularity. The principal busi- 
 ness of the gold board in ordinary times is done in the 
 morning. The sales commence at 10 o'clock. Reg- 
 ular buyers send their orders to brokers by telegraph. 
 The railroads, banks, moneyed institutions, corpora- 
 tions, and heavy merchants, have wires that connect 
 them with the gold room. In their ordinary business 
 these men are not speculators. They must have a daily 
 supply of gold without regard to price. These orders 
 are filled in the morning. The gold board therefore 
 opens strong at 10 o'clock, while the stock board is 
 weak. 
 
THE CLEARING U<>! 83 
 
 SALE OF GOVERNMENT BONDS. 
 
 Government securities are not sold at the regular 
 stock board. The demand for these securities requires 
 a continuous sale. At the stock board they would 
 have to take their place in the regular list and be called 
 for when they were reached. To accommodate the 
 government a special chamber is assigned for the sale 
 of governments. It is a handsome room adjoining the 
 stock board. None but regular members of the board, 
 however, can buy or sell. All orders come through 
 these gentlemen. 
 
 THE CLEARING HOUSE. 
 
 This institution is an important portion of the stock 
 and gold operations of the street. All the gold that 
 is sold passes through the clearing house. It is one 
 of the most interesting places in New York, and gives 
 one a glimpse of the stupendous business carried on by 
 the moneyed men of the city. The clearing house is 
 not open to the public, but can be visited by special 
 permission from the manager. The association known 
 as the' Clearing House was created in 1853. Formerlv, 
 to exchange checks and enable the banks to settle with 
 each other, messengers were sent from bank to bank. 
 A full settlement was effected only once a month. 
 The up town banks were always indebted to the down 
 town banks. Through this indebtedness "kitiBg" was 
 carried on, and other irregularities. It was necessary 
 to check these. The universal custom of doing busi- 
 ness through the banks made such an increase of labor 
 that the old mode of exchanging checks because im- 
 
84 THE CLEARING HOUSE. 
 
 practicable, and the clearing house became a Wall 
 street institution. 
 
 The association is located in the third story of the 
 building of the Bank of New York. The centre of 
 the room is occupied by a bank counter, extending 0:1 
 four sides, with a passage inside and out. Fifty-nine 
 desks are placed on the counter for the use of the fifty- 
 nine banks represented in the association. Each desk 
 bears the name of the bank to which it belongs. Fitted 
 up in each desk are fifty -nine pigeon holes for the 
 checks of the various banks. Two clerks represent 
 each bank. One remains at the desk and receives all 
 the checks on his bank. He signs the name of the 
 bank to the sheet which each outside clerk holds in his 
 hand. These outside clerks go from desk to desk and 
 leave the checks received the day before, with the 
 banks on which they are drawn. Banks do not begin 
 public business till ten ; but clerks have to be on hand 
 at eight, when all checks are assorted and arranged 
 for delivery at the clearing house. 
 
 At ten minutes before ten the bank messengers 
 begin to assemble and take their places. As they enter 
 they leave with the messenger a slip containing an 
 exact account of the bank they represent. These 
 statements are put on a sheet prepared for that pur- 
 pose, and must conform precisely to the checks re- 
 ceived^ inside, before the clearing house closes its du- 
 ties. If there is any error or discrepancy the bank is 
 immediately notified by telegraph, and the clerks kept 
 until the matter is satisfactorily adjusted. At ten, 
 promptly, business begins. Clerks come rushing in 
 with small trunks, tin boxes, or with bundles in their 
 
THE CLEARING HOI 85 
 
 arms, and take their seats at the desks. On the side 
 of the room entered only from the manager's office is 
 a desk, not unlike a pulpit. Precisely at ten the bell 
 rings, the manager steps into his box, brings down his 
 gavel, and the work of the day begins. Quiet prevails. 
 No loud talking is allowed, and no confusion. A bank 
 late is fined two dollars; a party violating the rules 
 or guilty of insubordination, is fined two dollars and 
 reported to the bank. On repetition, he is expelled 
 the clearing house. The daily transactions of the 
 clearing house varies from ninety-eight to one hundred 
 millions. The system is so nicely balanced that three 
 millions daily settle the difference. Each bank indebted 
 to the clearing house must send in its check before 
 half after one. Creditors get the clearing house check 
 at the same hour. Daily business is squared and all 
 accounts closed at half after three. Every bank in the 
 city is connected with the clearing house by telegraph. 
 The morning work of clearing one hundred millions, 
 occupies ten minutes. Long before the clerks can 
 reach the bank, its officers are acquainted with the 
 exact state of their account, and know what loans to 
 grant or refuse. Through the clearing house each 
 bank is connected with every other in the city. If a 
 doubtful check is presented, if paper to be negotiated 
 is not exactly clear, while the party offering the paper 
 or check is entertained by some member of the bank, 
 the telegraph is making minute enquiries about his- 
 financial standing. Before the conference closes the 
 bank knows the exact facts of the case. Mr. Camp, 
 the manager, has great executive ability. He holds 
 the hundred and eighteen bank messengers in admir- 
 
86 GAMBLING IN STOCKS. 
 
 able order, and blends the character of a gentleman 
 with the efficient discharge of his duties. 
 
 GAMBLING IN STOCKS. 
 
 I shall refer to the mania in stock gambling — its ex- 
 tent and bitter fruits — in another article. Whatever 
 there is about dealing in stocks that savors of gambling, 
 it is not difficult to see why dealing in gold and in stocks 
 is not quite as honorable as any other calling. Called 
 by another name men are as sharp, as shrewd, and as 
 tricky in trade, as any that can be found in the street. 
 Men are capitalists, bull and bear dry goods, wheat 
 and provisions ; corner coal, form cliques and combina- 
 tions to make money over their less wide-awake asso- 
 ciates, as much so as in Wall Street. It is certain that 
 gold is as much an article of commerce as cotton. If 
 a merchant, shrewd and rich, should get some private 
 information that satisfied him that cotton was going 
 up, he would not probably tell all the world what he 
 knew, but would go quietly and buy up all the cotton 
 he could command. He would not be pronounced a 
 gambler in cotton, but held up as a model of enter- 
 prise and far-sightedness. Stewart has over and over 
 again bought up cottons and other styles of goods, and 
 compelled the trade to buy of him at his own price. 
 He is not called a gambler in cloths for the trade, but 
 considered honorable and shrewd. There are styles 
 of goods of which he holds the complete monopoly, 
 and makes the market tight on that class as Wall St. 
 operators do on greenbacks. During the war, some 
 men bought up all the duck that was manufactured in 
 Europe, and took a contract for a term of years. Their 
 
GAMBLING IN STOCKS S7 
 
 families roll in wealth from what is called a fortunate 
 ulation. Immense quantities of whisky were 
 bought, and hundreds of warehouses rented to store it. 
 It was held by the parties who bought it at a low 
 figure, till it raced up like gold on the Black Friday. 
 These men were called fortunate dealers and not gam- 
 blers, William B. Astor buys whole blocks of land in 
 the upper part of New, York. lie does it because he 
 knows that property will rise on his hands. A society 
 in Xew York bought a block of ground — placed upon 
 it a church and parsonage, and then sold the balance 
 for more than the whole land cost, church and all. 
 The society bought the ground because it knew it 
 would rise, and not to lose money. 
 
 Stocks sold at the regular board represent substan- 
 tial property as much as any merchandise in the land, 
 as ships or warehouses. They represent immense fran- 
 chises, railroad beds, rolling stock, real estate, and busi- 
 ness. Without the aid of Wall Street railroads could 
 •not be built. Parties who buy and sell know what 
 they are doing, or may know if they choose. If a man 
 goes to a pettifogger or tombs' lawyer for advice, instead 
 of a reputable lawyer, people laugh at him for his pains. 
 If parties will pass by the well known establishments 
 of the city and make their purchases in some one of 
 the mock auction stores that line Broadway and get 
 fleeced, nobody pities them. If parties answer a flash 
 advertisement in a paper in which a musical instrument 
 is offered for a very small sum, and they part with their 
 money, receiving the instrument by express, and find 
 that it is a penny whistle, they are pronounced fools 
 by sensible people. If parties have money to invest 
 
88 GAMBLING IN STOCKS. 
 
 in Wall Street — have 50 or 1,000 dollars which they 
 want to throw upon the troubled pool of speculation, 
 want to give the thing a fair trial, they can find a hun- 
 dred'firms in the street, with whom their money would 
 be perfectly safe, who will buy and sell as they are or- 
 dered, but who would no more wrong them than they 
 would wrong their own souls. But if men want to do 
 a little business on the sly, profess a holy horror for 
 speculation, but try a flyer for themselves and are 
 ready to invest in the extraordinary schemes which 
 speculators have to offer, they will find in Wall Street 
 herds of men who are able and willing to take the very 
 skin off from their backs and mollify the quivering flesh 
 with vitriol. 
 
 The leading members of the stock board are among 
 the best known and honorable citizens of New York. 
 Many of them have reached half a century's service in 
 the street without a stain upon their honor. By their 
 wealth they have made the upper part of the city cel- 
 ebrated in all lands. In all . improvements they have 
 borne a prominent and liberal part. There is scarcely 
 a college in the land, or an educational institution, or 
 a school of humanity or reform, that the brokers of 
 Wall Street have not helped to build and maintain. 
 Central Park owes its origin, its beauty, and its liberal 
 proportions to this class. The elegant churches of the 
 city and of the country bear witness to their liberality. 
 Any minister in the land who has a Wall Street broker 
 for a parishioner has a large hearted and generous 
 friend. Their contributions to the various charities of 
 the day are constant and large as the seas. Could the 
 books that hold the donations for mission work in 
 
GAMBLING IN STOCKS. 89 
 
 various parts of the world be open to inspection, it 
 would be found that the benefactions of Wall Street 
 are second to none others. In honesty of purpose, fair 
 dealing, promptness in meeting contracts, high-toned 
 honor, unbounded liberality blended with great execu- 
 tive ability, the regular brokers of Wall Street need 
 fear no comparison with any department of business. 
 In the dark days of our country's peril, when the Presi- 
 dent was not safe in the capitol ; when there was hardly 
 an officer left true to the flag ; when the nation was 
 without soldiers, arms or ammunition ; when our ships 
 of war were disabled at home or sent beyond reach 
 over the seas ; when we had no money and not a friendly 
 hand stretched out towards us from any government; 
 and when commercial as well as national ruin seemed 
 to be overshadowing us — Wall Street lead the great 
 contributions which strengthened the arm of govern- 
 ment — turned out its treasures like water to gather 
 and equip soldiers, bore its part in the dark and calam- 
 itous times that rolled over us and joined with the as- 
 sembled thousands in shouting the doxology when the 
 civil war ended and the national honor was fully sus- 
 tained. 
 
THE ASTORS IN WALL STREET. 
 
 The Young Astors. — Astor's Start in Life. — Becomes a Merchant. 
 — Talk with Philip Hone. — Astor's Charities. — Aaron Burr's 
 Leases. — William B. Astor. — Mr. Astor at Work. — His Public 
 Spirit. 
 
 One of the most remarkable families in America are 
 the Astors. They seem to have defied all the ordi- 
 nary laws of trade and success. The third generation 
 maintains the high rank in wealth that was won by the 
 first. Since John Jacob Astor gave his munificent 
 donation to the city to found a library, whole families 
 have been wiped out. The sons of princely merchants 
 have become beggars. Men who inherited fortunes 
 from their fathers dwell in tenement houses. A new 
 race of men, who were coal-heavers, porters, errand 
 boys, and clerks of the old merchants, now dwell in 
 palaces, and drive dashing teams through Central 
 Park. Neither in Boston, Philadelphia, or any of our 
 large cities, has property descended to a third gener- 
 ation, so statistics show. The line of business peculiar 
 to John Jacob Astor, was accepted and carried out by 
 his sons. The wealth he accumulated and transmitted 
 has not been scattered. It is still compact, and has 
 grown with the gigantic increase of wealth in New 
 York. In the varied routine of business, in his office, 
 
 90 
 
THE YOUNG ASTORB 91 
 
 William B. Astor carries out every wish of his father. 
 
 His two sons arc trained in the same line, and will 
 cany out the business in the same old methods. The 
 fourth generation give promise of following in the 
 footsteps of their fathers. 
 
 THE YOUNG ASTORS. 
 
 John Jacob and William B. Astor, Jr., may be regard- 
 ed as model business young men. They look very unlike. 
 John Jacob, who bears down the name of his hon- 
 ored grandsire, is of massive proportions, and sandy 
 complexion, with an unmistakable German look, as 
 brawny as a blacksmith, and with a slight stoop. Wil- 
 liam B., Jr., is slim, of average height, hair dark with 
 an auburn turn. His style of dress gives him a seedy 
 appearance which his brother does not possess. John 
 Jacob resembles his father ; William B., Jr., takes after 
 his mother. These young men live in princely style 
 on Fifth Avenue. They inherited a fortune, and by 
 their business tact, industry, and ability, have made 
 their inheritance princely in size. Their personal hab- 
 its are very simple, and no clerk in Wall street attends 
 more strictly to business than they. Arm in arm every 
 morning the young men can be seen walking down 
 Fifth Avenue to their office in Prince street, To their 
 business they seldom ride, and when they do, they 
 employ an omnibus. The Prince street office is one 
 of business, plainly furnished, and is fitted up in the 
 style of the old merchants of New York. Here morn- 
 ing business is transacted, and the tedious routine 
 cheerfully and regularly submitted to. The young 
 Astors understand completely every phase of the 
 
92 THE YOUNG ASTORS. 
 
 mighty business belonging to their house. Titles, 
 leases, rentals, investments, stocks, bonds, securities, 
 are as familiar as a well-thumbed library to a black 
 letter lawyer. Should William B. Astor die to-mor- 
 row, the business would be conducted in the old chan- 
 nels by the sons ; the mantle of the father would de- 
 scend upon the children, and the business of the As- 
 tors, which has been marked for half a century, would 
 run on for half a century to come. The morning 
 business completed, the young men move down Broad- 
 way to their Wall street office. The time of day can 
 almost be known by the regularity of their movements. 
 They give personal attention to their investments, and 
 at a given hour in the afternoon they may be seen re- 
 turning as they went, arm in arm, walking the entire 
 distance from Wall street to their home. 
 
 In New York, our richest men are the hardest work- 
 ers. Persons on farms and in machine shops are anx- 
 ious to get into Wall street, or into a bank to live easily 
 and make money. No artisan, no laborer in any ma- 
 chine shop or factory in the land, toils so much like a 
 galley slave, as our richest men who are in business, 
 and their clerks and employees. In our banks the 
 army of clerks employed are on hand at eight o'clock 
 and remain till the day's work is done, which is often 
 not till night. Take the Bank of New York, with 
 its ten millions of money, to be handled daily, its 
 five hundred or a thousand letters to be registered 
 and answered, and the labor is no pastime. Tur- 
 moil, vexation, and excitement, with the dog's wages 
 that are paid to clerks, make farming a luxury. 
 There isn't a man in the country, who has ability, 
 
ASTOR'S START IN LIFE. ( J3 
 
 that would do the work that William B. Astor does 
 daily, for ten thousand dollars a year. His oiV 
 resembles a police prison, and here he works, rarely 
 taking exercise, and toiling on, early and late, and 
 tramping on foot from his home to his office and back. 
 
 ASTOR'S START IN LIFE. 
 
 He was twenty years old at the close of the war of 
 Independence. He resolved to seek his fortune in the 
 New World. He was a poor, uneducated boy, and he 
 trudged on foot from home to the seaport from which 
 he was to sail. A small bundle held all his worldly 
 effects. He had money enough to secure a common 
 steerage passage. He expected to land penniless on 
 American soil. Outside of his native village he paused, 
 and cast towards it one last, long look. Beneath the 
 linden tree under which he stood he formed three 
 resolutions : " I will be honest, I will be industrious, I 
 will never gamble." He kept these resolutions to the 
 day of his death. He sailed from London in March, 
 1783. His voyage was long and very boisterous. He 
 formed friendships on board the vessel that laid the 
 foundation for his future wealth. The father of ex- 
 Mayor Tiemann, and Mr. PafT, of whom Mr. Astor 
 bought a portion of the ground on which the Astor 
 House now stands, were passengers. As Wesley, on 
 the Atlantic Ocean, formed the acquaintance of the 
 Moravians, whose influence over him changed his whole 
 life, so Mr. Astor made the acquaintance of a furrier, in 
 the steerage of his vessel, that introduced him to that 
 business by which he accumulated millions. 
 
 All sorts of stories are circulated about the early 
 career of Mr. Astor. He is said to have commenced 
 
94 GAINS A FOOTING. 
 
 trading in apples and peanuts. Had this been so, it 
 would have reflected no disgrace on him or his chil- 
 dren. He brought with him seven flutes from his 
 brother's manufactory in London. These he sold. He 
 invested the proceeds in furs. He went steadily to 
 work to learn the trade for himself. He was frugal, 
 industrious, and early exhibited great tact in trade. 
 He was accustomed to say, later in life, that the only 
 hard step in making his fortune was in the accumula- 
 tion of the first thousand dollars. He possessed marked 
 executive ability. He was quick in his perceptions. 
 He came rapidly to his conclusions. He made a trade 
 or rejected it at once. In his humblest relations to 
 trade he exhibited all the characteristics which marked 
 him in maturer life. He made distinct contracts. These 
 he adhered to with inflexible purpose. He was elastic 
 and sprightly in his disposition, cheerful, open-hearted 
 and honorable. His broad German face glowed with 
 intelligence and kindness. The honor of New York, 
 his adopted city, was always dear to him. 
 
 GAINS A FOOTING. 
 
 Mr. Astor was fortunate in obtaining a clerkship in the 
 house of Robert Bowne, an honest, wealthy Quaker, 
 who was ever after the fast friend of Mr. Astor. 
 Astor's brother, Harry, was a rich Bowery butcher. 
 He furnished funds to his brother to set up for himself 
 in the fur trade. Mr. Astor founded the American 
 Fur Company, and had several partners, among whom 
 Peter Smith, the father of Gerrit Smith, was conspicu- 
 ous. Mr. Smith retired from the firm with a fortune 
 of two millions. Mr. Astor kept on his way, and rolled 
 his fortune up to over fifty millions. 
 
BECOMES A MEl;rj/A\T. ' 05 
 
 BECOMES A MERCHANT. 
 
 Mr. Astor became an importer. At one time hi. c ; 
 store Was in South Street, near the South Ferry. After- 
 wards he took one on the corner of Pine and Pearl 
 Streets, which still stands. During the war of 1812 
 he was largely engaged in the tea trade. He also 
 fitted out several blockade runners for Gibraltar. An 
 eminent minister of this city at that time was a clerk 
 in Mr. Astor's store. He relates the following incident. 
 A schooner was purchased, and was to be loaded and 
 cleared in twenty-four hours. It was a case that 
 required despatch. The whole force of the establish- 
 ment was at work, Mr. Astor among them. The load- 
 ing began on Saturday morning. At ten o'clock at 
 night Mr. Astor said to the company, " Now, boys, all 
 knock off. Come early to-morrow morning, and w T e'll 
 finish up the work." Turning to the clerk, whom he 
 knew to be a pious young man, he said, u You need not 
 come to-morrow. I am glad we have one Christian 
 among us. You go to church, and pray for us poor 
 sinners hard at work." He then had vessels plough- 
 ing every sea. His ships, freighted with furs, sailed to 
 France, England, Germany, Russia and China. He 
 knew intimately the various markets to which he 
 traded. He gave directions in the smallest details 
 about distributing his cargoes and exchanging com- 
 modities in foreign markets, and these instructions had 
 to be minutely obeyed. 
 
96 TALK WITH PHILIP HONE. 
 
 TALK WITH PHILIP HONE. 
 
 At an early day Mr. Astor began to invest in real 
 estate. Just before he died, some one asked him if he 
 had not too much real estate. He replied, " Could I 
 begin life again, knowing what I now know, and had 
 money to invest, I would buy every foot of land on the 
 Island of Manhattan." From beating felts on Gold 
 Street, Mr. Astor came up to Broadway, on the corner 
 of Yesey. A small brick mansion, which he built, was 
 filled with furs from the cellar to the attic. His office 
 was on the Yesey Street side, where either himself or 
 wife were always found to attend to customers. The 
 fashionable residences of New York were below Yesey 
 Street. His house was considered far up town. On 
 the block above Mr. Hone built an elegant mansion, 
 of which he was very proud. The Park, opposite, was 
 surrounded by a mean wooden fence. Against this, in 
 the morning, Mr. Hone would lean, toy with his watch- 
 key, which was attached to a leather chain, and admire 
 his house. Mr. Hone was one of the rich men of New 
 York, and was not a little proud of his wealth. One 
 morning Mr. Astor went over to where Mr. Hone was 
 standing, and said to him, u Mr. Hone, you are a suc- 
 cessful merchant and a good citizen. You have a fine 
 wife and some nice children. You have a snug little 
 property, and are building a comfortable house. I 
 don't see why you are not just as well off as if you 
 were rich." It was not an easy matter to purchase the 
 square on which the Astor House now stands. But it 
 was accomplished. The English style of the Astor 
 House has always attracted attention. 
 
ASTOR'S CHARITIES. 97 
 
 ASTOR'S CHARITIES. 
 
 For vagrants, street begging, and miscellaneous calls, 
 Mr. Astor had no ear. His gifts, however, were munif- 
 icent, and constant. He sent William to Europe to 
 perfect himself in travel. He gave him permission to 
 spend just as much money as he chose. He was absent 
 a year. To a personal friend he expressed surprise that 
 William should have spent so little. "He spent only 
 ten thousand dollars," said the old man. "I thought 
 he would certainly spend fifty thousand dollars." 
 
 Attached to his house on Broadway, above Prince, 
 was a narrow alley leading to his kitchen. This 
 kitchen was as large as that of a hotel. A supply of 
 beef and bread was always kept on hand for the poor. 
 Families known to be needy, who were cleanly in per- 
 son, orderly in their behavior, who came and went, 
 quietly, were daily supplied with food. He kept a 
 regular account of the disbursements in this matter, as 
 much as if he were keeping a hotel. 
 
 For any service rendered he paid a liberal compensa- 
 tion. To his agent, Mr. Smith, who had the full charge 
 of all his real estate, he paid a salary of five thousand 
 dollars, and gave him the use of an elegant house on 
 Fourteenth Street, well furnished, and contracted to 
 pay this sum during Mr. Smith's natural life. 
 
 His munificent gift of three hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand dollars to found a Free Library for the City of New 
 York is well known. The founding of that library was 
 one of those incidental things that occasionally turn up. 
 A member of the bar called on Mr. Astor, to see if he 
 would subscribe towards a Free City Library. A plan to 
 7 
 
98 AARON BURR'S LEASES. 
 
 establish such an institution had already been mapped 
 out. He took time to consider the proposal, and an- 
 nounced his determination to found the library himself. 
 He chose the site to benefit a friend, whose property 
 would be enhanced in value by that location. He 
 purchased a large amount of real estate in the vicinity 
 of the library, on part of which he built an elegant 
 residence for his son William, and left the remainder 
 to enlarge the library, which has been done. 
 
 , AARON BURR'S LEASES. 
 
 In the closing part of the last century, Trinity Church 
 leased to one Mr. Morley two hundred and forty lots 
 of land, in the location now known as the vicinity of 
 Spring Street and Varick. Mr. Morley, failing to keep 
 the conditions of the lease, it reverted to Trinity. 
 Aaron Burr was then a member of the legislature. He 
 was appointed chairman of a committee whose business 
 it was to examine into the affairs of Trinity Church. 
 That corporation can legally receive an income from 
 its property of twelve thousand dollars. Holding a 
 property valued by no one at less than fifty millions, 
 and exceeding probably a hundred millions of dollars, 
 it is difficult to conceive how the vestry can keep their 
 income down to the legal mark. No investigation was 
 made by Mr. Burr's committee, but Burr came into 
 possession of the Morley lease. On it he obtained 
 thirty-eight thousand dollars from the Manhattan 
 Bank. The murder of Hamilton so incensed the peo- 
 ple, that Burr had to flee from the country. He sold 
 his lease to Mr. Astor, subject to the Manhattan Bank 
 mortgage. He received from Mr. Astor about thirty-' 
 
WILLIAM B. ASTOR. 90 
 
 two thousand dollars. Mr. Astor immediately re-lea- I 
 the property in lots. The Morley lease was to run 
 until 18G7. Persons who took the Astor leases sup- 
 posed that they took them for the full term of the 
 Trinity lease. Mr. Astor was too far-sighted and too 
 shrewd for that. Every lease he gave expired in 1864, 
 leaving him the reversion for three years, putting him 
 in possession of all the buildings and improvements 
 made on the lots, and giving him the right of renewal. 
 When the fact was discovered, the lessees tried to buy 
 from Mr. Astor the three years* reversion. He was, 
 offered as high as a thousand dollars a lot. He refused 
 all offers except in one case, which I shall notice in 
 another place. Returning from his exile, Burr at- 
 tempted to regain possession of the property that he 
 had sold to Mr. Astor. The attempt was futile. The 
 legal instruments that secured the property were too 
 carefully drawn, and Burr abandoned the contest, and 
 died in poverty. This prop&rty was a great source of 
 wealth to Mr. Astor. 
 
 WILLIAM B. ASTOR. 
 
 A man who controls fifty millions at the lowest esti- 
 mate, is worth looking at. He is a man of the old 
 school in all his tastes and habits. 
 
 Mr. Astor is the son of John Jacob Astor. To him 
 the fame and fortune of his father have been intrusted. 
 He is about seventy years of age. He is a tall, heavy- 
 built man, with a decided German look, a countenance 
 blank, eyes small and contracted, a look sluggish and 
 unimpassioned, unimpressible in his feelings, taciturn 
 and unsocial. He has his father's ability for acquiring 
 
100 MR. ASTOR AT WORK. 
 
 property. His habits are very simple, and mode of 
 life uniform. He rises early, and does his private 
 correspondence before breakfast, which meal he takes 
 at nine o'clock. He lives in Lafayette Place, and 
 usually walks down to his office in the morning. There 
 is nothing about him to attract attention. He would 
 not be distinguished from the crowd anywhere. In 
 church he might be taken for a college professor ; on 
 'change, for a merchant who had very little interest in 
 what was going on. He belongs to a race of mer- 
 chants, fast dying out in the city, who attend to their 
 own business. 
 
 MR. ASTOR AT WORK. 
 
 On Prince Street, just out of Broadway, is a plain, 
 one-story building, looking not unlike a country bank. 
 The windows are guarded by heavy iron bars. Here 
 Mr. Astor controls his immense estate. In 1846, Mr. 
 Astor was reputed to be worth five millions. His uncle 
 Henry, a celebrated butcher in the Bowery, left him 
 his accumulated wealth, reaching half a million. By 
 fortunate investments, and donations from his father, 
 he is now supposed to be worth forty millions. His 
 property is mostly in real estate, and in valuable leases 
 of property belonging to Trinity Church. At ten 
 o'clock every morning Mr. Astor enters his office. It 
 consists of two rooms. The first is occupied by his 
 clerks. His sons have a desk on either side of the 
 room. In the rear room, separated from the front by 
 folding doors, is Mr. Astor's office. It is plainly and 
 scantily furnished, but it is open to everybody. On 
 entering the outer office, Mr. Astor is plainly in sight, 
 
MR A ST OR AT WORK. 1 
 
 sitting at his table. His room is guarded by no porter; 
 no introduction is necessary. You see before you a 
 heavy -moulded, large man, who puts on no airs, asks no 
 questions, says nothing till your business is announced. 
 He hears what you have to say, and in the fewest pos- 
 sible words gives you an answer. To annoy him with 
 a long talk is simply impossible. He is curt and 
 decided, and is as chary of his words as he is of his dol- 
 lars. He knows every inch of real estate that stands 
 in his name, every bond, contract, and lease. He 
 knows what is due when leases expire, and attends 
 personally to all this matter. No tenant can expend a 
 dollar, or put in a pane of glass, without his personal 
 inspection. His father sold him the Astor House for 
 the sum of one dollar. The lessees are not allowed to 
 spend one cent on that building without his supervision 
 and consent, unless they pay for it themselves. In the 
 upper part of New York hundreds of lots can be seen 
 enclosed by dilapidated fences, disfigured by rocks and 
 waste material, or occupied as gardens ; mostly corner 
 lots. These are eligibly located, many of them sur- 
 rounded by a fashionable population. They give an 
 untidy and bankrupt appearance to the upper part of 
 the city. Mr. Astor owns most of these corner lots. He 
 will sell the centre lots, but keeps the corners for a 
 rise. He will neither sell nor improve them. Fre- 
 quently men call, and announce some great improve- 
 ment in the vicinity of his up-town property. They 
 are about to build a church, or put up some public 
 institution, and ask of him a subscription. He usually 
 gives nothing. He knows that no parties can improve 
 the centre of the block without benefiting the corners. 
 
102 HIS PUBLIC SPIRIT. 
 
 He knows that the improvements will go on whether 
 he gives or not. He leaves the giving to others, while 
 he enjoys the profit. 
 
 HIS PUBLIC SPIRIT. 
 
 He is very unlike his father. He has none of the 
 genial, hearty, and contagious vivacity that marked 
 the elder Mr. Astor. He has none of that love of trade 
 and enterprise of his father. He sits in his office, which 
 has the general air of a house of detention, day after 
 day. His business is with investments. He makes 
 them wisely, and quietly waits for the advance. He is 
 sombre and solitary, dwells alone, and mixes little with 
 general society. He is liberal on special occasions; 
 gives little to general charity, abhors beggars, and is a 
 man with whom solicitors do not care to waste words. 
 Politicians cannot bleed him. He has answered his 
 father's wishes by additions to the Astor Library, and 
 has never bound himself up with the educational or 
 benevolent enterprises of the day. Business hours 
 over, he locks his desk, and turns from his office into 
 Broadway. He seldom rides. At a given hour, each 
 afternoon, he can be seen joining the up-town throng 
 on the pavement, walking towards his home. 
 
 He lives in princely style in a mansion built for him 
 by his father, adjoining the Astor Library. He is very 
 frugal in his living, rarely touching a glass of wine. 
 During the season he gives dinners frequently to his 
 friends, than which none are more elegant in the city. 
 His gold plate, servants in livery, the delicacies of the 
 season, make the Astor dinners a speciality in New 
 York. Mrs. Astor was the daughter of General Arm- 
 
HIS PUBLIC SPIRIT. L03 
 
 strong, Mr. Madison's Secretary of War. She is one 
 
 of the most accomplished and benevolent ladies in 
 the city. 
 
 The Astors in their style of business conform to the 
 honorable rules of the street. They buy and hold, 
 always accumulating, never selling. In the upper 
 part of New York they keep in advance of specula- 
 tion. Xo speculator goes up so high for an invest- 
 ment, but what he finds the Astors in advance. Choice 
 blocks of ground, eligible lots, are controlled by this 
 wonderful family. If boulevards do not exist, the 
 Astors know how to have them created. Their prop- 
 erty is always on the line of the great thoroughfares. 
 In the upper part of the city can be seen, in fashiona- 
 ble localities, large tracts of unoccupied land. Goats 
 graze on them, or at best, market sauce is raised, 
 fences are clown or dilapidated. These lands belong 
 to the Astors, — they are held for a rise. The scrag- 
 gling look of upper Xew York is owing to the same 
 cause. A house here and there, — a small row of 
 houses in the center of a street, — while corner lots are 
 vacant every where. If the Astors sell, they sell in 
 the middle of the block. Every course of brick laid 
 enhances the value of the corners. Tell Mr. Astor 
 that you are going to build a church in upper Xew 
 York, a college, or a public institution, that such im- 
 provements will add to the value of his property, as 
 he is a large owner in the vicinity, and ask him to give 
 something because his property will be improved ; 
 and the sharp twinkle of his eye, the only sign of ani- 
 mation you will perceive in his stolid face, will inform 
 you that the value of his property will increase if he 
 does not give. 
 
TI. 
 JAMES FISK, Jr. 
 
 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS OWN FORTUNE. — SETS UP FOR HIMSELF. — MR. FISK 
 AS A BUSINESS MAN. — THE OPERA HOUSE. — THE SEPTEMBER PANIC. — RUN 
 ON THE TENTH NATIONAL BANK. 
 
 Not more than once in half a century does a man 
 appear upon the surface with the characteristics that 
 mark Mr. Fisk. He has no compeer to-day in his gi- 
 gantic schemes, his bold, multitudinous and successful 
 operations, in the executive ability, and the success 
 that thus far have attended his movements. He is in- 
 fluential in Wall Street, and is more feared and courted 
 than any other. Yanderbilt alone surpasses him in 
 railroad movements. Some of his financial specula- 
 tions have astounded the age and shaken the continent 
 like an earthquake. He has recently come to the sur- 
 face, and men are asking where he came from, and 
 where he will end; for, like Alexander, his ambition 
 seems to be unbounded. 
 
 THE ARCHITECT OF HIS OWN FORTUNE. 
 
 Like most men of mark in Wall Street Mr. Fisk's 
 beginnings were small. They were quite as honorable 
 as were those in trade, in speculation, and in the pro- 
 
 104 
 
THE ARCHITECT OF HIS OWN FORTUNE. 105 
 
 fessions who speak of Mr. Pisk as a peddler. The 
 same charge was brought against John Jacob Astor. 
 
 He certainly was a trader in a very small way when 
 he laid the foundation of his gigantic fortune. Vander- 
 bilt has not been taunted as a poor boy trying to earn 
 an honest living by sculling passengers from Staten 
 Island to Xew York. The perpetuation of those days 
 in the bronze testimonial that surmounts the Mammoth 
 Depot at St. John's Park, shows that the Commodore 
 is rather proud of his exploits. One of the most suc- 
 cessful Presidents of a New York bank came to the 
 city as a pour lad, went into a store and asked, "Do 
 you want a boy in your store, sir?" The merchant 
 was rather struck with the lad, and said: "What can 
 you do?" "I can do anything, sir, that an honest boy 
 ought to do." " Take these boots down stairs and black 
 them, then," said the merchant. He soon returned 
 with the boots polished. The merchant was gratified 
 with the promptness of the boy and said : "You have 
 done that job very well." "Yes sir," was the response, 
 "my mother told me to do everything that I did well." 
 Both the merchant and the then poor lad are residing 
 in New York. Webster boasted that the first money 
 he ever had he earned by working on a farm, and in- 
 vested it in a cotton pocket handkerchief, on which 
 was printed the Constitution of the United States. 
 There was too much poverty in his father's household 
 to indulge him in the luxury of a candle. By the 
 light of a pine-knot, which blazed on the hearth, he 
 committed that immortal instrument to memory. Mr. 
 Fisk shares the honor in common with many eminent 
 men in this country by working his way through great 
 
10 G SETS UP FOR HIMSELF. 
 
 difficulties by tact, industry, and indomitable perse- 
 verance, to the place he holds among the financiers of 
 the day. 
 
 SETS UP FOR HIMSELF. 
 
 Mr. Fisk is now thirty-five years of age. He was 
 born in a small town in Vermont, near Brattleboro. 
 His attention was early called to the want of taste dis- 
 played by country dealers in the selection of their 
 goods. It occurred to him that a large business might 
 be created by selecting with taste and judgment goods 
 that were salable outside the great marts of trade. Be- 
 ginning in a small way, his business grew on his hands. 
 He met the exigency in the same style that he runs 
 the Erie road, and handles millions at the Stock Board. 
 He secured himself a wagon of great beauty, and at- 
 tached to it four horses, that for spirit and equipage 
 could not be excelled. With this team, loaded with 
 goods, he traveled from point to point, creating great 
 excitement wherever he went. His goods were se- 
 lected with such taste and judgment, he was so square 
 in his dealings, reasonable in his trade, and so ener- 
 getic and enthusiastic, that his own sanguine expecta- 
 tions were more than realized. He was prompt in his 
 engagements and payments, and showed such tact and 
 energy as to arrest the attention of leading merchants 
 in New York and Boston. He was offered the posi- 
 tion of salesman in the house of Jordon, Marsh & Co., 
 in the latter city. He entered upon his duties with 
 industry, and soon placed himself at the head of the 
 establishment as the best salesman in or out of the 
 store. It was but a short time before he was admitted 
 to a partnership. His executive ability and far-sight- 
 
MR FISK AS A BUSINESS 2fAN. 107 
 
 edness found here a fitting field fur their operation. 
 On the breaking out of the war he secured several 
 large government contracts, and brought to his house 
 the specialty in woolen goods which have given it so 
 much celebrity. He secured all the mills that could 
 be obtained in New England, and set them running. 
 While others were croaking over the condition of the 
 country and expecting universal ruin, Mr. Fisk was 
 laying the foundation for an extensive business and a 
 colossal fortune. He purchased a patent in connection 
 with the woolen manufacture that has proved im- 
 mensely valuable. His possession was contested. It 
 was thrown into court, and he followed the case from 
 court to court, and from district to district, at immense 
 cost, and beat his opponents at each point. In 18G8 
 he became a member of the Erie Board of Directors. 
 On the retirement of the then President, Mr. Jay Gould 
 became President of the road, and Mr. Fisk Comptrol- 
 ler, which office he still holds. 
 
 MR. FISK AS A BUSINESS MAN. 
 
 Mr. Fisk appeared in Wall Street as an assistant of 
 Daniel Drew. He was noted for the sharp, decisive, 
 energetic manner in which he performed his work. To 
 transact Mr. Drew's stock business would have been 
 quite enough for an ordinary man, but Mr. Fisk was 
 not satisfied with this labor. He made himself master 
 of the Xarragansett Steamship Company. This com- 
 pany had two boats which cost three millions. After 
 losing a great deal of money the company failed. In 
 one year after he took possession Mr. Fisk changed the 
 entire aspect of things, made it a paying line and the 
 
108 MR. FISK AS A BUSINESS MAN. 
 
 most popular route in the world. He could have run 
 twenty steamboat companies as well as one. He has 
 a systematic mode of doing business. Under him 
 every department has a head which is made responsi- 
 ble for all that pertains to it. Every day reports are 
 made of the exact working of every department, and 
 by having a Bureau of Management he is able to carry 
 on many gigantic enterprises at the same time. His 
 own work is done up daily before he leaves the office. 
 Every account is audited, every bill is considered, every 
 letter answered. The desk is cleared for the next 
 day's work, if he has to remain till morning. 
 
 He is Vice-President of the Erie Road as well as 
 Comptroller. He found the road in the worst possible 
 condition. The stations were dilapidated, the road- 
 bed out of repair, the rails broken and ruinous. The 
 locomotives worn out were behind the times, and in- 
 sufficient for the work. The cars were a reproach, and 
 all the equipments out of order. A change was imme- 
 diately introduced. From $8,000 to $1 0,000 were ex- 
 pended on each locomotive, and there are 320 of them 
 on the road. Palace cars were introduced, and by the 
 purchase of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway 
 passengers are carried from New York to St. Louis 
 without change of cars. The road-bed was put in com- 
 plete repair. Six hundred tons of steel rail were laid 
 down, and connecting lines and feeders opened on all 
 the route. Docks were built, and a new ferry, con- 
 necting Jersey City with New York. Station houses 
 were erected, and the whole line put in complete work- 
 ing order. The great ambition of Mr. Fisk is to place 
 Erie stock at par and have it pay a dividend. He pur- 
 
PERSONAL TRAITS. 109 
 
 chased a coal mine, which supplies the entire road with 
 coal at a saving of a hundred per cent, A valuable 
 mine of bituminous coal, which is burned on the road, 
 yields 500 tons of coal a day. Two rolling-mills are 
 kept constantly in use rolling rails for the Erie 
 road. Believing expresses to be a monopoly that the 
 road should enjoy, he has inaugurated thirteen expr 
 companies, under the direction of the road, which are 
 doing a most successful business. He has placed first- 
 class boats, built to run on the Sound, to convey pas- 
 sengers to Long Branch during the summer. These 
 boats are fitted up with all the comforts and elegance 
 of a hotel. Parties can be accommodated with rooms 
 for the day, and with a restaurant, comprising all the 
 luxuries of the season. A pavillion, 600 feet long, has 
 been erected at the Branch for the temporary accom- 
 modation of visitors. He handles these gigantic and 
 varied enterprises with all the ease with which he 
 drives his team on Central Pork. 
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS. 
 
 There are but few men in the country that possess 
 the executive ability that marks Mr. Fisk's operations. 
 He is methodical in his business, but he is far-seeing, 
 quick in forming his conclusions and taking his posi- 
 tion. He comes to his office at 9^ in the morning 
 with the promptness of a patrolman on his beat, He 
 takes off his coat and is prepared for his day's work. 
 There are sixteen apartments in the Central Office, 
 and by the side of his chair are sixteen telegraph wires, 
 so that he can call any person into his presence whom 
 he may wish to see. Telegraphic communication with 
 
110 PERSONAL TRAITS. 
 
 every station on the Erie Road is complete. Jersey 
 City and Wall Street are also connected with the Erie 
 Office. Letters are read the first thing in the morning 
 and answers dictated. It is no uncommon thing for 
 Mr. Fisk to dictate three letters at one time. The 
 Treasurer is then called in, and by the aid of the tele- 
 graph the financial arrangements are made for the day. 
 He requires all reports from every employee of the 
 Road to be made to him in writing. If a messenger is 
 sent to Jersey City on an unimportant matter, he must 
 report in writing. He examines and pays all the bills 
 of the department. He found a systematic course of 
 thieving on the road ; this he broke up, and dismissed 
 all employees engaged in it. Several parties have re- 
 turned to the Road from $1,000 to $5,000 fraudulently 
 obtained. Mr. Fisk remains in his office till five at 
 night. He leaves and returns at seven. Letters and 
 telegrams are placed before him received at the latest 
 minute, which he examines. A half an hour usually 
 suffices. If the business is not done in that time, he 
 remains until it is completed. He carries a small 
 memorandum in his pocket, in which he notes in the 
 morning the things to be attended to. After the desk 
 has been swept and the business concluded, he exam- 
 ines this memorandum, lest something should have 
 been forgotten. His room is guarded by ushers. He 
 has two or three confidential employees with him con- 
 stantly. All who seek his presence have admission to 
 the ante-room. Here a card is sent in, with the name 
 and business of the caller. If it is a general matter 
 he does not see the visitor, but sends him to the spe- 
 cial Department where the business belongs. If the 
 
PERSONAL TRAITS. Ill 
 
 visitor wishes an interview, one of his private clerks 
 ascertains the nature of the business. These interview- 
 generally are very short when parties are admitted. 
 The rushing tide of business, clerks coining in from 
 every direction, inquiries made, orders given, answers 
 dictated, calls on Mr. Fisk from every direction, notify 
 the visitor to be brief. If this does not suffice, Mr. 
 Fisk has a way of gathering up his papers and calling 
 the attention of employees to unfinished matters. He 
 is very popular with all who approach him. There is 
 an enthusiasm about him that is sympathetic. A man 
 of few words, he is courteous and affable, and would 
 receive the captain of a coal-barge with as much 
 kindness as he would the president of a bank. He is 
 very witty, and has fine spirits, and when he has over- 
 come an opponent, his constant quotation is, "He has 
 gone where the woodbine twineth." As Comptroller, 
 he has to audit all the accounts and examine all the 
 items, before a bill is paid. His memory is very won- 
 derful, and he will detect in an instant any improper 
 charge or an item once paid. He is very social and 
 genial. But he allows no familiarity, even with his 
 most intimate friends, in the business of his office. 
 Relatives, and his most intimate associates, must do the 
 duty required of them, or leave. 
 
 The charities of Mr. Fisk are very large, for he is 
 liberal and large hearted. He does not give indis- 
 criminately. He heard of a poor man in his neighbor- 
 hood who had been injured, and w r hose family were 
 in want. By the hands of a clerk he sent a liberal 
 sum, and gave orders that a weekly allowance should 
 be paid till the man was able to resume his work. He 
 
112 PERSONAL TRAITS. 
 
 tests his employees, and is not afraid to give them a 
 handsome gratuity when they evidently try to serve the 
 Company. He is a very fast friend, and does not forget 
 the companions of his humbler days. For those who 
 try to wrong him, defraud him, or circumvent him, he 
 has no mercy. He is very abstemious in his habits. 
 When it was known that he had been elected Colonel 
 of the Ninth Regiment, his enthusiasm and liberality 
 were so conspicuous that three Colonels of different 
 Regiments offered to resign in his favor if he would 
 accept the positions they held. He has the talent of 
 surrounding himself by able men, and of infusing his 
 own spirit into them. In the multitude of lawsuits in 
 which he has been involved since his connection with 
 the Erie, he has made himself in each case master of 
 the situation. One of the leading lawyers of the city 
 has pronounced Mr. Fisk the ablest man of the age. 
 In every instance where his suggestions have been 
 carried out, he has been successful. Genial, jovial, 
 eminently social in his tendencies, he is a martinet in 
 his office. He pays for the best talent, and requires 
 to be well served. In his official relations to men he 
 bears himself as Frederick the Great did to his boon 
 companions when the death of his father was announced 
 to him: — u No more fooling, I am Emperor." 
 
 THE OPERA HOUSE. 
 
 The Erie road outgrew its down town offices. The 
 management wanted all departments under one roof. 
 Mr. Fisk was satisfied that the railroad business would 
 be carried on in the upper part of the city. Pike's 
 opera house arrested his attention. Far up town now, 
 it would soon be the center of trade. Nearly all the 
 
THE SEP TEMPER PAXIC. 1 1 3 
 
 offices and clerks of the road lived up town. The 
 telegraph would connect the managing office with 
 every part of the road. Jersey City, and the station 
 at Twenty-third street, were brought near together by 
 the new ferry. Mr. Fisk owns the opera house — he 
 bought it as an investment. The Erie company are 
 his tenants. The great halls and vestibules were fitted 
 up in fine style for offices; the plan was drawn by Mr. 
 Fisk, and a more elegant suite of offices do not c.\ 
 in the city. The whole business of the road is under 
 one roof. The offices are fitted up in sumptuous style, 
 and are in complete order. The ceilings are exquisitely 
 painted, and comfort and elegance abound. The em- 
 ployees are furnished with a dinner in the head quar- 
 ters, and no one leaves till the day's work is complete. 
 The theatre in the opera house is run by Mr. Fisk, at 
 a profit of $1,000 a night. 
 
 THE SEPTEMBER PAXIC. 
 
 In Wall street, Mr. Fisk's name will ever be associ- 
 ated with the gold panic of the 24th of September, 
 1869, which J have described elsewhere. If he was 
 not the originator, he was the boldest of the operators, 
 or conspirators, as they are called on the street. The 
 history of that dark day will never probably be fairly 
 written. The Combination, having locked up green- 
 backs, tightened the money market to the very verge 
 of universal ruin, controlling over two hundred mil- 
 lions in gold, the clique were ready for the attack. 
 Parties were sent to the Gold Room to raise the price. 
 Amid the wildest excitement, gold reached 160. 
 Three classes were engaged in the work. One class, 
 8 
 
114 THE SEPTEMBER PANIC. 
 
 regular brokers, who really believed th£ir employers 
 would take the gold and make good their contracts. 
 Some were tools, who only did the bidding of their 
 masters. A third class were men without repute, with- 
 out honor, without principle, without money. This 
 class kept up the clamor of bidding 160, when gold 
 was selling at 145. They said they were doing the 
 will of their masters. What portion of gold could be 
 sold as it was going down, the clique threw off of their 
 hands. Honest men met their contracts and were 
 ruined. The principal actors in the transaction denied 
 that they knew the buyers, or ordered the purchases. 
 When the buyers were sought for, they were not to 
 be found, or they had failed. Men without a dollar 
 at their back, bought millions on millions of gold on 
 Thursday and Friday during the panic. They had 
 not money enough to b-uy a load of coal, yet they had 
 ability, as the agents of others, to cripple one-half the 
 Board of Brokers, to stagger the Banks, carry down 
 some of the oldest and heaviest houses, and ruin 
 hundreds of thousands. Parties in this matter kept 
 their contracts when it was to their interest to do so, 
 and repudiated them when against them. The whole 
 street reeled. Few bankrupts were reported, for 
 everybody was involved. Private settlements were 
 made, compromises effected, and the matter healed as 
 best it might be. The brokers, whose headquarters 
 were the centre of the clique, and who were supposed 
 to be the main agents of the panic, dictated their own 
 terms of settlement. Parties were glad to settle any- 
 how. They took what they could get. A few were 
 paid in full. Others received a small percentage, and 
 were glad to get that. 
 
R i X ON THE TENTH NA 770 A. I L /J. 1 XK. 1 1 , 
 
 RUN ON THE TENTH NATIONAL BANK. 
 
 Mr. Fisk's connection with this bank, and his sup- 
 posed control over its funds, led to one of the most 
 extraordinary runs on the bank that has been known 
 for a quarter of a century. The bank was known to 
 be the favorite depository of leading speculators. The 
 house referred to above, as being the centre of the 
 clique who run up gold, had large deposits in the 
 bank. The men charged with conspiring to produce 
 the panic, had become largely interested in the stock 
 of the bank, and as every one supposed, would con- 
 trol its funds for purposes of speculation. Mr; Dick- 
 inson, President of the Bank, kept his place at the- 
 head of the institution, to protect the interests of de- 
 positors and stock-holders who were not in the ring.. 
 The bank opened at the usual time, ten o'clock. AIL 
 sorts of rumors were in circulation the day and night 
 before, in regard to the management, the solvency > 
 and the funds of the bank. The doors were hardly 
 opened before the banking-room was crowded. It 
 was evident that the excited crowd was anxious to 
 draw money out of the bank. Checks were certified 
 and were immediately presented for payment. The 
 building on the outside was besieged by a great crowd 
 of persons unable to get in. As customer after cus- 
 tomer came out with his hands full of greenbacks, 
 anxious inquiries were made as to the look of things 
 inside. The loans of the bank were on call chiefly, 
 and were immediately called in. Greenbacks were 
 piled upon the counter like a hay-stack. Every check 
 was paid as presented, and no questions asked. At 
 
116 RUN ON TEE TENTH NATIONAL BANK. 
 
 three o'clock the doors of the bank could have been 
 lawfully closed till the next day. But the bank held 
 on its way, paying check after check, till the last cus- 
 i tomer presented his voucher at half after "five. Mr. 
 Dickinson then went to the door. He looked on the 
 crowd numbering five hundred persons, — on the side- 
 walk, in the street, on the railing, in the side-street, 
 everywhere. He announced that the bank had con- 
 tinued business from three until half after five, paying 
 every check that was presented, and ready to pay 
 more. He invited any of the crowd who wished their 
 money to come in and get it. A few accepted the in- 
 vitation. The great mass when they found they could 
 get their money, did not want it, and walked away. 
 During the panic, the bank paid 70 per cent, on all its 
 indebtedness in greenbacks. The heroism and finan- 
 cial skill of the president and officers of the bank 
 saved the city from general disaster. Had the Tenth 
 National yielded, there would have been a run on 
 every bank in the city the next day, and the conse- 
 quences would have been fearful. The promptness 
 with which the bank met all the calls made upon it, 
 like the bugle-call to panic-stricken troops, recalled 
 confidence, and restored quiet to the street. 
 
 During the excitement, one or two incidents oc- 
 curred rather interesting. A stranger pressed his way 
 through the crowd, reaching the door of the presi- 
 dent, and asked for that officer. Mr. Dickinson an- 
 nounced himself as the party sought for. The stran- 
 ger hailed from St. Louis. He said he had heard of 
 the panic, and came down to see it. As a general 
 thing, he did not think much of panics. He believed 
 
run on Tin: tenth national bank. 1 17 
 
 they originated in ignorance, and bad seldom a good 
 foundation. lie took from his pocket a roll of bills 
 amounting to 840,000, and offered them to the bank 
 to meet the crisis, if the sum would do any good. Mr. 
 Dickinson declined the courteous oiler, grateful for the 
 expression of confidence. 
 
 When the run was at its height, a customer came in, 
 well-known to the president, and nervously inquired 
 how matters stood. "All square," said the frank and 
 hearty president. "I have $40,000 in your bank, all 
 the money I own in the world. I drew a check this 
 morning intending to draw it out. I know you are in 
 trouble, and I do not want to increase it, If you say 
 it is all right, I will let the money stay, for I have 
 great confidence in you." He received the assurance, 
 and went his way. Later in the day, he appeared 
 again at the bank, and said: "Mr. President, 88,000 
 of that money on deposit is trust money; 832,000 is 
 mine. If you will allow me to draw out that trust 
 money, for I never should forgive myself, if that were 
 lost, I will let my own remain in the bank." This was 
 done. The next day he brought back the $8,000 and 
 deposited it in the bank. A large number of others 
 who had yielded to the panic wished to re-open ac- 
 counts, but they were refused, the president stating 
 that he did not wish to go through that excitement a 
 second time. 
 
 Mr. Callender, the Bank Examiner, said there was 
 not a bank in the city sounder than the Tenth Nation- 
 al, and scarcely three that could have stood the sud- 
 den run made upon it, and come out with such honor. 
 
VII. 
 COM. VANDERBILT ON THE STREET. 
 
 VANDERBILT AND COLLINS. — THE HUDSON RIVER RAILROAD. — VANDERBILT'S 
 
 REVENGE. — VANDERBILT IN HIS OFFICE. PERSONAL INCIDENTS, — RAIL- 
 
 [ ROAD SLAUGHTER. — PERSONAL. VANDERBILT AND HIS HORSES. 
 
 This remarkable man was born on Staten Island. 
 He started life a penniless boy, with a strong arm and 
 resolute heart. The bronze memorial of the great sta- 
 tion house in St. John's Park contains no prouder 
 souvenier of the Commodore than that portion which 
 represents him as a resolute lad, pushing his ferry-boat 
 from the beach of Staten Island, rowing his passengers 
 to New York, and collecting his first earnings from his 
 patrons. He began life poor, but with his first freight 
 he adopted the cash principle, on which he transacts 
 his gigantic business. In his heaviest transaction he 
 pays cash for everything. With eighty millions at his 
 command he can purchase a controlling interest in any 
 road or stock he pleases. He has given his name to 
 the great stocks of the exchange. If he wishes a rise 
 he buys up all that is offered; if he wishes to break 
 the market he has only to throw his stocks on it and 
 the work is done. He is admitted to be a man of sur- 
 passing executive ability, one of the boldest and most 
 successful operators in the country. He took Harlem 
 
 118 
 
VANDERBILT AND COLLINS. 119 
 
 when it was a stench in the public nostrils and made 
 it a road of value. 
 
 VANDERBILT AND COLLINS. 
 
 The Commodore's word is as good as his bond when 
 it is fairly given. He is equally exact in fulfilling his 
 threats. He thought himself wronged in the Schuyler 
 frauds — he took avow that he would be paid one hun- 
 dred cents on the dollar. He pursued his purpose for 
 years with the instinct of an Indian. He attained his 
 end at the last. He built a fine ocean steamship. Col- 
 lins' line was then in its glory. Collins was subsidized, 
 haughty and imperious. One of the steamers of his 
 line was disabled. Vanderbilt wanted to try his hand 
 at carrying the mails. He visited Collins and made 
 an offer to put his ship, all ready, in the place of the 
 disabled steamship. He would charge Collins nothing 
 for the use and would take the vessel off as soon as 
 Collins 1 steamer was ready. The owner of the line 
 was afraid if Mr. Vanderbilt got in at all it would be 
 difficult to get him out. He treated the Commodore 
 very cavalierly, peremptorily declined the propos L 
 and turned to his business. Vanderbilt looked at him 
 from head to foot and then told Collins that the time 
 would come when he would be very glad to come to 
 him and beg for assistance. With Vanderbilt, to re- 
 solve was to do. Personally, and through his friends, 
 he immediately assailed Congress on the subsidy — he 
 offered to carry the mail without a bonus and at a 
 cheap rate. He pursued his purpose till he drove the 
 Collins line from the ocean as he said he would. Van- 
 derbilt is now the great king of Wall Street, and Col- 
 lins is nowhere. 
 
120 TEE HUDSON RIVER RAILROAD. 
 
 THE HUDSON RIVER RAILROAD. 
 
 The attempt to make anything out of the poor, for- 
 saken, and miserable Harlem Railroad, excited laughter 
 on the street. The Hudson River Railroad was the 
 pet railroad of the board. It was a genteel affair, and 
 run by the snobby financiers of the State. Mr. Sloan 
 was President, and a very aristocratic president he was. 
 Vanderbilt was not as well known on the street as he- 
 is to-day. His enterprise ruled an unscrupulous en- 
 ergy, a daring steamboat captain, blowing steamboats 
 up-onthe North River, and ruining lines on the Sound 
 by his sharp opposition, colliding with Collins, and 
 threatening the New Haven road, were about all the 
 street knew of Vanderbilt or cared to know. He ap- 
 peared . before Mr. Sloan in his office at the Hudson 
 road station. Sloan was supercilious and snubbed his 
 visitor. Vanderbilt informed the President that he 
 would soon be his master. He obtained a controlling 
 interest, put himself at the head of the road, gave the 
 working oar to his son as vice president; put his two 
 sons-in-law on the board ; made his broker one of the 
 directors, and swept the concern from New York to 
 Albany. To make the work complete, he put into his 
 tin box a controlling interest in the roads tributary to 
 the Central, and then laid his hands on that great artery 
 and brought all the roads under one depot at Albany. 
 Nearly eighty years of age, he is the sharpest business 
 man in the city. His investment in the St. John's 
 Park for a station brought two millions of value to the 
 Hudson River Railroad. On Forty-Second Street, in 
 New York, he is building a depot that will cover acres. 
 
VANDERBILTS REVENGE. 1 2 1 
 
 The Hudson, the Harlem, the Central, and the great 
 lines of the West, will be brought under one roof by 
 means of an under-ground passage. 
 
 VANDERB I LT ' S RE VENGE. 
 
 Vanderbilt has never been "thrown" since he com- 
 menced his stock speculations. When he first appeared 
 on the street, stock men treated him with no consider- 
 ation or fairness. Before he could get a foot-hold, he 
 had to submit to galling indignities. He was obliged 
 to bring his stock into the street, and have it locked 
 up under the charge of other parties. Combinations 
 and conspiracies were formed to slaughter him. In 
 every case his gain was a decided victory, and he 
 slaughtered his enemies. Those who call him sharp, 
 shrewd, unscrupulous in carrying his points, admit that 
 lie is fair, true and reliable, when men treat him well, 
 and never turns his back on his friends. He has made 
 a fortune for more persons than any other man in 
 Wall Street. 
 
 During the war, a man that had held a subordinate 
 position for many years under him, was called into the 
 office one morning and the Commodore told him that 
 one of his steamers was ready for sea. She was fitted 
 up for carrying passengers between the points at the 
 South occupied by the army. Vanderbilt told his em- 
 ployee that he might take that vessel and run it. He 
 would charge him nothing but the actual cost. It was 
 an opportunity to make a fortune which seldom occurs. 
 The proposal staggered the man, and he went home 
 to consult his wife. The next morning he met the 
 Commodore and declined the proposal. He had been 
 
122 VANDERB1LTS RE VENGE. 
 
 a clerk many years, and had lived comfortably on his 
 little salary, and his wife did not like the idea of his 
 assuming so heavy a responsibility. The Commodore 
 looked at him, and in the doric language he is accus- 
 tomed to use when excited said, "You're a fool, 
 
 go and sweep the front office." 
 
 It is charged that Yanderbilt is very arbitrary, and 
 rides rough-shod over small men ; that he is imperious, 
 autocratic, and deranges the market when he pleases. 
 But the street forget how they treated Yanderbilt when 
 he first came to the surface as financier ; how they 
 snubbed him ; how rudely they treated him, and what 
 indignities they heaped upon him, and how, even at 
 this day, as far as they dare, men conspire against him. 
 Dog will not eat dog they say, but bull will eat bull, 
 and bear will eat bear, in Wall Street. Clique will 
 devour clique, and conspirators will form new combin- 
 ations to destroy their associates. As an illustration : 
 
 A large house in the street were carrying with Yan- 
 derbilt a great quantity of stocks. The house attempted 
 to play a little sharp practice on Yanderbilt. He in- 
 stantly threw the whole of his Lake Shore property 
 on the market which carried the house down, creating 
 a failure disastrous and humiliating in the extreme. A 
 man who can ride down town in the morning, visit a 
 dozen banks and say to each, I shall want some money 
 in a week or two, how much can I have? — here are 
 my securities. I will take it now, I don't know when 
 I shall want it, and in this way lock up ten or twenty 
 millions, is not to be trifled with by ordinary men. 
 
VANDERBILT IN HIS office. 123 
 
 VANDERBILT IN HIS OFFICE. 
 
 From nine to eleven the Commodore is in his 
 np-town office ; at one, in his down-town office. Be- 
 tween these hours he visits the Harlem and Hudson 
 River stations. He is now nearly eighty years of 
 age. He is erect as a warrior. He is tall, very 
 slim, genteel in his make up, with a fine presence, 
 hair white as the driven snow, and comes up to 
 one's idea of a fine merchant of the olden time. He 
 is one of the shrewdest merchants, prompt and de- 
 cided. In one of the down-town mansions, where the 
 aristocracy used to reside, he has his place of business. 
 He drives down through Broadway in his buggy drawn 
 by his favorite horse, celebrated for his white feet, one 
 of the fleetest in the city, which no money can buy. 
 His office consists of a single room, quite large, well 
 furnished, and adorned with pictures of favorite steam- 
 boats, ferry-boats, and ocean steamers. The entrance 
 to the office is through a narrow hall-way, which is 
 made an outer room for his confidential clerk. He sees 
 personally all who call, rising to greet the comer, and 
 seldom sits till the business is discharged and the 
 visitor gone. But for this he would be overrun and 
 bored to death. His long connection with steamboats 
 and shipping brings to him men from all parts of tho 
 world who have patents, inventions, and improvements, 
 and who wish his indorsement. If a man has anything 
 to sell, he settles the contract in a very few words. The 
 visitor addresses the Commodore, and says, " I have a 
 stock of goods for sale : what will you give ? " A half 
 dozen sharp inquiries are made, and a price named. 
 
124 PERSONA L INCIDENTS. 
 
 The seller demurs, announcing that such a price would 
 ruin him. " I don't want your goods. What did you 
 come here for if you did not want to sell ? If you can 
 get more for your goods, go and get it." Not a mo- 
 ment of time will be wasted, not a cent more be of- 
 fered ; and if the man leaves with the hope of getting a 
 better price, and returns to take the first offer, he will 
 not, probably, sell the goods at all. 
 
 PERSONAL INCIDENTS. 
 
 Mr. Vanclerbilt lives in a down-town location. It 
 was once very fashionable. It is near the New York 
 University; a very large but very plain brick mansion ; 
 a good type of the dwellings of the millionnaires of the 
 old school, before the jaunty freestone houses, with their 
 florid painting and gaudy trimmings, came into vogue. 
 Everything about it is solid, substantial, comfortable. 
 But there is no North River steamboat about the fitting: 
 up. • His stables are in his yard. They are unrivalled for 
 convenience and comfort. He has also a small trotting 
 course, around which he drives in rainy weather, when 
 his horses are exercised and their speed exhibited. He 
 rises early, takes a plain breakfast, and then spends an 
 hour in his stables, after which he goes to his office. 
 What he calls business consists in riding. Every after- 
 noon he can be seen at Central Park, and on the road 
 where fast nags are put to their mettle. His great 
 passion is for horse-flesh. He handles his own team, 
 and is probably the best driver, except Bonner, in the 
 state. He had the fastest team in the state till Bon- 
 ner's Flatbush Maid and her companion distanced all 
 competitors. The Commodore has swept the horizon 
 
RAILROAD SLAUGHTER 125 
 
 since then for a fast team. He keeps a standing offer 
 of ten thousand dollars for one of the required speed. 
 He would give twenty thousand dollars to own the 
 leading team of the city. lie is a most daring driver; 
 and to see him on the road with his Hying steeds, pass- 
 ing everything, distancing everything, cool, erect, and 
 skilful, one would hardly suppose he was nearly eighty 
 years of age. Not long since he invited a friend to 
 ride with him. He proposed to cross Harlem Railroad. 
 The express train was in sight. In spite of remon- 
 strance, he gave the well-known word, and his steeds 
 started with the fleetness of deers. The wheels had 
 scarcely left the track when whiz went the locomotive 
 by as on the wings of the wind, lifting the hats of 
 Vanderbilt and his friend by the current which it 
 created. u There is not another man in New York that 
 could do that!" the Commodore said. "And you will 
 never do it again with me in your wagon ! " the friend 
 replied. 
 
 RAILROAD SLAUGHTER. 
 
 Turning from steamboats, Mr. Vanderbilt lon<j; ai^o 
 became interested in railroads. So great has been his 
 success, that he can control the stock market when he 
 will. An attempt was made some time since to break 
 him down by cornering the stock. He wanted to con- 
 solidate the Harlem Railroad with the Hudson. Enough 
 of the Legislature was supposed to have been, secured 
 to carry the measure. The parties who had agreed to 
 pass the bill intended to play foul. Besides this, they 
 thought they would indulge in a little railroad specula- 
 tion. They sold Harlem, to be delivered at a future 
 
126 RAILROAD SLA UGETER. 
 
 clay, right and left. These men let their friends into 
 the secret, and allowed them to speculate. Clear on to 
 Chicago there was hardly a railroad man who was not 
 selling Harlem short. The expected consolidation ran 
 the stock up. The failure of the project would, of 
 course, run it down. A few days before the vote was 
 taken, some friends called upon Commodore Vanderbilt. 
 and gave him proof that a conspiracy existed to ruin 
 him, if possible, in this matter of consolidation. He took 
 all the funds he could command, and, with the aid of 
 his friends, bought all the Harlem stock that could be 
 found, and locked it up in his safe. True to the report, 
 the bill was rejected. The men who had pledged 
 themselves for it openly and unblushingly voted 
 against it. They waited anxiously for the next morn- 
 ing, when they expected their fortune would be made 
 by the fall of Harlem. But it did not fall. To the 
 surprise of everybody, the first day it remained sta- 
 tionary. Then it began to rise steadily, to the conster- 
 nation and terror of speculators. There was no stock 
 to be had at any price. Men were ruined on the right 
 hand and on the left. Fortunes were swept away, and 
 the cries of the wounded were heard all up and down 
 the Central Road. An eminent railroad man near 
 Albany, worth quite a pretty fortune, who confidently 
 expected to make fifty thousand dollars by the opera- 
 tion, became penniless. One of the sharpest and most 
 successful operators in New York lost over two hun- 
 dred thousand dollars, which he refused to pay, on the 
 ground of conspiracy. His name was immediately 
 stricken from the Stock Board, which brought him to 
 his senses. He subsequently settled. . Thousands were 
 
RAILROAD SLAUGHTER 127 
 
 ruined. But Vanderbilt made money enough out of 
 this attempt to ruin him, to pay for all the stock he 
 owned in the Harlem Road. 
 
 When he first got possession of the Harlem, there 
 was a strong feeling of hostility against him manifested 
 by the Hudson River Road. The Commodore was 
 snubbed by the aristocracy that controlled the Hudson. 
 It was a great political machine, ruled by a ring. He 
 told the managers to be civil, or he would make them 
 trouble. The managers laughed at the idea. The first 
 thing they knew, at one of their annual meetings, was, 
 that Samuel Sloane, the old president, was turned out, 
 and Tobin, Yanderbilt's right hand man, put in his 
 place. From that hour to this Vanderbilt has con- 
 trolled both the Hudson and Harlem Roads. Tobin 
 soon became unmindful of the power that made him. 
 He refused to obey the dictation of his chief, and, con- 
 fident of his position, set up for himself. He was soon 
 removed, and Mr. Yanderbilt's son, William H., was 
 put in his place. 
 
 PERSONALS. 
 
 For years Vanderbilt and Drew moved together. 
 If money was wanted for any operation, Drew fur- 
 nished one half, Vanderbilt the other. Parties who 
 obtained the assistance of Drew in any operation, were 
 sure to get Vanderbilt, — partly because these heavy 
 operators moved in harmony, partly to keep watch of 
 each other. Drew broke with Vanderbilt, and tried 
 a little financiering of his own to the damage of the 
 Commodore. Vanderbilt instantly went into the street, 
 tied everything up, produced a panic, and made his 
 
128 VANDERDILT AND HIS HORSES. 
 
 enemies suffer by hundreds of thousands. Often he 
 has been involved in terrible struggles in Wall street, 
 from a simple desire to serve his friends. When once 
 in a battle, he never gives up. In the great war with 
 the Erie railroad, he knew nothing and cared nothing 
 about the issue of stock, or any other controversy that 
 was going on. He had no part in the legal proceedings 
 which were instituted against Mr. Drew. He did not 
 own a share of stock in Erie ; he did not like the 
 manner the road was conducted, and he wanted noth- 
 ing to do with it. u Should I take my two roads — 
 Hudson and Harlem," said the Commodore, "into the 
 street and transact business as Erie is transacted, I 
 could ruin every small broker on the street, create a 
 panic every week, ruin thousands financially, and de- 
 stroy all confidence in railroads as an investment." 
 He found his friends involved, and resolved to help 
 them. A man who would be willing to hazard millions 
 to help his friends from going under, is not seen every 
 day. He went to one of the largest banks and said to 
 the president who was tightening the market, "Here, 
 take this," placing a large sum of money in his hands, 
 "let out your money, let the boys have it." 
 
 VANDERBILT AND HIS HORSES. 
 
 His flowing hair, snow white ; the ample white cra- 
 vat of the olden time, plain black dress, erect air, a 
 clerical build, give Vanderbilt the appearance of a 
 university professor. His voice is musical, and when 
 he is not excited he is very, taking in his conversation. 
 Short, sharp, and emphatic in his utterances, he is well 
 informed in public and commercial affairs. To see the 
 
VANDERBILT AND HIS fl 129 
 
 Commodore well one must gain his confidence, and 
 
 with him to his stables. His love of horses is so great 
 that almost any one is his friend, who has the same 
 taste. Morissey presented Vanderbilt with a very fine 
 horse. Vanderbilt accepted the gift, and made the 
 prize lighter and gambler a millionaire and a member 
 of Congress. A clergyman accustomed to ride on the 
 road of a pleasant afternoon, was a great admirer of 
 Vanderbilt^ favorite horse, the Mountain Maid. The 
 clergyman was so enthusiastic in his praise of the horse 
 that Vanderbilt presented the animal to him. No one 
 estimates the horse at less than ten thousand dollars. 
 At Saratoga the Commodore was au early riser — his 
 letters of business came at night, and were regularly 
 opened the first thing in the morning. Breakfast fin- 
 ished, his answers were given. A line here, an order 
 there, a sentence in another letter, consumed about an 
 hour. He kept about him confidential friends — they 
 were all horse men, or lovers of horses. The answers 
 to letters being dictated, and the work of the morning 
 done, consuming about an hour, it was the custom of 
 the Commodore to say, "now for business/' which 
 meant that the parties were to adjourn to the stables, 
 look at the horses, perhaps harness up and take a drive. 
 His stable is in the old style, his horses are kept in 
 the basement, quite warm, but dark. He is a hard 
 driver, and pushes his teams as he pushes his business. 
 He drives a double team, and sometimes uses five 
 horses a day. His favorite horse Postboy, with his 
 dainty white feet and white face, which he uses oftener 
 and drives harder than any horse he owns, has been in 
 his possession ten years. He is a small, fragile looking 
 9 
 
130 VANDERBILT AND HIS HORSES. 
 
 animal, and, as the groom expresses it, "would not bring 
 fifty dollars at Bull's Head." He is smart and fleet as 
 when first purchased. Few men outdrive the Commo- 
 dore, except Bonner. Horsemen say that on the road 
 Yanderbilt is churlish and illiberal. The story of his 
 putting up ten thousand dollars or twenty, for a horse 
 that would beat Bonner's, is pronounced chaff. The 
 Commodore has fast horses offered, to him every day, 
 but he will not pay the price demanded. It is not the 
 wealthy, men, except in the case of Bonner, who buy 
 the highest priced horses. The road, as it is called, 
 on which the fast teams are driven, is in a wretched 
 condition. An attempt was made to repair it, but 
 Yanderbilt would subscribe nothing, and the thing fell 
 through. Yanderbilt owns but little real estate. His 
 fortune, which at the lowest is put at eighty millions, 
 and may be as high as a hundred, is in a compact form, 
 the greater' part of which could readily be turned into 
 cash. His estate is settled, his property divided among 
 his children by his own allotment, and should he die 
 to-morrow, the distribution and settlement of his great 
 estate would be accomplished at once. He is as hale, 
 hearty, and vigorous to-day, as when he landed his first 
 boat load of passengers at the Battery. 
 
VIII. 
 DANIEL DREW. 
 
 Early Career. — Seeks His Fortune. — Mr. Drew in New York. — 
 Mr. Drew ox the Hudson. — Operates on Railroads. — Operator 
 in the Street. 
 
 About the hour of eleven on any pleasant day an 
 elderly man can be seen moving down Wall Street, 
 on a visit to his brokers. He is of medium height, 
 with a dark, mahogany-colored, unimpassioned face, 
 heavy-shouldered, but declining towards the feet like 
 the letter Y, stooping shoulders, dressed in an ordi- 
 nary suit — a cross between a cartman and a small 
 trader. This person would not be taken for a man 
 having an especial interest in the fiercfe conflicts that 
 at times rage in the street. If you catch his eye, you 
 will observe a sharp, bright glance in it, with a look 
 penetrating and intelligent. That man is Daniel 
 Drew. He would pass anywhere without observation 
 as a very ordinary person. He must love the excite- 
 ment of the street. He is an old man — over seventy ; 
 he has been battling with the bulls and bears during 
 the lifetime of one generation. Years ago he was 
 a rich man — he has one of the finest houses in upper 
 New York. He could give away half a million of 
 money to a benevolent cause at a time and not feel it. 
 
 (131) 
 
132 DANIEL DREW. 
 
 He could draw his check for a million and have a fine 
 margin left in the bank. At a time when most men 
 would seek repose, and withdraw from the turmoil 
 and fluctuations of the stock market, he has thrown 
 himself into the fiercest of the strife, and is still bat- 
 tling with all the energy of youth. He is a devout 
 member of the Methodist Church, and a member of 
 the Stock Board. He is a class leader, and exhorts 
 and prays in meeting ; and yet, in the street; where 
 the strife is the hottest and the affray the deadliest, 
 there is he. He has been driven, by fierce law suits, 
 growing out of stock operations, from his home and 
 out of the State. Within two years he has more than 
 once imperiled his whole fortune. His losses have 
 been immense, and half a million have been paid as a 
 compromise. Yet he seems as little disposed to retire 
 as when he commenced the conflict. He has no office, 
 but the leading broker who sells for him to-day enjoys 
 his company. In the Erie war, when chased by sher- 
 iffs and haunted by injunctions, he hid himself in a 
 loft in Nassau Street, and was guarded by a few 
 friends who were financially bound to him. Out of 
 his own home and immediate domestic circle, he 
 makes no friends. The hooks that bind him to busi- 
 ness associates are not of steel. A bull to-day in 
 stocks and a bear to-morrow, friends of to-day desert 
 him as his tactics turn. He lives mostly alone, and 
 should he pass away, he would be hardly missed. He 
 has none of the social, frank, manly, electric influence 
 that draws around Vanderbilt such a host of devoted 
 friends. 
 
EARLY CAREER. 133 
 
 EARLY CAREER. 
 
 This remarkable man was born in Carmel, Putnam 
 County, New York. He is seventy years of age. He 
 is one of the most astute, shrewd, and successful capi- 
 talists in the city. In person he is tall and slender, his 
 hair is black, his complexion very dark. He is tough 
 and agile, and would pass easily for forty-five. He is 
 reputed to be worth twenty millions. For several 
 years he has seldom made less than half a million a 
 year. His gifts are very large. He seldom gives away 
 less than one hundred thousand dollars a year in pri- 
 vate charities, besides the large gifts which mark his 
 munificence. He selects his own charities, and vagrant 
 solicitors have not a very high opinion of his liberality. 
 At a meeting of the trustees of his church, not long 
 since, the question came up about finishing a mission 
 chapel. One of the trustees said, " We expect a gener- 
 ous sum from brother Drew." Turning to him he said, 
 a Brother Drew, I put it to your conscience. Don't 
 you see your way clear to give us ten thousand dol- 
 lars?" To which Mr. Drew replied, "No, I do not;" 
 which ended the matter. Mr. Drew is a devout mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Church. He attends promptly 
 and punctually to all the duties belonging to his pro- 
 fession. He is a member of a class, and visits the class- 
 meetings regularly. He is present at the devotional 
 meetings of the church, and speaks and prays with 
 great acceptance. As a Christian man he is humble, 
 cheerful, and of good report. He is very reticent on 
 ordinary occasions, but genial and intelligent when one 
 
134 SEEKS HIS FORTUNE. 
 
 wins or enjoys his confidence. He has two children, a 
 son and daughter. The son is well provided for on a 
 farm. The daughter, the w T ife of a Baptist clergyman, 
 is an heiress in her own right. 
 
 SEEKS HIS FORTUNE. 
 
 He passed his early years on a farm. In a small 
 school-house he obtained the rudiments of his educa- 
 tion. His father died when Daniel was fifteen years 
 of a^e. He then came to New York to seek his fortune 
 during our war with England. From a North River 
 sloop he landed on the spot where Washington Market 
 now stands. Resolved to do something, and finding 
 nothing better to do, he hired himself out as a substi- 
 tute in the place of another, and became a soldier. 
 Next we find him on the saddle, driving cattle to mar- 
 ket from his rural home. It took two weeks then to 
 make the trip. While engaged in this business a storm 
 came on. He found shelter in a gig that stood under 
 a tree. A bolt of lightning stunned him and his com- 
 panion, killed the horse, and gave them a narrow 
 escape. Careful, persistent, indomitable, with good 
 habits, with a shrewdness of no ordinary kind, with a 
 zeal and energy glowing like a volcano beneath a quiet 
 exterior, he early laid the foundation of a fortune. 
 
 MR. DREW IN NEW YORK. 
 
 In 1829 Mr. Drew removed to this city. He estab- 
 lished his headquarters at Bull's Head in the Bowery, 
 and made it the Drovers' Exchange. New York was 
 too limited for his business capacity. He stretched the 
 trade into Pennsylvania, and then into the far West, 
 
OPERATES OX RAILROADS. 135 
 
 Droves of over two thousand head of cattle crossed the 
 Alleu'lianies under his direction. In 1834 he began his 
 steamboat enterprise. Vanderbilt, tlien coming on to 
 the stage, was running opposition everywhere. Some- 
 thing had to give way ; and Mr. Drew, watching his - 
 opportunity, bought the Cinderella for a trifle. 
 
 MR. DREW OX THE HUDSON. 
 
 In 1838 the Hudson River Line, with fine boats, and 
 at three dollars to Albany, monopolized travel. Mr. 
 Drew bought the Emerald, and ran her as an opposi- 
 tion to the old line, at one dollar fare. A compromise 
 was effected, and the old price restored. In 1840 Mr. 
 Drew formed a partnership with that steamship king, 
 Isaac Newton. The floating palace, Isaac Newton, be- 
 came a night boat through the suggestion of Mr. Drew, 
 and the People's Line became a success. The New 
 World followed, and the history of the line is well 
 known. 
 
 OPERATES OX RAILROADS. 
 
 The Hudson River Railroad was opened in 1852. 
 Mr. Boorman, the president, told Mr. Drew that on the 
 opening of the road to Albany his steamboats would 
 go under. Mr. Drew carried passengers for a dollar. 
 The fare on the road was three. The president urged 
 Mr. Drew to put his fare up to two dollars. " Our 
 company makes money enough at one," said Mr. Drew. 
 tt You can regulate the fare in one way. Buy out the 
 People's Line, if," he added, u you have money enough." 
 Vanderbilt looked with jealousy on Mr. Drew's advent 
 in the steamboat business. "You have no business in 
 
136 OPERATOR IN THE STREET. 
 
 this < trade/' said the Commodore. " You don't under- 
 stand it, and you can't succeed." Since 1836 more 
 than fifty opposition boats have been placed on the 
 Hudson River against the People's Line. Not one of 
 them has been a success; while the unequalled river 
 steamers — the Dean Richmond, the St. John's, and 
 the Drew — tell the story of Mr. Drew's success. He 
 chooses his assistants with great sagacity ; and the 
 captains, pilots, clerks, and subordinates seldom leave 
 his employ till they are removed by death. Mr. Drew 
 insures his own steamboats. It w T ould cost him half 
 a million of dollars to have them insured in any reliable 
 office. His losses are not ten per cent, on that sum. 
 The loss of the Dean Richmond cost Mr. Drew nearly 
 three hundred thousand dollars. He paid every shipper 
 and passenger all that was claimed. There was not 
 one single lawsuit, nor a reference even, in the settle- 
 ment of the cases. 
 
 -OPERATOR IN THE STREET. 
 
 In 1836 Mr. Drew appeared in Wall Street. For 
 eleven years his firm, including Robinson and Kelley, 
 were very celebrated. Mr. Drew was a rapid, bold, 
 and successful operator. His connection with the 
 Erie Railroad, guaranteeing the paper of that com- 
 pany to the amount of a million and a half of dollars, 
 showed the magnitude of his transactions. In 1857, 
 as treasurer of the company, his own paper, indorsed 
 by Vanderbilt to the amount of a million and a half of 
 dollars, saved the Erie from bankruptcy. During that 
 year, amid almost universal commercial disaster, Mr. 
 Drew's losses were immense ; but he never flinched, 
 met his paper promptly, and said that during all the 
 
PERSONAL^AND DOMESTIC. 137 
 
 crisis he had not lost one hour's sloop. In connection 
 with Yanderbilt, ho relieved the Harlem road from its 
 floating debt of over half a million dollars, and aided in 
 placing it in its present prosperous condition. 
 
 PERSONAL AND DOMESTIC. 
 
 His heart is in Carmel, where lies his farm of a thou- 
 sand acres, carried on with the same judicious skill 
 which marks his operations as a capitalist. His farmers 
 have homes of their own, and their interest is identified 
 with that of Mr. Drew. Near the rural graveyard. 
 where he intends to bo interred at the last by the side 
 of his ancestors, Mr. Drew, in connection with his 
 daughter, has erected one of the most beautiful church- 
 es in the land, and consecrated it to the promulga- 
 tion of the faith he has long professed. To all the in- 
 stitutions of learning in his church, sacred and secular, 
 he has been a liberal and constant benefactor. The 
 elegant marble stricture on Fourth Avenue, known as 
 St Paul's Church, is a monument to his liberality. 
 Waiving his desire that a theological seminary, bearing 
 his name, should be erected in Carmel, the place of his 
 birth, he selected the beautiful site in Madison Square, 
 central to the whole church, for the establishment of a 
 denominational seminary. The manner in which he 
 made the great donation is characteristic of the man, 
 and we have detailed it elsewhere. Considered from 
 any stand-point, Mr. Drew must be regarded as a public 
 benefactor. His industry, energy, and talents have 
 been honorably employed. In donations seldom 
 equalled he has laid a chaplet on the altar of religion, 
 a testimonial of its value in youth and its support in 
 age. 
 
IX. 
 
 "IRREGULARITIES" AND CRIME ON THE 
 
 STREET. 
 
 General Survey. — Atmosphere of the Street. — Reign of Terror 
 in Wall Street. — Immoralities of the Street. — Young Gray 
 and Ketchum. — Infatuation. — The Great Peril. — How the Money 
 Goes. — Wall Street Wrecks. 
 
 The speculations in stock and gold have not only 
 brought about a new style of business, but the use of 
 new terms. Crime, fraud, embezzlement are called 
 irregularities. Men are not criminal who betray their 
 trust, use money that don't belong to them, alter 
 checks, forge names, and speculate *with bonds put in 
 their house for safe keeping. "But they are sharp 
 men, unwise in some things, fools to go into specula- 
 tions so deep — that's all." This sentiment is not 
 confined to Wall Street. It marks the age. It is 
 common to talk of bribery and corruption in official 
 life. Men who sit at the head of affairs are bought 
 and sold in the market. If a man is elected to an 
 office, it is a common remark, "He will make his pile." 
 If he is not too glaring and audacious in his thefts, no 
 one will meddle with him. If measures are to be car- 
 ried, or to be defeated, money' must be raised, and 
 put into the hands of certain men, or the affair falls 
 through. In the city there is a stout fight always over 
 
 (138) 
 
HUE ON THE STREET, 130 
 
 the office of senator. The pay is three dollars a day ; 
 the expenses at -least fifty. If a railroad franchise is 
 wanted, ten thousand in cash, and a block of the stock 
 will carry it. Street railroads are obtained in the 
 same manner. The famous Harlem corner was crea- 
 ted by the refusal of Vanderbilt to pay blackmail to 
 men in power. Men pay cash of ten and twenty thou- 
 sand dollars to carry an election, when the salary con- 
 nected with the office is not a quarter of that sum. 
 Everybody understands that the office pays in some 
 way. Parties often come down from Albany, and say 
 to individuals in the city, "What is your office worth 
 to you ? " As the man makes from five to twenty 
 thousand a year, he is a little startled. The Albany 
 man says, u The office is going to be abolished. Fifty 
 thousand will save it." The excited New Yorker flies 
 around, raises the money, and the evil is stayed. The 
 manner in which these things is managed is as notori- 
 ous as any legislation in the land. Men who, a short 
 time ago, could not get trusted for a paper of tobac- 
 co, sport blood horses in the park, and live in style. 
 It is a very common thing for officials to leave their 
 position for a sum named, and allow bills to be put 
 through in their absence. A Xew York official has 
 more than once notified the body over which he pre- 
 sided that he would be out of the State when a meet- 
 ing was held. His custom was to take the ferry boat 
 and go to Jersey City, take a drink and go home. He 
 avoided the responsibility of legislation, while his 
 friends carried obnoxious measures through. It was well 
 known that a bribe of fifty thousand, and once as high 
 as a hundred thousand, was paid for this service. An 
 
140 ATMOSPHERE OF THE STREET. 
 
 official in this neighborhood had decided opinions, and 
 was supposed to be an honest man. Interested par- 
 ties wanted an ordinance passed of great value to 
 them. They knew the officer would not sign the law, 
 and they could not carry it over his veto. A check 
 of $50,000 was laid before him, with the condition, 
 that on an evening named, he should visit the State of 
 New Jersey, and remain there one night. 
 
 ATMOSPHERE OF THE STREET. 
 
 In such an atmosphere great crimes must be com- 
 mon. The moral tone is so low that the temptation 
 to commit wrong is very great, and the disgrace and 
 punishment slight. Dishonesty is known as shrewd- 
 ness, and fraud is regarded as being sharp. The loose 
 way of transacting business, the modern custom of 
 blending one's own funds with other people's, and 
 using the whole in speculation, has induced leading 
 capitalists to refuse anything as an investment which 
 they cannot control. The drinking customs of Wall 
 Street have a great deal 'to do with its crimes. One 
 of the leading banks, at its annual election, furnishes 
 liquor for all in attendance. Every variety of strong 
 drink was in abundance, and huge bowls of strong 
 punch are provided. Presidents, officials, directors, 
 and clerks go in for a carouse. Staid old men get so 
 boozy that they are sent home in carriages, and young 
 men, frenzied by free liquor, yell and sing with de- 
 light. Nor does it stop there ; the example leads the 
 employees of the bank to fashionable restaurants, 
 flashy and extravagant company, and to the forked 
 road that leads to the gaming table or Wall Street. 
 
REIGN OF TERROR IX WALL STREET. ] | 1 
 
 A house went down the other day, and in answer to 
 the question how it happened, one of the proprietors 
 said, "A glass of wine did it." The house did a large 
 business South and West. It employed, among others, 
 
 a young man of talent and smartness, lie was en- 
 trusted with the collection of the heavy sums due 
 the house in the South. He was as sober as clerks 
 generally are, and enjoyed the confidence of his em- 
 ployers. He was very successful in his tour, collected 
 large sums of money, and readied New Orleans on 
 Saturday night, on his way home. He telegraphed 
 his success, and announced his intention of leaving on 
 Monday morning. Sunday dawned on him ; he was 
 alone in a strange city. Some genteelly-dressed per- 
 sons, apparently gentlemen, made his acquaintance, 
 and, after general conversation, invited him to take a 
 glass of wine. He was accustomed to do this with his 
 employers, and it would seem churlish for him to re- 
 fuse so courteous a request. If he had gone to church, 
 he would have escaped the temptation. If he had 
 been a Sunday School young man, he would have 
 found good society and genial employment. He went 
 to the bar with his new-found companions. He knew 
 nothing more till Monday. His money, watch, and 
 jewelry were gone, and he found himself bankrupt in 
 character, and penniless. He had been drugged. He 
 telegraphed to his house. The news came in a finan- 
 cial crisis, and the loss of the money carried the house 
 under. 
 
142 REIGN OF TERROR IN WALL STREET. 
 
 REIGN OF TERROR IN WALL STREET. 
 
 Desperate, daring men find Wall Street a fitting 
 field for the exercise of their talents. More than once 
 in the history of the street, combinations have been 
 formed to rob the banks. 
 
 During the great fire in 1836, which swept all New 
 York, from Wall Street to the Battery, and from Broad 
 Street to the water, the military were on duty three 
 days and three nights. The day Mayor Clark was 
 sworn into office, he received a letter from the presk 
 clents of the city banks, informing him that the banks 
 were to suspend specie payments, and that they feared 
 a riot. The mayor was terribly frightened, and sent 
 for General Sanford, who assured the mayor that he 
 could keep the peace. The next morning Wall Street 
 was packed with people, who threatened to tear down 
 the banks and get at the specie. The First Division 
 was called out. There was probably not a man in that 
 corps who was not as excited, personally, as the 
 maddened throng that surged through the streets ; yet 
 not a man shrank from his duty, or refused to obey his 
 commander. The First Division were marched to the 
 head of Wall Street, except the cavalry, who were 
 stationed around the banks in the upper part of the 
 city. General Sanford planted his cannon on the flag- 
 ging in front of Trinity Church. The cannon com- 
 manded the w r hole of Wall Street. He then sent word 
 to the rioters that his fuse was lighted, and on the 
 first outbreak he should fire upon the rioters, and that 
 peaceable citizens had better get out of the way. The 
 announcement operated like magic, and in a few 
 
REIGN OF TERROR IN WALL STREET. 1 13 
 
 minutes there was not a corporal's guard left in the 
 vicinity of the banks. The citizens knew that the 
 troops would do their duty, and that silent park of 
 artillery was an efficient peace corps. 
 
 An extra police force is on duty continually. Adroit 
 rogues and bold villains, by their very audacity, ac- 
 complish their purpose. Carrying gold, and a million 
 or two of greenbacks, about the street, is as common 
 as carrying bundles and merchandise is in other parts 
 of the city. Common drays are backed up to the 
 great moneyed institution, and loaded down with gold. 
 Rough-looking persons they are that handle the pre- 
 cious stuff, surrounded often by a rougher looking 
 crowd. The temptation to seize a bag, and make off 
 with it, is a very strong one. The very daring of the 
 act makes it often successful. The habits of bank 
 messengers arc well known to the "fancy." The 
 money transactions of the city are very regular. The 
 movement of a hundred millions occupies the hours be- 
 tween ten and two. Messengers are running in every 
 direction. A bank that does a business of twenty 
 millions daily has an army of clerks and messengers 
 on the wing perpetually — Out into the street; down 
 into cellars ; through dark alleys and narrow lanes ; 
 up narrow and crooked stairs — in every direction the 
 messengers rush, loaded down with greenbacks and 
 gold, checks, bonds, and gold certificates. Desperate 
 men track these messengers, garrote them in dark 
 alleys, knock them senseless, and steal their treasures ; 
 and more than once, on the corner of William and 
 Wall — the most prominent part of the street — par- 
 ties have been robbed in the presence of a hundred 
 
144 REIGN OF TERROR IN WALL STREET. 
 
 men. Accomplices are always on hand, teams pro- 
 vided, and, in the confusion, generally the party 
 escapes. Some of the banks hire a carriage, and em- 
 ploy a police officer to attend their messengers to the 
 Clearing House and back. Some of the heavy bank- 
 ing houses employ special policemen to attend their 
 messengers when they deliver money. In many cases 
 the messengers are in complicity with rogues. A 
 bank clerk was robbed a short time since of ten thou- 
 sand dollars at noonday. The police investigated the 
 matter, and developed the following facts : The house 
 robbed was one of the largest stock dealing houses in 
 the street. A messenger w^as sent to collect gold cer- 
 tificates of twenty thousand. The messenger, on his 
 way to the bank, met another messenger, and they 
 went into a saloon and took to drinking. It was 
 proved they drank five times — nobody knows how 
 many more. The young man was enticed by his com- 
 panion into a dark cellar-way, and was knocked down, 
 or fell stiff and senseless. The companion seized the 
 band of certificates, and ran to the bank for the 
 money. This was done in broad daylight, some par- 
 ties looking on. One of the spectators, who knew the 
 messenger, notified the firm. One of the partners ran 
 to the bank, and found the messenger with the gold 
 in his hand, ready for operation. In one of the banks, 
 during business hours, may be seen an old negro, cha- 
 fing up and down like a caged lion. For twenty 
 years he was the bank messenger — paid all the ex- 
 changes, ran his rounds alone, and through him the 
 bank never lost a dollar. As stout, energetic, pugilis- 
 tic men are needed on the Stock Exchange, so daring 
 
IMMORALITIES OF THE STREET. \ \ 5 
 
 men of courage, with the dash of a prize-fighter about 
 them, arc needed as messengers, and the old colored 
 servant is laid upon the shelf. 
 
 IMMORALITIES OF THE STREET. 
 
 Few men escape the demoralization of Wall Street. 
 Men have gone down into that arena with large for- 
 tunes and unblemished repute, and come up penniless 
 and bankrupt in character. The head of one of our 
 largest mercantile houses, one of the most trusted of 
 bank presidents, with a well earned reputation of a 
 quarter of a century upon him, threw the whole away 
 in a few months in that vortex. 
 
 Young Gray had a brilliant, but a short career. He 
 came up from dark, den-like offices in Exchange Place, 
 to magnificent rooms on Broad street. He furnished 
 his offices in grand style. His very audacity gave him 
 success. He outshone the eminent houses that have 
 stood the shock of half a century. He secured high- 
 toned recommendations, and his dash and daring facil- 
 itated his gigantic frauds. Strange enough, very few 
 ever saw him. For a day or two his name was better 
 known than Vanderbilt's. Those who saw him, de- 
 scribe him as a young man, very boyish in his appear- 
 ance, looking rather green, — thirty years of age, tall 
 and slim, with light hair and mustaches. He laid his 
 plans with consummate ability. He secured govern- 
 ment bonds, and forged nothing but the sums. The 
 signatures and the paper were genuine. Had Gray 
 offered bonds manufactured, or with signatures forged, 
 he would have been detected at once. But his plan 
 was to take genuine bonds, and alter the amounts. 
 10 
 
146 IMMORALITIES OF THE STREET. 
 
 Bonds of one thousand were altered to ten. Bonds of 
 five thousand were altered to fifty thousand. During 
 business hours the rush in the street is immense ; mil- 
 lions pass in an hour and nothing is thought of it. In 
 the excitement of the hour, when the time came, Gray 
 and his associates threw the bonds on to the market, and 
 obtained money everywhere. Firms loaned ten thou- 
 sand on securities worth one, and fifty thousand on 
 securities worth five. The sum thus obtained is sup- 
 posed to have ranged from two hundred thousand to 
 half a million. One morning the iron shutters of 44 
 Broad street were down, and the sheriff in possession. 
 Few instances have brought with them a sadder 
 moral than that connected with young Ketchum. A 
 very young man, he was partner of one of the oldest 
 and most honored houses in the city. For two genera- 
 tions the firm had been without a stain in the mercan- 
 tile community. Active, energetic, capable, and ap- 
 parently honest, the young man soon obtained the con- 
 trol of the great business of his house. No one can 
 tell what he did with the vast sums of money he ob- 
 tained. The avenues of expenditure are very wide 
 and very numerous in New York. Gaming, drinking, 
 fast company, extravagance in horses, dress, jewelry, 
 and establishments, will make way with a great deal 
 of money in a short time. The transactions in gold 
 when Ketchum's forgeries came to light, facilitated the 
 frauds he committed. Each banker then kept a gold 
 check book, drew his gold certificates himself, and had 
 them certified at the Gold Bank. These certified checks 
 passed as gold everywhere, from hand to hand, while 
 the gold, untouched, remained in the vaults. Ketchum 
 
IMMORALITIES OF THE STREET. 1 17 
 
 drew an untold number of ehecks, forged the certifi- 
 cation, and scattered them in every direction. The 
 success of his movement led to an entire change in 
 the system, and gold checks are now issued at the 
 Treasury Department, and certified there. 
 
 The detection of the Ketchum forgeries was inevita- 
 ble. The road may be a long one, but the turn surely 
 comes. A wealthy German loaned Ketchum & Sons 
 eighty thousand dollars on one of the forged checks. 
 The bad spelling of the name of the house satisfied 
 the broker that something was wrong. "He called in 
 his loan, and said nothing. Meeting a friend in the 
 street the next day, he said, u you loaned the Ketch- 
 urns seventy thousand yesterday, call in your loan 
 and ask no questions." Presenting his securities for 
 money, Ketchum was refused by one or two large 
 houses. He was satisfied that his secret was out, and 
 he resolved to flee. The excitement was terrific when 
 the forgeries were known. For the house there was 
 very little sympathy. It was known to be sharp and 
 hard, though successful. The pound of flesh was ex- 
 acted, and the scales and knife were always ready. 
 Sympathy with debtors was not a part of its code, and 
 failure to meet liabilities was regarded as a crime. 
 When the house went down, as sharp, hard firms are 
 apt to, the feeling of the street was one of relief, and 
 not of sympathy. "He shall have judgment without 
 mercy," is a text from which sermons are constantly 
 preached in Wall street. 
 
 A CASE IX POIXT. 
 
 In one of the small streets of lower New York, where 
 men who are " hard up " congregate, where those who 
 
148 A SHARP MERCHANT. 
 
 do brokerage in a small way have a business location, a 
 name can be read on a small tin sign, that is eminently 
 suggestive. The man who has desk-room in that 
 locality I have known as a leading merchant in New 
 York. His house was extensive, his business large. 
 He was talked of as the rival of Stewart. No store in 
 New York was more celebrated. He was sharp at a 
 trade, and successful. He was a hard creditor, and un- 
 relenting. He asked no favors, and granted none. It 
 was useless for a debtor to appeal to him. " Settle, 
 sir ! " he would say, in a sharp, hard manner, " settle, 
 sir ! How will I settle ? I will settle for a hundred 
 cents on the dollar, sir." Nothing could induce him to 
 take his iron grasp off of an unfortunate trader. Over 
 his desk was a sign, on which was painted in large 
 letters, a No Compromise." ' He answered all appeals 
 by pointing to the ominous words, with his long, bony 
 fingers. His turn came. He went under — deep. All 
 New York was glad. 
 
 In travelling, I passed the night with a wealthy mer 
 chant. His name on 'change was a tower of strength. 
 He had made his fortune, and was proud of it. He said 
 he could retire from business if he would, have a for- 
 tune for himself to spend, and settle one on his wife 
 and children. He was very successful, but very severe. 
 He was accounted one of the shrewdest merchants in 
 the city. But he had no tenderness towards debtors. 
 In the day of his prosperity he was celebrated for 
 demanding the full tale of brick, and the full pound of 
 flesh. A few months after I passed the night with him 
 he became bankrupt. His wealth fled in a day. He 
 
 
A SHARP MERCHANT. 11!) 
 
 had failed to settle the fortune on his wife and children, 
 and they were penniless. lie was treated harshly, and 
 was summarily ejected from the institutions over which 
 he presided. He complained bitterly of the ingratitude 
 of men who almost got down on their knees to ask 
 favors of him when he was prosperous, and who spurned 
 and reviled him when he fell. If in the day of his 
 prosperity he had been kinder and less exacting, he 
 might have found friends in the day of his adversity. 
 
 The infatuation of young Ketchum was not the least 
 remarkable thing in his career. He disappeared from 
 the street, but hung around New York, hiding himself 
 in cheap boarding houses through the day, and roam- 
 ing through the city at night. It was proposed to 
 save him from prison. Disgraced and ruined, it was 
 thought that a felon's brand would be kept from his 
 brow. Arrangements were made to pay the forged 
 checks, and keep him from the hands of the authori- 
 ties. Wall street would rather have money than the 
 body of the criminal. It is the style of the street to 
 take the cash, and let the culprit run. It was agreed 
 that the parties who had been victimized, when they 
 got their money, should not appear against the forger. 
 Ketchum could easily have escaped. Gray was caught, 
 and a check for four hundred dollars procured his lib- 
 erty. Ask a party in Wall street why a reward of five 
 thousand dollars is not offered for a defaulter, and the 
 answer will be, "What's the use; the man will give a 
 thousand more to go clear." Ketchum seemed to de- 
 liver himself up. Forged gold certificates were found 
 on his person. Nothing remained but to lock him up 
 
150 THE GREAT PERIL. 
 
 in the Tombs. He was put in a cell occupied a clay or 
 two before by a murderer. A young man, almost at 
 the head of the financial world, with an elegant home, 
 moving in the upper ranks of social life, with all the 
 cash at command that he could spend, with a brilliant 
 future before him, an opportunity, such as not one in 
 a thousand enjoys, of placing his name among the 
 most eminent financial men in the world, he yielded 
 to the allurements and temptations of the street, threw 
 all that was valuable in life away, and accepted a 
 felon's name and doom. 
 
 THE GREAT PERIL. 
 
 No barriers seemed to be strong enough to protect 
 those who throw themselves on the excitement of stock 
 speculation. Like the cup of abominations in the 
 Apocalypse, it seems to drunken and madden all who 
 touch it. A young man of very brilliant abilities had 
 an important financial position in a prominent house. 
 His salary was liberal, his social position high, and his 
 style of living genteel. He was a racy writer, and a 
 popular correspondent. He took a special interest in 
 Sunday schools, and in religious and reformatory move- 
 ments. He was especially prominent in the christian 
 associations of the land. While at a national meeting 
 of associations, in which he bore a very conspicuous 
 part, even while he was speaking on a subject involv- 
 ing soundness of doctrine, telegraph wires were quiv- 
 ering in every direction with the intelligence of defal- 
 cations with which he was charged. It was the old 
 story of dishonesty of long standing, with frauds run- 
 ning over a series of years, carefully covered up, and 
 
THE GREAT PERIL. 151 
 
 ingeniously hidden; vouchers forged, and an appa- 
 rently fair page, full of wrongs. Early, a little st< 
 
 venture was indulged in; to save that, more money was 
 needed. A loss in one direction was to be repaired 
 by a little speculation in another. Money borrowed 
 for a day or two, and then the men set out on a tramp 
 in the beaten path to ruin, where so many specula- 
 tors go. 
 
 HOW THE MONEY GOES. 
 
 The most astounding thing about many of these de- 
 falcations is, that parties involved in crime secure no 
 personal benefit to themselves. It was not believed 
 that Ketchum had the benefit of the million or more 
 of money that he got by forgery. San ford, who in 
 an hour destroyed the repute earned by thirty years 
 of honest service, when he ran away, though his defal- 
 cations were heavy, left his family penniless, and car- 
 ried nothing with him. To obtain a high position in 
 a bank, or financial company, the position of paying 
 teller or cashier, or get a prominent office, is a great 
 thing in Xew York. The pay is large, the position 
 permanent. Capitalists who put money in these insti- 
 tutions, do it often to make a place for their children 
 or relations. Vacancies rarely occur, few die, and 
 none resign. Each director and officer, and each polit- 
 ical organization, has a list of candidates for vacan- 
 cies that may occur. If a man holds a responsible 
 position under the government, he must have bonds- 
 men; the same is true of cashiers, treasurers, and 
 presidents. Men who justify in sums of quarter of a 
 million or less, must secure well known bondsmen. 
 Such men are not plenty, and they do not expose 
 
152 TELE GREAT PERIL. 
 
 themselves without a consideration. They get accom- 
 modations, and often a loan of money and bonds held 
 by these custodians for safe keeping. These funds are 
 thrown on the street for speculation. Not long since, 
 a young man who was considered the very soul of 
 honor, who was never known to equivocate, even, 
 whose character from his boyhood was that of honest 
 simplicity, whose great ambition it was to support his 
 mother, who was a widow, was found to be a defaulter 
 to a heavy amount. His style of living was such, and 
 his well known habits, that it was known that he could 
 not have squandered the money on himself. He was 
 too timid to speculate, and the marvel was what had 
 been done with the funds. His bondsman had used 
 them for his own purposes. First, the young man cer- 
 tified a check when there was no money in the bank, 
 on the promise of its being made good the next day. 
 The bondsman made a tool of the young officer, first 
 by threatening to withdraw as bondsman, and then, 
 having led him on, by threatening an exposure. The 
 books were altered, and the young man was driven 
 almost to madness by his position. Of the heavy sum 
 lost by the bank, not a dollar went into his own pocket. 
 He is an illustration of thousands who are the dupes 
 of designing men. Some moneyed institutions are 
 exclusively managed by a clique in Wall street. If 
 they wish to produce a panic, they take the funds of 
 the bank, and accomplish the purpose. Bank stock 
 in huge blocks, is bought, sold, and moved about to 
 accomplish the schemes and combinations of stock 
 speculators. It is no uncommon thing, for men on 
 the street, to demand and use the funds of public in- 
 
WALL STREET WRECKS. L53 
 
 stitutions. More than a million of public money has 
 been known to be moved into Wall street for a day's 
 speculation. 
 
 WALL STREET WRECKS. 
 
 The wreck of public men, who venture on the street, 
 is sad to l«>ok upon. A short time since, a gentle- 
 man was on trial before the United States Court for 
 a conspiracy to defraud the government. Some of the 
 principal witnesses were men who have stood very 
 high in the community, worn judicial honors, and been 
 ranked as the most eminent of citizens. Some of these 
 witnesses would have been included in the indictment, 
 but the government kept them as witnesses. These 
 men, themselves criminals, showed under oath, how 
 the public funds were used, how fortunes were 
 swamped in speculation, and how the greed of gain 
 allures honorable men from the right path. A legal 
 gentleman was offered a judicial nomination in a case 
 where a nomination would have been equivalent to an 
 election. The conditions connected with the nomina- 
 tion were such, that as a man of honor he felt bound 
 to decline. Almost daily, on Wall street, I meet a 
 man, not forty; his look is downcast, dress seedy, and 
 his desire seems to be to shun every one. I knew him 
 a short time since as a lawyer in Wall street, the head 
 of a happy home, a Sunday school teacher, and an hon- 
 ored man. He took to the ways of the street, and 
 has just returned from the State's prison. A Sunday 
 School Superintendent, and a very devoted one, too, 
 a trustee of a college, and an influential man, left his 
 office, and the quiet walks of social and domestic life, 
 
154 WALL STREET WRECICS. 
 
 for the glitter and profit of a public position. Every- 
 body congratulated him on his good fortune. His 
 friends gave him a dinner in honor of his elevation. 
 He remained in office but a short time. During that 
 short period, he left his school, was removed from 
 church, lost his own fortune, involved his friends, and 
 was charged with using money that belonged to the 
 government. The pressure for money, inside and out, 
 was too great, and the temptation in which he was 
 placed too strong for him, and he has passed out of 
 sight. 
 
 Quite a young man in New York made his fortune 
 in some lucky speculations. He was admitted to be 
 very smart, and was said to be a person of a great 
 deal of manliness and integrity. One of the methods 
 of the street to raise money is to get up bogus stock 
 companies, get a few names well known on the Board, 
 and these are paid, hire money to pay a dividend, 
 throw the stock on the market, and during the ex- 
 citement sell out, and enjoy the ill-gotten gain. The 
 names of the Directors are used to decoy victims. 
 The rousing dividend excites the cupidity of men in 
 haste to be rich. There is a great deal of money on 
 the street waiting to be invested. Stock paying ten 
 or twenty per cent, is very alluring. Money is taken 
 out of the Savings Bank, drawn out of Trust Compa- 
 nies, removed from where it lies safely, drawing a 
 reasonable interest or paying a fair dividend, and put 
 in the new company where dividends are so large. In 
 a few weeks or months the concern is blown to atoms, 
 and mourners go about the streets. The victims are" 
 usually those least able to bear the loss. One day, a 
 
WALL STREET WRECKS. 155 
 
 company of persons came into the counting room of 
 the young man referred to above, and offered him two 
 hundred and fifty thousand dollars if he would allow 
 his name to be used as President of a new company 
 about to be started. The conspirators knew that with 
 his name they could sell half a million of stock. As 
 coolly as if they were naming the price of a barrel of 
 oil, he said, "Gentlemen, my name is not worth two 
 hundred and fifty thousand dollars, but if it is, I can't 
 afford to throw it away on a bogus stock company.' 1 
 
 A man came to the surface not long since as a poli- 
 tician, and was elected to the legislature. For a bribe 
 of twelve hundred dollars he abandoned his party, and 
 was elected to an honorable position. Political influ- 
 ence obtained for him a lucrative berth in the city, 
 and he took his place among the financial men. He 
 became involved in stupendous frauds ; his new style 
 of life opened to him extravagancies and luxuries to 
 which he was before a stranger. His day dream was 
 a short one. In a few months he was an inmate of the 
 penitentiary. 
 
 Quite a young man appeared on the street as the 
 representative of one of the heaviest New England 
 houses. He boarded at a magnificent hotel, and 
 prided himself on having the largest cash balance in 
 the bank of any of his associates. The head of the 
 house which he represented in New York, died very 
 suddenly, and it was found that the house itself, sup- 
 posed to be one of the richest in New England, was 
 bankrupt — ruined through the agency, recklessness, 
 and dissipation of the young representative in New 
 York. That a house so old and honored, holding in 
 
156 WALL STREET WRECKS. 
 
 trust the funds of widows and orphans, should allow 
 itself to be represented by a dissolute young man, 
 with whom no prudent person who knew him would 
 trust a thousand dollars, is marvelous. The young 
 man was notorious in New York for his dissipation, 
 habits of gaming and drinking, loose company, and 
 rash and daring speculations. He is a type of a large 
 class on the street. 
 
 A gentleman residing in the suburbs had but little 
 confidence in banks. He kept his securities locked up 
 in his safe at home. His son-in-law, doing business in 
 New York, came up once a week to spend Sunday. 
 During one of these visits the keys of the safe myste- 
 riously disappeared. The old merchant was advised 
 by his son-in-law to send the safe to New York to be 
 opened, and he volunteered to take charge of the op- 
 eration. The safe came back with a nicely fitted key. 
 Three months afterwards it was discovered that funds 
 to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars had 
 been abstracted. Nothing could be proved against 
 the son in-law, and to prevent family disgrace, the 
 thing blew over. A few days ago, an extensive com- 
 mission dealer ran away, carrying with him, not only 
 the funds of the house, but a good deal of money be- 
 longing to other people. He proved to be the same 
 shrewd gentleman who furnished the key to his rela- 
 tive's safe. 
 
 Such is life in Wall Street. 
 
X. 
 
 GAMBLING MANIA IN WALL STREET, 
 AND ITS FRUITS. 
 
 A. CASE IN POINT. — NO MORAL PRINCIPLE. — THE INFATUATION. — SHARP 
 
 PRACTICE. — THE STREET ON THE OUTSIDE. — THE SCHUYLER FRAUD. 
 
 LODGINGS IN A TENEMENT HOUSE. — PERILS OF SPECULATION. — HONESTY 
 LEADS. 
 
 The haste to be rich, by a lucky stroke of fortune, 
 by hazarding a few thousands in Wall Street, is the 
 same spirit that leads thousands to the gambling table. 
 Lines of victims move in procession into the street 
 daily, to try their fortune. Into the great maelstrom, 
 money is thrown, earned in the mines of Montana, dug 
 out of the rich soil of California, earned by hard toil 
 on a New England farm. The surplus of a successful 
 season in trade, the hard earnings of a mechanic whose 
 wife wishes to go to Newport and the Springs — the 
 wife's dower that should be put down in government 
 securities, the pittance of the orphan, by which it is 
 hoped that one thousand will swell to ten if not to 
 hundreds, are hazarded in stock speculations. How- 
 ever honest and regular as a class brokers may be, the 
 gambling mania centering in Wall Street sweeps like 
 the simoon of the desert over every section of our 
 land. The whole business of the country has been 
 thrown from its centre, and trade generally partakes 
 
 (157) 
 
158 A CASE IN POINT. 
 
 of the excitement and fluctuation of stocks in the mar- 
 ket, A man who goes into Wall Street to do business, 
 goes with his eyes open. He knows, or may know, 
 that he is at the mercy of a dozen unscrupulous men 
 who can swallow him up in an hour if they will. Among 
 the thousand small brokers of the street, there is a per- 
 fect understanding that any one of them may go home 
 penniless before night. The same combinations that 
 lock up greenbacks and corner gold in the street, strike 
 trade in every direction. Wheat and corn are subject 
 to the same fluctuation and uncertainty that attends 
 stock. A speculator in the street gets a private tele- 
 gram that grain is scarce, or corn heated, or some 
 news that affects the market. He goes immediately 
 to the Corn Exchange and bulls and bears grain as he 
 would stocks. The same men monopolize coal. The 
 market is entirely bought up, or the miners are paid 
 daily wages to go on a strike. 
 
 A CASE IN POINT. 
 
 Dry goods are as sensitive and as much subject to 
 the gambling mania as money. Extravagant hotels, 
 aristocratic groceries, from which goods are delivered 
 by servants in livery, enormous drinking places fitted 
 up like a royal palace, bespeak the extravagance of 
 the age. In the vicinity of Union Park a snobby spec- 
 ulator, some time ago, set up a then princely mansion. 
 It was brown stone in front, and radiant in gold and 
 gilt. It was furnished sumptuously with gold gilt 
 rosewood furniture, satin coverings woven in gold and 
 imported from Paris, carpets more costly than were 
 ever before laid in the city, and all the appliances of 
 
X<> MORAL PRINCIPLE. 159 
 
 fashion, wealth, and taste, were included in the adorn- 
 ment. It was a nine days' wonder of the city, and, 
 like other experiments of the same sort, it came to an 
 end. The furniture was brought to the block and the 
 family disappeared from among the aristocracy of the 
 city. A new sensation* awaited the curious. The 
 splendid mansion was to be turned into a first class 
 dry goods store. It would outrival Stewart and Claflin, 
 and nothing to eoual it would be found in London or 
 Paris. The whole front was torn out and the building 
 fitted up with plate glass, and made gorgeous as the 
 reception room of a sovereign. Humor ascribed to the 
 firm untold wealth, so that should they sink one or 
 two hundred thousand dollars in establishing trade, it 
 would not embarrass or discourage the house. The 
 opening day came, and such a sight New York never 
 saw. All the stories were thrown open. The business 
 was in apartments and gorgeously fitted up. An army 
 of salesmen and clerks were in their places, arrayed in 
 full evening dress, with white gloves. All New York 
 poured in, as it would have done to have seen the 
 proprietors hanged, — and, then turned away as fash- 
 ionable New York will, leaving the concern high and 
 dry like a vessel on the beach. A disastrous failure 
 followed, and the ruined speculators, satisfied that New 
 York was not a theatre for their genius, retired. Three 
 hundred thousand dollars could not have been lost 
 more artistically in Wall Street. 
 
 NO MORAL PRINCIPLE. 
 
 Gambling and moral principle are not yoke fellows. 
 The very style of business done in the street brunts 
 
160 NO MORAL PRINCIPLE. 
 
 the moral sense. When Swarthwout embezzled the 
 Government funds and gave his name to a system of 
 swindling which has become so disgracefully common, 
 he stood alone in his disgraceful eminence. To-day 
 gigantic frauds, embezzlements, and robberies, are so 
 common that but little attention is paid to the revela- 
 tions. The papers are full of instances of trusted and 
 honored men, who commit great frauds. A small por- 
 tion only of such crimes come to the surface. The 
 affair is hushed up to prevent family disgrace. A cor- 
 poration threatened with the loss of one hundred thou- 
 sand dollars or more by the roguery of an official, had 
 rather take the money from a friend than lock up the 
 criminal. Thousands of companies sprung up during 
 the oil speculations. Full two-thirds of these were 
 frauds, and dupes and victims swindled on the right 
 and on the left, were counted by thousands. Men who 
 went to bed supposing that they were worth a quarter 
 of a million awoke in the morning to find that they had 
 been swindled out of all their money, and were beg- 
 gars. The spirit infects nearly all the officials of the 
 government to-day. The money stolen by men in pub- 
 lic places is lost in Wall Street or squandered at the 
 gaming table. Not long since one of the best known 
 business men was suddenly killed on a train of cars. 
 No man stood higher in the church or State. He had 
 immense sums of trust money in his hands belonging 
 to widows and orphans, and religious associations, for 
 he was thought safer than any savings bank. He 
 was a fine looking man, cheery in spirit, agreeable in 
 manner. He was supposed to be the embodiment of 
 integrity and fidelity. His sudden death brought his 
 
NO MORAL PRINCIPLE, 1G1 
 
 affairs to the surface. He was found to be a defaulter 1 
 to an immense amount. He had taken the funds of 
 widows and orphans and sunk them in the maelstrom 
 of Wall Street, Instead of leaving his family a princely 
 fortune, he left his wife and children dishonored and 
 ruined. In the olden time, a merchant would no more 
 have used trust money in his own business, than he 
 would have committed any other great crime. At the 
 head of one of our largest and most successful banks 
 was a gentleman, who for a quarter of a century had 
 the established reputation which high honor, business 
 talent, and honest devotion to his pursuits, give. His 
 habits were simple ; his house modest, and his style 
 of living much below his position, lie left the bank 
 one night, at the usual time, bidding his associates a 
 cheery good evening. He did not return; he has 
 never returned. On examining his accounts, it was 
 found that he was a heavy defaulter. Not content with 
 his salary and his business, anxious to secure a fortune 
 which could be had for the taking, he put himself into 
 the hands of stock gamblers. He squandered his own 
 money, and the fortune of his wife, sold bonds placed 
 in the bank for safe keeping, and speculated with and 
 lost the funds of depositors. He carried nothing with 
 him, but fled from his home a poor, as well as a dis- 
 graced man — bankrupt in fortune, integrity, ano^all. 
 The frequent and glaring crimes connected with gold 
 gambling do not alarm the community. Some regard 
 the revelations as a good joke, or a sharp hit. Men 
 wonder how much the party made, and often consider 
 the criminal a fool for not doing better. Bets are fre- 
 quently put up, as to the amounts taken ; if the rob- 
 11 
 
162 NO MORA L PRINCIPLE. 
 
 bery runs up to a hundred or two hundred thousand 
 dollars, then the speculation is as to how much the de- 
 faulter will return to have the matter hushed up. To 
 show how little public morality there is, take an inci- 
 dent : I was present not long since a$ a convention 
 held under the auspices of one of the leading religious 
 denominations of the State. A prominent pastor of 
 this city accused another of stating things that were 
 wholly false, both on the floor of the meeting and out- 
 side. Other eminent men confirmed the statement, 
 one of whom said that the pastor was notorious for his 
 u conspicuous inaccuracies." The whole thing was 
 treated as a good joke. The party accused was cov- 
 ered with confusion and could not reply. The con- 
 vention were very merry over his embarrassment. 
 Twenty-five years ago, had a New York pastor been 
 accused of falsehood in an assembly and confessed it 
 by his silence, the whole religious world would have 
 been agitated. One of our banks was robbed, and it 
 put its loss at twenty-five thousand dollars. The com- 
 munity didn't believe a word of it, and the commu- 
 nity were right.. Another bank, which had lost heavily 
 by a defaulting cashier, made an official statement that 
 its loss would not exceed one hundred thousand dol- 
 lars. A few years ago such a statement signed by 
 bank officers would have received implicit credit. Not 
 only the press placed no reliance in such official state- 
 ment, but the discussions in the banks and on change 
 showed the want of confidence in such matters. Iri 
 this age of demoralization, when everything is unset- 
 tled morally, and everybody is at sea, when checks, 
 notes and bonds have to be examined with a micro- 
 
THE INFATUATION. 1^3 
 
 >e to sec whether they arc forged or altered, when 
 the recklessness, infatuation, and madness of Baden 
 Baden pervades every department of business, it is 
 something to say that in the Board of Brokers in Wall 
 Street there has not appeared a defaulter in a quarter*- 1 
 of a century, or a man that has repudiated or broken 
 his contracts. 
 
 THE INFATUATION. 
 
 Men who have had a taste of the street cannot be 
 kept from their favorite haunts. I sat in the office of 
 a gentleman the other day-, who, six months ago, was 
 a rich man. For twenty-five years he has done a suc- 
 cessful business, and at no time has known financial 
 embarrassment. He lived in luxury in a city and 
 country home. It was his boast that he never gave 
 a note, incurred a debt, or failed to have his check 
 honored for any amount needed. A nice little scheme 
 was presented to him by some confidential friends. It 
 was a time of general excitement. The speculation 
 was such a nice one, and the gain so certain and large, 
 that the man placed his name at the disposal of the 
 combination, and, of course, was ruined. It took him 
 twelve hours to scatter the labor of twenty-four years. 
 Some spiritualists got hold of a capitalist not long 
 since. He had half a million to invest, and he did it 
 in original style. Having great confidence in Web- 
 ster and Clay while they lived, he thought they might 
 have a better acquaintance with financial matters in 
 the spirit land than they exhibited when they lived. 
 Through parties competent to do it, he opened com- 
 munications with those distinguished statesmen. They 
 
lGi THE INFATUATION. 
 
 seemed very ready to assist him in his speculations. 
 They wrote him long communications through his 
 mediums, which he read to his friends. It was ob- 
 served that Clay's intellect seemed to be a little shaken 
 since his departure, and Webster was more diffuse 
 and less compact and sententious than when in the 
 land of the living. It was also very apparent that 
 these distinguished gentlemen in the spirit land did 
 not know much about the affairs in this world, for ihe 
 speculations proved most ruinous. They tied up the 
 good man's fortune, and well nigh beggared him. But 
 his confidence in the ability of Webster and Clay to 
 guide him to untold wealth is unshaken. How un- 
 certain speculation is may be learned from an answer 
 given by one of our oldest and most successful bro- 
 kers to a friend. " I have fifty thousand dollars to in- 
 vest," said the man to the dealer in stocks, "what 
 would you advise me to do ? " The broker pointed 
 his finger to a donkey cart going by, loaded with 
 ashes, "Go and ask that man driving the ash cart," 
 said the broker; "he knows as much about it as I 
 do." When the oldest, the shrewdest, and the most 
 successful operators lose from fifty thousand to half 
 a million at a blow, what can small speculators ex- 
 pect? Yet the infatuation continues.. Seedy men 
 hang around their old haunts, waiting for something 
 to turn up. There is an old man nearly eighty, who 
 can be seen daily in Wall Street, who is as infatuated 
 as any gambler in the world. He was accounted a 
 millionaire a few months ago. Naturally cool, selfish, 
 and self-reliant, a mania seemed to have possessed 
 him. He promised over and over again to leave the 
 
SHARP PRACTICE. 165 
 
 street. Everybody saw that he was going to ruin. 
 One morning he came down, made a plunge, lost 
 everything, and has gone home to die — a type of 
 tribes who dabble in stock. 
 
 SHARP PRACTICE. 
 
 The sudden collapse of fortunes, closing of elegant 
 mansions, the selling off of plate and horses at auction, 
 the hurling of men down from first class positions to 
 subordinate posts, is an every-day occurrence in New 
 York. In almost every case these reverses result from 
 outside trading, and meddling with matters foreign 
 to one's legitimate business. The city is full of sharp 
 rogues and unprincipled speculators, who lie awake 
 nights to catch the unwary. None are more easily en- 
 snared than hotel-keepers, and this is the way it is done: 
 A well-dressed, good-looking man comes into a hotel, 
 and brings his card as the president of some great 
 stock company. In a careless, indifferent way he asks 
 to look at a suite of rooms. He has previously ascer- 
 tained that the proprietor has from fifty to a hundred 
 thousand dollars in the bank waiting for something to 
 turn up. The rooms shown are not good enough. He 
 wants rooms that will accommodate, certain distin- 
 guished gentlemen, whom he names, who happen to 
 be the well-known leading financiers of the great cities. 
 A better suite is shown the president. The cost is 
 high — one thousand dollars a month. But the rooms 
 suit; he must accommodate his friends ; a few thousands 
 one way or the other won't make much difference with 
 his company ; so he concludes to take the rooms. The 
 
136 SHARP PEA CTICE. 
 
 landlord hints at references ; the president chuckles at 
 the idea that he should be called upon for references ; 
 he never gives any ; but if the landlord wants one or 
 two thousand dollars, he can have it. " Let me see/' the 
 president says, very coolly, " I shall want these rooms 
 about six months, off and on. I may be gone half the 
 time, or more. If it's any accommodation to you, I will 
 give you my check for six thousand dollars, and pay 
 the whole thing up." Of course the landlord is all 
 smiles, and the president takes possession. Before the 
 six months are out, from fifty to a hundred thousand 
 dollars of the landlord's money goes into the hands of 
 the speculator, and a lot of worthless stock is locked 
 up in the safe of the hotel. 
 
 Another scheme is equally successful. The rooms 
 are taken, and the occupant is the most liberal of 
 guests. Champagne suppers and costly viands are 
 ordered without stint, and promptly paid for. Coaches 
 with liveried drivers and footmen, hired for the occa- 
 sion, leave imposing cards at the hotel. The obsequi- 
 ous landlord and well-feed steward pay especial atten- 
 tion to the wants of the liberal guest. Waiters fly at 
 his command, and the choicest tit-bits are placed before 
 him. Picking his teeth after breakfast while the land- 
 lord is chatting with him some Saturday morning when 
 it rains, he expresses a wish, rather indifferently, that 
 he had fifty thousand dollars. His banker won't be 
 home till Monday — don't care much about it — get 
 it easy enough going down town — wouldn't go out in 
 the rain for twice the sum — indifferent about it, and 
 yet evidently annoyed. The landlord goes into his 
 
THE STREET OX THE OUTSIDE. 1G7 
 
 office and examines his bank account, and finds lie 
 can spare fifty thousand dollars, without any incon- 
 venience, till Monday. Glad to accommodate his 
 tinguished guest, who is going to bring all the 
 moneyed men to his hotel, he hands over the money, 
 which is refused two or three times before it is taken. 
 On Monday morning the hotel man finds that his 
 distinguished tenant has put a Sabbath between him- 
 self and pursuit. Such tricks are played constantly, 
 and new victims are found every day. 
 
 THE STREET OX THE OUTSIDE. 
 
 Men who visit New York, and sec nothing but the 
 outside aspect which it presents, imagine that success 
 is one of the easiest things in the world, and to heap 
 
 O 1 
 
 up riches a mere pastime in the city. They are famil- 
 iar with the name and history of the Astors. They 
 "know that Stewart began life a poor boy, kept store in 
 a small shanty, and kept house in a few rooms in a 
 dwelling, and boarded his help. They walk through 
 Fifth Avenue, and look on the outside of palaces where 
 men dwell who left home a few years ago with their 
 worldly wealth tied up in a cotton handkerchief. They 
 stroll around Central Park, and magnificent team-, 
 gay equipages, and gayer ladies and gentlemen, go by 
 in a constant stream ; and men are pointed out who a 
 short time ago were grooms, coachmen, ticket-takers, 
 boot-blacks, news-boys, printer's devils, porters, and 
 coal-heavers, who have come up from the lower walks 
 of life by dabbling in stocks, by a lucky speculation, or 
 
168 THE SCHUYLER FRAUD. 
 
 a sudden turn of fortune. So young men pour in from 
 the country, confident of success, and ignorant that 
 these men are the exceptions to the general law of 
 trade ; and that ruin and not success, defeat and not 
 fortune, bankruptcy and not a fine competence, are 
 the law of New York trade. 
 
 Nothing is more striking or more sad than the com- 
 mercial reverses of this city. They come like tempests 
 and hail storms which threaten every man's plantation, 
 and cut down the harvest ready for the sickle. Few 
 firms haye had permanent success for twenty-five 
 years. In one house in this city twenty men are em- 
 ployed as salesmen on a salary, who, ten years ago, 
 were called princely merchants, whose families lived 
 in style, and who led the fashions. Men who embark 
 on the treacherous sea of mercantile life are ingulfed, 
 and while their richly-laden barks go down, they 
 escape personally by the masts and spars thrown to 
 them by more fortunate adventurers. One house in 
 this city, quite as celebrated at one time as Stewart's, 
 who, in imitation of that gentleman, built their marble 
 store on Broadway, are now salesmen in establishments 
 more successful than their own. New York is full of 
 reduced merchants. Some of them bravely bear up 
 under their reverses. Some hide away in the multitude 
 of our people. Some take rooms in tenant-houses. 
 Some do a little brokerage business, given to them by 
 those who knew them in better days. Some take to 
 the bottle, and add moral to commercial ruin. 
 
 THE SCHUYLER FRAUD. 
 
 One of the most successful railroad men of New York 
 boarded at one of our principal hotels. He was an 
 unmarried man. He was accounted an eminent and 
 
THE SCHUYLER FRAUD. 1G9 
 
 successful financier. His reputation and standing were 
 unquestioned. He was connected with the principal 
 capitalist in the city, and was one whom New York 
 delighted to honor. In a small house in the upper 
 part of the city lie had a home. Here he lived a part 
 of his time, and reared a family, though the mother of 
 his children was not Iris wife. Down town, at his hotel, 
 he passed by one name, up town, in his house, he was 
 known by another. It would seem impossible that a 
 prominent business man, reputed to be rich, brought 
 into daily business contact with princely merchants 
 and bankers, the head of a large railroad interest could 
 reside in New York, and for a number of years lead 
 the double life of a bachelor and a man of family ; be 
 known by one name down town, and another name up 
 town ; yet so it was. At his hotel and at his office he 
 was found at the usual hours. To his up-town home 
 he came late and went out early. There he was seldom 
 seen. The landlord, the butcher, the grocer, and the 
 milkman transacted all their business with the lady. 
 Bills were promptly paid, and no questions asked. 
 The little girls became young ladies. They went to 
 the best boarding-schools in the land. 
 
 An unexpected crisis came. A clergyman in good 
 standing became acquainted with one of the daughters 
 at her boarding-school. He regarded her with so much 
 interest, that he solicited her hand in marriage. He 
 was referred to the mother. The daughters had said 
 that their father was a wealthy merchant of New 
 York ; but his name did not appear in the Directory, 
 he was not known on 'change. The lover only knew 
 the name by which the daughters were called. The 
 
170 THE SCHUYLER FRAUD. 
 
 mother was affable, but embarrassed. The gentlema: 
 thought something was wrong, and insisted on a per- 
 sonal interview with the father. The time was ap- 
 pointed for the interview. The young man was greatly 
 astonished to discover in the father of the young lady 
 one of the most eminent business men of the city. He 
 gave his consent to the marriage, and promised to do 
 well by the daughter, though he admitted that the 
 mother of the young lady was not his wife. The 
 clergyman was greatly attached to the young woman, 
 who was really beautiful and accomplished. He agreed 
 to lead her to the altar, if, at the same time, the mer- 
 chant would make the mother his wife. This was 
 agreed to, and the double wedding was consummated 
 the same night. The father and mother were first 
 married, and then the father gave away the daughter. 
 The affair created a ten days' sensation. The veil of 
 secrecy was removed. The family took the down-town 
 name, which was the real one — a name among the 
 most honored in the city. An up-town fashionable 
 mansion was purchased, and fitted up in style. Crowds 
 filled the spacious parlors, for there was just piquancy 
 enough in the case to make it attractive. Splendid 
 coaches of the fashionable filled the street ; a dashing 
 company crowded the pavement, and rushed up the 
 steps to enjoy the sights. These brilliant parties con- 
 tinued but a short time. The merchant was rotten at 
 heart. All New York was astounded one day at the 
 report that the great railroad king had become a gi- 
 gantic defaulter, and had absconded. His crash carried 
 down fortunes and families with his own. Commercial 
 circles yet suffer for his crimes. The courts are still 
 
LODGINGS IN A TENEMENT nOT'SE. 171 
 
 fretted with suits between great corporations and indi- 
 viduals growing out of these transactions. Fashionable 
 New York, which could overlook twenty years of 
 criminal life, could not excuse poverty. It took re- 
 prisals for bringing this family into social position by 
 hurling it back into an obscurity from which probably 
 it will never emerge. 
 
 LODGINGS IN A TENEMENT HOUSE. 
 
 A few summers ago a lady of New York reigned as 
 a belle at Saratoga. Her elegant and numerous 
 dresses, valuable diamonds, and dashing turnout at- 
 tracted great attention. Her husband was a quiet sort 
 of a man, attending closely to his business. 110* came 
 to Saratoga on Saturdays, and returned early on Mon- 
 day morning. The lady led a gay life, was the centre 
 of attraction, patronized the plays, and was eagerly 
 sought as a partner at the balls. After a very brilliant 
 and gay season she disappeared from fashionable life, 
 and was soon forgotten. One cold season a benevolent 
 New York lady visited a tenement-house on an errand 
 of mercy. Mistaking the door to which she was di- 
 rected, she knocked at a corresponding one on another 
 story. The door was opened by a female, who looked 
 on the visitor for an instant, and then suddenly closed 
 the door. The lady was satisfied that she had seen 
 the woman somewhere, and thinking she might afford 
 aid to a needy person, she persistently knocked at the 
 door till it was opened. Judge of her surprise when 
 she found that the occupant of that room, in that tene- 
 ment-house, was the dashing belle whom she had met 
 a season or two before at the Springs ! In one room 
 
172 LODGINGS IN A TENEMENT HOUSE. 
 
 herself and husband lived, in a building overrun with 
 occupants, crowded with children, dirt, and turbulence. 
 Mortification and suffering, blended with poverty, in a 
 few months had done the work of years on that comely 
 face. Her story was the old one repeated a thousand 
 times. Reverses, like a torrent, suddenly swept away 
 a large fortune. Her husband became discouraged, 
 disconsolate, and refused to try again. He lost his 
 self-respect, took to the bowl, and became a drunkard. 
 The wife followed him step by step in his descent, from 
 his high place among the merchants to his home 
 among the dissolute. To furnish herself and husband 
 with bread, she parted with her dresses, jewels, and 
 personal effects. She pointed to a heap in the corner, 
 covered with rags, and that was all that remained of 
 a princely merchant ! 
 
 PERILS OF SPECULATION. 
 
 The speculating mania which pervades New York is 
 one of the rocks in the channel on which so many 
 strike and founder. Shrewd, enterprising men, who 
 are engaged in successful business, are induced to make 
 investments in stocks and operations of various kinds, 
 and are thus at the mercy of sharpers. Their balance 
 in the bank is well known. Speculators lay snares for 
 them, and catch them with guile. A man makes 
 money in a business he understands, and loses it in 
 one he knows nothing about. One is a successful mer- 
 chant, and he imagines he can be a successful broker ; 
 one stands at the head of the bar, and he thinks he can 
 lead the Stock Board. He is a broker ; he adds to it 
 an interest in railroads or steamboats. Men have a 
 
PERILS OF SPECULATION. 173 
 
 few thousand dollars that they do not need at present 
 in their business. They are easily enticed into a little 
 speculation by which they may make their fortune. 
 They get in a little way, and to save what they have 
 invested they advance more. They continue in this 
 course until their outside ventures ruin their legitimate 
 business. Stock companies, patent medicines, patent 
 machines, oil wells, and copper stocks have carried 
 down thousands of reputed millionnaires, with bankers, 
 brokers, and dry goods men, who have been duped by 
 unprincipled schemers. Fortunes made by tact, dili- 
 gence, and shrewdness, are lost by an insane desire to 
 make fifty or one hundred thousand dollars in a day. 
 The mania for gambling in trade marks much of the 
 business of New York. The stock and gold gambling 
 has brought to the surface a set of men new to the 
 city. The stock business, which was once in the hands 
 of the most substantial and respectable of our citizens, 
 is now controlled by men desperate and reckless. Any 
 man who can command fifty dollars becomes a broker. 
 These men know no hours and no laws. Early and 
 late they are on the ground. No gamesters are more 
 desperate or more suddenly destroyed. The daily re- 
 verses in Wall Street exceed any romance that has 
 been written. A millionnaire leaves his palatial resi- 
 dence in the morning, and goes home at night a ruined 
 man. It is a common thing for speculators who can 
 atibrd it, to draw checks of from fifty to one hundred 
 thousand dollars to make up their losses in a single 
 day. 
 
 A man rides up to Central Park one afternoon with his 
 dashing equipage ; his wife and proud daughters whirl 
 
174 PERILS OF SPECULATION. 
 
 the dust in the eyes of well-to-do citizens who are on 
 foot. The next day this fine team and elegant man- 
 sion, with store full of goods, go into the hands of his 
 creditors. He sends his family into the country, and 
 either disappears himself, or is seen on the outskirts of 
 the crowd, waiting for something to turn up. The 
 reckless mode of doing business leads to a reckless 
 style of living, extravagance and dissipation, which no 
 legitimate business can support. The mania touches 
 all classes. Women and ministers are not exempt. 
 One pastor in this city is a good specimen of the power 
 of this speculating mania. The demon got possession 
 of him. He made a little money. He started to make 
 five thousand. He moved the figure ahead to the 
 little sum of a quarter of a million. The business 
 transformed the man. His face became haggard ; his 
 eyes dilated ; his hair dishevelled ; he could not sleep ; 
 he bought all the editions of the papers ; got up nights 
 to buy extras ; chased the boys round the corners for 
 the latest news ; was early at the stock market, and 
 among the last to leave the Fifth Avenue Hotel at 
 night when the board closes its late session. Whethei 
 a quarter of a million is worth what it costs, this gen- 
 tleman can tell when he gets it. A lady in this city 
 came from New England. She was the child of a sail- 
 maker, and was brought up in humble circumstances. 
 A wealthy man, whose repute was not high, and whose 
 disposition was not amiable, offered her his hand. She 
 did not expect love, nor hardly respect, but he offered 
 her instead a coach, an elegant mansion, and costly 
 jewels. She found herself suddenly elevated. She 
 lived in commanding style, with her furniture, plate, 
 and servants. She bore her elevation badly, and looked 
 
HONESTY LEADS. 1 7 5 
 
 down with scorn upon her old friends and associates. 
 Her husband engaged deeply in speculation ; it proved 
 a ruinous one. To help himself out of a crisis he com- 
 mitted forgery. He was sent to the State Prison. His 
 great establishment was seized. Her house was sold 
 over her head by the sheriff. Her jewels, valued at 
 fifteen thousand dollars, were spirited away, and she 
 never saw them more. She was suddenly elevated, 
 and as suddenly hurled down to the position from 
 which she had been taken. 
 
 HONESTY LEADS. 
 
 The men who are the capitalists of New York to- 
 day are not the sons of the wealthy or successful mer- 
 chants of the city. They are men whose fathers were 
 porters, w r ood-choppers, and coal-heavers. They did the 
 hard work, swept out the stores, made the fires, used 
 the marking-pot, were kicked and cuffed about, and 
 suffered every hardship. But they jostled and outran 
 the pampered son of their employer, and carried off the 
 prize. The chief end of man is not to make money. 
 But if one imagines that it is, and that a fortune must 
 be made at once, then he will barter the solid ground 
 for the mirage, and leave a successful business for the 
 glittering morass ; trade that insures a handsome com- 
 petence for w T ild speculation. The hands on the dial 
 plate of industry will stand still while men grasp at 
 shadows. 
 
 In New York, two kinds of business greet a comer, 
 one bad, the other good ; one easy to get, the other 
 hard ; the one pays at the start, the other pays but 
 little : perhaps the position itself must be paid for. If 
 
176 HONESTY LEADS. 
 
 one wants money, says he has his fortune to make and 
 cannot wait, he will take what turns up, and wait for 
 better times. Disreputable trade, questionable busi- 
 ness, a tricky house, a saloon or a bar-room, are open to 
 a reputable young man, and if he have a dash of piety, 
 all the better. But such touch pitch and are defiled ; 
 they seldom lose the taint of the first business in 
 which they are engaged. Men can be good or bad in 
 any trade. They can be sound lawyers or pettifoggers ; 
 a merchant of property or a mock auctioneer ; a physi- 
 cian whose skill and character endear him to the best 
 families in the land, or a doctor whose u sands -of life 
 have almost run out ; " a preacher who says, u Woe is 
 me if I preach not the gospel," or a minister who, like 
 some in the olden time, said, " Put me, I pray thee, 
 into the priests office, that I may get me a morsel of 
 bread." There is no permanent success without in- 
 tegrity, industry, and talent. 
 
 In trade there are two codes that govern men. The 
 one is expressed in the mottoes, " All is fair in trade ;" 
 "Be as honest as the times will allow;" "If you buy 
 the devil, you must sell him again." The other acts on 
 business principles; sells a sound horse for a sound 
 price; gives the customer the exact article that he 
 buys. The few houses that have been successful, amid 
 an almost universal crash, have been houses which 
 have done business on principle. In cases where honor- 
 able tradesmen have been obliged to suspend, they are 
 Minister of Babylon. Some of these men went from the 
 store to compete with the ablest statesmen of the world. 
 Some left their patients on a sick bed to measure swords 
 with veteran commanders on the battle-field. They 
 
HONESTY LEADS. 177 
 
 met on the seas naval officers of highest rank, and made 
 them haul down their flags to the new banner of our 
 nation. They sounded out freedom in the Declaration 
 of Independence ; the bugle-call rang over hill and 
 dale, crossed oceans and continents, into dungeons, and 
 made tyrants tremble in their palace homes, — building 
 a nation that no treason could ruin and no foreign foe 
 destroy. Like the Eddy stone lighthouse, the Union, 
 sometimes hid for a moment by the angry surges, still 
 threw its steady light on the turbulent w r aters, and 
 guided the tempest-tossed into the harbor where they 
 would be. 
 
 These Old School men ate not a bit of idle bread. 
 They were content with their small store and pine 
 desk. The} r owned their goods, and were their own 
 cashiers, salesmen, clerks, and porter. They worked 
 sixteen hours a day, and so became millionnaires. They 
 would as soon have committed forgery as to have been^ 
 mean or unjust in trade. They made their wealth in 
 business, and not in fraudulent failure. They secured 
 their fortunes out of their customers, and not out of 
 their creditors. Not so Young America. He must 
 make a dash. He begins with a brown-stone store, 
 fdled with goods for which he has paid nothing ; mar- 
 ries a dashing belle ; delegates all the business that he 
 can to others ; lives in style, and spends his money 
 before he gets it; keeps his fast horse, and other 
 appendages equally fast ; is much at the club room, on 
 the sporting track, and in billiard or kindred saloons; 
 speaks of his father as the i: old governor," and of his 
 mother as the "old woman ; " and finally becomes porter 
 to his clerk, and lackey to his salesman. Beginning 
 where his father left off, he leaves off where his father 
 began. 12 
 
XI. 
 JOHN MORRISSEY. 
 
 Begins Business in New York. — The Polls. — Politicians Want Him. — 
 Business as a Gambler. — His Influence. — Day Gambling Houses. — 
 Their Location. — Beyond the Grating. 
 
 The moral status of business in New York can be 
 judged from the fact that John Morrissey, who has 
 only been known in this community as a keeper of 
 one of the lowest dram shops in the city, a leading 
 gambler, and owner of the most celebrated hells in 
 New York, as well as a prize-fighter, is now a leading 
 Wall Street speculator, influential and commanding, 
 a member of Congress, and one of the first men of 
 the street. Though his business is unchanged, any 
 day at High Change Morrissey can be seen on the 
 street. He is apparently fifty years of age, large and 
 brawny in his build, and with a face that bears marks 
 of pugilistic encounters. He dresses usually in black, 
 is a silent man — says but little — but is very potent in 
 his influence on the street. 
 
 BEGINS BUSINESS IN NEW YORK. 
 
 A few years ago John Morrissey was a resident of 
 Troy. He kept a small drinking saloon, of the lowest 
 character. It was the resort of the low prize-fighters, 
 
THE POLLS. 179 
 
 gamblers, thieves, and dissolute persons of all degrees. 
 So low, and dissolute, and disreputable, was the place, 
 that it was closed by the authorities. With other traits, 
 Morrissey blended that of a prize-fighter of the lowest 
 caste. Drunken, brutal, without friends or money, bat- 
 tered in his clothes and in his person, he drifted down 
 to New York to see what would turn up. He located 
 himself in the lowest stews of New York. At that 
 time the elections in the city were carried by brute 
 force. There was no registry law, and the injunction 
 of politicians, to "vote early and vote often," was 
 literally obeyed. Roughs, Short-Boys, brutal represen- 
 tatives of the Bloody Sixth, took possession of the 
 polls. Respectable men, who were known to be op- 
 posed to the corruption and brutality which marked 
 the elections, were assaulted, beaten, robbed, and often 
 had their coats torn from their backs. The police were 
 powerless ; often they were allies of the bullies, and 
 citizens had quite as much to fear from them as from 
 the rowdies. If the election was likely to go against 
 them, and their friends presided over the ballot-box, 
 and should signal the danger, a rush would be made 
 by twenty or thirty desperate fellows, the boxes be 
 seized and smashed, tables and heads broken, the 
 voters dispersed, and the election carried by default. 
 
 THE POLLS. 
 
 A local election was to take place in the upper part 
 of the city. The friends of good order were in the 
 majority, if allowed to vote. But it was known that 
 the rowdies would come in force and control the elec- 
 
180 POLITICIANS WANT HIM. 
 
 tion. A few voters got together to see what could be 
 done, and among them the present General Superin- 
 tendent of Police. It was suggested that force be met 
 with force, that the ballot-box be guarded, and the 
 assailants beaten off by their own weapons. But 
 where could the materials be found to grapple with 
 the Plug Uglies and their associates? Somebody said 
 that Morrissey was in town ready for a job, and that 
 he could organize a force and guard the election. 
 
 POLITICIANS WANT HIM. 
 
 One day Mrs. Kennedy came to her husband as he 
 sat in his room, and said to him, u There is an awful- 
 looking man at the door, who wants to see you. He 
 is dirty and ragged, has a ferocious look, and is the 
 most terrible fellow I ever saw. Don't go to the door; 
 he certainly means mischief." " Is he a big, burly- 
 looking fellow?" "Yes." "Broad-shouldered, tall, 
 with his nose turned one side ? " " Yes, yes," said the 
 impatient lady. " 0, 1 know who it is ; it is John Mor- 
 rissey ; let him come in." " 0, husband, the idea of your 
 associating with such men, and bringing them to the 
 house, too ! " But the unwelcome visitor walked into 
 the parlor. Now, John Morrissey at Saratoga, in his 
 white flannel suit, huge diamond rings, and pin con- 
 taining brilliants of the first water, and of immense, 
 size ; tall of stature, a powerful-looking fellow, walking 
 quietly about the streets, or lounging at the hotels, but 
 seldom speaking, is not a bad-looking man. Seen in 
 New York in his clerical black suit, a little too flashy 
 to be a minister, yet among bankers, merchants, or at 
 the Stock Board he would pass very well as one of the 
 
POLITICIANS WANT HIM. 1S1 
 
 solid men of the city. But Morrissey as he appeare I 
 that morning was an entirely different person 
 lie had come from a long debauch, and that of the 
 lowest kind. He was bruised and banged up. His 
 clothes were tattered. The Island was all that seemed 
 to be opened to him. With him a bargain was made 
 to organize a force of fighters and bullies, sufficient to 
 prevent the ballot-boxes from being smashed, and the 
 voters from being driven from the polls. He said he 
 could do it, for he was at home among desperadoes. 
 True to his appointment, he was at the polls before 
 they were open. He was attended by about thirty as 
 desperate looking fellows as ever rode in a wagon or 
 swung from Tyburn. He stationed his force, gave his 
 orders, told each not to strike promiscuously, but, on 
 the first appearance of disturbance, each to seize his 
 man, and not leave him till his head was broken. 
 There was no disturbance till twelve o'clock. The late 
 Captain Carpenter was in charge. About noon a huge 
 lumber-van drove up, drawn by four horses. It was 
 loaded with the roughest of the rough, who shouted 
 and yelled as the vehicle neared the curbstone. Bill 
 Poole, at that time so notorious, led the company. 
 They were choice specimens of the men who then 
 made the rulers of New York. Plug Uglies, Bummers, 
 Roughs of the Bloody Sixth, Short-Boys, Fourth Ward- 
 ers, and men of that class, were fully represented. Bill 
 Poole sprang to the sidewalk. Captain Carpenter 
 stood in the door. Addressing him, Poole said, u Cap., 
 may I go in ? " " 0, yes ; walk in and welcome," 
 Carpenter said, and in Poole went. He saw the situa- 
 tion at a glance. He measured Morrissey and his gang, 
 
182 BUSINESS AS A GAMBLER. 
 
 turned on his heel, and, passing out, said, " Good morn- 
 ing, Cap. ; I won't give you a call to-day ; drive on 
 boys ; " and on they went to some polling-place where 
 they could play their desperate game without having 
 their heads broken. 
 
 HIS BUSINESS AS A GAMBLER. 
 
 This was Morrissey's first upward step. He washed 
 his face ; with a part of the money paid him he bought 
 a suit of clothes, and with the balance opened a small 
 place for play. He became thoroughly temperate. He 
 resolved to secure first-class custom. To do this he 
 knew he must dress well, behave well, be sober, and 
 not gamble. These resolutions he carried out. His 
 house in New York is the most elegantly furnished of 
 any of the kind in the state. It has always been con- 
 ducted on principles of the highest honor, as gamblers 
 understand that term. His table, attendants, cooking, 
 and company are exceeded by nothing this side of the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 He followed his patrons to Saratoga, and opened 
 there what was called a Club-House. Judges, senators, 
 merchants, bankers, millionnaires, became his guests. 
 The disguise was soon thrown off, and the club-house 
 assumed the form of a first-class gambling-house at the 
 Springs. 
 
 HIS INFLUENCE. 
 
 Morrissey is a type of the men who have done so 
 much to debauch the morals of trade in New York 
 and in the country. His two characters, that of a 
 great stock operator and the keeper of the largest 
 
DAY GAMBLING H0US1 S 1S3 
 
 -ambling houses in the State, harmonize. lie drinks 
 nothing, maintains a fair exterior, and it is said that 
 he does not play himself. This very sobriety and 
 decency give him great influence over the young who 
 are enticed to his house. The first year he appeared 
 in Saratoga he changed the entire social and fashion- 
 able aspect of the Springs. His Club House did its 
 work the first season. He hired the Race Course, 
 and called sporting men from every section of the 
 country. The posters in and around the porticoes of 
 the great hotels announcing the losses of watches, 
 diamonds, and money, tell the initiated how the green 
 tables swallow up fortunes in an hour. Men who 
 gamble in stocks do not find employment enough for 
 their heated braius, and Morrissey and his friends 
 have furnished pastimes for those who are ruined in 
 the street. 
 
 DAY GAMBLING HOUSES. 
 
 There is a class of speculators who are not content 
 with legitimate business nor legitimate hours. The up- 
 town hotels are crowded with them. Rooms are oc- 
 cupied, halls rented, and the day excitement at Wall 
 Street is renewed in the evening, and often runs up to 
 the small hours of the morning. The same spirit led to 
 the opening of day gambling-houses. These are con- 
 veniently located to business. They run from Fulton 
 Street to Wall, are found at a convenient distance from 
 Broadway and Water Street. They are designed to 
 attract merchants, bankers, young men, and visitors 
 from the country. They have ropers-in, as have the 
 night gambling-saloons. These decoys have a percent- 
 age taken from the winnings of their customers. Every 
 
184 THEIR LOCATION. 
 
 man they can seduce to enter one of these establish- 
 ments, if he lose money, is a gain to the decoy. These 
 sharpers hang round the street, loaf on the curbstone, 
 dog their victims from store to store, proffer them aid, 
 go with them blocks to show them the way, help thera 
 to make purchases, propose to show them sights, and at 
 length, as if accidentally, lead them into a day gambling- 
 saloon, which is situated very conveniently for the pur- 
 pose. In these dens, men who have lost in stocks on 
 the street try to make gains. Missing bonds here turn 
 up, missing securities are here found, pledged by con- 
 fidential clerks, who, until now, were supposed to be 
 trustworthy. Young men who are robbed in the street, 
 from whose hands funds are snatched, from whose pos- 
 session a well-stuffed pocket-book has been taken, find 
 the thief usually within the silent walls of a day gam- 
 bling-house. 
 
 THEIR LOCATION. 
 
 The place selected for one of these saloons is in the 
 busiest and most frequented parts of lower New York. 
 A store let in floors is usually selected. A large build- 
 ing full of offices, with a common stairway, up and down 
 which people are rushing all the time, is preferred ; or 
 the loft of a warehouse, if nothing better can be had, is 
 taken. A sealed partition runs from the floor to the 
 wall. The windows are barred with wooden shutters, 
 and covered with heavy curtains. The rooms are 
 handsomely carpeted, and gayly adorned. Lounges 
 and chairs line the sides of the room, and the inevi- 
 table roulette and faro tables stand in their place. The 
 padded cushion on which the cards rest tells the em- 
 
BEYOND THE C RATING. 185 
 
 ployment of the room. The outside door is flush with 
 the partition. A party desiring to enter pulls the bell, 
 and the door open's without any apparent agency, and 
 closes suddenly on the comer. The hardened gambler 
 walks in as he would into a bar-room or an omnibus, 
 regardless of observation. But the young man who is 
 new to the business, who has come justly or unjustly 
 by a bill, who has been sent on an errand and must 
 make up a falsehood to account for his detention, or 
 who is sent from the bank to the Clearing House, or 
 from the Clearing House to the Custom House, and 
 who runs in to try his luck for a few minutes, or for 
 thirty, can be easily detected. He pauses below ; goes 
 a story above ; looks up and down before he pulls the 
 bell; faintly draws the wire, and darts in like a startled 
 fawn. Not without observation and scrutiny does the 
 customer get into the saloon. The outside door admits 
 him into a small vestibule. The door behind him is closed, 
 and he cannot open it. The bell has announced his 
 presence. He is scrutinized through a small wicket 
 opening in the wall. He must in some way be vouched 
 for. If he comes through invitation of a roper-in he 
 has a card. If all is right he is admitted. The dark- 
 ness of niirht fdls the room. The gas is lighted. The 
 silence of a sepulchre reigns in the chamber. Persons 
 sit, lounge, and stand in groups ; they watch the table, 
 but not a word is spoken except the monotonous utter- 
 ances of the men who have charge of the gaming. 
 
 BEYOND THE GRATING. 
 
 Seated at the table to deal the cards sits a man 
 apparently between forty and fifty years of age. These 
 
186 BEYOND THE GRATING. 
 
 men -all seem of the same age and of the same tribe. 
 They are usually short, thick set, square built, pugilistic 
 fellows, half bald, with mahogany faces — - men without 
 nerve, emotion, or sensibility. They sit apparently all 
 day long pursuing their monotonous and deadly trade, 
 making no inquiry about their victims, caring nothing 
 about their losses, unmoved by the shriek of anguish, the 
 cry of remorse, the outburst, " 0, I am undone ! I am 
 ruined ! What will my mother say ? What will be- 
 come of my wife and children ? " While the wounded 
 are removed, and their outcries hushed, the play goes 
 on. These rooms are distinguished by their silence and 
 quiet tread inside. They open about nine in the morn- 
 ing, and close at four, when the tide begins to turn up 
 town. The amount of misery these day gambling- 
 houses create, the loss of money, character, and stand- 
 ing, exceeds all belief. The men who carry on this 
 class of gambling down town are connected with the 
 low class up town, and when the day gambling-houses 
 close, those that run in the night are opened. The 
 losses are often very heavy. Men enticed into these 
 dens have been known to lose from twelve to fifty 
 thousand dollars a night. There is no seduction in 
 New York more subtle or more deadly than the day 
 gambling-houses. 
 
XII. 
 STEWART, THE PRINCELY MERCHANT. 
 
 THE DOWN-TOWN STORE. — EARLY C A BEER. — SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING. — 
 HOW STEWART DOES BUSINESS. — HOSIERY. — STEWART AT II I ^ WORK. — 
 
 RUNNING THE GAUNTLET — THE AUTOCRAT. — A NAPOLEON IN TRADE. 
 
 SHREWD INVESTMENTS. — PERSONAL OF STEWART. 
 
 Few men have more to do with Wall Street, or are 
 more affected by its operations than Alexander T. 
 Stewart. He has his own style of doing things, and 
 "corners" goods, sells "short," "loads the market," 
 "buys long," and carries on trade in the Wall Street 
 style. He began on the lowest round of the ladder in 
 business. He started with a fixed resolution of being 
 the first merchant in the land. Steadily, patiently, per- 
 sistently, he pursued the end he had in view. Few 
 merchants in New York commenced business in as 
 humble a style. His rules of trade were peculiar. 
 From them he has never departed. He has always 
 given special attention to small traders — the buyers 
 of needles, pins, thimbles, and tape. The custom of 
 the humbler classes was especially sought. In the lower 
 orders he had unbounded confidence. When he at- 
 tended personally to his own sales, he treated the 
 small buyers with special consideration. They were 
 
 (187) 
 
188 THE DO WN TO WN STORE. 
 
 attended to first — prices were made reasonable that 
 they might return and bring friends with them. All 
 such customers were sure of getting a good article and 
 carrying home the exact thing they bought. Mr. 
 Stewart said that wholesale customers would buy where 
 they could buy the best. To secure their custom a 
 merchant had only to undersell his neighbors. A case 
 of goods opened and exhibited with the price was all 
 that was necessary ; but whoever secured the retail 
 trade of New York secured a fortune, and it must be 
 attended to. 
 
 THE DOWN TOWN STORE. 
 
 To the few friends who enjoy his personal confidence, 
 Mr. Stewart will tell the trials he endured in connec- 
 tion with the opening of his store on Chambers Street. 
 He was then comparatively unknown. The mercantile 
 community, and sensible men generally, looked upon 
 his investment as an insane act. He paid an enormous 
 price for the lots, and the outlay would eventually 
 swamp him. Putting so much capital into his store 
 and building it of white marble, would shake his credit. 
 A man doing business in such an extravagant style, 
 could expect little from the street. Then the building 
 was on the wrong side of Broadway, and customers 
 would not cross the street to trade with any one. The 
 opening was announced. The day before, Mr. Stewart 
 rode to his home in Bleeker Street in the stage. No 
 one knew him, and he had the benefit of the general 
 talk. The opening of the marble palace, as it was 
 called, the next day, was the theme of general remark. 
 Some were friendly to him, and some were not. All 
 concurred that the store was on the wrong side of the 
 
THE DOWN TOWN STORE. ISO 
 
 street. Custom was out of the question. The huge 
 pile would be known as Stewart's folly — "It will hurt 
 
 him," said one — u to-morrow will fetch him," said an- 
 other. U I am sorry for him," said a third. "Fool and 
 his money," etc., remarked a fourth. Mr. Stewart sat 
 silently anxious in a corner of the stage and said noth- 
 ing. 
 
 The arrangements for the opening were completed 
 with that system which have marked Stewart's busi- 
 ness arrangements from the start. His clerks were 
 put in full dress. Those who had not decent suits 
 were furnished by the master of the situation. He 
 would draw customers across the street, he said, if 
 he hired twenty-five negroes in livery, to carry them 
 over in sedan chairs. Early in the morning of the 
 opening day, Stewart arose and drew up the shades. 
 The morning was dark, the whole aspect of things 
 gloomy and forbidding, and the rain sullenly and 
 steadily fell from the clouds. Stewart drew down the 
 curtains, went to another part of the room and had 
 a hearty cry over the prospect — a remedy he often re- 
 sorts to in trouble. He dressed, resolved to meet the 
 occasion like a man. Ready for his breakfast, as he 
 was about to descend he thought he would take one 
 peep more at the weather. To his surprise and joy 
 the rain had ceased, the clouds were breaking in every 
 direction, and the prospect of a magnificent day opened 
 before him. He accepted it as an augury of success. 
 In a genial sunshine he reached his store. ■ Crowds 
 surged round the building, waiting for admission. 
 The people rushed in and filled it, as water let in from 
 the main, fills the reservoir. 
 
190 EARLY CAREER. 
 
 EARLY CAREER. 
 
 Mr. Stewart was born in the north of Ireland. In 
 the little town of Lisburn a few miles from Belfast, 
 Stewart, with Bonner, Agnew, the Brown brothers, and 
 other distinguished New Yorkers, first saw the light of 
 day. To two pious Scotch women he owes his education. 
 He was designed for the ministry, and amid the tur- 
 moil and labor of his immense trade, he finds oppor- 
 tunity to read his favorite classics. If not in the min- 
 istry, he anticipated the calling of a teacher as his pro- 
 fession. He set up store in a small room nearly op- 
 posite his present down-town establishment. His 
 shop was a little affair, only twelve feet front. It 
 was separated from its neighbor by a thin parti- 
 tion, through which all conversation could be heard. 
 The store stood on what is now known as 262 
 Broadway. He tended shop from fourteen to eigh- 
 teen hours a day. He was his own errand boy, 
 porter, book-keeper, and salesman. He kept house in 
 the humblest style. He lived over his store ; and for 
 a time one room served as kitchen, bed-room, and 
 parlor. His bed was hidden from view, being enclosed 
 within a chest or bureau. As Mr. Stewart attended to 
 the store, so Mrs. Stewart attended to the work of the 
 house. The increase of business demanded assistants. 
 These he boarded, and to accommodate them more 
 room was required. So he added to his single room. 
 He afterwards kept house in chambers on Hudson 
 Street, his income not warranting the taking of a whole 
 house. His style of living was very plain in his 
 furniture and table. Hardly a laborer among us to-day 
 would live as plainly as Mr. Stewart lived when he 
 
SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING. 191 
 
 began his public career. But Mr. Stewart always lived 
 within his income, whatever that income was. 
 
 SENSATIONAL ADVERTISING. 
 
 Mr. Stewart began business when merchants relied 
 upon themselves. It was not easy to obtain credit. 
 Banks w T ere few and cautious. Bankruptcy was 
 regarded as a disgrace and a crime. Traders made 
 money out of their customers, and not out of their 
 creditors. To an accident, which would have swamped 
 most men, Mr. Stewart is indebted for his peculiar style 
 of business and his colossal fortune. While doing 
 business in his little store, a note became due, which he 
 was unable to pay. A shopkeeper, with a miscellaneous 
 stock of goods, not very valuable, in a store twelve feet 
 front, had little to hope from the banks. His friends 
 were short. He resolved not to be dishonored. He 
 met the crisis boldly. His indomitable will, shrewd- 
 ness, and energy came out. He resolved not only to 
 protect his note, but protect himself from being again 
 in such a position. He marked every article in his 
 store down below the wholesale price. lie flooded the 
 city with hand-bills, originating the selling-off-at-cost 
 style of advertising. He threw his handbills by thou- 
 sands into the houses, basements, stores, steamboats, 
 and hotels of the city. He told his story to the public ; 
 what he had, and what he proposed to sell. He 
 promised them not only bargains, but that every article 
 would be found just what it was guaranteed to be. 
 He took New York by storm. He created a furore 
 among housekeepers. The little shop was crowded 
 with suspicious and half-believing persons in search of 
 
192 BOW STEWART DOES BUSINESS.— HOSIERY. 
 
 bargains. Mr. Stewart presided in person. He said 
 but little, offered his goods, and took the cash To all 
 attempts to beat him down, he quietly pointed to the 
 plainly-written price on each package. He had hardly 
 time to eat or sleep. His name became a household 
 word on every lip. Persons bought the goods, went 
 home, and examined them. They found not only that 
 they had not been cheated, but had really got bargains. 
 They spread the news from house to house. Excited 
 New York filled Mr. Stewart's shop, and crowded the 
 pavement in front. Long before the time named in 
 the handbill for stopping the sale, the whole store was 
 cleaned out, and every article sold for cash. The 
 troublesome note was paid, and a handsome balance left 
 over. Mr. Stewart resolved to purchase no more on 
 credit. The market was dull, cash scarce, and he was 
 enabled to fill up his store with a choice stock of goods 
 at a small price. In that little shanty on Broadway he 
 laid the solid foundation of that colossal fortune which 
 towers to the height of thirty millions. 
 
 HOW STEWART DOES BUSINESS. 
 
 Though Mr. Stewart sells goods on credit, as do other 
 merchants, he buys solely for cash. If he takes a note, 
 instead of getting it discounted at a bank, he throws it 
 into a safe, and lets it mature. It does not enter into 
 his business, and the non-payment of it does not disturb 
 him. He selects the style of carpet he wants, buys 
 every yard made by the manufacturer, and pays the 
 cash. He monopolizes high-priced laces, silks, costly 
 goods, furs, and gloves, and compels the fashionable 
 world to pay him tribute. Whether he sells a first- 
 
RUNNING TEE GAUNTLET. 193 
 
 rate or a fourth-rate article, the customer gets what he 
 bargains for. A lady on a journey, who passes a couple 
 of clays in the city, can find every article that she 
 wants for her wardrobe at a reasonable price. She can 
 have the goods made up in any style, and sent to her 
 hotel at a given hour, for the opera, a ball, or for travel. 
 Mr. Stewart will take a contract for the complete outfit 
 of a steamship or steamboat, like the Europa or the St. 
 John, furnish the carpets, mirrors, chandelier, china, 
 silver ware, cutlery, mattresses, linen, blankets, napkins, 
 with every article needed, in any style demanded. He 
 can defy competition. He buys from the manufactories 
 at the lowest cash price. He presents the original bills,, 
 charging only a small commission. The parties have no 
 trouble, the articles are of the first class, they save 
 from ten to twenty per cent., and the small commission 
 pays Stewart handsomely. He furnishes hotels and 
 churches in the same manner. He could supply the 
 army and navy as easily as he could fit out a 
 steamship. 
 
 HOSIERY. 
 
 The late William Beecher told me that Mr. Stewart 
 bought many goods of him when he first set up for 
 himself. One day Mr. Stewart came into his store, and 
 said to him, privately, " Mr. Beecher, a lady came into 
 my store to-day and asked me to show her some hose. 
 I did not know what the goods were, and I told her I 
 did not keep the article. What did she want? " Mr. 
 Beecher pointed to a box of stockings that stood before 
 them. The young tradesman looked, laughed, and 
 departed. 
 
 13 
 
194 RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 
 
 STEWART AT HIS WORK. 
 
 He attends personally to his own business. His 
 office is a small room in his down-town store. No 
 merchant in New York spends as many hours at his 
 business as Mr. Stewart. He is down early, and 
 remains late. Men who pass through Broadway during 
 the small hours of the night may see the light burning 
 brightly from the working-room of the marble palace. 
 He remains till the day's work is closed, and everything 
 is squared up. He knows what is in the store, and not 
 a package escapes his eye. He sells readily without 
 consulting book, invoice, or salesman. He has partners, 
 but they are partners only in the profits. He can buy 
 and sell as he will. He holds the absolute manage- 
 ment of the concern in his own hands. His office is 
 on the second story, and separated from the sales-room 
 by a glass partition which goes half way to the ceiling, 
 Here he is usually to be found. Else he is walking 
 about the store, with a quiet tread, as if his foot was 
 clothed with velvet, — up stairs and down stairs, all 
 around, with a keen, quick, vigilant eye, searching in 
 all places and all departments, taking in everybody 
 and everything as he passes. 
 
 RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. 
 
 It is difficult to gain access to the princely merchant. 
 Any man who has run the gauntlet once will not be 
 fond of repeating the experiment. On entering the 
 main door, a gentleman stands guard, who says, a What 
 is your business, sir ? " You reply, " I wish to see Mr. 
 Stewart." " Mr. Stewart is busy ; what do you w T ant ? " 
 u I wish to see him personally, on private business." 
 
AN AUT WRAT.—A NAPOLEON IX TRADE. 195 
 
 li Mr. Stewart has no private business. You cannot 
 see him unless you tell me what you want." If the 
 guard is satisfied, you are allowed to go up stairs. 
 Here you are met by sentinel No. 2, — a large, full-faced, 
 bland-looking gentleman, — who is Mr. Stewart's con- 
 fidential agent, though at one time one of the judges 
 of our courts. He examines and cross-examines you. 
 If he cannot stave you off, he disappears into the 
 office, and reports your case to his chief. Probably 
 Mr. Stewart will peer at you through the plate glass. 
 If he does not consider you of consequence enough to 
 invite you in, he turns away, shrugging his shoulders, 
 and sends a snappish refusal by the guard. If 
 otherwise, you enter, and face the lion in his den. His 
 whole manner is hard and repulsive. He is of the average 
 height, slim, with a decided Hibernian face; sandy hair, 
 nearly red ; sharp, cold, avaricious features; a clear, cold 
 eye; a face furrowed with thought, care, and success; a 
 voice harsh and unfriendly in its most mellow tones. 
 He could easily be taken for his book-keeper or porter. 
 He meets you with the air of a man who is impatient 
 from interruption ; who wishes you to say your say and 
 be gone. He lives wholly by himself. His wife has 
 borne him no children ; he has probably not a bosom 
 friend in the world. Some men find their pleasure in 
 dress, in dissipation, in drinking, in amusements, in 
 travel, in parties, theatres, operas. Stewart finds his in 
 hard work. Business is his idol, his pleasure, his profit. 
 He revels in it. Approaching his eightieth year, he is 
 indomitable, persevering, and enterprising as when he 
 commenced trade. 
 
196 SERE WD INVESTMENTS. 
 
 AN AUTOCRAT. 
 
 He is a hard master, and his store is ruled by des- 
 potic law. His rules are inexorable, and must be obeyed. 
 His store is regarded as the hospital for decayed 
 merchants. Nearly every prominent man in his whole- 
 sale store has been in business for himself, and failed. 
 All the better for Mr. Stewart. Such a man has a 
 circle of acquaintances, and can influence trade. If he 
 failed without dishonor, he is sure of a position in Mr. 
 Stewart's store. No factory is run with more exactness. 
 No package enters or leaves the store without a ticket. 
 On one occasion Mr. Stewart himself left directions to 
 have a shawl sent up to his house, which Mrs. Stewart 
 was to wear at a soiree. He forgot to place a ticket 
 upon the package, and to the imperious law of the store 
 the shawl had to yield. He regards his employees as 
 cogs in the complicated machinery of his establishment. 
 A New York fireman is quite as tender of his machine. 
 The men are numbered and timed. There is a penalty 
 attached to all delinquencies. It takes all a man can 
 earn for the first month or so to pay his fines. He is 
 fined if he exceeds the few minutes allotted to dinner. 
 He is fined if he eats on the premises. He is fined if 
 he sits during business hours. He is fined if he comes 
 late or goes early. He is fined if he misdirects a 
 bundle. He is fined if he mistakes a street or number. 
 He is fined if he miscounts the money, or gives the 
 wrong change. 
 
 A NAPOLEON IN TRADE. 
 
 He has always kept in advance of the age. During 
 
SIIRE WD INVESTMENTS. 197 
 
 the last twenty years lie has ruined himself, in the 
 estimation of his friends, a hundred times. He bought 
 the site for his down-town store against their most 
 earnest expostulations. It was too far up town. It was 
 on the shilling side of Broadway. No man could do a 
 successful business there. The price paid was exorbi- 
 tant. The proposed mammoth store would be the 
 laughing-stock of the age, and w r ould be known as 
 "Stewart's Folly." As usual, he relied on his own 
 judgment. He believed the investment to be a good 
 one. He told his friends that it would be the centre 
 of trade ; that on the dollar side or on the shilling side 
 of the street he intended to create a business that 
 would compel New York and all the region round to 
 trade with him. He is not a liberal man, but his do- 
 nations to public objects are princely. Tax-gatherers, 
 national, state, and county, say that no man pays his 
 assessments more fairly or more cheerfully. If he is 
 hard, he is just. He keeps his contracts, pays what is 
 nominated in the bond, and no more. 
 
 SHREWD INVESTMENTS. 
 
 He is a shrewd buyer of real estate. He has pur- 
 chased more churches than any man in the city. He 
 buys when the church is crippled, and gets a bargain 
 both in price and location. His stable on Amity 
 Street was for many years the celebrated Baptist 
 church where Dr. Williams officiated. The Dutch 
 church on Ninth Street wanted a purchaser. Several 
 appeals were made to Mr. Stewart, He had bought 
 odd lots in that neighborhood. When the purchase of 
 the church was complete, it was found that he had the 
 
198 PERSONAL OF STEWART. 
 
 lease of the entire block, and on it his mammoth up-town 
 store now stands. Lafayette Place, once a fashionable 
 locality, was occupied by saloons, restaurants, gambling- 
 houses, and houses for boarding. Governor Morgan had 
 a residence there which he wanted to get rid of. 
 Stewart took compassion on him, and bought the place. 
 Persons wondered what Stewart wanted of that great 
 house, in that out-of-the-way spot. Shortly after, Dr. 
 Osgood's church was for sale, on Broadway. After it 
 had been in the market a long time, Stewart became 
 the purchaser. It was found that the church lot joined 
 t,he Lafayette Place lot, making a magnificent site, 
 running from street to street, for a huge store. 
 
 The leading desire of fashionable New York is to 
 get a double house or a double lot on Fifth Avenue. 
 Such accommodations are rare, and fabulous prices are 
 paid for land or dwelling. On the corner of Fifth 
 Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street stood a famous house, 
 occupying, with the garden, three lots of land. It was 
 built by a successful sarsaparilla man. It was the 
 largest in New York, built of brown stone, as gorgeous 
 and inconvenient as an Eastern pagoda. It cost fabu- 
 lous sums. It was large enough for a hotel, and showy 
 enough for a prince. It was burnished with gold and 
 silver, and elaborately ornamented with costly paint- 
 ings. It was the nine days' wonder in the city, and 
 men and women crowded to see it at twenty-five cents 
 a head. The owner failed, and the house passed out of 
 his hands. It became a school, with no success. 
 
 One morning the residents of the avenue were 
 astonished to see a staging built up against this famous 
 pile, reaching to the roof. They were more astonished 
 
PERSOXAL OF STEWART. 
 
 199 
 
 when tliey learned that this gorgeous pile was to come 
 down; that its foundations were to be dug up ; that a 
 marble palace was to be erected on that site that would 
 make all Shoddydom red with envy ; that its furniture, 
 statuary, paintings, and adornments would exceed any 
 house on the continent. Many lessons are taught by 
 the career of Mr. Stewart. It is worth while, on a fine 
 morning, to pause on the Broadway pavement, and 
 watch the small coupe that drives up to the curbstone, 
 drawn by a single horse ; to mark the occupant, as with 
 a light tread and buoyant step he comes from the car- 
 riage and enters his store. He is an old man, but looks 
 like a young one. He began life penniless, and has 
 rolled up a fortune greater than that ever before 
 collected by any one man. His mercantile career has 
 been an upward one ; his whole life a success. He has 
 earned the title he wears. He is the autocrat of 2s ew 
 York merchants. 
 
 PERSONAL OF STEWART. 
 
 Whoever has dealings with this remarkable man 
 will find in him several phases of character. He is 
 genial, pleasant, affable if you wish to trade with him. 
 He is cold, glassy, stern, hard, if you ask him to com- 
 promise a debt. Few repeat the experiment of solicit- 
 ing from him a donation. He prides himself in telling 
 the truth to his customers, and being severely just in 
 trade. He says it has been the annoyance of his life 
 to keep his clerks from telling u white lies/' from palm- 
 ing off second class goods as first class. He exacts of 
 all his employees perfect obedience. To sit in the 
 store during business hours is forbidden. He came 
 
200 PERSONAL OF STEWART. 
 
 suddenly, one morning into the store, and found a 
 salesman in a chair reading a paper. The man was 
 one of his oldest and most successful salesmen. There 
 was not a customer present. Everything was ready 
 for the day's work. Mr. Stewart was enraged at this 
 breach of the rules, ordered the man's immediate dis- 
 charge, would hear no explanation, followed him up 
 to the cashier's office to get his pay, and was angry 
 with the cashier because he was not in his place and 
 threatened to discharge him also. The salesman was 
 perfectly astounded at the treatment. He supposed 
 Mr. Stewart was excited about something and that he 
 would think better of it when he cooled off. • He came 
 down to the store the next morning as if nothing had 
 happened. Mr. Stewart ordered him out of the store 
 at once, and the man became so enraged that he 
 knocked him down and knocked out some of his teeth. 
 The affair came into the courts, but was settled by a 
 compromise. 
 
 Mr. Stewart has taken into his own hands the set- 
 tlement of the question as to what shall be done with 
 the huge fortune he has collected. In a fashionable 
 part of upper New York, he has bought a block of 
 ground, on which he is building a magnificent struc- 
 ture for the working women and girls of New York. 
 His design is to furnish cheaply elegant homes to re- 
 spectable and industrious sewing women. The build- 
 ing will be constructed with all the elegancies and con- 
 veniencies of a first class hotel. Its mammoth propor- 
 tions are looming up, and it is already an ornament to 
 the city. When it is completed Mr. Stewart proposes 
 to build a similar one for working men. On Hemp- 
 
BSONAL OF STEWAL _ \ 
 
 stead Plains he is building a city of elegance for 
 
 i >f moderate means. Broad boulevards for driving, 
 railroads for cheap transportation, first class ferry ac- 
 commodations, and all the paraphernalia of wealth are 
 
 to be brought within the limited means of industrious 
 artisans. When Mr. Stewart as a man shall have been 
 forgotten, his personalities and peculiarities covered 
 with the dust of ages, and his hard, sharp, grinding 
 characteristics as a trader are remembered no more — 
 as a benefactor to the poor, and a friend to the lowly, 
 will he be remembered with Shaftesbury, Peabody, and 
 other heroic men, who have by their beneficence 
 builded their own monuments that rust will not cor- 
 rode, nor time's obliterating finger destroy. 
 
XIII. 
 MINISTERS IN WALL STREET. 
 
 Ministers in Wall Street. — General View. — A Bold Operation. — 
 Denunciation of Stock Gambling. — A Sad Change. — A Minister in 
 Jail. — Incidents of Interest. — Brilliant Wedding. — Vacant Pro- 
 fessor's Chair. — Lo ! the Poor Indian. 
 
 New York is a queer place. It lays less restraint 
 on professional men and others, than any other city. 
 It is so large, the population is so numerous, the strug- 
 gle for existence is so intense, and people are kept so 
 busy, that the citizens have no time to look after each 
 other. All nationalities, religious creeds, and repre- 
 sentatives of every opinion, reside within its limits. 
 There is a street in the city in which Pagan rites are 
 observed. Persian fire-worshippers adore their deities 
 there. In the locality, in the row occupied by the 
 Chinese, their peculiar religious ceremonies are ob- 
 served. The followers of the prophet there perform 
 their ablutions. The lordly temples of the Jews stand 
 in prominent localities. The Catholic Church controls 
 the treasury of the city. Every form of Protestant 
 dissent and disunity has a local habitation and a 
 name. These discordant elements blend in trade — 
 Jew and Christian, Catholic and Protestant, foreigner 
 and native, may be found in the crowd in Wall Street ; 
 
 (202) 
 
BOLD OPERATION. 203 
 
 may be seen rushing through the long, dark avenues 
 to the gold room, or raising the discordant din at the 
 Stock Board. It is as common a thing to find minis- 
 ters in the street as it is to find any other class. The 
 people to whom they preach know very little of their 
 outside movements, and care less. If they are regu- 
 lar in their attendance on their public duties, meet 
 their official work promptly and genteelly, that is all 
 that Xew York asks. Brokers would as soon take a 
 commission from a clergyman to buy and sell as from 
 any one else. As long as the margin is kept up, all 
 is right. Business men don't understand why a min- 
 ister, if he has ten or twenty thousand dollars to lose, 
 shouldn't be permitted to lose it in Wall Street like any 
 one else. If he meets with a lucky turn, as this class 
 sometimes do, it is considered all right. If such an one 
 is manly about his movements — goes into Wall Street 
 openly to trade, as he would buy a corner lot, or a 
 block of ground, he is not thought the worse of. A 
 broker would go and hear a man preach just as soon — 
 perhaps sooner — with whom he has had dealings in 
 stocks. Xew York is rather proud of a sharp, shrewd 
 clergyman, who knows the world, and has thrown off 
 some of the conventionalisms of his profession. A 
 parishioner, who sits by the side of his minister at the 
 opera, or takes a brush with him on the road with a 
 fast team, is quite likely to be in his pew the next 
 Sunday. 
 
 BOLD OPERATION. 
 
 A young man, just entering on his profession, made 
 up his mind that he would marry a daughter of one of 
 
204 BOLD OPERATION. 
 
 the largest speculators on the street, a man who had 
 accumulated a large fortune. The daughter was a 
 widow. The father made great opposition to the 
 match, as he did not wish a poor minister for a son- 
 in-law. The point was carried, and the father was 
 greatly astounded a few weeks after the marriage, to 
 receive a visit from his son-in-law. He did not come 
 for purposes of reconciliation, or to solicit forgiveness. 
 He came on business. He held in his hand a carefully 
 prepared paper, detailing the exact condition of his 
 wife's estate, and that of .her children. The father 
 held the property in his hands, and used it with his 
 own in speculation. The shrewd, sharp, decided 
 manner of the young man represented the wrong 
 done in using his wife's funds in speculation. In a 
 clear, firm manner, he stated what must be done : 
 that all the money must be paid over, and how much 
 it was, he knew to a fraction ; and this he said must 
 be held in trust for the use of his wife. The audacity 
 of the young man startled the millionaire. His shrewd- 
 ness and business tact charmed him. He admitted 
 the justice of the statement, and promised to attend 
 to it. But the young man would not be put off; he 
 insisted upon things being done at once, under his own 
 supervision. The son-in-law exhibited such decided 
 genius and tact that the old man took him at once to 
 his heart and his house, and made him a brilliant opera- 
 tor on the street. He has never wholly deserted his 
 pulpit ; he preaches in the style of a Wall Street 
 broker. He dashes up to little country churches, with 
 a fine team and a servant in livery, - wears fashionable 
 gloves, diamond pins, and jewels on his fingers. He 
 
\ VCIATION OF SToCK GAMBLING. 
 
 not only receives nothing for preaohing, but if the 
 
 church is poor, leaves a donation behind. One little 
 church, in the interior, was greatly scandalized by 
 the grand turn-out of their supply. The whole con- 
 gregation did not number a hundred, and most of the 
 people were farmers, artizans, and laborers. When the 
 preacher drove up in a team — that would not have dis- 
 graced any mansion in Fifth Avenue — the leaders ex- 
 pressed their regret that he had not come in an 
 humbler garb. lie replied, like a man on the street, 
 "Brethren, you mu-st get used to it; this is my style 
 if I come at all." 
 
 DENUNCIATION OF STOCK GAMBLING. 
 
 The pulpit is not silent in its denunciations of what 
 is called "Stock and Gold Gambling." The style in 
 which business is done on the street; the excitement, 
 and recklessness of stock transactions ; the drinking, 
 gambling, and hazard, connected with the street ; the 
 temptations thrown around the unwary; the combina- 
 tions and conspiracies formed to ruin men ; the effect 
 of stock gambling on the business of the country; the 
 panics created by designing and unscrupulous men — 
 that spread ruin over every part of the land — are not 
 hidden from the eyes of the teachers of morality and 
 religion. Sermons are preached, directly and indirect- 
 ly, against the street; special services are held, the 
 note of warning sounded, and the press teems with 
 denunciations, which have been hurled from the sacred 
 desk against the excitement, madness, and ruin of 
 Stock and Gold Gambling. 
 
 But these phillipics lose much, of their point when 
 
206 DENUNCIATION OF STOCK GAMBLING. 
 
 it is known that very many clergymen, and some of 
 them the most eminent in the profession, appear as 
 regularly in the street as do any other class. There 
 are a great many unemployed clergymen in the city ; 
 men who have been presidents of colleges, professors 
 in theological seminaries ; eminent pastors of popular 
 churches, and teachers in schools. The ministry in 
 this country is a brief one. Colleges oust their presi- 
 dents. They are too poor, or penurious, to make 
 them donations, and they are sent adrift. The most 
 eminent pastors will grow old ; people will tire of 
 them ; and, if nothing else will do, a gratuity will be 
 given to them as they are turned away. A clergyman, 
 who, within my recollection, lived in fine style, kept 
 his coach and many servants, became so poor that his 
 wife and daughters opened a school to earn their 
 bread. One of the most popular clergymen of the 
 land, who lived in splendid style within a stone's 
 throw of where I am writing, and who never dream- 
 ed of the loss of popularity or of want, for the crime 
 of growing old, lost his charge. During the sunny 
 day of his brilliant career he* lived up to the very 
 selvedge of his income, and is passing old age in 
 penury and want. Hordes of these clergymen come 
 to New York. There is no work for such in this great 
 Babel. The temptations of Wall Street allure them. 
 Those who have a little money, try a venture, almost 
 invariably with loss. The parties who are on the 
 street are well known. Some of them come openly, 
 and, having secured the assistance of a friend who will 
 carry stocks for them, attempt the hazard of the 
 street, for a time. Others, who lift up their hands in 
 
DENUNCIATION OF STOCK (/AMU/./ 207 
 
 holy horror at stock speculations, drive a little quiet 
 business on their own account. The Vice-President 
 
 of the Gold Exchange, who calls the stocks daily, and 
 sells gold amid the wildest excitement, is a clergy- 
 man, who is said to have been quite successful also in 
 stock speculation. One or two other prominent pas- 
 tors have the reputation of having made a fortune. 
 These cases, so rare, yet so prominent, turn the heads 
 of thousands, and lead the simple-minded to destruc- 
 tion, as the ox goeth to the slaughter. 
 
 The names of the most eminent pastors in Xew 
 York are connected with stock speculations. Many 
 of them dwell in sumptuous houses, which they own. 
 They set up a carriage, and don their drivers in livery. 
 They own blocks of houses. No salary paid in the 
 city would allow men to live in such style and leave 
 a margin for such investments. These men are seen 
 in Wall Street, and the influence is irresistible. A 
 young man was called to one of the straightest and most 
 Puritanical of our churches. He got bitten by oil 
 speculations ; he was more in the street than in his 
 study. His people gave him his choice, to give up 
 the street, or the pulpit. He gave up his pulpit, took 
 oif his clerical suit, rigged himself up in the toggery 
 of a broker, and took his position. He has never 
 ascended beyond the range of a curb-stone broker. 
 He has not bread half the time to eat. Yet the mania 
 of speculation is on him, like the infatuation of gam- 
 bling. 
 
 The editor of one of our religious papers, who is es- 
 pecially severe on all forms of pleasure, is a martinet in 
 church discipline, and sets himself up as a judge in all 
 
208 A SAD CHANGE. 
 
 matters of mercantile morals, and reads Wall Street a 
 weekly lesson, has a brother minister who is a broker, 
 through whom he runs, privately, a line of stocks. He 
 has an associate who is connected with a large mission 
 society, whose soft voice and pious demeanor make 
 him very popular with a class with whom dabbling in 
 stocks would be considered as great a crime as visiting 
 Morrissey's club-house ; yet his name is well known in 
 Wall Street among the men who slyly try the marvels 
 and mazes of speculation. 
 
 • 
 
 A SAD CHANGE. 
 
 An up-town church, in one of the most fashionable 
 localities, had as its pastor a very popular man, who, 
 through his ancestry, had been identified with the 
 ministry of New York for many years. He was a 
 man of wealth, and lived in fine style. He was very 
 austere in his manner, a rigid enforcer of Church dis- 
 cipline, and especially severe upon any poor brother- 
 minister who might fall under the ban. He took to 
 the ways of Wall Street, privately at first, and then 
 became very noted for his speculation in stocks. His 
 ruin was only a question of time. He lost his own 
 fortune in Wall Street, and carried down with it that 
 of all his friends who had trusted him. He took to 
 the bottle as a relief, and his habits became so notori- 
 ous that he was obliged to quit his charge, and his 
 financial difficulties drove him from the country. He 
 left his family in destitution, and, when last heard 
 from, was preaching to a small Scotch-Irish Church, 
 on a starvation salary, near Dublin. 
 
MINISTER JX JAIL. 209 
 
 A MINISTEB IX JAIL. 
 
 A well-known gentleman, who lias been very 
 prominently connected with the religious press of this 
 
 city, at one time agent of one of the largest religious 
 publication societies, was locked up a short time since 
 in Eldridge Street jail. The affair created a great 
 deal of excitement, as it was announced in the public 
 press. His connection with many religious and phil- 
 anthropic movements was well known. It was the 
 old story : he had gone into gold speculation ; he 
 wished to eke ont his small livelihood by the gains of 
 the street. Under a sharp temptation, he bought 
 gold that he could not carry. To avoid loss, he gave 
 a check, which was a bogus one, in the hope that 
 something would turn up the next day. As he could 
 not meet his check, he was arrested for fraud, and 
 locked up in the jail. If a man seventy-eight years of 
 age can be thus infatuated, what can be expected of 
 younger men ? 
 
 INCIDENTS OF INTEREST. 
 
 The pastor of one of the up town churches had as 
 fine a settlement as any one in the city. His church 
 was large, liberal, and considerate. His daily visits 
 to Wall Street attracted attention. His friends 
 thought that he was embarrassed, but he said nothing. 
 One morning he left his home as usual, and since then 
 nothing has been heard of him. A pencilled slip of 
 paper was found, in which he said he was "going to 
 his rest." 
 
 One of the most noted men in the street was one 
 14 
 
210 INCIDENTS OF INTEREST. 
 
 of the oldest and best known of the New York pas- 
 tors — at one time a leading clergyman in the city. 
 He followed the course of religion and trade up town. 
 He built one of the most extravagant and costly of 
 up-town churches. He was identified with more pub- 
 lic interests than any other pastor. He succumbed to 
 the inevitable law that lays nearly every minister on 
 the shelf when he gets old. Without a charge, he 
 seemed to have a fatherly care for all the churches, 
 without regard to sect. His wife was wealthy, and 
 he lived in a fine mansion in a fashionable portion of 
 New York. He became infatuated with the street, 
 and was a daily visitor among the brokers. His tall 
 form, clerical look, and old-fashioned white cravat, 
 attracted general attention. His peculiarity was that 
 of borrowing money, which he never repaid. He 
 would go from store to store, from office to office, 
 from broker to broker, and get any sums that parties 
 would loan him, from six dollars to six hundred. He 
 would visit churches on Sundays, and of course be in- 
 vited into the pulpit. Picking out his men as they 
 sat before him in the pews, getting their names, he 
 would call upon them at their places of business the 
 next day or week, and, under various pretences, most 
 of them false, would get a small loan, if he could not 
 secure a large one. These loans made a little mar- 
 gin, with which he kept up the excitement of specu- 
 lation in stocks for years, always losing. 
 
 Another very familiar face, better known to curb- 
 stone brokers and oil speculators than others, is a 
 clerical -looking old man, very seedy in appearance, 
 who wears the white cravat and black gloves on the 
 
A BRILLIANT WEDDING. 211 
 
 Btreet, who lias been waiting for years for something 
 to turn up. Poor as poor can be, living from hand to 
 mouth, he is no way discouraged, nor is his infatua- 
 tion broken. lie came very near realizing a fortune 
 or a felon's doom. To make his fortune sure, he 
 wrote illegally on a document that was laid before 
 the court. His age and profession induced the party 
 interested not to press the matter, as the property 
 sought to be obtained was released. The Court 
 placed the document that was altered on file, and let 
 the old man walk away. He alternates between re- 
 ligious meetings, where he assumes the position of 
 patron and father, and stock jobbing on the street on 
 a small scale. 
 
 A BRILLIANT WEDDING. 
 
 One of our city pastors gave one of his daughters im 
 marriage, a short time since, to a man of business.. 
 The wedding was a brilliant one, and the gifts prince- 
 ly. An early friend of the pastor was one of our 
 most daring and successful speculators. He came to 
 the surface in a day, and astounded the street by his 
 audacity in stocks. He did not forget his father's old 
 friend. He sent for him one day, and said, u How 
 much money can you raise?" "Two or three thou- 
 sand dollars," was the reply. " Can't you make it 
 ten?" said the broker. "Borrow it — get it any way 
 — but get it," The thing was accomplished. In due 
 time the broker handed his pastor two hundred and 
 fifty thousand dollars, the result of the speculation. 
 This successful scheme has lured thousands to financial 
 ruin. 
 
212 • LO! THE POOR INDIAN. 
 
 LO ! THE POOR INDIAN. 
 
 A couple of clerical young men appeared in Wall 
 Street to dispose of the wild lands at the West, be- 
 longing to the Indians. A portion of the sale was to 
 be devoted to the endowment of a college, to be un- 
 der the charge of one of the denominations. They 
 lived in fine style, and were very flush. They talked 
 largely of their own fortune, and of the fine invest- 
 ment which the lands offered. The attention of Con- 
 gress was attracted to the movement, and representa- 
 tions were made from the West that fraud was con- 
 templated ; that a portion was to be secured for sec- 
 tarian purposes and the balance to be divided be- 
 tween the agents and their special friends. One of 
 the clerical agents in this matter turned out a default- 
 er and fled. The other gave up the valuable tracts of 
 land he had allotted to himself, and was allowed to 
 sink into insignificance, and pass out of sight. 
 
 Wall Street does not feel especially honored by the 
 clerical element that appears from day to day in the 
 street. It honors manliness everywhere. If a per- 
 son wishes to put up a thousand dollars, or more, a 
 great many parties would "buy for a clergyman, on 
 that margin, though the street does not desire the 
 custom of anyone who cannot afford to lose, and is 
 not able to back up sales. In nine cases out of ten, a 
 broker would say to a clergyman, '''Ninety-eight 
 chances m a hundred are against you. You are more 
 likely to be struck with lightning going home, than 
 you are to be struck with luck in a venture here. It 
 is my business to buy and sell stocks for customers. 
 
LO: THE POOR INDIAN. 213 
 
 If you insist upon it, I will buy the line of stocks you 
 name, cany it for you while the margin lasts, and 
 shall be obliged to clean you out when the luck is 
 
 : list you." In nine cases out of ten, parties will say, 
 "Well, we will try our chances this time, anyhow." 
 With such men, who are open and above board, the 
 street does not object to deal, and customers do not 
 
 ■ their character with dealers. But, for another class, 
 who slyly venture on a speculation, who lay money 
 privately in a place agreed upon, that they may not 
 seem to have any connection with the transaction — 
 who work for friends, and denounce stock speculations 
 through their pulpits — who write long leaders for the 
 public press on the wickedness of stock speculation, 
 and the high crimes of conspiring to create panic, 
 while in the movement they have a little interest 
 themselves, — for such the street has only contempt. 
 One of this class, who is accustomed to come slyly 
 into an office, lay down his funds on a desk,*vrrapped 
 in a paper, and pass away ; and if anything was real- 
 ized, as quietly take it, was rebuked by his broker 
 one day, who said to him, "If you are ashamed of this 
 business, you had better leave the street." 
 
XIV. 
 BONNER, OF THE LEDGER. 
 
 His Birth-place, etc. — Founds the Ledger. — His System. — Tact and 
 Shrewdness. — His Popularity. — Bancroft and Everett. — Nor 
 wood. — Stud. — Bonner's Mews. — As a Man. 
 
 Robert Bonner, " of the Ledger," for so he will go 
 down to posterity, is one of the boldest operators in 
 New York, and one of the most successful — more in 
 horses, than in stocks ; more in men, than in gold. As 
 a shrewd, successful, business man, he is without a 
 rival, and when he has passed away, will furnish a 
 model to* coming generations. He is u square," manly, 
 generous, high-minded, and has the confidence of all 
 who do business with him ; a true friend, and a bene- 
 factor to the lowly. The little town of Lisburn, a 
 rural township in the north of Ireland, which sent to 
 us Stewart, Browne, Agnew, and other successful men, 
 was the native place of Bonner. As a boy, he was 
 frank and generous. At school, he was the champion 
 of the weak and the wronged. He was turned from 
 school for defending an associate, whom he knew to 
 be innocent. He started in life with a rule which has 
 marked his career — not only to do all that he did 
 well, but to excel all others. He proposed to be the 
 (214) 
 
BONNER, OF THE LEDGER. 
 
 first of his class in anything he undertook; to buy the 
 best of whatever he purchased, and to be foremost in 
 all the positions he proposed to occupy. 
 
 When he came to New York, it was said a literary pa- 
 per could not succeed in the metropolis. Such papers 
 could succeed in Boston and Philadelphia, but not out 
 of them. Mr. Bonner proposed to establish a paper, and 
 make it pay, in New York, and to set up such a journal 
 as would command a circulation throughout all the 
 land. He commenced his career in connection with 
 the press, in a small way. The great thing was to ob- 
 tain a footing, and that he secured. Wages were 
 small, work hard, and only by sharp economy could 
 he live. Even then, he kept out of debt. He bought 
 nothing he could not pay for. Through his long and 
 successful career he has never borrowed a dollar, nor 
 signed a note, and he now conducts his gigantic business 
 on cash principles. In some of his great enterprises 
 he paid out his last dollar, but never once did he fail- 
 in his venture. He has often paid as high as twenty- 
 five thousand dollars a week for advertising, and with 
 that sum went his last penny. In every instance his 
 outlay has met with most sanguine success. Men in 
 search of advertising swarm around the Ledger Office, 
 for so liberal a patron is popular. With the resolute, 
 dogged way which marks Mr. Bonner's business man- 
 ners, he says, " I have no more money to spend in 
 advertising/ ' To the offer to trust him to any amount, 
 the short, decisive answer comes back, "I cannot ad- 
 vertise beyond my means." 
 
216 FOUNDS THE LEDGER. 
 
 FOUNDS THE LEDGER. 
 
 The * Kepublican " was an evanescent affair, and 
 Mr. Bonner found permanent employment on the 
 u Evening Mirror " as a practical printer. This paper 
 was conducted by Morris, Willis, and Fuller. It was 
 Mr. Fuller's business to make up the paper. It was 
 very desirable to display the advertisements, and do it 
 in good taste. In this department Mr. Bonner excelled. 
 The whole matter was soon left in his hands. He had 
 an eye for beauty, and the Mirror advertisements 
 became very famous. There was a small mercantile 
 paper in New York, known as the tt Merchant's Ledger." 
 It was devoted almost entirely to commercial matters, 
 with a very limited circulation. A young man, whose 
 business it was to get up advertisements, was struck 
 with the elegant manner in which Mr. Bonner made 
 up the Mirror. He called the attention of the editor 
 of the Ledger to Mr. Bonner's capacity, and this 
 culminated in an engagement with Mr. Bonner to 
 become the printer of that paper. Mr. Bonner did not 
 own the material, but simply printed the sheet. He 
 occasionally wrote articles that attracted attention, 
 from their terse, compact, and spicy composition. A 
 little incident showed Mr. Bonner the value of a name. 
 His contributions to the Ledger were very well re- 
 ceived. The proprietor had a spice of jealousy about 
 him, and he did not want his energetic and spirited 
 printer to get into the editorial chair. Mr. Bonner 
 wrote a short, pithy article on a popular subject, 
 jammed it into a little nook in the paper, and placed 
 at the bottom the name of Dr. Chalmers. It took like 
 
FOUNDS TBE LEDGER 217 
 
 wildfire. It was copied into all the prominent papers 
 of the land. It taught Mr. Bonner the value of a 
 name, — a lesson he has never forgotten. 
 
 Shortly after he entered the office, Mr. Bonner pur- 
 chased the Ledger. He seated himself in the editorial 
 chair, and resolved to realize the visions of his youth. 
 He did not change its character at once, hut gradually. 
 The Ledger became less and less commercial, and more 
 and more literary. About this time Fanny Fern was 
 creating a great sensation in the literary world. Her 
 Ruth Hall had just appeared, and the work and its au- 
 thoress were criticised by the press in all parts of the 
 land. She was the literary star of the clay. The ques- 
 tion was violently discussed whether she was or was 
 not the sister of N. P. Willis. Mr. Bonner saw his op- 
 portunity, and sent a note to Fanny Fern, offering her 
 twenty-five dollars a column to write a story for the 
 Ledger. She declined the offer. Another proposition 
 was sent, offering her fifty dollars a column. That she 
 also declined. Seventy-five dollars were offered. That 
 she declined, announcing that she did not intend to 
 write any more for the newspapers. She admitted that 
 she admired Mr. Bonner's pluck. Soon it was inti- 
 mated to Mr. Bonner that if he would allow Fanny 
 Fern to write a story of ten columns, more or less, 
 though the story should not occupy less than nine 
 columns of the Ledger, she would undertake it. He 
 closed the contract immediately, received the manu- 
 script, read six lines, and sent her a check of one thou- 
 sand dollars. He resolved, w r ith this story, to introduce 
 
218 HIS SYSTEM. 
 
 a new era in the Ledger. He changed the form of the 
 paper, double-leaded the story, so that it made twenty 
 columns in the paper. He advertised it as nothing 
 was ever advertised before. He had paid an unheard- 
 of sum for a story — one hundred dollars a column. 
 The harvest was a golden one. Out of the profits of 
 that story Mr. Bonner purchased the pleasant residence 
 in this city in which he still lives. 
 
 HIS SYSTEM. 
 
 In the magnitude of his advertising Mr. Bonner has 
 displayed the remarkable business skill for which he is 
 celebrated. The manner of commending the Ledger to 
 the public is wholly his own. When he startled the 
 public by his extravagance in taking columns of a daily 
 journal, or one entire side, he secured the end he had 
 in view. His method of repeating three or four lines, 
 such as, — " Fanny Fern writes only for the Ledger " — 
 or, "Read Mrs. South worth's new story in the Ledger" 
 — and this repeated over and over and over again, till 
 men turned from it in disgust, and did not conceal 
 their ill-temper, was a system of itself. " What is the 
 use," said a man to Mr. Bonner, " of your taking the 
 whole side of the Herald, and repeating that statement 
 a thousand times ? " " Would you have asked me that 
 question," replied Mr. Bonner, "if I had inserted.it but 
 once ? I put it in to attract your attention, and make 
 you ask that question." 
 
 Mr. Bonner knows how to reach the public. He 
 pays liberally, but intends to have the worth of his 
 money. He does not advertise twice alike. The 
 newspapers are afraid of him. His advertisements are 
 
TA CT AND SHI!/: \ I DNESS. 219 
 
 so queer and unusual, that when they make a contract 
 with him, they have no idea in what shape the ad- 
 vertisement will come. Sometimes it is in the shape 
 of a fragment of a story; sometimes the page will be 
 nearly blank, with two or three little items in it. In 
 his peculiar style of advertising he often gives great 
 trouble to the editors of the leading papers. Some- 
 times an entire page is almost blank. Sometimes a 
 few small advertisements occupy the corner, giving the 
 sheet a peculiar appearance, which attracts attention. 
 Said an editor, "I had rather publish one of your 
 horses in the centre than have such a looking sheet." 
 But Mr. Bonner's purpose was answered by one inser- 
 tion, and the contract was withdrawn. 
 
 With a manliness and liberality peculiar to Mr. 
 Bonner, after one insertion, if the parties are dis- 
 satisfied, he always throws up the contract, however 
 beneficial it might have proved to him. 
 
 TACT AXD SHREWDNESS. 
 
 His mode of advertising was new, and it excited 
 both astonishment and ridicule. His ruin was predicted 
 over and over again. But as he paid as he went along 
 he alone would be the sufferer. He was assailed in 
 various ways. Men sneered at his writers, as well as 
 at the method in which he made them known. He 
 had no competition. Just then it was announced that 
 the Harpers were to put a first-class Weekly into the 
 field. The announcement was hailed with delight by 
 many classes. Men who had been predicting Bonner's 
 ruin from the start were anxious to see it accomplished. 
 
220 TACT AND SURE WDNESS. 
 
 He had agents in all the leading cities in the land. 
 These held a monopoly of the Ledger. The hook-men 
 and newspaper-men, who were left out, were quite 
 willing to have the Ledger go under. The respecta- 
 bility and wealth of the house, its enterprise, with the 
 class of writers it could secure, made the new paper a 
 dangerous rival. Mr. Bonner concluded to make the 
 first issue serviceable to himself. His paragraph adver- 
 tising was considered sensational, and smacking of the 
 charlatan. He resolved to make it respectable. He 
 wrote a half a column in sensational style — " Buy 
 Harper's Weekly " — "Buy Harper's Weekly" —"Buy 
 Harper's Weekly " — a Buy Harper's Weekly " — and 
 so on through the half column. Through his advertis- 
 ing agent he sent this advertisement to the Herald, 
 Tribune, and Times, and paid for its insertion. Among 
 the astonished readers of this Ledger style of advertis- 
 ing were the quiet gentlemen who do business on 
 Franklin Square. The community were astonished. 
 " The Harpers are waking up ! " " This is the Bonner 
 style ! " " This is the way the Ledger man does it ! " 
 were heard on all sides. The young Harpers were 
 congratulated by the book-men everywhere on the 
 enterprise with which they were pushing the new 
 publication. They said nothing, and took the joke in 
 good part. But it settled the respectability of the 
 Ledger style of advertising. It is now imitated by the 
 leading publishers, insurance men, and most eminent 
 dry goods men in the country. The sums spent by 
 Mr. Bonner in advertising are perfectly marvellous. 
 He never advertises unless he has something new to 
 present to the public. He pays from five to twenty- 
 
ms popularity. 221 
 
 five thousand dollars a week when he advert' 
 The enormous circulation of the Ledger, — over three 
 hundred thousand copies a week, — shows how profitable 
 his style of doing business is. Nearly everything he 
 does, every horse he buys, or new personal movement 
 that distinguishes him, is set down to a desire on his 
 part for gratuitous advertising. Of course he has an 
 eye to business in whatever he does. But all the ad- 
 vertising he wants he is quite ready to pay for. 
 
 HIS POPULARITY. 
 
 The popularity given to a little squib of his own, to 
 which the name of Dr. Chalmers was attached, taught 
 Mr. Bonner a lesson that he never forgot. Mr. Edward 
 Everett had taken upon himself to aid the ladies of 
 America in purchasing Mount Vernon. Mr. Bonner 
 resolved to secure Mr. Everett as a writer for the 
 Ledger. He knew that money could not purchase Mr. 
 Everett's connection with his paper. He offered Mr. 
 Everett ten thousand dollars to write a series of arti- 
 cles for the Ledger, the money to be appropriated to 
 the purchase of the tomb of the father of his country. 
 Mr. Everett could do no less than accept. At the con- 
 clusion of the Mount Vernon papers Mr. Everett con- 
 tinued on the Ledger nntil his death. Mr. Bonner 
 paid him over fifty thousand dollars for services 
 rendered on his paper. The notices to correspondents, 
 which is a marked feature in the Ledger, contain 
 answers to questions sent to the editor. Not more 
 than one question in five is replied to. Those answers 
 are written by the most eminent men in the country. 
 Many of them were written by Mr. Everett, Henry 
 
222 BIS POPULARITY. 
 
 Ward Beecher,and distinguished statesmen and lawyers. 
 The connection between Mr. Bonner and Mr. Everett 
 was of the most delicate and tender character, as Mr. 
 Everett's confidential letters sufficiently show. 
 
 It was Mr. Bonner's policy to spike every gun that 
 could be aimed against him, and make every influence 
 and every prominent man his ally. To this end James 
 Gordon Bennett of the Herald, Henry J. Raymond of 
 the Times, and Horace Greeley of the Tribune, became 
 contributors to the Ledger. 
 
 The Ledger was objected to in some quarters as not 
 being a suitable sheet for young persons to read. Mr. 
 Bonner secured the services of the presidents of twelve 
 of the principal colleges in this country to write for 
 his paper. Of course it would not be improper for the 
 young men in colleges to take a paper for which the 
 president wrote. Indeed, over the purity of expression 
 and chasteness of sentiment and utterance in what ap- 
 pears in the Ledger, Mr. Bonner exercises a rigorous 
 censorship. There are a great many articles and ad- 
 vertisements that appear, in religious papers that would 
 not be admitted into the Ledger. Mr. Bonner gives 
 this order : a Take the most pious old lady in a Presby- 
 terian Church, and any word or phrase, innuendo or ex- 
 pression, that she would want to skip, if she were reading 
 a Ledger story to her grandchild, strike out." 
 
 Paul Morphy, in the height of his popularity, edited 
 a chess column in the Ledger. Bryant, Willis, Hal- 
 leck, Morris, and Saxe laid a poetical wreath at Mr. 
 Bonner's feet. Prentice, Bancroft, Parton, and Coz- 
 zens joined the galaxy of Ledger writers. Fanny 
 Fern, Mrs. Southworth, and other eminent novelists, 
 
BANCROFT AND EVERETT.— NORWOOD. 
 
 furnished the entertaining serials published by Mr. 
 Bonner. 
 
 BANCROFT AND EVERETT. 
 
 On the death of Mr. Everett, Mr. Bonner enclosed a 
 check to Mr. Bancroft, with a note requesting him to 
 prepare a suitable article for the Ledger in commemo- 
 ration of the distinguished statesman. The article was 
 prepared and sent to Mr. Bonner. It contained no 
 allusion to Mr. Everett's connection with the Ledger. 
 The article was sent back, and the omission pointed 
 out. A sharp correspondence followed, in which Mr. 
 Bancroft attempted to establish the propriety of the 
 omission. Mr. Bonner refused to receive the article, 
 and he finally carried his point, and Mr. Everett's 
 connection with the Ledger had a marked place in 
 the eulogistic article. 
 
 NORWOOD./ 
 
 For a lonGr time Mr. Beecher has been a contributor 
 to the Ledger. One evening* Mr. Bonner and his wife 
 went over to Plymouth Church to hear the pastor. 
 The sermon was on success in life, and was given in 
 Mr. Beecher's most vigorous strain. He showed that 
 smartness, cuteness, and adroitness would not lead to 
 success unless they were combined with energy, a 
 knowledge of business, an indomitable perseverance, 
 and an integrity which would enable a man to dare to 
 do right. If Mr. Beecher had intended to hit Mr. Bon- 
 ner's character and success, he could not have come 
 nearer to the mark. Mr. Bonner had lacked not one 
 of the elements Mr. Beecher had described, and every 
 one knew his success. This sermon affected Mr. Bou- 
 
224 BONNER'S STUD. 
 
 ner in various ways. He was in search of a novelty 
 that should captivate and profit the public. Why 
 should not Mr. Beecher talk to a million of people 
 through the Ledger, as well as to speak to a single 
 congregation within the walls of his house ? His ac- 
 quaintance with . men had been large. His wit and 
 fancy were exuberant, and if he would write a story 
 for the Ledger he might preach in it as much as he 
 pleased, put money in his purse, and benefit the } 7 outh 
 of the country. 
 
 While Mr. Beecher was attending a council in his 
 own church, a letter was put into his hands. He had 
 had no conversation with Mr. Bonner about writing a 
 story. The letter contained a proposal that Mr. 
 Beecher should write a serial for the Ledger, and 
 named the price which would be paid for it, which was 
 perfectly astounding. " Miracles will never cease," 
 said Mr. Beecher, in his note replying to the proposal. 
 Norwood appeared, and the increased circulation of 
 the Ledger immediately reimbursed Mr. Bonner foi 
 his extraordinary outlay. The story was longer than 
 was expected, and an addition was made to the price 
 agreed upon. In this way the editor of the Ledger 
 treats all his first-class writers. He is generous in his 
 proposals, and does more than he agrees. - 
 
 bonner's stud. 
 
 When a printing boy, Bonner's rule was to be the 
 first boy in the office. When he was a printer, he 
 allowed no one to excel him in the swiftness with 
 which, he set type, and in his ability as a workman. 
 When he purchased the Ledger he intended to make 
 
BONNER'S STUD. 225 
 
 it the foremost paper in the country. He resolved to 
 own the most celebrated and fastest horses in the 
 world. And his stud, which are kept in his stables on 
 Twenty-seventh Street, are without rivals. His horses 
 are seven in number. u Lantern " is a bay, fifteen and 
 a half hands high, with long tail, mild, clear eye, white 
 hind feet, and white streak on his face. He is very 
 fleet, having made a mile in 2.20. " Peerless " is a gray 
 mare, about fifteen and a half hands high, with a long 
 white tail, clean limbed, and gentle. She has made the 
 fastest time on record to a wagon, trotting her mile in 
 2.231. She is so gentle that she is used in the country 
 by the ladies of Mr. Bonner's family. " FEitbush Mare " 
 is a double teamster, and with " Lady Palmer," in double 
 harness, has made the fastest time ever trotted in a 
 two mile heat to a road wagon, — o.Oli. She is fifteen 
 and a half hands high. The other is a chestnut sorrel, 
 about the same size. She has a fine head, and is very 
 symmetrical. Besides her famous time with a Flatbush 
 Mare," she has trotted two miles, to a three hundred 
 and sixteen pound wagon and driver, in 4.50. — the 
 greatest feat of the kind ever performed. " Pocahontas" 
 is the handsomest trotter and the most perfectly formed 
 horse in the world. She stands about fifteen hands, is 
 a dark, rich bay, has a very line head, proudly-arched 
 nostrils, and a tail sweeping the ground for four inches, 
 on which she frequently treads while standing. When 
 six years old this splendid animal trotted in 2.23, and 
 has made better time since she came into Mr. Bonner's 
 hands. The a Auburn Horse " is sorrel, and of enor- 
 mous size, being sixteen and a half hands, with four 
 white feet and white face, pronounced by Hiram 
 15 
 
226 BONNER'S ME WS. 
 
 Woodruff to be the fastest horse he ever drove. The 
 champion of the turf is " Dexter/' with sinewy form, 
 and joints like a greyhound, compactly built, dark 
 brown in color, with four white feet, and a white nose 
 and streak, a bright clear eye, and a flowing tail. He 
 has made a mile in 2.1 7i in harness, and 2.18 to 
 saddle. The turf annals of the world present no 
 parallel to this. Mr. Bonner buys his horses for his 
 own pleasure. He drives them himself, and is one of 
 the best horsemen in the country. He will not allow 
 his horses to be used for show or for gain. He races 
 with nobody, and bets with nobody. If any team 
 can make faster time than his, driven by the owner, 
 ten thousand dollars are deposited, and that owner 
 may apply that sum to any benevolent cause that he 
 pleases. Millionnaires gnash their teeth as Bonner 
 drives by them. There are horsemen in New York who 
 would give twenty-five thousand dollars for a pair of 
 horses that would make Bonner take their dust. If 
 Bonner's team is beaten, the owner must do as he does, 
 drive it himself. Of the speed of his horses he is his 
 own judge. He will buy anything that will beat the 
 world. When a horse is presented to him for trial, he 
 appears in full riding costume, with gloves, whip, and 
 watch in hand. He does not allow the owner to 
 handle the ribbons. 
 
 bonner's mews. 
 
 Mr. Bonner's stables are located on Twenty-seventh 
 Street. The building is a plain brick one, with every- 
 thing for convenience and comfort, and nothing for 
 show. The front part contains the carriage-house, liar- 
 
BONNER'S ME TTS. 227 
 
 ness-room, wash-house, and the place where the feed is 
 mixed. In the rear are the stables. Dexter and 
 Peerless have box-stalls, and are never tied. The other 
 horses are in ordinary stalls. Three persons are em- 
 ployed constantly to take care of the horses. Within 
 the enclosure, but outside of the stables, is a track 
 covered with tan bark, on which the horses are daily 
 exercised, one hour in the morning and in the evening. 
 The horses are fed four times a day, at six, nine, one, 
 and nine at night. A small allowance of hay is given 
 once a day. After eating they are muzzled, to prevent 
 them from devouring their bedding, and they are kept 
 muzzled all night. In the winter Mr. Bonner drives 
 but one horse at a time, and usually the Auburn Horse. 
 Dexter and the other fleet horses are seldom used in 
 the winter, but are reserved for fast trotting in the 
 spring. Great care is taken of the feet of the horses. 
 To this Mr. Bonner gives personal attention. He has 
 mastered the subject, as he has newspaper business. 
 He has a theory of his own, which has proved eminent- 
 ly successful in the treatment of his own horses, and 
 has enabled him to remove the lameness from the 
 valuable horses of his neighbors and friends. The idea 
 that the speed to which these horses are put is a 
 damage to them is as fallacious as it is to assert that it 
 hurts an eight-mile-an-hour horse to drive him at that 
 speed. Some of these fast horses Mr. Bonner has 
 owned many years. They are faster now than when 
 he bought them. Lantern is nineteen years old, and is 
 as sound and fleet as when he was ten. The men who 
 have charge of these horses are cs careful and tender 
 of them as is a kind nurse of a child. In the stable 
 
228 AS A MAN. 
 
 there is every convenience imaginable that a horse can 
 require, — tools for fitting shoes, grooming the animals, 
 making the wagons safe, with medicines, and all the 
 appliances of a first-class stable. The horses are said to 
 have cost Mr. Bonner over two hundred thousand dol- 
 lars. They could not be bought for double that sum. 
 
 AS A MAN. 
 
 There is a frank, hearty manliness about Mr. Bonner 
 which binds his friends to him. The eminent men 
 who have written for his paper form attachments to 
 him that death only severs. Mr. Everett conceived a 
 warm and glowing regard for him that was foreign to 
 his cold nature. His manuscript oration on Washing- 
 ton, elegantly bound, he sent as a token of his personal 
 regard to the editor of the Ledger. Mr. Bonner's office 
 is a curiosity. It is a workshop, plainly furnished. His 
 table is loaded down with letters, manuscripts, and doc- 
 uments. What is confusion to others is order to him. 
 The system with which he conducts his business is per- 
 fect. Any letter that he wants, or any number of 
 the Ledger containing a given article, is produced at 
 once. No man attends more closely to his business, or 
 spends more hours in his office. Nothing goes into the 
 Ledger without his supervision; and the sharp, crisp 
 editorials, always compact, and often keen as a two- 
 edged sword, are from his own pen. His office is 
 adorned with likenesses of his prominent contributors 
 and his celebrated horses. Horseshoes, and the para- 
 phernalia of fast driving, lie around. He has made the 
 horse his study for years, and has a better knowledge 
 of a. horse's foot than any surgeon in the world. Mr. 
 
AS A MAN. 229 
 
 Bonner is in the prime of life. He is short, thick-set, 
 and compactly built. His hair is sandy, his complexion 
 florid, his forehead high and intellectual, his eye 
 piercing, and his whole manner frank, genial, and 
 buoyant." He does nothing for show. He lives com- 
 fortably, but without ostentation, in a plain brick house. 
 His wagons are in the usual style, -made substantially. 
 His country seat, at Morrisania, is elegant and com- 
 modious, about which there is no tinsel nor dash. He 
 is a fine specimen of what good principles, excellent 
 physical culture, perseverance, and industry can do for 
 a man. The position he now occupies he looked to 
 when he was a printer's lad in the office of the old 
 Courant, He attempted no eccentric things, sought for 
 no short cross-paths to success. He mastered his trade 
 as a printer patiently and perfectly. He earned every 
 position before he assumed it, and earned his money 
 before he spent it. In New York he was preferred 
 because he did his work better than others. He was 
 truthful, sober, honest, and industrious. If he took a 
 job, he finished it at the time and in the manner agreed 
 upon. He borrowed no money, incurred no debts, and 
 suffered no embarrassments. In some of his great 
 enterprises he put up every dollar that he had in the 
 world. If he lost, he alone would suffer ; and he knew 
 he could go to work and earn his living. He has 
 never allowed the Ledger to be so dependent on one 
 man, or on one set of men, that it could not go on suc- 
 cessfully if each should leave. The Ledger is now the 
 most prominent and popular publication in the world. 
 It is without a rival in the ability with which it is con- 
 ducted, and in its circulation. 
 
230 AS A MAN. 
 
 In his style of living, Mr. Bonner is as simple and 
 unostentatious as can well be conceived. He lives in a 
 plain brick mansion, which he bought many years ago 
 with his first earnings. It is his boast that his horses 
 are as well cared for, and have rooms as airy and com- 
 fortable as he assigns to himself His marble build- 
 ing, known as the Ledger Building, is severely simple, 
 but massive and commodious. His great recreation is 
 with his horses, — not even these interfere with his 
 business. Late in the afternoon, when the day's work 
 is completed, Mr. Bonner starts for his stables. The 
 team assigned for the afternoon's drive is ready. He 
 decks himself in his road gear, and with the ribbons 
 in his fingers, moves onwards through the Park for his 
 daily drive. His coming is awaited by the crowds, 
 who gather around the hotels, and never tire of the 
 matchless speed of Bonner's horses. How he appears 
 on the road, and how he drives, will be presented in 
 the article in which Wall street exhibits its -fast teams. 
 

XV. 
 BENNETT. OF THE NEW YORK HERALD. 
 
 Early Life. — New York Cabeeb. — As a Journalist. — Starts the New 
 Yobk Herald. — Herald Buildings. — Arrangement Inside. — Edi- 
 torial Council. — Domestic Life. — The Household. — Foreign Em- 
 bassy. — Personals. 
 
 Oxe of the most marked men in New York, re- 
 garded from any standpoint, is James Gordon Bennett 
 of the Xew York Herald. Whether we regard his 
 humble origin, his bold and successful journalism, his 
 early struggles, his triumphant success against all odds, 
 his massive fortune, or the influence of his paper, which 
 is felt in every part of the civilized world, the man is 
 in every relation a marvel. The English press were 
 indebted to the Xew York Herald for their news about 
 the operations of their own armies on their own soil. 
 The paper is read in the Tuilleries. Whoever visits 
 Mr. Gladstone's private office in Downing street, will 
 find a well preserved file of the Herald in a place of 
 honor. In the American Bankers' rooms, in every 
 city in the world, the Herald is read till the paper 
 parts between the fingers. Many men in Xew York 
 refuse to pay for the Herald, but all business men 
 read it, whether they like it or not. Mr. Bennett was 
 born in Scotland — he is now seventy years of age. 
 His parents were Roman Catholics, but his uncle, a 
 
 (231) 
 
232 NEW YORK CAREER.— AS A JOURNALIST. 
 
 Presbyterian minister, had great influence over his ed- 
 ucation. Burns' ''Saturday Night" describes the cus- 
 toms of the family in which Mr. Bennett was trained. 
 
 HIS NEW YORK CAREER. 
 
 I 
 
 Mr. Bennett came to New York in 1822. He im- 
 mediately connected himself with the press, for which 
 he had a decided taste. He was not dainty in his 
 work. He took anything that came along. He was 
 industrious, sober, frugal, of great tact, and displayed 
 marked ability. He soon obtained a position on the 
 Charleston Courier as translator of Spanish-American ' 
 papers. He prepared other articles for the Courier, 
 many of which were in verse. His style was sharp, 
 racy, and energetic. On returning to New York he 
 proposed to open a permanent commercial school on 
 Ann Street, near Nassau, and issued his prospectus. 
 The plan was not consummated. But he gave a course 
 of lectures on political economy in the North Dutch 
 Church. 
 
 AS A JOURNALIST. 
 
 Mr. Bennett, in 1825, became proprietor of the New 
 York Courier by purchase. It was a Sunday paper, 
 but was not a success. As a reporter and writer he 
 was connected with several journals. In 1826 he 
 became associate editor of the National Advocate, a 
 Democratic paper. The next year the Advocate es- 
 poused the cause of John Quincy Adams, while Mr. 
 Bennett was a warm partisan of Jackson. Leaving the 
 Advocate, Mr. Bennett became associate editor of the 
 Inquirer, conducted by M. M. Noah. He was also a 
 member of Tammany Society, and a warm partisan. 
 
STARTS THE NEW YORK 1 1 Ell A 1.1k 233 
 
 During the sessions of Congress, Mr. Bennett was at 
 the Capital, writing for his paper ; and while at that 
 post a fusion was effected between the Courier and 
 Inquirer. He continued in his position as associate 
 editor and Washington letter-writer till 1832. Mr. 
 Bennett sustained General Jackson in his war on the 
 United States Bank. The Courier and Inquirer, under 
 Mr. Webb, sustained the Bank. This difference led 
 Mr. Bennet, to leave the concern. He wrote much for 
 the press, and his peculiarly cutting and slashing style 
 made his articles very effective. He studied the New 
 York press very closely. He felt that it was not what 
 the age demanded, and resolved to establish a paper 
 that should express his idea of a metropolitan journal. 
 He had no capital, no rich friends to back him, — noth- 
 ing but his ability, pluck, and indomitable resolution. 
 
 STARTS THE NEW YORK HERALD. 
 
 On the 6th day of May, 1835, the New York Herald 
 was issued from No. 20 Wall Street. It was a small 
 penny sheet. Mr. Bennett was editor, reporter, and 
 correspondent. He collected the city news, and wrote 
 the money articles. He resolved to make the financial 
 feature of his paper a marked one. He owed nothing 
 to the Stock Board. If he was poor, he was not in 
 debt. He did not dabble in stocks. He had no interest 
 in the bulls or bears. He did not care whether stocks 
 rose or fell. He could slash into the bankers and stock- 
 jobbers as he pleased. He worked hard. He rose 
 early, was temperate and frugal, and seemed to live 
 only for his paper. He was his own compositor and 
 errand boy, collected his own news, mailed his papers, 
 
234 HERALD BUILDING. 
 
 kept his accounts, and thus laid the foundation of that 
 great success that has made his name as familiar on the 
 Thames and Danube as it is on the Hudson. 
 
 HERALD BUILDING. 
 
 Opposite the Astor, on the site of the old Museum, 
 stands the marble palace known as the Herald Build- 
 ing. It is the most complete newspaper establishment 
 in the world. The little, dingy, story-and-a-half brick 
 building, standing back from the street up a court, and 
 known in London as the a Times Printing Office," would 
 not be used for a third-rate American paper. Before 
 the Herald buildings were completed, and while Mr. 
 Bennett was making a savage assault on the National 
 Banks, he was waited upon by the president of one of 
 the banks, who said to him, a Mr. Bennett, w T e know 
 that you are at great expense in erecting this building, 
 besides carrying on your immense business. If you 
 want any accommodation you can have it at our 
 banks." Mr. Bennett replied, " Before I purchased 
 the land, or began to build, I had on deposit two 
 hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the Chemical 
 Bank. There is not a dollar due on the Herald build- 
 ings that I cannot pay. I would pay off the mortgage 
 to-morrow if the owner would allow me to. When the 
 building is open I shall not owe one dollar to any 
 man, if I am allowed to pay. I owe nothing that I 
 cannot discharge in an hour. I have not touched one 
 dollar of the money on deposit in the bank, and while 
 that remains I need no accommodation." 
 
ARRANGEMENTS IXSIDE. 
 
 ARRANGEMENTS INSIDE. 
 
 The Herald building has two stories below the side- 
 walk, in which are located two engines of thirty-live 
 horse power each, ready for action at a moment's 
 notice. If one fails, the other will strike off the edi- 
 tion. Three huge Hoe's presses throw off twenty- 
 six sheets at once. The presses run from twelve at 
 night till seven in the morning to print the daily issue. 
 The edition varies from three- to five hundred thousand. 
 The engine and press rooms are kept in perfect order. 
 The proprietor makes constant visits to every part of 
 the establishment, and allows no confusion or untidi- 
 ness. The first story is the Herald office, fitted with 
 the neatness and system of a bank. Every department 
 has a responsible head. On the third floor the paper 
 is edited. It has a force of twelve editors, thirty-five 
 reporters, and five hundred men in all. The principal 
 room is the council room. It Dices St. Paul's on Broad- 
 way. It is elegantly furnished with black walnut 
 furniture The chairs are carved, and, with the lounge, 
 are handsomely covered with maroon leather. A long 
 table, around which twelve persons can sit, runs the 
 length of the room. A bronze bust of Mr. Bennett 
 stands on a pedestal at one end. The walls arc adorned 
 with portraits of young Bennett, Robert Burns, and 
 favorite characters. Opening from this is a handsome 
 library, fdled with important books for reference. The 
 editorial rooms, and rooms for reporters and writers, 
 occupy the entire floor. A small winding stairway 
 leads from the entrance on Ann Street to the editorial 
 rooms. At the top of. the stairs a colored gentleman 
 
V 
 
 236 EDITORIAL COUNCIL. 
 
 demands your business and your card. The visitor is 
 ushered into a small reception-room, occupied almost 
 entirely by an immense round table, files of papers, and 
 a few chairs. If persons cannot sit they can stand. 
 Visitors are seldom allowed in the editorial rooms. 
 The parties whom they call to see meet them in the 
 reception-room. The composition room is under the 
 French roof, large, airy, and complete. Every issue of 
 the Herald is electrotypecl, and there is a room for that 
 purpose in the building. A dummy lowers the form 
 down to the pi ess-room. 
 
 EDITORIAL COUNCIL. 
 
 The Herald is edited. Nearly every other paper in 
 the country is conducted by a journalist; that is, the 
 editor writes his own leaders. The editor-in-chief of 
 the Herald seldom writes an editorial. At twelve 
 o'clock each day the editors meet in the council-room. 
 If Mr. Bennett is in the city, he presides ; if not, young 
 James presides. A list of subjects is presented by Mr. 
 Bennett, and these are discussed. If he wants any 
 subject written upon, he gives out the heads in his dry, 
 terse, grotesque way. If taken clown just as he states 
 them, they would be very effective, though comical. 
 The subjects may be Phillips's last speech, the action 
 of Congress, new move of the President, the situation 
 abroad, or the last purchase of Mr. Seward. To each 
 editor a subject is given, or one man is selected to 
 write on a given matter. The editor decides what 
 shall be written, dictates the points, orders such an 
 article for such a clay, and to be written in such a man- 
 ner. Everything is decided by the editor before the 
 
DOMESTIC LIFE. 2 3 7 
 
 council breaks up. Then subjects are called for from 
 the editors, and suggestions solicited ; but Mr. Bennett 
 decides whether they shall be written upon or not. 
 In business, Mr. Bennett is shrewd, sharp, and prudent. 
 If he pays a dollar he expects to get a dollar's worth 
 for it. He often seems rough and impatient, and he 
 is prompt and decided. 
 
 DOMESTIC LIFE. 
 
 In his house he is genial, liberal, and kind. He dis- 
 penses an elegant hospitality. No English nobleman, 
 with an income of fifty thousand pounds, lives in a style 
 more generous than he in his city residence on Thirty- 
 eighth Street and Fifth Avenue. His favorite residence 
 is on Fort Washington. Here he receives his friends 
 in a principality of his own. He has a great deal of 
 company, and has everything to make guests happy. 
 He leaves each one to enjoy himself as he pleases — a 
 thing very rare in America. On entering Mr. Bennett's 
 mansion as a guest, the visitor will find every attention 
 he can desire and every elegance that can make him 
 happy. A French cook, bowling and billiard rooms, 
 horses and carriages in the stable, a steamboat to sail 
 up and down the Hudson, are at his service. At dinner 
 all the guests are expected to be present at a given 
 hour. At the other meals each one does as he pleases. 
 The guest comes down to breakfast at any hour, and 
 orders, as if at a hotel. 
 
 On a lounge or an old sofa the host will be found, 
 with his floor strewed with books and papers. He 
 usually gees to his office on pleasant days. It is the 
 duty of one of the editors to mark with a blue or red 
 
238 DOMESTIC LIFE. 
 
 pencil all paragraphs in the papers, personal, financial, 
 political, acts of Congress, &c. Those that have an 
 interest to the editor-in-chief are sent to Mr. Bennett, 
 and his eye catches at a glance the stirring events of 
 the clay. A telegraph wire connects Mr. Bennett's room 
 at Fort Washington with his son's room in New York. 
 The bell ringing three times indicates that Mr. Bennett 
 has something to say. The father and son talk as if in 
 an adjoining room. " Don't put in that article " — 
 " Publish that editorial on Congress " — " Come home 
 to dinner," — with other matters, are rattled over the 
 wires. Mr. Bennett is a great student of history. He 
 studies Cromwell and Bonaparte, Biddle and Jackson, 
 and delights in the history and scandal of the times. 
 His philosophy is of the type that laughs at all public 
 things, and he looks at public acts from this standpoint. 
 But no man is more genial in his home. His two great 
 loves are his son and his paper. He makes few out- 
 side calls, and will not attend balls, parties, or soirees, 
 except in his own mansion. He is a fast friend ; and 
 when he takes one to his bosom he takes him with all 
 his faults, and holds fast to him through good report 
 and through evil. Those who visit him find all sorts of 
 guests — French, Germans, Italians, English, with men 
 of all ranks. All who have any claim upon Mr. Ben- 
 nett are sure of a welcome. He knows how to dis- 
 tinguish between those who come as friends and those 
 who come to obtain a boon, or obtrude business upon 
 him in his retirement. He is up very early around his 
 grounds, but allows his guests to sleep as long as they 
 please. He dislikes to read of the death of men who 
 were young when he was young. It fijls him with 
 
THE HOUSEHOLD. 230 
 
 melancholy, that lasts a long time. His life is v 
 regular, his constitution is of iron, and he is guilty of 
 no excess. He is careful of exposure, drinks no 
 stimulating liquors, does not use tobacco, and excite- 
 ments do not touch him. There are probably twenty 
 years more of wear in him. He is very liberal in his. 
 way. He supports several widows, by a regular instal- 
 ment paid weekly, whose husbands were young when 
 Mr. Bennett was young, or were fellow-craftsmen of his 
 when he was struggling for a foothold in this city. 
 
 THE nOUSEHOLD. 
 
 Mrs. Bennett is a remarkable lady, possessing great 
 force of character. Her long residence abroad, for the 
 purpose of educating her son, made her familiar with 
 the languages of Europe. She speaks, with the fluency 
 of a native, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. 
 She has presided at the table around which sat the 
 Spanish and Italian admirals, the French commander, 
 and the German ambassador. "With each of these 
 officials she maintained a conversation in his own lan- 
 guage, without hesitation or embarrassment, as if she 
 had never spoken any other. The Herald is indebted 
 to Mrs. Bennett for the establishment of the foreign 
 correspondence, which is so marked a feature in that 
 print. Her letters from foreign capitals during her 
 residence abroad *were marked by taste, tact, and talent. 
 She is genial and accomplished as a hostess, and gives 
 a charm to the elegant home over which she presides. 
 
 Mr. Bennett's daughter, Janette, is quite young, 
 cultivated and accomplished. Like her mother, she is 
 familiar with all the tongues of the continent, and in 
 
240 THE HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 her education enjoys all the advantages that wealth 
 and liberality can bestow. 
 
 Young Bennett, named after his father, is one of the 
 best educated young men in the country. He has 
 probably a better practical education than any other. 
 He enjoyed great advantages, as he spent the most of 
 his younger years abroad, and was trained in every 
 accomplishment. He can speak fluently, and also 
 write French, German, Italian, and Scotch. On com- 
 ing home, his father resolved to fit him to take his 
 place in carrying on the Herald establishment. Young 
 Bennett set type, and learned all the mysteries of the 
 craft as a printer. He studied engineering, and knows 
 how to run the huge machines in the basement of the 
 building. He can work at the press. He is master of 
 the art of electrotyping. He can telegraph with skill 
 and accuracy. And the toys of his boyhood were 
 miniature steam engines, small telegraph machines, 
 with juvenile fonts of type and presses. He has marked 
 business and executive ability, and devotes more hours 
 to his office than any young man in the city. He has 
 the entire management of the immense business of the 
 Herald. He presides at the council in the absence of 
 his father, and conducts the affairs of the office in the 
 same prompt, decided manner. He edits the Telegram, 
 and owns the Weekly. He never leaves his office 
 during business hours, and is always at his post except 
 a few weeks in summer, w r hen he follows his favorite 
 pastime of yachting. He is - not only the business 
 manager of the Herald, and has to attend to all the 
 calls, but he is the active editor, and manages the 
 finances. He goes over the accounts daily, and knows 
 
FOREIGN EM B a. 241 
 
 how tke affairs stand, to a dollar, before he leaves the 
 office at night. He visits every part of the establish- 
 ment during the day, from the press-room to the upper 
 room for composition. Young Bennett is tall and slim. 
 His lace is thin, his eye pleasant, his nose prominent, 
 and his smile attractive. He is courteous in conversa- 
 tion, and there is a repose about him which indicates 
 ability to fill the position he occupies. He is frank, 
 manly, and generous. He has many traits of character 
 that are ascribed to Prince Alfred, the royal sailor- 
 son of Victoria. A warm friendship sprang up be- 
 tween the Duke of Edinburgh and young Bennett, 
 when the latter was in London. An officer high in 
 rank in the British navy told me that after young 
 Bennett had tendered his celebrated yacht to the 
 Prince, Alfred pleaded earnestly with his sovereign 
 mother to allow him to accept the generous gift. 
 Advised by her ministers that it would not do, she 
 positively forbade the acceptance. Of course Prince 
 Alfred would have acknowledged the gift by a princely 
 reciprocation. But the history of the Henrietta was so 
 romantic, the offer was so generous, the owner had 
 shown so much pluck in crossing the Atlantic, and was, 
 withal, so genial, so cultivated, and so manly, that the 
 heart of the prince was completely won. And this 
 testimony I heard continued on all sides during my 
 stay in London. 
 
 FOREIGN EMBASSY. 
 
 The French mission was offered to Mr. Bennett by 
 the President, without his solicitation. He per- 
 emptorily declined it, on the ground that he would 
 16 
 
242 PERSONAL. 
 
 not be bothered with the duties attached to the posi- 
 tion. " If I wanted to go to Europe," said Mr. Ben- 
 nett, u I would take fifty thousand dollars, and go at 
 my leisure." Soon after he declined the post, Mr. 
 Seward visited New York. A mutual friend stepped 
 over to the Herald office and announced the fact to 
 Mr. Bennett, and asked him to walk over and see the 
 secretary. " I have no business with Mr. Seward," 
 replied the editor ; " if he wishes to see me he can call 
 and see me." Mr. Bennett regards himself as a repre- 
 sentative man, who is to be called upon by all who 
 wish to see him. He carries this rule to great lengths. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Bennett is tall, and marked in appearance. Like 
 Commodore Vanderbilt, nobody passes him without 
 turning to take a second look. His form is genteel, 
 and he is as erect as a Mohawk Indian. He dresses in 
 good taste, without imitating either a sloven or a snob. 
 His hair is white and flowing, giving him a venerable 
 look. The lines of his face are hard, and indicate 
 talent and determination. In an omnibus or car he 
 would command general attention. He could easily 
 be mistaken for a clergyman, a professor in a college, 
 or for one of the solid merchants of the city. He can 
 command the best talent in the world for his paper. 
 He pays liberally for fresh news of which he has the 
 exclusive use. If a pilot runs a hazard, or an engineer 
 puts extra speed on to his locomotive, they know that 
 they will be well paid at the Herald office, for its 
 editor does not higgle about the price. 
 
 
PERSONAL. 243 
 
 The marvelous enterprise of the Herald attracts 
 universal at trillion. Every morning the columns are 
 
 loaded with intelligence from every part of the world, 
 and news of every character comes to the tables of its 
 patrons with the early light of day. The audacity 
 and persistency of the employees of the paper are 
 proverbial. Secret state papers are promulgated in 
 the Herald. The Grand Council of the Vatican, now 
 in session at Rome, is under the sacred sanction of 
 secrecy ; yet, private debates, remarks of the Pontiff, 
 valuable papers, and the purposes of Dignitaries, that 
 are not even expressed in open council, are sent quiv- 
 ering over the wires to the Herald Building, to the 
 astonishment and alarm of dignities. The Herald 
 pays for all the news sent to it, pays liberally and 
 without higgling. It must be news — news of interest 
 — news given exclusively to the Herald. Any time 
 of night or day, the Herald is open for intelligence. 
 If a pilot runs great risks to bear early and important 
 information of a disaster outside, he knows where to 
 carry his news, and where he will get his pay. Should 
 an engineer charter an extra train, or ruin a locomo- 
 tive in reaching the Herald Office with an important 
 despatch, he knows he would receive a check to cover 
 his loss. During the war, the Herald establishment at 
 Washington was as much a place of business as the 
 War Department. Saddle-horses were tied in front, 
 ready for service. Men connected with the Press, 
 who could be outdone, outrun, outwritten, or outsold, 
 were not wanted on the Herald. The telegraph wires 
 were monopolized up to the latest moment that mes- 
 sages could be printed in New York ; men on foaming 
 
244 PERSONAL. 
 
 steeds, and bespattered letter writers, came tearing 
 into the city from a circuit of fifty miles, bringing up 
 the latest intelligence from every quarter. On one 
 occasion the wires were engaged, but the messenger 
 was delayed. The rule of the office required that the 
 wires should be employed, or they could not be held. 
 Equal to the emergency, the Herald correspondent 
 kept his post. He commenced with one of the knotti- 
 est chapters in the Book of Chronicles, and sent over 
 the wires several hundred of the hardest names in that 
 wonderful record. Before the book was exhausted 
 the messenger arrived. The whole establishment of 
 the Herald is run on a gigantic scale, and with a 
 system and ability that no other business in the city 
 excels. It requires courage, and a large heart, to 
 make the vast expenditures necessary to carry out the 
 plan on which the Herald is conducted. But the har- 
 vest is a golden one. The profits of the Herald are 
 estimated by financial men, to be not less than three 
 hundred thousand dollars a year. 
 
XVI. 
 JACOB LITTLE. 
 
 Portrait. — Tiie Great Bear. — On* the Street. — Reverses. — Imita- 
 tors. — Causes of Disaster. 
 
 In the elegant rooms of the Stock Exchange, hangs 
 the portrait of Jacob Little, the man who now wears, 
 and first wore, the title of the Great Bear of Wall Street. 
 The post of honor assigned to him, on the right of the 
 President, was well won. The history of Wall Street 
 speculation, success, and reverse, could not be faith- 
 fully chronicled if the name of Jacob Little were 
 omitted. The picture represents a man in the prime 
 of mature life, tall, slim, "with black hair, and an earnest, 
 intelligent look, and eminently fitted for the post he 
 occupied. His lesson is an instructive one. Begin- 
 ning with nothing, he acquired an immense fortune. 
 Often bankrupt, still pursuing, he held* on to one line 
 of operations through all his long and chequered 
 career ; regaining his fortune as often as he lost it, 
 and losing it as often as he regained it, he died poor 
 at the last, and, but for the assistance of friends, 
 would have died in want. 
 
 THE GREAT BEAR. « 
 
 Jacob Little originated the daring, dashing style of 
 business in stocks, by which fortunes are made and lost 
 
 (245) 
 
246 THE GREAT BEAR.— ON THE STREET. 
 
 in a day. He was born in Newburyport, Mass., and 
 early exhibited great tact and aptitude for business. 
 In 1817 he came to New York, and entered the store 
 of Jacob Barker, who was at that time the most shrewd 
 and talented merchant in the city. He remained with 
 his master five years, and completed his financial edu- 
 cation. In 1822 he opened an office in a small base- 
 ment in Wall Street. Caution, self-reliance, integrity, 
 and a far-sightedness beyond his years, marked his 
 early career. For twelve years he worked in his little 
 den as few men work. His ambition was to hold the 
 foremost place in Wall Street. Eighteen hours a day 
 he devoted to business — twelve hours to his office. 
 His evenings he spent in visiting retail houses to pur- 
 chase uncurrent money. He was prompt, energetic, 
 reliable. He executed all orders committed to him 
 with fidelity. He opened a correspondence with lead- 
 ing bankers in all the principal cities from New York 
 to New Orleans. 
 
 t ON THE STREET. 
 
 Twelve years of industry, integrity, and energetic 
 devotion to business placed Mr. Little at the head of 
 financial operations in Wall Street. He identified him- 
 self with the style of business known as " Bearing 
 Stocks." He was called the Great Bear on 'change. 
 His mode of business enabled him to roll up an almost 
 untold fortune. He held on to his system till it hurled 
 him down and beat him to pieces, as it had clone many 
 a strong man before. For more than a quarter of a 
 century Mr. Little's office in the old Exchange building 
 was the centre of daring, gigantic speculations. On 
 'change his tread was that of a king. He could sway 
 
ON THE STREET. 247 
 
 and disturb the street when lie pleased. He was 
 rapid and prompt in his dealings, and his purchases 
 were usually made with great judgment. He had 
 unusual foresight, which at times seemed to amount to 
 prescience. He controlled so large an amount of stock 
 that he was called the Napoleon of the Board. When 
 capitalists regarded railroads with distrust, he put him- 
 self at the head of the railroad movement. He com- 
 prehended the profit to be derived from their construc- 
 tion. In this way he rolled up an immense fortune, 
 and was known everywhere as the Railway King. 
 
 He was the first to discover when the business was 
 overdone, and immediately changed his course. At 
 this time the Erie was a favorite stock, and was selling 
 at par. Mr. Little threw himself against the street. 
 He contracted to sell a large amount of this stock, to 
 be delivered at a future day. His rivals in Wall Street, 
 anxious to floor him, formed a combination. They 
 took all the contracts he offered, bought up all the new 
 stock, and placed everything out of Mr. Little's reach, 
 making it, as they thought, impossible for him to carry 
 out his contracts. His ruin seemed inevitable, as his 
 rivals had both his contract and the stock. If Mr. 
 Little saw the way out of his trouble, he kept his 
 own secrets ; he asked no advice, solicited no accommo- 
 dation. The morning dawned when the stock must be 
 delivered, or the Great Bear of Wall Street break. 
 He came down to his office that morning self-reliant 
 and calm as usual. He said nothing about his business 
 or his prospect. At one o'clock he entered the office 
 of the Erie company. He presented certain certificates 
 of indebtedness which had been issued by the corpora- 
 tion. By those certificates the company had covenanted 
 
248 REVERSES. 
 
 to issue stock in exchange. That stock Mr. Little 
 demanded. Nothing could be done but to comply. 
 "With that, stock he met his contract, floore.d the con- 
 spirators, and triumphed. 
 
 Reverses so common to all who attempt the treach- 
 erous sea of speculation at length overtook Mr. Little. 
 Walking from Wall Street with a friend one day they 
 passed through Union Square, then the abode of our 
 wealthiest people. Looking at the rows of elegant 
 houses, Mr. Little remarked, " I have lost money enough 
 to-day to buy this whole square. Yes," he added, 
 " and half the people in it." Three times he became 
 bankrupt, and what was then regarded as a colossal 
 fortune was in each instance swept away. In each 
 failure he recovered, and paid his contracts in full. It 
 was a common remark among the capitalists, that 
 "Jacob Little's suspended papers were better than the 
 checks of most men." 
 
 His personal appearance was commanding. He was 
 tall and slim ; his eye expressive ; his face indicated 
 talent ; the whole man inspired confidence. He was 
 retiring in his manner, and quite diffident except in 
 business. He was generous as a creditor. If a man 
 could not meet his contracts, and Mr. Little was satis- 
 fied that he was honest, he never pressed him. After 
 his first suspension, though legally free, he paid every 
 creditor in full, though it took nearly a million of dol- 
 lars. He was a devout member of the Episcopal 
 Church. His charities were large, unostentatious, and 
 limited to no sect. The Southern Rebellion swept 
 away his remaining fortune, yet, without a murmur, 
 he laid the loss on the altar of his country. He died 
 in the bosom of his family. His last words were, " I 
 am going up. Who will go with me ? " 
 
IMITATORS. 249 
 
 IMITATORS. 
 
 Not only in the style of his business does Mr. Little 
 re-live in Wall Street, l>ut so he lives in his reverses. 
 Out of the countless hundreds who have been earnest 
 operators on the street for the last half century, the 
 number who have escaped the reverses, and ruin of 
 his gigantic speculations, can be counted on the »ten 
 fingers of any man's hand. I meet occasionally a lady, 
 clad in deep mourning, coming from the elegant 
 rooms of the Mutual Life, where she goes to draw an 
 annuity which her husband was induced to settle 
 upon her in his brighter days. He was one of the 
 boldest and most successful of operators. He had a 
 lordly mansion in the city, a country seat in Jersey, 
 and he resolved, to have the finest establishment on the 
 Hudson of which any man could boast between the 
 City Hall and the capitol at Albany. A hundred men 
 were employed to put his grounds in order. While 
 he was absent from the city a stringency occurred in 
 •the money market, and loans were called in. His 
 clerks, not knowing what to do, seized a quantity of 
 stock, threw it on the market, produced a panic, and 
 when the merchant came home, he found himself bank- 
 rupt. He died soon after, leaving his family penni- 
 less. No thrift, no forecast, no ability can foresee or 
 avert these disasters that come like a gale on the 
 ocean and sweep everything away. I pass daily a 
 dwelling, in upper New York, now a club house. It 
 was built by a Wall Street speculator, and was first- 
 class. A house warming was held of the most costly 
 character. The building was illuminated, and the 
 side-walk carpeted. The flowers cost hundreds, and 
 
250 CA USES OF DISA STER. 
 
 the supper was extravagant beyond description. In 
 two summers the family retired to the country, the 
 brilliant furniture was sold under the hammer, and 
 men with hats on, and cigars in their mouths, look 
 through the splendid plate windows and linger in the 
 gorgeous saloons. A brilliant equipage seen in Cen- 
 tral Park, perhaps, will be attended by an outrider, 
 with lackeys, who will sit behind in English style. The 
 equipage carries gay ladies and gentlemen. The 
 name of the fortunate speculator, who was, perhaps, a 
 few months ago a ticket taker at a ferry, a trader in 
 whisky, or in pork, is passed from mouth to mouth. 
 Before the season closes that team will be driven by 
 some sporting man on his own account, and the gay 
 party, who were proud of the establishment, will have 
 passed away from fashionable New York forever. 
 
 CAUSES OF DISASTER. 
 
 No name is as potent to-day in Wall Street, or pro- 
 duces so much sensation, as did the name of Jacob 
 Little. He was the marked man of the street. His 
 coming was watched for, and he was pointed out to 
 visitors as the Great Bear. The lifting of his hand 
 carried consternation ; his nod unsettled the market. 
 Men bought and sold at his bidding. Fortunes top- 
 pled at his will. He was too shrewd to be caught, 
 too rich to be ruined, men said. Yet he went under 
 without relief, and he is as really forgotten in the 
 theatre of his mighty exploits as if he had never lived. 
 He has more imitators in his misfortunes than in his 
 successes. Men can be seen on the street daily whose 
 success was a marvel, and whose voice was potential 
 
CAUSES OF DISASTER. 25] 
 
 in bulling and bearing stocks. In seedy dress, with 
 downcast looks, [hoy hang about the theatre of their 
 former greatness, snob-beaten by their ourb-stonc 
 brokers. 
 
 Seldom in Wall Street is anything laid up for a 
 rainy day. Men who make fifty thousand dollars, in- 
 stead of buying a house, and settling twenty -five thou- 
 sand on wife and children, throw the whole into spec- 
 ulation to make it a hundred thousand. A dry goods 
 jobber, who has a balance of seventy-five thousand dol- 
 lars in the bank, instead of securing half of it beyond 
 danger, will keep the whole in his trade till he loses 
 it, or will fling it into the great maelstrom of Wall 
 Street. " What is the paltry sum of fifty thousand 
 dollars when a man can turn it into half a million?" 
 speculators say. ''Famine or feast," is the law of 
 Wall Street, — to-day, not money enough to buy 
 crackers and cheese ; to-morrow a dinner at Delmoni- 
 co's at twenty-five dollars. To-day a broker foots it 
 down town, for he cannot furnish the fire in a street 
 car ; to-morrow he rides home in a coach. To-day he 
 gets a bite in an alley at a pie-stand; to-morrow 
 nothing will suffice but a private room at an expen- 
 sive restaurant. No man had about him more ele- 
 ments of permanent success than Mr. Little. None 
 have tempted the treacherous sands of stock specula- 
 tion as he tempted them, who have not, like Little, 
 been engulfed in the treacherous soil. 
 
XVII. 
 LEONARD W. JEROME. 
 
 Leonard W. Jerome.— Aristocracy in Stabl.es.— Panic op '57.— Sun- 
 day Drives.— Reverses. 
 
 HIS START. 
 
 Few men on the street made a deeper impression 
 than Leonard W. Jerome. He put himself at the start 
 among the most daring, and he proved to be one of 
 the most successful of operators. He took his place 
 as the leader of fashions. He became the rival of Van- 
 derbilt and Drew, and dictated terms to the street. 
 He bought a piece of ground in what was then the 
 aristocratic portion of New York facing on Madison 
 Square. Here he purposed to build a mansion that 
 should make aristocratic New York quiver with envy. 
 He came to New York a penniless adventurer. The 
 editor of a country newspaper, once the driver of a 
 stage coach, without money, and without a name he 
 came upon the street. 
 
 ARISTOCRATIC IN STABLES. 
 
 He built his stables before he built his house. No 
 millionaire in New York, fifty years ago, would have 
 built as gorgeous a dwelling for himself as Jerome 
 built for his horses. It was of brick, faced with mar- 
 
 252 
 
ARISTOCRACY IN STAB* 
 
 ble, three stories high, with a French roof. This sta- 
 ble he filled with horsesand carriag< magni- 
 ficence. Except the Emperor's Mews in Paris, it is 
 doubtful whether any stables in the world, al that time, 
 equaled Jerome's. Black walnut, plate gla -. carpeted 
 floors and other costly decorations adorned the place. 
 >ve the stable the owner built a private theatre, 
 more gaudy and brilliant than Niblo's or Wallack's. 
 An adventurer, a few month before, and penniless, 
 Jerome proposed to give aristocratic New York a taste 
 of his quality. It was announced that he was to give 
 a ball in his stables. The upper ten, whose boots this 
 gentleman would have been glad to black a short time 
 before, not only thankfully accepted a card of invitation 
 to eat a supper where his horses were kept, but 
 rushed madly about the city after the coveted pieces 
 of pasteboard. The theatre was elegant!} and attract- 
 ively adorned. Two fountains were placed in the 
 centre, one playing cologne, the other champagne. 
 The floral decorations were gorgeous. The cost of the 
 supper was astounding. The front of the stable was 
 illuminated. The sidewalk was carpeted with crim- 
 son tapestry, and the servants were numerous and 
 elegantly dressed. 
 
 panic of '57. 
 
 The foundation of Jerome's success was laid in the 
 great crisis of '57. One lucky stroke gave him a for- 
 tune, and he resolved to show how little he valued the 
 conventionalisms of life, or the feelings and opinions 
 of the religious part of the community. He moved up 
 among the aristocracy, and claimed a place with the 
 
 
254 panic of '57. 
 
 foremost. His movements were very snobbish, and 
 indicated his low origin. He drove a four-in-hand, 
 attached to a lumbering barouche, which would have 
 been voted too clumsy for a band connected with a 
 traveling circus. To show how little he regarded the 
 Sabbath and the public sentiment by which it was sus- 
 tained, his custom was to drive out on Sunday as the 
 community were going to church, and in a style that 
 would attract general attention. The heads of his 
 horses were turned on to Fifth Avenue at the hour 
 when that most fashionable promenade was most 
 densely crowded with church goers. His horses were 
 trained to caper and rear, as they turned into the 
 street. Gay and laughing ladies in gorgeous costume, 
 attended by their gentlemen friends gaily decked out, 
 filled the carriage. Lackeys, carefully gotten up, occu- 
 pied the coupe behind. Jerome sat on the box and 
 handled the reins. With a huge bouquet of flowers 
 attached to his button hole, with white gloves, crack- 
 ing his whip, and with the shouts of the party, the 
 team would rush up Fifth Avenue, on toward the Park, 
 while the populace said one to the other, u That is 
 Jerome." In speaking of this snobbishness, prominent 
 street speculators were accustomed to say, that a-man 
 who had no more regard for the proprieties of life 
 than that course indicated; who, if he wanted to take 
 a private drive on Sunday, instead of doing it quietly, 
 took especial pains to outrage the decencies of life 
 and insult the religious sentiment of the community, 
 would certainly go under, — not from any supersti- 
 tious idea of a judgment, but from a common sense 
 estimate of the man ; for one with such characteristics 
 
REiiznsES. 255 
 
 could never be a safe and sound business man. How 
 well this judgment of Wall street brokers has been 
 borne out the subsequent history of this man's career 
 will show. 
 
 Mr. Jerome had much public spirit, in one line. 
 Above the Park in Westchester county is a fine boule- 
 vard, leading on directly to the Race Course which 
 bears Jerome's name. This boulevard was built at his 
 own expense very nearly; at least, his enterprise carried 
 it through. He attempted to introduce the English pas- 
 time of horse-racing, and paid large sums of money to 
 bring the celebrated racers from the South to this 
 city. For a season the course was very successful, but 
 though his name is still connected with the course, it 
 has passed into other hands. His passion for horses 
 is exceeded only by his passion for the theatre and 
 the opera. During the brief period of his prosperity, 
 he was the great patron of the actors. 
 
 REVERSES. 
 
 His reverses came as sudden as his success. He was 
 robbed of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth 
 of government bonds. A single blow, in the street, 
 in two minutes, carried away eight hundred thousand 
 dollars. lie embarked in other unfortunate specula- 
 tions, and Jerome followed the great procession who 
 pass out of sight in Wall street. It is believed that he 
 has money, but as an operator he is of no account. 
 The charm of success passed from him, and he was 
 found to be vulnerable like other men. His four-in- 
 hand was withdrawn from the Park. The magnificent 
 horses, which he drove so proudly on Sunday morn- 
 ings, have been separated and one of them is driven 
 
256 REVERSES,— ON THE ROAD. ' 
 
 by a revenue officer on. Central Park, whose wealth is 
 estimated at two millions, who two years ago could 
 not have borrowed money enough on the street to pay 
 for blacking his boots. Jerome's fortune, at one time 
 was estimated at from six millions to ten millions. 
 His costly stables, glittering private theatre, and mag- 
 nificent mansion adjoining, have passed from his hands, 
 and have become one of the leading Club Houses of 
 New York, where chops are ordered and dinners called 
 for. 
 
 Mr. Jerome is still in the prime of life, about forty 
 years of age ; tall, dark complexioned, with dark hair, 
 and heavy moustache. His gait is stooping, his step 
 slow, his eyes dull, his voice musical, his words few. 
 In his palmy days, when he presided at the jockey 
 club, elated with wine, his friends pronounced him one 
 of the most attractive and genial of companions. 
 
XVIII. 
 WALL STREET ON HARLEM LANE. 
 
 Central Park and Fast Horses. — Harlem Lane. — Dan Mace, The 
 Horseman. — His Stables. — Ox the Road. — Celebrated Men on 
 the Road. — Jerome Cranstone. — Jake Vandbrbilt. — Carman. — 
 Bonner. — Harker. — John Harper. — Wm. II. Tweed. — Tobin. — 
 Palmer. — J. Gould. — Smith. — Hatch. — Baxter. — Osgood.— Vander- 
 bilt.— On the Piazza. 
 
 A few years ago New York had neither horses, 
 parks, nor driving-places. The lumbering animals 
 attached to the heavy carriages were the laughing 
 stock of other cities. Bloomingdale Road was some- 
 what of a drive when it was readied. It was a long 
 distance from the city, the roads were miserable, and 
 there was no interest in a drive in that direction. 
 The laying out of Central Park, with its fine boule- 
 vards, made a market for showy and costly teams. 
 The men of Wall Street had Harlem Lane put in or- 
 der, and it became the "road" of New York. From 
 Central Park to Macoom's Dam the drive is fine, and 
 the exhilaration of an afternoon there worth observing. 
 Anywhere on Fifth Avenue above Twenty-fifth street, 
 a great procession of teams can be seen moving along 
 towards the trotting course. The most famous horses 
 in the world, with their owners or drivers, move up 
 this fashionable thoroughfare. Two classes of horses 
 
 (257) 
 17 J 
 
258 HARLEM LANE. 
 
 are seen. Horses of immense size and strength, very 
 showy and elegantly caparisoned, are for the Park. 
 Long, lank, bony, slab-sided, gawky-looking animals, 
 that would not bring fifty dollars at auction, are the 
 trotters, bound for Harlem Lane. A man is "no- 
 where" in Wall Street unless he keeps a fast team. 
 What racing is to the English, trotting is to New 
 York. Fabulous prices are paid for a fast horse. 
 When a new animal is to be brought out and shown 
 off, whose time is remarkable, Wall Street is as excited 
 over the intelligence as if a great "corner" was 
 pending. 
 
 HARLEM LANE. 
 
 This great thoroughfare is known as "the road." 
 It is reached through Central Park, out of the northern 
 gate, and turning sharply to the right on 110th 
 Street. A narrow isthmus leads to a long, narrow 
 road. It was a common path before it attained the 
 dignity of a street. One side is lined with hotels and 
 drinking places. On the other side are open fields. 
 It is a mere turnpike, in the worst possible repair ; 
 the soil is heavy, and in wet weather, driving is un- 
 pleasant. The road is full of holes and ravines, and 
 the surest horses break up often to save themselves 
 from falling. Here the great stock men, speculators, 
 dry goods men, and eminent New Yorkers can be 
 found any afternoon. The exhilaration on the road is 
 intense, for every steed is put to his best ability. 
 Excitement and peril unite. Every man for himself. 
 The teams are quite as much excited as the drivers. 
 Flying, dashing, cutting across, moving in opposite 
 
DAM EL MACE. 259 
 
 directions, with unearthly yellings, make a in- 
 
 describably exciting. Men of seventy compete with 
 
 men of thirty. Lads of sixteen give an octogenarian 
 all he can do. Bankers, brokers, speculators, old men 
 and young men, clerks, draymen, cartmen, butchers, * 
 merchants, doctors, counsellors, ministers, in pell-mell 
 New York style, are tearing up and down the road, 
 till the brush is over, and the tying-up sheds receive 
 the foaming steeds. 
 
 DANIEL MACE. 
 
 Wall Street is as helpless about horses as a dry 
 goods man is about stocks. Fast horses are very few. 
 A horse that can outspeed the fleet ones on the road 
 can command any price — thirty or fifty thousand dol- 
 lars even. A man must be a good judge of a horse to 
 buy him right. There are as many bogus horses on 
 the road as there are bogus lines of stock on the street. 
 A horse must be known, and his pedigree traced. A 
 sharp, successful broker on the street is quite likely to 
 be duped by a horseman. A horse that appears well 
 may be unsound, wicked, vicious. The time attribu- 
 ted to him may be bogus time. A horse may trot 
 well on the course and be distanced on the road. Few 
 owners of fast teams are competent to drive them. 
 They are at the mercy of professional horsemen. A 
 horse that shows great speed on the course is bought 
 by a speculator, for if he can beat some of the cele- 
 brated teams, he will command an immense price. 
 The driver is bought up by the other side ; the horse 
 breaks, or in some way loses the trot. There are a 
 few horsemen that cannot be bought or sold. New 
 
2 GO . DANIEL MACE 
 
 York lias always had one or two men whose integrity 
 was above suspicion. Their judgments were sound, 
 their honor unstained, and if a horse they drove did 
 not win the race, it was because he could not. Hiram 
 Woodruff was one of that class. At his death by 
 common consent his mantle fell on Daniel Mace. He 
 is, without controversy, the best driver 4n America 
 to-day. His "friends assert that his equal cannot be 
 found in the Old World. He is a small man, slim and 
 spare, with an agreeable face and courteous maimers, 
 and is under thirty years of age. He has some rare 
 qualities which commend him to the confidence of the 
 street. He is intelligent, gentlemanly, and affable. 
 He is honest, in the road meaning of that term. The 
 most celebrated trotters and elegant establishments 
 on the road and in the Park are owned by Wall 
 Street brokers. Men buy through Mace, and have 
 the utmost confidence in his judgment and integrity. 
 The wealthiest men will not accept the time of a 
 horse unless Mace drove him, and such confidence is 
 placed in his knowledge of horses, that men employ 
 him to visit different parts of the country and test the 
 speed of trotters offered for sale. Fifty, and even 
 one hundred thousand dollars, are often staked on the 
 speed of a horse. Ten thousand dollars slipped into 
 Mace's hands would not turn the fortunes of the day. 
 He is very temperate, using neither spirits nor tobacco. 
 Men who drink hot whiskey punches on the road, like 
 him all the better that he drinks nothing but hot lem- 
 onade. In his stable on forty-seventh street he has 
 the finest stud of horses in New York, outside of Bon- 
 ner's stable. He understands the treatment of horses. 
 
ON THE ROAD. 
 
 There is a system now universally adopted, for g 
 ing and feeding valuable horses. They are fed reg- 
 ularly, four times a day. Oats mixed with bran i 
 steamed with boiling water, is the favorite food. 
 Chopped feed is not allowed, and but little hay. 
 hours of feeding are, six. nine, one, and nine. The 
 horses are muzzled after their meals, to prevent them 
 from eating their bedding. The stalls are usually box 
 stalls, and are lined with leather and stuffed, for the 
 protection of the animals. Fast as these horses are 
 driven, it evidently does them good, and not harm. 
 ''Lantern," nineteen years old, is as fleet and vigorous 
 as ever. " Post-boy," driven furiously for ten years 
 1 >y his owner, who was one of the hardest of driv 
 is as nimble and swift to-day, as when the lines were 
 first drawn over him. 
 
 4 
 
 OX THE ROAD. 
 
 At a slow pace the great procession moves up toward 
 the Park. A short trot over the fine drive-ways within 
 the Park, leads to the Lane. In every direction teams 
 can be seen coming up, single and double, driven by 
 their owners, by grooms, or by celebrated horsemen. 
 The road, through its entire length, is crowded. I 
 easy to select the celebrated teams as they go by like 
 the wind. Mace comes along, with '"Little Dan/ 1 and 
 •• < reneral Sherman," or other celebrated horses. Grad- 
 ually the reins are shortened — the handles are seized — 
 a turn is taken round the corners — the horses give a 
 snort, and settle themselves down to work. Every- 
 body gives way to Dan ^lace. One might as well com- 
 pete with the telegraph. Cool, collected, the master 
 
'262 CELEBRATED MEN ON THE ROAD. 
 
 of his teaifty this prince of drivers flies over the road 
 like the wind ; cutting in, cutting out, crossing, driving 
 through a scud of teams, not an inch to spare on either 
 hand, he passes horses at the top of their bent as if 
 they were standing still. His famous halloo can be 
 heard half a mile, — u Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-oo-oo-ooh !" 
 till the smoking team have the blankets thrown over 
 them in the shed. 
 
 CELEBRATED MEN ON THE ROAD. 
 
 The heat, excitement, and turmoil of Wall street, as 
 the day wanes, is transferred to Harlem Lane. Crowds 
 of visitors who have no teams for fast driving, or who 
 cannot afford the expensive luxury, crowd the piazzas 
 of the hotels to see the display and partake of the 
 exhilaration. No other city on the continent can pre- 
 sent such a sight. The leading men of New York, 
 and of the nation ; financiers, speculators, wealthy 
 brokers, millionaires, and men who were mere adven- 
 turers twelve months ago; professional men of all 
 grades, merchants, men high in government office, and 
 the leaders of the New York ring, mingle in the ex- 
 citement of the road. Others affect the style of wealth 
 and elegance on the Park, and do not aspire to fast 
 trotters. Among the most celebrated of these, a few 
 may be selected. 
 
 Lawrence Jerome affects the heavy, gorgeous style. 
 He is snobbish — drives his four-in-hand in the Park. 
 A large, heavy-framed man, about fifty-five years of 
 age is he. 
 
 Hiram Cranstone has a team noted for its beauty 
 and speed. He appears on the road with a four-in- 
 
CELEBRATED MEN o\ THE ROAD. 263 
 
 hand; his driver, an imported Englishman, is said to 
 be the best reinsman in America. Cranstone is a small, 
 nervous man, with a keen eye ; is soft and low in his 
 conversation, very bland in his manners, and a great 
 friend to the street. 
 
 One of the marked men on the Lane, and one who 
 enjoys the road hugely, is Captain Jake Vanderbilt, as 
 he is called — brother to the Commodore. He is no 
 friend of the Commodore, and has stoutly refused all 
 oilers of assistance from him. He has been a great 
 steamboat man in his day, noted for his decision, ac- 
 tivity, daring, and quickness of movement. He owns 
 Staten Island ferry, and the railroad on the island. 
 He is a keen sportsman, and has a track near his house 
 for fast horses. He boasts that he has beaten the 
 Commodore. He has his teams brought up from the 
 island by his grooms for the excitement of a dash in 
 the Lane of an afternoon. 
 
 Richard Carman has one of the most elegant, docile, 
 and speedy teams on the road. His young horse Kirk- 
 wood, driven by Mace, has made the fastest time, it 
 is said, on record. 
 
 Bonner is "the observed of all observers." He 
 comes up late, a square built, short, thick set, heavy 
 moulded man, and takes his place as king of the road. 
 The teams have tried their mettle, and their owners are 
 on the piazza waiting for his coining. He announces 
 his approach by startling yells, like an Indian warrior. 
 It is a warning to all to clear the track. By common 
 consent the road is cleared, and the superb team passes 
 up and down amid the excitement of the crowd, he 
 whooping and yelling most terrifically through the 
 
264 CELEBRATED MEN ON THE ROAD. 
 
 whole route — the steeds clash by, for Bonner handles 
 the ribbons artistically. 
 
 One of the most enthusiastic drivers is Jos. Harker. 
 He contests the palm boldly with Vanderbiflrand Bon- 
 ner. His celebrated Hamiltonian team, Brunette and 
 Bruno, made the fastest double-teamed time ever 
 known. Bonner succeeded in buying Bruno, but no 
 money could purchase Brunette. When the team made 
 2.24i on the Fashion Course, a United States Senator 
 offered forty thousand dollars for the pair, which was 
 refused. Horsemen say that Brunette has made even 
 faster time, for half a mile, than Dexter. 
 
 The Harpers were very celebrated on the road at 
 one time. James drove a pair of spanking blacks, 
 which gave him as much as he could do, amid the ex- 
 citement of the road. But John Harper is the veteran 
 of the Lane. For a quarter of a century he was the 
 leading driver of the road, and had the fastest teams 
 in New York. He was greatly respected, and when 
 his energies as a driver began to wane, the owners of 
 fast teams were too considerate to leave him behind; 
 they gave him the lead, and allowed him the pleasure 
 of feeling that he was still master of the road. Unable 
 longer to compete with the young bloods, or drive his 
 tearing teams, he comes up daily, in pleasant weather, 
 in his private carriage, to look on the exciting contest 
 in .which he has no longer a part, The old fire is in 
 his veins, and his eye kindles as the roaring teams go 
 tearing by. He has the place of honor on the piazza, 
 and men lift their hats to him as the type of a race 
 fast disappearing. 
 
 William M. Tweed is no horseman, but he has the 
 
LEBRATED MEN OX THE ROAD. 
 
 most dashing turnout in the city. His stables are very 
 celebrated. They are built of Caen stone, and have 
 every modern improvement. His stalls are modeled 
 after the Imperial stables in Paris. His harnesses are 
 
 kept in rooms ceiled with black walnut, and adorned 
 with plate glass. There arc none so showy or costly in 
 Xcw York. They are gold gilt, and richly embossed 
 with the monogram of the owner. His carriages are 
 numerous, and in style. Xo driver on the road is more 
 elegantly arrayed, and the whip he sports is jewelled. 
 Mr. Tweed inherited the business of chair making from 
 his father, and failed in the business. He joined a lire 
 engine company — the famous Big Six — he took to 
 politics, and steadily pursued that calling. He has 
 rolled up a fortune of over a million. The Brennans, 
 his companions, have been equally successful. They 
 were coopers, took to politics, joined the fire depart- 
 ment, made a fortune, and when they will, can appear 
 on the read. Like the father and son in troublesome 
 times in England, who took different sides in the civil 
 war, that the family property might not be alienated — 
 Matthew became a Democrat, and Owen a Whig and 
 Republican. When the democrats were under, Owen 
 shared with Matthew; and when the democrats were 
 triumphant, Matthew shared with Owen. The Wash- 
 ington market is said to yield a royal revenue to the 
 brothers. 
 
 John M. Tobin was formerly one of the marked men 
 on the Park; his life is a thrilling lesson on the sudden- 
 ness with which wealth is acquired and lost on the 
 street. His fortune, which was very large, was ac- 
 quired in a day. His style of operating was daring. 
 
2GG, CELEBRATED MEN ON THE ROAD. 
 
 and bold. During his brief career in the street he was 
 the terror of operators, so daring, so eccentric, and un- 
 scrupulous. If half that is said about him is true, his 
 beginnings were romantic. Commodore Vanderbilt 
 lived on Staten Island, and was running the ferry. 
 One day a young man came into his office with a 
 jaunty air and flashing dress, and asked for business. 
 His impertinence bordered on impudence. His very 
 audacity interested Vanderbilt, He said he could obey 
 orders, and meet the wishes of his employer. "Have 
 you a gold watch?* 5 said the Commodore. "I have." 
 " Gold pencil, and gold ring ?" " Yes." " I suppose, 
 then, you have a diamond breast pin." "Unvested 
 my last funds that way." "Well," said the Commo- 
 dore, "you have not got those to steal." He con- 
 cluded to give the young aspirant a trial. There were 
 several rules that he must observe — two of them must 
 not be broken under any consideration. Tobin's duty 
 was to take the tickets, start the boat exactly on time, 
 waiting for nobody, and allow no deadheads on the 
 line. Tobin took his place and prepared for action. 
 The Commodore lived not far from the ferry. He was 
 accustomed to visit the city at a particular hour ; he 
 sauntered down toward the boat at his leisure, but till 
 he was on board the ropes were not cast off. His neigh- 
 bors understood the arrangement and took their leis- 
 ure also. The next morning the Commodore was 
 about half way between his house and the boat. To 
 his astonishment the whistle sounded and the boat put 
 off, leaving him and a dozen or two others on the dock. 
 He shouted, gesticulated, commanded, but in vain ; he 
 was frenzied, but powerless. He threatened all sorts 
 
CELEBRATED MEN OX THE ROAD. 2G7 
 
 of things to the audacious stripling who dare leave him 
 behind To the energetic expostulation Tobin simply 
 replied, " You must get aboard in season — this boat 
 - on time — those are my orders." The next day 
 Tobin attempted to collect fare of the Commodore. 
 " No dead-heads on this line," he said. The rigid 
 rules were somewhat relaxed, but Tobin became the 
 delight of the Commodore. By his assistance Tobin 
 is said to have taken out of the street by one opera- 
 tion, not less than three millions of dollars. He could 
 endure adversity, but prosperity was too much for 
 him. He affected great style on the Road, rode in his 
 luxurious satin-lined coach, and appeared the exquisite. 
 Extravagance in living, dissipation, gambling, and 
 drinking, made short work of his fortune, and threw 
 him up, a stranded wreck on the shore of misfortune. 
 Before he went under, or was known to be embar- 
 rassed, he met a friend early one morning, who was 
 struck with his haggard, agonizing look. Placing both 
 hands on his shoulders, he confessed that he had been 
 gaming deeply, and had lost heavily ; that he had given 
 checks to a large amount which he could not meet 
 that day, and unless some one helped him he was a 
 ruined man. He was too deeply involved to be helped, 
 and was completely cleaned out as an operator on the 
 street. Tobin is thin, wiry, and prematurely old. 
 Trouble turned his hair gray at an early period, and 
 he stands as one of the beacons with which Wall street 
 is so thickly studded. 
 
 Francis Palmer, President of the Broadway Bank, is 
 pronounced one of the best judges of horses in New 
 York. He is an old horseman, and had great expe- 
 
268 CELEBRATED MEN ON THE ROAD. 
 
 rience as the owner of the Bleeker Street line of omni- 
 buses. His horses are celebrated for their beauty and 
 speed. Weaver, a celebrated dry goods man, drives 
 the fine sorrel "Income," a horse of most remarkable 
 speed. Palmer never tires on the road, but waits and 
 watches for a brush with every comer, who boasts a 
 fast horse. 
 
 Jay Gould drives a pair of very fast trotters. The 
 horses obtained great celebrity in the West. Gould 
 is as peculiar on the road as he is in the street. Cool, 
 persistent, and dogged, he follows his adversary 
 whether he wins or loses, till he tires him out ; waits 
 for him when he rests, follows him when he starts, and 
 pursues him untiringly the whole afternoon. Gould is 
 a small man, of dark complexion, with black clipped 
 whiskers, and a fatal black eye. He is about forty-five 
 years of age. 
 
 Smith, of the house of Smith, Gould, Martin & Co., 
 whose connection with the fatal Black Friday, will 
 hand their names down to posterity, is the owner of 
 one of the fleetest horses in New York. His time on 
 the Buffalo track is 2.24. When "Idol" appears on 
 the road he produces almost as much excitement as 
 Dexter. Smith owns a large number of very fast trot- 
 ters. He is a tall, slim, sandy complexioned man, re-, 
 sembling General Aspinwall. 
 
 Frank Work, a celebrated banker, is one of the best 
 drivers on the road. His team is very fast, and hard 
 to beat. He has the fastest, double horse team, it is 
 said, in America, though he seldom speeds his horses. 
 He is an elegant gentleman, affable, genial, and liberal, 
 about fifty years of age, and is the head of a house, 
 
CELEBRATED MEN ON THE ROAD. 
 
 which, through all panics and convulsions lias never 
 faltered. He was originally in the dry goods business, 
 but has been in the street as an operator twenty year.-. 
 lie has done the heaviest business in the street, hold- 
 ing the funds of Vanderbilt, and many of his class. 
 During one of the very severe panics, a friend asked 
 him if he wanted help. He answered, " I paddle my 
 own canoe; I will break before I will ask help." 
 
 Rufus Hatch drives a very stylish team, and one of 
 the fastest on the road. He is very rich, and was in 
 Henry Keep's pool in the North West, and Michigan 
 Southern. 
 
 Next to Vanderbilt, George Baxter attracts the at- 
 tention of horsemen. He is a man of great wealth and 
 daring, and enjoys the road. He has a very fast team, 
 and puts himself, daily, in the way of the fast drivers. 
 He is about seventy years of age, with flowing hair, as 
 white as a patriarch's, and in his dash and speed re- 
 sembles the Commodore so much that he is often taken 
 for him. George Osgood — Vanderbilt's son-in-law — 
 drives an elegant pair of bays, and is himself a keen 
 sportsman, as well as horseman. William H. Vander- 
 bilt drives a black team, which cost over ten thousand 
 dollars. Rev. Dr. Corey seeks occasional recreation 
 by a turn on the road. Vanderbilt presented him with 
 the Mountain Maid, and he has mated her to a horse 
 of rare speed. Horsemen say there are few teams to 
 the pole that can show higher speed than the horses 
 driven by Mr. Corey. He is often seen on the road 
 with his little daughter, a looker on rather than a 
 sharp participator. A large number of his cloth keep 
 him company. 
 
27ft ON THE PIAZZA. 
 
 ON THE PIAZZA. 
 
 The customs of the road require a dash or two up 
 and down, and then the horses are blanketed, and led 
 by grooms under the shed. Harry Bertholp's hotel is 
 the popular resort of the leading horsemen. On his 
 wide piazza the interested and excited groups gather 
 to talk over the events of the day, and to note what- 
 ever is new and startling on the road. The excitement 
 and change are as great among the horses as among 
 brokers. They come as suddenly to the surface, and 
 as suddenly disappear. Marvelous speed is developed, 
 and horses sure to win, are often run out of sight, A 
 curious group, but an interesting one, crowd the piazza 
 at High Change, on the road. Harry is very popular — 
 he was Crier of the Courts for many years. A partisan 
 judge removed him ; he then took to the road, and 
 has been very successful. Lawyers, judges, profes- 
 sional men, as well as horsemen, bring up at Harry 
 Bertholp's. The bar is crowded, as well as the piazza; 
 the company is very gentlemanly, and the drinking is 
 principally confined to hot lemonade. Men, who drive 
 valuable teams, and are liable to be run into every 
 minute and have their spider wagons dashed to pieces, 
 find it necessary to have a cool brain and a steady 
 hand. Hundreds are on the piazza who do not care to 
 ride fast, or do not wish to be beaten. Gentlemen 
 bring up their wives and families, and from Harry's 
 pleasant parlor look out upon the exciting scene. 
 
 Vanderbilt is one of the most daring and lucky of 
 riders. He rides in a high-topped buggy, with the top 
 up, and not unfrequently brings his wife with him on 
 
ON THE PIAZZA. 271 
 
 the road. It is a part of the policy of horsemen, most 
 of whom are stock brokers, or speculators, to flatter 
 the Commodore by not driving by him. They give 
 him a sharp brush, but let him come out ahead, and 
 for this delicate flattery they often get a good turn in 
 stocks. Captain Jake Vanderbilt accuses the street of 
 this, and puts them to shame by giving the Commo- 
 dore all he can do to maintain his laurels. A Southern 
 gentleman, stopping at one of our hotels, was invited 
 by Vanderbilt to take a turn with him on the road. 
 He frightened him nearly to death, and actually put 
 him to torture, by a piece of daring which bordered 
 on recklessness. Coming out of the Park the Commo- 
 dore turned his horses toward the Fourth Avenue. The 
 Boston Express train was coming out of the city. "You 
 are not going to drive in front of the train?" said the 
 nervous friend. Just then he gave the word to his 
 horses — they shot across the track as the train whizzed 
 by, leaving scarcely an inch between it and the wheels 
 of the carriage. "There," said the Commodore, "there 
 isn't another man in New York could have done that." 
 "Perhaps so!" said, the Southern gentleman, "but the 
 next time you perform that feat, Mr. Vanderbilt, you 
 will do it without my company." Whoever wishes a 
 good view of Wall Street must visit the Stock Ex- 
 change, or the Gold Board in a season of high excite- 
 ment, and afterwards take a turn on the road on a 
 pleasant afternoon. 
 
XIX. 
 LADY BROKERS ON THE STREET. 
 
 A New Sensation. — Claflin, Woodhull & Co. — The Office.— A Look 
 „, Inside. — Business Habits. — Antecedents. — Opinions of the Street. — 
 A Lady Makes a Fortune. — A Broker Keeps a Hotel. — Lady Brok- 
 ers, on the Road. 
 
 LADY BROKERS ON THE STREET. 
 
 A new sensation was afforded Wall Street in the 
 announcement that two ladies had taken rooms on the 
 street, and were about to do a first-class brokers' busi- 
 ness, dealing in stocks and gold. The ladies rejoiced 
 in the name of Victoria C. Woodhull, and Tennessee 
 C. Claflm. The style of the firm was Woodhull, Claflin & 
 Co. The " company " was a young man from the South, 
 tall, with dark complexion, with a military look, and 
 the reputation of having been a member of the South- 
 ern Cavalry during the war. He is known as Colonel 
 J. H. Blood. The rooms secured by the lady brokers 
 have a notoriety in New York not enviable. Large, 
 commodious, and fashionably furnished, they w r ere 
 used by Grey for his gigantic frauds, and were the 
 centre of his dark but successful operations. On enter- 
 ing the offices, one is introduced to the Banking House. 
 
 This room is large enough to transact the business of 
 
 (272) 
 

A LOOK INSIDE. L>7:] 
 
 the Rothcbilds in. It is fitted up with the elegance of a 
 first class bank, and with all the conveniences for stock 
 and banking purposes. Plate glass, marble 
 counters, furniture of black walnut and chestnut, huge 
 safes, and multiplied desks, greet the eye. Beyond, 
 is a reception room, handsomely famished, where the 
 ladies meet their business friends. Beyond that is a 
 private parlor equally gorgeous in its surroundings. 
 On coming into the street, the lady brokers created 
 a great sensation. All day long crowds were around 
 the doors. Men flattened their noses against the plate 
 glass, peeping in, and every imagined excuse was in- 
 vented by parties who wanted to walk inside and look 
 at the sights. The wonder lasted, as all wonders do in 
 New York, for a week or sd. To-day, the firm of 
 YToodhull, Clafiin and Co., attracts no more attention 
 than that of any ordinary business place in the street. 
 
 A LOOK INSIDE. 
 
 The whole establishment is painfully bare and de- 
 serted. A few strangers whose curiosity leads them 
 inside, enter. Two or three young fellows make 
 the desolation of the Banking Room more apparent 
 by their presence. They are relatives of the brokers, 
 and have evidently nothing to do. Passing in, the 
 foot-fall echoes in the silence, and the door of the pri- 
 vate room is reached. It is ten to one that the ladies 
 are not in. They spend but little time in the office, 
 and when in, seem to be under a high state of nervous 
 excitement. They appear to be ladies about the ages 
 of twenty-four and thirty-five. The elder, Mrs. Wood- 
 hull, has a family, but the whereabouts of her hus- 
 18 
 
274 A LOOK INSIDE. 
 
 band are not known. She is known as a"Viccie;" 
 Tennessee is known as a "Tennie." She writes her- 
 self Mrs. Tennie C. Claflin, but it is known that she is 
 not married. The sisters belong to a- family in which 
 are five daughters and two sons. The ladies are rather 
 attractive in their appearance, with a bold, resolute, 
 and manish air. They dress in the highest style of 
 Broadway promenaders. They wear in their office, 
 hats, heavy chignons, grecian bends, and talmas, thrown 
 over their shoulders, which gives them an untidy 
 and bunchy look. They talk to each other in the 
 presence of visitors, in the most endearing manner. 
 They call each other "Viccie," "Tennie," " Sissie," 
 "dearie," "love," and kindred terms. In the midst 
 of exciting talk about stocks, the presidency, Vander- 
 bilt, and the street generally, they will call out in an 
 air of lassitude, that would become an exquisite at the 
 Springs, for the Colonel to go and get them a little Yichy 
 Water, they are so excited. The whole arrangement 
 seems queer enough. Of ordinary height, coarse 
 complexion, masculine in manner, dressed -in stunning 
 style, these brokers evidently study to make an impres- 
 sion. Tennie, who is very loquacious, and does the most 
 of the talking, is enthusiastic and sanguine of success. 
 The ladies are very ambitious of notoriety, and it does 
 not hurt their feelings to have their names in the paper. 
 They keep on the table open for inspection, a huge 
 scrap book, which contains all the pictures, illustrations 
 and notices of the house, good, bad and indifferent. 
 These ladies have costly rooms at the Astor House, and 
 a private table, to which they invite their friends who 
 wish to see them. As they are very general in their 
 
D U SIX ESS IL 1 fi / TS. - . I .v i v; CEDEN ts. 2 i 5 
 
 invitations, and keep open house, their after basin* 
 levees are very popular. 
 
 BUSINESS HABITS. ■ 
 
 So far the house has done little or nothing. The 
 expenses arc very heavy, and funds must come from 
 some source. The street look on with suspicion. It 
 is believed that the women have been sent into the 
 street, by interested parties, for a purpose which will 
 develop itself by and by. The ladies denounce these 
 rumors and suspicions as the fruits of jealousy on the 
 part of the men. On the first of May, they affirm 
 that they will have a banking capital of a quarter of 
 a milliou, that they have the promise of deposits 
 that will make other Banking Houses turn pale. It 
 was currently reported when they first came on the 
 street, that Vanderbilt was to back them for any 
 amount, Vanderbilt denies this, but reputable gentle- 
 men, who have called on him in regard to business 
 transactions, in which these ladies were concerned, 
 have received his assurance that it is all right. The 
 sisters have been traced to Yanderbilt's house in Wash- 
 ington Place, repeatedly in the evenings, and gentle- 
 men doing business with the Commodore have met 
 them there. When they first appeared on the street, 
 they deposited in the bank Yanderbilt's check for seven 
 thousand live hundred dollars. 
 
 ANTECEDENTS. 
 
 The appearance of two ladies in Wall Street as bro- 
 kers, has led to a rigid examination of their antece- 
 dents. Mrs. Woodhull and Miss Claflin came to New 
 
276- OTHER CASES. 
 
 York from Chicago. They are clairvoyants by pro- 
 fession, and had an establishment in their Western 
 home. Their father was said to be a celebrated cancer 
 doctor. Beside their brokerage business, they prac- 
 tice in New York as clairvoyants. Whether they buy 
 and sell stocks on that system is not known. Their 
 principal customers so far, have been ladies, who take 
 their pin money, and make a venture with it on the 
 street. Mrs. Woodhull has just now the presidency on 
 the brain. She has published two or three articles 
 in the secular press, which have been inserted as adver- 
 tisements. She is about to start a paper to be devoted 
 to her claims, for the high position she seeks. One o£ 
 our first lithographers is engaged on a hand-bill to be 
 elegantly executed, which is to cover all the dead walls 
 in the land, advocating the nomination and election of 
 this lady broker for the presidency. 
 
 OTHER CASES. 
 
 It is no uncommon thing for ladies to appear on the 
 street. Some of them have money of their own, some 
 of them desire to have. Many have a taste for specu- 
 lation ; with others, the infatuation of stock gambling 
 is intoxicating. They walk into the street, engage a 
 small broker to transact business, leave their margin 
 and watch the operation with intense interest from 
 day to day. A lady whose husband was cleaned out 
 in the street, took her little patrimony and went among 
 the brokers. For the fun of the thing, as a house 
 said, a party was found willing to make an investment. 
 It proved a lucky one. The lady immediately with- 
 drew from the street, took the lease of a public house 
 
OTHER CA& 277 
 
 in a fashionable watering place, ran it in superb 
 
 style, made a very handsome thing in the business, sold 
 out advantageously, and retired with a competency, 
 showing herself to be one of the marked business 
 women of the age. 
 
 A lady often seen in "Wall Street has a romantic his- 
 tory. Her husband is well known in New York. He 
 lives in fine style in the upper part of the city, and 
 drives one of the most dashing turn-outs in the Park. 
 His wife, an elegant and accomplished lady, he neither 
 lives with nor supports. Before she tried her ability 
 in Wall Street, she took a very effectual way to mortify 
 her husband, for he has great personal pride. Resolved 
 not to be dependent on the man who had deserted her, 
 and not to want bread, she identified herself with a 
 fashionable uptown establishment, as a worker of ele- 
 gant gold embroidery. She issued a beautiful printed 
 circular, announcing herself by her husband's name, 
 and stating his business, so that there could be no mis- 
 take about the identity. She offered her services to the 
 fashionable ladies of Xew York, stating her reasons for 
 her course, that she desired to earn her bread for her- 
 self and children. Xew York was wonderfully agita- 
 ted for a short time, and the lady obtained what she 
 deserved, — a fair start. The gold embroidery exhibited 
 in Paris, which attracted so much attention among the 
 crowned heads at the Exposition, was the work of this 
 lady. Her pluck, ability, and daring made her shop 
 on Broadway too small. She found a fitting field in 
 the street, and operates with the average success. 
 
 The ladies who give the fancy balls in upper Xew 
 York, with the most unique and extravagant surround- 
 
278 OTHER CASES. 
 
 ings ; who drive fast teams on the road, and try the 
 mettle of their steeds with horsemen ; who drive spir- 
 ited horses attached to their phaetons in the park, with 
 their servants behind ; and who give their gentlemen 
 friends a turn around the Park; most of these are ope- 
 rators on the street. 
 
XX. 
 WALL STREET AT HOME. 
 
 FASHION AND CHARITY. — PERIL OF NIGHT. — NIGHT ON MURRAY HILL. 
 
 LENOX GREAT GSFT. — EDWIN W. MORGAN. — AUGUST BELMONT. — R. L. A A. 
 
 STUART. PETER COOPER — HORACE GREELEY. BROWN & EROS. — GEORGE 
 
 LAW. — WILLIAM E. DODGE. — THOMAS R. AGNEW. 
 
 With all the reverses and failures incident to stock 
 speculation, the men of Wall Street are, and always 
 have been, the dwellers in the most sumptuous palaces. 
 Their families lead the ton, and give law to fashion. 
 The} 7 decide if Saratoga, Newport, the White Hills, or 
 the sea-shore, shall be the rage for the season. They 
 own the fastest teams on the road. The gorgeous 
 turn-outs in the Park. The two-in-hand, four-in-hand, 
 six-in-hand, are owned and often driven by leading 
 sto&k men. Find any fashionable part of New York 
 to-day, and it will be found to have been laid out by 
 successful operators in the street. If there is one 
 dwelling more sumptuous than another, more lordly 
 in its arrangements, more gorgeous and extravagant 
 in its fitting up, it belongs to some broker. If he goes 
 under, and sells out, the man who cleaned him out 
 will take his place from over his head. On Staten 
 Island there are mansions that would answer for a 
 
 (279) 
 
280 FASHION AND CHARITY. 
 
 Ducal residence. Beyond New Brunswick New York 
 stretches herself and tracks her domain by costly man- 
 sions in New Jersey. Up the North River are expen- 
 sive stone villas and castles, as costly as baronial halls. 
 Thirty miles along the Sound are some of the most 
 sumptuous country seats in America. Nearly all these 
 have been builded by stock men, or by men who have 
 made their fortunes by a lucky turn on the street. 
 
 FASHION AND CHARITY. 
 
 To make anything a success in New York it is only 
 necessary to enlist the leading families in the affair 
 and any amount of money can be secured. I have 
 seen Yanderbilt assess his friends in his office, fixing 
 the amount they must give to enable him to carry an 
 enterprise which he happened to take a fancy to. It 
 is tough work to carry forward any charitable or phil- 
 anthropic work in New York unless it is hitched to the 
 car of fashion. A calico ball, when led by the ton, is 
 always a great success. There is a scramble for tick- 
 ets for a drawing-room concert. In certain localities 
 a select party will be as remunerative as a crowd at 
 the Academy of Music. An eleven o'clock concert, or 
 a soiree, if engineered right, would pay off a church 
 debt. The wife of one of our first bankers was induced 
 to have a concert in her drawing-rooms for a charita- 
 ble purpose. The rooms would accommodate about 
 three hundred. Tickets were issued at -five dollars each. 
 Her husband gave her a check for fifteen hundred dol- 
 lars, carried the tickets with him down town, disposed 
 of them among his friends before noon, and the affair, 
 of course, was a success. 
 
PERIL OF NIGET. 281 
 
 PERIL OF NIG ITT. 
 
 The most fashionable portion of New York is the 
 most insecure. It is badly lighted, dark and lonesome, 
 and the areas, heavy balustrades, and porticoes, afford 
 a refuge for burglars and desperadoes. But few per- 
 sons walk the streets of fashionable New York at night. 
 One of the leading brokers of the city disposed of his 
 elegant and costly mansion, the other day, and took 
 his family to a hotel. He said, U I built my house at 
 great expense to suit me. I furnished it in the best 
 style. It was all that I could desire. I am fond 
 of society, and like to call on my neighbors in the 
 evening. I dare not go out after ten o'clock. I walk 
 down the side streets in the utmost terror, looking this 
 way and that, lest I should be knocked down suddenly. 
 I often run for my life, and twice, within a short time, 
 I have been chased to my very door. I am too old 
 for this style of life, and I have given it up." A man- 
 ager of one of our theatres, who lives on Fifth Avenue, 
 was followed from the theatre to the cars by three 
 rough-looking fellows, muffled up. They entered the 
 car when he did, and twice he started to get out to 
 test them, in each case they started also. He felt that 
 his only safety was in speed. Nearing his house he 
 ran, and with his night-key entered the door just as the 
 desperadoes reached the door-step. His wife saw them 
 plainly from the window. Persons are frequently 
 knocked down and robbed, in the sight of many 
 others. 
 
282' A NIGHT ON MURRAY BILL. 
 
 A NIGHT ON MURRAY HILL. 
 
 I was detained somewhat late one night, and was 
 invited by a friend to take a bed in his brown stone 
 mansion near Fifth Avenue. Before going to bed I 
 was entertained with the probable programme of the 
 night. The entire row of houses opposite had been 
 entered a night or two before and completely sacked. 
 I was informed that the entrance to this house, if it 
 were entered at all, would be by the lower door or 
 through one of the windows of the room that I was 
 to occupy. Should an entrance be made into my 
 room, I was cautioned to lie perfectly still and to 
 scarcely breathe, as that was the only chance of life. 
 The burglars enter with a velvet tread, and they do 
 not add murder to robbery if they can avoid it. My 
 host told me that frequently he had been impressed 
 that somebody was in the room. Remaining in terror 
 till the sweat dropped from him, and unable longer to 
 contain himself, he would spring from his bed, light 
 his gas, and risk being shot rather than endure longer 
 the agony of suspense. Two or three times during 
 some nights the whole family would be aroused, every 
 room illuminated, the private watchman called in, and 
 the house searched from cellar to attic. The prepara- 
 tion for the night was the letting loose of a huge bull- 
 dog, whose ferocity required him to be confined in 
 the cellar during the day time. He was very expert 
 in opening doors which he kept banging all night. 
 Between the dog and burglars there was little chance 
 of sleep. He knew there was a stranger in the house 
 and paid special attention to every door. As he could 
 
Mil. LENOX s great'gift. 283 
 
 open other doors I supposed he could mine. I had 
 some doubt about his ability to discriminate between 
 a visitor and a burglar. I expected every minute to 
 see this vigilant watchman enter my room and pay his 
 respects to me. Frequently during the night the 
 alarm sounded from different bedrooms. One young 
 member who had the night-mare produced a genuine 
 panic. Such is life in gay New York among the upper 
 ten. Some employ a private watchman for themselves 
 alone, and some members keep watch and ward while 
 others sleep. Each house has its skeleton. The skele- 
 ton in the Murray Hill houses is clothed in flesh and 
 blood, and armed with skeleton keys, revolvers, and 
 bowie knives. 
 
 MR. LEXOx's GREAT GIFT. 
 
 There is in the city no private collection of statuary 
 and painting which equals that of Mr. Lenox. It has 
 been long closed to the public, and Mr. Lenox has 
 been censured for his illiberality in closing the doors 
 of his gallery. While I was in Powers 1 Studio, m 
 Florence, he alluded to Mr. Lenox's collection. He 
 said Mr. Lenox had purchased from him his gems, but 
 kept them from the public. Mr. Lenox gave him 
 this reason for locking up his treasures and keeping 
 the public away: — He intended when he made his 
 purchases to gratify the public taste, and he threw 
 open his gallery once a week. But his marble statues 
 were daubed, his crayons smutted and fingered, his 
 engravings ruined by the rudeness and curiosity of 
 visitors, and nothing remained to him but to close his 
 doors and deny everything to the public. He men- 
 
284' MB. LENOX'S GREAT GIFT. 
 
 tioned the case of an. English nobleman who visited 
 Mr. Lenox's gallery. Among his treasures was a 
 crayon sketch from one of the first Italian masters. 
 Mr. Lenox left the room a moment, and when he 
 came back the English gentleman was talking with 
 some parties in the room. He had rolled up the crayon 
 sketch like a baton, and was emphasizing with it on 
 the table. It was crumpled, smeared, and ruined. 
 Ladies would point at the beauties of prints and en- 
 gravings with the ends of their fingers, and then point 
 out the beauty of an eye, the cheek, or the forehead, 
 of a statue by drawing their soiled gloves over it. Mr. 
 Powers said that he could not leave visitors in his 
 studio an instant. Whatever Americans or English 
 admired they would touch. Sticking their fingers on 
 a damp model they would bear the moist clay to the 
 foreh.ead of some valuable piece of sculpture. Mr. Len- 
 ox proposes to make a donation of his magnificent 
 collection to the city of New York as soon as provision 
 can be made for its reception. 
 
 Mr. Lenox began the up-town movement when 
 Fifth Avenue was unpaved, unlighted, untenanted. 
 He built himself a princely mansion of brown-stone, 
 •unusual in those days, with a front of seventy-five 
 feet on the avenue. It was through his influence that 
 the Wall Street Church was removed to its elegant 
 location on Fifth Avenue. Of this church Mr. Lenox 
 is a devout and liberal member. He is a man of very 
 cultivated and refined tastes, but he lives retired 
 and without show. His mansion is one of the most 
 splendid in the city. It is furnished with rare mag- 
 
EDWIN D. MORGAN. 285 
 
 nifidcnce. His gallery of pictures is the most costly 
 and valuable of any in the United States. lie has a 
 library full of the choicest books and manuscripts in 
 America. He has rare and expensive editions of the 
 Bible. He has the original draught of Washington's 
 Farewell Address. It cost Mr. Lenox two thousand 
 dollars. He would not part with it for fifty thousand 
 dollars. This residence and its costly adornings are 
 not open to the public. To a limited circle of con- 
 fidential friends the mansion is at times thrown open. 
 Mr. Lenox has a country seat at Newport, but he 
 prefers his New York residence, because there he can 
 shut out the world and be retired. His benefactions 
 are very large. 
 
 EDWIN D. MORGAN. 
 
 A native of Massachusetts, Mr. Morgan came to New 
 York when quite young. He was penniless, and began 
 trade in as small way as can be imagined. lie bartered 
 for a while in the products of his. native state, and then 
 set up the grocery business in as small way as can well 
 be conceived. With a plain, common school education, 
 he had a good deal of business tact. His habits were 
 good, and by strict attention to business he slowly but 
 surely improved his fortune. He became a wholesale 
 trader, and from his grocery establishment on Front 
 Street he removed to Exchange Place, and opened the 
 house of E. D. Morgan & Co. He became a bold 
 operator in goods, stocks, and real estate. His clear 
 brain enabled him to walk safely where other men 
 stumbled. He made money where other men lost it. 
 
286 AUG UST BELMONT. 
 
 He is now about sixty years of age, with a fortune 
 estimated at one million of dollars. For twenty years 
 he has been in political life. He was governor of the 
 state during the war, and is now United States senator. 
 He has a very fine mansion on Fifth Avenue, where he 
 dispenses a liberal and elegant hospitality. 
 
 AUGUST BELMONT. 
 
 The house of Belmont & Co., in New York, has few 
 superiors. As the agent of the Rothschilds, this house is 
 preeminent. In a dingy granite building on Wall Street, 
 with low, dark chambers, plainly, and, in comparison 
 with other banking-houses, meanly furnished, Belmont 
 & Co. transact their immense business. There is noth- 
 ing attractive about the person of the banker. He is 
 a Jew, whose countenance and speech indicate his 
 nationality. He is thick-set, but stinted in size. He 
 is very lame, and his appearance impresses no one. 
 He is a leading politician, and makes large contribu- 
 tions for political purposes, and receives in exchange 
 the chairmanship of important committees. His wife 
 was the daughter of Commodore Perry, on whom he 
 settled an independent fortune before marriage. He 
 lives on Fifth Avenue, in a very large but plainly built 
 brick mansion, modelled after the London houses. His 
 picture gallery is second only to that owned by Mr. 
 Lenox. Unlike Mr. .Lenox, he does not close his house 
 against his friends. He is very hospitable, entertains 
 very largely during the season, and in princely style. 
 He is very fond of masquerades and private theatricals. 
 He often takes the leading characters, and imports the 
 
& /.. AND A. STUART. 287 
 
 most sumptuous dresses from abroad for himself and 
 friends. No banker in New York can spread a table 
 covered with such costly plate. A quiet man in busi- 
 ness, very decided, and using but few words, he is very 
 genial, with a great flow of spirits when he acts the 
 part of host, or joins in the entertainments of his 
 friends. 
 
 R. L. AND A. STUABT. 
 
 This house is one of the old firms of New York. It 
 is as well known throughout the world as any name in 
 America. Fortune and fame have resulted from the 
 manufacture of pure and excellent candies. The old 
 manufactory on Chambers Street, established over half 
 a century ago, still abides. The candy of commerce, 
 which is so largely manufactured in this city, is un- 
 wholesome and poisonous. The white earth of Ireland 
 takes the place of sugar. Common paste blacking is a 
 substitute for liquorice. Candies, almonds, cough-drops, 
 and lozenges are manufactured out of clay ; and the 
 essence used is abstracted from fusil oils, which are of 
 themselves rank poison. The slaughter-house furnishes 
 a glutinous matter used in cheap confectionery, and 
 manufacturers are notified when this material is on 
 hand. The Stuarts have always manufactured candies 
 from pure sugar, and all the materials used are of the 
 first quality. They have found their profit in this 
 honorable procedure. Fifty years of undeviating recti- 
 tude have placed this house among the millionnaires of 
 New York. 
 
 The Stuarts sprang from the humblest origin. They 
 were Scotch-Irish. The father was indolent and in- 
 
288 PETER COOPER. 
 
 temperate. The mother was intelligent, industrious, 
 and pious. Her desire was to preserve her boys from 
 want, and train them in the fear of the Lord. To sup- 
 port her children, the mother manufactured molasses 
 candy, and sent out her boys to sell it. The candy 
 was toothsome, and uniformly excellent, and found a 
 ready market. From the profits of the trade the 
 mother of the Stuarts was able to open a small candy 
 store. From this humble beginning sprang the retail 
 establishment so celebrated in the city, and the great 
 sugar refinery of the house so famous in all the land. 
 The brothers are devout Presbyterians, and are among 
 the most princely donors to the religious enterprises 
 of that important sect, Their benefactions are not con- 
 fined to the members of their own faith. Their con- 
 tributions to every good work are large as the sea. 
 
 For many years the Stuarts lived in Chambers Street, 
 adjoining their refinery. One of the firm still keeps 
 his residence on the old spot, though surrounded by 
 trade and the clash of business. The other has moved 
 into the aristocratic locality of Fifth Avenue, where he 
 dwells in princely style. No turnouts in Central Park 
 excel in style and beauty those driven by the Stuarts. 
 Springing from the humblest origin, basing their busi- 
 ness on integrity, they show in their success what New 
 York can do for penniless boys who are willing to help 
 themselves. 
 
 PETER COOPER. 
 
 Quiet, old-fashioned, and. undemonstrative, Mr. 
 Cooper is one of the best business men in New York. 
 He drives about the city in an old-fashioned, square- 
 
HORACE GREELEY. 289 
 
 # 
 topped carriage, the pattern of which might have come 
 
 out of the ark. This is drawn by a large-sized horse, 
 very fat, very dignified, and very lazy, which cannot be 
 coaxed by the jerk of the reins, nor charmed by the 
 application of the whip, out of the sullen trot he has i 
 held for so many years. The horse and the master 
 seem of about the same age. This unique establish- 
 ment can be seen, when Wall Street is the most roar- 
 ing, tied in front of prominent brokers 1 on the street. 
 Mr. Cooper's personal appearance would attract atten- 
 tion anywhere. He is nearly seventy; wears long, 
 flowing gray hair; peers through his glasses, and has 
 the look of simplicity which the popular prints ascribe 
 to Mr. Pickwick. He has a very humane heart, which 
 is easily touched with a tale of sorrow, but is accounted 
 one of the shrewdest business men in Xew York. He 
 has amassed a great fortune, nor has he tripped once. 
 Beside other heavy donations, l^c has reared his own 
 memorial in the institution known as Cooper Union. 
 He founded this institution for the benefit of science, 
 and for the education of the masses. He gave the 
 princely sum of three hundred thousand dollars, and 
 the property is now worth half a million. The invest- 
 ment was so shrewd that the annual income is thirty 
 thousand dollars. Mr. Cooper has the simplicity of a 
 child. He is easy of access, and is almost run down 
 with visits from the needy, the oppressed, and the sor- 
 rowing. 
 
 HORACE GREELEY. 
 
 Whoever wishes to see Mr. Greeley will find him in 
 his little den of an office, hard at work. He writes 
 19 
 
290 HORACE GREELEY. 
 
 sitting on a high stool, on a pine table without a cover, 
 which comes up to his chin. His letters are legion. 
 He reads thern all, writes every answer himself, though 
 a clerk puts the answer into the envelope and directs 
 it. His only relief from the crowd is hiding himself 
 away, and finding a new hiding place each day. His 
 lectures, addresses, and public speeches, occupy nearly 
 every evening in the week, and to humane and reform- 
 atory gatherings he gives his services gratuitously. 
 
 Mil Greeley is the well-known editor-in-chief of the 
 New York Tribune. He is one of the marked men of 
 the city, and is one of the most influential He began 
 life on the lowest round of the ladder, and by his talent, 
 invincible industry, and purity of character, has ele- 
 vated himself to the highest position, and has probably 
 more power to-day over the American people than any 
 other living man. His style of dress and appearance 
 in the street are ver^ peculiar. His white coat has 
 become as historical as Naj)oleon's gray one. His face 
 is fair, and<*a youthful and healthful hue flushes it. 
 His step in the street is hurried. His head is in 
 advance of his body, while his feet trail heavily on the 
 ground. The crowd that rush past him make no im- 
 pression upon him, whether they rush by without 
 noticing, or pause to follow him with their eyes. His 
 head is massive, quite bald on the top, fringed with 
 flaxen hair around the base of the brain, till it blends 
 with a loose, thin beard of the same color, which crops 
 out irregularly around the throat, and over a loosely- 
 tied black silk neckerchief. In height he is a little 
 below six feet. His eyes are of a grayish-blue. His 
 eyebrows are so flaxen as to be almost unobservable. 
 
HORACE GREELEY. 201 
 
 His dross has long been the subject of caricaturists. 
 He can be picked out anywhere, whether in a paper 
 sketch, charcoal sketch, or rude drawing. He wears a 
 loosely fitting black swallow-tailed coat, black pants, 
 black velvet or silk vest. His cravat is the heavy silk 
 one of other days. He wears no jewelry except a gold 
 ring. His hat is of the soft, broad-brimmed style, 
 pushed back from the forehead, as if the brain was too 
 active or too hot to be covered. Physically he is 
 powerful but awkward. He stoops, droops his shoulders, 
 swings his arms, and walks with a lounging, irregular 
 gait. There is nothing in his personal appearance to 
 indicate a man of commanding power, and the editor-in* 
 chief of one of the most influential journals of the age< 
 
 Mr. Greeley is not a partisan. He represents the-gen- 
 eral convictions and aspirations of the American peo- 
 ple. In those biding places of New England's power, 
 the factories, workshops, and the hearths of quiet 
 homesteads, the Tribune is an oracle. In the fenced 
 fields of the prairies, and in the log cabins of the far 
 'Wett. it is a power. Pioneers, stock raisers, and intel- 
 ligent mechanics trust Mr. Greeley. All sects and 
 fashions of religionists, dreamers, schemists, and ideal- 
 ists find fair play in the Tribune. Mr. Greeley is dis- 
 tinguished for the* intensity and honesty of his convic- 
 tions. He may be wrong, but is never base ; he may 
 be in advance of public opinion ; he may be deserted by 
 all but a few dozen followers on some new questions ; 
 he may oppose his own party; he may attempt to 
 destroy an officer, or a policy, that he helped to create 
 a few months before. While cursing his vagaries, the 
 public have unbounded confidence in the purity of his 
 
292 HORACE GREELEY. 
 
 motives and his questionless honesty. He is schooled 
 for defeat as well as victory. Patronage cannot allure 
 him from what he believes to be right. Nominations 
 for office cannot corrupt him. His paper is a political 
 power, of unexampled success. As an individual politi- 
 cian, Mr. Greeley's life so far is a failure. He has none 
 of the elective affinities that mark a great leader ; and 
 though he generally comes out right with the public 
 in 'the end, his intolerance of differences in public 
 judgment mar his present success. 
 
 As a speaker, he is very forcible and impressive, but 
 not attractive. Calls on him for charitable purposes, 
 temperance, and humane gatherings are numerous. 
 His response to these calls is cheerful, and without com- 
 pensation. In private life, in company with a few 
 friends, and in personal intercourse, he is a delightful 
 companion. His table-talk is spirited, humorous, and 
 full of anecdote. He is no ascetic, but receives heartily 
 the good things of Providence, refusing wines, and all 
 strong drinks, taking no beverage stronger than tea. 
 His memory is stupendous, and the accuracy by which 
 he can recall the political movements of the past, and 
 the votes even of the states, is marvellous. Not much 
 of an artist himself, he is fond of pictures, sculpture, and 
 music. His charities are very large, and scarcely any 
 one gets into his presence, who wants a contribution, 
 without obtaining one. 
 
 BROWN AND BROTHERS. 
 
 This great banking-house is known all over the 
 world for its reliability, and the honorable manner in 
 which its business is discharged. The founder of the 
 
BROWN AND BROTHERS. 293 
 
 house is James Brown, who is still living. Like so 
 many of our successful men, Mr. Brown was horn in 
 the north of Ireland, and came to this country when a 
 lad, bringing nothing with him but good principles 
 and his indomitable industry. His home, in the north 
 of Ireland, was the centre of the linen manufacture, 
 and Mr. Brown commenced business by importing 
 linens. In this business his brothers were engaged. 
 With William, the English partner of the firm, who was 
 knighted, James acquired a handsome fortune. "With 
 this he opened the banking-house of Brown k Brothers. 
 Mr. Brown is a man of great liberality, and a devout 
 Presbyterian. He has built the finest private banking- 
 house in the world, on Wall Street. It is of white 
 marble, and cost a million of dollars. Mr. Brown is a 
 gentleman of the Old School. He attends closely and 
 personally to his own business. He is of medium 
 height, about seventy years of age, stoops slightly ; his 
 hair is gray, and his manners are quiet and unostenta- 
 tious. He goes to his daily business as regularly as 
 any clerk in New York. 
 
294 GEORGE LAW. 
 
 GEORGE LAW. 
 
 This gentleman was born near Cambridge, Washing; 
 ton County. He came to New York a penniless lad, 
 and reached mature life before he made his mark on 
 the city. He obtained his start financially by his con- 
 tract to build the High Bridge for the Croton Aque- 
 duct. He obtained several other contracts equally 
 profitable, and then became a speculator in "Wall Street. 
 His connection with the ferries and railroads, especially 
 Harlem, Eighth Avenue, and city roads, enabled him to 
 amass a colossal fortune. 
 
 Mr. Law resides in a fashionable residence on Fifth 
 Avenue. He is a huge man in size, ponderous as well 
 as tall, with an immense face and head, which seems 
 swollen, it is so huge. His features are coarse, and one, 
 from his general expression, would judge him to be a 
 hard man to deal with. Like most men who started 
 poor, Mr. Law has very little sympathy with the masses. 
 He is probably as unpopular a man as can be found in 
 New York. He has the control of several railroads and 
 ferries, and he runs them to suit his own pleasure. The' 
 public are nothing to him but contributors to his 
 fortune. If he wants a ferry, and can get it in no other 
 way, he will start an opposition line, reduce the fare, 
 run off the old line, then raise the fare, charge wmat he 
 pleases, and give the public such- accommodations as 
 he is disposed to. He is over sixty years of age, drives 
 a one-horse buggy, which is shabby and dilapidated. 
 Slovenly in his dress, coarse in his manners, with a 
 countenance stolid as if made of mahogany, he can be 
 seen daily riding from point to point, giving personal 
 attention to his immense business. 
 
WILLIAM E. DODGE. U*'5 
 
 WILLIAM E. DODGE. 
 
 This gentleman is President of the Chamber of Com- 
 merce, lie is one of the most eminent and honored 
 men in the city. Full sixty years old, he does not 
 look more than forty. Slim, spare, with a head and 
 nice that defy phrenology and Lavater to read, he has 
 had uniform success. He started penniless, connected 
 himself with Sunday schools and churches as he be- 
 gan life, and has become one of the richest men in Xew 
 York, as he is one of the most liberal. Other men 
 have had spurts of liberality. Girard wanted to han- 
 dle his money after his death and strike religion, so 
 he founded the Girard College. Astor builded his 
 own monument in the erection of the Library which 
 bears his name. Drew, as a centennary offering cre- 
 ated the Madison Seminary by a donation of quarter 
 of a million. Mr. Dodge began to give when he was 
 poor, and has continued his donations, increasing them 
 with his increasing ability. Ten thousand dollars is a 
 common sum for him to donate, when the cause is 
 right. He gave fifty thousand dollars to the Young 
 Men's Christian Association, for their building. .The 
 last year he gave away three hundred thousand dol- 
 lars, and during that time his House made no money, 
 but lost it in the decline of gold and the shrinkage of 
 stock. He is a Presbyterian, and an Elder in the 
 church, but he limits his donations to no sect, creed, or 
 cause. His donations to foreign and domestic mis- 
 sions — to colleges and theological seminaries — the 
 building of churches and educational institutions — the 
 spread of temperance — the work of city missions, and 
 
296 THOMAS R. AGNEW. 
 
 to aid religion and humanity in the sjoarse settlements 
 of our country and in foreign lands, are simply enor- 
 mous. He is run over with deputations from commit- 
 tees, from societies, from individuals, from vagrants 
 and impostors. He has passed morning after morning, 
 his letters unopened, his business untransacted, listen- 
 ing to applications for help. He is a great worker in 
 Sunday schools, a teacher, and spends his spare time 
 on the Sabbath in addresses. He is a capital speaker, 
 warm-hearted, energetic, and eloquent. He especially 
 delights in visiting the neglected portions of the city 
 and speaking to mission schools, and as he leaves usu- 
 ally a donation with his speech, his visits are very 
 welcome. One of the sharpest, shrewdest, most suc- 
 cessful business men of New York, he is high-toned, 
 bold, open, and earnest in his labors as a Christian. 
 
 THOMAS R. AGNEW. 
 
 Mr. Agnew is pronounced a model merchant on the 
 street. He is one of the few men who turn every- 
 thing which they touch into gold. He has revived 
 the Old School practice of integrity, and having be- 
 come a millionaire he demonstrates in his life that such 
 a course is profitable. He started to be rich ; to gain 
 wealth by honesty, and to keep his heart warm, he 
 resolved to make his donations keep pace with his suc- 
 cess. When he had little, he was generous ; when he 
 had much, he was munificent, His style of doing 
 things may be illustrated by an incident. Near his 
 home a new Dutch Church had been built. It was 
 proposed to give the pastor a surprise at New Year's 
 by paying off the floating debt of $3,000. Near the 
 
THOMAS R. AGNEW. 207 
 
 church is tlic residence of a well-known merchant, 
 
 Thomas K. Agnew. lie is noted for his liberality in 
 advertising. lie is very lavish in this way, and as a 
 
 ilt his business is very large, and he is said to have 
 accumulated great wealth. He attends personally to 
 
 business; stands at his counter from morning till 
 night, receiving money; has his frugal dinner cooked 
 in his store", and does not leave till his day's business 
 is fully done, and the porter hands him the keys. 
 Though he keeps a first class grocery store, he never 
 drank a drop of liquor in his life, never made a note, 
 or borrowed a dollar. He is a Presbyterian by pro- 
 fession. One of the up-town churches was in some 
 difficulty because the church edifice was in the hands 
 of a man disposed to make trouble. Mr. Agnew 
 bought the church and all its appliances, and made a 
 donation of it to the congregation. Presbyterian as 
 he was, the Dutch thought that perhaps he might give 
 something toward removing the debt. One of the rich 
 men of the congregation was detailed to call on the 
 merchant and ask his assistance. Mr. Agnew's man- 
 ner is short, sharp, and decisive. He said to the ap- 
 plicant, " How much do you owe ? " " Three thousand 
 dollars. 1 ' " How much has been subscribed ?" " Eight 
 hundred." "Then you owe $2,200. I'll give $1,100; 
 you give $1,100, and we'll settle the thing this min- 
 ute." The Dutchman wa$ not only very wealthy, but 
 very close, and the blow staggered him. But the 
 New York merchant pressed his point. The solicitor 
 yielded, and gave his written obligation to pay the 
 money that day. Mr. Agnew gave him $1,100, and he 
 departed. The joy of the church was great. 
 
XXI. 
 JACOB BARKER. 
 
 His Colored Relative. — Negro Enterprise. — Barker at the North. — 
 ^ Banker outwitted. — Dermatology. 
 
 This notorious financier has done a large business 
 on the street, and is well known in all the financial 
 circles. A gentleman in Bond street claims to be his 
 grandson, and there is a romance about the affair of 
 no common order, The citizens of New York hear 
 through the press of Doctor B. C. Perry, Dermatolo- 
 gist. He advertises more largely than any doctor in 
 America except Helmbold. He is not a black man — 
 he is not a white man ; he is half Indian and half 
 negro. His grandmother was an Indian doctress in 
 Rhode Island, of much celebrity, and there Dr. Perry 
 was born. He inherited the reputation and some of the 
 skill of his grandmother, and though bound out as a 
 servant he aspired to better things. At twenty-one 
 years of age, with a capital of two hundred dollars 
 which he had saved from his earnings, he set up in 
 New Bedford as a barber. He married, and in con- 
 nection with his shop his wife opened an establishment 
 for millinery, to which was attached a department of 
 hair dressing for ladies. His business as a hair dresser 
 made him familiar with the diseases of the skin. He 
 
Jacob barker. 299 
 
 made the subject a specialty, called it dermatology, 
 and set himself up as a doctor in that line. He bc- 
 came a hard student, gave up his barber's establish- 
 ment, and threw himself on the public. He had great 
 faith in advertising, and spent all lie had in that way. 
 Getting up a lecture, he resolved to try his hand where 
 he was not known. He took a hall in Worcester, ad- 
 vertised a lecture, placarded it thoroughly, exhausted 
 all his funds, and was greeted by an audience of tell 
 persons. Among the audience was one man who was 
 interested in the subject, followed him to his hotel, 
 obtained relief, and was of great value to Perry in his 
 subsequent career. He visited Boston, Providence, 
 Lowell, spending in every place in advertising all he 
 made, keeping himself poor, yet confident that some 
 time he would reap a harvest. He attracted attention 
 by his persistent efforts, and laid the foundation for 
 his successful and lucrative business. 
 
 He thought it time to open correspondence with his 
 relatives in Xew Orleans. He wrote a letter to Jacob 
 Barker, claiming a relationship, using a name that was 
 well understood, stating his business, and asking aid. 
 He wrote also a letter to Barker's son, writing his full 
 name. Bela Colgrove Perry. That letter fell into the 
 hands of the gentleman's wife. In neither letter did 
 Perry state that he was a negro. Shortly after he re- 
 ceived a letter from Barker promising to meet him at 
 the North — making an appointment of the day and 
 place. Barker had not the least idea who Perry was, 
 and when he introduced himself, met him with un- 
 feigned astonishment. They walked out to the Park, 
 that they might be alone, sat down under the tree-, 
 
300 JACOB BARKER. 
 
 and the conversation commenced. " You are a negro," 
 said the Banker." "I am colored," was the reply. — 
 "Not very dark. Hundreds as dark as you pass for 
 white men. Now you come to New Orleans ; I will take 
 care of you. I have a store that is unoccupied ; I will 
 set you up in business ; I will stock the store, furnish 
 you with money, and make a man of you. Think of it," 
 said Barker, as he walked away, having placed a small 
 amount of gold in the hand of his relative. Perry did 
 think of it. He saw the trap laid for him, and con- 
 cluded to remain where he was. He now has a name 
 among the sensation doctors of New York, and has a 
 fine residence, and a very extensive practice. His 
 lotions, pills, and remedies are very popular. He 
 affects style, keeps his servants, and prides himself on 
 his literary taste and elegance. While he was prac- 
 tising in Boston he resolved to carry that city, doctors 
 and all, and he succeeded. He is master of the pecu- 
 liar practice to which he addressed himself. The first 
 physicians in the country send their patients to him. 
 Self-educated, earning his own living, battling with 
 fortune against fearful odds, he has richly earned the 
 success which has attended his career. He makes 
 money, and in his specialty he stands at the head. 
 
XXII. 
 
 KIDD THE PIRATE. 
 
 Sails FROM Wall Street. — New York Home. — Piracy. — Kidd turns 
 Pirate. — Buried Treasures. — The Gibbet. 
 
 KIDD THE PIRATE IX WALL STREET. 
 
 Tins remarkable man is intimately connected with 
 Wall Street. He sailed on his remarkable voyage from 
 the foot of the street when he entered on that career 
 of infamy which has made him immortal. An asso- 
 ciation exists in Wall Street whose purpose is to dig 
 for Kidd's money, and to search for his buried treas- 
 ures. The belief that his name was Robert Kidd, and 
 not William ; that he buried his treasures on Gardin- 
 er's Island, and up the Hudson ; that those treasures 
 can be secured is entertained by large numbers in and 
 around Xew York. Fortune-tellers have pointed out 
 the exact location repeatedly; clairvoyants and dream- 
 ers have made the discovery ; coin is occasionally 
 found in different localities to keep up the drooping 
 spirits of the faithful, and assessments are regularly 
 called in, that the good work may go on. Investing 
 in Kidd's stock is about as valuable as many other 
 investments offered in the street. 
 
 Kidd had a house and lot on Wall Street. He was 
 
 (301) 
 
302 KIDD THE PIRATE IN WALL STREET. 
 
 a wild adventurous fellow, when he was young, and 
 ran away to sea. He passed through the various 
 grades, and sailed from New York as Captain of a 
 privateer in 1691. He married a respectable lady and 
 moved into a commodious house, in the then upper 
 part of New York, which was located in Liberty street, 
 then known as Crown street. Piracy was then com- 
 mon, and was less disreputable than now. The war 
 between England and France filled our waters with 
 corsairs. Pirates with the black flag, daring and cruel, 
 ravaged, destroyed, and pillaged on the high seas and 
 on the land. They were numerous on the American 
 coast. They ran into the creeks and inlets, and up 
 the small rivers, and sold to merchants the spoils they 
 took from the ships which were crossing the main. 
 The people of New York and Boston connived at the 
 crime, and profited by the depredations of these out- 
 laws. The authorities were charged with being in 
 complicity with the pirates. Desperadoes, known to 
 belong to piratical craft, swaggered about the streets 
 of the city unmolested. They squandered their money 
 in taverns, filled the streets with rioting, and made the 
 nights hideous with brawling and revelry. Trade 
 with foreign ports was broken up, and unless the pirati- 
 cal trade was ended, honest business must come to a 
 'standstill. 
 
 From being a privateersman, Kicld secured the com- 
 mand of a packet ship between New York and London. 
 The English ministry were troubled about the preva- 
 lence of piracy in the North American waters. It was 
 proposed to fit out a privateer, fully armed, to defend 
 commerce, and scourge the pirates from the coast. 
 
KIDD THE PIRATE IN WALL STREET 303 
 
 Thie colonial Governor Bellomont, secured for Kidd 
 • command of this privateer. It is believed that 
 
 with the commission given to Kidd, to clear the coast 
 of pirates, there was a private enterprise organized, to 
 seize and lake ships, vessels and goods, belonging to 
 the French king and his subjects, and bring the gain 
 to London. Kidd bound himself in the penalty of 
 £20,000 sterling, to honestly fulfil the contract, and 
 render fair account of the prizes he might take. Col- 
 onel Livingston, owner of the lordly manor on the 
 Hudson, became Kidd's bondsman. The pirate evi- 
 dently, at that time, stood high in the confidence of 
 the best men in New York. He was shrewd, daring, 
 competent, and was supposed to be honest. Dis- 
 tinction and untold wealth were within his grasp. 
 He took an affectionate leave of his family, whom he 
 left in his house in Crown street, was attended to his 
 vessel by the merchants, whose trade the pirates had 
 ruined, and by the authorities, whose honor was so 
 deeply involved in the suppression of unlawful traffic. 
 Dressed in the handsome uniform of a British naval 
 officer, he anticipated the day when he would return, 
 loaded with wealth and honor. His crew was a picked 
 one, made up of steady men, mostly of those who had 
 families.. To complete his force, however, he took the 
 river sailors, and with one hundred and fifty-five men, 
 sailed beyond the Narrows for the Indian ocean. 
 
 It is even iii doubt, to-day, whether Kidd was or was 
 not a pirate. That he captured vessels, was deserted 
 by his crew, and denounced in England as a traitor, is 
 unquestioned. His name became a terror in England 
 and America. Ships arriving at any port, brought 
 
304 KIDD THE PIRATE IN WALL STREET 
 
 thrilling stories of Kidd's black flag, his boldness, 
 atrocity, and blood-thirstiness. French and Spanish 
 vessels alike were seized, treasure taken, victims mur- 
 dered, and vessels burned. Moors and Christians, 
 English and Americans, were his victims. He tortured 
 their persons to find hidden treasures. He made raids 
 on the land, burned houses, pillaged and slaughtered, 
 and was as much a terror on shore as on the sea. 
 These rumors were generally believed. His noble 
 friends abandoned him. The government issued a 
 proclamation denouncing his piracy, and offering a 
 heavy reward for his capture. In the midst of the 
 excitement, Kidd arrived in our waters. His vessel was 
 loaded with coin and jewels, the fruits of his piracies. 
 At the extreme end of Long Island, Kidd landed, and 
 buried his treasures on what is known as Gardiner's 
 Island. A family occupied the Island, and gave the 
 spot its name. The story is, that Kidd came ashore, 
 and demanded of Mrs. Gardiner that she should cook 
 his supper for him. He presented her with a cradle 
 blanket, made of gold thread and silk. In the orch- 
 ard, on the Island, he buried his treasure, threatening 
 the family with massacre, if they revealed the spot, or 
 touched the gold. The portion of his wealth that he 
 did not bury, he divided with his crew. Having done 
 this, he sailed for Boston, and then came to New York. 
 He appeared boldly in the streets, and was confronted 
 by BeUomont, who ordered him to be seized. The 
 governor took from him all his private papers, memo- 
 randa, and a list of his treasures. Kidd was put in irons, 
 sent to England as a pirate, and confined in Newgate 
 Prison. He was tried and convicted as a pirate, and 
 
KIDD THE PIRATE IN WALL STRE1 I 305 
 
 hung at the dock in May, 1701. The curious doggerel 
 printed and circulated at the time of the execution 
 still survives, and hands his name aud atrocities down 
 to coming time. For over a hundred years, persons 
 have been digging for Kidd's treasures. It is estimated 
 that over thirty thousand people have embarked in this 
 enterprise. There are men in and around Wall Street, 
 who get a very respectable living from the dupes who 
 are ready to invest in the attempts to find the pirate's 
 treasures. Public meetings have been held in the city 
 by parties interested in the search. At one meeting 
 it was gravely stated that the spirit of Kidd watched 
 his treasures, and succeeded in blinding the diggers. 
 One of the popular traditions about Kidd was, that the 
 pirate was chased up the North River by a man-of- 
 war. He sunk his ship with its precious freight near 
 the Dunderberg mountains. A company was formed, 
 a coffer dam thrown across, and professional divers 
 employed at a large expense. Traces of the vessel 
 were found, but no treasure. Dupes and fools who 
 are willing to be swindled abound in Xew York and 
 the vicinity, who are ready to continue the search for 
 the lost treasures of Kidd the pirate. 
 
 20 
 
XXIII. 
 THURLOW WEED. 
 
 OPERATOR IN THE STREET. — ADVANTAGES. — APPEARANCE. — POPULARITY. — 
 TRAITS PERSONAL. 
 
 But few men have had a more chequered experience 
 on the street than Thurlow Weed. He has made and 
 lost many fortunes, and is still a man of wealth. He 
 has been so long identified with the government, and 
 so intimately associated with its highest authorities, 
 knowing its purposes, plans, and movements, that he 
 has been able to avail himself of the rise and fall of 
 stocks, and to lead all speculators in anticipating the 
 movements of government. A slight thing produces 
 a panic in the street, and a slender clue leads to for- 
 tune. A word from the President, a despatch sent to 
 Europe, the closeting of a foreign Minister with the 
 Secretary of State, a bill to be introduced for purposes 
 of the government next month concerning the sale of 
 gold and other matters, affect the market. Though 
 the market be agitated but for a moment fortunes 
 change hands, and those who are in the secret reap a 
 golden harvest. For ten years Mr. Weed has been 
 the confidential friend and adviser of the government. 
 He is shrewd, cool, sharp, and able. Yet the uncer- 
 
 (306) 
 
• OPERATOR IN THE STREET, 307 
 
 tainty and hazard which surround all movements in 
 the street, have attended him. 
 
 One of the most famous rooms in the Astor is No. 11. 
 It is on the parlor floor, near the ladies' entrance. It 
 consists of one room and a small ante-room. Save the 
 President's room at the White House, no room in 
 America has had a greater influence on the political 
 destinies than room No. 11. This is the room occupied 
 by Thurlow Weed. He has occupied it for a term of 
 years. Men of mark in the nation and in the world, 
 cabinet officers and foreign ministers, eminent civilians, 
 governors of states and territories, with members of 
 Congress, when in New York find their way to No. 11. 
 In that little room Presidents have been made and 
 destroyed, foreign embassies arranged, the patronage 
 of the nation and state distributed, and the u slates " 
 of ambitious and scheming politicians smashed. Mr. 
 Weed has long been the Warwick in politics. lie is 
 eminently practical, keen, and far-sighted. He looks 
 for success, and when his party follows his lead it 
 generally triumphs. Without office, emolument, or 
 political gifts to bestow on his friends, he has more 
 influence with the politicians of the land than any man 
 in America. He has great gifts as a writer. His short, 
 sharp, telling articles, signed T. W., attract universal 
 attention. 
 
 He is a marked man about the Astor. He never 
 walks through the corridors but he attracts attention, 
 and the universal inquiry is, Who is that gentleman ? 
 He walks generally alone, with a soft, cat-like tread, 
 his head inclined on one side, and as if in great haste. 
 His tone of conversation is low, like one trained to 
 
303 AD VANTA GES.— APPEARANCE.^ 
 
 caution in his utterances, lest he should be overheard. 
 He is tall, with a slight stoop. He carries an air of 
 benevolence in his face, and looks like a man of letters, 
 and would easily be mistaken for a professor, or a 
 doctor of divinity. His modesty and activity are 
 marvellous. He is seldom at rest, but comes and goes 
 like one driven by an impulse that is irresistible. He 
 takes the evening train, and is back to business the 
 next morning. He walks into the dining-room, and 
 before you can say, " There is Thurlow Weed," he has 
 eaten and gone. While he sits at his breakfast at the 
 Astor, he reads the telegraph that announces his arrival 
 in Albany. A message comes to him in cipher. He 
 takes the midnight train for Washington, and before 
 the press can announce his arrival, he is back to his old 
 quarters. 
 
 ADVANTAGES. 
 
 He took to the daily press as some boys take to the 
 sea. He has great tact in editing a paper, and is one 
 of the best letter writers in the land. He has travelled 
 much, and his correspondence from foreign lands, and 
 from different parts of our own country, is a model 
 of terseness, raciness, and spirit. He appeared to the 
 public as an editor in Rochester. He bought out a 
 half interest in a small paper. The Anti-masonic excite- 
 ment was then raging. He admitted an article into his 
 weekly, denouncing the arrest and death of Morgan. 
 He wrote an editorial on the same subject. The pub- 
 lication of these articles brought a storm of indignation 
 upon him that sunk his little craft. Mr. Weed thought 
 it not fair that his partner should suffer. He bought 
 out his interest, moved the concern to Albany, and set 
 
POPULARITY. 309 
 
 up an independent paper. He formed an intimate con- 
 nection with Governor William H. Seward, now Secre- 
 tary of State. The two constituted a might}' power in 
 the political world, which continued for over thirty years, 
 controlling the destiny of the state, and dividing its 
 patronage. It was the general impression that Mr. 
 Weed earned the laurels and Mr. Seward wore them. 
 Mr. Seward is very fond of his cigar. In old stage 
 times he generally rode with the driver, that he might 
 enjoy his favorite Havana. While riding one day, the 
 driver eyed the quiet, silent gentleman for some time, 
 and thought he would find out who he was. Address- 
 ing himself to Mr. Seward, he said, " Captain, what are 
 you ? " " Guess," was the reply. « A farmer ? " " No." 
 "A merchant?" "No." "A minister?" "No." "Well, 
 what then?" "Governor." "Governor of what?" 
 " Of this state." " I guess not." " Inquire at the next 
 tavern." Driving up, Mr. Seward asked the proprietor, 
 " Do you know me ? " " Yes ! " " What is my name ? " 
 " Seward." " Am I Governor of New York ? " " No, 
 by thunder! Thurlow Weed is." 
 
 APPEARANCE. 
 
 Mr. Weed has held long political rule. He has talent, 
 tact, industry, and shrewdness ; more than all, he has 
 heart. To all dependents, however humble, he is con- 
 siderate. There is not a boy or man on the great lines 
 from New York to the lakes who does not know and 
 love him. A conductor said, " Mr. Weed could send a 
 glass vase to Galena by the boys, and not have it 
 broken." He pays liberally for all favors, and has a 
 peculiar way of attaching persons to himself. To the 
 
310 TRAITS PERSONAL. 
 
 lowly, indigent, and unfortunate he is a tender friend. 
 His private life is crowded with deeds of kindness, and 
 a thousand eyes moisten at the mention of his name. 
 At any inconvenience or cost he will serve those to 
 whom he is attached. When he resided in Albany, he 
 has been known to wait hours at night for a delayed 
 train, to meet one who had asked to see him. 
 
 f TRAITS PERSONAL. 
 
 In the days of his great political power he would not 
 always admit distinguished men into his presence, but 
 the lowly could always gain his ear. One day, being 
 greatly pressed with business, he gave orders that no 
 one should be admitted. A senator called. Mr. Weed 
 named the hour that he would see him. The governor 
 called, and a similar appointment was made. A heavy 
 knock brought Mr. Weed to his feet. A colored man, 
 trembling like a pursued fawn, asked to see him. Mr. 
 Yv r eed knew him, had befriended him before, and knew 
 that nothing but stern necessity brought him from 
 home. In his tenderest tones, Mr. Weed bade him 
 come in. He pushed aside his papers, and heard his 
 story, gave him money, and aided him in his flight. 
 He had no time for a senator or a governor, but he had 
 time, counsel, and money for a fugitive negro. And this 
 is but a type of Mr. Weed's private life. 
 
 Mr. Weed is very fascinating and genial as a com- 
 panion. As successful orators put themselves in sym- 
 pathy with their audience, Mr. Weed has the ability of 
 completely captivating those with whom he converses. 
 
TRAITS PERSONAL. 311 
 
 There is an air of frank benignity in his manner, a ten- 
 derness in his tone, and he seems so sincere in his efforts 
 to please, that one is captivated with his society. ITe 
 is one of the best talkers in the country. For more 
 than iifty years he has been the intimate companion of 
 our eminent public men. He has a mass of informa- 
 tion, anecdote, incident, and story about earlier days, 
 that is interesting and fascinating. It is his purpose 
 to write the history of men and things as he has known 
 them for half a century. His correspondence with 
 public men, at home and abroad, has been immense. 
 His daughter Harriet, since the death of her mother, 
 has been bound up in her father. His wishes, neces- 
 sities, and comfort have been her constant study. 
 Many years ago, unbeknown to her father, she gath- 
 ered, assorted, and indexed all his letters and papers, 
 with every sort of memorandum. Since she commenced, 
 the work, each day she has carefully gathered e very- 
 note and letter. Every piece is labelled and numbered,, 
 and carefully entered, by index, in a book, so that Mr* 
 Weed can call for any letter, or paper, or memorandum,, 
 as far back as the time of Jackson, and have it pro- 
 duced as readily as any bank can present to a customer 
 his account. Such a mass of private history, embracing 
 a period so full of startling events; such political 
 revelations ; such letters from politicians and public 
 men, so racy, so sensational and telling, does not 
 exist in this country anywhere outside of the strong 
 box under the key of Miss Harriet Weed. To bring 
 out the treasures of this chest will constitute the closing 
 life-work of Thurlow Weed. While abroad he was 
 received everywhere with honors. 
 
XXIV. 
 STOUT AND DICKINSON. 
 
 THE HOUSE. — OLD SCHOOL AND NEW. — HONOR AND SUCCESS. — COMMERCIAL 
 VALUE OF MEN. 
 
 This house is comparatively new on the street, and 
 yet it is an old house. Five years is quite a long time 
 to run a Wall Street business successfully. At least a 
 thousand men have made and lost fortunes in that 
 time ; have* startled the street by gigantic speculations, 
 or bold operations; have excited envy by the display 
 of wealth and fashion, and been swept from the surface 
 and disappeared. While heavy fortunes have been 
 won and lost during that period this house has attained 
 a front rank in the stock business, and secured the 
 leading custom of the street. It has dissipated the 
 absurd and vicious notion that business cannot be done 
 on the principles of integrity, — that to succeed, men 
 must be mean, sharp, unprincipled, with other charac- 
 teristics, which the world calls shrewdness. The temp- 
 tations for stock brokers to speculate are as great as 
 they are for a tapster to drink. This house based it- 
 self on principle ; resolved firmly to do simply a com- 
 mission business in stocks and gold, and never to run 
 any hazard, how glittering soever the temptation may 
 be. Hundreds have gone under, but this house has a 
 
 (312) 
 
OLD SCHOOL AND NEW, 3 I 8 
 
 name of honor in all parts of the land. It lias revived 
 the old style of trade in New York, and proved that 
 honor in business and integrity have a high commer- 
 cial value, for no house has made larger profits. 
 
 OLD SCHOOL AND NEW. 
 
 There are two kinds of business men, and two kinds 
 of business, in this city. The old-school merchants of 
 New York are few. Their ranks are thinning every 
 day. They were distinguished for probity and honor. 
 They took time to make a fortune. Their success 
 proved that business integrity and mercantile honesty 
 were a good capital. Their colossal fortunes and 
 enduring fame prove that to be successful men need 
 not be mean, false, or dishonest. Astor, Cooper, Dodge, 
 Stewart. Stuart Brothers, the Phelpses, in business, are 
 representatives of the same class. When John Jacob 
 Astor was a leading merchant in New York, he was 
 one of the few merchants who could buy goods by the 
 cargo. A large dealer in teas knowing that few mer- 
 chants could outbid him, or purchase a cargo, concluded 
 to buy a whole ship-load that had just arrived and was 
 offered at auction. He had nobody to compete with, 
 and he expected to have everything his own way. 
 Just before the sale commenced, to his consternation 
 he saw Mr. Astor walking leisurely down the wharf. 
 He went to meet him, and said, '•' Mr. Astor, I am 
 sorry to see you here this morning. If you will go to 
 your counting-room, and stay till after the sale, I'll give 
 you a thousand dollars." Without thinking much about 
 it, Mr. Astor consented, turned on his heel, and said, 
 a Send round the check." . He found that he had made 
 
314 HONOR AND SUCCESS. 
 
 one thousand dollars, and probably had lost ten thousand 
 dollars. But he kept his word, and that is the way he 
 did his business. 
 
 The lease of the Astor House ran out some time 
 since. Just before it expired some parties from Boston 
 tried to hire the Astor House on the sly, over the heads 
 of the Stetsons. In a private interview with Mr. Astor, 
 they wanted to know his terms. He replied, "I will 
 consult Mr. Stetson, and let you know. I always give 
 my old tenants the preference." To consult Mr. Stet- 
 son was to defeat the object they had in view, and they 
 pressed it no farther. No one asks a guarantee of an 
 old New York merchant that he will not cheat in the 
 commodity which he sells. 
 
 HONOR AND SUCCESS. 
 
 The path to success is plain. It can hardly be 
 missed. Yet success is the exception. The road to 
 commercial ruin is as broad and well known as Broad- 
 way, yet it is crowded. Some men always get along. 
 Throw them up anywhere and they will come down on 
 their feet. Thus continued prosperity follows a well- 
 known law. One of the best known presidents of one 
 of our banks began his career by blacking boots. He 
 came to New York a penniless lad, and sought .employ- 
 ment at a store. " What can you do ? " said the mer- 
 chant. " I can do anything," said the boy. " Take 
 these boots and black them, then." He did so, and he 
 blacked them well ; and he did everything else well. 
 Quite a young man has been promoted to be cashier 
 over one of our leading banks, and that over older 
 men. His associates dined at Delmonico's. He ate a 
 
COMMERCIAL VMJ'E OF MEN. 3 1 5 
 
 frugal dinner daily in one of the rooms of the bank. 
 Industry, integrity and pluck are at a premium in I 
 
 York. Men envy Stewart's success who never think 
 of imitating his toil, or his business integrity. Mr. 
 
 Clatlin, the rival of Stewart, works more hours a day 
 than he requires any employee to do. Till quite 
 recently he made his own deposits in the bank. Yet 
 defalcations are many. Cases of embezzlement abound. 
 Revelations of fraud are daily and startling. Men of 
 high standing are thrown down, and desolation carried 
 to their homes. Dishonesty, rash speculations, stock 
 gambling, expensive horses, with women, wine, fast and 
 high living, tell the story. Most of our large houses 
 and enterprising merchants and rich men have at one 
 time or another gone under. Many such have taken 
 off their coats, rolled up their sleeves, and gone at it 
 again, seldom without success. Many have given up 
 hope, and taken to the bottle. New York is full of 
 wrecks of men, who, because they could not pay their 
 notes, have flung away character, talent and all. 
 
 COMMERCIAL VALUE OE MEN. 
 
 Men have a market value as much as real estate, 
 and certain elements of character are as essential to 
 success as money. Other firms have been as honest, 
 and had as much principle as this house, but have not 
 succeeded. Some men are just, and mean to be fair 
 in trade. But they are hard and harsh, abrupt and 
 sharp in their manner, and men, who get out of their 
 clutches are slow to get in again. Xew York is more 
 marked for incivility in trade than probably any other 
 place on the continent. Cartmen, conductors, ticket- 
 
316 COMMERCIAL VALUE OF MEN. 
 
 sellers, postmen, and tradesmen generally, are charac- 
 terized by incivility. The old school politeness of the 
 days of Washington, Hancock, and Gray, has departed. 
 The unseemly quarrels between the Bench and the 
 bar show that "Your Honor" is quite as much a sar- 
 casm as a title of respect. It was the custom of the 
 olden time for hotel-keepers, in person, to welcome 
 the comers, and speed the parting guests — to see that 
 small parcels were taken from the arm of the weary 
 traveler, and little attentions shown, that are so grate- 
 ful to a stranger in a strange city. It is difficult now 
 to know who the landlord is. Snobby and uncivil 
 parties, with curt answers, take the place of the old 
 hosts. Omnibus men swear at lady passengers, and 
 genteel people are thrust out of cars by way of recrea- 
 tion. At the exhibitions of the fine arts, mere lads 
 receive the tickets, because they are cheap. This 
 house is a living illustration that the old school man- 
 ners have not fully passed away, and that civility, in- 
 tegrity, and fair dealing, with promptness and good 
 will, are a cash capital in the street. 
 
XXV. 
 DETECTIVES IN THE STREET. 
 
 BOLD OPERATORS IX CRIME. IIOAV CRIMINALS SUCCEED. — AUDACITY AND 
 
 SUCCESS. — TALENTS OF THE DETECTIVES. — QUALIFICATIONS. — FAILURES. 
 
 The boldest and most daring operators, in crime as 
 well as in finance, find the street well adapted to their 
 peculiar talents. The field is an alluring one, and bold 
 strokes do marvels. The lower part of the street is 
 full of narrow lanes, dark passages, underground rooms, 
 and chambers high up, and far back, reached by in- 
 tricate, narrow, and ill-lighted pathways. Loading 
 and unloading gold in cars, vans, and carts, is as com- 
 mon as loading and unloading merchandise on the 
 wharves. Adroit and daring thieves are constantly on 
 the street. They throttle a young lad in a narrow 
 passage and take his treasures from him. They pick 
 up a bag of gold, in the presence of a dozen people, 
 follow the messenger into the bank, and disappear 
 through the private door. They enter as a gang into 
 the dark, dingy office of an old-fashioned broker, and 
 while a portion of the party attempt to negotiate bonds, 
 the other party rob the safe of hundreds of thousands. 
 There is scarcely a bank on the street that does not 
 employ one or more detectives. This class of officers 
 
 (317) 
 
318 BOLD OPERATORS IN CRIME. 
 
 is usually out of uniform. The most expert and cele- 
 brated of detectives are anything but bright looking, 
 but appear like dressed-up expressmen, or cartmen in 
 Sunday clothes, and ill at ease. In the head-quarters 
 of this portion of the force, where a dozen of the most 
 celebrated detectives meet, there is not one that would 
 be selected by a stranger as being smart, keen, or 
 shrewd, or possessing anything more than quite ordi- 
 nary ability. It costs Stewart a thousand dollars a 
 month for the detective force he has in his establish- 
 ment, to keep customers from pilfering. Claflin, and 
 other large merchants, who have a rush of trade, have 
 to call in the services of this peculiar class. Wall 
 Street is full of detectives. They stand at the corners 
 of the streets, are found within and without the Treas- 
 ury building, and messengers go on their way under 
 their escort. 
 
 The cool audacity with which some robberies are 
 committed is almost beyond belief. A broker, doing 
 a very large business employs a great many clerks. 
 He holds for safe keeping the bonds of many capital- 
 ists. During business hours, he stood in front of his 
 safe, which was open, talking to a gentleman. A man 
 came in without a hat, with a pen behind his ear, and 
 a piece of paper in his hand. He walked around the 
 counter where the banker stood and said to him, 
 "Will you please to move, sir, so that I can get at the 
 safe ?" The banker stepped aside mechanically — he 
 did not look at the party. The very audacity of the 
 fellow threw him off his guard. The fellow went up 
 to the safe, took one hundred thousand dollars of 
 United States bonds, coolly walked out of the door. 
 
TALEXTS OF TEE DETECTIVES. 319 
 
 and has never since been seen. In the afternoon, the 
 bonds were missed, and the audacious coolness of the 
 rogue came to light 
 
 QUALIFICATIONS OF A DETECTIVE. 
 
 Good detectives are rare. An unblemished character 
 is indispensable, for the temptations are many. A detec- 
 tive must be quick, talented, and possess a good mem- 
 ory ; cool, unmoved, able to suppress all emotion; have 
 it endurance, untiring industry, and keen relish for 
 his work ; put on all characters, and assume all dis- 
 guises; pursue a trail for weeks, or months, or years; 
 go anywhere at a moment's notice, on the land or sea ; 
 go without food or sleep ; follow the slightest clew till 
 lie reaches the criminal ; from the simplest fragment 
 bring crime to light ; surround himself with secrecy and 
 mystery ; have great force of will ; a character without 
 reproach, that property and persons may be safe in his 
 hands; with a high order of intellectual power. The 
 modern detective system is based on the theory that pu- 
 rity and intelligence has a controlling power over crime. 
 Detectives must be pure men, and, like Caesar's wife, 
 be above suspicion when they come out from the ordeal 
 through which they have to pass. To obtain the right 
 kind of men, the force has often to be sifted and purged. 
 
 TALENTS OF THE DFTECTIVES. 
 
 Crime is not only systematized, but classified. Each 
 adroit rogue has a way of doing things which is as 
 personal as a man's handwriting. We have really few 
 great men ; great orators, men of mark, distinguished 
 authors, or men of towering success, are few. If a 
 
320 TALENTS OF THE DETECTIVES. 
 
 princely donation is made, or a noble deed done, and 
 the name withheld, the public at once point out the 
 man — it would be so like him. Bad talented men are 
 few. Adroit rogues are not many. Men capable of a 
 clashing robbery, a bold burglary, or great crimes, do 
 not abound. If a store is broken open in New York, a 
 bank robbed in Baltimore, or a heavy forgery in Boston, 
 the detectives will examine the work and tell who did 
 it. As painters, sculptors, artists, engravers, have a 
 style peculiar to themselves, so have rogues. A Chi- 
 cago burglar, a safe-breaker from Boston, a bank-robber 
 from Philadelphia, a New York thief, have each their 
 own way of doing things. They cannot go from one 
 city to another without observation. If a crime is 
 committed, and these gentlemen are round, detection 
 is sure to follow. The telegraph binds the detective 
 force together in all parts of the Union. A great crime 
 is telegraphed to every leading city. When an adroit 
 rogue leaves the city, his whereabouts are sent over the 
 wires. The detective on his track is the gentlemanly- 
 looking, affable personage with whom he has been 
 chatting in the railroad car. The rogue lands in New 
 York, and the friendly hand that helps him up the 
 gang-plank, or off the platform, is that of a detective. 
 A keen eye is upon him every moment till he is locked 
 up or departs from the city. When he leaves, the car 
 is not out of the station-house before the telegraph 
 announces to some detective far away the departure 
 and the destination. His haunts are known, his associ- 
 ates, the men who receive stolen goods, and his partners 
 in crime. 
 
FAILURES. 321 
 
 FAILURES. 
 
 The detectives often recover goods and money while 
 
 the criminals escape. People wonder why the criminals 
 are not brought to punishment. The first duty of the 
 officer is to brins: the offender to trial. But this cannot 
 always be done. The evidence is often insufficient. 
 The next best thing is to secure the money or property. 
 Many robberies are committed in places of ill-repute. 
 Parties are compromised. Victims from the country, 
 who are respectable at home, do not like to read their 
 names in the newspaper. Hundreds of thousands of 
 dollars are annually returned to their owners through 
 the detectives, which would have been lost without 
 their vigilance. 
 
 21 
 
XXVI. 
 HUMOROUS SIDE OF WALL STREET. 
 
 Sharp Men. — Small of its Age. — Sharp Trade. — Dangerous Prac- 
 tice. — Imitating Signatures. — Tricks to get Money. — Experts. — 
 Sold out op House and Home. — Jacob Little and Morse in Wall 
 Street. — Shadows on the Street. — Fashionable Funerals. — A 
 Eeasonable Bequest. — Religion in the Street. — Producing a 
 Sensation. 
 
 There is more humor, more frolic and fun in the 
 street, probably, than in any other part of New York. 
 The sharpest men that can be found frequent the street. 
 They represent every profession, and every calling. 
 The business is ordinarily monotonous and dull. Men 
 are full of animal spirits, and often of spirits that are 
 not animal. These give vent to their feelings, and 
 sharp sayings, practical jokes, snatches of the opera,- 
 shoo fly, and flash songs. Cat calls, imitation of birds, 
 with hideous noises, enliven the scene. Jostling, 
 knocking off hats, knocking new beavers down over 
 the eyes of the owners, and other rude sports, are often 
 indulged. If a man is at all unpopular, or makes 
 himself obnoxious, he is quite likely to lose the collar 
 of his coat. If he resists, or shows bad temper under 
 the rough treatment, he will probably lose his entire 
 suit. Mock trials are held, fines imposed, and from 
 the court there is no appeal. If a child is born to one 
 (322) 
 
CATCHING A FLAT. 
 
SMALL OF ITS AGE.— SHARP TRA1 
 
 of the Board, it is common to take up a penny collec- 
 tion as a present. 
 
 SMALL OF ITS 
 
 The characteristics of each one come out on the 
 street. Bold operators show their pluck. The timid 
 are laughed at. The penurious are scourged, and the 
 mean show their nature. One broker was asked if he 
 knew a party that was named. "Know him?" said 
 the broker, "I was in college with him." " Was he 
 as mean then as he is now?" "Yes, he used to go 
 behind the college buildings to eat his nuts and raisins, 
 that he might not give the fellows any." One of this 
 class invited a few friends to celebrate the eighteenth 
 birthday of his daughter. It was an unusual event, 
 and his associates were afraid that this stretch of lib- 
 erality would affect his health. In the course of the 
 evening he presented some liquor, which he pro- 
 nounced very choice. The servant passed the liquor 
 round, pouring it into very small glasses, and in very 
 .-mall quantities. u This, gentlemen," he said, "is very 
 old liquor ; it was old when I bought it ; I put it away 
 when my daughter was born, and it has been kept 
 eighteen years for this occasion." "I cannot believe 
 said one of the guests; '* it can't be as old as you 
 say; it is too Utile of its age."* 
 
 SHARP TRADE. 
 
 Two brokers met. '"I have a lot of merchandise,"' 
 said one, "in a store, that I took in trade. I want to 
 dispose of it.'' '-I have two or three cases of cloth- 
 ing^ said the other, "that I wish to dispose of — how 
 
324 DANGER US PASTIME. 
 
 will you trade?" "I will take your clothing, and 
 give you my merchandise — c unsight, unseen.' " " It is 
 agreed." The merchandise consisted of old traps, sec- 
 tions of stove-pipe, broken tools, worm-eaten desks, 
 remnants of brooms, decayed barrels, broken ladders, 
 dilapidated hose, and kindred merchandise — the ac- 
 cumulation of years. The suits of clothes were of 
 dark glazed muslin, simply basted. 
 
 DANGEROUS PASTIME. 
 
 Some of the most expert penmen in the country are 
 in the street. The young men imitate the signatures 
 of the boldest operators. It is quite a common thing 
 in the office of brokers, at the stock board, and in the 
 banks, for the clerks to imitate the hand-writing of dis- 
 tinguished men. They will give you the signature of 
 Vanderbilt, Drew, Brown Brothers, Stout, Duncan, 
 Sherman & Co., and others, so perfectly that the men 
 themselves cannot distinguish the forged from the 
 genuine. In some of the banks a clerk signs the name 
 of the cashier to all the checks drawn by the bank, 
 and will imitate the signature of the officer so well, that 
 he cannot tell his own writing from that of his assistant. 
 Bets are frequently made that a check presented so 
 signed will be paid at the bank. An instance occurred 
 the other day. A dinner was pending for half a dozen 
 on the success of the experiment. A party drew a 
 check on the bank, signed it as president, endorsed it 
 as cashier, handed it to the paying teller, who looked 
 at the signature and the endorsement ; placed it on his 
 file and handed over the money. The party then went 
 behind the counter, paid the money back, and took 
 
DAh VSTIME. 325 
 
 the check. When such pastimes are indulged, and 
 such jokes played, and young men recreate themselves 
 in imitating the signatures of leading men. no one can 
 
 DO O ' 
 
 be surprised that an expert like Ketchum could for 
 the signature of his own House and the endorsement * 
 of the Gold Bank, and pass them current on the street. 
 A gentleman who stood at the head of the United 
 States Treasury in this city, wrote a very peculiar 
 hand. lie was placed on the stand in an important 
 case where a forgery had been committed. The party 
 on trial had forged the name of a gentleman to a large 
 amount, The case turned on the ability of the wit- 
 ness to decide whether the signature was genuine or 
 not. He was very positive on that point. His own 
 signature, lie said, was so peculiar, that it could be told 
 anywhere. While he was on the stand, three signa- 
 tures were presented to him, and he was asked to de- 
 cide which of them was genuine. He pronounced two 
 of them to be his signatures. The council presented 
 them to the court, and requested the judge to ask the 
 gentleman if these were his signatures. He said they 
 were. The counsel then stated that these two signa- 
 tures pronounced genuine, were written while the 
 gentleman was testifying — written in court by a young 
 man who w r as sitting at the table and taking notes. 
 The gentleman, amid great excitement, denied the 
 statement, and said it was impossible that any one 
 could imitate his hand. The Judge ordered the young 
 man to produce another signature, and the court, the 
 jury, the bar, and the spectators, looked on with in- 
 tense interest. With astonishing rapidity he threw off 
 four signatures in the presence of the company, so ex- 
 
326 ' TRICK TO GET MONEY. 
 
 actly like the treasurer's hand-writing, that he said if 
 they had been presented to him personally, at his de- 
 partment, he should have pronounced them genuine. 
 
 This practice is fraught with immense mischief, and 
 banking houses, as well as dealers in stocks, are often 
 victimized. Forged checks are presented for payment 
 at a bank ; presented usually near three o'clock, when 
 the rush is great, and the officer in a hurry is liable to 
 be imposed upon. Every day checks are paid that are 
 forged, and the most ingenious devices are resorted to 
 to keep outside of the criminal code. A check was 
 presented the other day at one of the banks, payable to 
 the order of a well-known House. The endorsement 
 was forged, the party writing the name of the firm in 
 whose favor it was drawn, and writing his own name 
 above, with "per" at the end of it; but so written as 
 to look like " jr " — (junior.) 
 
 TRICK TO GET MONEY. 
 
 When Curbstone brokers are hard up they resort to 
 every possible plan to get a little money. As an illus- 
 tration. A man called on a well-known firm to get the 
 payment of a bill. It was a small bill of ten dollars. 
 He wanted a check to send away, he said, and asked 
 the house if they would give him a check for fifty 
 dollars 1 — he paying the balance in money — which the 
 cashier was ready to do. He took the check home, 
 commenced practicing, till he imitated the signature 
 of the house perfectly. In a week he went back, said 
 he had not used the check, but was going to use it 
 that day. He desired the signature of the house on 
 the check, just to identify his endorsement. The ac- 
 
exper: 327 
 
 commodation askecl was readily granted. He ob- 
 tained a similar check, filled it up exactly, put in the 
 sum of three thousand dollars, imitated the guarantee, 
 went to the bank, handed the check for fifty dollars, 
 which was paid ; handed the check for three thousand 
 dollars immediately after, which resembled the pre- 
 ceding one in every respect ; that also was paid, and the 
 party took the money and disappeared. Not only are 
 signatures forced, but the amount in bonds and other 
 securities is so altered as almost to defy detection. 
 The rush of business is so tremendous in large offices 
 in business hours, that sharp men are often successful 
 in their frauds. 
 
 EXPERTS. 
 
 All the leading brokers are bankers. They take 
 money on deposit, allow interest, and the money can 
 be checked out, as in a bank. These large houses 
 differ from banks in that they are not incorporated, 
 and they deal in stocks, as well as take money on de- 
 posit. In nearly every house there are experts — men 
 who seem to have an intuitive gift to detect forgery. 
 It is a very curious thing to see a sharp expert at work. 
 I was in an office the other day, a gentleman came 
 in, handed a check to one of the firm, and said, " that 
 is not my check, Sir; it is forged. " It was a capital 
 imitation, and the broker believed it was genuine. 
 The man whose name had been forged held a bundle 
 of checks in his hand, all of which were genuine ex- 
 cept that. The broker placed the forged check in 
 the centre of the bundle, threw it on the table, and 
 called in his expert. Pointing to the package, he said, 
 
328 ' SOLD OUT OF BOUSE AND ROME. 
 
 "one of those checks is said to be forged." The ex- 
 pert took the bundle in his hand, and turned them 
 over so rapidly that the eye could scarcely follow the 
 movement. He turned over probably fifty before he 
 came to the bogus check. When he reached it, he 
 jerked it from the bundle, and threw it on the table. 
 He could give no satisfactory explanation how he de- 
 tected it ; it was not the paper, nor the filling, nor the 
 signature, nor the endorsement ; it was the whole thing. 
 It did not look right. It was too smooth, too nice. 
 There are some experts that can detect the best forged 
 bill or altered bond, if placed among thousands, the 
 moment the eye rests upon it. They command enor- 
 mous salaries. 
 
 SOLD OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME. 
 
 It is considered a nice thing on the street to outwit 
 a fellow broker. A gentleman owned a very nice 
 house, which he had built and furnished to suit him- 
 self. He offered to sell it at an advance of five thou- 
 sand dollars. A party instantly drew his check, and 
 bought the house. When the papers were passed they 
 were made out to a third party. The speculator made 
 fifteen thousand dollars by the transaction. The bell 
 of an up -town broker was rung one morning and a 
 gentleman asked permission to examine the parlors. 
 He was desirous of buying a house in that block, and 
 had understood that they were all alike. He was from 
 the country, had but little time to spend, and the un- 
 civil occupant would not let him in. The civil broker 
 showed him the parlors, and as he was leaving simply 
 said, u I suppose you would not sell your house." "Oh 
 
TELEGRAPH IN WALL STREET. 329 
 
 yes," said the gentleman, "I would sell anything but 
 my wife and children." A price was named, accepted, 
 and a contract entered into. The next day he found 
 he had sold to a broker — sold for ten thousand less 
 than his next door neighbor got for his house, and had 
 actually turned himself out of house and home, and 
 had to take refuge in an attic, in an over-crowded 
 Fifth Avenue hotel. 
 
 TELEGRAni IX WALL STREET. 
 
 Everything is bought and sold by the telegraph now. 
 Gold sales are all transacted, contracts made, money 
 paid, checks stopped, and millions change hands daily 
 through the subtle agency of the wires. All banks, 
 stock boards, and large houses of trade, do business by 
 telegraph. In panics, money is made by outsiders. 
 California, Chicago, Boston, and New Orleans, reap 
 golden harvests when Wall Street is in a panic. Men 
 in the street are at their wits end, but these cool ope- 
 rators in the distance "strike while the iron is hot."' 
 Professor Morse, and his associates, while they were 
 struggling to give this great invention a permanent 
 footing came into Wall Street to get money. The men 
 were poor enough. The few persons that had confi- 
 dence in the invention had no money> Things went 
 roughly and savagely with the little band. They 
 came into the street, meanly dressed, wearing rough 
 shoes, and looked like men who had a hard battle to 
 keep the wolf from the door. Jacob Little was then 
 the great financier of the street. At that time he 
 could have controlled all the telegraph lines in the 
 land. He looked on Morse as a schemer, if not a 
 
330 SHADOWS ON TEE STREET. 
 
 charlatan. "I will give Morse one hundred dollars to 
 help him along," he said, "but not one dollar for in- 
 vestment." Little died in poverty, and Morse is a 
 millionaire. John C. Spencer stood at the head of the 
 Treasury Department, and was an intelligent, talented 
 man ; yet he asked John Butterfleld how large a bun- 
 dle could be sent over the wires, and if the United 
 States mail could not be sent that way. 
 
 SHADOWS OX THE STREET. 
 
 One of our heaviest houses had reason to suspect 
 one of its clerks. A detective was employed to track 
 the young man, and he followed him for fourteen clays. 
 At the end of that time, he presented a written report 
 of the movements of the clerk, and he kept track of 
 him every hour. The clerk lived in a country town — 
 he reached his home by car and boat, and during the 
 time the detective was on his track, he was with the 
 clerk on every train, and in every boat. He knew 
 where he went, how long he stayed, with whom he 
 talked, and what he ate and drank. He was followed 
 to places of amusement, to houses of drinking and gam- 
 ing. Twice he rose at two in the morning, after he 
 had retired, and met parties whom he had accurately 
 described. There was a shadow on his path perpet- 
 ually. When he was brought into the president's 
 room, and charged with peculations, he was over- 
 whelmed with the accuracy with which his movements 
 were detailed. He confessed, made restitution in part, 
 and was allowed to escape. 
 
A REASONABLE REQUE& 1 33 i 
 
 FASHIONABLE FUNERALS. 
 
 Style is everything on the street. Persons have to 
 be married in style, and buried in style. Few men 
 can manage either a party or a funeral. The attend- 
 ants on either can tell on the entrance of a room, who 
 has charge of it. At a genteel funeral, everything is 
 artistic. Cards of invitation are issued, and the party 
 having charge of it must not be interfered with; The 
 arrangement of the furniture, position of the coffin, 
 the style and ornament of the casket, the closing of 
 the shutters, the adjustment of the gas — all indicate 
 fashion. The plate-glass hearse, the number of the 
 horses, the size and quality of the plumes — all indicate 
 the wealth of the house, and its position on 'Change. 
 
 A REASONABLE REQUEST. 
 
 It is a common thing for Wall Street men to club 
 together, buy a tract of ground in some out of town 
 location and build up a settlement, select and exclusive 
 as they please. One of these elegant and cozy retreats 
 is on the North River. To accommodate the families 
 a small but elegant church was erected, and the con- 
 gregation was more select than numerous. Among 
 
 DO O 
 
 the new comers was a gentleman who stands quite 
 high at the Bar. He joined the congregation, and 
 was peculiar for a slow, yet decided and bold utter- 
 ance. In the service he kept a word or two behind 
 the congregation, and uniformly did so to the great 
 anno'yance of the worshipers. His voice was so loud, 
 his manner so patronizing, and his persistent lagging 
 behind so annoying, that he attracted general atten- 
 
332 RELIGION IN THE STREET. 
 
 tion. Had the congregation been larger the annoy- 
 ance would have been less observed. One Monday 
 morning, coming down in the boat, the company were 
 expressing their impatience that the beautiful service 
 should be so marred by the persistency of one man. 
 One of the party, a prompt, rough, honest-speaking 
 man, said, u I will take the nonsense out of him; I will 
 make him keep up next Sunday." He went toward 
 the legal gentleman, who was sitting by himself, and 
 the company thinking there might be some music, 
 gathered around. Addressing himself to the party he 
 said, "I see you attend our little church on Sundays." 
 Ci .Yes, sir." "I hope you are interested." "Very 
 much," was the reply — "we will have a fine congre- 
 gation by-and-by, as the population come in." "Well!" 
 said the broker, "perhaps you would be willing to 
 confer a favor on our society, if you are interested in 
 our movement." "Oh, certainly, certainly," was the 
 bland reply, "anything I can do for the society I will 
 be very happy to do." "Well, sir, won't you be kind 
 enough, next Sunday morning, to f descend into hell ' 
 with the rest of the congregation?" 
 
 RELIGION IN THE STREET. 
 
 "Where do you attend church?" said a gentleman 
 
 to a prominent operator in the street. "Rev. Dr. 
 
 endorses my paper," was the reply. Yet Wall Street, 
 at least half a day can be found in the fashionable up- 
 town churches. Many of them are devoted Christian 
 people. They are identified with mission work among 
 the lowly ; they give liberally to every good cause ; 
 they are teachers and superintendents in Sunday 
 
THE WEALTH OF TRINITY. 333 
 
 schools. In the afternoon, the great mass of Wall 
 Street will be found in Central Park, rather than in 
 church. The new system of what are called sacred 
 concerts on sunday nights, in which the leading opera 
 singers perform operatic music, is patronized and coun- 
 tenanced principally by the operators in the street. 
 The annual election of wardens and vestry of Trinity 
 parish excites quite as much attention in Wall Street 
 as it does in any portion of the city. Trinity leases 
 are immensely valuable, and as they occupy the best 
 portion of the city, and are under the control entirely 
 of the vestry, the annual choice of this body excites 
 great attention. The famous Morley lease, which Aaron 
 Burr was obliged to hypothecate with John Jacob 
 Astor when he fled from the country, laid the founda- 
 tions for the landed wealth of that remarkable house. 
 
 THE WEALTH OF TRINITY. 
 
 It is difficult to estimate the wealth of this corpora- 
 tion. It is estimated at from forty to a hundred millions. 
 It originated with a farm, in the then upper part of 
 New York, now in the centre of business, which was 
 leased by the governor to Trinity Church. Subsequent- 
 ly one of the governors of the colony gave it to Trinity 
 Church in fee. The papers were sent across the waters 
 for approval, but the home government refused to 
 ratify the act of the governor. In the Revolution the 
 estate became the property of the state. It got back 
 into the hands of Trii.ity ; but New York has a claim 
 which has never been settled, that may cause some 
 trouble by and by. 
 
334 PRODUCING A SENSATION. 
 
 Nearly all this farm is now covered with the most 
 elegant and costly buildings of New York, and the 
 property held by Trinity, as a whole, is in parts of the 
 city where the land is most valuable. It lies on Broad- 
 way, between the Battery and Fourteenth Street, and 
 spreads out like a fan. It embraces wharves, ferries, 
 dock privileges, and depots ; immense blocks on Broad- 
 way, of marble, granite, iron, and brown-stone ; splendid 
 stores, hotels, theatres, churches, and private mansions. 
 The most costly and splendid buildings in New York 
 stand on leased ground, and the owners pay a ground- 
 rent. Leases usually run for twenty-one years, contain- 
 ing several renewals on a new valuation. A Trinity 
 Church lease, with its peculiar privileges and covenants, 
 is one of the most desirable titles in the city. 
 
 PRODUCING A SENSATION. 
 
 A ball was given at the Irving Hall. Two gentle- 
 men were looking on. One said to the other, "Do 
 you see that young fellow so dashingly dressed?" 
 "Yes." "He is our book-keeper. He is one of the 
 managers of the ball. Perhaps he can afford these 
 things; I cannot." The next week there was a va- 
 cancy in that house. Quite different was the line of 
 procedure in another case. A clerk was guilty of ap- 
 propriating a small sum of money to his own use. He 
 was detected. The broker called the young man into 
 his presence, and shut the door. "I could ruin you, 
 young man, and if I discharge you you probably will 
 continue the downward road on which you have en- 
 tered. I want to show you that on my system of 
 doing business you cannot appropriate a cent without 
 

/ ;, l I US ■ -l SENSATION. 
 
 my knowing it. You keep company that you cannot 
 afford. You don't play very heavily, but you gamble 
 
 a little. Now, I am going to make a man of you. 
 You must make a solemn promise, that you will neither 
 drink nor gamble. This agreement you must write 
 and sign." The young man is now cashier of one of the 
 largest banks, and the broker is his bondsman. 
 
XXVII. 
 WALL STREET AND THE MILITARY. 
 
 The citizen soldiery of New York are the peace 
 corps of the city. As I have stated elsewhere,, bold, 
 daring men try some of their fiercest assaults on the 
 street. More than once, a commanding general has put 
 the whole military force under arms, to guard the treas- 
 ures, and protect the vaults in Wall Street. 
 
 Till the coming in of the Metropolitan Police, the 
 city troops held the quiet of New York in their hands. 
 With the exception of a few riots, the city has always 
 been celebrated for its good order and quietness. It is 
 full of desperate men, ready for plunder, robbery, and 
 arson. It is the head quarters of the crime of the 
 country. It is easy to hide in the multitude of our 
 people. The dens, dark chambers, underground rooms, 
 narrow alleys, and secret retreats, render criminals 
 more safe in the city than in any other part of the 
 land. But for the presence of the military nothing 
 would be safe. Banks would be plundered, men robbed 
 in the streets ; no man could sleep safely on his own 
 pillow ; property and life would be as insecure as they 
 were in Sodom. There is something very remarkable 
 about the New York military. It represents every 
 phase of life, from the highest to the lowest. It em- 
 
 (336) 
 
COLLECTOR KING. 337 
 
 braces every nationality. The Seventh Regiment is 
 entially New York. The Sixty-ninth is wholly Irish. 
 In the time of the Know-Nothing movement, the 
 Seventy-first Regiment became American, par excel- 
 lence, and* no man was allowed to join it unless he was 
 born of American parents. Besides this, there were 
 German regiments, regiments heterogeneous, regiments 
 composed mainly of Jews ; yet the whole division has 
 been a unit in preserving public peace and enforcing 
 law. Questions have come up that have agitated the 
 whole community, and men have risen against the law. 
 From thirty to fifty thousand men have filled the 
 Park, defying the authorities, and threatening to de- 
 stroy public property; Wall Street has been crowded 
 with maddened men, assembled to tear down the 
 banks ; mobs have gathered on political questions, — 
 and on every one of these exciting topics the city 
 troops have had as much direct interest, or indirect, as 
 any of the rioters, and, as individuals, have been as 
 much excited ; yet, as soldiers, they have never shrunk 
 from their duty. They have promptly obeyed every 
 call of their officers, have been under arms night and 
 day for many days, placed their cannon in the street 
 when ordered to do so, and were as reliable in any 
 crisis as if they had no interest in the city and not a 
 friend in the world. There is not a rogue in the Union 
 that does not know that should he overpower the civil 
 authorities, a few sharp taps on the City Hall bell 
 would bring ten thousand bayonets to the support of 
 law ; and that the city troops would lay down their 
 lives as quickly to preserve the peace as they would 
 to defend the nation's flag on the battle-field. 
 22 
 
XXVIII. 
 COLLECTOR KING. 
 
 The Glitter or Office. — Buined Politicians. — Duchess of Orleans 
 Mr. Kino in his Country Home. — Official Vexations. — Suicide. 
 
 The most coveted offices in the gift of the Govern- 
 ment, are in Wall Street. There is more honor in fill- 
 ing the Embassy to the Court of St. James, but there 
 is more money in being collector of the port of New 
 York. The office of Collector, Sub-Treasurer, Sur- 
 veyor, Post-master, and District Attorney, are dazzling 
 prizes in the eyes of politicians. They are the re- 
 ward of distinguished political service, or liberal 
 donations to a campaign. Judge Pierpoint gave ten 
 thousand dollars to aid in the election of General 
 Grant, and received his present office as a reward, 
 valued by nobody at less than thirty thousand dollars 
 a year. The perquisites and pickings of a New York 
 Collector are estimated all the way from fifty to a 
 hundred thousand, or more. There is always on the 
 incoming of any administration a strong fight over the 
 New York spoils. But few men seem to prosper who 
 secure these coveted prizes. The style of living, the 
 company officials are obliged to keep, the habits 
 
 (338) 
 
COLLET 011 KING. 339 
 
 they indulge in, the constant drain upon their purse?, 
 - their time and their health, seem too much for them. 
 The fable of the Duchess of Orleans applies with full 
 force to the officials of Wall Street. In accounting for 
 the singular misfortunes of her family, the Duchess once 
 related this legend. A Princess was born to a noble 
 house. The fairies were bidden to greet its birth. 
 They -assembled around the cradle of the royal 
 child, and laid their gifts on its head. One be- 
 stowed beauty, another wealth, another talent, another 
 position. One elf who had been neglected, came 
 uninvited. Unable to reverse what her sisters had 
 done, she mingled up a curse with every blessing, 
 But few men have been more fortunate in the dazzling 
 positions offered by government on the street. Men 
 of reputed wealth, go into office and retire bank- 
 rupt. Men of the highest honor come out stained.. 
 Men of marked ability elsewhere, seem to be mere driv- 
 elers when they touch the public money. Swart- 
 wout began, while collector of the port of Xew York, 
 those gigantic frauds unknown in official life before, 
 which have been so painfully common since. Curtis 
 was appointed collector when his repute was very 
 high, and his ability very marked, and he died in a mad- 
 house. Draper added nothing to his honor, lost 
 the reputation he had previously obtained for ability, 
 and was removed under a cloud. One of the most 
 distinguished business men in the city, gained the 
 highest post under the government in the street. His 
 career had been a remarkable one in the city. He 
 had been a poor boy, a successful clerk, the vigilant 
 and energetic head of a large dry goods house, and 
 
3 40 COLLECTOR KING. 
 
 had shown extraordinary executive ability at the head 
 of a leading financial concern. He threw the whole 
 away for the glittering banble which promised him a 
 fortune in a year, held office but a little while, and 
 passed out of sight, from among the business men of 
 the city. Over the finances of the government in 
 Wall Street, a gentleman was placed. He was intro- 
 duced with a great flourish of trumpets, and his execu- 
 tive force and integrity were especially lauded. He 
 was charged with using his position to aid the gold 
 gamblers, by which his own pockets were to be lined. 
 In a critical time he had early information of the pur- 
 poses of government, and is said to have used these 
 intimations for the profit of his associates. He was 
 deeply implicated in the conspiracies of the " Black 
 Friday," when the fortunes of so many thousands were 
 swept away, through the recklessness of half a dozen 
 men. Officially, his days were few and another took 
 his office. 
 
 A sadder history than has been written about most 
 of the Wall Street officials, is connected with the 
 name of Collector King. At the time of his appoint- 
 ment, the office of collector in New York was a scene 
 of most bitter strife and contention. The pay of the 
 position was large, and the political patronage given 
 to the collector made him a sort of king among poli- 
 ticians. Draper could not weather the storm. The 
 contestants in the city were too numerous and too 
 bitter to be pacified. Mr. Lincoln, worn out by the 
 strife, resolved to end it by the appointment of an out- 
 sider. Mr. King resided in St. Lawrence county ; a 
 man advanced in years, enormously fleshy, and every 
 
Q0LLECTOR KING. 311 
 
 way unfit I'd for tlit) strife and Litter contention which 
 awaited him in New York. lie came down to the 
 city, and was hailed as the most fortunate of men. His 
 appointment showed him to be the confidential friend 
 of the President. He was at the head of official patron- 
 age in New York. His income would be regal, not 
 less than one hundred thousand dollars a year. What 
 could any man wish more. From the start, he was 
 ailed on all sides. He was annoyed by unscrupu- 
 lous men, who hung about his office. The pressure 
 for removal and appointment was immense. Suits at 
 law were commenced against him and for a man who 
 had been at the head of the Senate, and had enjoyed 
 its reserve and dignity, the vexations of his position 
 were irksome in the extreme. Men dogged him to 
 his hotel, assaulted him on his way to his meals, and 
 crowded his rooms till midnight. He could not get up so 
 early that visitors were not at his door ready to enter. 
 His health gave way under the pressure, and he was 
 taken to his country home for repose. Recovering in 
 a measure, he returned to the city one Saturday after- 
 noon. On Sunday preceding his death, he had a talk 
 with Thurlow 'Weed. He announced himself disgusted 
 with business, tired of office and tired of life. He was 
 miserable, he said, and wished to die. But for the 
 great crime of committing suicide, he would die in a 
 minute. A settled melancholy covered him like a 
 pall. It was not thought best to leave him alone, and 
 watchers were put in his chamber. While they slept, 
 he walked out. Passing down Barclay street, he 
 entered a hardware store, where he was well known, 
 bought two bags of shot, which he put into the pockets 
 
342 COLLECTOR KING. 
 
 of his overcoat. He walked down to the Jersey City 
 ferry, and when the boat „was about half way across 
 stepped over the chains, deliberately laid his hat on 
 the boat and disappeared. His body was subsequently 
 found on the Jersey side and buried with honor. He 
 was an honest man, kind in his feelings, and wanted to 
 do right. He accepted the position of collector with 
 great reluctance. The glittering bauble of position 
 cost him his life. 
 
XXIX. 
 WALL STREET AND FIVE POINTS. 
 
 It must be said, to the credit of Wall Street, that 
 "by its liberal contributions it inaugurated the astonish- 
 ing change which marks the locality known as Five 
 Points. This vile locality was at one time the rendez- 
 vous of the most desperate and dangerous in the city. 
 Thieves, vagabonds, and murderers, had their homes 
 in this locality. The lower portion was honey-combed 
 with dark passages, crooked and narrow lanes, where 
 desperadoes hid, or through which they fled from the 
 officers of the law. The munificence of wealthy men, 
 and leading brokers, has wrought a surprising revolu- 
 tion in this disreputable locality. The whole locality 
 has been changed. Nearly twenty years of work, 
 designed to rescue little suffering childhood, and to 
 do good to the perishing, in the name of the Lord, 
 has produced ripe, rich fruit. The Old Brewery has 
 fallen, and a costly mansion, the gift of Christian 
 munificence, occupies its site. The House of Industry 
 stands opposite. Cow Bay and Murderer's Alley, with 
 rookeries and abodes of desperate people, have passed 
 away. Comfortable tenements occupy their place. 
 The hum of busy toil and industry takes the place of 
 reeking blasphemy. Trade, with its marble, granite, 
 
 (343) 
 
344 WALL STREET AND THE CLERGY. 
 
 and brown-stone palaces, is pushing its way into this 
 vile locality, and is completing the reform which reli- 
 gion and beneficence began. On a festive day, such as 
 Thanksgiving and Christmas, the ladies welcome their 
 friends to a sight worth travelling many miles to see. 
 From six hundred to a thousand children, homeless, 
 houseless, and orphaned, each with a new suit or dress 
 made by the lady managers and their friends, singing 
 charmingly, exhibiting great proficiency in education, 
 ' and a wonderful knowledge of the Bible, sitting clown 
 :to a well-laid table, it is touching to see. Hotels, mar- 
 'ketmen, bakers, confectioners, and friends generally, 
 jmake liberal contribution to feed the little ones. 
 Loaves large enough for a fancy scull on the Hudson, 
 pyramids of candies, and cakes and good things by the 
 hundred weight, dolls, toys, and presents, are abundant 
 go that each little one bears some gift away. 
 
 WALL STREET AND THE CLERGY. 
 
 New York tries a minister more than any other 
 city. If he has mettle in him, and patience, he 
 will succeed. Men of marked ability and talent get a 
 call to New York, and are as completely lost as if 
 settled at Sandy Hook. It is a great wonder that any 
 one well settled will come to the city. A few large, 
 rich congregations are all w T ell enough. The great 
 mass of the churches are poor. To build houses and 
 maintain public worship cost a great deal. Living is 
 high, and ministers are cramped, hedged in, and con- 
 fined. Hundreds of families, who, before they moved 
 to New York, supported and attended public worship, 
 
TOO MUCH SPECULATION. 
 
WALL STREET AXD THE CLERGY. 
 
 do neither after they come. Pew rents are very high, 
 and a man on a small salary, with a small income, 
 might as well attempt to live on Fifth Avenue as to 
 attend a fashionable place of worship. Hosts of persons 
 professing to be Christians have no religious home, but 
 from year to year drift round from church to church, 
 and pick up their spiritual provender where they can 
 find it. The population is constantly changing from 
 the east side to the west, from the west side to the 
 north, from the north to Brooklyn, from Brooklyn to 
 the country, and from the country back again to New 
 York. Many persons are exceedingly liberal in their 
 contributions to religious objects. The mass care but 
 little, and the whole burden falls on a few. The popu- 
 lation fluctuates, and the labor of keeping a city charge 
 together is very great. Many pastors have left a large, 
 warm-hearted, liberal people in the country for a church 
 in New York. Their salaries, large as they seemed, 
 proved inadequate to a comfortable support. 
 
XXX. 
 UNLUCKY MEN IN WALL STREET. 
 
 OLD SUPERSTITIONS. — WIZARDS ON THE STREET. — LUCKY AND UNLUCKY 
 DAYS. — LUCKY AND UNLUCKY MEN. — HOSPITAL FOR DECAYED MER- 
 CHANTS. — ILLUSTRATIONS OF ILL LUCK. — THE DEVIL ON WALL STREET. 
 
 In the chapter on "Wall Street in olden times," I 
 alluded to the superstitions of the fathers. They be- 
 lieved in witches, ghosts, and hobgoblins. They pat- 
 ronized conjurors, fortune tellers, and wizards. Necro- 
 mancers, and persons skilled in the black art, reaped 
 a golden harvest in the street, and under their direc- 
 tion men bought and sold, dug the earth, and sought 
 for hidden treasures. The superstitions of the earlier 
 days are reproduced in the street. Well known mer- 
 chants, otherwise intelligent, shrewd and far-seeing, 
 consult modern oracles and make investments as di- 
 rected by the "mediums" of the present age. There 
 are unlucky days, in which the superstitious will not 
 buy or sell. There is a class of men on the street, who 
 are known to be unlucky. Everything they touch in- 
 curs loss, and their investments turn to ashes. Their 
 companions, associates, acquaintances, and business 
 friends, have fortunate streaks. The class are ever 
 doomed to disappointment. 
 
 We may account for it as we will ; it is still a fact 
 
 (346) 
 
UNLUCKY MEN IN WALL STREET. 347 
 
 that there arc persons who may be justly termed un- 
 lucky. They are not only seen on the street but in 
 every department of life. Nothing that they do pros- 
 pers. The Rothschilds, among other rules had this, 
 from which they never swerved : Never to have any 
 dealings with an unlucky man, or an unlucky house. 
 They did not pretend to explain how it was that ill 
 luck would follow some persons, but the fact they re- 
 cognized, as all must r who are familiar with the history 
 of men. The great Rothschilds said, that ill luck 
 might arise from want of judgment, from idiosyncracies 
 of character, from temper, from want of moral qualities, 
 from timidity, from rashness. But for men who failed 
 in their enterprises, or were balked in their pursuits, 
 who could not carry their enterprises to success, or 
 were thwarted in their schemes — from such they turned 
 away. 
 
 New York is full of illustrations of the wisdom of 
 this course. It is full of men whose career can only 
 be expressed by the simple word — unlucky. Two 
 apprentices start side by side, equally honest, indus- 
 trious, and capable. One becomes the head of a great 
 house, and the other toils on, shiftless, poor, and strug- 
 gling to the end. Two politicians belong to the same 
 party, in the same ward, equally popular, and striving 
 for the same prize. The one moves over a broad, 
 macadamized path-way to success, everything turns to 
 his advantage ; unseen hands roll every obstacle out of 
 his way. rivals stumble and fall, or die at the right 
 time, and year after year the lucky man accumulates 
 wealth and adds to his political power. His compan- 
 ion, with better principles, perhaps, more conscien- 
 
348 UNLUCKY MEN IN WALL STREET. 
 
 iious, having about him all the elements of popularity, 
 is thwarted, defeated, and disappointed on every hand. 
 He changes too soon or too late ; the party divides just 
 as he is on the eve of getting the golden bauble, and 
 he ends his career a seedy, thriftless, disappointed mis- 
 anthrope. At least a thousand men started in life with 
 a fairer chance of financial success than Vanderbilt. 
 They worked harder than he ever worked — energetic, 
 enthusiastic, devoted and persistent followers of for- 
 tune. They have gone down by hundreds, been swept 
 away by stock and commercial panics, or walk about 
 the streets dilapidated specimens of unlucky men. 
 From the moment Vanderbilt pushed his little scow 
 from Staten Island, and collected his first fare from 
 the passengers he was bringing up to the city, to this 
 hour, everything he has touched has prospered. He 
 ran steamboats till his name was a terror in all our 
 waters. He has always had the best of his enemies in 
 every fight. He ran Collins off from the ocean, as he 
 said he would ; got his hundred cents on the dollar 
 out of the Schuyler frauds ; was snubbed by the Presi- 
 dent of the Hudson River road, and gave him his 
 walking papers ; was jeered at by brokers when he 
 bought Harlem, and has made it a controlling stock 
 on the street ; and he sent disaster and ruin among the 
 combination that tried to corner Harlem. He is known 
 on the street as " Old Eighty Millions." Through the 
 wdiole of his career people have prophesied his down- 
 fall. It must come very soon if it comes at all. 
 
 Stewart's store is full of bankrupt merchants, and is 
 called the "Hospital for decayed traders." Stewart 
 hires such men to wait on his customers. They 
 
UNLUCKY MEN IN WALL STREET. 343 
 
 gather from Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Chicago. 
 These men began life with better chances of success 
 than Stewart. Why they could not succeed no one 
 can tell. Most of them were honest, sharp, keen, and 
 devoted tradesmen. They make first class assistants 
 to Stewart, besides bringing their customers with them. 
 They were simply unlucky. There is hardly an estab- 
 lishment in New York; jewelry manufactory, furniture, 
 hardware, and houses representing every branch of 
 trade, that has not subordinates who have tried busi- 
 ness for themselves. They are capital business men, 
 and there seems to be no reason why they should not 
 prosper. As many of them express it, "the luck was 
 against them." 
 
 I know two brothers, who were educated in the 
 same school, members of the same church, and tem- 
 perance men; both received a fine nautical education, 
 and both of them took to the sea. One, and he not 
 regarded as the brighter, or the more capable, came 
 into command of a ship early. A disaster at sea, which 
 would have ruined most men, made him first mate. 
 On the second voyage, his captain died, and he reached 
 the port to which he was sailing in a lucky time, sold 
 his cargo, and secured a valuable freight ; was caught 
 in a gale on his way back that came near sending him 
 to the bottom, but which only sent him home ten days 
 earlier. His arrival was lucky, his freight being in 
 great demand, and his swift voyage gave him great 
 favor. lie sailed on the next trip as captain of one 
 of the best ships out of port. During the many years 
 that lie was captain his good luck attended him. He 
 iWas always in season; caught the swiftest gales; es- 
 
3,50 UNLUCKY MEN IN WALL STREET. 
 
 caped quarantine ; was attended by general success, 
 and retired from the ocean with a competency. His 
 "brother was a better sailor, so it was said, — a high- 
 toned, conscientious fellow, who meant to do his duty — 
 brave, and respected ; yet ill luck dogged his footsteps 
 from the moment he sailed, till the end of his life. He 
 held a subordinate position for a long time. If any 
 trouble happened, if the crew mutinied, ice-bergs 
 loomed up, foggy weather prevailed with collisions, 
 or gales produced troubles, it was always in his watch. 
 When commander, everything went against him. He 
 lost two or three vessels. It was no fault of his ; after 
 each loss he kept on shore a long time, nobody trust- 
 ing him. Diseases always broke out on board of his 
 ships, and he was befogged and becalmed whenever 
 there was a chance. He went into the navy in the 
 war, and the same ill luck attended him there. He was 
 taken prisoner once or twice ; monitors and gun-boats 
 sunk under him, or he was laid up so that he could do 
 nothing. The last voyage he made he was detained 
 for weeks in England by gales and storms, for his ves- 
 sel was weak, and was loaded with railroad iron. He 
 died, as he lived, an unlucky man. 
 
 I meet men every day in Broadway, who, for a quar- 
 ter of a century, have been battling with their luck, — 
 conscientious men, talented men, Sunday school men, 
 Christian men, who have never succeeded in anything 
 they undertook. One bought out a long established 
 and prosperous business, but it failed on his hands 
 within twelve months. Others tried the opening trade 
 of California ; the season or the elements made ship- 
 wreck of their little venture. Men go from dry goods 
 
UNLUCKY MEN IN WALL STREET. 35 1 
 
 into the street ; from the street to trade; from trade 
 to manufacturing ; then to oil and stock companies, 
 breaking everywhere; and when nothing else will do, 
 the elements conspire and burn up their success. Oth- 
 ers will track them on their rounds, and reap a golden 
 harvest from every point. The old financiers of New 
 York had an explanation for this phenomenon of good 
 luck and bad luck, which has brooded over the street 
 since it was first laid out, when " Dongan was Gouarnor 
 Generall of his Majesties' Coll. of NewYorke." These 
 old men believed in the power and existence of the 
 Devil as god of this world and the author of all mis- 
 chief. They believed that when Satan wished to 
 bother a man financially he had power so to do, and 
 quoted the history of Job as a proof. Modern specu- 
 lators scout the active agency of the Devil, but their 
 philosophy is at fault, as the effect remains, without 
 an adequate cause being discovered. 
 
XXXI. 
 HUMORS OF BANKING. 
 
 Too little Ink. — Initials. — The Short Man of the Bible. — Certify- 
 ing a Check.— Heavy Check. 
 
 TOO LITTLE INK. 
 
 A gentleman celebrated for writing a very heavy 
 hand, who signs his name in the John Hancock style, 
 gave a friend a check payable to his own order. His 
 own pen not being at hand, he used the delicate gold 
 pencil apparatus of his friend. The signature and en- 
 dorsement were very delicate, but he thought nothing 
 of that. Shortly after his friend returned, stating that 
 the paying teller declined to pay the check. " And 
 what reason did he give," asked the astonished mer- 
 chant, whose balance at the bank was very large. 
 " He said it was not your writing ; that there was too 
 little ink." This illustrates the aptness of paying tel- 
 lers in detecting altered or forged checks. It is not the 
 check itself, or the signature, or the amount, that 
 attracts attention, but they take in the whole thing. 
 They cannot analyze their own judgment. The check 
 is too nice, too smooth, too rough, too bold, or too 
 faint. There is not a day that paying tellers in the 
 leading banks, in the rush of business, do not go to 
 the cashier with a check, of which they have some 
 doubt. The usual answer is, " That is all right, pay it." 
 
 (352) 
 
INITIALS.— CERTIFYING A CHECK. 353 
 
 I paying tellers generally say, under such cir- 
 cumstances, to the cashier, "Won't you put your ini- 
 tial- on this check?" In such cases the banks usually 
 suffer. 
 
 INITIALS. 
 
 A gentleman who was always accustomed to sign his 
 full name, which was quite a long one, presented a 
 check in person, made payable to his order, — as his ini- 
 - only were used, he endorsed the check in the 
 same manner, and handed it to the paying teller. The 
 teller looked at it and said, " Won't you endorse it ?" 
 '•I have," was the reply." " These are not your ini- 
 tials," said the official. It never occurred to the teller 
 what the initials of the gentleman were. It was 
 enough for him that the check did not present the 
 usual appearance. 
 
 THE SHORT MAX OF THE BIBLE. 
 
 Said one clerk to another — " Who is the shortest 
 man mentioned in the Bible " The old Joe Millers 
 were all exhausted. Nehemiah (knee-high-miah) : Bil- 
 dad, the Shuhighe (shoe-high). To all answers the 
 clerk replied ; *Xo." "We give it up," was the res- 
 ponse. ;% Peter," was the reply. " Peter," they all 
 cried; "he was a stout, large, athletic man." ''Can't 
 help it. He was the shortest man I read of in the 
 Bible. He said he had neither 'silver nor gold,' and 
 a man is pretty short who hasn't any money." 
 
 CERTIFYING A CHECK. 
 
 Quite an eminent merchant of this city received 
 a bank check signed by the cashier, for S3 5, 000. 
 23 
 
354 HEAVY CHECK. 
 
 Shortly after he returned and asked the paying teller 
 to certify the check. He said he could not do anything 
 with it unless it was certified. The teller demurred, and 
 an appeal was made to the cashier. This officer qui- 
 etly remarked, "You have the guarantee of the presi- 
 dent and directors of the bank now. If you think that 
 the endorsement of the paying teller will add anything 
 to the security of the bank, you are welcome to it," It 
 was a long time before the merchant could see it. It 
 broke slowly into his mind that what he was asking 
 was very much like a man's certifying his own check. 
 He withdrew slowly, but his exit was greeted by 
 shouts of laughter from the witty clerks of the de- 
 partment, 
 
 HEAVY CHECK. 
 
 One of the Life Insurance Companies has the repu- 
 tation of being exceedingly careful in its money mat- 
 ters. This is seen in its method of drawing checks. 
 One day the President came out of his office and re- 
 quested the Secretary to have a check drawn; he 
 passed the word on to the officer before him ; he to 
 another ; till the word reached the fifth official, who 
 kept the check-book. The check passed back through 
 the same channel, each party writing something on the 
 check. The Vice President put on the final endorse- 
 ment. A well-known correspondent by the side of 
 the President, said, u Mr. President, that must be a very 
 heavy check.'* "Not very; but why do you think 
 so ?" " It took five men to draw it," was the reply." 
 

 PARK BANK. 
 
XXXII. 
 CURIOUS BANK HISTORY. 
 
 Old TTrE and Nbw. — TnE Oldest Bank.— The Eight Original Banks. — 
 Barker. — Curtis. — Lorillard. — Wolcot. — Gallatins. — Perit. — 
 Tileston. — Roosevelt. — Jenkins. — Stillman. — Banking House of 
 the Olden Time. 
 
 The history of banking in New York is the history 
 of Wall Street from its start. Its magnitude has in- 
 creased with the growth of the city. All tlmt is 
 elegant, all that is refined, all that is prosperous in 
 New York, finds its representations in the Banks. 
 The elegant banking rooms of the present hour — the 
 costly bank buildings, more magnificent than the 
 palaces of kings in the Old World, the rush of business, 
 the army of clerks, the huge deposits, the passing of 
 millions on checks, all contrast strongly with the humble 
 business of the earlier banking days in Wall Street, 
 For a long time there was but one Bank — the Bank 
 of New York — and that was thought to be one too 
 many. Then came The Merchant's Union, The Man- 
 hattan, Bank of America, City Bank, Phoenix and 
 MeGhanies' Bank, founded in 1810 — eight in all, and 
 all the city would ever "require. A clerk walks down 
 the street, with half a million of gold checks, in his 
 pocket, and contrasts wonderfully witli the time when 
 an ox-cart would have been needed to do that service. 
 
 I 355) 
 
356 CURIOUS BANK HISTORY. 
 
 The Metropolitan Bank has 1,500 depositors. To ac- 
 commodate this class, the bank employees are made 
 up of numerous porters, messengers, check clerks, 
 specie clerks, paying tellers, tellers of note and deposit, 
 book keepers, cashier, and President. Men grow old 
 in the service of the banks. Few subordinates ever 
 rise ; their bread is given to them, their water sure — 
 that is all. It is a common thing in a New York bank 
 for porters, messengers, and clerks to count up a ser- 
 vice of half a century. 
 
 The Mechanics Exchange Bank was the private bank 
 of Jacob Barker. He issued his own notes, which were 
 current on the street. Like most energetic, dashing, 
 bold operators, he failed at the last, Careful, cautious 
 men— men who move slowly — who have not much 
 faith in any body or any thing, are the safe moneyed 
 men of New York. 
 
 The Continental Bank attained its high position 
 through the ability and character of George Curtis. He 
 was the soul of honor; sensitive, high-minded and scru- 
 pulous above most men. In his time, it was common to 
 make presents to bank officers. Business men who 
 sought accommodation, obtained, or thought they ob- 
 tained favors, by acts of liberality. Umbrellas, gold 
 headed canes, suits of clothes, cases of wine, groceries, 
 services of silver and even coaches, were presented to 
 bank presidents and bank officers. Mr. Curtis for- 
 bade any employee in the bank receiving a present, 
 and emphasized the order by returning every gift made 
 to him. He broke up the custom. 
 
 Jacob Lorillard, made the fame of the Mechanics' 
 Bank. This Bank was founded in 1S10. John Sli- 
 
S BANK HISTORY. 
 
 dell's father was the first president. He began life 
 humble enough. When he took his position as 
 
 sident of the bank, he was a soap and tallow 
 chandler on Elizabeth street, Jacob Lorillard was 
 
 type of an old New York merchant, prompt, energetic, 
 industrious, reliable. The Bank was demoralized, and 
 in a sin" ndition when he took hold of it. 
 
 [ of revolutionary fame was the first 
 .it of the Bank of America. He founded and 
 
 s the first president of the Merchants' Bank. The 
 Manhattan Bank was chartered as tile "Manhattan 
 Company." 
 
 The Gallatin National Bank has been made famous 
 by the celebrated name of Gallatin. One president 
 was made executor of the Astor Estate. The father 
 of the family. Albert, one of the most celebrated 
 financial men of New York, was long connected with 
 this institution. On Friday was the grand rush for ex- 
 changing gold. Porters and messengers were seen 
 running in every direction, loaded down with precious 
 coin. Besides the labor, expense, and peril of this 
 movement, heavy loss was suffered by the embrasure 
 of gold. Mr. Gallatin suggested the idea of the Clear- 
 ing house, and it will always stand as a monument of 
 his sag ' and executive ability. 
 
 The Seamans' Saving Bank owes its fame and high 
 standing to Pelatiah Perit. Mr. Perit was one of the 
 cautious, quiet, careful men of the age, with a great 
 deal of executive force, and was one of the most hon- 
 ored merchant- of New York. He was president of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, and identified with the relig- 
 ious and philanthropic mo\ ements of the day. He was 
 
358 CURIO US BANK HI ST OR Y. 
 
 president of some of the largest associations. His 
 partner was a Salem boy, and the firm enjoyed unin- 
 terrupted prosperity for nearly half a century. 
 
 Thomas Tileston was President of the Phoenix Bank. 
 The House of which he was a member, Spofford & 
 Tileston, was known and respected in every quarter of 
 the globe. He adopted a rule for making money, 
 which has always proved successful when it has been 
 tried, and yet which is adopted by very few persons. 
 His rule was, to be content with small gains, and to 
 be satisfied with a moderate increase. He was led to 
 adopt this principle when he was a poor boy, battling 
 with life. He had two or three companions, who 
 boarded with him. One of these drew a prize in a lot- 
 tery. He became rich in an hour, with what seemed 
 to be untold wealth. It ruined him for business. He 
 gave himself up to pleasure and dissipation, spent his 
 fortune in a short time and killed himself. Tileston 
 shrunk from the yawning gulf which seemed to be 
 opening at his feet. He resolved to secure business, 
 and make an honest name; with these, he secured 
 wealth. 
 
 The Bank of New York has the high honor of being 
 the oldest bank in the city, and for many years the 
 only one. The name of Roosevelt, so honored in the 
 city, is connected with this bank. Isaac Roosevelt 
 was its first President. The business of the bank was 
 not sufficient to employ the powers of this energetic 
 old man. He carried on his business in his sugar 
 house, and gave it his personal attention. He oscil- 
 lated between his sugar manufactory and the financial 
 institution of which he was the head. Alexander 
 
CURIOUS DANK UISTORY. 359 
 
 Hamilton was one of the first directors of the bank, 
 and law officer. His house and oflice were near. Ju- 
 lian Verplank bought Hamilton's Wall street house 
 and occupied it for many years. 
 
 The East River Bank is an institution of the olden 
 time. Like the Chemical Bank its stockholders are 
 few. The President, Mr. Jenkins, is one of the largest 
 owners. He was a mechanic and poor, and worked his 
 way up to his present position. The economy and close- 
 ness which marked his early life, adhere to him still. 
 He watches his clerks in all their movements, peers 
 over their shoulders, knows what is going on, keeps a 
 sharp watch on depositors, and on paper left for dis- 
 count, is a safe, careful, vigilant officer, but not cele- 
 brated for generous acts. • 
 
 The Metropolitan Savings Bank was made famous 
 when Mr. Stillman was president. lie founded the 
 Novelty Works, and his integrity and skill as a me- 
 chanic made his works celebrated everywhere. J. T. 
 Smith, president, has worked his way up from hum- 
 bler positions. He began his career as supercargo to 
 China, He set up a store, and dealing in shoes be- 
 came his specialty. The English could not compete 
 with him, and they marveled how he could sell shoes 
 at so cheap a rate. He informed them that his shoes 
 came from Lynn; that the Lynn shoe-makers made 
 their articles in a peculiar way. Around the room 
 workmen were placed. The leather was put in on one 
 side of the room. One workman made the sole, and 
 threw it to the next. He added something; then 
 threw it to the next, and when it reached the door on 
 the other side, the boot or shoe was complete, and 
 
300 CURIO US BANK II IS TOR Y. 
 
 boots and shoes were made as fast as one workman 
 could throw the material to another. The Englishmen 
 in China thought that America must be a great country. 
 Long Island Bank : this Institution, one of the oldest 
 out of the city of New York, has a chamber of marked 
 interest. It is fitted up in the style of the early banking 
 rooms of New York. It contains the old furniture, with 
 which the solid men of the city were content half a cen- 
 tury ago. Here are the chairs on which they sat, and 
 the tables on which they worked, when eighteen hours a 
 day were a common allotment for a day's work; when 
 the president and cashier were porters, messengers, 
 paying tellers, book keepers and clerks ; when they 
 ran of errands, lugged gold from office to office, took 
 down the shutters, swept out the bank, took their 
 breakfasts, and were ready for business at 7 o'clock ; 
 when with their own hands they closed the bank as 
 they opened it, and deposited the keys under their 
 own pillows at night. This room is a curiosity. 
 
XXXIII. 
 BANK PRESIDENTS. 
 
 The Banks in* the Street. — Old Fogies and Progressives. — Banks 
 OF Honor and Dishonor. — Bank Association. — Keen Financiering. 
 —Morrison, Manhattan Bank— Stout, Shoe and Leather. — Jones, 
 Chemical. — Taylor, City. — Williams, Metropolitan. — Palmer, 
 Broadway. — Leverich, New York. — Stevens, Commerce. — Coe, 
 American. — Kitchen, Park. — Knapp, Mechanics'. — Benedict, Gold. 
 — Sol'thworth, Atlantic. — Dickinson, Tenth National. — SproulEj 
 Merchants' Exchange. 
 
 The banks of New York are intimately associated 
 with TV all street. The business of the street is done 
 through the banks. Gold and greenbacks are seldom 
 touched, and sales are transacted by certified checks. 
 The banking system of New York is peculiar. Coun- 
 try banks make their money, not only on deposits, but 
 on exchange and collections. New York banks make 
 their money simply on deposits. There is no esprit de 
 corps among bank presidents. Each is for himself and 
 for his bank. There are three classes of bank presi- 
 dents. One class is known as the rut presidents — old 
 fogies, doing the same business, in the same style, and 
 running in the same ruts from year to year. They op- 
 pose every innovation, and resist every change and 
 improvement, and arc safe men, exact, and to be 
 trusted ; careful of what they have, and fearful of new 
 experiments. Another class are trained bank oresi- 
 
 (361) 
 
3*62 BANK PRESIDENTS. 
 
 dents. They come up through a regular gradation, 
 as men in the army. From messengers they become 
 clerks, book-keepers, paying tellers, cashiers, and then 
 presidents. They know nothing but the bank. They 
 have no business tact, nor business knowledge. The 
 world is hidden from them as much as the interior of 
 Africa, — they know the way to the bank and back ; 
 the tread-mill round is trodden daily. They have su- 
 perior intelligence about banking paper, discounts, 
 and all that pertains to the routine of banking life — 
 nothing more. Another class of bank presidents come 
 into their position from mercantile and business life, 
 and are sharp, shrewd, daring, successful. It is a posi- 
 tion of high honor to be a bank president in New 
 York. It is the highest seat among financial men. It 
 is a proof of wealth, tried integrity, and some ability. 
 Men are willing, often, on the street, to risk their 
 money with rash and unscrupulous operators, but 
 money to be deposited and money to be invested, must 
 be in careful hands. A bank seldom changes its pres- 
 ident. If a man is competent and honest, his position 
 as bank president is for life, or at his pleasure. 
 
 Most of the New York banks are conducted on 
 principles of honor. There are charlatans in the 
 pulpit, quacks in medicine, pettifoggers at the bar, 
 sharpers in dry goods, and mock auctioneers. Some 
 bank presidents have proved themselves heavy specu- 
 lators, using their own and other people's money on 
 the street, and have become the tools of unscrupulous 
 operators. Some have lost their positions because, 
 when speculations were profitable they pocketed the 
 profits, and when they were disastrous, the disasters 
 
BANK PRESIDEN1 - 
 
 were charged to the bank. Some have aided conspir- 
 ators to tighten the market, lock up greenbacks and 
 
 gold, ami create a panic. From the money side of the 
 question, it is a poor business, and pays badly. A 
 banker who loses his reputation, may dash along for a 
 time with the recklessness of a gambler, or the des- 
 peration of a sharper; but he is certain to go under 
 in due time, and can never recover. There are par- 
 ties in New York who have been at the head of banking 
 institutions which they have bought — bought for the 
 purpose of defrauding the public. They have flooded 
 the country with bills — bought real estate right and 
 left — builded houses, and paid mechanics and work- 
 men with the worthless trash, and then the institution 
 slunk out of sight. Some applauded the operators for 
 their shrewdness. It is said they made a great deal 
 of money. They are now without reputation, without 
 honor, and their names are a reproach to all honest 
 men. A wealthy gentleman became a bank president. 
 He stood high in the community and in the church, 
 and was one of the most trusted men in the city. Pol- 
 iticians got hold of him. They secured his assistance 
 in a political canvas, with the promise that he should 
 hold a high financial position, and sway the finances 
 of the nation, when the party was successful. The 
 proposal was too dazzling to be resisted; he became 
 infatuated — the funds of the bank were used for polit- 
 ical purposes, and the notes of politicians taken as 
 collaterals. The bank failed; the personal property 
 of the president and many of his friends was swept 
 away — he broke under the blow, and was carried to 
 his grave. 
 
364 BANK OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION. 
 
 BANK OFFICERS ASSOCIATION. 
 
 The biography of the bank presidents of New York 
 is the history of men who began life penniless ; who by 
 industry, tact, and integrity, have won a fortune and a 
 position. There is scarcely a man at the head of any 
 of the large moneyed institutions of New York, who 
 has not fought his way up through poverty by many 
 struggles. There are two associations by which the 
 banking interests are regulated in New York. The 
 one is the association of banks in the clearing house. 
 This association is simply for the purpose of exchang- 
 ing checks, and settling daily the accounts of each 
 bank with the other. How this is done, I have de- 
 scribed in the paper on the Clearing House. The 
 Association of Bank Officers is another affair. It is 
 the government of the banks. All bank presidents 
 must belong to it, and the voice of the majority must 
 be obeyed. Any party resisting would be at once 
 expelled, and the ostracism would be death to the 
 institution the officer represents. The power of this 
 association will be seen in one or two instances. Dur- 
 ing the dark and terrible days of the war, when the 
 country was on the verge of bankruptcy, when mer- 
 chants were failing in every direction, and money was 
 scarce, and could not be obtained, a meeting of the 
 bank officers was called. To relieve the country, it 
 was voted to increase the discounts half a million — this 
 was to ease the market. At the next meeting it was 
 found, that instead of increasing the circulation half a 
 million, it had actually been contracted. Each bank 
 disposed to take care of itself, had reduced its circular 
 
KEEN FINANCIERING. 
 
 tion, and locked up all the gold it could secure. It 
 
 was then voted to increase the circulation a million; 
 yet the market was not relieved ; the same state of 
 things was found to exist, and the circulation was di- 
 minished, and not increased. It was then voted to 
 equalize the gold ; that no one bank in the Association 
 should have more gold than another. Some banks 
 had a great stock, and they resisted the proposition 
 stoutly, but it was carried. Immediately, the pressure 
 was lifted, for no one bank had any advantage over 
 another. 
 
 Just at that time Mr. Chase came into the market 
 to borrow for the government fifty millions. The 
 amount was subsequently run up to one hundred and 
 fifty millions. Had the banks been separate, or the 
 law of the majority not binding, to comply with the 
 request would have been an impossibility. The 
 Association, after hearing Mr. Chase, voted to loan 
 the government what was necessary to carry it on. 
 It bound every bank, and by so doing, not only saved „ 
 the government from ruin, but rescued the banks from 
 impending calamity. 
 
 KEEN FINANCIERING. 
 
 In one of the darkest commercial crises that has 
 ever swept over the country, before the national cur- 
 rency was adopted, the city banks were loaded down 
 with the bills of country banks. These bills the banks 
 could not redeem. To force them to do so would 
 have been to spread universal ruin throughout the 
 land. Mr. Williams, president of the Metropolitan 
 Bank, of whom I shall speak in another part of this 
 
3 G 6 KEEN FINANCIERING. 
 
 chapter, proposed a plan for the relief of the country 
 banks, which would at the same time be beneficial to 
 the banks of New York. He proposed to collect the 
 bills of the country banks, seal them up, carry them 
 for the banks at the rate of six per cent., and then issue 
 certificates, which should pass as money at the clearing 
 house. By this means the banks in the country were 
 saved from failure, and the payment of their bills 
 would be guaranteed by the banks of the city. The 
 Bank Association by issuing the certificates, guaranteed 
 the payment of the bills, and backed the guarantee 
 by its whole capital of seventy millions. These certi- 
 ficates were better than gold, for gold paid no interest, 
 and unless every bank failed, they must be redeemed. 
 They were received at the clearing house as gold. 
 This plan, which saved the country banks from failing, 
 and was ultimately of great benefit to the city banks, 
 was violently opposed by the old fogies in the asso- 
 ciation. It was finally carried by a small majority. 
 Many of the bank presidents would not touch the cer- 
 tificates. They regarded the plan as an outrage. They 
 denounced the certificates as rag capital, and would 
 have nothing to do with the investment, One bank 
 president thought otherwise. He is a sharp, energetic, 
 wide-awake banker, and has turned into gold, through 
 all his life, every thing he has touched. He looked 
 at the certificates from a practical stand-point, The 
 country banks had practically failed, but the redemp- 
 tion of their bills was guaranteed by all the banks of 
 New York, and secured by the united capital of sev- 
 enty millions. The gold lying in the vaults of the 
 bank brought no interest, but these collaterals, besides 
 
MR MORRISON, OF THE MANHATTAN BANK. 367 
 
 being perfectly safe, yielded an interest of six per 
 lie decided to take all the certificates he could 
 get. ■ lie went quietly to work and collected all he 
 could lav his hands on. Of the issue of five millions, 
 he secured four. The old fogy presidents began to 
 wake up to the fact that the securities were rather 
 desirable. To their astonishment they found that one 
 bank had secured nearly the whole issue, and that the 
 entire association were guaranteeing the assets of one 
 of their number. The subject was brought before the 
 association, and after a fierce debate it was decided by 
 a majority vote that the certificates must be equalized, 
 and every bank have its share. The keen president 
 had to disgorge, or go out of the association. 
 
 The most costly buildings in New York belong to 
 the banking association. Rooms are fitted up for 
 banking purposes in gorgeous style, 'and ornamented 
 with gold and paintings. These rooms keep pace 
 with the elegance of the offices of stock dealers and 
 modern brokers. 
 
 MR. MORRISON, OF THE MANHATTAN BANK. 
 
 Mr. Morrison is a Scotchman. He began life a poor 
 boy, and worked his way up through all the grades in 
 the bank to his present high position. He is a type 
 of the discreet, prudent, hard-working class of men 
 of the olden time, who take no sudden leaps, and make 
 no startling bounds, but went up from rank to rank 
 by his own merit 'and hard work. The Manhattan 
 Bank is a very old bank,"and is working under its old 
 charter, and is one of the few state banks that have 
 not been merged in the National. It owes its vain- 
 
3G8 MR. STOUT, OF THE SHOE AXD LEATHER BANK. 
 
 able charter to the sharpness, to say nothing more, of 
 Aaron Burr. The legislature were enemies to the 
 banking system, and he had no hope of a charter if 
 the institution was represented as a moneyed institu- 
 tion. Burr adroitly presented a charter for the intro- 
 duction of water into the city of New York. It was 
 an unforfeitable charter, and conveyed large and val- 
 uable privileges. To carry out the purposes of the 
 corporation, a clause was inserted that scrip might be 
 issued by the company. That little clause created a 
 mammoth bank, with extraordinary privileges, which 
 continues to this day. The bank maintains a reservoir 
 near Canal street, with miniature water works, to 
 answer the purposes of its charter. 
 
 MR. STOUT, OF THE SHOE AND LEATHER BANK. 
 
 For eighteen years Mr. Stout has been at the head 
 of the Shoe and Leather Bank, which he originated. 
 At the age of twelve he was thrown on his own sup- 
 port, besides having the care of relatives. At four- 
 teen he became a teacher in a public school, though 
 he was supposed to be at least four years older. He 
 started out in life with a fixed purpose, to not only 
 get a living, but a fortune. Self-reliant, enthusiastic, 
 and ambitious, he seized every opening, and mastered 
 everything he undertook. He was one of the founders 
 of the Shoe and Leather Bank, of which he soon be- 
 came the head. This bank was started by dealers in 
 shoes and leather, as a bank of their own ; but like 
 every bank in New York that has had a specialty, it 
 has lost it in the lapse of time. There is not a shoe or 
 leather man on the board of directors, and but one 
 depositor in the bank, following that business. 
 
BUSINESS PRINCIPLE. 
 
 counsel. Ho dashed in and out of New York, and was 
 known on the road as the "flying man." His business 
 repute was high. He met every contract that lie made, 
 and took up all his paper as it matured, and said nothing, 
 and everybody believed he was rich. His moral and 
 social characteristics added to his business repute. He 
 was a decided and earnest Christian. In the prosperity 
 of the little Methodist Church near him he took great 
 interest. He was not afraid to turn his hand to any- 
 thing that was needed to promote itsw 7 elfare. He took 
 care of its finances, and they prospered. No debt was 
 allowed to accrue, nobody was behindhand in pay- 
 ments. At times Mr. Stout was sexton, pew-opener, 
 trustee, collector, class-leader, leader of the choir, and 
 preacher. His note was good anywhere. It was not 
 necessary for him to pay a dollar of money on the 
 houses that he built. He gave his notes on the con- 
 tracts, and paid them at maturity. One day he was 
 induced to indorse a note for five thousand dollars to 
 get money from the bank. The indorsement was given 
 with reluctance, and with the understanding that it 
 should not be repeated. To save that five thousand 
 dollars, indorsements grew till they reached twenty- 
 three thousand dollars. The builder, whose notes he 
 indorsed, announced to Mr. Stout one morning that he 
 had failed, and had made no provision for the paper, 
 and that the. bank would look to him for payment. 
 
 BUSINESS PRINCIPLE. 
 
 Several methods of relief were open to Mr. Stout 
 He was worth seventeen thousand dollars, which he had 
 earned by nights of toil, by economy, and by daily and 
 24 
 
370 B USINESS PRINCIPLE. 
 
 earnest attention to business. To pay the notes would 
 not only sweep away every penny that he had, but 
 leave him six thousand dollars in debt. He had never 
 realized one cent from the money, and his name was 
 used simply to accommodate the builder. Besides, he 
 was not of age, though nobody suspected that fact, and 
 he could repudiate his debts as an infant. He took no 
 counsel, made no statement of his affairs to any one, 
 shut himself up in his own room and considered 
 thoughtfully what he should do, and then followed out 
 the decision that he had reached. Having become 
 bankrupt in money, he concluded he would not be in 
 character. He had earned seventeen thousand dollars, 
 and he could earn seventeen thousand dollars more. 
 He did confide in one friend. He went to a relative 
 and asked him to loan him six thousand dollars, the 
 sum necessary to take up all the notes. The relative 
 was astonished at the request, and insisted upon know- 
 ing the facts in the case. Mr. Stout made a full and 
 frank statement. It was met with the remark, " Well, 
 Andrew, I thought you would be a rich man ; but if 
 this is the way you do business, you will never be 
 worth anything." But Mr. Stout did not want preach- 
 ing, he wanted money ; and as the relative seemed to 
 hesitate about loaning the money, as no security was 
 offered, Mr. Stout curtly told him he could do as he 
 pleased about it ; he could get the money somewhere, 
 and pay the notes. The money was promised, and he 
 went on his way. 
 
 The bank watched the young financier with a great 
 deal of interest. The whole matter had been discussed 
 often in the bank, and the wonder was, how young 
 
fi I 'SINES 3 PRINCIPLE. 371 
 
 Stout would meet tlio blow. It was supposed that he 
 would ask for an extension ; and it was agreed to give 
 it to him, and to make the time of payment convenient 
 to his ability. Had he proposed to compromise the 
 matter by paying one half, the bank would have 
 accepted it. That would have left him a capital of 
 nearly eight thousand dollars for a fresh start. Had 
 he offered his seventeen thousand dollars, on condition 
 that he was released from all liability, the notes would 
 have been cancelled with alacrity. He did neither. 
 He proposed no compromise, asked no extension, and 
 attempted to negotiate no settlement. When the first 
 note became due, he paid it He did the same with the 
 second and third. After the third payment, he was 
 called into the office of the president. Eeference was 
 made to the notes, and to the fact that he had obtained 
 no benefit from the money. The president told him 
 the bank was ready to renew the notes, and to give him 
 any accommodation that he miijfht ask. Mr. Stout 
 simply replied, that the blow was a heavy one, but 
 that, having assumed the obligation, he should dis- 
 charge it ; that he asked no favors, and as the notes 
 matured he should take them up. He paid every dol- 
 lar due, and every one was certain that his wealth must 
 be very large. His manliness, pluck, and integrity, 
 which carried him through that crisis, became the sure 
 foundation-stone on which his great fortune was laid. 
 He took the front rank among successful financiers, and 
 his honorable course in that crisis established his fame 
 as an honest man, in whom it would be safe to confide. 
 Years of earnest and active business life have not 
 changed that character, nor allowed a blot or stain to 
 cloud that reputation. 
 
372 BECOMES A MERCHANT. 
 
 BECOMES A MERCHANT. 
 
 In the department of dry goods, and in the whole- 
 sale boot and shoe trade, Mr. Stout found his first 
 permanent success. He had great financial talent, and 
 with all his partners he reserved to himself the right 
 to decide on credits. He gave his entire personal 
 attention to his business. Like Stewart, he found his 
 recreation in work. Nobody came so early that he 
 did not find Mr. Stout at his post. He did not leave 
 till the business was done and the store closed. His 
 hours were from seven in the morning till six at night. 
 Four months in the year he worked till ten and twelve 
 at night, and often till four o'clock in the morning, yet 
 would be at his post at seven, as usual. All who 
 worked after six o'clock were paid double wages. But 
 Mr. Stout always remained with them, no matter how 
 late they worked. If sagacity and prudence, hard 
 work and close attention to business, high moral char- 
 acter and great financial ability, lead to fortune, then 
 Mr. Stout must have accumulated a handsome capital. 
 
 HIS CONNECTION WITH THE BANK. 
 
 An attempt was made to get up a bank in which the 
 shoe and leather interest should have a large representa- 
 tion. In this movement Mr. Stout was very active ; 
 and when the Shoe and Leather Bank was incorporated 
 he was the largest stockholder, became a director, and 
 an influential manager. On the second year he was 
 made vice-president, and had really all the duties of 
 the president to perform. The third year he was 
 elected president, and for fourteen years has had trie 
 
PERSONAL. 173 
 
 management of that institution. He has guided it 
 with a financial skill unsurpassed, and the value of the 
 stock shows how profitable that management has been. 
 No voice is more potential in banking matters than 
 Mr. Stout's. His judgment is reliable ; he is far-seeing 
 and safe in his measures. *He was city chamberlain, 
 and while in that position there was some trouble about 
 paying the police. Mr. Stout advanced the full sum 
 necessary out of his private funds. He thus relieved 
 the embarrassment of the force, and received a splendid 
 testimonial, which now adorns his parlors. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Since he formed the resolution to meet the notes he 
 had indorsed, which was so heavy a blow to him in his 
 early life, his career has been an upward one. In 
 every relation of life he has occupied the front rank. 
 He is the guardian of widows and orphans, and holds 
 a large amount of trust money, every one feeling 
 assured that funds in his hands are safe. His char- 
 acteristics are promptness, unbending honesty, and 
 punctuality. Not only has he never failed to meet a 
 pecuniary obligation during the long term of his 
 financial career, but he carries this principle into the 
 minutest relations of life. In his family his breakfast 
 bell rings at exactly the same time, and does not vary 
 five minutes in a year, and dinner delays for no one. 
 He has been a church officer since he was a lad. He is 
 always on time at the smallest meeting. The finances 
 of the church are kept wifli the exactness of a bank. 
 The sexton, minister, and all are paid promptly on the 
 time. His bank board meets to a second. The board 
 
374 MR. JONES, OF THE CHEMICAL BANK. 
 
 is called to order promptly on the instant. Each 
 director has three dollars a day for every board meet- 
 ing. When the gavel of the president falls, if one of the 
 directors is at the threshold of the inner door, but has 
 not crossed it, he gets no pay. In his family Mr. Stout 
 is one of the most indulgent of fathers. He is a genial, 
 social, and high-toned friend. He is one of the most 
 entertaining hosts, and a welcome visitor. His wealth, 
 accumulated by shrewdness, integrity, and toil, he dis- 
 tributes with great liberality. From his early life he 
 has identified himself with religion, humanity, and the 
 benevolent operations of the clay. He is a good speci- 
 men of what New York can do for a resolute, manly 
 boy, who, with high moral principle, unbending in- 
 tegrity, and indomitable pluck, resolves to place his 
 name among the successful and true men of the land. 
 
 MR. JONES, OF THE CHEMICAL BANK. 
 
 The Chemical Bank is a bank of the olden time. It 
 has none of the North River steamboat style in. its 
 banking-house. A small, low, granite building on 
 Broadway, opposite the Park, of humble pretensions, 
 and unattractive in appearance, is all that greets the 
 eye. Yet it is the most profitable banking house, with 
 the most valuable franchise in the city. Like the Man- 
 hattan Bank, it was created for manufacturing purposes. 
 These purposes were chemical in their nature, as the 
 name implies. The capital of the bank, at the start, 
 was three hundred thousand dollars. It has never 
 been increased. It has never suspended payment, has 
 very few stockholders, and is not anxious for business. 
 
MR /■ 1 3 7. OR, OF THE (. 7 TY R 1 NK. 375 
 
 It is owned by a few persons, and these principally 
 directors. The stockholders arc John I. Jones, the 
 president, who has been at the head of the institution 
 twenty-five } r ears, and the Rosevclts and their relatix 
 who, witli a few friends, own the institution. The 
 surplus of the bank is enormous, being about two mil- 
 lions added to its capital, making a dividend on eight 
 times the capital of the bank. All the stockholders 
 are wealthy. The president is a careful, quiet, prudent 
 man, with little to do, and large pay. 
 
 MR. TAYLOR, OF THE CITY BANK. 
 
 Moses Taylor is one of the marked men of Xew 
 York. He is the president of the City Bank, and has 
 managed its affairs with consummate ability for many 
 years. He is about fifty years of age, stocky, and well 
 proportioned, with black hair sprinkled with gray ; 
 brisk, energetic, and spirited in his movements; de- 
 cided, quick, and energetic in his mode of doing busi- 
 ness, yet agreeable, cheerful, intelligent, and compan- 
 ionable in all the walks of life. His fortune is set down 
 at ten millions, the fruit of intense industry, of intelli- 
 gence, integrity, and enterprise. He began life on his 
 own account, in a very small business way. He has 
 the same enthusiastic love of business that marks 
 Stewart, Astor, and other eminent men — such as led 
 Choate to abandon the cool airs of Newport and revel 
 in the intricacies of a patent law-suit in August. Mr. 
 Taylor began trade for himself when quite young. He 
 kept in a memorandum book, which he still preserves, 
 his loss and gain. He has kept account accurately of 
 all his transactions from the minutest to the heaviest 
 
376 MR. TAYLOR, OF THE CITY BANK. 
 
 from the start. He can show in black and white, when 
 he has lost money, and when he has gained, during all 
 his business career. He lives in the upper part of 
 Fifth Avenue, his bank is in Wall Street, and he walks 
 the entire distance, up and down, each day. On re- 
 turning home from the business of the day, he takes a 
 bath and a nap ; that is all the recreation he needs. 
 Others want a drive in the Park. Merchants must un- 
 bend at Saratoga or Long Branch — take a tour to the 
 White Mountains, or to the Alps. Mr. Taylor finds 
 his rest on his couch for an hour, and his recreation in 
 his business. On entering his library, after his little 
 rest, he proceeds to business. His book-keeper and 
 assistants are merely his clerks. The original books 
 are kept at his house, and are written up by his own 
 hand every day. Those at the office are only copies. 
 He does not ask his clerk, cashier, or salesman, to state 
 his business. The books are in his own hands. Should 
 his down-town books be burned it would not interfere 
 with his business, for he writes his own letters, as well 
 as makes his own entries. He is president of one of 
 the largest and most successful banks in the city ; his 
 shipping house is one of the heaviest; he owns an en- 
 tire railroad; is almost the sole owner of one of the 
 heaviest coal interests in the country ; and as manager, 
 president, director, or stockholder, he is identified with 
 untold institutions. As he keeps his own books he 
 must find employment for all his spare time. 
 
 When Mr. Taylor bought the Lackawana road it 
 was nearly worthless, owing to the heavy grades. He 
 adopted the plan of placing stationary engines at two 
 or three of the worst grades ; by these he could double 
 
MR WILLIAMS, OF THE METROPOLITAN BANK. 377 
 
 the freight carried over the road. To conceive the 
 idea was to carry it into practical operation. So suc- 
 cessful was the plan that his dividends one year from 
 that road were a million dollars. Mr. Taylor is not an 
 original man, but his mind is practical. When an idea 
 is suggested to him he seizes it in a moment and puts 
 it into practical dse. This trait has led him to fortune. 
 His investments in stocks are enormous, yet he trusts 
 nobody with his coupons. He cuts them with his own 
 hand, and presents them for payment. There is no 
 man in the State that is so absolutely master of his own 
 business as the president of the City Bank. He has 
 made this bank one of the great financial institutions 
 of the city. This bank did not come into the national 
 system when that was adopted, and has no circulation 
 of its own. No bank that refused to come in at the 
 time is able to do so now. Any bank that had a cir- 
 culation could dispose of it at a heavy percentage. 
 
 MR WILLIAMS, OF THE METROPOLITAN BANK. 
 
 Mr. Williams has the reputation on the street of being 
 a keen, shrewd, smart, Yankee. He is about fifty years 
 of age, and, in financial matters, he graduated in Bos- 
 ton. He came to the city for the purpose of taking 
 charge of the Metropolitan Bank, on its institution. 
 The peculiarity assigned to the bank brought it at 
 once prominently before the mercantile community, 
 and the skill with which it was managed gave it early 
 and marked success. The Metropolitan Bank was in- 
 stituted by the merchants of New York, and was 
 founded when each bank issued its own paper. Money 
 outside of the city had to be exchanged, and exchange 
 
378 MR. WILLIAMS, OF THE METROPOLITAN BANK. 
 
 brokers did a thriving business. To save themselves 
 from perplexity and loss, the merchants proposed a 
 bank that should do for uncurrent money what the 
 clearing house does for checks in the city. There was 
 a great deal of wild-cat money in the country, and the 
 merchants were often subject to heavy losses. Mr. 
 Williams was called from the Suffolk Bank, Boston, to 
 take charge of this new bank. All uncurrent money 
 was deposited in the bank, and sent home at once. 
 The system worked like a charm. It compelled the 
 country banks to keep their circulation low as the 
 return of their notes was daily, and this obliged them 
 to be constantly ready to redeem. A perfect system 
 was organized and sixty clerks employed to assort and 
 send home uncurrent money. This specialty set the 
 bank up. It became a leading institution, and has 
 always been successful and profitable. Leading mer- 
 chants were induced to deposit in the bank, in order 
 that their uncurrent money might be redeemed with- 
 out trouble or expense. The establishment of the 
 bank ruined the exchange brokers, and broke their 
 system up. Mr. Williams is a good debater, and in 
 the meeting of the associated banks, has the reputation 
 of carrying his points. He is a clear writer, has a very 
 positive manner; and, like a man who is always sure 
 that he is right, goes ahead. He is a self-made man, 
 and is another illustration of the fact that integrity, as 
 well as sharpness, is an indispensable element of suc- 
 cess in New York. 
 
MR LEVERICH, OF TUI-: BANK OF NEW YORK. 379 
 
 MR. PALMER, OF THE BROADWAY BANK. 
 
 This gentleman is at the head of a very successful 
 institution; but he is perhaps the least popular, per- 
 sonally, of any bank president in New York. lie had 
 a rough time in early life, and the gruff and surly man- 
 ner of his early years has never worn off. Whatever 
 he does tends to the benefit of the president of the 
 bank, or of the bank itself. The habits of a stable, and 
 the training of an owner of an omnibus line, dealing 
 with drivers and men who curry horses, do not 
 always fit a man for refined society, or make him an 
 agreeable person to do business with. Mr. Palmer is 
 reputed to be rigidly honest, and square in trade, 
 though hard. The city moneys are kept in his bank, 
 and though a million or two have been locked up, if 
 the street is to be believed, when the money market 
 was to be tightened, no one accuses Mr. Palmer of be- 
 ing in complicity with the movement. No one can 
 get money from the Broadway Bank unless his collat- 
 erals are good. No one well acquainted with the presi- 
 dent would apply, during business hours, for a sub- 
 scription to a benevolent cause. 
 
 MR. LEVERICH, OF THE BANK OF NEW YORK. 
 
 This gentleman is the head of this great bank — one 
 of the oldest in the city — one of the most successful — 
 a gentleman of probity, and fair business ability. The 
 moving spirit of the bank is Mr. Banker, son-in-law of 
 Commodore Vanderbilt. The Commodore keeps his 
 account in this bank, with other heavy capitalists, and 
 it is said that the Commodore does pretty much as he 
 
380 MR. COE, OF THE AMERICAN EXCHANGE BANK. 
 
 pleases inside, when he wants money. Mr. Bunker is 
 one of the most elegant men to do business with in 
 New York. He is affability personified. His words 
 are honeyed, and, to appearance, he is all things to all 
 men. But, notwithstanding this bland exterior he does 
 what he pleases in the bank, and runs it with great 
 ability and great success. The bank does a daily busi- 
 ness of ten millions. Its capital is great ; its dividends 
 are pleasant to receive. 
 
 MR. STEVENS, OF THE BANK OF COMMERCE. 
 
 The president of this mammoth institution is a very 
 old man, painfully connected with our courts in do- 
 mestic matters, and would long since have retired from 
 his business but for the ability with which the cashier, 
 Mr. Vail, manages the institution. Mr. Yail is really 
 a man of ability, but he puts on such airs, and is so 
 consequential, that he renders himself very disagreea- 
 ble to bankers that have anything to do with him. 
 The bank, with its large capital of ten millions, and 
 great trade, has always been sound and successful. 
 
 MR. COE, OF THE AMERICAN EXCHANGE BANK. 
 
 The fame of this bank was created by David Leavitt, 
 who, for many years, was at its head. He was a keen, 
 able, and successful financier; one of the boldest of 
 bankers, who, with all his daring, commanded the es- 
 teem and confidence of the street. He retired with a 
 fortune, and is recreating himself, in his old age, by 
 building a stable at the expense of a hundred and fifty 
 thousand dollars, and if he lives long enough, will 
 build a house to match. Mr. Leavitt ran the Exchange 
 
MR. KITCHEN, OF THE PARK BANK. 381 
 
 Bank when Jacob Barker was the lion of the street. 
 Mr. Coc is a very different sort of man. He is v«-ry 
 •-liable, but a great theorizer. He can argue his 
 point with great ability, but his schemes arc mostly 
 impracticable. He understands the science of bank- 
 ing — nothing more. 
 
 MR. KITCHEN, OF THE PARK BANK. 
 
 This bank is very ably managed, and is one of the 
 most reputable institutions in New York. It does its 
 business in the most costly building in the city. There 
 is no such banking-room in the world. The Roths- 
 childs would feel themselves verging towards insolv- 
 ency to have such quarters in which to transact their 
 gigantic business. The prosperity and fame of this 
 bank belong to another administration. When the 
 bank was chartered, Mr. Howes, now a broker on the 
 street, was its president; a keen, self-reliant, shrewd, 
 straight forward, far-seeing man. He brought the 
 bank up at a bound, and did it by a bold stroke, which 
 would have ruined him and the bank had it not been 
 successful. Gold reached 2.80. Mr. Howes was satis- 
 fied that it would go no further. Other bankers, whose 
 reputation for shrewdness, prudence, and good judg- 
 ment, was quite equal to his, believed gold would 
 touch three hundred, perhaps 3.50. Acting on his 
 own judgment, the president sold the gold belonging 
 to the bank, and that held by the officers. He had 
 an immense quantity of gold in the bank, left by de- 
 positors. He sold that and bought gold at the market 
 rates, as it was called for by the owners. From that 
 figure, 2.80, gold began to recede. The profits of the 
 
382 MR. BENEDICT, OF THE GOLD EXCHANGE BANK. 
 
 bank were enormous, and though Mr. Howes afterwards 
 retired from the presidency of the bank, the great 
 banking house on Broadway, built out of the shrewd- 
 ness of that operation, will stand as a monument of his 
 financial skill. Mr. Kitchen came into the bank from 
 mercantile life. He brought with him the repute of 
 integrity, prudence, and much good judgment. Under 
 his management the bank has continued its career of 
 success. 
 
 MR. KNAPP, OF THE MECHANICS' BANK. 
 
 There is no name on the street better known than 
 that of Shepherd Knapp. As a merchant in the Swamp 
 for many years, he was marked by sterling integrity 
 and success. He has been long identified with the 
 Mechanics' Bank, one of the soundest and safest in the 
 city. Mr. Knapp is a gentleman of the old school ; 
 honest, industrious, clear-headed, affable, and agreea- 
 ble in his manner. Men who are refused a favor at 
 the bank are sent away in a better frame of mind than 
 customers of some banks who are accommodated. The 
 bland, courteous, and affable manners, with gentlemanly 
 deportment, which marked the bankers of earlier days, 
 and which are preserved in Mr. Knapp, are giving 
 way to the bold, coarse, uncivil, but energetic style of 
 the present day. 
 
 MR. BENEDICT, OF THE GOLD EXCHANGE BANK. 
 
 This Bank is a clearing house for gold. It serves the 
 same purpose for the brokers that the clearing house 
 does for the banks. The forgeries of young Ketchum 
 led to the establishment of the Gold Exchange Bank as 
 
MR SOUTHWORTH, OF THE ATLANTIC BANK. 
 
 a protection to the brokers. Formerly, in the sale of 
 gold, the precious metal was carted from bank to bank. 
 and from office to office, or carried in hand by clerks 
 and messengers. Beside the danger and exposure 
 attending the removal of gold, the inconvenience and 
 expense were great. To remedy the evils, the Gold 
 Exchange Bank was created. Beside being a clear- 
 ing house for oold, it transacted the regular business 
 of a bank, receiving deposits, and making discounts. 
 The Black Friday demoralized this institution, and 
 would hare bankrupted it, if every moneyed institution 
 in the city had not been paralyzed. It was unable for 
 some time to discharge its regular functions. The 
 brokers insisted that the bank should give up its de- 
 partment of banking, and conduct business simply as 
 a clearing house for gold, receiving a percentage on 
 the clearances of the bank as a compensation for the 
 business done. Such it is at the present time. 
 
 MR. SOUTIIWORTH, OF THE ATLANTIC BAXK. 
 
 This gentleman has a fair standing as a business man. 
 Like many other banks, the Atlantic was created 
 under a specialty- The Manhattan, proposed water 
 works, the Chemical, manufactures, the Shoe and 
 Leather was created by the Swamp. The Mechanics 1 
 was for artisans. . Bull's Head was designed as a spe- 
 cial accommodation for dealers in cattle. The Grocers' 
 Bank, was for the tradesmen indicated by the name. 
 The Merchants' was started by the dry goods' men, 
 and the Corn Exchange, for operators in flour and 
 grain. In each case, the banks have failed to con- 
 trol the custom sought ; or, the parties who origi- 
 
384 MR, DICKINSON, OF THE TENTH NATIONAL BANK. 
 
 nated the banks, have been outbought and outvoted 
 by others. Unlike all others, the Atlantic Bank had 
 a religious origin, and so far has been managed by the 
 denomination that started it. Gentlemen, having a 
 common faith, and wishing to act together in business 
 as they acted in denominational relations, put their 
 capital together and started the Atlantic Bank. Mr. 
 South worth was called to the Presidency. Like most 
 of the financial men of New York, he has been the 
 architect of his own fortune. He began life poor and 
 threw himself on his own resources. He worked his 
 way up by integrity and industry. He earned by his 
 own talent and energy his fortune, and ranks well 
 among the financiers of New York. 
 
 MR. DICKINSON, OF THE TENTH NATIONAL BANK. 
 
 This gentleman, like so many of the wealthy men of 
 the street, had no capital to start life with, but health, 
 industry, perseverance and sterling honesty. Resolved 
 to set up for himself, he borrowed a capital of three 
 thousand dollars, and with that, laid the foundation of 
 his fortune. After a business career of thirty years, 
 he retired from active mercantile life with a large for- 
 tune. He joined a shipping house, which became 
 one of the most successful in the city. He passed 
 through the Golden Gate when it was first thrown open 
 to the trade of the world. He directed the shipping 
 affairs of his house, in San Francisco, in person, and 
 saw to the loading and unloading of his ships. He 
 made large investments in California, which have 
 proved immensely valuable. He joined in the Washoe 
 excitement and took advantage of that fine opening 
 
MR. DICKINSON, OF THE TENTH NA TIONAL BANK. 3 - •"> 
 
 at an early day. From 1S49, till he retired from the 
 shipping business, Mr. Dickinson visited California once 
 a year, to take charge, in person, of his business. One 
 of his investments yields him a dividend yearly of 
 thirty thousand, gold — more than he paid for the whole ± 
 property. His rules of business were to do promptly, 
 exactly, and honorably, all he undertook. From the 
 start, he has been at the head of every thing with 
 which he has been connected. He made himself 
 acquainted intelligently with whatever he proposed to 
 do. Finding out first what was to be done, how it 
 was to be done, and then pushing it. illustrating a law 
 in trade, that intelligent brain leads all others. As a 
 merchant, he was the head of his house, and was admit- 
 ted to be the most energetic and successful in his line 
 of trade. He was elected one of the directors of a 
 railroad, and immediately put at the head. The stock- 
 holders of the Tenth National Bank made him a direc- 
 tor, and he was at once chosen by the directors as 
 president. He has been distinguished as a keen, careful 
 and prudent business man ; of good judgment, very 
 quick in his decisions, making up his mind readily and 
 very positive Avhen his mind was made up ; very persis- 
 tent in his plans, and sticking to a course he thought was 
 right through all phases ; true to his friends, and giving 
 his enemies no quarter. He has made the fortune of a 
 great many friends, to whom he has conveyed import- 
 ant information, or who have been guided by his judg- 
 ment. He trained his children to business, and to 
 encourage them, made investments in their name, and 
 carried these accounts as regularly as he would for a 
 stranger. When his children wanted funds, instead 
 of making them a present, he paid over the dividends 
 25 
 
386 MR. DICKINSON, OF THE TENTH NATIONAL BANK. 
 
 of the stocks standing in their names. Some of these 
 investments have proved very valuable. 
 
 I have given an account in another place of the run 
 on the Tenth National Bank during the panic of Sep- 
 tember. It is conceded on all hands, that but for the 
 wisdom, ability, and resources of Mr. Dickinson, then 
 president of the bank, that institution would have 
 gone under, and scarcely a bank in New York would 
 have escaped. The stock of the Tenth National Bank 
 was owned largely by the Shoe and Leather Bank. 
 The Street were notified that the Shoe and Leather 
 Bank had sold out to the Erie clique, as it was called, 
 and that Jay Gould, Smith, Martin & Co., and their 
 associates, would hereafter control the bank. When 
 the gold clique commenced their operations on the 
 street, it was presumed that they controlled the funds 
 of the bank, half of which they owned. The bank had 
 been very successful in securing the deposits of the 
 heaviest operators on the street. Reports were indus- 
 triously circulated that these men were largely in- 
 debted to the bank, and that all depositors were in 
 peril. Interested parties filled the street with the 
 wildest rumors and a run on the bank was the result. 
 The president had no idea of any trouble, when the 
 bank was opened in the morning. In an instant 
 the rush commenced and lasted till four o'clock in 
 the afternoon. Every check was paid, and an hour 
 after banking hours the president invited outsiders in 
 to get their money. Without the slightest warning, 
 or the slightest preparation, the bank paid seventy per 
 cent, of its entire indebtedness in one day and was 
 creditor the next morning at the clearing house, to a 
 large amount. Like most panics, this was baseless. 
 
MR SPROULE, OF THE MERCHANTS EXCHANGE. 3S7 
 
 The parties who bought the stock of the Shoe and 
 Leather Bank did not control the bank. The old 
 directors remained — remained to take charge of the 
 interests of others committed to them. During the 
 entire panic, the gold clique had no control over the 
 bank and did not owe the bank one dollar. The Tenth 
 National Bank is now owned by the officers of the 
 city government, known as the Ring, and it will be 
 controlled by the party. It will be a sort of city bank, 
 holding the funds of the corporation, and performing 
 its business, as well as being a general banking insti- 
 tution. 
 
 MR. SPROULE, OF THE MERCHANTS EXCHANGE. 
 
 Mr. Sproule, of the Merchants Exchange, is a very 
 careful, prudent man, not very familiar or affable, but 
 a good business man, with whom the affairs of the 
 bank would be safe. Mr. Duer, of the Bank of the 
 State of New York, is close, tight, and has the repu- 
 tation of being a hard man. Mr. Haight, of the Com- 
 monwealth Bank, would not object to locking up money 
 occasionally, when the market is tight. Mr. Blake, 
 of the Mercantile Bank, is a liberal, genial man, square 
 in his dealings, and one of the fiuest looking men in the 
 city. Mr. Oakley, of the Citizens Bank, is a genial 
 business man. The marked characteristic of Mr. John- 
 son of the Hanover Bank, is caution, though he evi- 
 dently runs his own concern. Mr. Calhoun, of the 
 Fourth National, is a huge man physically, prompt and 
 decided, a trained and successful merchant. 
 
XXXIV. 
 WALL STREET AT NIGHT. 
 
 Winding up the Business of the Day. — Silence of the Street. — Up 
 Town Stock Exchange. — Brokers in the Hotels. — Personale of the 
 Operators. 
 
 The Street proper, is quiet enough after sunset. All 
 contracts expire, and all payments must be made 
 before 21 in the afternoon. Three o'clock winds up 
 the business. Notes not paid go to protest. The iron 
 rule of expulsion falls with the iron hammer that beats 
 out the hour of three, on all who have not paid, or have 
 failed to deliver. A few minutes before three, Wall 
 Street hums with activity. Men hastening to de- 
 posit their checks. Long lines of men, stretching out 
 on the sidewalk in front of the banks, wait patiently 
 to save their houses or firms from dishonor. The 
 paying teller — patient soul — accommodates the crowd, 
 and gives laggards a chance. When the long line gets 
 inside, the doors of the banking house are closed and 
 outsiders are turned away. Hacks, cabs, and private 
 coaches fill the street. Solid men button up their coats 
 and start for a tramp up town. Snobs and shoddy 
 speculators take a coach. The Gold Room disgorges, 
 and the excited throng pour out from the Stock Ex- 
 change. Ferry boats, steam boats, steam cars and horse 
 
 (388) 
 
WALL STREET AT NIGHT. 3S9 
 
 cars, omnibuses and vans, receive the rushing throng 
 and carry them to their homes. Porters, messengers, 
 janitors at their work, and women cleaning and scour- 
 ing, hold possession of the deserted place. There are 
 no warehouses in the street, no shops, no stores, and 
 the bustle, din, and commotion which mark the street 
 during business hours, give place to sullen stillness, 
 which is painful. Pompei is not more silent than Wall 
 Street after dark. 
 
 But the operators are not silent. If they have had 
 a good day, flushed with success, they dine at an up 
 town hotel. Common food is too tame for such spirits 
 and drinking is first in order. It is a very common 
 thing to see young men belonging to the street, call 
 for and finish a bottle of wine, before a mouthful of 
 food is tasted. This style of life tells on young men. 
 Men of thirty years of age are as old as their fathers 
 were at fifty. There is a style of business young men 
 peculiar to the street, They are prematurely old ; — 
 prematurely fat; — prematurely bald. Their faces are 
 flushed, they have an apoplectic look, and their whole 
 appearance is suggestive of high living and dissipa- 
 tion. In walking through the street, one is struck 
 with the great number of youngish men who limp, go 
 with canes and who have the incipient gout, and are 
 partially paralyzed, or whose " under pinnings " are im- 
 paired. Men cannot live in a perpetual whirl of 
 excitement night and day, and not burn their brains 
 up, if they have any. 
 
 At night, Wall Street is distributed, but busy. At 
 one time, a regular stock exchange was opened in 
 upper New York, to hold an evening session. The 
 
390 WALL STREET AT NIGHT. 
 
 business deranged the street so much, that leading 
 men withdrew from it, and it fell through. Business 
 is informally transacted every night, and the principal 
 up town hotels are used as exchanges. Business men 
 there make appointments with each other, close up a 
 day's transaction, or prepare for the morrow. Bulls 
 and Bears hold quiet sessions, and drink to the success 
 of the coming fight. Gold cliques and conspirators 
 get together, and lay their plans to put a fortune into 
 their own pockets, and spread ruin through the street. 
 Fifth Avenue Hotel is a favorite resort for Wall Street 
 at night. Moneyed men, heavy operators, daring 
 speculators, the leaders of cliques and parties on the 
 street, live in the vicinity of the hotel. They drop in 
 during the evening, apparently unconcerned, and as if 
 there by accident. They nod indifferently to acquaint- 
 ances, and seem unconcerned about business. Between 
 eight and ten, the leading men of Wall Street will be 
 seen at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Nine o'clock is high 
 change. All through the city, in prominent places, 
 the excitement of the Stock Market is kept up. The 
 night area of Wall Street is thirty miles, and specula- 
 tion rages in real estate, country seats, town lots, and 
 horses, as well as in stocks. A merry life, though it 
 be a short one, is the rule of the street. 
 
 It is interesting to visit Wall Street during business 
 hours. On the steps of the Treasury building, or on 
 the corner of Broad and Wall, a fine view of the rush- 
 ing, excited throng that fill the streets, can be had. 
 The up town hotels at night are quite as interesting. 
 You can touch and handle the famous Bulls and Bears ; 
 — that is Vanderbilt, a tall, lithe, clerical looking gen- 
 
WALL STREET AT NIGHT. 391 
 
 tleman, with nearly eighty winters upon him, yet erect 
 as a Mohawk warrior, and as lithe and subtle as 
 when he was thirty years old. All give place to the 
 great millionaire, and he walks through the open 
 pathway, to the little room where his friends are gath- 
 ered. August Belmont walks in. A short, thick-set, 
 dark looking man, dressed in English style. He would 
 give fifty thousand dollars if he did not limp.. The 
 centre of that group is Richard Shell, familiarly known 
 on the street as Dick Shell. He is a short, thick-set 
 man, stoutly built, with heavy, stolid features, indica- 
 tive of dogged resolution. He throws his head back 
 as he walks, and has a quick, energetic pace, as if he 
 had to make his account good at the bank, and was a 
 little late. Fisk drops in, a large specimen of the Fat 
 Boy of Dickens — short and chunky, with a face easily 
 caricatured — with sandy hair, parted in the middle and 
 curled. He flashes all over with jewelry, and walks 
 with the air of a man who controls Erie. He is too 
 new in New York, and there are too many wounded 
 men suffering from his gigantic operations in Septem- 
 ber to make him popular in the street. The gentle- 
 man who passes, is a character; about fifty, though 
 he looks ten years younger. His curly auburn hair 
 looks as if it had just left the hands of a fashionable 
 barber. He dresses in the latest style, and his glasses 
 give him the look of professional respectability. He 
 comes in at the door on double quick, peers to the right, 
 peers to the left, and throws a searching, anxious look 
 at all the groups, as if fearful that the object of his 
 search may escape him. Now at the register, then 
 hurrying into the reading room, dodging into the smok- 
 
392 WALL STREET AT NIGHT. 
 
 ing room, rushing to and fro, he is restless ever. That 
 is a well known Doctor of Divinity, — a great lover of 
 a horse — a keen driver — a successful operator on the 
 street — living in fine style up town on the results of his 
 sharpness and shrewdness in stocks. In the hotel at 
 night may be found prominent lawyers and judges, 
 dry goods men, and men of mark'. The clergy are 
 fairly represented, with other professions. One of the 
 number is especially marked. He has had for many 
 years one of the most fashionable and crowded con- 
 gregations. He comes in among the night operators 
 without disguise. He dresses in ultra clerical costume. 
 He seldom speaks to any one, drifts round about the 
 crowd quietly, apparently having no interest in the 
 movements of the sharp men of the city. He has the 
 reputation of being a very successful operator, and of 
 being rich. In and out, coming and going till ten 
 o'clock, the principal operators of the street will be 
 seen at some one of the prominent up town hotels. 
 Unless in times of great excitement the company begins 
 to separate at ten, and in half an hour the regular 
 guests of the hotel hold session. 
 
 There are grave reasons why the heavy operators 
 crowd the Fifth Avenue Hotel at night. Most of these 
 gentlemen leave the street at 4 o'clock. They go to 
 their recreation in Harlem Lane, if they have trotters ; 
 in the Park, if they ride in dignity and elegance. The 
 operations on the street do not stop with their depart- 
 ure. Operators remain, sharp men, needy men, men 
 often desperate. Everything closes at six. Between 
 four and six, the second rate operators have every 
 thing to themselves. Sometimes they succeed in mark- 
 
WALL STREET AT NIGHT. 393 
 
 ing stock up five, ten, or fifteen per cent., after the 
 heavy market is supposed to have closed. The last 
 quotations are sent up to the Fifth Avenue Hotel. A 
 little bit of paper, three inches by ten, pasted up in the 
 vestibule, is the centre of great interest. Brokers come 
 in from a ride, take their dinner, and then drift down 
 to the hotel. When they left the street, they left 
 millions at stake. The last quotations may benefit 
 or damage them to the amount of hundreds of thou- 
 sands of dollars. The broad office of the hotel was, at 
 one time, a Stock Exchange. The annoyance to the 
 hotel keepers was so great that the practice was for- 
 bidden. 
 
XXXV. 
 WALL STREET AT DORLAN'S. 
 
 CEOWD IN THE LITTLE DEN. — APPEARANCE OF DORLAN. — RULES OF TRADE. 
 — HIGH CHANGE. — WHY DORLAN DOES NOT ENLARGE. — WHY HE DOES 
 NOT RETIRE. — THE OYSTER TRADE. — DORLAN WITH THE JEWS. 
 
 In the old tumble-down rookery, known as Fulton 
 Market, the successful men of Wall Street can be found, 
 as well as in Fifth Avenue. The well-to-do specula- 
 tors affect style. They live in a particular locality ; 
 demand a special quartette choir for their devotions ; 
 employ doctors who live with the upper ten; have 
 their special grocery men and traders ; buy their dry 
 goods in aristocratic stores, and patronize a special 
 kind of amusements. Wall Street and the aristocracy 
 eat their oysters at Dorian's. It is a room, cramped, 
 cribbed, and confined. At best, it is a little den of a 
 place, fitted up in the plainest style — mere stools with- 
 out cushions, tables without cloths, and stone ware in- 
 stead of porcelain. Amidst hucksters, venders of pea- 
 nuts, oranges, and vegetables, Dorian's establishment 
 stands at Fulton Market, and has stood so for thirty 
 years. The entrance to it is through a long, narrow 
 lane, not wide enough to allow two persons to pass 
 abreast. Here can be found, daily, from 11 o'clock 
 till 4, the richest, and the most gorgeously dressed 
 
 (394) 
 
PERSONAL. 396 
 
 people of New York. Grace Church in the season, 
 the opera on a patronage night, Broadway on a gush- 
 ing spring morning — cannot boast of a more fashiona- 
 ble or elegantly attired company, than crowds the lit- 
 tle room of Dorian from day to day. Dainty ladies, 
 who tread on velvet carpets at home, stand in a line, 
 and wait for some customer to vacate his scat, glad to 
 put their feet on the sanded floor, and sit on the hard 
 benches. Gentlemen, who drive their magnificent 
 teams, live in palaces in upper New York, who eat oil' 
 of the finest china, and are waited on by servants in 
 full dress, take their chances with the rougher speci- 
 mens of humanity, in this plain oyster house. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Sidney Dorian is worth looking at. Shrewd, 
 sharp, wiry, fragile in build, he seems the personifica- 
 tion of a keen, successful Yankee. He early followed 
 the sea, and bears the marks of a sailor. In dress and 
 appearance he resembles a captain on shore after a 
 successful voyage. He was born in Hempstead, Long 
 Island, and was trained to the sea. From a sculling 
 boat he moved up to the command of a square-rigged 
 ship. His father was in the oyster business. He planted 
 his own beds, and did the little business in Fulton 
 Market done in oysters, in his day. He made frequent 
 trips to Virginia to obtain the seed of the Princess Bay 
 oyster, the celebrated brand of that time. On the 
 death of his father, Sidney took the business, and on 
 the same spot, during the life-time of a generation, he 
 has conducted the trade, and made his name famous 
 in all parts of the world. He brought to his business 
 
396 A HIGH CHANGE AT DORIAN'S. 
 
 a capital of one hundred dollars, and with that laid 
 the foundation of his wealth. The retail business, for 
 the first year, was not a success. He gave his per- 
 sonal attention to his establishment, worked from six 
 o'clock in the morning till twelve at night, and at the 
 close of the year found he had not made one dollar. 
 He felt sure of success, however, and resolved to hold 
 on. He adopted a few simple rules, from which he 
 has never departed. He would sell nothing but first- 
 rate articles, and make a specialty of what is known 
 as select oysters. He gave personal attention to his 
 business, delegating nothing, requiring all his help to 
 be at their posts at an exact moment, or furnish sub- 
 stitutes. He inculcated general courtesy, and special 
 attention to all customers. Plain and unadorned as 
 his rooms are, they are kept scrupulously clean. His 
 oysters are selected with special care, his lard is press- 
 ed, his pepper, mustard, and coffee ground daily for 
 his use, and his oils are imported. He never borrowed 
 a dollar, never endorsed a note, and never bought 
 what he could not pay for. 
 
 A HIGH CHANGE AT DORLAn's. 
 
 In the little narrow room, during the business hours 
 of the day, can be seen the most eminent men and 
 women of New York. The very elite of the city and 
 country are there. Wall Street sends up its quota ; the 
 leading and successful merchants are represented; gov- 
 ernors, ex-governors, ex-presidents, congressmen, and 
 politicians, sit side by side; Union officers and rebel 
 soldiers have a mess together; leading writers, clergy- 
 men, pugilists, noted vagabonds, and notorious men 
 
WHY DORLAN DOES NOT RETIRE. 397 
 
 of all grades, drift into Dorian's. From actual count 
 fifteen hundred in a day have sat on those low stools, 
 and four hundred ladies, among the most fashionable 
 in New York, have occupied the saloon from twelve 
 till six o'clock. 
 
 WHY DORLAN DOES NOT ENLARGE. 
 
 I asked Mr. Dorian why he did not enlarge his place. 
 His answer was, that his business was a success, be- 
 cause he attended to it personally. He not only pre- 
 sides over the money matters, but he superintends 
 every department. He has practical men in his es- 
 tablishment. Some have been with him a dozen years, 
 bnt even these he cannot trust. The establishment, as 
 it stands, he can superintend, and he prefers rather to 
 give his guests substantial and palatable food, than to 
 cover his tables with plates and ornaments. He com- 
 mands trade, because no one can go elsewhere and do 
 better. He has all the business that he can attend to 
 now ; he could have no more if his place were larger. 
 
 WHY DORLAN DOES NOT RETIRE. 
 
 Mr. Dorian is a very wealthy man. He could have 
 retired with a fortune long ago, yet he toils on as in- 
 tensely as if he worked for his daily bread. His es- 
 tablishment opens at 4 o'clock in the morning, and 
 closes at 12 o'clock at night, and he keeps two sets of 
 hands. He is not always at the establishment at 4 in 
 the morning, and does not always remain till 12 at 
 night, but his assistants never know when he will turn 
 up. He buys and sells for himself, and is his own cash- 
 ier and book-keeper. With his coat off, and sleeves 
 
398 THE OYSTER TRADE. 
 
 rolled up, he stands at his desk where he can see the 
 face of every customer, and overlook every servant. 
 I asked him one day why he did not retire from busi- 
 ness. "I would not," he said, "go out of business for 
 the fortune of Astor. I should die if I were idle. I 
 am master of my business, and I intend to follow it 
 while I live." Mr. Dorian is not afraid to let men see 
 him at work. He has seen great changes since he 
 opened his little stand. The sons of wealthy men are 
 glad to open oysters for a living, who were brought 
 up to ride in carriages. Men are doing menial work 
 about the market who once held their heads up high 
 on 'Change, former millionaires, who have not money 
 enough to buy a Saddle Rock roast, come in and eat 
 a few oysters. 
 
 THE OYSTER TRADE. 
 
 The name of Dorian is famous in all parts of the 
 world ; — China, The Islands of the Sea, Hindostan, Lon- 
 don, aDd Paris. His trade is with San Francisco, the 
 South, the West, and all Europe. Even Boston pur- 
 chases her fancy oysters at Dorian's. Twenty years 
 ago the trade in oysters was very small, and was then 
 confined to a certain class. Restaurants and saloons, 
 of any size, were unknown. The annual expenditure 
 in New York for oysters, now, is fifteen millions. The 
 estimated trade in the United States is one hundred 
 millions of dollars. The oyster is planted. It takes 
 two years to come to maturity. The oyster-beds yield 
 a supply as certainly as the farm of the produce mer- 
 chant. The seed from which the oyster grows is raked 
 from the bottom of bays and rivers, and is found in 
 
D0RLA2TAND THE JEWS. 309 
 
 all parts of the world. The seed is obtained by dredg- 
 ing. The seed is a small oyster, about the size of a 
 thumb-nail. A basket will contain from twenty-five 
 hundred to five thousand. These can be planted in 
 any small bay or harbor, and the planting is simply 
 throwing overboard. The increase is so great that in 
 two years this one basket of seed will produce a hund- 
 red baskets of full grown oysters, ready for market. 
 Contracts can be made for oysters, as they can be for 
 fruits, vegetables, or grain. The fancy names given 
 to oysters describe not a class but the larger and fairer 
 fruit that is brought to market. 
 
 DORLAN AND THE JEWS. 
 
 A distinguished banker, of the Jewish persuasion, 
 met a Wall Street operator at Dorian's. The Christian 
 merchant expressed some surprise that a devout Israel- 
 ite should be found in an oyster saloon, as the law of 
 Moses prohibited oysters as food. The Hebrew banker 
 replied : "Intelligent Jews make a distinction between 
 what is sanitary in the law of Moses and what is moral. 
 The moral law is binding on us and our children for- 
 ever, but the sanitary code, like all municipal statutes, 
 changes with circumstances. Moses forbade the use 
 of pork as food. The pork of Palestine is unwholsome, 
 and breeds leprosy. It was a wise provision to pro- 
 hibit its use among the people of Palestine, but the 
 same objection does not lie against the juicy Cincin- 
 nati ham. The oysters of Syria were coppery and 
 poisonous, they were therefore forbidden to the peo- 
 ple. But had Moses eaten one of Dorian's famous Sad- 
 dle Rock stews, he would have incorporated the oyster 
 among the articles of food commanded to be eaten." . 
 
XXXVI. 
 LEADING BANKING HOUSES. 
 
 J. H. W. Selegman & Co. — Clark, Dodge & Co. — Fisk & Hatch. — 
 Groesbeck & Co. — Howes & Macy. — Lockwood & Co. — Morton, 
 Bliss & Co. — Trevor & Colgate. — Robinson, Cox & Co. — Henry 
 Clewes & Co. — Osgood Brother. — Dr. Shelton. — Hall Garten 
 & Co. — Eugene Kelley & Co. — Lees & Wallace. — Dabney, Mor. 
 gan & Co. — Henry A. Heiser's Sons. — Marvin Brothers. — Joseph 
 Mills. — Vermilye & Co. — Closson & Hayes. 
 
 Failure, reverses, and loss of money, seem to be the 
 law of Wall street — venture and hazard the practice. 
 But there are no mercantile houses as old, or as well 
 established as many of the banking houses on the 
 street. There is no business safer, none more profit- 
 able, than dealing in stocks, if men are content to 
 bring to it industry and integrity, and have tact, per- 
 severance, and endurance to keep in the safe channel. 
 The heaviest houses on the street are the oldest. In 
 some instances, the business unimpaired has gone down 
 to the third generation. Where banking houses which 
 do the heaviest business and are the most successful 
 are new as such, the members have laid the foundation 
 for a successful business in the confidence inspired by 
 their integrity in other marts of trade. To be a suc- 
 cessful stock broker, a man must stand at the head 
 of his class. He must have wealth, tried integrity, tact, 
 
 (400) 
 
I.EAblSG BANKING HOUSES 
 
 vigilance, and sharp attention to business. Men who 
 buy letters of credit, or send funds abroad, must have 
 confidence in the house to which they pay their money. 
 Capitalists who deposit large sums of money with bro- 
 kers, do not trust every adventurer that turns up on 
 the street. A trickster, a man who is kiting to keep up 
 his credit, whose word is shaken, or whose morals are 
 questionable, cannot be a successful broker on Wall 
 street. A well established banking house is a fortune, 
 as well as a great capital, to bequeath to one's 
 children. 
 
 Some houses on the street are thirty, forty, and fifty 
 years old. One generation passeth away and another 
 cometh. The name of an honorable and successful 
 house is borne by the sons. Men who have passed 
 through half a century of business without a stain, 
 and have secured an ample fortune, bring their fami- 
 lies to the front. The old name in some form is re- 
 tained. The fathers put in capital and hold positions 
 as special partners, to keep the boys steady, and to 
 give them the confidence of the street. 
 
 Active successful business men seldom retire from 
 "Wall street. The few that have tried i£ who have 
 gone out for rest, recreation, or to enjoy themselves, 
 tire of country seats, boating, travel, and elegant leis- 
 ure, and welcome back the excitement and exhilara- 
 tion of business. It is not the infatuation of the street, 
 or the mania for trade, that influences them. It is not 
 money that gives life its cheer, but something to 
 do; active, cheerful, regular, honorable employment. 
 Yanderbilt and Drew would rust and die, if they did 
 not keep their muscles limber and their minds in full 
 26 
 
402 LEADING BANKING HOUSES. 
 
 play by business. Not long since a very wealthy 
 banker took leave of the street. He proposed to 
 travel awhile, and then sit down in his elegant coun- 
 try seat, and with his library and friends pass the 
 evening of his days. He soon appeared in his ac- 
 customed haunts, and was found at his accustomed 
 desk. He said, "I should have died in the country. 
 The novelty of my gardens, equipage, lawns and 
 rides, soon wore off I found I was a nonentity. 
 When I was in business, I was of some consequence. 
 Persons consulted me. My judgment was worth some- 
 thing, and my opinions were respected. As soon as I 
 left business I was pronounced an old fogy — nobody 
 cared for me — nobody talked to me, but said ' oh ! he 
 is counted out, he does not amount to anything, let 
 him slide.' Here, I have cheerful, active, congenial 
 business. I associate with men who have been my 
 companions during my business life. I can work when 
 I please, and go home when I wish. I am in the cen- 
 tre of trade, get the earliest news, and know that the 
 world moves. I will remain at my desk till I am car- 
 ried to that narrow house appointed for all living." 
 
 One of the oldest, heaviest, and most successful 
 houses changed its firm on the 1st of May, — the 
 founder and head of the house retiring. He had not 
 been out of business a week before he came back to 
 his office, looked sadly around, having no voice or part 
 in a place where for many years he had ruled as king. 
 He said, in confidence, u I don't think I shall like this 
 new arrangement. You will see in the notice of the 
 change of our firm, that it is not stated that I go out. 
 I do not think I shall. I never was as miserable, or as 
 
LEADING BANKING HOUSE'S. 403 
 
 useless in my life. I will spend the summer in travel, 
 bul id the autumn you will see me back in my old 
 place." One of the most successful merchants of Bos- 
 ton, having amassed princely wealth, kept as diligently 
 at his business as when he was laying the foundations 
 of his success. Some one asked him if he had not 
 money enough. He said he had. " Then why do you 
 not retire and take your ease ?" " Because I should 
 not live six months if I were out of business," was 
 the reply. Dr. Mc Knight, the Commentator, was 
 thirty years at work on his Epistles. His employment 
 was genial, regular, and his spirits cheerful. When 
 he closed the work he was hale, hearty, and in the en- 
 joyment of a green old age. His friends advised him 
 to do the same thing for the Gospels that he had done 
 for the Epistles. He declined to do so, claiming that 
 having worked thirty years, he was entitled to repose 
 the balance of his life. His faculties began immedi- 
 ately to decline, and he died a driveling idiot, The 
 philosophy of this arrangement is well understood on 
 the street, and successful bankers prefer the active 
 duties of their profession, to an indolent, worthless 
 decline. In this paper on the leading banking houses, 
 it will be observed that the heaviest houses and the 
 most successful, are the oldest; that there is no line 
 of business in New York as safe and reliable as the 
 regular business of the street ; that a house has seldom 
 failed during the last half century, which has strictly 
 confined itself to its legitimate business; and that 
 there is probably not an instance, in which a house has 
 joined speculation in stocks with buying and selling, 
 that has not failed. 
 
404 J. & W. SE LEGMAN fr CO. 
 
 J. & W. SELEGMAN & CO. 
 
 This is one of the largest houses on the street. The 
 firm have houses in New York, San Francisco, New 
 Orleans, London, Paris, and Frankfort. The firm is 
 composed of eight brothers — each of whom presides 
 over a particular house. The senior member of the 
 firm began life, as most eminent men in the street 
 began it, in an humble way, and is a self-made man. 
 He was in mercantile life for many years, and then laid 
 the foundation of his fortune. Six years ago he gath- 
 ered his brothers together, and founded the house now 
 so well known as the house of Selegman & Co. Dis- 
 tinguished for integrity, industry, and perseverance, 
 the business of the house increased till it became es- 
 tablished in all the great centres of trade in the world. 
 Its great business has been in foreign exchange ; 
 but the house are heavy dealers in government stocks. 
 Affable, courteous, and polite, the members of this firm 
 are among the most popular on the street. With great 
 judgment and prudence they mingled far-sightedness, 
 and have an intimate knowledge of the markets of the 
 world. The house has been very popular with the gov. 
 ernment. On the breaking out of the war Mr. Joseph 
 Selegman visited Europe, and did more, probably, 
 than any man, in inspiring the confidence of capital- 
 ists in the ability of the government to meet its liabil- 
 ities. The Germans made large investments in gov- 
 ernment securities at an early period of the war. They 
 were induced to do this through the agency of Mr. 
 Selegman. His countrymen had great confidence in 
 his integrity, good judgment, and far-sightedness, and 
 
IRK, DQVQE f CO., ETC. .}(».") 
 
 the result lias justified the confidence they reposed in 
 their banking friend. In social life he is as popular as 
 he is in business. The head of the house in New York 
 is a social prince, and distributes to his friends an ele- 
 gant and generous hospitality. 
 
 CLARK, DODGE & CO. 
 
 This is one of the oldest banking houses in Wall 
 street. It is second to none in the country for its 
 heavy operations, its integrity, and success. Its speci- 
 alty has been in negotiating railroad bonds and other 
 securities. 
 
 FISK & HATCH. 
 
 This is a young house, but one of the most honora- 
 ble and successful in the street. It is very enterpris- 
 ing, and has built up a very large and first class 
 business in a few years. It has an immense trade in 
 government bonds, which is made a specialty. The 
 firm is smart, reliable, genial, and affable, and ranks 
 among the first houses in the city. Mr. Hatch is a 
 philanthropist as well as a banker. His contributions 
 to mission work among the lowly, are very large. 
 Every Sunday he can be seen in the desolate, neg- 
 lected, and forlorn portions of New York, encouraging 
 by his presence those who are engaged in rescuing the 
 children of want and sorrow. 
 
 GROESBECK & CO. 
 
 This is a very old house. It is one of the largest 
 stock houses on the street. It has this celebrity, that 
 Daniel Drew set it up, and was for many years the 
 
406 HOWES fr MACY.—LOCKWOOD fr CO. 
 
 leading member. Mr. Drew, though no longer an ac- 
 tive partner in the house, transacts its heaviest business 
 through this firm. Mr. Groesbeck, so long the hon- 
 ored head, has just retired from the principal manage- 
 ment of the house. 
 
 HOWES & MACY. 
 
 This is one of the best known banking houses in 
 Wall street. It may be called a live house. Mr. 
 Howes, the principal partner, is a smart, shrewd, ener- 
 getic, bold man, though -possessing a very quiet and 
 placid demeanor. He was in the wholesale shoe trade, 
 and when the Park Bank was started he became its 
 president, and raised it to its present high renown. It 
 is said he demanded of the bank a salary of twenty 
 thousand dollars for his services. It was thought to 
 be too much, and Mr. Howes resigned. He went im- 
 mediately into the street and opened a banking house 
 in the rooms occupied by the old United States Bank, 
 and afterwards by the United States Treasury. His 
 House took rank as first class at the start, and probably 
 during no year of its existence has Mr. Howes' income 
 been less than fifty thousand dollars. 
 
 L0CKW00D & CO. 
 
 For many years this was one of the most celebrated 
 houses in New York. Its beginning, with the firm of 
 Jenner & Lockwood, was very small. The firm were 
 stock brokers, and as such were very successful. Af- 
 ter doing business ten years, Mr. Jenner left the house 
 with a fortune. The firm then became Lockwood & 
 Co., and took the lead in the street. The operations 
 
MORTON, BLISS & CO.— TREVOR $• COLGATE. 407 
 
 of the house were immense. It was reputed to be 
 the wealthiest banking house in New York. Mr. Lock- 
 woocVs fortune alone was set down at not less than five 
 millions. Speculation in stocks was joined to regular 
 stock business. They were the heaviest of the class. 
 The inevitable fate of all such operations overtook the 
 house, and in the panic of September, 1869, Lock- 
 wood & Co. suspended payment. The liabilities of 
 the house were stupendous, but its honor was not im- 
 paired, and the confidence of the street was retained 
 amidst the general disaster. 
 
 MORTON, BLIS8 & CO. 
 
 Mr. Bliss was in the dry goods trade. He was very 
 successful, and having obtained money he came on the 
 street and opened his house. His specialty is foreign 
 exchange, in which he does a very heavy business. 
 He deals largely in railroad securities, and the house 
 is safe, honorable, and successful. 
 
 TREVOR & COLGATE. 
 
 This is a specie house. It was the successor of Bee- 
 be & Co., one of the oldest houses in the city. For 
 many years it was the only all bullion house in New 
 York. Conducting the business in the same style of 
 their predecessors, Trevor & Colgate added to the gold 
 trade the selling of all kinds of stock. The house has 
 the reputation of being one of the boldest and most 
 daring in its operations. At the same time it has the 
 reputation of being prudent and safe. The house is 
 keen, sharp, and far-sighted. Having made an im- 
 mense fortune in successful trade, Trevor & Colgate 
 
408 MORRISON, COXSr CO.— HENRY CLEWES $> CO. 
 
 are among the most liberal men in New York. Their 
 donations are truly princely. The superb church at 
 Yonkers, built by Mr. Trevor as a memorial of his wife, 
 and costing two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, 
 which was donated to the society of which Mrs. Trevor 
 was a member; the costly and elegant theological 
 building at Rochester ; the liberal donations to Madison 
 University, of which Mr. Colgate is a trustee, indicate 
 but very feebly the extent of the gifts of this liberal 
 house. The firm in benevolence go together. Who- 
 ever gets ten thousand from Mr. Trevor, gets ten 
 thousand from Mr. Colgate. 
 
 ROBINSON, COX & CO. 
 
 This was the old house of Drew & Robinson. It 
 has been for years one of the heaviest houses in New 
 York. It has been marked as careful, shrewd, and 
 reliable. It is a stock house, and has always held, and 
 deservedly, the respect of the street. 
 
 HENRY CLEWES & CO. 
 
 Mr. Clewes began business in this city as a dry 
 goods merchant. He was connected with the house 
 of Wilson G. Hunt & Co. Active, shrewd, and ener- 
 getic, he came on the street, and has made his mark* 
 among the ablest operators of the day. He is a small 
 man, dark complexioned, about forty years of age, 
 keen, energetic, and resistless. Mr. Clewes is an Eng- 
 lishman, has made banking his study, and has written 
 some very able articles on the subject. He is a bold 
 operator, but is regarded as safe. He has excellent 
 judgment, puts his banking knowledge to a good 
 
OSGOOD .j- BROTHER, ETC. 409 
 
 account, and shows by his success that an intelligent 
 brain is a good capital. 
 
 OSGOOD & BROTHER. 
 
 Mr. Osgood could hardly fail to do a successful busi- 
 ness. He is the favorite son-in-law of Commodore 
 Vanderbilt, and a principal operator in the Vanderbilt 
 stocks. He came to New York fifteen years ago, from 
 Baltimore, and set up the banking house of which he 
 is the head, ten years ago. He has made a princely 
 fortune, always having the inside of movements in the 
 Vanderbilt stocks. He transacts business for the great 
 company known as the Vanderbilt Clique. He is 
 sharp and shrewd in his business, a keen sportsman, 
 values a fine horse, and is one of the best yachtmen in 
 America. He is genial, liberal, and companionable, 
 and entertains his friends like a prince. 
 
 DR. SHELTON. 
 
 Dr. Shelton is a heavy operator. He is a well 
 known character, and is a chronic Bear. He is smart, 
 shrewd, and acts for himself. He is always on the 
 Bear side. He has great means, his purchases are 
 large, and following the chances of success in one di- 
 rection steadily and persistently, he has rolled up a 
 large fortune. He is nearly sixty years of age, but 
 follows the street as keenly as when he was a young 
 man. He is self-reliant, and trades on his own judg- 
 ment. 
 
 HALL, GARTEN & CO. 
 
 The specialty of this house is negotiating commer- 
 cial paper. In this department it has amassed great 
 
410 EUGENE KELLY fr CO. -LEES fr WALLACE. 
 
 wealth. Mr. Garten has the reputation of being a 
 high minded, clear headed, shrewd, and successful 
 operator. 
 
 EUGENE KELLY & CO. 
 
 Mr. Kelly commenced business in California in the 
 dry goods trade. He came to New York and opened 
 the house which after some changes in the name be- 
 came the well known firm of Eugene Kelly & Co. 
 The house on the Pacific coast is known as that of 
 Donahue & Co. Mr. Kelly is very popular on the 
 street, and his house has great repute for sterling in- 
 tegrity. 
 
 LEES & WALLACE. 
 
 This house is celebrated as representing the Bank 
 of California, at San Francisco, the great moneyed 
 power of the Pacific coast. The bank has five millions 
 capital in gold. Of this bank Mr. Mills is President, 
 and Mr. Rolston, Cashier. This house is very popular 
 with all who have transactions with California, and 
 with Californians who have any business in New York. 
 Mr. Rolston, tiie cashier of the Bank of California, is 
 well calculated to make himself popular with New 
 Yorkers who visit the Pacific coast. He has built a 
 country seat consisting of eighty rooms, furnished after 
 the similitude of a palace. Here he entertains all who 
 visit the bank from abroad on business, and entertains 
 like a prince. His guests have reached as high as 
 forty in a single night. His house and all that is in it, 
 except himself, are placed at the disposal of his guests, 
 who can if they will, sit up all night, enjoying the fine 
 
DABNEY, MORGAN <j- CO.— II. A. REISER'S SOXS. 411 
 
 fare and good cheer. At ten o'clock he comes into 
 the room, bids his guests good night, and retires. At 
 six o'clock he rises, goes to his business, and leaves 
 his friends to disperse when they get ready. 
 
 DABNEY, MORGAN & CO. 
 
 This is a house of high repute. Mr. Dabney came 
 to New York from Rhode Island. He was a member 
 of the house of Duncan, Sherman & Co., which he left 
 to form the present banking house. This house are 
 agents for the celebrated banking house of London — 
 Morgan & Co. It is also agent of one of the banks of 
 San Francisco. The firm have a house in Melbourne. 
 The success of the house in San Francisco is due to 
 Mr. Latham, United States Senator from California, 
 who is pronounced one of the ablest bankers in the 
 States. This house deals largely in railroad securities. 
 In London it has been very popular with railroad men 
 and railroad contractors. It has been able to control 
 an immense trade. 
 
 HENRY A. HEISER'S SONS. 
 
 Mr. Heiser began business in dry goods. lie was 
 in the well known firm of Charles Heiser and Co. 
 After many years of business, reverses came, and the 
 house failed. Mr. Heiser came to the street as a dealer 
 in commercial paper, government stocks, and gold. 
 He was very successful, realized a fortune, and placed 
 his house among the most honorable in Wall street. 
 It ranks to-day among the oldest and most reliable 
 stock houses in the city. 
 
412 MARTIN BROTHERS, ETQ. 
 
 MARTIN BROTHERS. 
 
 This house is an illustration of an old firm re-appear- 
 ing under a new name. The old and reliable house 
 of C. H. Martin & Co., gave over its business to Martin 
 Brothers, C. H. Martin being special partner. The 
 capital of the house is very large, and it maintains its 
 established repute for caution and success. 
 
 JOSEPH MILLS. 
 
 Mr. Mills began life in a small way. As a shipping 
 merchant he early secured a successful California trade. 
 He went into the stock business as a Bear. Believing 
 that to be the successful side, he has adhered to it 
 through all chances and changes, and has made a great 
 deal of money. He is always expecting disaster, pre- 
 dicting a panic, and watching for the fall in prices. He 
 is nearly sixty years of age, but as keen, sharp, shrewd, 
 and active as when he was thirty. To see his bland, 
 open, cheerful face, one would suppose that he always 
 operated on the bright side of things. No one would 
 imagine that a man with so cheerful a countenance 
 could carry in his mouth a chapter of the Book of 
 Lamentations. 
 
 VERMILYE & BROTHER. 
 
 This is a very old and a very successful house. It 
 is one of the best types of old banking New York that 
 can be found. On the street it is regarded as a con- 
 servative house — this is its peculiarity. Nothing rash, 
 nothing novel, nothing untried, finds favor here. Slow 
 and sure, is the motto that governs ; careful and pru- 
 
CLOSSON fr II A YES. 413 
 
 dent, the repute. Content to earn the wealth it lias 
 sought, this house has rolled up a princely fortune, 
 and has attained the highest rank among capitalists. 
 
 CLOSSOX & HAYES. 
 
 This house ranks very high. It is distinguished for 
 having as members the sons of the renowned detective, 
 Jacob Hayes. The sons are millionaires, and among 
 the most talented business men on the street. That 
 terror to evil doers — " Old Hayes," as he was called — 
 who seemed to have an instinct at detecting and 
 catching rogues, was a devout presbyterian, and a 
 constant attendant and officer in the Scotch Presbyte- 
 rian Church of which Dr. McElroy has been for so 
 many years pastor. The sound and wholesome train- 
 ing he gave his boys tells well in the rank they have 
 assumed among the eminent and successful business 
 men of New York. 
 
XXXVII. 
 WALL STREET DEVOTIONS. 
 
 Cathedral Service. — "Wall Sreet at Prater. — Business Men's Prater 
 Meeting. — Of the Meeting. — First Meeting. — How Things Look In- 
 side. — Opposition. — Religious Loafers. 
 
 CATHEDRAL SERVICE. WALL STREET AT PRAYER. 
 
 Above the din and roar of the street, the chimes of 
 old Trinity call to daily prayer. The cathedral is open 
 for morning and evening service. The attendance is 
 not always large, but always interesting. Many emi- 
 nent men and prominent capitalists on the street pause 
 on their way down to business and bow in prayer, 
 before the day's turmoil commences. The gates of the 
 sanctuary stand wide open, and all who will, enter. 
 Some one of the eminent ministers of the parish pre- 
 sides daily at the altar. On saints' days and other festi- 
 vals of the church, a full choral service is performed, and 
 every thing that can properly be, is chanted, with the 
 psalter and the creed. The organist wears a black 
 gown and moves inside the chancel rail, followed by 
 forty or fifty men and boys in white surplices. The 
 whole is attractive, and there is no better church music 
 outside of St. Peter's at Rome. Sixty years ago, there 
 was no chanting in any Protestant church in the land 
 The old organist still lives who introduced the first 
 
 (414) 
 
BUSINESS MENS PRAYER MEETING. 415 
 
 chant into one of the chapels of old Trinity. The in- 
 novation was very unpopular, and the music pronounced 
 
 not only outlandish, but "Popish." A formal demand 
 was made upon the Bishop that chanting should be 
 suppressed. Bishop Hobart declined to interfere. 
 The organist had it his own wav, and chants became 
 popular. 
 
 BUSINESS HEN'S PRAYER MEETING. 
 
 A little way from Wall Street is another daily prayer 
 meeting, very unlike the prayer meeting at Trinity. 
 It is held at the hour of noon in a church edifice over 
 a hundred years old. The corporation of this church 
 was the first religious society founded on the island of 
 Manhattan. The church edifice was dedicated seven 
 years before the declaration of Independence was 
 signed. The church was used as a prison by the Brit- 
 ish in the Revolutionary War, and the cannon planted 
 by the door-way, and the marks of bayonets and pikes 
 on the sand stone still remain. In this old church, one 
 of the most interesting religious gatherings can be seen 
 daily. For twelve years, at the hour of noon, bank- 
 ers, brokers, speculators, merchants, expressmen, arti- 
 sans and capitalists, have gathered here for prayer. 
 Curbstone brokers and omnibus starters sit side by 
 side ; men in broadcloth, and men in frocks ; well-to- 
 do merchants with gold headed canes, and cartmen and 
 draymen with whips in their hands; ladies in the height 
 of fashion, domestics of the upper class, and servants 
 in the most common garb of their calling ; missiona- 
 ries from the habitations of cruelty ; dwellers from be- 
 yond the sea, and inhabitants of the islands of the 
 
416 OF THE MEETING. 
 
 ocean ; representatives of every nationality and clime, 
 here meet. This devotional service is a Union Meet- 
 ing, and a union meeting simply for prayer. Busi- 
 ness, politics, and sectarian views are rigidly excluded. 
 Side by side can be found clergymen and laymen, pre- 
 senting the extremes of protestant descent, the stately 
 churchman, the conservative Dutchman, the progres- 
 ■ sive congregationalist, the quiet Friend, the impulsive 
 baptist, the staid presbyterian, join in song, prayer 
 and remark ; the hearty amen ringing through the 
 room, indicates that the Methodist element is not want- 
 ing. The room is very unlike Trinity. It is as plain 
 as a barn. There is no choir, no instrument of music, 
 but the singing is congregational, and that of the type 
 usually designated as revival music. A plainly dressed 
 business man presides, and the whole is as democratic 
 as can well be conceived. 
 
 OF THE MEETING. 
 
 In 1857 there was a general revival of religion. 
 The lower part of the city had become a moral waste. 
 Trade and a foreign population had taken possession 
 of the city below the City Hall. The dwellings where 
 the rich men at one time resided were pulled down to 
 make room for stores. The dwellings that remained 
 were either boarding-houses, or occupied by a tenant 
 population. The pulpits in which the giants of New 
 York had preached the gospel were no more. Spring, 
 Mason, Potts, Phillips, Alexander, and others, removed 
 to other parts of the city. Lower New York was 
 deserted. The Old North Church remained. It was 
 put in complete and elegant repair. A learned and 
 
OF Til.: UEEETINQ. 417 
 
 eloquent mini-try occupied the pulpit. The house 
 thrown open to all who chose to worship God within 
 its walls. It secured a missionary, in the person of 
 Jeremiah Calvin Lanphier, a man of rare and peculiar 
 gifts, of unshrinking courage, and marked piety. He 
 was not far from forty years of age, tall, and of a fine 
 presence, a winning Dice, and a manner affectionate 
 and attractive. He possessed great energy and per- 
 severance, was a fine singer, gifted in prayer and ex- 
 hortation, easy of approach, and a welcome guest to 
 any house ; very shrewd, and j:>ossessing tact, with 
 good common sense, he was eminently fitted for the 
 position he was called to fill. Anxious to be a blessing 
 to the poor, the neglected, and the perishing, he was 
 equally anxious to reach the merchants of New York, 
 and lay his hand in kindness on young men in busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Walking in the street one day, this idea suggested 
 itself: Why not have a meeting of prayer for business 
 men, at the hour of noon when all go to lunch, made 
 up of singing, prayer, and speaking, allowing persons 
 to come and go during meeting as they please ? He 
 had been a merchant, and knew how difficult it was to 
 attend a devotional meeting in the evening. The 
 hour of noon was one of leisure for merchants, clerks, 
 draymen, and men of toil. He resolved to open a daily 
 meeting of prayer from twelve to one ; a union meet- 
 ing, free from sectarianism, from which the cold and 
 formal routine of prayer-meetings should be banished ; 
 made up of brief songs, brief prayers, and brief ad- 
 dresses. No one should be allowed to speak over five 
 minutes. No controverted or doctrinal points should 
 27 
 
418 FIRST MEETING. 
 
 be introduced. No one should be obliged to stay a 
 moment longer than he chose. Parties could come 
 in and go out at any moment without interrupting the 
 meeting. Such was the plan. 
 
 FIRST MEETING. 
 
 On the 27th clay of November, 1857, the small con- 
 gistory-room connected with the North Dutch Church 
 was thrown open for service. At twelve o'clock no 
 one was present but the missionary. He sat alone one 
 half hour. A solitary step was then heard on the 
 stairs, and a person entered the room. All told, six 
 persons composed the little company. The next day 
 twenty persons gathered ; the next, forty. In October 
 the central room of the consistory building was opened, 
 and from that time to this, for more than ten years, tie 
 meetings have been continued with unabated zeal, 
 ever the fullest and most remarkable prayer-meeting 
 in the world. 
 
 HOW THINGS LOOK INSIDE. 
 
 There is no plainer room in New York than the 
 lecture-room of the Dutch Church where the daily 
 prayer-meeting is held. It is in the second story of 
 the consistory-rooms on Fulton Street. The walls are 
 covered with gilt frames, holding the rules, mottoes, and 
 notices. The seats are hard, crowded together to make 
 room, and are very uncomfortable. The surroundings 
 are unattractive, and little suited to devotion. In the 
 centre of the busiest portion of New York the prayer- 
 meeting is held. The bells of the horse cars, the shouts 
 of carmen, the noise of artisans, the hammer and saw 
 
now mixes look inside. 419 
 
 of the carpenter, the whistle of the steam-engine, the 
 blowing off of steam, with other noises of busy life, 
 come directly into the room. The singing is congrega- 
 tional, without instrument or artistic attraction. Old 
 tunes, revival tunes, and experimental hymns, arei 
 sung. The missionary who originated the meeting 
 has conducted its music for ten consecutive years. At 
 twelve precisely the leader rises and gives out a hymn. 
 This is a business men's meeting, and a layman usually 
 presides. He may be educated or illiterate ; dressed 
 as a merchant or as a carman. Perhaps he may be an 
 old man, with his hair frosted by years ; he may be a 
 young man, just commencing a Christian life ; but he 
 is a warm-hearted Christian. Before the meeting 
 closes the room will be packed. Earnest men and 
 women will fill all the standing room. Every denomi- 
 nation is here represented. Men come from the sea, 
 from the mountains of Asia, from the hot sands of 
 Arabia, from India, from the Old World, and all parts 
 of the New. This daily meeting is the Religious Ex- 
 change of New York. Eminent men. clerical and lay, 
 from all parts of the country, and of the world ; emi- 
 nent ministers, lawyers, merchants, look in on the 
 meeting. They bring tidings from every part of Zion. 
 Those who want to see and hear distinguished men, 
 know they will find them in this place of prayer. 
 Earnest prayers are offered, the swelling chorus of 
 song, thanksgivings for remarkable answers to prayer, 
 make the hour all too short. Requests for prayer 
 come in from all the world, covering every variety of 
 want and suffering peculiar to humanity. The tone 
 of the requests shows that the writers regard the 
 
420 OPPOSITION. 
 
 Fulton Street meeting as the pool of healing to the 
 Evangelical Church. 
 
 AN INSIDE VIEW. 
 
 The room is reached from Fulton or Ann Streets, up 
 a covered pathway. The floor is covered with matting, 
 the room filled with settees. The missionary stands 
 at the door, and with his tiptoe tread, bland face, and 
 resolute will, makes the ladies move up and sit close. 
 Precisely on the minute the service is opened. Such 
 congregational singing would be popular anywhere. 
 The audience is trained to sing, being composed of the 
 cream of the churches. The tunes are familiar, and 
 the hymns are associated with the heart's warmest 
 affections. Borne on the tide of full, warm, and deep 
 emotion, the swelling song of praise is wafted to 
 heaven. The reading of the requests follows, and 
 
 OPPOSITION. 
 
 " Seven cities fought for Homer dead, 
 
 Through which the living Homer begged his bread." 
 
 This meeting now so popular, encountered the 
 fiercest opposition at the start. The Missionary was 
 opposed at every point. It was said that nobody 
 would attend a daily meeting ; it would not do to 
 have persons going in and out, whenever they pleased. 
 It was a question whether laymen ought to be allowed 
 to take part in the meeting. The Church Master who 
 had control of the building, refused to have it opened 
 for the purposes of daily prayer. When a # reluctant 
 consent was given, it was expressly' stipulated that the 
 collegiate church should not be named in connection 
 with it, and should undertake no responsibility for the 
 meeting. That same church is only too proud to be 
 
OPPOSITION . 421 
 
 identified with this very successful devotional move- 
 ment, and strenuous efforts have been made to rob Mr. 
 Lamphier of the honor of originating this peculiar 
 gathering for daily prayer. The meeting is not with- 
 out its annoyances. 
 
 Men who have hobbies to ride often annoy the 
 meeting. Men with impracticable theories persist 
 in presenting them. Sometimes men who have ora- 
 tory in prayer come with high-sounding phrases, 
 pompous words, colloquial addresses, to the King of 
 kings, and are an abomination. Sometimes women 
 try to speak. This is contrary to the rules. One 
 day a lady arose to make an address. She was in- 
 formed that it was against the rules, and immediately 
 she sat down. A tall, masculine woman arose, and 
 in a tone of marked anger, with a loud, harsh voice, 
 and a decided Scotch accent, cried out, "HI not 
 attend this meeting again. I am a converted woman 
 myself. If our sister is not allowed to speak, the 
 Spirit of God is not here. I am a converted woman. 
 I say that. But I'll not come here again ! " and 
 she flounced out of the room. Men have attempted, 
 over and over again, to change the tone of the 
 meeting. Impulsive men have tried to break the 
 rules; have appealed from the ruling of the leader 
 to the audience ; votes have been taken ; people have 
 tried to sell books, build churches, and beg money 
 out of the meeting. To all this one answer has 
 been steadily given : * This is a Union prayer-meeting. 
 
422 RELIGIOUS LOAFERS. 
 
 RELIGIOUS LOAFERS. 
 
 Not the least troublesome are the class known as 
 religions loafers. There is not a city, probably, in the 
 Union, where there is so large a class of professional 
 loafers as in New York. Trinity church is kept open 
 through the entire day to visitors. Parties accustomed 
 to call there will see the same faces day after clay. 
 The protection from storm and sun in the summer, and 
 the warm, genial air in the winter, make it an attract- 
 ive place. In the pews, parties can be found asleep, 
 reading papers or books, or munching their luncheon. 
 Women nurse their children, and make themselves com- 
 fortable there. This is especially noticeable at the 
 Fulton street daily meeting. The main part of the 
 meeting is composed of crisp, energetic, interested 
 persons, strangers from all parts of the earth, business 
 men, who run in and out, and eminent clergymen. 
 The rank and file of loafers are very large — the same 
 men in the same places, men with nowhere to go and 
 nothing to do, who bring their luncheon, and pass the 
 time in eating and sleeping, while the service is going 
 on. Many of these, who are welcome nowhere as 
 speakers, embrace the freedom of the place to have a 
 five minutes' talk. The same set of men attend reg- 
 ularly the afternoon daily meeting at the Association 
 Rooms. Like Jack in the 1>ox, when the cover is 
 removed, they are always on their feet when there is 
 a chance. 
 
XXXVIII. 
 JAY COOKE. 
 
 His Ancestry. — Commences Banking at Seventeen. — Jay Cooke & Co.— 
 Negotiates the War Loan.— Mr. Cooke in his Country Home and as 
 a Man of Benevolence. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton touched the lc dead corpse of 
 public credit," and it arose to its feet. Robert Morris 
 took the financial burden of a young republic on his 
 shoulders and, though he bankrupted himself, saved 
 the national honor. Jay Cooke completes the trium- 
 virate, and his name will be imperishably identified 
 with the great financial men who came to the rescue 
 of the nation, in a great financial crisis, and preserved 
 the government from impending ruin. Mr. Cooke 
 came prominently to the surface, during our late civil 
 war. The war found us without men, without an 
 army or navy, without officers or military equipments 
 and without money. The expenses of government ap- 
 proached three millions a day. The vortex of national 
 bankruptcy stood open, and financial ruin seemed in- 
 evitable. The common necessaries of life were exor- 
 bitantly high, and a paper dollar was worth only 
 thirty-six cents in coin. Friends of the government 
 were despondent, and the financial Secretary of the 
 nation in despair. The man for the times appeared in 
 the person of Jay Cooke. He possessed the amount of 
 
 (423) > 
 
424 HIS ANCESTRY. 
 
 enterprise, financial skill, and credit which the exi- 
 gency demanded. He proposed to negotiate and sell 
 for the government five hundred millions. The very- 
 proposal staggered the world. He undertook this 
 work for a totally inadequate compensation. Had he 
 failed in the task, like Morris, he would have been 
 utterly ruined financially. He accomplished the work 
 heroically, patriotically, and in a business like manner 
 that placed him at the head of the financiers of the age. 
 Having disposed of five hundred millions to meet the 
 pressing necessities of the Treasury, he disposed of 
 eight hundred and thirty millions more. 
 
 HIS ANCESTRY. 
 
 The family from which Mr. Cooke descended, 
 landed on Plymouth Rock and built the third house 
 in Plymouth. Mr. Cooke was born in Sandusky, Ohio. 
 His father had an unpronounceable Christian name. 
 He once lost a seat in Congress from the inability of 
 voters to spell his name correctly. He gave his son 
 a name that people would have no difficulty in writing 
 correctly. He called him Jay, after the Chief Justice 
 of the United States. The father and mother under- 
 took the education of their son. Returning from Con- 
 gress in a time of general financial pressure, Mr. Cooke 
 found his affairs embarrassed, and announced to his 
 children that they must look out for themselves — he 
 had nothing for them. Jay resolved to be a burden 
 to no one. He went into a store, and secured employ- 
 ment as a clerk. He mastered the business, became a 
 proficient in mathematical and mercantile knowledge 
 and in book-keeping. He was no drone, and ate no 
 
COMMENCES BANKING AT SEVENTEEN, ETC. 425 
 
 idle bread. His leisure moments were employed in 
 study. Ignorant of the future, he resolved to prepare 
 himself for any field that might open for his talents. 
 
 COMMENCES BANKING AT SEVENTEEN. 
 
 The banking house of E. W. Clark & Co., of Phila- 
 delphia, received young Jay when he was seventeen 
 years of age, for the purpose of thoroughly training 
 him as a banker. He answered the most sanguine 
 expectations of his friends. He became a partner of 
 the house — then the leading banking house in the 
 country, — and for twenty-five years was actually its 
 manager and head. When nineteen years of age, Mr. 
 Cooke wrote the first money article ever published in 
 Philadelphia. Retiring from the firm of E. W. Clark 
 & Co., with a fortune, it was Mr. Cooke's purpose to 
 take life quietly, and withdraw, in a measure, from 
 active business. But it is impossible for such a man to 
 hide his talent in a napkin. His financial operations 
 continued to be extensive, and he negotiated large 
 loans for railroads and other corporations. 
 
 JAY COOKE & CO. 
 
 The banking house of Jay Cooke & Co.. which stands 
 on Wall Street, corner of Nassau, originated in 1861. 
 It consisted of Mr. Cooke and his brother-in-law, Wil- 
 liam G. Morehead, one of the most successful railroad 
 operators in the country. The purpose of Mr. Cooke 
 and his partner, was to provide business for their sons. 
 In 1861 the house was located in Philadelphia. 
 
426 NEGOTIATES THE WAR LOAN. 
 
 NEGOTIATES THE WAR LOAN. 
 
 The war loan of millions of the State of Pennsylva- 
 nia, was negotiated by Jay Cooke & Co., at par, in a 
 time of great financial and commercial depression. The 
 Government was about to place its first loan on the 
 market. Mr . Cooke immediately obtained a large list 
 of subscribers, and without a cent of cost to the Gov- 
 ernment, sent them on to Washington. The success 
 of the state loan attracted the attention of the Gov- 
 ernment to Mr. Cooke, and he was selected to nego- 
 tiate the five hundred millions of five-twenty bonds 
 just authorized by Congress. The associated banks 
 could not afford the Government relief. From four 
 hundred special agents connected with the most promi- 
 nent banking institutions in the country, only thirty 
 millions were secured, and one-third of this sum was 
 returned by Mr. Cooke. The pressing needs of the 
 government demanded some bold and daring blow. 
 Mr. Cooke was selected as the agent to sell the loans. 
 With the skill and daring heroism of a general planning 
 a campaign, he organized his work. The risks were 
 frightful. A bolder, a more daring monetary operation 
 was never known. The history of the gigantic finan- 
 cial operations of the Rothschilds furnishes no parallel. 
 The compensation seemed puerile. Five-eighths of, 
 one per cent, was all. This covered all moneys paid to 
 assistants, all remuneration for responsibility assumed, 
 for labor, postage, clerks, and expenses. If the loan 
 failed, nothing was to be paid. The government took 
 no risks, and a failure would have swept away the 
 entire fortune of Mr. Cooke. He threw his whole soul 
 
NEGOTIATES TUK WAR LOAN. 427 
 
 into the work. He spent over half a million of his own 
 fortune before a bond was sold. He created a public 
 sentiment in favor of the loan, and made friends with 
 workmen, formers, seamstresses, and domestics. The 
 loan was made accessible and attractive to all classes. 
 The country was flooded with advertisements, and 
 thousands of miles of fence bore placards setting forth 
 the plan of the investment and the claims of the gov- 
 ernment. Others were despondent. Croakers were 
 numerous. The failure of the scheme and the ruin 
 of Mr. Cooke were predicted, — but Mr. Cooke's 
 faith was unblenching — his countenance was always 
 cheerful, his heart sunny, and his confidence in the 
 loyalty of the nation unwavering. The success of the 
 scheme the world knows by heart. 
 
 Under Mr. Fessenden, gold rose in fifteen days from 
 88 to 105 per cent. An outcry was raised against the 
 government, for bankruptcy was feared. The Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury turned to Mr. Cooke to help him 
 in the dark hour that lowered on the nation. Mr. 
 Cooke had been shabbily treated by the Treasury De- 
 partment. The commission paid was a very small 
 one, at most. Through his agents, and his own super- 
 human efforts the sale of 5.20 bonds were solely due. 
 So great was the rush for bonds, when the nation was 
 fairly awakened, that Mr. Cooke gave notice of the 
 day and hour when the sale would cease. After the 
 five hundred millions were taken, money poured in so 
 largely that Mr. Cooke was obliged to offer fourteen 
 millions beyond the amount authorized. Yet Mr. 
 Chase refused to pay Mr. Cooke a commission on any 
 sales made by sub-agents, who had applied directly to 
 
428 MR. COOKE IN HIS COUNTRY HOME. 
 
 the Treasury for their bonds. Mr. Cooke would have 
 been justified in allowing the government to take care of 
 itself in the new crisis in which it was involved. But 
 not so. He came to the rescue as he did in the earlier 
 time. He reorganized his army of sub-agents. The 
 press teemed with the value of the 7.30 bonds. By this 
 time his fame had extended to Europe, and two hund- 
 red millions were disposed of in that market. Through 
 his agency, the government bonds were as regularly 
 called at the great financial centres of the world, as 
 were those of England, France, or Prussia. In less than 
 a year, eight hundred and thirty millions were sold. 
 
 MR. COOKE IN HIS COUNTRY HOME. 
 
 Few men know as well how to earn and how to 
 enjoy a fortune as does Mr. Cooke. He has an elegant 
 country seat on an island in Lake Erie, amid the scenes 
 of his early years, where he formed the resolution to 
 battle life for himself, and where he determined to be 
 dependent on no one for his support. Here, he dis- 
 penses a liberal hospitality, and receives and entertains 
 his friends. During the last summer, he invited mis- 
 sionaries on small pay, and clergymen with small 
 salaries, to visit his island home, and recreate during 
 the heat of summer. He paid all the expenses of the 
 visit — placed his house, his library, horses, carriages, 
 and boats, at the disposal of his guests, and left them to 
 enjoy themselves. When they departed, he gave each 
 guest a sum of money. Almost literally obeying the 
 command of the Saviour, to call in the poor, the halt, 
 the maimed and the blind to a feast, for such cannot 
 repay. Mr. Cooke's benefactions during the war were 
 
Mil. COOKE IN HIS COUNTRY HOME.] 429 
 
 very large. An earnest and decided Christian, lie is a 
 princely contributor to the church. Few have exceeded 
 him in lavish donations to colleges and educational 
 institutions. He has builded several churches and 
 religious institutions with his own funds. His princely 
 mansion on Chelton Hills, near Philadelphia, is ele- 
 gantly arranged, and all who visit him are sure of a 
 cordial welcome. His banking house in Wall Street 
 is one of the finest establishments in that famed locality. 
 His success as a financier, his vigor, indomitable indus- 
 try and personal attention to business, with his high 
 toned character and unfaltering integrity, secure 
 him a large and lucrative patronage. 
 
XXXIX. 
 RUFUS HATCH. 
 
 The house of Rufus Hatch & Co. is one of the lead- 
 ing establishments of Wall street. The head of the 
 house is the best known broker on the street. He left 
 his Eastern home at twenty years of age, to try his 
 fortune in the West. He was one of the fourteen men 
 who stuck their spades in the gravel and turned the 
 sod for the first railroad in Wisconsin. He removed 
 to Chicago in 1854, and became a prominent commis- 
 sion merchant. The house failed, and Mr. Hatch as- 
 sumed the debts of the firm. He came to New York 
 in 1862, with a borrowed capital of two thousand dol- 
 lars, and with debts of eighty thousand. He opened 
 a commission house under the firm of Hatch & Hughs. 
 In 1866 the now well known house of Rufus Hatch 
 & Co. was established. The house came prominently 
 into notice in 1867. Mr. Hatch, though a young man, 
 attempted to obtain control of the North-western Road. 
 It was a bold stroke, as the capital stock reached the 
 high figure of millions. To accomplish his pur- 
 pose he visited Chicago, carrying with him a million- 
 three hundred thousand in proxies. He lost, and was 
 laughed at for his efforts. The Board said to him, 
 " Young man, you had better go to New York and 
 
 (430) 
 
RUFUS HATCH. 431 
 
 grow/ 1 Mr. Hatch replied, " Gentlemen, I will make 
 
 you another call." He did so, when he was able to 
 control the road. 
 
 I have alluded in another paper to the great success 
 of Henry Keep in the pools that he controlled, espe- 
 cially the famous North-west pool. The boldness and 
 success of that movement was principally due to Mr. 
 Hatch, who managed the whole affair. He bought 
 the first ten thousand shares that made the movement 
 a success. Mr. Hatch divided among the associates in 
 that pool, as profits, the sum of two hundred and twenty- 
 five thousand dollars. He is now r one of the boldest and 
 most gigantic of street operators. He adopts the old 
 style of dress, wearing a white neck-cloth, and resem- 
 bles a clergyman in his general appearance. His hair 
 is light, and his voice low and silvery. There is an 
 air of sincerity about his conversation that is very at- 
 tractive and winning. He is one of the most liberal 
 of men. He supports from twenty to thirty suffering 
 families yearly, and his donations to every good cause 
 are very large. A friend had a horse that Mr. Hatch 
 greatly admired, that was known as "Lew Petty.' 1 One 
 day the gentleman came into Mr. Hatch's office, and 
 told him that he was going to Europe, and proposed 
 to present him with Lew Petty, which he hoped Mr. 
 Hatch would accept. Mr. Hatch thanked him, and 
 the parties separated. On his return from Europe 
 the gentleman called on Mr. Hatch to enquire after 
 the horse. Mr. Hatch presented him with a check for 
 ten thousand dollars. Not to be outdone in generos- 
 ity the broker purchased a little stock for his friend. 
 The investment yielded the handsome sum named. 
 
XL. 
 GENERAL H. H. BAXTER. 
 
 <l The finest looking man in New York." — His early career. — His 
 success in Wall street. — His identification with great Rail- 
 road interests. — His Benevolence, and his vitality, etc. 
 
 A fortune is made in Wall street as the battle of 
 Waterloo was gained by Wellington — by indomitable 
 endurance. Impatient troops begged to be thrown 
 into the fight. They stood by the hour, the centre of a 
 deadly cannonade. The sullen order was repeated by 
 the hour, u close up, close up," as the ranks were 
 thinned and cut down by the murderous fire. The 
 iron Duke rode along the lines, calming the impatient 
 troops with the utterance — " Steady, boys, steady — 
 be patient; not yet — wait." When the right time 
 came the Duke gave the order — not the unsoldierlike 
 command, " Up guards and at them," but, as the Duke 
 himself expresses it, the military order, "Let the 
 column advance." This is the law of success on the 
 street. Cool, cautious, far-seeing men, who can wait 
 as well as do, secure the glittering prize. The late 
 Henry Keep, to whom I have alluded in another paper, 
 whose success was remarkable, and whose integrity 
 and honor were without a stain, told a friend a short 
 time before he died, that one of the elements of his 
 
 (432) 
 
GENERAL II. II. BAXTER. 433 
 
 success was this— he never bought from impulse, never 
 invested unless he was certain the market was right, 
 and that he never allowed the excitement, flurry, and 
 panic of the street to control his judgment. He men- 
 tioned an instance : when he boarded at the St. Nich- 
 olas he walked down to his office and back every day — 
 he had thousands in the bank unemployed, yet he 
 waited five months before he invested a dollar, watch- 
 ing the street every day, and finding no opening that 
 his judgment approved. He was trusted beyond most 
 men, and few understood where his financial strength 
 lay — but it was found in his heroic endurance. 
 
 There is a long line of men who have bought and 
 sold stocks for years, and whom the street has not de- 
 moralized. High minded, honorable, truthful, and 
 liberal, their integrity is as sterling as gold. These 
 men differ from men in all other branches of trade, in 
 this, that when they give each other their confidence, 
 it is without reserve. A distinguished capitalist the 
 other day left five hundred thousand dollars with his 
 banker. He not only took no security, but he did not 
 take a receipt. There is no other branch of business 
 in the country in which that would be done; — neither 
 Stewart, Claffiin, nor any other dry goods house in 
 New York, would place even one hundred thousand 
 dollars worth of goods in each other's stores, without 
 all the guarantees the law allows. "When a mercantile 
 house fails it makes the best settlement with its cred- 
 itors possible, paying the least possible per cent, on the 
 dollar, and recommences business without a thought 
 of dishonor. A leading house in the street is often 
 compelled to suspend. No vigilance, no foresight, no 
 28 
 
434 GENERAL H. H. BAXTER. 
 
 shrewdness, no capital, can contend with the influences 
 that occasionally arise and roll ruin down the street 
 like a mighty, rushing wind. Fail as often or as 
 largely as these men may, Wall street brokers never 
 compromise with their creditors. They pay dollar for 
 dollar, arid the man who would propoge to settle on 
 any other terms could never lift his head in the street 
 among honorable men. Bargains are daily made in- 
 volving hundreds of thousands of dollars, and made 
 without a witness. Valuable stocks by the thousand 
 shares are delivered without receipt or money, to be 
 paid the next day ; and checks are taken for. tens of 
 thousands of dollars for stocks and bonds delivered, 
 when it is known that the party has not a dollar in the 
 bank — taken with the simple promise of the party to 
 make the checks good within twenty-four hours. Yet 
 during fifty years of the business of Wall street, not 
 half a dozen cases of repudiation, or failure to meet 
 contracts, have occurred. 
 
 Among this high minded, honorable, and successful 
 class, General Baxter holds deservedly a high place. 
 He is one of the marked men in the street, both phys- 
 ically and financially. Taller than Vanderbilt, he is 
 stoutly and compactly built, and is pronounced the 
 finest looking man in New York. Courtly in his man- 
 ners, courteous, intelligent, and agreeable in conversa- 
 tion, reliable in business matters, and one of the best 
 financiers and heaviest operators, he is a good specimen 
 of the growth of his native state, Vermont. He was 
 born in Rutland, and his father was one of the most 
 eminent lawyers in the state. He had an extensive 
 practice, and rode the circuit, as was customary in his 
 
GENERAL II. II. BAXTER. 435 
 
 day. lie adopted the style, then so common with 
 successful professional men, and drove four horses 
 attached to a common New England two- wheeled 
 chaise. General Baxter received a fine education, and 
 was intended for the law. The profession not being 
 congenial, his father allowed him to follow the bent of 
 his own inclination, and he was placed in a mercantile 
 house in Boston, where he mastered the mercantile 
 trade. He returned to Vermont, where his executive 
 ability, high integrity, and tact, commanded an exten- 
 sive business. The railroad mania breaking out in the 
 state, General Baxter abandoned merchandise, and 
 identified himself with this important branch of busi- 
 ness. He was immediately placed at the head of the 
 movement, and constructed the first railroad built in 
 the state, known as the Rutland & Burlington road. 
 He superintended its entire construction, and gave 
 personal attention to all the details. He then built 
 the Vermont & Valley road, and also constructed the 
 Western Vermont road. 
 
 His ability in constructing roads, attracted the at- 
 tention of other sections of the country. He was 
 induced to visit Ohio, where he constructed and built 
 the Cleveland & Toledo railroad. While he was on a 
 visit to Vermont, one of the parties who had taken the 
 contract with him to build the road, died. The re- 
 maining contractor advertised in the papers the disso- 
 lution of the firm, which would have thrown the widow 
 of the party who died, out of all benefit connected 
 with the contract, and would have left her penniless. 
 General Baxter left his business at the East, and hur- 
 ried to Toledo. He recalled the notice of dissolution, 
 
436 GENERAL II. II. BAXTER. 
 
 and insisted that the widow should remain a member 
 of the firm. The road was finished, and General Bax- 
 ter gave the widow a hundred thousand dollars as her 
 share in the profits. The father had not the confidence 
 of the son in the success of railroads. When the first 
 contracts were taken, bonds were necessary, and Gen- 
 eral Baxter applied to his father to sign the bond. He 
 refused. He said, "My son, I am worth but thirty 
 thousand dollars, and this will ruin you and me." 
 u Sign the contract," said the son. " I cannot," said 
 the father." " Sign the contract," said the son. U I 
 will do it," said the father, u but you will ruin both of 
 us." Returning to Vermont the General purchased 
 the marble quarries at Rutland, paying the then as- 
 tounding sum of twenty -five thousand dollars. People 
 thought him insane, and were certain that his ruin was 
 accomplished. The purchase proved a most valuable 
 one, and the shrewdness of the investment was soon 
 admitted by all. 
 
 On the breaking out of the war Mr. Baxter became 
 Adjutant General of the state of Vermont, with a sal- 
 ary of $75 a year. The entire military force of the 
 state consisted of seven hundred and fifty muskets, and 
 the troops were the rawest of the rural militia of that 
 day. He was a delegate to the Peace Conference held 
 at Washington, and on his return he said to the Gov- 
 ernor, " Within thirty days we shall be in the midst 
 of civil war; — the state of Vermont will be called 
 upon to send troops south." The governor did not 
 enter into these fears, but within a month, according 
 to the prediction, the first regiment left Vermont for 
 Washington. The General was truly loyal, and had 
 
GENERAL II. II. BAXTER. 437 
 
 great state pride that Vermont should do her duty. 
 He threw his whole soul into the duties of his office. 
 He neglected his private business entirely, roused the 
 spirit of patriotism throughout the state, contributed 
 largely from his own private fortune in fitting out reg- 
 iments and paying bounties, and became one of the 
 most efficient supporters of the government, as he was 
 one of the most popular men. He could have secured 
 any office the state had to give, either in its own terri- 
 tory or in the national councils. His tastes did not lie 
 in that direction. He preferred to devote himself to 
 business, rather than politics. General ■ Baxter ap- 
 peared in the street in 1864. He sold his marble 
 quarries to Jerome, Riggs, and others, and left his na- 
 tive state to become a financier in New York. His 
 practical acquaintance with railroads, and his manly 
 style of doing business, gave him great influence with 
 railroad men, and he invested largely in railroad bonds 
 and other securities. His great business on the street 
 has been almost wholly connected with railroad inter- 
 ests. With Henry Keep he obtained possession of the 
 New York Central, became one of its directors, and on 
 the resignation of Mr. Keep, became president. He 
 held that position in the corporation when Commodore 
 Vanderbilt obtained possession of the road. Out of 
 the entire board he was the only director retained. 
 At Yanderbilt's special request he remained in his po- 
 sition, which he still holds. He is one of the heaviest 
 operators on the street. He attracts attention every- 
 where. His massive form, tall and finely proportioned, 
 flowing white hair, with the manners of the old school, 
 make him conspicuous. Persons turn to look at him 
 
438 GENERAL II . II. BAXTER. 
 
 as they pass him in the street, and on Harlem Lane he 
 is a marked man. He possesses a princely fortune, and 
 unbounded liberality. His private charities are as 
 bounteous as the sea. He has built several churches, 
 and few causes of religion, education, or humanity, 
 that deserve support, appeal to him in vain. He keeps 
 open house to his friends in his princely residence on 
 Fifth avenue, and in all New England there will not 
 be found a more tasteful or attractive home than his 
 country mansion at Rutland. 
 
 During the war he took special interest in the Ver- 
 mont boys who were enrolled in the national army. 
 He corresponded with them, kept a watch over their 
 location, secured comforts for them which they needed, 
 and sent them on often at his own expense. One reg- 
 iment touched his sympathies deeply. Accustomed to 
 the bracing airs of Vermont, they had been sent far 
 down south, where they were encamped amid the 
 deadly malaria, and were dying like sheep in the un- 
 wholesome swamps. Eleven hundred strong, the reg- 
 iment in a short time had been depleted by death, and 
 counted scarcely five hundred. General Baxter visited 
 Washington to see if the regiment could not be re- 
 lieved and sent home to be filled up. Taking with 
 him an official from his state he visited the President 
 and told his story. The President said he did not 
 know why a regiment from Vermont should be relieved 
 any more than a regiment from any other place. The 
 case was a hard one, but some regiment must occupy 
 that position, and Vermont seemed as well able to bear 
 the sacrifice as any. The distinguished gentleman 
 who accompanied General Baxter thought the troops 
 
GENERAL II. II. BAXTER. 439 
 
 were not dealt with fairly, and entered warmly into 
 the discussion. He became so excited that his voice 
 could be heard in all the ante rooms surrounding the 
 President's office, and he closed one of his appeals by 
 bringing his hand heavily down upon the table. The 
 President calmly arose and said to him, " This lan- 
 guage is unseemly, and it does not become the Exec- 
 utive to hear it, — this conference must close." The 
 parties withdrew. Sensible that he was in error, the 
 distinguished gentleman called the next morning on 
 General Baxter, and said to him, "You must go with 
 me to the President's; I want to make an apology." 
 They were at once admitted on presenting their cards, 
 and the gentleman went to Mr. Lincoln at once, and 
 said, u Mr. President, I was wrong yesterday ; I 
 thought our boys were not treated fairly, and my love 
 for the Vermont troops is such that I allowed my feel- 
 ings to hurry me away, and I have come to apologize." 
 Mr. Lincoln arose with great emotion, threw his arms 
 around the neck of the gentleman, and said, " God 
 bless you for these words, and God bless the state of 
 Vermont. " The boys were relieved from their en- 
 campment amid the miasma, and were allowed health- 
 ier quarters. ' 
 
XLI. 
 WALL STREET AND THE FISHMONGERS. 
 
 Fishmongers' Association. — Aims of the Association. 
 
 A stranger would hardly go to the New York fish 
 market to find sharp and successful financiers, who are 
 well known on the street. But among the busy throng 
 who carry on the great trade in the fish market, near Ful- 
 ton street, will be found some of the richest and most 
 successful business men in the city. Men who stand from 
 4 o'clock in the morning till past meridian ; who are 
 receiving cargoes, and sending fish in boxes to every 
 part of the country ; who wear heavy fishermen's boots 
 coming above the knee, who are dressed in tarpaulin 
 jackets, and wear a sailor's rig or a fisherman's outfit ; 
 covered from head to foot with the juice, the brine, 
 the slime of their trade, will be found some of the mil- 
 lionaires of New York, who have secured fortunes in 
 their somewhat repulsive occupation. Many of them 
 own the finest teams that course over the road. Their 
 families ride in gay turnouts on the Park. Many of 
 them have fortunes and could retire from business if 
 they would. Over the reeking chambers where the 
 slimy trade is carried on, are snug little rooms, hand- 
 
 (440) 
 
FISIIMOXGERS' ASSOCIATION. 441 
 
 sornely carpeted, and arranged with wardrobes. Some 
 of these men, who look like dock laborers, go up stairs 
 when business is over, change their business suit for 
 a fashionable rig, take their teams which are brought 
 to the door by servants, and drive out among the 
 fashionables, like gentlemen, as they are. They prefer 
 work to idleness. They relish their recreation when 
 the rugged business- of the day is over. They eat no 
 idle bread, and they want none. Some of these men 
 are aldermen, and city officials, and persons who 
 have favors to ask or requests to prefer, visit the offi- 
 cials at their places of business. It is curious to watch 
 the astonishment of such parties, who, when they call 
 for the alderman, find the response coming from a 
 rough, hardy, and athletic man, rolling a barrel of fish 
 from one end of the room to the other. 
 
 fishmongers' association. 
 
 This is a private organization which built and own 
 the New York fish market ; which market supplies the 
 city and country with fish. The extent of the business 
 done by this association may be learned from the fact 
 that one member pays a government tax of $195,000 
 a year, and the eighteen stalls do an average business 
 of fifty thousand. The association is composed of 
 thirty-seven members. They own the building and 
 outsiders cannot interfere. No one can have a stall in 
 the market but a member of the association, and these 
 stalls, eighteen in number, are worth annually $1,500 
 rental. The location is one of the best in New York, 
 for vessels come up to the very doors of the market, 
 and the tide is so strong in this special point, that the 
 
442 AIMS OF THE ASSOCIATION. 
 
 water is as pure as at Sandy Hook. The eighteen 
 stands in the market monopolize the entire wholesale 
 trade. Two hundred and fifty sail are employed in 
 supplying the market. Salmon is brought from Cali- 
 fornia by railroad. Vessels visit every part of the 
 world, the Banks, Sable Island, Cape Sable, the ex- 
 treme North and South, and are coming and going all 
 the time. Live fish are brought in tanks, which are 
 built in the vessel, and dead fish are packed in ice, in 
 compartments made for the purpose. Vessels coming 
 in at night unload at once, and tanks sufficient for any 
 emergency fill the slip, into which the live fish are 
 placed. 
 
 At 4 o'clock in the morning, precisely, business com- 
 mences. Parties may be on the ground as early as 
 they please, but there is no buying or selling till 4 
 o'clock. The heavy gong sounds exactly on the hour, 
 and trade begins. All New York, New Jersey, Phila- 
 delphia, Baltimore and Washington ; — Troy, Albany and 
 all the intermediate places up the river, are supplied 
 by the fishmongers of New York. The best mackerel 
 come from Newport ; the finest salmon from Penob- 
 scot, and the best halibut from St. George's Bank and 
 Sable Island. At 4 o'clock, precisely, in the afternoon, 
 business closes as it began, by the sounding of the 
 gong, and there is no trade after that hour. 
 
 AIMS OF THE ASSOCIATION. 
 
 The Fishmongers' Association have a charitable drift, 
 like their great namesake in London, which is one 
 of the richest and most popular institutions in England. 
 Members of the Hoyal family are glad to sit down at 
 
AIMS OF THE ASSOCIATION. 443 
 
 the costly boards; or Ministers of State, Ecclesiastical 
 dignitaries, Members of Parliament and the literati are 
 proud of an invitation. The New York Association is 
 securing a fund for charitable purposes. It has laid 
 the foundation of a fine library. Eminent men of the 
 city are becoming honorary members, and the Asso- 
 ciation promises to rank among the beneficent Insti- 
 tutions of New York. 
 
XLII. 
 REMOVAL OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE. 
 
 What some Propose in regard Thereto. — Wall Street Found to bb 
 the Real Financial Centre. — The greatest Operators live in Brook- 
 lyn. 
 
 The removal of the Stock Exchange from its present 
 locality is agitated. An up town locality is suggested. 
 Some propose the vicinity of the new Post Office, at 
 the end of the City Hall Park ; others wish a location 
 farther up, even suggesting Madison Park, at Twenty- 
 third Street. The investigation has brought to light 
 the interesting fact that Wall Street, to-day, is the finan- 
 cial centre of the city and its environs. The great 
 business of the street is better accommodated now 
 than it could be elsewhere. If New York City alone 
 was to be accommodated, a more central location might 
 be selected. But neither the heaviest operators, nor 
 the most numerous, live in upper New York. They 
 live in Brooklyn, and are scattered over the length and 
 breadth of Long Island ; they live on Staten Island, in 
 Jersey City, and come in daily, from a distance of 
 thirty miles in the State of New Jersey ; they live on 
 the Harlem and New Haven roads, an equal distance 
 out, and up the North River, for fifty miles. All the 
 landings are convenient to Wall Street, and the great 
 throng reach that locality more easily than any other. 
 
 (444) 
 
REMO VAL OF STUCK EXl HANGE. 445 
 
 When the Astor House was opened in 183 G, all New- 
 York was below the hotel. Trinity Church was the 
 centre of the city, and wealthy New- York lived below 
 the church. The City Hall was built of marble on one 
 side, and of brown stone on the other for economy- 
 sake. The city saved the difference between brown 
 stone and marble. 
 
 FINANCIAL CENTRE. 
 
 What Threadneedle Street is to England, Wall Street 
 is to America. It is a narrow street, in the lower part 
 of New York, running from Broadway to the East 
 River. At the head of Wall Street stands the massive 
 Trinity Church, the Cathedral of the city. It lifts its 
 tall steeple to heaven, amid the din and babel of business. 
 From its tower magnificent bells strike out the quarter 
 and half hours of the day, and chime, with mellifluous 
 peals the full ones, telling the anxious, excited and 
 rushing crowd how swiftly life passes. The great 
 moneyed institutions of the country are in Wall Street. 
 Here stands the elegant granite building devoted to 
 the United States Treasury in New York. The work is 
 highly ornamental. Brilliant painting and gilding ap- 
 pear everywhere. Solid mahogany desks and marble 
 counters are beautiful to the eye. But there is strength 
 as well as beauty. The heavy vaults, where repose the 
 treasures of the government, are caverns of massive 
 granite. The chambers, where the gold is counted, are 
 merely stone cells. Huge iron fences, running from 
 the floor to the ceiling, and heavy iron gates, guard 
 against surprise. These iron barriers cross and rccross 
 each other, so that a mob would gain but little should 
 
446 REMOVAL OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE, 
 
 it obtain an entrance into the building. In Wall Street 
 the Custom House is located. The costly banking 
 houses adorn the street, where men whose integrity 
 and repute have made America honorable in all parts of 
 the world can be found. The men of money of the city, 
 the millionnaires, speculators, and leading financiers, 
 have here their headquarters. The heaviest financial 
 operations are transacted in cellars and underground 
 rooms, in clingy and narrow chambers, in the attics of 
 old buildings, which are reached by rickety and creak- 
 ing stairs, which threaten to give way under one's tread. 
 Here is high 'change. The men whose names are so 
 familiar with stock and money transactions can be 
 found between twelve and three. The heaviest opera- 
 tors have no offices of their own. At certain hours of 
 the day they can be found in the chambers of leading 
 brokers. Some of them occupy mere dens. Men who 
 control the leading railroads, and other great stocks, 
 who can agitate the financial world in an hour, will 
 usually be found in some small room near Wall Street, 
 sitting with a crowd of speculators, who are their 
 lackeys, and who are ever ready to do the will of 
 great financiers. 
 
XLIII. 
 FAST LIFE ON THE STREET. 
 
 Recreations of the Fast Class. — A Ruined Man, once a Financial 
 King. — The Fast Men at the Club Houses. — The Club Houses, and 
 how they Dine there. 
 
 There is no department or profession in the city 
 where fast men cannot be found. The pulpit, the bar, 
 mercantile and banking life, have specimens of this 
 class ; nor is the Street exempt. The temptations to 
 hazard are very great, and high life is at a premium 
 among a class. Besides these men who are princes in 
 trade, and like the merchants of Tyre, are " the honora- 
 ble of the earth," are men who live for the day and the 
 hour, and whose motto is, u all is fair in trade." These 
 men gain money in any way that is open to them, 
 reckless of consequences. They go for a merry life, 
 though it be a short one. If they make five hundred 
 dollars, they spend it at once on their whims, caprices, 
 passions, and appetites. Penniless curbstone brokers 
 one day, they have rooms at an up town hotel the next, 
 ride down to the street in a coach, drink the costliest 
 wine, eat the most exciting food, dash out in a splendid 
 dress, hire a box at the opera, and the next week be- 
 come as penniless and destitute as before. With fast 
 New York, money is every thing. Balls, parties and 
 
 (447) 
 
448 RECREATIONS OF THE FAST CLASS. 
 
 soirees are open to the man of the diamond ring, and 
 who calls in a coach. Parties, who a year or two ago 
 were porters, stable boys, and coal heavers, affect style, 
 and drive the stunning turnouts on the park. Some 
 women, who give what are called select parties, are 
 rude, coarse, and ignorant, from whose persons the 
 marks of the wash tub and the stiffness of their joints 
 from scrubbing has not been effaced. Men who were 
 ticket takers at a ferry, starters on an omnibus route, or 
 car drivers, buy expensive teams, and lead the fashion 
 for an hour. So-called fashionable people will scram- 
 ble for an invitation to a masque ball, or a fancy party, 
 who would not speak to the hostess outside of her own 
 dwelling. 
 
 RECREATIONS OF THE FAST CLASS. 
 
 The fashionable recreations of the fast class in New 
 York are in keeping with the low life from which they 
 sprung, and with their extravagant habits. Ladies 
 appear in their costly mansions, glittering with gas, 
 and covered with bells. Extravagant costumes, im- 
 ported at fabulous prices, represent monkies, satan, 
 apes, and other forms, which show the taste of the 
 wearers. Servants are decked out in gold and silver 
 livery. Laboring men of different nationalities, are 
 hired for the occasion, and dressed up in fancy cos- 
 tumes to represent nobles and barons of the old world. 
 This style of life is invariably of short duration. Since 
 Lenox, who led the up town movement, laid the foun- 
 dation of his substantial dwelling on Fifth Avenue, 
 which is still occupied by him, at least five hundred 
 families have occupied gorgeous mansions and disap- 
 
4. RUINED MAN, ONCE A FINANCIAL Kl.\ I 1 I f) 
 
 peared from sight. All up and down Fifth Avenue 
 are magnificent mansions, built by fast men of the 
 street, and occupied by butterflies of fashion, during 
 the brief, sunny hour allotted to them. These persons 
 were the rage and sensation for the time. Nothing 
 was good enough for their use, in this country. Car- 
 pets woven in the most celebrated looms in foreign 
 cities ; furniture manufactured at an immense cost in 
 Paris, gold and silver plate and china brought from 
 beyond the seas, were the marvels of the hour. When 
 a party was given, all New York was stirred ; the side- 
 walks were carpeted, and the mansions brilliantly 
 illuminated. The turnouts were the envy of the city. 
 Such dresses, such horses, such aristocratic livery, could 
 not be matched in the country. Without a single 
 exception, these fast livers of pleasure have gone out 
 of sight, not one remaining to-day who was on the 
 surface ten years ago. Some that I have seen, the 
 envy of Saratoga and Newport, are dead; others 
 occupy tenement houses in the city with drunken hus- 
 bands who have added intemperance to financial rever- 
 ses. Many of those magnificent mansions on Fifth 
 Avenue which were built for the fast men of the street, 
 are club houses now, and the names of their builders 
 and founders have already perished. Not only from 
 the street, but from social life, these fast men have dis- 
 appeared forever. In their ruin they have carried 
 down their families with them. 
 
 A RUINED MAN, ONCE A FINANCIAL KING. 
 
 Every day I meet on Wall Street, a man who fifteen 
 years ago stood among the richest and most honora- 
 29 
 
450 A RUINED MAN, ONCE A FINANCIAL KING. 
 
 ble,- the representative of one of the most successful 
 houses in the country. He seldom looks to the right 
 hand or left. He is getting to be an old man now, but 
 stoops quite as much from sorrow as from age. His 
 dress is of the past generation — his huge collar, and 
 double cravat speak of olden time. His step is slow, 
 and he looks seedy and worn. Yet at one time, he 
 was one of the wealthiest men in the country. His 
 name was one of the best known in America. It 
 was honored at the courts abroad, and stood high 
 among the honorable merchants of the world. He 
 inherited the name and the business of a house that 
 through half a century had been unstained. The slow 
 and sure method of gain did not suit him ; he tried the 
 fast r61e. To keep it up, he speculated with trust 
 money put into his hands. This did not meet his 
 necessities, and he used other peoples' names .and 
 added embezzlement and forgery. The game came to 
 an end, as all such transactions must. He fled between 
 two days, and wandered in foreign lands under an 
 assumed name. Widows and orphans were ruined, 
 and the innocent were dragged down in his fall. He 
 lived abroad as a fugitive. He found he was not pur- 
 sued. He grew bolder, and finally appeared in the 
 streets of New York. Nobody meddled with him. 
 Some who remembered him in other days and pitied 
 him, give him a commission or two to execute. He 
 skulks around through the by-ways and narrow lanes 
 of lower New York, like a culprit, where a few years 
 ago, he trod the pavement like a king. He has a little 
 den of an office, strange enough, near the spot where 
 Aaron Burr planted himself at the close of his life, and 
 
THE FAST MEN AT THE < LUB HOUSES, I :/• 451 
 
 tried to earn a scanty living, after having flung away 
 the most brilliant prospect and repute that a public 
 man ever possessed. 
 
 THE FAST HEN AT TIIE CLUB HOUSES. 
 
 The fast men of the street can be found in the even- 
 ing, at some one of the many club houses established 
 in the upper part of the city. These numerous and 
 growing institutions are very unlike the club houses 
 of London, nor have they their political significance. 
 In London, the club houses have a staidness, order, 
 and aristocracy, that mark the British character every- 
 where. 
 
 THE CLUB HOUSES, AND HOW THEY LIVE THERE. 
 
 The New York club houses have the excitement of 
 the street about them. They are furnished in gorgeous 
 style. The most costly viands, and the most exciting 
 and expensive liquors are furnished. Fast New York 
 spend a portion of their evenings amid the fascinations 
 of the club. Londoners go to their clubs to discuss 
 political matters, and decide upon parliamentary dis- 
 cussions or political agitations. New Yorkers go to 
 their clubs to eat and drink and be excited. A Lon- 
 don broker will go up from Lombard Street to his 
 club, take a cosy corner, and dine upon a sober joint 
 with a single glass of sherry or a mug of ale. A New 
 York broker will go to his club and dine off from a bill 
 of fare that would be considered sufficient for a court 
 dinner to crowned heads or a banquet at the Lord 
 Mayor s mansion. An Englishman will sit down at his 
 club with a decanter of wine between himself and 
 
452 THE CLUB HOUSES, AND HO W THEY LIVE THEi, . 
 
 friend, with the smallest and most fragile of wine 
 glasses, and will hold a conference from one to four 
 hours, in a low toned voice, discussing mercantile and 
 other matters, and will rise from the table with that sin- 
 gle glass of wine not consumed. If touched at all, it will 
 "be merely sipped, from time to time, during the con- 
 versation. A New Yorker will go to his club or hotel, 
 with the fever of business still coursing through his 
 veins, excited from success, or maddened from losses, 
 and before he can touch a mouthful of food will call 
 for his bottle of champagne, infuse into it an efferves- 
 cence prepared for such excited spirits, and drain the 
 contents before he touches his soup. It is no mar- 
 vel that such men grow grey at forty ; that premature 
 baldess marks the business men of New York; that 
 only a few reach mature life, and that many of these 
 have paralysis, the gout, and kindred disorders ; that 
 long lines of them can be seen every morning — men 
 made to be healthy, and destined to grow old — tot- 
 tling along with canes to support them, and with an 
 unsteady step, having burnt out their manhood, con- 
 sumed their strength, and prematurely impaired their 
 health, by the excesses of their lives. No warning will 
 avail, no beacons admonish, but each for himself will 
 strike his keel on the sunken rocks and hidden shelves, 
 and perish like a vessel stranded on the beach. 
 
XL1T. 
 MARKED WOMEN OF WALL STREET. 
 
 Martha Washington. — Abigail Adams. — Esther Keed. — Lucy Knox. — 
 Mart Redman. — Lydia Gates. — Mbs. Griswold. — Mrs. Caldwell. — 
 Mart Washington-. — Modern Women. 
 
 The Court of the Young Republic was opened in 
 Wall Street. Previous to the establishment of the Gov- 
 ernment, the heroic women of the period came nobly 
 and cheerfully to aid the cause of National Independ- 
 ence. They lived in and around Wall Street, and joined 
 Washington, Hamilton, Knox, and other eminent men 
 of '76, in the struggle in which they found themselves 
 engaged. These women were gifted, talented, and 
 refined. Some of them belonged to the noblest fam- 
 ilies in the land. Their comfort, ease, and social pro- 
 clivities, were on the side of the King. Many of them 
 were brought up in luxury, and knew neither want 
 nor care. They consecrated all they had to the Na- 
 tional cause. On woman war lays heavily its blood- 
 red hand. But the bravest of the brave were the 
 women whose homes nestled around the pavements 
 now trodden by the great financiers of the metropolis. 
 The women hung garlands on the sword; wreathed 
 tokens of affection on the bayonet ; wove the banner 
 the man of God blest, which was borne in the deadly 
 
 (453) 
 
454 MARKED WOMEN OF WALL STREET. 
 
 strife ; they gave up their husbands, sons, and lovers, 
 to the national cause ; pledged themselves to drink no 
 tea while the Boston harbor was closed, and heroically 
 resolved to buy nothing British till justice was done to 
 America. 
 
 Said Mrs. Mercy Warren, "I want peace for my poor 
 country, but want it on equitable terms. Till that is se- 
 cured the sword can never go back into its scabbard." 
 " Go, William," said the widow Anderson to her only son, 
 " go with Washington and the army; Lizzie and I will 
 tend the cattle, and get in the crops, till you return." 
 Said Mrs. Barry, with her hand on her husband's shoulder, 
 " Sydney, don't play the coward; I would rather know 
 you were dead on the battle field than that you showed 
 the white feather." Martha Washington, Mrs. Reed 
 and others, issued their stirring circular from Wall St., 
 calling upon the ladies of the country to make gar- 
 ments for the troops, and citing the heroic conduct of 
 Miriam, Deborah, and other noble women, whose his- 
 tory was invoked in favor of the good cause. Mrs. 
 Miner was known as the "Beautiful Rebel." Her hus- 
 band sympathized with the British and compelled her 
 to attend a ball given by the British officers in the old 
 City Hall. She refused to dance with any of the offi- 
 cers, and wore thirteen small plumes in her hair to show 
 her sympathy with the thirteen Colonies. When Gen- 
 eral Greene was victorious Mrs. Miner wore green rib- 
 bons and green decorations, and walked out among 
 British troops, who were parading the street. Mrs. 
 Hey wood refused to obey the order issued, to illumin- 
 ate her house at a British victory. She said, "You 
 may walk over my dead body, but not one light shall 
 
MARTHA WASHINGTON.— ABIGAIL ADAMS. 455 
 
 appear in my house." The uniform of the American 
 soldiers was blue, and they were called, in derision, 
 "Blue Devils." Mrs. Livingston told a British officer 
 that she preferred blue devils to "the scarlet fever," 
 alluding to the scarlet uniform of the British troops. 
 u What are you searching for?" said Mrs. Hall to an 
 officer who entered her house. "Treason," was the 
 reply. "You need search no farther," said the woman, 
 "you can find plenty of it at the end of my tongue." 
 
 MARTHA WASHINGTON. 
 
 At the head of this heroic band stood Martha Wash- 
 ington. She was a Mrs. Custis, three years a widow. 
 Of middle size, dark hair, hazel eyes; frank, captivat- 
 ing, and beautiful, with* a hundred thousand pounds 
 in a strong box. During the Eevolutionary War she 
 was the idol of the army, and spent her winters in 
 camp. When the troops saw her chariot approaching 
 with its white and scarlet livery, her coming was 
 hailed with the utmost enthusiasm. The sick soldier, 
 on his rude pallet, blessed her presence. She took 
 part in the terrible suffering of the last winter of the 
 war, at Valley Forge. She was a queenly woman in 
 doing the honors of the Presidential mansion. 
 
 ABIGAIL ADAMS. 
 
 Mrs. Adams had her home in Wall Street, and was 
 one of Washington's court. Her father was a clergy- 
 man, and settled a few miles out from Boston. When 
 his eldest daughter Mary was married, as was the New 
 England custom, he preached a sermon on the occasion, 
 and from the appropriate text, — "Mary hath chosen 
 
456 ESTHER REED. 
 
 that good part that shall not be taken from her." 
 John Adams' visits to the parsonage were not well 
 received. The parish were indignant, and Mrs. Smith 
 did not look kindly on the attentions paid to her 
 daughter Abigail. The calling of John Adams was 
 not a popular one; he was a lawyer. The simple peo- 
 ple of the little village of Weymouth knew but little 
 of lawyers, and did not like what little they knew. 
 The profession was considered a vagabond calling. It 
 was half a dozen miles from the home of John Adams, 
 in Braintree, to the residence of Abigail Smith. John 
 rode over Sunday afternoon, tied his horse to the post 
 in front of the parsonage gate, for no one invited him 
 to stable the steed, and the common hospitality was 
 withdrawn, for he was not invited to tea. The young 
 lawyer carried the day, and the sermon after the wed- 
 ding, was from the apt text, "As for this John, he came 
 neither eating nor drinking, and ye say that he has a 
 devil." From Wall Street Mrs. Adams wrote her cel- 
 ebrated letter, in which she conveyed to her husband, 
 then absent, the pleasant news that her son, John 
 Quincy, would really make something, for he had got 
 the position of carrying the mail, on horse-back, from 
 Braintree to Boston. 
 
 ESTHER REED. 
 
 This lady was the intimate companion and warm 
 personal friend of Martha Washington. She was one 
 of the most brilliant ornaments of the Republican 
 court in New York. She was ingenious, and indefatiga- 
 ble, in her method of raising supplies of food and 
 clothing for the suffering troops. She was a worthy 
 
MART REDMAN. 457 
 
 companion of her brave husband, General Reed. He 
 was approached by British agents, as Arnold was, and 
 gold was proffered to him with position if he would 
 desert the American cause. He replied, "I am not 
 worth buying, but poor as I am, and beggared by the 
 war, England has not gold enough to buy me." 
 
 LUCY KNOX. 
 
 Mrs. Knox was one of the most beautiful and accom- 
 plished women of her day. She was the daughter of 
 the provincial Secretary. Her patriotism drove her 
 from her home. A rich man's daughter, she took noth- 
 ing with her but the sword of her husband, which she 
 sewed up in her cloak as she fled. 
 
 MARY REDMAN. 
 
 A young girl residing in her home where there was 
 not, beside herself, one friend to the American cause, 
 she carried on a correspondence with Washington 
 through the instrumentality of her young brother, Jack. 
 The boy was suspected, and lest he should be searched, 
 Mary ran out to meet him, engaged him in a game of 
 romps in sight of the troops, during which she secured 
 the despatches and ate them up. She was so excited 
 when the news came that Burgoyne had surrendered to 
 Gates that she could not contain herself, and dared not 
 give utterance to her feelings in the presence of her 
 family. She went into the upper part of the house, 
 thrust her head up the chimney and shouted, u Gates, 
 Gates," a few times, as a relief. 
 
458 LYDIA GATES.— MRS. ORIS WOLD. —MRS. CALDWELL. 
 LYDIA GATES. 
 
 Miss Gates belonged to the society of Friends. Her 
 father's house was the headquarters of the British Gen- 
 eral while he held possession of the city. Lydia was 
 so modeSt, so quiet, so gentle, and said "Thee" and 
 "Thou" so demurely, that she was selected as the 
 confidential servant of the chief officer. She over- 
 heard a plan to surprise Washington and cut him off. 
 Under the pretense of going to mill she went beyond 
 the British lines, traveled through the snow to White 
 Plains, and revealed the plot to Washington. Twenty- 
 four hours after she heard the British officers depart 
 to execute their plan. They came back the next morn- 
 ing dispirited, and in ill humor. 
 
 MRS. GRISWOLD. 
 
 Mrs. Griswold was a very brave woman, enthusias- 
 tically devoted to the American cause. A price was 
 set on the head of her husband. Spies saw him enter 
 his house one night. A guard was placed round it in 
 the morning, and the dwelling was searched. The pa- 
 triot could not be found. Mrs. Griswold refused to 
 reveal his hiding place. The troops threatened to 
 bayonet her, and actually put a rope around her neck 
 for the purpose of hanging her to a beam. The hiding 
 place was an original one. The cellar was full of casks. 
 In one of these Mrs. Griswold headed up her husband, 
 and fed him through the bung-hole. 
 
 MRS. CALDWELL. 
 
 This lady was especially obnoxious to the British 
 officers. Her husband was a clergyman, and used his 
 

 MARY WASHINGTON, 459 
 
 influence, which was very great, to obtain supplies for 
 the troops. He came home one day and found his 
 wife on the step-stone, shot in cold blood, with her lit- 
 tle babe crawling on the cold breast of its mother. 
 He lifted the child heavenward, baptised it in the sa- 
 cred gore, and swore eternal hostility to a foe that 
 would spare neither women nor children. 
 
 MARY WASHINGTON. 
 
 This remarkable woman — the mother of General 
 Washington — was invited by her son to make a part 
 of the American Court in New York after the inaugu- 
 ration of Washington at Federal Hall. She declined 
 the invitation, preferring to live in her simple style, 
 and in her humble cottage in Fredericksburg. On his 
 way to New York to assume the responsibilities and 
 honors as chief magistrate of the new nation, the Pres- 
 ident paid his last visit to his mother. Her influence 
 over her son was remarkable. She educated him, pre- 
 sented him with that memorable book which gave him 
 his knowledge of surveying, gardening, etiquette, and 
 the drawing of legal, formal, and diplomatic papers. 
 On Braddock's defeat, he hastened to assure his mother 
 that he had no part in the dishonor. He entered 
 Fredericksburg in state. The people turned out to bid 
 him welcome. Cannon, music, flags, and pageantry, 
 attested the public joy. Washington knew the taste 
 of his mother too well to approach her dwelling with 
 the turmoil of a crowd. Waiting till the shades of 
 evening afforded him privacy, attended only by Lafay- 
 ette, Washington sought the humble dwelling of his 
 mother. No bolts or bars prevented egress. All was 
 
460 MARY WASHINGTON. 
 
 excitement, enthusiasm, and joy outside. The stoical 
 woman sat calm and unmoved amid her servants, 
 who were spinning as the President entered. She 
 bowed slightly to him, and he stooped his tall form 
 that she might kiss his forehead. Long years had 
 passed since he had seen his mother — years of excite- 
 ment, sorrow, peril, and triumph — for a Nation had 
 been born. Collected and cool, as if he had been absent 
 from the home a day or two, Mrs. Washington said — 
 " George, I am glad to see you ; you have altered 
 some since you were here last." To Lafayette, who 
 had detailed to the mother of Washington the great 
 and heroic deeds of her son, she simply replied — "I 
 am not surprised; I knew he would do well, for 
 George was always a good boy." On the morning, as 
 he was bidding adieu, Mary Washington felt that 
 this was a final visit. She melted a little and said, 
 " George, good bye ; you will never see me again." 
 The President was unmanned. He threw himself upon 
 his mother's bosom, and wept like a child. He turned 
 away for the stern duties that awaited him, and he 
 never saw her more. 
 
 A dilapidated monument, a disgrace and a shame to 
 our nation, half finished at best, and in ruins, exists at 
 Fredericksburg, bearing the inscription — "Mary, the 
 Mother of Washington." The time will come when 
 that disgrace will be removed. The dilapidated col- 
 umn will be rebuilded with beauty. Chaplets of fra- 
 grance will be hung upon it, and her memory will be 
 kept green who gave to our nation the peerless and 
 incomparable Washington. 
 
MODERS WOMEN. 461 
 
 MODERN WOMEN. 
 
 In the reverses and commercial disasters that attend 
 the street, the women of modern New York take their 
 part. If they are brought suddenly to affluence, as 
 suddenly they are hurled from their giddy position. 
 Women in stores ; earning a scanty living at the sewing 
 machine ; battling with want at embroidery ; making 
 shirts and sewing on other material at starvation prices ; 
 keeping boarding houses from the luxuriant homes on 
 Fifth Avenue to the very dens in Baxter and Water 
 streets ; clerks in stores ; matrons in mission and reform- 
 atory establishments ; living in chambers, and thankful 
 for a residence in a tenement house — these women have 
 seen the day when they gave parties to the ton, when 
 their dinners and balls were " the rage," and their 
 fine turnouts on the Park were the envy and admira- 
 tion of the street. The wreck of domestic happiness, 
 the sorrow of the wife, and the agony of children, are 
 the saddest things connected with financial reverses in 
 Wall street. It is common to charge on the women 
 of this day the extravagance, luxury, and dissipation 
 of high social life. For recklessness of living the men 
 are much more culpable than women. Many a woman 
 would joyfully to-day give up her luxurious mansion, 
 gay friends, costly parties, diamonds, and horses, if she 
 could bring back the Qld comfort of her humble dwell- 
 ing when she was rich in domestic comforts, and in 
 her husband's society and love. Many a successful 
 man, who has moved into his four story browm stone 
 front, with all its modern improvements, would give 
 the whole, and his gay associates thrown in, if he could 
 
462 MODERN WOMEN. 
 
 recall the happy hours of his earliest struggles, when 
 he ate when he was hungry, drank when he was dry, 
 and went to bed when he pleased ; was not the slave 
 of the dissipated, reckless and fashionable, who eat his 
 dinners, drink his expensive wines, and ridicule his 
 pretensions. An ambitious man, successful in stocks, 
 builds his fine mansion, decorates it gorgeously and at 
 great expense, imports his furniture, plate, and china, 
 buys his costly team, puts his servants in livery, and 
 then goes on to the street, rubbing his hands, and 
 boasts about his establishment, his turnout, and the dia- 
 monds and furs worn by his wife, who when he fails 
 attributes the disaster to the extravagance of woman. 
 Adam was a mean fellow when he attempted to shift 
 on the shoulders of his wife his own crime, saying — 
 ".The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she 
 gave me of the tree and I did eat." But he was no 
 meaner than some operators on Wall street. 
 
XLV. 
 MEN OF THE BAR. 
 
 Lawyers on the Street. — Poor Pat. — Eminent Men. — George "Wood — 
 what Mr. Webster said of him. — John Graham. — The McFarland 
 Trial. — The Recorder. — District Attorney Garvin. — Mr. Graham 
 on the Defence. — Mr. Graham after the Verdict. 
 
 LAWYERS OX THE STREET. 
 
 From the earliest time the most eminent lawyers 
 in New York have had their offices in or near Wall 
 Street. Hamilton's Law Office was near the site of 
 the present bank of New York. Burr's office was on 
 Nassau, a short distance from Wall Street. He was 
 counsel for the association that desired to establish the 
 Manhattan Bank, and prepared that sharp piece of 
 practice which enabled a corporation established for 
 manufacturing purposes to become the great moneyed 
 institution of New York. The most celebrated lawyers 
 from the days of Hamilton, have found it profitable to 
 be near the money changers. 
 
 It was on the corner of Wall Street and Nassau 
 that Alexander Hamilton met Rev. Dr. Mason, then 
 the leading Presbyterian clergyman of New York, 
 when General Hamilton had just returned from the 
 Convention which had formed the Constitution of the 
 United States. "How do you like the new Constitu- 
 tion?" said Mr. Hamilton to Dr. Mason. "You have 
 
 (463) 
 
464 LAWYERS ON THE STREET. 
 
 left God out of the instrument," said Dr. Mason. Paus- 
 ing a moment, Hamilton replied, u So we have Doctor, 
 we forgot that." 
 
 Brains and integrity are indispensable to a success- 
 ful legal career in the metropolis. There are Tombs 
 lawyers and pettifoggers, as there are mock auction- 
 eers and dishonest tradesmen on Chatham Street. But 
 these have no standing, socially, or in the profession. 
 Men who command an income of ten or twenty thous- 
 and dollars a year, in the profession of law, must be 
 men of established repute, as well as of parts. The 
 most profitable portion of the legal profession demands 
 responsibility, and a high toned moral character. Some 
 of the most successful lawyers never go into court at 
 all. They are referees — they are counsel; and banks 
 refer to them constantly. They give judgment on a 
 piece of paper, on which hang ten thousand dollars. 
 Others hold immense trust funds in their hands. Some 
 lawyers confine themselves to real estate practice. 
 Some men will not buy property unless certain law- 
 yers search the title. The Life Insurance Companies, 
 generally, for example, will not loan money on property 
 unless the titles are searched by certain men in Wall 
 Street — men who know every plot of ground in Xew 
 York, and who have been years in the business. 
 If the brokers are in doubt about the legality 
 of a transaction, they hasten to a Wall Street law- 
 yer. They must propound the question, and get 
 an answer in a moment, for heavy sales depend upon 
 it. The answer is given, and without the slightest 
 hesitation the broker buys or sells on the opinion. 
 This class of lawyers charge enormous feesj their rep- 
 
POOH PAY. 
 
 utation is their capital. It is a common thing for 
 busi '.'li to retain certain eminent lawyers Some 
 
 large establishments keep their own counsel. Stewart 
 pays an ex-judge a large salary to attend to all his legal 
 business, real and personal. Claflin has a legal depart- 
 ment in his store; and collections, and every fori;, 
 legal business are conducted under his own eye. Our 
 large railroad companies not only have a legal depart- 
 ment, but keep in pay the most distinguished lawyers 
 in the city. The banks do the same thing. Many of 
 the lawyers indulge in stock speculations and some 
 have been very successful ; others have shared the 
 common fate of men who make ventures on the street. 
 
 POOR PAY. 
 
 Wall Street lawyers like Wall Street bankers, are 
 the men who give character to their profession. Out 
 of three thousand who practice law in New York, a 
 very small part get their living by practicing that pro- 
 fession. They are brokers "in a small way, dabble in 
 real estate, become literary critics, and eke out a liv- 
 ing in various ways. About a dozen lawyers have a 
 national reputation, and these will be found in and 
 around Wall Street. These form a select society — 
 socially and legally. They are high toned, gentle- 
 manly and genial ; among whom the esprit de corps of 
 the profession is found. The rest of the profession 
 have very little in common. New York lawyers have 
 seldom occasion to meet, except they are engaged in 
 the same individual cause. The manner in which suits 
 are brought is very peculiar. Till the trial, every 
 thing is done out of court, and done by clerks, stu- 
 ' 30 
 
466 EMINENT MEN. 
 
 dents and subordinates. When the calendar is called 
 it is watched by mere boys, and leading counsel are 
 seldom seen in court unless an important motion is to 
 be argued, or the case is actually on. Lawyers of note 
 have junior partners who attend to all the preliminary 
 details of the suit. 
 
 EMINENT MEN. 
 
 The legal business of New York is broken up into 
 departments and eminent counsel have special- 
 ties. One class devote themselves wholly to criminal 
 practice; others confine themselves to the Federal 
 Courts ; some are commercial lawyers, others conduct 
 Admiralty cases ; one class are Patent lawyers ; but 
 the most successful and remunerative practice is that 
 connected with real estate. A chain of titles from cer- 
 tain lawyers would pass all the parks in the city. 
 
 Charles O'Connor stands at the head of the profes- 
 sion without controversy. James T. Brady was his 
 successful rival. Since his death, no one has arisen to 
 take his place. Mr. Evarts is the attorney for the high- 
 est toned bankers, merchants, and insurance offices in the 
 street. He is one of the ablest lawyers in New York, 
 and one of the safest counsellors. David Dudley Field 
 leads in a certain kind of practice. He is the shrewd- 
 est and most successful counsellor at the New York 
 bar. His income is probably larger than that of any 
 lawyer in New York. He is very successful in heavy 
 railroad suits, patents and other intricate cases. He 
 would not be taken in court by a stranger for a man 
 of any mark. He has a sleepy, indifferent sort of look 
 
GEORGE WOOD— WHAT MR. WEBSTER SAID OF HIM. 4C7 
 
 when he is in repose, as if he had no interest in any 
 matter at all. 
 
 GEORGE WOOD WHAT MR. WEBSTER SAID OF HIM. 
 
 To Mr. Field will apply the remark of Mr. Web- 
 ster in regard to George Wood, the great equity law- 
 yer. A committee called on him to retain him in 
 the great Rubber suit, tried in New Jersey. The 
 agreement was that Mr. Webster was to have a retainer 
 of ten thousand dollars, when the case was called, and 
 he took his seat at the table as counsel. " Who is 
 retained on the other side?" said Mr. Webster. The 
 names of several eminent counsel were mentioned. 
 Among others, the gentlemen named that of a Mr. Wood 
 of New York. "A sleepy looking man," they said; 
 u he don't amount to much, we think." "Is it Mr. 
 George Wood?" asked Mr. Webster. u Yes," the 
 committee thought the gentleman was called George 
 Wood. "Well gentlemen," said Mr. Webster, u if the 
 other side have retained George Wood, and he is 
 asleep we had better not wake him up." 
 
 JOHN GRAHAM. 
 
 Mr. Graham would be a marked man any where. 
 He is now quite an old man, but in criminal cases, he 
 is the most powerful and successful advocate at the bar. 
 Pie has tried the great criminal cases, and always on 
 the side of the prisoner for the last quarter of a cen- 
 tury — including Sickles, Cole and McFarland. Where 
 the bullet was winged on its way by jealousy, he has 
 been successful for his clients. The distinguished men 
 at the bar who tried cases with him thirty years ago, 
 
468 JOHN GRAUAM.-THE MCFARLAND TRIAL. 
 
 have gone down to the grave. He stands alone as the 
 last of the eminent advocates, who at one time, made 
 the bar of New York so brilliant. Mr. Graham is of 
 medium size, quite stout and athletic. He wears a 
 huge wig, almost yellow in its color, and rolling down 
 in different directions like the wig of John Wesley, 
 which appears in his pictures. It might be more 
 becoming than it is. His huge Byron collar rolls 
 loosely down his neck. His cravat secured by a care- 
 less, sailor's knot, indicates the ease and negligence of 
 the wearer. His brawny neck almost a deformity, 
 reveals its proportions nearly to the shoulders, and 
 shows that he has been a man of great physical strength. 
 His clothes, careless and unprofessional, look like 
 cheap suits bought at a slop shop, and put on without 
 care. He walks with a rolling, waddling gait, and 
 seems to scull along as he moves. His elocution is 
 faultless, and his enunciation clear, smooth, and taking, 
 recalling Spurgeon in his best utterances. He is 
 very impassioned at times ; bold, daring, defiant, and 
 says things that few men would care to think. He is 
 bitter, sarcastic, and scathing when he chooses to be, 
 to a terrible degree. These outbursts uttered in a voice 
 piercing and vehement, are often followed by a stroke 
 of pathos, that bring tears into the eyes of the jury. 
 
 THE MCFARLAND TRIAL. 
 
 The crowning forensic effort of Mr. Graham's life 
 was his defence of McFarland for shooting Richardson. 
 He*had been deserted by one counsel, and the case so 
 far as the argument and management were concerned, 
 
TI1E RECORDER. 4G9 
 
 devolved on him alone. One of Mr. Graham's traits of 
 character, is the ability to make his client's cause his 
 own. He took McFarland's view of his case, and with 
 vehemence, almost desperation, he tried it. Another 
 thing about Graham is, that he sticks to his client till 
 the last. In his own phrase, he " sticks to him like his 
 skin." There has certainly never been a trial that 
 excited so much public attention. Richardson w^as a 
 well known writer, the correspondent of one of the 
 most widely circulated journals, and belonged to a 
 circle of men and women, literally sharp, bold, and 
 earnest, who had taken it upon themselves to aid Mrs. 
 McFarland in her separation from her husband. The 
 party were charged with having conspired to alienate 
 the affections of a woman from her husband, — which 
 however, was not proven, — and to protect her in all the 
 steps necessary to consummate her deliverance from 
 what she declared her most wretched condition. 
 
 An intercepted letter written by Mr. Richardson to 
 McFarland's wife, fired the brain of McFarland. The 
 letter encouraged Mrs. McFarland's resolution to free 
 herself from her husband. Subsequently, McFarland 
 met Richardson in the Tribune office and fired the fatal 
 shot. 
 
 The trial lasted over twenty days, during which the 
 excitement and interest remained unabated. The cen- 
 tral figures of the trial are worthy to be photographed. 
 The densely crowded court room was alive with inter- 
 est. The day Mr. Graham summed up, spectators were 
 admitted by tickets. At least two hundred ladies 
 were in the room, and they swarmed around the tables 
 of the reporters. 
 
470 TEE RECORDER. 
 
 THE RECORDER. 
 
 The central figure of the court was the Hon. John 
 K. Hackett. He is a splendid specimen of a man, over 
 six feet high, graceful and courtly in his proportions, 
 with a full, powerful frame. His blue eye is clear, and 
 his voice sonorous and musical. His manner is bland, 
 but very decided and firm. The trial had produced a 
 very marked effect on the recorder. He said he never 
 knew a case where the counsel were so irritable and 
 belligerent, treading up all the while close to the line 
 of forensic courtesy. As the trial was drawing to a 
 close, his full, robust, and vigorous frame seemed to 
 weaken, and he looked worn, jaded, and sick. His 
 characteristics are sterling integrity, an anxious desire 
 to deal fairly with all who come before him — with a 
 courteous bearing towards belligerent counsel, that 
 even their impertinence cannot mar. Bold, prompt, 
 sharp, and clear-headed, he brings the gavel down in an 
 instant and his rulings are clear and emphatic. The 
 public, who are keen t6 detect the slightest leanings 
 of a judge, the press and the opposing counsel, all 
 unite in awarding to the Recorder high praise for his 
 ability and impartiality in the McFarland trial. The 
 recorder is a keen sportsman and the best shot in 
 America. He can knock the ashes off of any man's 
 cigar at thirty paces who has courage enough to hold 
 it in his mouth when Mr. Hackett fires. Yery confi- 
 dential friends have allowed him to shoot a dime from 
 between their fingers. The operation is perfectly safe, 
 but it is not recommended to timid people. 
 
MR. GRAHAM FOR THE DEFENSE. 471 
 
 DISTRICT ATTORNEY GARVIN. 
 
 Judge Garvin, who appeared for the people in this 
 case, is a very different style of man from Mr. Graham. 
 He is a man of remarkably fine presence, and one of 
 the most gentlemanly advocates at the bar. lie is fit- 
 ted for the bench; and the quiet and dignity of judi- 
 cial life would suit him better than the turmoil and 
 labor of a criminal prosecution. Judge Davis, who was 
 associated with Mr. Garvin, is a keen, subtle, and irri- 
 table advocate of the Cassius make, and in temper and 
 audacity would match any man at the bar. It was ex- 
 pected that Judge Davis would make the argument for 
 the prosecution, but he was not allowed to do so. 
 
 MR. GRAHAM FOR THE DEFENSE. 
 
 Mr. Graham arose amid the hushed stillness of the 
 crowd to make the plea, on which hung the life of a 
 human being. Before him sat the prisoner. A small, 
 genteel-looking man, with dark curling hair, inclining 
 to gray, a face marked and wrinkled with care, sorrow, 
 and anxiety, who fastened his eyes closely on his ad- 
 vocate, and scarcely took them off during the fourteen 
 impassioned hours of the argument. Beside him was 
 his little boy "Dannie," who sometimes sat on his 
 knee, sometimes hugged him round the neck, some- 
 times grasped his hand; at others, cuddling up to him, 
 as if he had some idea of the peril which hung over 
 his father. 
 
 Mr. Graham was perfect master of the case commit- 
 ted to his hands. In his opening, he read from the 
 arguments of Brady and Stanton, on the famous Sick- 
 
472 MR. GRAHAM AFTER THE VERDICT. 
 
 les' trial. He alluded touchingly to the fact, that 
 the Judge who tried that case, and all the eminent 
 counsel, except himself, were dead. He read with 
 terrible effect a portion of Mr. Stanton's speech on the 
 "frenzy" of Sickles — a phrase on which the trial ac- 
 tually turned, and the verdict of acquittal was rendered. 
 He described the friendship between Sickles and Key 
 — the base use made of that friendship — the siege that 
 was planned and successfully carried out — the aliena- 
 tion of the wife's affection — the carrying off of Sickles' 
 little girl — the room and its arrangements, and the 
 flaunting of the signal on the morning of the shooting 
 in the very eyes of Sickles. Each sentence, as it was 
 read, was applied to the McFarland case — the inter- 
 cepted letter, answering in its effect to that which the 
 handkerchief presented. The conclusion of Mr. Stan- 
 ton's argument was overwhelming. Mr. Graham de- 
 scribed Mr. Stanton's manner as he read his words. 
 He lifted his hand toward heaven, and directed his 
 eyes upward, and "thanked God that he had directed 
 the swift-winged bullet to avenge the wrongs of an 
 outraged home." The audience quivered under the 
 utterance. The recorder wiped his eyes, and the jury 
 were sensibly affected. When Mr. Graham paused 
 the stillness of death pervaded the room. 
 
 MR. GRAHAM AFTER THE VERDICT. 
 
 The scene that followed the rendering of the verdict 
 has never had a parallel in the history of the New 
 York courts. When the foreman pronounced dis- 
 tinctly and solemnly the words "Not Guilty," the au- 
 dience started to their feet, and cheer after cheer re- 
 
MR. GRAHAM AFTER THE VERDICT. 473 
 
 sounded through the room, lasting for some minutes, 
 which the Judge did not see fit to check. The pris- 
 oner was forgotten for the moment in the ovation 
 tended to the advocate. Men shed tears as they 
 grasped his hand, women kissed him, and prayed on 
 him the blessings of Heaven ; and in the midst of the 
 excitement little Dannie sprang from his chair, waved 
 his handkerchief and led the cheering, which was re- 
 sumed. Mr. Graham turned away from the court-house 
 fully satisfied that he would try but few more such ex- 
 citing cases as that which was just closed. U I shall 
 die with my harness on," he said. 
 
XLVI. 
 HORACE B. CLAFLIN. 
 
 His Commercial Palace. — Mr. Claflin's personal Appearance. — Ri- 
 valry with Stewart. 
 
 The list of financial men in New York would not be 
 complete without a notice of that remarkable merchant, 
 H. B. Claflin. He began his mercantile career in the 
 interior of Massachusetts, where he purchased goods 
 in the smallest w^ay, and was his own expressman and 
 porter in conveying his purchases from the warehouse 
 of the merchant to his own humble counter. He set 
 up an establishment in Worcester, and was celebrated 
 for his enterprise and success, his fair dealing, popular 
 manners, and democratic ideas. His fortune reached 
 the great sum of $15,000. When it was known that 
 this capital was to be taken from Worcester, and re- 
 moved to New York, the town was greatly moved over 
 the loss of the man, and more over the loss of the 
 money. Such a heavy drain was considered especially 
 damaging to the business prospects of that flourishing 
 town. Thirty years ago Mr. Claflin came to New York 
 and opened business in Cedar street, under the firm of 
 Buckley and Claflin. His first sensation was created 
 in a cellar in Broadway, under Trinity Building, where 
 under the name of Claflin, Mellen & Co., Mr. Claflin's 
 
 (474) 
 
BIS COMMERCIAL PALACE. 475 
 
 enterprise and dash brought the house prominently 
 before the country. It took a start that it has never 
 lost, and it has, to-day, no rival worthy of the name 
 except Stewart. 
 
 HIS COMMERCIAL PALACE. 
 
 The huge warehouse or dry goods palace, with a 
 frontage of one hundred feet on Church street, one 
 hundred feet on West Broadway, and four hundred on 
 Worth street, is the grandest dry goods house in the 
 world. It is built of Nova Scotia sandstone, in a tasteful 
 style of architecture. It is seven stories high, and is fin- 
 ished in the highest style of art, with every convenience. 
 It has various departments, such as a Flannel Depart- 
 ment, Dress Goods, Shawls, Silks, White Goods, Lace, 
 Cloth, Boots and Shoes, Hosiery, Notions, and Carpets. 
 Each department is as distinct as if it were a separate 
 establishment. Each has its own head. To each de- 
 partment the rent is charged, gas, clerk hire, etc. All 
 this has to be paid out of the sales of the department ; 
 after which the profits are figured up. 
 
 The second floor is devoted to the general office 
 of the concern — rooms for the firm, for book-keepers 
 and cashiers, of which there is a small army. Mr. 
 McNamee is at the head of the credits of the firm, and 
 all who wish to open accounts do it through him. The 
 Post Office department, costing ten thousand dollars a 
 year, the Telegraphic department, and the Law depart- 
 ment, — for Mr. Claflin keeps his own lawyer under his 
 roof as he does his cashier — are .complete in their way. 
 
 The third floor is a curiosity. It is appropriated to 
 merchants and to out of town customers who trade with 
 
476 MR. CLAFLIN'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 the house. The room is handsomely carpeted, and to 
 each customer is assigned a desk with a key for his pri- 
 vate use. All letters sent to customers are taken charge 
 of by the house, and delivered as regularly as at any 
 place of business. All letters sent from this room are 
 mailed free of expense to the writer. Men temporari- 
 ly in the city have desks assigned them, and they do 
 their business as regularly as if in their own counting 
 rooms. Firms, located in Galveston, New Orleans, 
 Charleston, St. Louis, St. Paul's, keep agents in New 
 York. These have desks at Claflin's, with the names 
 of their houses in conspicuous places. It takes seven 
 hundred men to run this establishment, from the por- 
 ter and packer to the guard at the front door. The 
 assortment of dry goods is complete. Everything in 
 the line that can possibly be desired can be found 
 under one roof. Dry goods, dress goods, silks, velvets, 
 cottons, prints, boots and shoes, hats, clocks, looking- 
 glasses ; with every article that can be included under 
 the significant word — "notions. 1 ' 
 
 MR. CLAFLIN'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 A visitor might stroll through this immense ware- 
 house, up stairs and down stairs for a week, and not dis- 
 cover any man whose appearance would indicate that 
 he was the vigilant, indomitable, persevering, and cele- 
 brated head of this distinguished house. In the cellar, 
 on the dry goods floor, in the office, through the va- 
 rious departments, the visitor would probably pass Mr. 
 Claflin a dozen times. He is a plain, unpretending, 
 modest looking man, about sixty years of age, a little 
 under size, genteelly formed, hair light, and inclined 
 
}JR. CLAFLOTS PERSONAL APPEARAN 
 
 _ y. and head quite bald. He wear- a oomn 
 
 - s .it of gray, with a shaker colored slouched 
 srs a face rosy as a mountain nymph, and fresh as 
 
 a pilot's. He seldom speaks : when he does it is aside. 
 
 in an under and hi- v is i ij heard He 
 
 D sit on a box of g<:»ods. braced up by clasping his 
 knees with both hands, and transact business with the 
 heaviest merchants in the land. For a long time he 
 took charge of the financial department himself, mak- 
 ing all the deposits in the bank with his own hand. 
 Till recently he purchased all the prints! He now 
 lias the general oversight of all the business. He comes 
 early in the morning, seldom later than nine o clock. 
 He remains till six. later if the business of the da 
 not complete. He is as popular in his establishment 
 - Stewart is personally unpopular. He is popular 
 h his clerks, who serve him with alacrity ; popular 
 h the trade, who buy of him in preference to Stew- 
 art, when they can get the class of goods they want, 
 and popular with the great manufacturers. He has 
 exact rules. At the door there is a tell-tale of peculiar 
 construction, by which the coming and going of ev 
 man is marked. If a person is late. Mr. Claflin does 
 not fine him as Stewart does : but. if it is repeated, a: 
 the close of the season, the party is not re-engaged. 
 All employees are required to enter by the door on 
 Church street. To all the rules imposed on his clerks 
 Mr. Claflin adjusts himself. It is against the rules to 
 enter on the Worth street side of the establishme 
 In a violent storm. Mr. Claflin has been known to walk 
 the whole length of the building, rather than zo 
 through the passage prohibited to his salesmen. E I 
 
478 RIVALRY WITH STEWART. 
 
 ward E. Eames ,one of the partners, is about forty years 
 of age, tall and slim, with black hair; quick and sharp, 
 quite a business man of the Stewart style, and not a 
 pleasant man to be under. He buys the domestic 
 goods. Edward W. Bancroft is a sharp business man, 
 and conducts the department of finance. He is agree- 
 able and gentlemanly, but has none of the enthusiasm 
 and elements of popularity which mark Mr. Claflin. 
 
 RIVALRY WITH STEWART. 
 
 The great millionaire bears no love toward the house 
 of Claflin & Co. He has broken down several estab- 
 lishments, and it is not for the want of an effort that 
 Claflin himself is not among his slain. Once, it was 
 thought that Claflin would have to succumb, but the 
 merchants, capitalists, and creditors of the house had 
 so much confidence in Mr. Claflin's integrity and ability 
 that they came to the rescue of the house, saved it from 
 going down, enabled it to pay one hundred cents on the 
 dollar, and started it upon a career of unparalleled suc- 
 cess, which ten years has not dimmed. Claflin's sale of 
 dry goods is greatly in advance of Stewart's; but 
 Stewart's immense capital enables him to control im- 
 portant lines of goods, and compel a trade from mer- 
 chants who do not like him. He bulls and bears the 
 market in dry goods at pleasure, and would break 
 down every large house in New York if he could. If 
 he wants a line of carpets, he advances a hundred 
 thousand dollars capital to the manufacturer. He 
 does the same for a certain line of cottons and other 
 goods. By means of his capital, he secures the best 
 
RIVALRY WITH STEWART. 479 
 
 style of imported goods. He controls every glove 
 made by Alexander sent to this country, and sells out 
 of his own house a million of dollars worth a year. 
 Every little while he throws a line of goods on the 
 market cheap, to wake merchants up. 
 
 He is a very hard man on credits. If a man 
 wishes to open a credit with his house, he has a list 
 of questions that have to be answered. He must 
 tell how old he is, wdiether he is married or single, 
 how many children, how much he owes, how much 
 it costs him to live ; whether he drinks or gambles, 
 and other questions. Many merchants refuse to an- 
 swer these questions, regarding them as imper- 
 tinent. On all these points, Mr. Claflin differs from 
 Stewart. He does not cage himself up and hedge him- 
 self round with officials. He is all over the establish- 
 ment with his porters and clerks, book-keepers and 
 salesmen. He is genial, humorous, affable, and 
 friendly. He is very liberal in the matter of credits. 
 If a man stands fair in the community, he can get a 
 line of goods at the house. He is very considerate to 
 his clerks, and makes them feel that they are a part 
 of the establishment. Still there is but one head, and 
 all understand that. Mr.. Claflin is very liberal in his 
 donations, and his private gifts are very large. He is 
 as simple hearted as a child. He can be seen on Sun- 
 days in the infant department of the Sunday School, 
 with some fatigued and weary little child on his knee, 
 joining with the class in singing " the sweet story of 
 old, when Jesus was here among men." 
 
XL VII, 
 
 HALF A CENTURY IN WALL STREET. 
 ROMANCE OF BUSINESS. 
 
 Arthur Tapp an. — How a Millionaire was Made. — Stephen Whitney. — 
 Henry Keep's Start. — Peter Gilsey. — Amos R. Eno. — John J. Cisco. — 
 William B. Duncan. — John Hancock in New York. — Etiquette with 
 Washington. — Rival Political Savans — Presbyterian Church on 
 Wall Street. — Robert Lennox's Pew. — Billy Gray's Coachman. — 
 Anecdote of Webster. — The King's Tea Trade. — Bulls and Bears 
 in Real Estate. — Cornering Merchandise. — Father-in-Law of Pen- 
 niman. — Preserved Fish. — Mayor Lawrence. — Old Style of Mer- 
 chants. — Huge Rail Road Speculations. — E. D. Morgan in Trade. — 
 Mayor Mickel. — Old Abraham Beninger. — Lindley Murray. — Hoe's 
 Early Life. — Schuyler Livingston. — Irving's Law Office. — Davies 
 and Delevan. — Wilder and the Tract Society. — Bishop Provost. — 
 Girard the Lawyer. 
 
 ARTHUR TAPPAN. 
 
 Half a century ago, Wall Street was the centre of 
 a heavy dry goods trade of the city. Where Pearl 
 street intersects Wall, the autocrats of trade had their 
 stores and counting rooms. What is now known as 
 Hanover Square, the nestling place of commercial law- 
 yers, Arthur Tappan had his famous dry goods store. 
 He was the Stewart of his day. His trade towering 
 up to two millions a year, was considered stupendous. 
 The Tappans came from Boston. They were all Uni- 
 tarians, and members of Dr. Channing's congregation. 
 Lewis came out of the war of 1812 with a fortune of 
 
 (430) 
 
HOW A MILLIONAIRE WAS MADE. 481 
 
 $80,000. Arthur lost all he was worth. Arthur wanted 
 to do business in New York, and proposed to make 
 silks a specialty. Lewis loaned his brother $10,000, 
 and with that he set up business in New York. Lewis 
 remained in Boston in business till he lost all his 
 money. He succeeded in paying his debts except 
 $10,000 due to his brother John. Lewis joined the 
 firm in New York, and it became one of the most cele- 
 brated of its day. Soon after Arthur opened business 
 in New York, his wife urged him, as there was no 
 Unitarian church in the city, to attend with her upon 
 Dr. Mason's. Arthur consented to hire a pew for six 
 months and accompany his wife, with the understand- 
 ing that if he did not like it at the expiration of the 
 time, he should not be obliged to attend longer. He 
 became greatly interested in Dr. Mason's preaching. 
 Before the six months were out, he became a member of 
 the church, and from that time threw his influence on 
 the Evangelical side of religion. Mr. Tappan had 
 many of the business traits which distinguish Stewart. 
 He was quiet, straight forward and energetic, a man of 
 few words and those to the point. His executive 
 ability was unequaled, and his integrity no man ques- 
 tioned. 
 
 HOW A MILLIONAIRE WAS MADE. 
 
 After Mr. Tappan united with Dr. Mason's church, 
 he became very celebrated for his activity in religious 
 affairs. He was especially interested in the cause of 
 Foreign Missions, and a large contributor to its funds. 
 He received one day from the interior of Massachu- 
 setts, a package of silk buttons in imitation of the iin- 
 *31 
 
482 HOW A MILLIO NAIRE WAS MADI . 
 
 ported article. These buttons were made by a young 
 woman, and were sent to Mr. Tappan to be disposed of. 
 The story that accompanied the package was very 
 touching. A young mechanic resided near Northampton 
 who was quite a religious young man, and resolved to 
 devote a portion of his earnings to the cause of religion. 
 Returning to his home one evening, he seemed to be 
 very much dispirited, and his wife anxiously inquired 
 the cause. He said he felt sad because he was too 
 poor to make a contribution to the cause of Foreign 
 Missions. He gave what he could to religion. His 
 associates were making up a contribution, and he was 
 ashamed that he could not make a donation equal to 
 others. His wife obtained a silk imported button. 
 She took it to pieces, discovered how it was made 
 and resolved to try her hand at button making. She 
 purchased some twist, and button molds, and succeed- 
 ed in making a few dozen in a very creditable manner. 
 She had heard of Mr. Tappan and his interest in the 
 mission cause, and she begged him if the buttons would 
 bring anything to dispose of them and appropriate the 
 money as a donation from her husband to Foreign 
 Missions. This style of button had heretofore been 
 imported, and this was the first attempt at domestic 
 manufacture. The article sold readily and Mr. Tappan 
 wrote to the lady that he would purchase all the but- 
 tons she could manufacture of that style. The busi- 
 ness grew on the hands of the woman. Her husband 
 came to her rescue. Machinery followed the manufac- 
 ture by hand ; wealth poured in ; the manufacturer 
 became a millionaire and his establishment for the 
 .manufacture of buttons became the most extensive and 
 
HOW A MILLIONAIRE WAS MADE. 483 
 
 celebrated in the land. His liberality has kept pace 
 with his wealth, and for half a century he has been 
 among the most liberal, considerate and bountiful 
 benefactors to religion, humanity, and education that 
 this country has produced. 
 
 Mr. Tappan commenced his trade in 1818. In 1826, 
 he divided with his three partners $131,000. In thir- 
 teen and a half years, his gross profits amounted to 
 1,400,000. In 1831, Mr. Tappan left the Coloniza- 
 tion Society, and became an advocate for the English 
 system of abolition. He was one of the original found- 
 ers of the Journal of Commerce, with David Hale for an 
 editor. Mr. Hale did not agree with Mr. Tappan in 
 the Abolition question, or in the rejection of theatrical 
 and kindred advertisements in the papers, and he pur- 
 chased of Mr. Tappan his interest in the Journal of Com- 
 merce, giving his notes which were to run for a series 
 of years. These notes were promptly paid as they 
 matured. 
 
 Not content with the private advocacy of his views 
 on slavery, Mr. Tappan issued a circular, which he sent 
 to all his customers at the South, not only losing the 
 Southern trade, but securing a correspondence that 
 was quite suggestive. Huge packages came to the 
 store, which contained halters and bits of rope, sug- 
 gestive of hanging, with the ears and fingers of slaves. 
 Parties from the South traded privately with the Tap- 
 pans, coming in at the back door, for not a yard of 
 goods could have been sold, had it been known that 
 they were bought of this house. Arthur Tappan was 
 a very bold man, and when Lewis' house in Rose street 
 was mobbed in 1833, Arthur was the especial object 
 
484 STEPHEN WHITNEY. 
 
 of vengeance. Lewis and his family, duly warned, 
 were away. But Arthur, dressed in a white cap and 
 jacket, attempted to save Lewis's furniture from de- 
 struction. Lawrence, the Mayor of the city, was at- 
 tracted by the activity of Mr. Tappan, and inquired of 
 some of his friends who he was. In a whisper, some 
 one said, " It is Arthur Tappan." " Tell him to retire," 
 said the Mayor, " I cannot defend him here." When 
 his store was attacked, there were twelve armed men 
 inside, with twenty-four stand of arms ; the door was 
 barricaded with counters, and the mob were given to 
 understand that they would meet with a warm recep- 
 tion if they came too near. The rioters contented 
 themselves with hurling missiles at the door, and break- 
 ing a few panes of glass. 
 
 STEPHEN WHITNEY. 
 
 Mr. Whitney was the last of the old merchants who 
 resided down town. He clung to his residence at the 
 Battery to the very last. His old associates left him 
 one by one ; palatial mansions came down ; trade 
 surged around his dwelling ; the Battery was shorn of 
 its beauty and became a nuisance, dilapidated and 
 crowded with emigrants ; the dwellings of merchant 
 princes were turned into warehouses and offices, or 
 occupied by a degraded population ; but Mr. Whitney 
 went in and out, a solitary resident, where the fashion- 
 able, the rich, and the gay had dwelt, and never left 
 his abode till he was carried to that house appoint- 
 ed for all living. He began business in a humble way 
 as a grocer, and invested his earnings in real estate. 
 
HENRY KEEP'S START. 485 
 
 He left when he died ten millions behind him. A 
 gruff lawyer was questioned in regard to Mr. Whitney's 
 estate. " You had charge of Mr. Whitney's property/' 
 said a gentleman of an enquiring turn of mind. " I had," 
 was the reply. u He was rich, was he not ?" "That is the 
 general impression," said the lawyer. " Do you know 
 how much property he left?" "I do," said the legal 
 gentleman. u Would you have any objection to tell 
 me ?" " Not in the least, sir, not in the least. Mr. 
 
 Whitney, sir, when he died left every cent he was 
 
 worth." 
 
 HENRY KEEP'S START. 
 
 The early life of* Henry Keep, the Railroad million- 
 aire, was quite romantic. His early years were passed 
 in a poor house. He was taken from that institution 
 at the age of ten years, and " bound out." He ran 
 away from his master several years later, and was ad- 
 vertised as a runaway, with one cent reward offered 
 for his capture. He was not brought back, however, 
 and soon turned up as a teamster at Watertown, N. Y. 
 Then he became a hackman. In those days Canada 
 shillings were plenty and current in the States at twenty 
 cents, while over the border they brought twenty-five 
 cents. Young Keep's eye sighted a chance for a suc- 
 cessful financial scheme. Carpet bag in hand, he jour- 
 neyed about, gathered up the coins and took them to 
 Canada, where he made the profitable exchange. There 
 were no duties. No one had previously thought of this 
 itinerating brokerage business, and he made hand- 
 somely by it. After a time, he settled in business and 
 opened an Exchange office in a small way at Water- 
 
486 PETER GILSEY. 
 
 town. A citizen of that town, rich in goods and 
 daughters, was very much opposed to Henry, but one 
 of the daughters was not. This old man, whose name 
 was Woodruff, swore he would shoot Keep, and an 
 elopement followed. The widow of Mr. Keep has her 
 millions from the estate accumulated by the man with 
 whom she ran away by night to get married. 
 
 PETER GILSEY. 
 
 This gentleman is one of the most successful finan- 
 ciers in New York. He began life very poor. He 
 came to the surface as the keeper of a small cigar store, 
 on Broadway. He gave attention early to real estate, 
 and has been content to seek for wealth in that class 
 of investments. The large building on Broadway and 
 Courtlandt street, known as Gilsey Building, is a good 
 specimen of his forecast and thrift. The site was con- 
 sidered a valuable one, and several persons attempted 
 to obtain it on lease. The owner resided on Long 
 Island, and was noted for his love of whiskey and 
 cigars. He was a shrewd, cautious, "skittish" sort of 
 a man to deal with, and no party had been able to 
 bring him to terms. With a good supply of fine liquor, 
 and a quantity of well selected cigars, Mr. Gilsey vis- 
 ited the owner in his domicil on Long Island. Who 
 drank the whiskey, and who smoked the cigars is not 
 known. But Mr. Gilsey brought back a well executed 
 lease, giving him control of the property for twenty- 
 five years. He paid a small ground rent, and agreed 
 that whatever building he put up on the prop- 
 erty should be left to the owner of the land when 
 
PETER GILSEY. "487 
 
 the lease expired. While labor and material were 
 very low, the fine Gilsey Building was put up, costing 
 it is said, $G0,000. The lease has proved a rich placer, 
 the rentals paying for the building the first year, 
 Since 1861, the income from the building has exceed- 
 ed ST 5, 000 dollars a year. In the upper part of 
 Broadway, Mr. Gilsey put up several stores which 
 would not rent. He immediately broke them up into 
 little shanties, about twelve feet front and thirty deep, 
 and while they add little to the elegance of upper 
 Broadway, they have proved a success to the lessor. 
 What is now the Coleman House was on his hands and 
 unrentable. He turned the whole block into a hotel, 
 made large stores underneath into small ones, and 
 the whole became a splendid paying property. Mr. 
 Gilsey is one of the few men who have never met with 
 reverses in New York. It is said that from the time 
 he commenced his small trade in cigars, he never lost 
 payment in a single instance. He has never lost a 
 quarter's rent and has made money out of everything 
 he has touched. He has a multitude of tenants, and 
 has a written lease for them all. It is a lease such as 
 Blackstone and Kent never knew. It is drawn by 
 himself and places the tenant completely in the power 
 of the landlord. Mr. Gilsey has a short, sharp way 
 of doing business. A man applies for a store ; the 
 rent is named and the lease thrown down. No words 
 are wasted. The landlord says, "I have no time to 
 bother, if you want the store take it ; if you don't, 
 clear out, my time is too precious to waste." In nine 
 cases out of ten, the lease is signed ; payment in 
 advance, or immediate ejection. Mr. Gilsey adheres 
 
488 AMOS R. ENO.— JOHN J. CISCO. 
 
 to his original trade. His store, corner of Broadway 
 and Courtlandt streets, is one of the finest stands in the 
 city, and his business is large. 
 
 AMOS R. ENO. 
 
 Mr. Eno began trading in a very small way. He and 
 his partner, John J. Phelps, had some difference about 
 investments. Mr. Phelps believed that a merchant 
 should stick to his business, and not meddle with out- 
 side matters. Mr. Eno had great faith in real estate. 
 Quite an amount stood in the name of the firm. One 
 day Mr. Phelps said, " I do not like this real estate 
 business. I don't like our investments." "Well," 
 said Mr. Eno, "I will take all the real estate, and you 
 may take the goods, and we will separate." He con- 
 tinued to make heavy investments till he possessed 
 himself of the most valuable property in New York. 
 Several times he came very near going under. After 
 the Fifth Avenue Hotel was nearly complete, the work 
 was suspended in consequence of temporary embar- 
 rassment. But he held on, and carried his enterprises 
 along. The Fifth Avenue Hotel alone pays him an 
 interest of two millions of dollars. He is worth seven 
 millions to-day. 
 
 JOHN J. CISCO. 
 
 This % celebrated banker was one of the most able 
 and honest men that ever held the position of 
 United States Treasurer in New York. He began 
 business as a cloth merchant, and his store, quite a 
 small one, was on the corner of William street and 
 Liberty. 
 
WILLIAM Li. DUNCAN. 439 
 
 WILLIAM B. DUNCAN. 
 
 Mr. Duncan, of the firm of Duncan, Sherman & Co., 
 came from Rhode Island. His father was wealthy, 
 
 and he established himself in banking at the start. 
 lie established one of the most reputable houses in 
 America, He died abroad, a very rich man. His 
 mansion on Staten Island is one of the finest in the 
 state. It is valued at $250,000. 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK IN NEW YORK. 
 
 The father of William M.Tweed had a fine mansion on 
 the corner of Dover street, "When the Continental 
 Congress met in 1786, John Hancock, the Presi- 
 dent, resided in Mr. Tweed's mansion, where he 
 maintained a semi-royal style. Hancock was a weal- 
 thy merchant and stood upon his dignity. It is well 
 known that he refused to call on General Washing- 
 ton, lest he should compromise himself, insisting that 
 it was the President's duty to call on him. Han- 
 cock thought better of the matter, and made a very 
 formal call on General Washington. During the sit- 
 ting of Congress in Wall Street, party feeling ran 
 very high. On the site where the Astor House now 
 stands, stood an Ice-cream garden, patronized by the 
 Federalists, and on pleasant afternoons, Hamilton, Jay, 
 King, and men of that class, with their families and 
 friends, assembled for a promenade. A block above 
 stood the rival Garden patronized by the old Knicker- 
 bockers of the city. 
 
 Half a century ago the First Presbyterian Church 
 was located in Wall Street, and the leading merchants 
 
490 JOHN HANCOCK IN NEW YORK. 
 
 of the city, people of fashion and position worshiped 
 within its walls. Here the courtly Phillips began his 
 ministry, which ran on smoothly for half a century. It 
 was in the vestibule of this church that Mr. Lennox plac- 
 ed his eye on a young man evidently from the country. 
 The cut of his clothes, the style of his dress, his un- 
 polished boots, coarsely made, and ill-fitting; his awk- 
 ward and astonished manner, proclaimed him a stran- 
 ger in New York. Mr. Lennox approached him and 
 said, "Young man, shall I give you a seat?" He 
 thanked the gentleman and followed him to a pew. It 
 was a seat in the centre aisle, and around him sat the 
 most eminent men of the nation. Mr. Lennox took a 
 seat beside the stranger who little knew the distin- 
 guished company in which he was placed. The young 
 man had come to New York to do business. He bore 
 letters to a merchant, and his purpose was to open a 
 • little store, if he could obtain goods on credit. He 
 called on the merchant and delivered the letter. The 
 trader gave him a sharp searching look, and said : 
 Young man, did I not see you in Mr. Lennox's pew 
 yesterday?" "I was at church yesterday," was the 
 reply, " and sat with a gentleman. I don't know his 
 name." ."Well," said the merchant, "that was Rob- 
 ert Lennox that you sat with, and I will trust any 
 man with a bill of goods whom Robert Lennox will 
 invite into his pew." That young stranger was the 
 late Mr. Sturges, the eminent merchant. He attribu- 
 ted his success in life to attending church on that Sun- 
 day in Wall Street, and sitting in the pew of Robert 
 Lennox. 
 
NATHAN Pill ME. 491 
 
 NATHAN PRIME. 
 
 Nathan Prime was one of the eminent men of the 
 Street, He founded the celebrated Banking house, 
 known as the house of Prime, Ward & King in 1796. 
 He was a Boston boy, and attained the dignity of then 
 being coachman to "Billy Gray," the richest man in 
 New England. Mr. Prime obtained from his former mas- 
 ter the loan of a small sum of money with which he com- 
 menced business in Wall Street. In a very small way 
 he began " shaving notes," as the business was then 
 known, better known in modern parlance as " discount- 
 ing paper. " One member of the house of Prime, Ward & 
 King, was James G. King, son of Rufus King. He was 
 a great as well as a life long friend of Daniel Webster. 
 Mr. Webster loved him for his father's sake. Mr. 
 Webster selected the law as his profession. To the 
 great scandal of the family, Webster rejected the offer 
 of a clerkship to the court with a salary of 81,500 — a 
 large sum in those days. Mr. Webster was a Judge, 
 and exerted his official influence to get his son the 
 position of clerk. He was thoroughly angry when 
 his son said to him: "I intend to utter my own 
 thoughts, and not register those of other men." In 
 answer to the resolution that he intended to practise 
 in the courts and not keep the records, his father said, 
 u The profession is crowded." "There is plenty of 
 room at the top" said Daniel. Having learned all that 
 he could in New Hampshire, Mr. Webster left his 
 home to seek his fortune in Boston. His brother 
 Ezekiel was keeping school in Kingston street, and 
 
492 N. L. AND G. G MS WOLD. 
 
 Daniel took his place one day, and among his pupils 
 was Edward Everett. Mr. Gore, afterwards known 
 as Governor Gore, stood at the head of his profession. 
 He was astonished one morning to find before him a 
 tall, slim, dark complexioned young man, coarsely 
 dressed, in a homespun suit, woven, dyed, and made by 
 his mother, with a manner in which bashfulness and as- 
 surance struggled for the mastery — who had no recom- 
 mendations, and was an entire stranger to Mr. Gore — 
 who announced himself as Mr. Webster of Salisbury. 
 " I have come to study law in your office, Mr. Gore," 
 he said. . "I have come to work and not to play," The 
 astonished advocate invited the rustic lad to a seat, 
 and he began his life-long work in the law. Rufus 
 King at that time was one of the foremost men in the 
 country. While Mr. Webster, an unknown student, a 
 stranger to all in Boston, and struggling with poverty, 
 was sitting at his table, Mr. King came into the office. 
 He came up to Mr. Webster, made some inquiries about 
 his studies, spoke a kind word to him, gave him some 
 good counsel, and departed. It was the first word 
 of cheer, Mr. Webster said, that he ever received, and 
 it followed him through all his life. It made the friend- 
 ship of Daniel Webster and J. G. King like that of 
 David and Jonathan. 
 
 N. L. AND G. GRISWOLD 
 
 Were known as a China house, so called, being large 
 importers of tea. Business was done very differently 
 fifty years ago from what it is now. When a cargo of 
 tea arrived, it was not broken up in parcels auddistrib- 
 
JOHN MC CREA.—JOUN A. MOORE. 493 
 
 uted, but sold usually in one lot. It required a large 
 capital to purchase an entire cargo, and few houses 
 were able to do this; $260,000 in gold were necessary 
 to buy a cargo of tea, and the duty on tea was enor- 
 mous. The Griswolds were successful competitors 
 with John Jacob Astor in this huge trade. 
 
 JOHN MCCREA. 
 
 He was a bold daring speculator in real estate, and 
 often borrowed of the United States Bank for speculat- 
 ing purposes, sums as high as $250,000. He kept his 
 accounts in his head. He had no books for his accounts. 
 His complicated business was never entangled. The 
 little memoranda that he kept were on backs of letters 
 and slips of loose paper. 
 
 JOHN A. MOORE, 
 
 Was celebrated as the great Bull of Mercantile life. 
 His store was on the corner of Broad Street. He cor- 
 nered sugar, coffee, flour, copper, and anything on 
 which he could make money. He often invested half 
 a million in his Coffee speculations alone. 
 
 Delaplain & Co., a large house in the Mediterranean 
 trade, excited the ridicule of the street by putting a 
 granite front to a wooden store. 
 
 Philip Hone and John Hone, names celebrated in 
 after times in aristocratic New York life, began busi- 
 ness as auctioneers in a small way on the corner of 
 Pearl and Wall Streets. The father-in-law of James 
 F. Penniman, who at one time led the fashionable so- 
 ciety of New York, was Samuel Judd, a very wealthy 
 
494 FISH AND GRINNELL.— MAYOR LAWRENCE, ETC. 
 
 trader in sperm candles and oil, began life as a peddler 
 of candles. 
 
 FISH AND GRINNILL. 
 
 The house of Fish and Grinnell — which held its own 
 for fifty years or more, which through all its phases 
 was very celebrated too, and never more so than when 
 Grinnell, Minturn & Co. — was founded by Preserved 
 Fish. He came from New Bedford ; was said to have 
 been picked up at sea by some sailors, a stray waif, and 
 for want of a better name was christened Preserved 
 Fish. The house for a long time maintained a trade 
 in oil and candles. The elegant mansion of Mr. Grin- 
 nell on Fifth Avenue and Fourteenth Street, has long 
 been celebrated as Delmonico's Restaurant. 
 
 MAYOR LAWRENCE, 
 
 Mayor Lawrence was a member of the house of 
 Hicks, Lawrence & Co. They were auctioneers in do- 
 mestic goods. It was a Quaker firm of great respecta- 
 bility and profits. It went down with thousands of 
 others in the great reverses of 1JB37. 
 
 TUDOR AND GEBHARD. 
 
 This firm were model old school merchants, the 
 agents of great Dutch house. They were slow, quiet, 
 and reliable. To the end of their time they continued 
 the custom, once universal among New York merchants, 
 of doing business on the first floor of their houses, and 
 living up stairs. 
 
THOMAS E. DAVIES.— EDWIN D. MORGAN. 495 
 
 THOMAS E. DAVIES. 
 
 The great real estate speculator of his time was 
 Thomas E. Davies. His speculations in Bleeckcr street 
 were enormous. He made immense purchases in St. 
 Mark's Place, and originated the phrase for fashionable 
 residences — " Above Bleecker." He founded the New 
 Brighton Association, which purchased nearly the 
 whole of Staten Island, from Quarantine round to 
 Sailor's Snug Harbor. The Association obtained the 
 gigantic loan from the United States Bank of 8479,000. 
 Of course the Association failed, and the property was 
 sold in 1837 under a foreclosure. 
 
 EDWIN D. MORGAN. 
 
 Edwin D. Morgan came to New York in 1830. He 
 held a subordinate position in a store in Hartford, Con- 
 necticut. He was sent to New York on some matters 
 pertaining to the house, and while there purchased 
 a cargo of sugar on commission. The transaction opened 
 the eyes of his Hartford employers, and he was remov- 
 ed from his subordinate rank. He set up business in 
 New York.in a small way, and to guard against failure, 
 became agent for a Fire Insurance Company in Con- 
 necticut. He boarded with David Hale of the Journal 
 of Commerce. The firm was Morgan & Earle. The 
 credit of the house was very small. Earle went out 
 in 1837. The early success of Mr. Morgan in his trans- 
 actions in sugar, turned his attention to that article as a 
 specialty. He visited the South and spent a winter in 
 New Orleans. He roamed about th'e plantations and 
 
49G MAYOR MICKLE.— ABRAHAM BININGER. 
 
 made the acquaintance of the sugar planters. He pur- 
 chased crops in advance and coined money. Men talk 
 about Stewart as a hard exacting master. If the clerks, 
 salesmen, book-keepers, and porters, worked in any 
 establishment in New York as the old merchants 
 worked themselves, from five and six o'clock in the 
 morning till ten and eleven at night, sweeping the 
 streets to the very centre, as the ordinance required ; 
 carrying bundles, delivering goods, lugging merchan- 
 dise on their backs, sweeping the store, making fires, 
 and kept on the jump all day, modern youths would 
 have a right to grumble. 
 
 MAYOR MICKLE. 
 
 Mayor Mickle was for many years at the head of the 
 celebrated house of A. H. Mickle & Co. He began 
 life a clerk in Wall Street, doing all the menial service 
 then required of a clerk. He entered the celebrated 
 Tobacco House of Mr. Miller as a subordinate. On the 
 death of Mr. Miller, his wife carried on the business as 
 " Mfs. G. B. Miller," and her tobacco became famous in 
 all the world. Mr. Mickle was industrious, intelligent, 
 and attentive. His services were rewarded by the hand 
 of the daughter of Mrs. Miller, and he became a part- 
 ner of the house. He kept fine style as Mayor at his 
 house, corner of Broadway and Battery. 
 
 ABRAHAM BININGER. 
 
 The founder of the celebrated house of Bininger & 
 Co., was Abraham Bininger. He began life carrying 
 the hod ; afterward he laid brick. His wife, a notable 
 woman, took in washing to help along, and opened a 
 
LINDLE Y MURRA T. -ROBERT HOE. 497 
 
 little store. She kept snuff, tobacco, cakes, cookies, 
 and other small trash. It was in connection with this 
 house that the fable was started about John Jacob As- 
 ter's peddling apples and peanuts. 
 
 LINDLEY MURRAY. 
 
 The mother of Lindley Murray, the great gramma- 
 rian, lived out of the city on what was known as King's 
 Road Farm. She spread a fine lunch before General 
 Howe and his staff, to keep them employed while Gen- 
 eral Putnam led his troops out of the city. Murray 
 was lame, and his lameness was caused, it is said, by 
 his leaping Burling Slip on his way to market with 
 chickens. 
 
 ROBERT HOE. 
 
 The early life of Mr. Hoe was quite romantic. Grant 
 Thorburn in 1800, opened a small grocery store, where 
 the Evening Post is now published. To groceries, Mr. 
 Thorburn added seeds and flowers. He was a Quaker, 
 and lived in a quiet way over his store. The yellow 
 fever raged nearly every summer in New York. Most 
 of the traders fled. But Mr. Thorburn and his family 
 remained summer after summer. He was sitting in the 
 cool of the evening at his door, when a stranger came 
 up and inquired for a boarding house. He was in 
 search of employment, had no money, had just landed 
 from Liverpool, and trusted to the future. With the 
 consent of his wife, Mr. Thorburn received the young 
 man into his house as a boarder. He took the yellow 
 fever, but recovered, and justified the prediction of his 
 host that he would live and marry a Yankee girl. 
 *32 
 
498 SCHUYLER LIVINGSTON.— THOMAS EDDY. 
 
 That stranger was Robert Hoe, the inventor of the 
 celebrated Printing Press that bears his name. 
 
 SCHUYLER LIVINGSTON 
 
 Was a name of which New York is deservedly proud. 
 He was for sixteen years a clerk, and did work that no 
 porter in a respectable house to-day would look at. 
 He took his breakfast before daylight, and was often 
 found in his store at ten o'clock at night. During the 
 forty-three years that he was in business, Mr. Schuyler 
 was not out of New York one whole week at a time. 
 
 WASHINGTON IRVING. 
 
 No. 3, Wall Street, is celebrated as the spot on 
 which Washington Irving hung out his shingle as a 
 lawyer. He practiced more literature than law, and 
 in that place he drew the plans of his famous Knicker- 
 bocker History of New York. 
 
 THOMAS EDDY, 
 
 Originated selling goods by sample. He was an 
 Irishman, and got employment in the Swamp as a 
 tanner. He commenced trading in a small way, and 
 having neither money nor credit, he obtained samples 
 and sold "short" his goods, buying them at auction 
 for less than the price at which ne was to deliver them. 
 He became an eminent merchant, and in 1796 was 
 appointed one of the Commissioners to build the States 
 Prison. He made a fortune in furnishing Cornwallis 
 with money for his troops after their surrender at 
 Yorktown. He did this with the approval of Gene- 
 ral Washington. 
 
E. C. DELE \A\.-s. V.S. WILDER.— BISHOP PROVOST. 499 
 E. C. DELEVAN, 
 
 Kept store on Pearl street near Wall. He was in 
 the hardware trade and nearly monopolized the Bir- 
 mingham goods. He made most of his wealth in the 
 Birmingham trade. 
 
 S. V. S. WILDER, 
 
 Made and lost his fortune on the street as a cotton 
 broker. He was for many years President of the Amer- 
 ican Tract Society, and one of its most liberal donors. 
 He gave a thousand dollars at a time when a thousand 
 dollars was more than 810,000 would be now. His spec- 
 ulations were enormous. He carried cotton as heavily 
 as Jay Gould carries stocks. He woke up one morning 
 and found himself a beggar. He said to me : " The 
 fall of a quarter of a cent a pound in cotton ruined 
 me." In the days of his plentitude he lived in grand 
 style and was a noble host. . He had an elegant coun- 
 try seat at Bolton, where he entertained like a prince. 
 He was greatly mortified at his failure, resigned his 
 position in connection with the large religious socie- 
 ties, refused to attend the meetings as he could no 
 longer lead in the contributions, and withdrew entirely 
 from public life. 
 
 BISHOP PROVOST. 
 
 Bishop Provost resided at one time in Wall street. 
 He was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 in 1787. He resigned his bishopric and became rector 
 of Trinity Church in 1812. The "Parsonage," as it 
 
500 WILLIAM GERARD. 
 
 was called, was on the corner of Fulton and Nassau, 
 where the old Sun buildings stand. 
 
 WILLIAM GERARD. 
 
 William Gerard, merchant on Broad street in 1792, 
 was the father of the distinguished Advocate, J. W. 
 Gerard, the most popular man at the New York bar. 
 Mr. Gerard boasts of having French, American, Eng- 
 lish and Scotch blood in his veins. He is a true 
 gentleman of the old School, genial, accomplished, 
 catholic, courteous. His large wealth he devotes to 
 objects of benevolence, and is an earnest supporter of 
 the Common Schools of our land. 
 
XLVIII. 
 NOTED HOUSES. 
 
 Moses Taylor. — Richard Smith. — Knowles Taylor. — Frederick and 
 Harvey Sheldon. — Lake, Lamson <fe Co. — Phelps, Chittenden & 
 Co. — Daniel Parish. — Lord & Taylor. — The Kingslands. — Caleb O. 
 Halstead. — William H. Carey <fc Co. — Falure and Honor. 
 
 Many years ago Moses Taylor was a clerk. He 
 opeued his first store in South street, in a very small 
 way, and worked himself up to his present position. 
 
 Richard Smith was the great tea importer of his day, 
 and from his style of living and doing business, was 
 considered the fast merchant of the city. He monopo- 
 lized the China trade. In 1801, Mr. Morrison, then a 
 young man, called on Mr. Smith to see if he could get 
 a passage to China as a missionary. He looked at the 
 young man, and said, " So you expect to convert the 
 Chinese nation, do you ?" "No, sir," said Morrison, 
 u but God can." 
 
 Among the celebrated importers was the house of 
 Knowles Taylor, brother of the celebrated J. Brainerd 
 Taylor. He came from Haddam, Connecticut, and 
 entered a little store as a clerk. His first business was 
 to sweep the streets, for the clerks of those days did 
 the menial work of the house. He made a fortune, 
 but died poor. 
 
 (501) 
 
502 NOTED HOUSES. 
 
 Frederick and Henry Sheldon came from Litchfield, 
 Connecticut, amassed a fortune and passed through all 
 the crises without harm. 
 
 After forty years of business, the house of Lane, 
 Lamson & Co., could stand forth as a house that had 
 never suspended. 
 
 Phelps, Chittenden & Co., originated with Mr. Phelps, 
 who was partner of Eno, and S. B. Chittenden and others. 
 Their store stood on Wall Street on the site formerly 
 occupied by the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Phelps 
 took the dry goods stock when he separated from Mr. 
 Eno, and Mr. Eno took the real estate. Mr. Chitten- 
 den came from Connecticut, where he had been a retail 
 trader. On the street he was regarded as a picayune 
 buyer. Mr. Phelps subsequently went into banking, 
 and the history of Mr. Chittenden is very well known. 
 
 The immense wealth of Daniel Parish and the long 
 law-suit about his will, make his name very familiar 
 to New Yorkers. He was a dry goods jobber and 
 very successful. He had branch-houses in Charles- 
 ton, Mobile, and New Orleans. He began life small 
 enough, and lived as most merchants of his day lived, 
 in apartments over his store, boarding his own clerks. 
 
 Lord and Taylor were Englishmen. They came to 
 this country in 1834, and established a small retail bus- 
 iness in Catharine street. Mr. Lord married in England 
 against the wishes of his wife's parents. Having no 
 property, the young couple resolved to seek their for- 
 tune in the new world. By economy, diligence, and 
 closest application to business, selling cheap and secur- 
 ing the trade of the middle classes, and content with 
 small gains, the house built up a profitable business. A 
 
CHANGE IN TRA / 503 
 
 second store was established in Grand street, and the 
 marble store on Broadway attests the success of the 
 house. There is no Taylor in the house now. and Mr. 
 Lord resides near I ludderfi eld, England, on his elegant 
 estate. His property is very large in this country, 
 and he visits America occasionally. Mr. J. T. Lyle 
 carries on the business, the name of the firm being a 
 fortune, as the income tax of $175,000 on one year's 
 profits shows. 
 
 The Kingslands, a name now so celebrated among 
 the Xew York millionaires, began life very poor. In 
 1820, they traded in a small way in oil and candles, 
 and the brothers boarded themselves, spending less 
 than three dollars a week. The immense trade in 
 sperm candles made the fortune of the house, and the 
 Kingslands are reputed to be worth ten millions. 
 
 Caleb O. Halstead, so long the celebrated President 
 of the Manhattan Bank, came to Xew York from Eliza- 
 beth, N. J. He made the cloth business a specialty. 
 He was content with a small advance ; and as his in- 
 tegrity and moral worth were confided in, he scoured 
 a large trade and died a very wealthy man. 
 
 CHANGE IX TRADE. 
 
 The business of importing and jobbing has not chang- 
 ed more in locality, than it has in the style in which 
 it is conducted. After the war of 1812, vessels came 
 rarely to Xew York. When they did, merchants w 
 on board and bought from twenty to thirty thousand 
 dollars worth of goods at a time. This was an incon- 
 venient mode of doing business and a few merchants 
 
504: FAILURE AND HONOR. 
 
 began to import goods as they needed them, and the 
 importing trade became large and remunerative. 
 
 Almost the entire importing business has passed out 
 of the hands of Americans. This change commenced 
 in 1840. The commercial disasters of 1837, shook the 
 confidence of European manufacturers in our mer- 
 chants, and induced the sending out of agents to look 
 after the interests of importers of goods in America. 
 Nearly all the great manufacturers in Switzerland, 
 France, and England, now have houses in New York, 
 to which goods are consigned. It is estimated that 
 three-fourths of the imported goods sent to New York 
 are sold on commission. A glance at the names of 
 importing houses will show that they are nearly all 
 foreign. 
 
 The specific trade known as Yankee Notions, origi- 
 nated in 1850. Fancy goods had been imported with 
 beads, toys, and merchandise of that stamp from Ger- 
 many and elsewhere. The house of William H. Carey 
 & Co. was celebrated for this style of goods, and that 
 house may be fairly entitled to the honor of originat- 
 ing Yankee Notions as a specialty in trade. 
 
 FAILURE AND HONOR. 
 
 To maintain a high position in the street, it is not 
 necessary that an operator should have constant suc- 
 cess. There are men on the street who have never 
 failed, who have no repute. There are men of heavy 
 fortunes who would give fifty thousand dollars to get 
 into the Stock Board, but who would be black-balled, 
 for in their integrity no one places any reliance. 
 There are other men, who have failed repeatedly — 
 
FAILURE AND HONOR 505 
 
 failed for enormous amounts — in whose integrity the 
 street has perfect confidence. They are scarcely down, 
 before they are on their feet again. Owing a quarter 
 or half of a million, they can borrow money to any 
 extent. These men are upright and open hearted. 
 Two-thirds of their contracts could not be proved in 
 any court. They could repudiate without fear of legal 
 damage, yet in every instance they have paid to the 
 utmost farthing without hesitation or abatement. 
 
 One of the marked men of this class is W. W. Wood- 
 ward. He is one of the boldest brokers in New York. 
 In the language of the street, he is a terrible operator. 
 He buys a hundred thousand shares of stock at a time. 
 He is gigantic in his plans. He has failed at least a 
 dozen times, and in every case, without a shade of sus- 
 picion on his honor. Recognizing promptly every 
 claim, he has always paid the utmost farthing. He is 
 one of the most genial and gentlemanly of men. He has 
 been one of the most successful rail-road operators. 
 His contributions for benevolent and religious purposes 
 have kept pace with his large wealth, and he is now 
 building at his own expense some of the most costly 
 church edifices in America. 
 
 Brokers do not usually make money out of each other. 
 The operators are too sharp for that. Money is made 
 from outsiders, from greenhorns and speculators, who 
 send orders from afar. There is no city so distant on 
 the continent, that it has not capitalists, who operate 
 on the street. Every mail brings orders from mer- 
 chants, banks, capitalists, traders, and men and women, 
 all over the land. A broker's market is one from 
 which all outsiders are excluded. It is like cheap 
 
506 FAILURE AND HONOR. 
 
 Jack, trading with cheap Jack ; a sharp horse dealer 
 trading with a dealer as sharp as himself; a gambler 
 playing with a gambler. Sharp, shrewd, keen, daring 
 operators are matched against men equally daring. It 
 is a contest between equals, out of which but little 
 money can be made. It is a keen, shrewd game, that 
 brokers sometimes love to play. 
 
XLIX. 
 THE ROMANCE OF REFORM. 
 
 A Lady Operator.— Startling Confession. — Heroic Sacrifice. — Ro- 
 mantic Humanity.— Affecting Scene.— A New Home. 
 
 A LADY OPERATOR. 
 
 Among the lady customers, who had a line of stocks 
 on the street, was a middle aged woman who came 
 about once a week to Wall Street. She was elegantly 
 dressed, came in a fine coach, was lady-like in her 
 manners, said but little, attended to her business 
 strictly, and drove away as she came — unattended. 
 She was evidently a business woman, knew what she 
 was about, and attracted attention by her quiet and 
 pleasant manners. She gave her name as that of the 
 wife of a foreign consul, and chose, she said, to trans- 
 act business in her own name, and on her own account. 
 The true Bankers of the street, men who represent 
 reliable and long established houses, enjoy the con- 
 fidence of their customers. Truthful men, men of honor 
 and probity, they soon inspire esteem. 
 
 STARTLING CONFESSION. 
 
 "One day. the lady customer came to her Banking 
 House and asked a private audience. She had an im- 
 portant personal matter to state, she said. In 
 
 (507) 
 
508 HEROIC SACRIFICE.— ROMANTIC HUMANITY. 
 
 hands of her banker, she was about to place the great 
 secret of her life. She said sjie was not the wife of 
 the consul whose name she bore. She was not married 
 at all. More than that, and worse, for years she had 
 been in business that fills all virtuous people with hor- 
 ror. She had kept one of the largest, most fashionable 
 and liberally patronized houses for lady boarders in 
 the city. But she had ended her traffic, disposed of 
 her establishment and dispersed her household. She 
 was soon to be married to the consul. He knew all 
 her history and was willing to take her as she was. 
 He was ordered to another port. She would attend 
 him and under a new name redeem her past life and 
 devote her time and means to aid the unfortunate and 
 fallen. 
 
 HEROIC SACRIFICE. 
 
 As soon as it was known that she was to break up 
 her establishment, men of capital made her tempting 
 offers for the place, the furniture and " the good will" 
 of the house, as it was called. She refused them all. 
 Lest her house might relapse into its former infamous 
 trade, she refused to let it to any private parties. At 
 a moderate sum she leased the house to the corpora- 
 tion of New York with the proviso in the lease that 
 it should never be used for its former business, nor 
 should liquor be sold in the house nor gaming be 
 allowed. 
 
 ROMANTIC HUMANITY. 
 
 It was not simply to make this revelation that the 
 woman held a private interview with her banker. 
 
AFFECTING SCENE. 509 
 
 She said that most of her girls were young, for she had 
 prided herself on keeping what was known as a re- 
 spectable house, one of the most respectable sort and 
 of the highest tone. When the lady had come to the 
 resolution to break up her establishment, she called her 
 boarders together and stated her resolution. She told 
 them that there was but one end of the life upon which 
 they had entered. The path had been trodden by 
 thousands of feet, and, for all, it led to one place. Now, 
 they were young and attractive — had many admirers 
 and many friends — the path was flowery and delicious. 
 It would soon turn. Step by step they would descend, 
 and Water street and Bellevue Hospital would tell 
 them what their mature life would be, if they did not 
 die young, as almost all of their class did. She coun- 
 selled the young women to leave the place, and the 
 calling at once, and to aid them, she told them that 
 she should place at her banker's a sum of money amply 
 sufficient to make them comfortable for six months. 
 During that time, they could seek out some reputable 
 calling by which to earn their bread. But whether 
 they left their line of life or not, she would make provi- 
 sion for them all for three months, and to perfect this ar- 
 rangement, she had now visited her banker and made 
 a confession so disgraceful to her name. 
 
 AFFECTING SCENE. 
 
 The girls were moved to tears when the resolution 
 of their hostess was made known to them. Some 
 screamed in agony, some called on the name of sainted 
 mothers in heaven to come to their rescue and help 
 them to do right in that dark and terrible hour. The 
 
510 A NEW HOME. 
 
 lady flung herself on the necks of these erring ones, 
 and wept tears of sincere sympathy. She told them 
 that while she had a dollar they should share it, and 
 not one of them should ever go hungry while she had 
 a crust to break with them. The banker was deeply 
 moved at the recital, and promised with his own funds, 
 if they were needed, to aid in this effort to rescue 
 the young from the terrible gulf into which they had 
 fallen. 
 
 A NEW HOME. 
 
 True to her purpose, the lady consummated her 
 plans. She was married privately and left New York 
 for her new home. I have often passed her elegant 
 mansion, where the consul's flag floats from the flag- 
 staff on the fine lawn, from sunrise to sunset. She is 
 really an elegant woman, well educated, refined, and 
 intelligent, Her former history is unknown beyond 
 her own door step. She moves in the best society, 
 and her parties are the delight of the fashionable. She 
 is very benevolent, and no child of want or sorrow 
 leaves her door without relief. Her attendance at 
 church is regular and reverent, and like one of old 
 she seems to love much, for to her, much has been 
 forgiven. Occasionally, fair and fragile girls can be 
 seen on the street, on their way to the banker's, to 
 draw the aid their kind friend placed on deposit for 
 the hour of need. 
 
THE PRESS AND LITERATURE OF WALL. 
 
 STREET. 
 
 Irving in Wall Street. — The Old New York Press. — It* Editors. — 
 The Literary Club at Windust's. — Spiritualism. — Dandy Mark?. — 
 Personal of the Old Press. — Webb, Stone, Clark, Bryant, Hale, 
 Beach. — The Mad Poet. — The Modern Press. — Eminent Financial 
 Editors. — Their Peculiarities. — The Financial Editors. — Pas i and 
 Present. — The Makers op Public Opinion. — A General Review of 
 them. — Their Industry and Responsibility. — " Of us but not with 
 us." — Snow, Tribune.— Clarke, Tribune.— The Retired and Living. — 
 Edwin Clarke, Tribune. — Kittell, Herald. — Hudson, Herald. — 
 Bonner, Herald. — Cornwallis, Herald. — Hicks, Post. — Mars- 
 land, Post. — Dinsmore, Tost. — Clayton, Commercial Advertiser. — 
 The Present. — The Morning Journals. — Stone, Journal of Com- 
 merce. — Norvel, Times. — Mellis, World. — Fitzpatrick, Herald. — 
 Briggs, Tribune. — Almy, Sen. — The Evening Press. — Jackson, Ex- 
 press. — Whiting, Post.— Dodswortii, Commercial Advertiser. 
 
 THE OLD NEW YORK PRESS. 
 
 Washington Irving formed the plan of his Knicker- 
 bocker History of New York in Wall Street. The 
 •street was at one time the abode of the literary men 
 of the metropolis. The leading newspapers of New 
 York were both edited and published on the street. 
 Some still remain. Till within a few years, the issues 
 of modern journalism came forth from the great finan- 
 cial center. Fifty years ago, the press of New York 
 consisted of: — The Daily Advertiser, Gazette, Courier, 
 Mercantile Advertiser, Journal of Commerce, Courier 
 
 (511) 
 
512 THE LITERARY CLUB AT WINDUSTS. 
 
 and Enquirer, Evening Post, and Commercial. Mer- 
 chants advertised by the year. Standing advertise- 
 ments were forty dollars a year, and a copy of the 
 paper thrown in. Ten dollars per annum was the 
 subscription price of a respectable daily. The old 
 Daily Advertiser was printed on the press, and with the 
 types used by Franklin in Philadelphia. The Federal- 
 ist, edited by Hamilton, was issued from Wall Street. 
 Hamilton wrote most of the papers on the site now 
 occupied by the bank of New York. Hamilton, Ptu- 
 fus King, Fisher Ames, and other eminent men were 
 on the editorial staff. Noah Webster, the lexicog- 
 rapher, edited the Minerva. After a struggle of sev- 
 en years, Mr. Webster succeeded in changing its name 
 to that of " Commercial Advertiser. 1 ' John I. Mum- 
 ford, the editor of the Mercantile Telegraph, originated 
 the column known as the a Price Current." The Na- 
 tional Advertiser was edited by M. M. Noah, and was 
 merged in the Courier and Enquirer. The American 
 was edited by Charles King, afterwards President of 
 Columbia College, Verplanck, and other men eminent 
 in literature. It was a vehement John Quincy Adams 
 paper, and was violently committed against the elec- 
 tion of General Jackson. The daily Standard was 
 thoroughly American, and in 1812, sustained the ad- 
 ministration, adopting as a motto the well known 
 words, u Forever float that Standard Sheet." 
 
 THE LITERARY CLUB AT WINDUST's. 
 
 For many years the literati of New York gathered 
 at Windust's. Near this famed restaurant stood the 
 Park Theatre in its glory, the " Drury Lane" of Amer- 
 
SPIRITUALISM. 513 
 
 ica. Nearly opposite, on the corner of Park Place, 
 was located the famed uptown hotel, named after the 
 Father of his country, where Lafayette was entertained. 
 Plain, unpretending, and English was Windust's with 
 its heavy oaken tables, sanded floor and simple attend- 
 ance. Here the wits, the literati, and the distinguished 
 authors of the day assembled. Actors and editors 
 gathered, and made a sort of Garrick club. Tom 
 Hamlin in his prime ; Morris in his glory ; Willis, 
 arrayed in the height of fashion ; M. M. Noah, the best 
 dramatic critic of his age; Leggett, of the Evening 
 Post, a scholar, philanthropist, and poet ; Gaylord ; 
 Clark of the Knickerbocker ; J. Watson Webb ; Wil- 
 liam Cullen Bryant, and other eminent men, whose 
 names have passed into the history of our land. Here, 
 the stirring events of the day were discussed, and the 
 grand reception planned, which was awarded to 
 u Boz," when he first visited America, 
 
 SPIRITUALISM. 
 
 It was in this brilliant circle that William L. Stone r 
 then editor of the Commercial, revealed the awful dis- 
 closure of Maria Monk, which afterward set all New 
 York in a panic. Spiritualism had its advocates thirty 
 years ago, and Mr. Stone was friendly to the manifes- 
 tations. A relative of his had been powerfully exer- 
 cised. She was completely under the control of a pro- 
 fessor named Smith, and set all other powers at 
 defiance. Dr. Holland Gaylord Clark and others ac- 
 cepted an invitation of Mr. Stone to witness the 
 phenomenon of a woman in a spiritual trance. Clark, 
 who had no faith in the operations of spirits, professed 
 33 
 
514 DANDY MARKS. 
 
 to be greatly excited at the revelation. He stated 
 that he could control the spirits by a miraculous pana- 
 acea. He had, he said, some fat that had oozed out 
 of the coffin of a saint in Notre Dame, and its pecu- 
 liar properties were that it had a miraculous influence 
 over unearthly manifestations. Clark went out to ob- 
 tain his remedy. He visited a pork house, got a sheet 
 of greasy paper, held it up before the face of the wo- 
 man who was possessed, and at once put the spirits to 
 flight, to the astonishment of Dr. Holland of the Stand- 
 ard, Mr. Stone, and other believers in the reality of the 
 manifestations. The miraculous power of the saintly 
 grease over spirits, astonished the literari mere than 
 the manifestations. 
 
 DANDY MARKS. 
 
 A most ridiculous and mortifying circumstance oc- 
 curred at the first reception of Mr. Dickens. He came 
 quietly to the Astor House. That was the centre of 
 fashion. The aristocracy lived in Grand street, and Paris 
 millinery and Paris fashions were found in Division 
 street and in the Bowery. The committee, composed of 
 the most celebrated literary gentlemen of the age, met 
 at Windust's. The arrangements were completed, the 
 Park Theatre was floored over, and Washington Irving 
 was to make the opening speech. N. P. Willis was in 
 the zenith of his glory, and stood at the head of the 
 committee of reception. The theatre was packed. 
 Houston street and Bleecker had sent the elite of New 
 York to grace the great occasion. A line was left 
 open from the main entrance to the stage, through 
 which Dickens was to pass. No noisy demonstrations 
 
PERSONAL OF THL OLD PRE ?S. 51 *> 
 
 to bo allowed^ no rushing forward, no shaking of hands, 
 but the Brffeh Lion was to pass quietly to his seat, and 
 take the ovation tendered to him. The butt of the 
 period was a gentleman known as Dandy Marks. His 
 conceit, self-esteem, and impudence were unparalleled. 
 They won for him a high position in fashionable so- 
 ciety. In dress and costume he was the Beau Nash of 
 the day. Mr. Dickens was late. The anxious crowd 
 were toned up to the highest pitch of excitement. At 
 length the cry was heard — " Mr. Dickens — Mr. Dickens 
 — Mr. Dickens." The passage was instantly cleared, 
 and every eye turned upon the entrance. Just at that 
 moment, in stepped Dandy Marks with a sister on each 
 arm. He was gotten up in the highest style of art, and 
 nothing could be more ridiculous. The audience mis- 
 taking him for " Boz," commenced applauding. Break- 
 ing the lines, and breaking the rules, the people rushed 
 up, shook his hand and congratulated him on his looks, 
 while cheer after cheer rent the air. Willis fumed, 
 Morris tried to still the tempest, and Major Noah 
 stamped and expostulated. It was of no use ; the 
 crowd would see no one else ; the reception was over, 
 and when Dickens came forward, he was lost in the 
 crowd. 
 
 PERSONAL OF THE OLD PRESS. 
 
 For many years the great "blanket sheet,'' the Cou- 
 rier and Enquirer, was the oracle of Wall Street and the 
 mouth-piece of mercantile capitalists. The Herald 
 under James Gordon Bennett, has gradually taken its 
 place at the head of the newspapers of the day. Mo- 
 ses Y. Beach was regarded as the Barnum of the press. 
 
516 PERSONAL OF THE OLD PRESS. 
 
 The public wanted a cheap paper, and Mr. Beach sup- 
 plied the demand. The New World, under Park Benja- 
 min, was regarded as the be*st literary paper ever pub- 
 lished in New York. The Express, under the control of 
 William Townsend, was a high toned, spicy, and read- 
 able sheet. 
 
 James Watson Webb, at the head of the Courier 
 and Enquirer, was one of the marked men of his 
 age. He stood out on great occasions and surpassed 
 all others at public dinners. He was always in hot 
 water, sudden and quick to quarrel, ready to fight for 
 himself or his friends, and mixed up with every social 
 affray of the times. William L. Stone always ranked 
 high with the religious community. He was a man of 
 medium height, of fine presence, and very intelligent. 
 He attacked Vanderbilt very furiously in the Commer- 
 cial for his course in steamboating in the East and 
 North rivers. He was especially savage in his com- 
 ments on an act attributed to Vanderbilt. It was 
 rumored that when the General Jackson blew up, Van- 
 derbilt leaped ashore just before the explosion, and 
 while the air was full of fragments of the boat and 
 limbs of the maimed and killed, the Commodore cried 
 out, " Aint I a lucky dog ? " Soon after the article was 
 written Col. Stone had an invitation to lecture on 
 Staten Island. He was assigned to Commodore Van- 
 derbilt as a guest. The Commodore met him at the 
 landing with his carriage, drove him to his house, and en- 
 tertained him like a prince. After the lecture a leve'e 
 was held, and special pains were taken to do honor to 
 the lecturer. Mr. Stone felt quite uneasy, and after 
 the company departed, he made some allusion to the 
 
PERSONAL OF THE OLD PRESS. 517 
 
 article lie had written, as to the severity of its tone, 
 and regretted that he had not known Commodore 
 Yanderbilt better before he wrote it. He was greatly- 
 annoyed when Yanderbilt said to him: u The joke is, 
 Colonel Stone, that the article is not true. I not only 
 never used the words, but I was not in command of the 
 Jackson at the time, and was not on board. A rela- 
 tive of mine was in command of the boat." "But 
 why," said the astonished Colonel, u did you not have 
 the matter corrected ? " The Commodore replied, "It 
 could make no difference to me. My friends knew 
 better, and my enemies already thought as badly of me 
 as they could, and the report could not damage me. 
 But my relative had his fortune to make and it would 
 have ruined him, and I chose to bear the report myself." 
 The Colonel made a handsome retraction, and the 
 Commodore and himself were lifelong friends. 
 
 William Gaylord Clark was one of the handsomest 
 men of his day. A head and shoulders above his com- 
 peers, he put on no airs, and seemed to forget himself 
 in his associates. He was an off-hand speaker and 
 writer. Mordecai Noah, of the Evening Star, Noah's 
 Weekly Times, and the Courier and Enquirer, was a 
 ripe scholar, a musical and dramatic critic, who had no 
 rival. William C. Bryant was a staid, grave young 
 man, with the same characteristics that mark him to- 
 day, and always of the highest respectability. David 
 Hale came prominently to the surface, in connection 
 with the Journal of Commerce. The paper was 
 founded by Arthur Tappan, who proposed a high 
 toned commercial sheet, from which all questionable 
 advertisements should be excluded. No theatres, or 
 
518 PERSONAL OF THE OLD PRESS. 
 
 places of amusement, no drinking establishments, or 
 fancy pastimes were to soil the columns of the Journal. 
 Hale differed from Arthur Tappan in the management of 
 the paper, purchased Mr. Tappans interest, and made 
 the paper a profit and a power. Mr. Hale was mainly 
 instrumental in introducing Congregationalism into 
 New York and Brooklyn. He purchased the Taber- 
 nacle and held it till the day of his death in the inter- 
 ests of the Congregationalists. He was mainly instru- 
 mental in founding Dr. Storrs's church, on Brooklyn 
 Heights, and contributed largely to the new enterprise 
 which grew into the Plymouth congregation. Hale 
 was a tall, spare, lank looking man, of immense energy 
 and perseverance. He was a good representative of 
 the New England character. Moses Y. Beach was an 
 energetic man, of full life and habits, sharp and quick 
 in business, nervous, and had the peculiarity of keeping 
 his eye keenly fixed on any one with whom he was 
 conversing. During the- larger part of his literary 
 career, Willis affected the exquisite. He wore his hair 
 long and curly ; was redolent of perfume ; wore showy 
 vests, flashing neckties, patent leather boots, laven- 
 der gloves, and was dainty and foppish. McDonald 
 Clark was known as the mad poet. He had the run of 
 all the hotels that lined Broadway, from Bowling 
 Green to Canal street. One day he stalked in at the 
 Globe with a semi-tragic air, and seated himself at the 
 table. His appearance attracted general attention, 
 and it was whispered — "That is McDonald Clark." At 
 a table not far off sat a Broadway dandy. He fixed 
 his eye glass, surveyed McDonald for a moment, and 
 said in a musing tone, yet audible to the whole com- 
 
TUa 519 
 
 pan; 5 that is the mad poet." Clark raised his 
 head, and their eyes met Arising with gre&t delibe- 
 ration, Clark took up an empty plate, marched round 
 to the place where the dandy was seated, and said in 
 a deep tragic voice, "A quarter of dollar, if you please 
 "Good gracious, what for?' 1 said the exquisite. 
 " Why. sir."' said Clark, "I always charge a quarter of 
 a dollar when I am put on exhibition." The knight of 
 the eye-glass put a quarter on the plate, Clark pock- 
 eted it, and amid the roar of the company, went back 
 to finish his dinner in peace. 
 
 THE MODERN PRESS. 
 
 The press of modern days is quite a different matter 
 from what it was when the daily press was founded in 
 Wall Street. The leading daily papers are fortunes in 
 themselves. Shrewd capitalists invest in the stock — 
 a share can scarcely be bought at any price. The daily 
 press of Xew York commands the sharpest pens and the 
 ablest writers. The keenest ability, learning, wit and 
 fancy have here full play. There is a fascination about 
 the press that draws preachers from the pulpit, allures 
 lawyers from a lucrative practice, and induces poets to 
 hang their harps ou the willows. Men buy and sell 
 through the columns of the press. Its judgment makes 
 or mars the fortune of an author. The fashionable 
 world do not know whether to applaud or hiss a new 
 actor, till the press has spoken. The power of the 
 press in financial matters is immense. In the banking- 
 house of Henry Clewes & Co., there is an apartment 
 especially fitted up for the city press. Nineteen pa] 
 are represented in this chamber. Here the money 
 
520 EMINENT FINANCIAL EDITORS, ETC. 
 
 articles are written, and the ablest pens in New York 
 are employed in this department. 
 
 EMINENT FINANCIAL EDITORS. 
 
 There is no department so powerful as the financial 
 column in the daily press. It requires rare talent, an 
 industry that never flags, and high toned integrity to 
 write a reliable money article — one in which the street 
 has confidence. Men can be found by the hundred 
 who can write an able leader, criticise an actor or 
 singer, itemize the city and do the odd jobs about a 
 daily nawspaper. But to be in repute as a commercial 
 editor is a rare thing. But few men have the neces- 
 sary combinations, and when a paper gets a reliable 
 money writer, his position is usually fixed for life. 
 Among the writers that can be seen daily in Clews' 
 banking house, are men advanced in life, who have been 
 connected with the same paper for thirty or forty 
 years. Some of the writers seem scarcely twenty-five, 
 who are entering upon their twentieth year of service. 
 It is a very lucrative position, and besides the high 
 pay which the service commands, the influence of a 
 money article on a line of stocks is so great, that if 
 a favorable notice can be secured for a handsome 
 check, it is regarded as well laid out. 
 
 THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 
 
 The financial editors make quite an "institution" in 
 Wall Street, or at least those re presenting the Associ- 
 ated Press newspapers. The position of financial 
 editor increased in importance with the war and the 
 
THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 521 
 
 " legal tender "paper money. In fact the financial 
 
 department of a New York "daily" is now the most 
 important one on a newspaper. The work is both 
 difficult and intricate, and to learn the ins and outs of 
 Wall Street is almost the work of a life-time. The 
 gentlemen who at present represent the daily press in 
 Wall Street are possessed of far more than the ordinary 
 amount of talent ; and taken as a whole, really repre- 
 sent more brains than has been at any previous time 
 concentrated by the papers. The financial editors 
 make public opinion to a large extent on all financial 
 and commercial matters, and viewed in this aspect, 
 their position is one of great importance and responsi- 
 bility. These gentlemen frequently criticise each other 
 in their columns, but personally, as a general thing, 
 their relations with each other are extremely cordial. 
 These gentlemen are very industrious, and can be seen 
 during the day flitting in and out of the stock ex- 
 change and gold room, and the different offices on the 
 street, and now and then hobnobbing with the leading 
 men of Wall Street ; thus they hear all sides, and in 
 this way arrive at an intelligent opinion of matters and 
 things. 
 
 A remarkable feature of this fraternity is the fact 
 that most of its members have been a very long 
 time in their respective positions. The wear and tear 
 of Wall Street life, and the excitement attendant upon 
 the many violent fluctuations on the Stock Exchange, 
 have told upon some of the financial editors; and a 
 few have retired for rest, only to pass from their earthly 
 homes. The financial editors generally lead a very 
 temperate and regular life, and this probably accounts 
 
522 THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 
 
 for the fact that the mortality among them has not been 
 greater. 
 
 Among those who have passed away is Mr. Snow, 
 for many years the representative of the Tribune. 
 Mr. Snow was a genial gentleman and always took 
 life very easy. He edited a very good " money mar- 
 ket," but was not generally considered a brilliant writer. 
 Under his regime the Tribune prospered and was con- 
 sidered quite an authority on financial matters. Mr. 
 Snow retired and spent several years in Europe for the 
 purpose of recruiting his health, but shortly after his re- 
 turn to this country he died. 
 
 Mr. S. T. Clarke succeeded Mr. Snow on the Tribune 
 and held the position for some years, when ill health 
 caused him to take a trip to Europe, and he never 
 lived to return, having died in Genoa. Mr. Clarke 
 commenced his career as a newspaper man on the 
 Evening Express, and was finally taken into partner- 
 ship by the Messrs. Brooks. The profits resulting 
 from this partnership were the foundation of a fortune 
 for Mr. Clarke, and at the time of his death he was a 
 large owner in the Tribune. The famous lawsuit of 
 Clarke vs. Brooks, which was finally compromised, 
 brought Mr. Clarke prominently before the public, 
 Mr. Clarke was a man of strong prejudices, and this 1 
 was frequently shown in his writings. His financial 
 views, as publicly expressed, changed with remarka- 
 ble rapidity, and he was a man of unusual vacillation 
 in this respect. 
 
 Mr. S. T. Clarke was succeeded by his brother, Mr. 
 Edwin Clarke, who recently retired from the Tribune, 
 and in turn was succeeded by Mr. J. S. Briggs, who at 
 
TEE l /A- 1 NCIAL EDITORS. 523 
 
 present edits the money column. Mr. Edwin Clarke 
 always gave a very fair report of matters in Wall 
 Street, but did not branch out much in the way of edi- 
 torial discussion of passing events. 
 
 And now while dwelling upon the past, we will take 
 a look at those financial editors who have retired from 
 newspaper life, but who still remain with us. 
 
 Mr. Kettell was the first money writer of the Herald 
 who gave that journal a reputation among financial 
 men. Mr. Kettelfs forte was statistics and elaborate 
 essays on the condition of the country. His views of 
 affairs were tinged w r ith a good deal of acidity, and the 
 gloomy rather than the bright aspect of current events 
 was generally taken by him. He retired from the 
 Herald to establish the Dry Goods Economist, a 
 weekly. journal devoted to the dry goods as well as 
 other business interests. He afterwards went to San 
 Francisco and settled there. 
 
 Mr. Hudson succeeded Mr. Kettell as money writer 
 of the Herald, and was not remarkable for any striking 
 qualities beyond a general abuse of the old Stock Ex- 
 change. He retired and settled on a farm in the East- 
 ern States. 
 
 Mr. Hudson was succeeded by Mr. John Bonner, a 
 native of Canada, of versatile talents. Mr. Bonner 
 wrote fluent articles, and as his associations were chiefly 
 with the leading clique operators, his money articles 
 were of much more advantage to them than to the pub- 
 lic. Mr. Bonner left the -Herald suddenly and became a 
 broker on the street. He is at present President of 
 the Bankers and Brokers Association, which has been 
 very successful under his management. 
 
524 THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 
 
 JVlr. Bonner was succeeded on the Herald by Mr. 
 Kinahan Cornwallis, who in turn retired and was 
 succeeded by Mr. Fitzpatrick, who at present rep- 
 resents the paper in Wall Street. Mr. Cornwallis 
 was an accomplished English gentleman, very par- 
 ticular in his dress, and earned the proud title of the 
 "Beau Brummell" of the New York Press. He was 
 certainly talented, and at times wrote a very polished 
 money article, although he dwelt rather too much 
 upon John Stuart Mill and other political economists 
 of Europe. Toward the latter part of Mr. Cornwal- 
 l's career, he indulged largely in opprobrious epithets 
 when writing of the brokers and speculators of Wall 
 Street, whereby he lost caste. Mr. Cornwallis. was of 
 a very aristocratic turn of mind, too much so for a 
 financial editor, who in the pursuit of his daily vocation 
 is required to mingle with those whom he would not 
 associate with outside of Wall Street. Mr. Cornwallis 
 after his retirement from the Herald bought the Albion 
 and at present manages that paper which is more in 
 accord with his literary taste. 
 
 Mr. Hicks formerly represented the Evening Post, 
 but during the rebellion retired from the paper and 
 spent some time in Europe. Mr. Hicks wrote a very 
 good money article, the very best which the Post ever 
 had until the present incumbent, Mr. Whiting, took 
 charge. Mr. Hicks was an eccentric genius in his way 
 and had many friends. One of his peculiarities was 
 his quick and rather wild way of talking, which al- 
 ways conveyed an idea to his hearers that he was in a 
 great hurry and only had a few moments to live. Mr. 
 Hicks, during his sojourn abroad, resided much of the 
 
THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 525 
 
 time in Switzerland, and upon his return lie wore long 
 flowing locks and a high brigand hat, which earned 
 him the title of the " Representative from Switzer- 
 land," by which name he has ever since been known. 
 After his return from Europe he entered the arena of 
 Wall Street as an active speculator and finally came 
 out morally stronger, but financially weaker. lie at 
 present is engaged in running a saw mill and editing 
 a newspaper in the far West, We trust that he will 
 find his present vocation more profitable than his last 
 experiences in Wall Street, 
 
 Mr. Hicks was succeeded on the Post by Dr. Mars- 
 land, who held the position for a long time. The 
 Doctor in his financial column was always in a "per- 
 turbed" state of mind, and vibrated between "incer- 
 titude" and a "concatenation of fortuitous circumstan- 
 ces." He finally left the Post and established a small 
 evening paper, called the Commonwealth, which is still 
 in existence. 
 
 Mr. Dinsmore, of the Stockholder, was the next 
 financial editor of the Post, but he only remained a 
 few weeks in the position, and was succeeded by Mr 
 Whiting, the present gentlemanly representative of 
 the paper in Wall Street. 
 
 The Commercial Advertiser, a long way in the past, 
 was represented by Mr. Clayton, one of its proprie- 
 tors. Mr. Clayton remained until the paper passed 
 into the hands of Thurlow Weed, when Mr. Dodsworth 
 assumed charge of the financial department. Mr. 
 Clayton edited a very fair money market, but was 
 never distinguished for any remarkable trait of char- 
 acter. 
 
526 THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 
 
 In the preceding paragraphs the reader has a sur- 
 vey of the financial editors of the past, and now let 
 us take a glance at the gentlemen who at present rep- 
 resent the Press of New York in Wall Street, and who 
 make public opinion on financial affairs. No broker or 
 speculator in Wall Street, or hardly any merchant pro- 
 ceeds to business for the day without first seeing what 
 some or all of the financial editors have to say in regard 
 to the financial situation. Thus it is clear that these 
 gentlemen exercise a great influence on the public 
 mind and their responsibility is, therefore, quite appa- 
 rent. In taking a view of the present financial editors 
 and their many and peculiar styles of writing, we will 
 commence with the morning journals. 
 
 The Journal of Commerce, for the long period of 
 twenty years has been represented by Mr. David M. 
 Stone. Mr. Stone never has paid much attention to 
 the details of Wall Street or its news, but contents 
 himself with the most general allusion to these. His 
 great forte is commercial statistics, and in this respect 
 he is without a rival. He keeps the most complete 
 set of statistics, and as a commercial writer stands 
 very high. His money market is made up chiefly of 
 "answers to correspondents," some of which are very 
 amusing and properly belong any where but in the 
 financial column of the paper. Mr. Stone is possessed 
 of man's full share of vanity and egotism, but notwith- 
 standing these peculiarities, he is much esteemed as a 
 polite and charitable gentleman. The Journal of 
 Commerce was reconstructed during the rebellion and 
 Mr. Stone appeared on the scene as one of its princi- 
 pal proprietors. At present he writes most of the 
 
THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 527 
 
 leading editorials, and has full charge of the paper. 
 He lately purchased a magnificent residence in 13rook- 
 Ivn, and can be frequently seen driving through Pros- 
 pect Park with his splendid turn-out, Mr. Stone worked 
 hard to make a commercial reputation for the Journal 
 of Commerce, and in his latter days is being amply 
 rewarded for his industry. 
 
 The Times is represented by Mr. Caleb C. Norvell, 
 who, we believe, has held the position for nearly a score 
 of years. Mr. Norvell is very eccentric in some re- 
 spects, and is a man of strong partisan bias. He is 
 intensely patriotic and always stands by the financial 
 policy of every national administration of his own poli- 
 tical faith. In feeling, Mr. Norvell is generally a ' ' bull," 
 and takes the " rosy " side of the situation ; in fact he is 
 sometimes called u Love among the Roses." In his 
 financial writings, "he imitates closely the dignified and 
 ponderous style of the London Times. Mr. Norvell is 
 great on the "Public Funds," as he styles the Govern- 
 ment bonds. In railway matters, he always stands by 
 Commodore Vanderbilt and his railway policy. One 
 of Mr. NorvelPs constant companions is a cane which 
 he brings down with great force when engaged in an 
 exciting argument, and woe be to the favorite corn 
 which this cane touches in his excited moments. Mr. 
 Norvell is a polished and honorable gentleman, and 
 enjoys the esteem of a large circle of friends. 
 
 The World has been represented for ten years, or 
 ever since it was established, by Mr. David M. Melliss. 
 Mr. Melliss was formerly one of the largest importers 
 in the line of laces and hosiery in this country, and for 
 a great many years a prominent merchant in this city. 
 
528 THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 
 
 He commenced his business career at a very early pe- 
 riod of life, and probably has the finest business edu- 
 cation of any man connected with the New York Press. 
 He is a bold, dashing writer, and grasps his subjects 
 with great vigor and clearness. His style is very pe- 
 culiar, and his articles reflect a powerful intellect and 
 thorough knowledge of political economy and the haute 
 finance in their theory and practical bearing on the 
 business of the country, and the course of prices in all 
 the markets. During the dark days of the rebellion, 
 the World fell into disfavor with the public in conse- 
 quence of its political course, and at this critical junc- 
 ture Mr. Melliss' financial articles attracted great atten- 
 tion, and no doubt saved the paper from passing out of 
 existence as many others have done before it. The 
 bold and unequivocal manner with which the upward 
 course of the price of gold above two dollars was pre- 
 dicted in the financial column of the World after the 
 passage of the Legal Tender Act, and the scathing 
 criticisms of Secretary Chase's financial policy, at once 
 attracted the attention of the whole country and has 
 ever since made the World's financial column an indis- 
 pensable necessity to every banker and business man. 
 In fact the financial writings of Mr. Melliss have made 
 the circulation of the World about as extensive among 
 republicans as among democrats. For a long time 
 past the first thing asked in the morning on the Stock 
 Exchange is, u What does Mr. Melliss say about the mar- 
 ket in his financial article ? " One of the peculiarities 
 of Mr. Melliss is his quoting previous articles to show 
 how correct he has been in his prognostications. The 
 World without Mr. Mellis would be very much like 
 
THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 529 
 
 a church without a pulpit, or a pulpit without a minis- 
 ter. Mr. Mclliss enjoys a very extended acquaintance 
 among financial and business men, and is highly esteem- 
 ed as an accomplished gentleman and thorough man of 
 business. 
 
 The Herald is represented by Mr. Fitzpatrick, who. 
 we believe, was formerly attached to the reportorial 
 corps of that journal. Mr. Fitzpatrick is an amateur 
 in finance, and seems to navigate carefully until he has 
 acquired a better knowledge of men and things in 
 Wall Street. He gives the news of the street in detail, 
 and has not as yet done anything remarkable in the 
 way of writing. He is a conscientious and painstak- 
 ing young man, and will probably rise in his profes- 
 sion in the future. 
 
 The Tribune is represented by Mr. John A. Briggs, 
 formerly State Agent of Ohio, in this city. He has 
 only been on the Tribune for a short time, and has 
 made some mistakes which every novice in his line is 
 apt to make when he first starts out. Mr. Briggs is a 
 mild gentleman and has many friends. 
 
 The Sun is represented by Mr. J. H. Almy. who was 
 a colonel during the war, and State Agent of Con- 
 necticut. The Sun, owing to its small size, does not 
 devote a very large space to finance, and therefore Mr. 
 Almy has very little chance to display himself. 
 
 The evening papers chronicled the result of so many 
 important battles during the war, that they have in- 
 creased greatly in importance within the last decade. 
 It is a remarkable fact that scarcely any business man 
 now thinks of retiring at night without having first 
 perused either the Post, Express, or Commercial Ad- 
 31 
 
530 THE FINANCIAL EDITORS.. 
 
 vertiser. All these journals have many warm advo- 
 cates and friends, and their influence is plainly felt in 
 the community. 
 
 The Evening Express is represented in Wall Street 
 by Mr. Henry A. Jackson, who has been connected 
 with the paper in its commercial and financial depart- 
 ments, we believe, for the space of about seventeen 
 years. Mr. Jackson is a gentleman of varied talents, 
 and in early life received a thorough mercantile edu- 
 cation, which is displayed in his writings. In editing 
 the financial column of the Express he takes a wider 
 scope than most of the financial editors of the other pa- 
 pers, and includes reviews of all the different branches 
 of trade. This has given the Express a high standing in 
 the business community, and of late years it has been 
 regarded as an authority on finance and business gen- 
 erally. Another feature of the financial column of 
 the Express is its elaborate and comprehensive views 
 at periods, of the crops of the country and crop pros- 
 pects. Many of these articles have been copied exten- 
 sively, and attracted much attention. Mr. Jackson 
 gives the news of the street in detail, and discusses 
 with vigor in the many editions of the Express, all the 
 leading financial questions of the day, as rapidly as they 
 arise. He wields a quick and sharp pen, and gives 
 every promise of a brilliant career in his profession. 
 Mr. Jackson occasionally gives the public a slight touch 
 of the humorous, and under the guise of u gossip of the 
 street," tells some truths about men and things in Wall 
 Street, which, in any other shape might not be palat- 
 able to the individuals concerned. Another peculiar 
 feature of this gentleman's writing, is the comprehen- 
 
THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 531 
 
 sive programmes of intended great movements on the 
 Stock Exchange, and in the Gold Room in advance of 
 the movements themselves, which he periodically gives 
 to the public. These programmes have attracted con- 
 siderable attention from their general correctness, and 
 have added much to the financial reputation of the 
 Express. Mr. Jackson is a genial gentleman and al- 
 ways has a smile or a pleasant word for every one of 
 
 his friends on the street. Although one of the 
 
 r ' 
 
 younj 
 
 est in years, he is one of the oldest in experience of the 
 present financial editors. His writings are devoid of 
 prejudice and are regarded as just and reliable. It is 
 only an act of justice to this young and talented 
 gentleman to say that he has made the Express, finan- 
 cially, the liveliest and most readable evening paper of 
 New York City. Mr. Jackson has a very wide acquaint- 
 ance among financial and business men, and is highly- 
 esteemed as an affable and polished gentleman by % 
 large circle of friends. 
 
 The Evening Post is at present and has been for- 
 about two years represented in Wall Street by Mr. X. 
 F. Whiting, a young man of pleasing and agreeable 
 address. Mr. Whiting was in the War Department at 
 Washington for a number of years, and afterwards made 
 his entree in Wall Street in the role of a broker, but 
 he finally left that business and assumed his present 
 position. He is of a somewhat nervous disposition, 
 but is exceedingly industrious, and can be seen daily 
 floating on the street with his constant companions, 
 a lead pencil and a piece of paper, anxious for news, 
 which, if he gets any, goes down on the paper quickly. 
 
532 THE FIN A NCIAL EDITORS. 
 
 He gives a very good report of actual events in Wall 
 Street, but does not discuss matters editorially to any 
 great extent. This is not Mr. Whiting's fault, as he is 
 both gifted and talented, and perfectly able to handle 
 his subjects, but it has been the policy of the Evening 
 Post to avoid discussions to a great extent in its finan- 
 cial column, for years past. Its proprietors seem to 
 prefer to have the column filled up with dry figures 
 and quotations. Thus the Post frequently has a heavy 
 appearance financially. Mr. Whiting has really put 
 more life into the financial column of the Post and made 
 it far more readable than during the reign of any of 
 his predecessors since the days of Mr. Hicks. In fact 
 he has greatly improved the Post financially. Mr. 
 Whiting has both youth and vigor on his side, and as 
 a financial writer, is likely to rise in his profession. 
 Personally he is a gentleman of very liberal opinions 
 and has a wide circle of friends in Wall Street. 
 
 The Commercial Advertiser is represented by Mr. 
 William Dodsworth, who also assists in editing the 
 Financial Chronicle, Dry Goods Economist, and Daily 
 Bulletin. Mr. Dodsworth is a fine theoretical writer, 
 and branches out considerably in this line. He also 
 writes letters on the theory of finance for gentlemen 
 who are desirous of acquiring a financial reputa- 
 tion, but who are destitute of the necessary brains. 
 This letter writing is also done by some of the other 
 financial editors, and many of the epistles of public 
 men on finance, which appear occasionally in the Press, 
 are simply from the brains of the financial editors. 
 
 Mr. Dodsworth leads a Jbusy life with his many 
 
THE FINANCIAL EDITORS. 533 
 
 papers. In his daily article in the Commercial Adver- 
 tiser, he deals but little with news and mostly with 
 theory. Mr. Dodsworth is a pleasant gentleman and 
 has many friends. 
 
LI. 
 EMINENT CLERGYMEN IN WALL STREET. 
 
 Dr. Edward Payson. — Whitfield. — Wesley. — Witherspoon. — In the 
 Street. — Payson, the Ideal Man. — The Keal Man. — Lever of a 
 Horse. — Knocking down the Pins. — Outwits a Man of the World. — 
 Influence over the Young. 
 
 REV. DR. EDWARD PAYSON. 
 
 The eminent clergymen of the country have preached 
 in Wall Street. As I have said elsewhere, the leading 
 churches and eminent congregations were located in and 
 around the street. Whitfield drew immense crowds in 
 Hanover Square, partly because no church could hold 
 the congregation ; and the portable pulpit from which he 
 preached can be seen in the rooms of the Tract House 
 on Nassau street. Here Wesley delivered some of 
 his crisp short sermons early in the morning — " one 
 hour all told — singing, prayer and all, according to the 
 good old Methodist rule" — as he expressed it. Jon- 
 athan Edwards, Aaron Burr, the father of the celebrated 
 lawyer, Dr. Mason, and other eminent ministers occu- 
 pied the pulpit in Wall Street. In Wall Street, Dr. 
 Witherspoon uttered the celebrated words that Web- 
 ster puts into the mouth of John Adams : — " Sink or 
 swim; live or die," etc. While he was making that 
 speech, some timid person said that the country was 
 
 (534) 
 
RE V. DR. ED 1 1 'A RB I'A\ SON. 535 
 
 not ripe for a revolution, to which the patriot preacher 
 replied, drawing himself up to his full height, and he 
 was taller than most men — " Sir, the country is not only 
 ripe for independence, but is rotten for it, and will 
 have it. 11 In the Street Rev. Dr. Caldwell often preached, 
 the most energetic and influential of the clergymen 
 who threw all they possessed in favor of the national 
 cause. He took the position of commissary in the 
 army, because the people would trust him for the 
 supplies which the troops needed ; and in the great 
 cause, he literally periled his life, fortune, and sacred 
 honor. Returning to his home one day, he found his 
 wife shot on his step-stone, and her babe creeping 
 around in its mother's gore. He took the child in his 
 hands, held it aloft toward heaven, baptized it in its 
 mother's blood, and swore eternal hostility to a foe 
 that would not spare women or children. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Pay son preached some celebrated sermons 
 in Wall Street, one of which, the sermon on the sea, 
 is still remembered by those who made a portion of the 
 congregation. Few men have enjoyed greater fame, 
 and few men have been as little understood as Dr. 
 Payson. The popular idea enshrines him as the most 
 pious of men — an anchorite in habit, a recluse in so- 
 cial life, a man who never opened his mouth except 
 on religious topics, who exhorted and prayed wherever 
 he went, and like John the Baptist, spent his life in 
 warning men to flee from the wrath to come. The 
 papers, sermons, and memorials published, give the 
 sombre side of his life. His brighter thoughts, if he 
 had any, have been carefully suppressed. His me- 
 moirs set him forth as a misanthrope, who knew no 
 
536 PA YSON AS A MAN. 
 
 sunshine and no joy, who dwelt constantly on the dark 
 side of life, and whose utterances were sad and mourn- 
 ful as the tones of a passing bell. The bright spark- 
 ling things that he said have been suppressed in his 
 published works. 
 
 PAYSON AS A MAN. 
 
 Pious, devoted, and eloquent he was, without doubt. 
 But he was a genuine man of the world — genial, social, 
 joyous, cheerful, and witty. He was one of the most 
 companionable of men. His congregation was made 
 up largely of sea captains, who were not pious, though 
 their wives were members of the church. These men 
 knew Payson, understood him, and loved him. Rough, 
 tough, hardy seamen, whose mothers, sisters or wives 
 belonged to the church, were proud of their pastor. 
 Among this class he won many of his trophies. He 
 knew how to adapt himself to all classes and conditions, 
 and in the best sense, to become all things to all men. 
 He knew that a word fitly spoken only, was profitable, 
 and he knew when to speak that word. He sailed 
 with his parishioners, and often made a voyage to the 
 South. His coming on board was hailed with joy by 
 the cabin and forecastle. He was a faithful friend to 
 the sons of the sea. His presence cast no cloud over 
 the rough sports of the voyage, in which he often joined. 
 He knew the ropes of the ship, and took off his coat to 
 share in the toils of the sailors. He could reef or haul 
 in sails, man the boats, fish, climb to the mast head, 
 tell stories, and make himself a seaman among the 
 crew. The tars believed the parson was bora to their 
 craft. Like all genial, large hearted men, Payson 
 
DR. PAYSON KNOCKING DOWN THE PINS, ETC. 537 
 
 loved a good horse, and took no one's dust. He was 
 a good judge of horse-flesh, and rode and drove finely. 
 In this sport he rivalled Dr. Hawks. 
 
 DR. PAYSON KNOCKING DOWN THE PINS. 
 
 With several of the families belonging to his congre- 
 gation, Dr. Payson spent ;w summer in Saratoga. He 
 was the idol of his friends, and the sea captains re- 
 garded him as a model man. A company was made 
 up for a game at bowling. Dr. Payson was one of the 
 party. An enthusiastic captain said to a looker-on, 
 "Dr. Payson is going to roll; he will beat the whole 
 company, you see if he don't.' 7 The man who pre- 
 ceded Dr. Payson, got a ten strike. "Your parson 
 can't beat that," said the man addressed, " He may 
 do as well, but he can't do any better." " I don't care," 
 said the captain, c 'Dr. Payson will beat them all, you 
 see if he don't." The doctor approached his work with 
 great deliberation, with his coat off. He got a ten 
 strike. He knocked down the boy as well as the pins. 
 "There," said the excited captain, "I told you Dr. 
 Payson would beat them all, and he has done it." 
 
 OUTWITS A MAN OF THE WORLD. 
 
 A gentleman in Portland took an exceeding dislike 
 to Dr. Payson. In a season of marked religious inter- 
 est, the man boasted that he would put a stop to Pay- 
 roll's revival. He erected a building in his own yard 
 and threw it open for dancing and kindred festivities. 
 His wife, however, became interested in the work, and 
 joined Dr. Payson's church. It is a New England cus- 
 tom to invite the minister and his family to tea — not to 
 
538 OUTWITS A MAN OF THE WORLD. 
 
 do- so is a great breach of courtesy. Dr. Payson was 
 invited to tea by the wife of the gentleman referred 
 to ; the man giving his consent on condition that no 
 blessing should be asked at the table. To save appear- 
 ances, it was agreed that tea should be handed round. 
 The host had never met Dr. Payson socially, and was 
 introduced to him under Ms own roof. Dr. Payson 
 was a perfect master of human nature. He was one 
 of the best talkers of his time. He had great -tact, and 
 understood the fitness of things. His conversation was 
 smooth, and flowing as a river ; full of humor and 
 good common sense. He could match a man of the 
 world at any time, and hoist an engineer with his own 
 petard. He was a practical man ; at home in history, 
 art, trade, commerce, politics, and religion. He knew 
 the tastes of the man whom he was to meet, and opened 
 a conversation on the very topics in which he was espe- 
 cially interested. The host was charmed with the 
 minister. In the midst of the conversation, the ser- 
 vant and the tea tray appeared. The man felt ashamed 
 of the subterfuge adopted to prevent Dr. Payson from 
 exercising his profession. To the astonishment of his 
 wife, he ordered the tray to be set on the table, and- 
 said to his guest, " Dr. Payson, will you ask a bless- 
 ing ?" The pastor won. The gentleman became a fast 
 personal friend, and a member of the church. When 
 the High Street Church was formed, its first meeting 
 was in the dance house erected to break up Dr. Payson's 
 revival. When the real character of Dr. Payson is 
 considered, it is easy to see how a church, balancing 
 between Unitarianism and orthodoxy could give Dr. 
 
BIB INFLUENCE OVER THE YOUNG. 530 
 
 Pay son a call, as the Parish of Portsmouth did, now 
 known as the Unitarian parish of that town. 
 
 HIS INFLUENCE OVER THE YOUNG. 
 
 Dr. Payson had great power over the fashionable, 
 the gay, and the young. His manliness, his marked 
 ability as a preacher, his genial, social qualities, won 
 for him the admiration and confidence of all classes. 
 A gay young doctor in Boston, belonging to the elite 
 of the city, lived near a church in which Dr. Payson 
 was preaching a series of sermons. One evening, the 
 young doctor came down, dressed for an evening party. 
 The tone of the bell reminded him that Dr. Payson was 
 preaching near him. He had an hour to spare, threw 
 on his cloak, went into the church to while away 
 his time, and took a seat near the door. He became 
 interested, remained till the close of the service, and 
 from that casual sermon, became one of the most emi- 
 nent christians of New England. Through all his pro- 
 fessional life, he stood at the head of the surgeons of 
 the land. 
 
LII. 
 MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. 
 
 The System. — Average Deaths. — Origin of Mutual Life Insurance. 
 — President and Vice President. — Assets. 
 
 The great system of Life Insurance in this country 
 originated in Wall Street. It was small enough in its 
 beginnings, though the system now has been refined 
 and perfected, till little more remains to be done. It 
 is based on the average of life. So many die annually. 
 So many from fever, plague, accident, suicide, and com- 
 mon mortality. Human life is found to be the subject 
 of exact financial regulation, and is less fluctuating than 
 stocks, more reliable than any regular trade of the 
 world. In five years, an average number of persons 
 will die, — will be drowned, burned, scalded, smashed 
 up on rail-roads, run away with by frantic teams, fall 
 from buildings, and be knocked down in the streets. 
 In every part of the civilized world, where postal facil- 
 ities are enjoyed, the average number of absent mind- 
 ed and careless people are found. This is proved by 
 the average number of letters dropped into the post- 
 offices, unsealed, undirected, or without a stamp ; and 
 this ratio of careless people increases with the increase 
 of population in all large cities. Wall Street has the 
 
 (540) 
 
MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE CO. 511 
 
 honor of introducing the first Mutual Life Company in 
 
 the United States. The system originated in England, 
 and owed its origin to the efforts of some benevolent 
 persons, who desired to secure from want the widows 
 and orphans of the clergymen of England. 
 
 For more than a quarter of a century this company 
 has held on its successful and honored way, till it has 
 become the largest cash institution in the land, and as 
 a financial power exceeds that of any bank in the city. 
 No speculation of any kind is allowed by its charter. 
 Its funds can only be invested in United States stocks, 
 stocks of the state of New York, and bonds and mort- 
 gages on improved property within the state. The 
 corporation has been managed by the ablest men in 
 the country, representing all professions and depart- 
 ments of business. It makes all its policy holders 
 partners in the profits. Managing its affairs with in- 
 tegrity and prudence, it has always been liberal in the 
 payment of its losses, and been generous as well as 
 just. Hundreds who hold a policy in this company 
 not only pay no premium, but have an addition an- 
 nually to the amount insured, by the earnings of the 
 company, which are fairly divided with every one in- 
 sured. During the long term of its existence, no law- 
 suit has been necessary to secure the amount of the 
 policy. 
 
 The elegant business rooms used by this company 
 are on Broadway, and are commodious and extensive. 
 The property was bought as an investment, and so 
 shrewdly that these elegant banking rooms cost the 
 company nothing, for the rental of the balance of the 
 building pays for the rooms. Civility, courtesy, and 
 
542 MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE CO- 
 
 accuracy as well as integrity are required of all who 
 are employed in this establishment. 
 
 The President, Frederick F. Winston, ranks among 
 the first financiers on the street. He is a man of in- 
 domitable industry, giving close attention to business, 
 and holding a personal oversight over everything trans- 
 acted in the establishment. Presidents of banking 
 houses are early if they reach their office at ten in the 
 summer, and eleven in the winter. Mr. Winston is at 
 his official desk at eight o'clock in the morning, sum- 
 mer and winter- Giving attention to the minutest de- 
 tails of his office, he never quits his post till the day's 
 work is done, and the janitor closes the door for the 
 night. Mr. Eichard McCurdy, the Vice President, is 
 one of the most genial, accomplished, and skillful busi- 
 ness young men in New York. He would serve as 
 a model to any person desiring to succeed in business. 
 Prompt, cheerful, intelligent, he has a great knack for 
 discharging business, and can get rid of garrulous or 
 troublesome visitors, without rudeness or offence, and 
 ranks among the best business men in the street. This 
 great company hold cash assets of over thirty five mil- 
 lions. Should every dollar of these assets be swept 
 away, which are now invested in bonds and mortgages, 
 real estate, in buildings, in State and United States 
 Bonds, — with the cash on hand — the regular premi- 
 ums payable in cash would not be consumed in the 
 payment of policies coming due. In speaking of this 
 company, as affecting the subject of life insurance 
 through the country, Mr. Barnes, the State Superin- 
 tendent of the Life Insurance Bureau at Albany, says 
 of the Mutual Life: "This Company has for many 
 
MUTFAL LIFE IX-r/AXr/.j CO. 543 
 
 years been the representative Life Insurance Company 
 of the United States, and with its successor failure the 
 whole system in this country was intimately connected. 
 Had this Company failed or been mismanaged, it would 
 have injured every other similar institution. Its splen- 
 did success, unparalelled in the history of the busi- 
 ness in any country, has buoyed up and sustained 
 scores of other companies which have already entered 
 on promising careers of success and usefulness." 
 
LIII. 
 
 WHO MAKE MONEY ON WALL ST., AND 
 WHO LOSE MONEY. 
 
 The Wealth of the Street. — Money easily Made. — Poor Boys and 
 Rich Mem. — "Who make Money. — 1st. Those who Buy and Sell. — 2d. 
 Who Buy in a Panic. — 3d. Who Buy, Pay, and Keep. — 4th. Who 
 Average Stocks. — 5th. Content with small Gains. — 6th. Who Con- 
 trol the Street. — Who Lose Money. — 1st. All Caught by a Panic. — 
 Mystery and Terror of a Panic. — Causes of a Panic. — 2d. Green 
 Operators — 3d. Small Dealers. — 4th. Infatuated Women. — 5th. In 
 dustrious Speculators. — 6th. Dealers in Points. 
 
 I have shown in this work that somebody makes 
 money in the street. Speculators are at the head of 
 banks, railroads, gigantic corporations, and the great 
 moneyed institutions of New York. They own baro- 
 nial country seats, the most expensive dwellings in the 
 city, and keep up their establishments in costly style. 
 The livered servants in the Park ; stables costing from 
 fifty to a hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; extrav- 
 agant and gorgeous teams, with two, four, and six hors- 
 es ; with from one to a dozen fast teams, costing from 
 ten to fifty thousand each ; the most valuable blocks 
 in the city, and imported furniture, belong to Wall 
 Street operators. Somebody must make money, and 
 there must be a way to make it in the Street. I have 
 shown, that losses in the Street are tremendous, and 
 almost inevitable. Ninety-eight out of every hundred, 
 
 (544) 
 
m DO Y.- AND R/i H MEX. 5 ±5 
 
 who have to do with the Street, are cleaned out and 
 ruined. Reverses are of daily occurrence. The for- 
 tunate speculators of to-day are overwhelmed with 
 disasters to-morrow. The boldest and most successful 
 operators die poor. Country speculators, small capi- 
 talists from the rural districts, professional men, and 
 business men, who go into the Street, to try their for- 
 tunes, invariably lose what they invest. Their ruin is 
 only a matter of time. The question comes, How is it 
 that some speculators are so fortunate, and roll in lux- 
 ury, and the great mass are cleaned out? The ques- 
 tion is one of great interest — "Who makes money in 
 Wall Street, and who loses money?" 
 
 Any one who wishes can make money in Wall Street, 
 or in any other part of New York. Making money is 
 a trade. The laws of the universe are not more un- 
 bending and regular than the law of success in Wall 
 Street. Industry, honesty, perseverance, sticking to, 
 one thing, invariably lead to success in any reputable 
 calling. There are wealthy men in Xew York, who 
 began life picking up rags in the street. They clean- 
 ed the filthy waifs, sold them, and tried again. Their 
 budget was just what it was represented to be. From 
 the street or ash barrel they obtained a supply from 
 houses. Business increased ; a little shanty was taken, 
 help was needed, and the rag picker became a whole- 
 sale dealer — his shanty grew into a warehouse, and the 
 paper makers throughout the country deal with him 
 to-day. A poor Scotch widow returned to her scanty 
 rooms in Chambers Street, having buried her husband. 
 She was penniless, as well as desolate. To-morrow's 
 bread was uncertain. Perhaps the shelter of the roof 
 
546 WHO MAKE MONEY ON WALL STREET. 
 
 would be denied her, as she had no money to pay the 
 rent. She had two little boys, one of them proposed 
 to his mother to make a little molasses candy, and he 
 would take it out into the street and sell it, as he had seen 
 other children do. The candy was really very nice. 
 It was placed on a tray, covered with an attractive 
 white cloth, and the boy was put in clean dress. He 
 went around among the merchants, and found a ready 
 sale for his commodity. His sales grew — his coming 
 was watched for. The widow set up a little store. 
 The business increased. The manufacture of sugar 
 followed. The brand of the house became celebrated 
 in all parts of the world. The penniless boys are now 
 millionares on Fifth Avenue. Their donations to re- 
 ligion and benevolence are the largest in the country. 
 Their sugar is known throughout the civilized world. 
 Not a pound of impure candy can be purchased at the 
 establishment. The Queen of England is a patron of 
 the house. She sends annually, through the great 
 banking house of Baring Brothers, for a supply of 
 candy. 
 
 A poor boy on Long Island was apprenticed to a 
 printing house in New York. The morning he left his 
 home, his mother laid her hands on his head, and said, 
 "James, you have got good blood in you — be an hon- 
 est and good boy, and you will succeed." His clothes 
 were homespun, his shoes heavy and ill fitting, and he 
 did the dirty work of a printing office. He worked 
 near Pearl street and Franklin Square. Gentlemen 
 lived there in those days ; lawyers, merchants, and bank- 
 ers. As James went to and fro from his work, often 
 bearing the slops through the street, he was taunted 
 
POOR BOYS AND RICH MEN, 547 
 
 by the pampered children of the then upper classes 
 of New York. They taunted him with his servile 
 work, jostled him on his way, sported with his pover- 
 ty, and jested about his ill fitting clothes. He held on 
 his course, patiently, hopefully ; the words of his moth- 
 er ringing constantly in his ear. He founded one of 
 the largest houses in the land ; known in all quarters 
 of the globe, which to-day, after a successful career of 
 half a century, is honored and prospered still. He be- 
 came a magistrate of the city, and had prouder titles 
 given him by the poor, lowly, and suffering. He lived 
 to see these proud houses, whose children had taunted 
 him, topple down. Those very children come to him, 
 and ask for employment, many of them in their penu- 
 ry, asking for aid. 
 
 In the smallest possible way, a resolute lad began 
 to make a living. Gathering the hoofs from slaughter 
 houses, and from dead and deserted animals, he man- 
 ufactured a little glue. It bore the stamp of excel- 
 lence from the start, which it has never lost. Making 
 the article genuine, it led the market. That boy is 
 now one of the most eminent citizens of the city. His 
 donations are larger than those of any man, except 
 Astor. He has not forgotten his low estate nor is he 
 ashamed of his early origin. The recipients of his 
 bounty are artizans and the men and women in hum- 
 ble life who seek culture, and desire to be wise in sci- 
 ence and art. 
 
 The President of one of the great express compa- 
 nies in this city, who has attained great wealth, and 
 whose reputation as a business man, and a man of in- 
 tegrity, is second to none in the land, worked his way 
 
5i8 WHO MADE MONEY ON WALL STREET. 
 
 up from the lowest beginnings. Some of the great 
 book men of the city began life as newsboys, selling 
 papers on the street. 
 
 The great express man of the west, who has given 
 his name to most of the express companies, because his 
 name is a synonym of honor, began life a stable boy, then 
 drove stages, then owned stage lines, began the ex- 
 press business in the humblest way, and being always 
 the same faithful, honest, persevering man, is now one 
 of the richest men in the State. 
 
 The richest man in Brooklyn peddled milk — he ped- 
 dled good milk. He bought the best cows, and with 
 a little money scraped together, bought a pasture, far 
 up in the country, that his cows might be under his 
 own eye. That cow pasture has been cut up into lots, 
 and is covered with the splendid mansions of Brook- 
 lyn Heights. The milk man is a millionaire. 
 
 An old man died in New York, leaving two daugh- 
 ters. "Don't sell the old pasture," was the dying in- 
 junction of the father. The family became very poor — 
 they lived in chambers. They cut and carved every 
 way to get along. They had to give up the family 
 pew in the old church. The taxes &nd assessments were 
 so heavy that more than once they resolved to sell 
 the pasture, as the price was temptingly high. They 
 held on. The old pasture is occupied now by fashion- 
 able New York In the centre, is one of the finest 
 private parks in the city — it bears the name of the 
 family. Lordly mansions occupy the grounds. Costly 
 churches have been erected upon it. The children of 
 these heroic women are among the wealthiest; and 
 the husband of one of the children, whose wealth no 
 
WHO MAKE HONEY ON WALL STREET. 5 I'J 
 
 one attempts to compute, is a high official at Washing- 
 ton. 
 
 WHO MAKE MONEY ON WALL STREET. 
 
 1st. Those who trade legitimately in stocks. A 
 commission house in Wall Street, that buys and sells 
 stocks, as a trade, and does nothing else, must make 
 money. It cannot be otherwise. Such men run no 
 risks. A legitimate house never buys stocks without 
 a margin. The operator holds the stocks, watches the 
 market, and can protect himself when he will. The 
 great temptation is to speculate. Why make a pal- 
 try commission, when by a nice investment, thousands 
 may be secured ? Few houses are successful, because 
 few adhere to the rule, rigidly, not to touch any thing 
 as a speculation, however tempting the offer. One of 
 the heaviest houses in New York, that went down 
 on the Black Friday, failed because it added specu- 
 lation to a commission business. For years the house 
 refused to speculate. It became one of the most hon- 
 ored, and trusty, as well as one of the most successful. 
 While the principal partner was absent in Europe, his 
 associates ventured on a little speculation. It proved 
 successful, and the house became one of the largest 
 operators in Wall Street. The crash came, as it comes 
 to all such, and the ruin was terrible. Had the house 
 been content to follow the legitimate business that 
 made it, it would have stood to-day. 
 
 2d. Operators make money who buy in a panic. 
 Few men in Wall Street can invest during a panic. 
 When Stocks are low, and growing lower, and the bot- 
 tom seems to be knocked out of every thing, specula- 
 
550 WHO MAKE MONEY ON WALL STREET. 
 
 tors are at their wits' end, like men in a storm at sea. 
 Then, cool, shrewd, careful capitalists buy. Men in 
 California, Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, have 
 standing orders with their brokers, to buy when stocks 
 are low. These are quiet men, that know that the 
 law of the street is sure and stocks will recover. 
 They never buy on what is cal ed a Bull market, but 
 always when Stocks are how, and buy for arise. Mil- 
 lions change hands by telegraph, when the Street is in 
 a war. 
 
 3d. Another class that make money bay without 
 any reference to the street. They select a line of 
 stocks, with the value of which they are well acquaint- 
 ed. They buy the stock and pay for it. ; They take 
 it home, and lock it up. It is their own. No broker 
 can sell them out. They have no margin to lose, and 
 none to keep good. If the stock goes down twenty per 
 cent, they are not alarmed. They know that the street 
 will repeat itself, and that the stock will come up. 
 They bide their time, and sell out when they please. 
 
 4th. Another class of operators make money who 
 average their stocks. These operators buy a line of 
 stocks — a thousand shares of Lake Shore at ninety. 
 An order is left with the broker to buy Erie as it goes 
 down, and so keep purchasing three hundred. Lake 
 Shore falls, as other stocks go down, but the party is 
 securing other lines at a lower rate. When the mar- 
 ket rises, they all go up together. It takes capital and 
 pluck to do this. Operators must have money to hold 
 the thousand shares, and secure other lines of stock to 
 average the decline. The wealthy operators on the 
 
WHO MAKE MONEY o.\ wall street. 5.31 
 
 street — the old heads, who are sure of a rise if they 
 wait for it, are the men who average their stock. 
 
 5th. Men make money on the street who are eon- 
 tent to do a small business; who are satisfied with 
 small profits. Such men are not bold operators, but 
 they are very safe ones. Five hundred dollars profit 
 is very satisfactory. Most operators want to make 
 money at a blow ; making five hundred, they reinvest it 
 at once, like a gambler, who having made fifty dollars, 
 is in a glow of excitement to make a hundred. Such 
 men often buy the same stock over, that they have 
 just sold, and buy it at a higher price. Instead of 
 taking their little gains out of the street and waiting, 
 they try another battle with fortune, and continue till 
 all is swept away. Henry Keep, called u Henry the 
 silent," on the Street, was one of the most successful 
 operators that ever dealt in stocks. He said to a 
 friend one day, " Would you like to know how I made 
 my money? I did it by cooping the chickens; I did 
 not wait till the whole brood was hatched. I caught 
 the first little chicken that chipped the shell, and put 
 it in the coop. I then went after more. If there were 
 no more chickens, I had one safe at least. I never des- 
 pised small gains. What I earned, I took care of. I 
 never perilled what I had, for the sake of grasping 
 what I had not secured." 
 
 Gth. Men who can control the street are sure to make 
 money. Vanderbilt, Drew, Law, and men of their 
 capital can do this when they please, When they com- 
 bine, they can make the nation reel. If they want to 
 control stocks, they buy them up, and lock them up. 
 They can keep them as long as they please, and sell them 
 
552 WHO LOSE MONEY OX WALL STREET. 
 
 when, and as the}' please. They can run the price up to 
 any height. These men not only make a fortune in a 
 day, but they make fortunes for all their friends whom 
 they choose to call in. The permanent success among 
 operators and speculators is found in the classes named. 
 
 WHO LOSE MONEY ON WALL STREET. 
 
 1st. All who are caught by a panic, which includes 
 the great mass of operators, lose. One of the most 
 mysterious things in Wall Street is a panic, as it is one 
 of the most terrible. It is indescribable and often 
 causeless. It comes without warning. No wisdom, 
 shrewdness or fore-cast can anticipate or control it. A 
 distinguished editor of New York gave an account of 
 . panic which he shared, which seized the allied army, 
 and spread terror through the ranks of thousands of 
 armed men — who fled pell-mell in dismay at the appear- 
 ance of the few Austrian cavalry, who had got lost and 
 were seeking food. The alarm and terror of a Wall 
 Street panic sweeps away the accumulated gains of 
 many a speculation, and often the fruits of many years. 
 Its bitter fruits are not confined to the street. The 
 click of the telegraph, that communicates the changes 
 in Wall Street every five or ten minutes, to all parts of 
 the continent, carries consternation with the intelli- 
 gence. Dealers in stocks are scattered all over the 
 land, capitalists tremble and business and labor suffer. 
 When a panic comes, it strikes the heavy men of the 
 street, as it strikes all others. The causes of a panic, 
 are found, 1st, in combinations that tighten the money 
 market. Thirty men who can go out on the street, 
 and call in millions of dollars, out on loan, as they are 
 
WHO LOSE MONEY ON WAl 553 
 
 often compelled to do, aid in producing a panic. 
 Money is drawn from the city to purchase the crops 
 
 in the country, and with a tight money market the street 
 must unload. 2d. Artful men combine, and lock up 
 money. Sometimes a combination secures control of 
 the city funds, funds of the United States government, 
 and nearly all the money in the banks. If the com- 
 bination that produced the awful panic of September 
 24th, could have held their grasp on gold and green- 
 backs twenty -four hours longer, they would have broke 
 the entire street. 4th. Panics come from no possible 
 cause — come when no one can expect them. A bro- 
 ker of forty years standing, who is at the head of one 
 of the heaviest houses in New York, said, " One of the 
 worst panics that I ever saw in the street, occurred 
 under my own eye. I was seated at the Board one 
 day, and I never saw the room more quiet. Every 
 thing was easy and buoyant. Stocks were steady, the 
 roads were earning money, and every thing was cheer- 
 ful. A member present belonged to a house that was 
 carrying a very large line of stock. He offered 
 two hundred shares for sale. A man sat opposite to 
 witness the transaction. He said to himself. I have 
 some of that stock ; if this man who is so heavily inter- 
 ested in it, is about selling out, something must be 
 the matter. I will sell mine out while I can. He 
 threw his on the market. Others followed. A scene 
 of indescribable excitement prevailed. Other stocks 
 were affected. The panic became universal, and inevi- 
 table ruin followed. It turned out that nothing was 
 the matter ; that the broker who had caused the panic 
 had an order to sell. 
 
551 WHO LOSE MONEY ON WALL STREET. 
 
 5th. Beside the conspiracies, before alluded to, 
 panics are produced by a combination of the bear 
 interest to sell out. As stock is offered, the bulls 
 buy it, to prevent a fall, and if they buy all that is 
 offered, they keep the market up. The bears pile up 
 the stock, and produce a panic. They throw on to 
 the market more stock than the bulls can take and a 
 panic follows. 
 
 2d. Nearly every one loses money who is not in- 
 itiated in the ways of Wall Street. Stock jobbing is a 
 trade. To be successful, men must understand it, and 
 follow it as a business. A man would be much safer 
 to order a stock of goods from Europe, ignorant of the 
 quality and of the price, — to order ten thousand bar- 
 rels of flour from the West, who never purchased a bush- 
 el of wheat — to order cargoes of coal, knowing noth- 
 ing of the trade, than to go to Wall Street to make an 
 investment. The green men, who do not know the 
 ways of the Street, are sure to lose. Smart men else- 
 where, successful men in other lines, will be dupes in 
 the Street. The atmosphere is full of rumors. Sharp- 
 ers are full of points, and the green speculators will 
 first be misled, and then be fleeced. They 'are especially 
 in peril, if they meet with temporary success. Like 
 men who fight the " tiger," their little successes only 
 whet the appetite for deeper playing. Men who make 
 a little fortune elsewhere, come on the Street in search 
 of ventures, and are easily duped to take a flyer, which 
 is as certain to clean them out, as they live. 
 
 3d. Small dealers lose money. These have gen- 
 erally some friend on the Street, who make purchases 
 for them, without observing the rule of the board. 
 
WHO LOSE MONEY OX WALL STREET. 55.J 
 
 The law of the street requires a ten per cent, margin, but 
 some brokers are content to take one per cent, or even a 
 half. These operators are friends — cousins — members 
 of the same church — or belong to the same fraternity or 
 club. This class is very large, and is sure to lose all 
 that is ventured. The most excited of small operators 
 are ladies. They- place their one per cent., or ten per 
 cent, in the hand of a broker, and they become per- 
 fectly infatuated. They annoy and worry the broker 
 that buys for them, by daily visitations, and their ex- 
 cited dreams of fortune give them no rest. A broker 
 related this incident. A lady acquaintance called at 
 his office, and insisted upon leaving with him a thou- 
 sand dollars for speculation. She wanted some dress- 
 es and fixings, and having need of more money than 
 her husband could spare, she resolved to try a venture 
 on the street. Others had done so and made a fortune, 
 and there was no reason why she should not. All ar- 
 gument and entreaty were lost on the excited crea- 
 ture — a speculation she would have, and her money 
 she would leave. The broker took her money on one 
 condition, that it was the last venture she would make ; 
 at least, through him. He locked her thousand dollars 
 in his safe. Every day, she came to the office to en- 
 quire after the success of the speculation. Once or 
 twice she dogged him to his house. She had heard a 
 report that she thought would interest him, and had 
 read something in the paper that she could not under- 
 stand. One day she called at the office, and he met 
 her with a smile. "I know you have got good news 
 for me," said the lady. " Yes," said the broker, and 
 " I will tell it to you, if you will renew the obligation 
 
556 WHO LOSE MONEY ON WALL STREET 
 
 given to mc, and leave the Street.'' She renewed it. 
 "Your thousand dollars have gained you another thou- 
 sand dollars. He handed her a certified check. He 
 had given her a thousand dollars to get rid of her. 
 
 4th. Industrious speculators, hard working, ener- 
 getic, persistent operators in Wall Street, fail. Indus- 
 try and activity are not at a premium on the street. 
 The warning of the Bible, on making haste to get rich, 
 has a significance among brokers. Cool operators, 
 slow, steady going men, who think twice before they 
 act, who, when they make an operation, haul off and 
 wait, make the money. But sharp, energetic men, who 
 have come out on the street to make a fortune, and in- 
 tend to keep at it — these men are sure to go under. 
 They make five hundred a day ; that is nothing; they 
 can as easily make ten hundred. Having done up one 
 little chore, they think there is time for another. They 
 feel that they must do something all the time. Like 
 men who sell ribbon and tape, they imagine they are 
 only doing well, as they measure off yard after yard. 
 A successful operator hauls off after he has made a 
 strike,whether it is small or large — waits and watches 
 the market. 
 
 5th. Operators who deal in points, lose money. 
 Wall Street is full of rumors, exciting stories, and 
 statements of things that are going to happen. Some 
 men have secret information of importance. These 
 rumors are called points, and men who buy and 
 sell, in consequence of them, are said to " deal on 
 points." Combinations, conspiracies, and cliques start 
 these points to affect the market, and inexperienced 
 and green operators are duped by them. Men pro- 
 
WHO LOSE MONET ON WALL STREET. 557 
 
 fess to have important information that stocks arc to 
 go up, or are to go down. They communicate this to 
 a dealer and offer to form a joint account, ancLshare 
 the profits of the venture. In nine cases out of ten, 
 the point is a canard, for men who have genius enough 
 to affect the market have shrewdness enough to keep 
 the rise to themselves. Hordes of men speculate on 
 points. There is a rumor that the Secretary of the 
 Treasury is going to sell, or lock up gold ; a bill is to 
 be introduced into Congress; it is to be essentially 
 modified, to be defeated or passed ; the Spanish min- 
 ister walked rapidly out of the White House one morn- 
 ing; the Secretary of State sent an important despatch 
 to a high official at Washington ; the fares on an im- 
 portant railroad are to be reduced, or certain roads are 
 to be consolidated. On these, and other wild rumors or 
 points, speculators operate, and always to their ruin. 
 Men trained to the street, and who have rolled up 
 fortunes, are never caught by such chaff. 
 
 6th. Some operators are always seeking a cue. 
 They have no judgment of their own. They watch 
 others. They believe the rumors flying about the 
 street. They are easily crammed and gulled. They 
 are the dupes of sharp, shrewd men, and seldom come 
 to anything. 
 
A NEW 
 
 DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE, 
 
 COMPRISING ITS 
 
 ANTIQUITIES, BIOGRAPHY, GEOGRAPHY, 
 
 AND 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 EDITED BY WILLIAM SMITH, LL.D., 
 
 CLASSICAL EXAMINER IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, AND EDITOR OF THJ8 
 
 DICTIONARIES OF "GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES," "BIOGBAPHY 
 
 AND MYTHOLOGY," AND " GEOGRAPHY." 
 
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