ound extending to Sixth Avenue was used for market gardens. Old maps
of New York show the lanes crossing this section at the time, much like
the country roads we see today thirty or forty miles distant from the
city. Walls ran along these roads with an occasional house with its
gable of the old Dutch type. Mr. Keyser, who dealt in ice gathered from
ponds, occupied the site of the present Vanderbilt houses, Fifty-first
to Fifty-second Street. The Decker house of Dutch architecture occupied
the block between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, Fifty-sixth to Fifty-seventh
Street.

"Peter and Robert Goelet I recall very well. Those who called on Peter
Goelet would find him in a jumper, bluish in colour, such as we see
mechanics wear, with pockets in front. He loved to be occupied and
always had a rule and other articles in his pockets. His brother,
Robert, was the grandfather of the present Goelets. Peter was the elder
and a bachelor. They accompanied each other on walks, Peter, the more
active of the two, in front, and Robert a pace behind. They dealt
directly with their tenants and those whom they employed in taking care
of their properties. I can recall them coming on foot to my father to
have him repair a sidewalk or fence. I doubt if these men in their day,
except for ordinary living expenses, spent five thousand dollars a year.
They were simple in their manners and tastes.

"The older generation was noted for industry, thrift, and economy. An
old merchant, an executor of the Burr estate which owned property
opposite the new Public Library, once stated that no man who had a
million dollars invested, could spend his income in a year. Money at
that time brought seven per cent. The contents of an office did not
exceed in cost fifty dollars, a pine desk and table, and a few chairs.
There were no stenographers and typewriters were unknown.

"Transportation was principally by stage. There were car lines on
Second, Third, Sixth, and Eighth Avenues. The men who kept carriages
were few and they generally lived in Harlem or Manhattanville.
Occasionally smart four-in-hands were seen, and I recall Madame Jumel
driving to town and how we boys used to run to the side of the road to
see her pass. Many business men would go to the city driving a rockaway
with a single horse. Few of the streets were paved, and there were but
two classes of pavements, macadam and cobblestones. Where streets were
not paved the sidewalks were in bad condition. I