ty of New
York, and he had no credit. He kept a small stock of goods on hand,
which he bought for cash and sold in the same way for a small profit.
His purchases were made chiefly at auctions, and consisted of "sample
lots"--that is, miscellaneous collections of small articles thrown
together in heaps and sold for what they would bring. He spent several
hours after business each day in assorting and dressing these goods.
They were sold at a low price, but his profit was fair, as he had paid
but a trifle for them. Little by little his trade increased, and he was
soon obliged to employ an assistant. About this time he inaugurated the
system of "selling off below cost." He had a note to pay, and no money
to meet it. His store was full of goods, but he was short of ready
money. No man could then afford to let his note go to protest. Such a
step in those days meant financial ruin to a young man. Stewart proved
himself the man for the crisis. He marked every article in his store
down far below the wholesale price, and scattered over the city a cloud
of handbills announcing that he would dispose of his entire stock of
goods below cost within a given time. His announcement drew crowds of
purchasers to his store, and before the period he had fixed for the
duration of the sale, Mr. Stewart found his shelves empty and his
treasury full. He paid his note with a part of the money thus obtained,
and with the rest laid in a fresh stock of goods. He made his purchases
at a time when the market was very dull, and, as he paid cash, secured
his goods at very low prices.

The energy and business tact displayed by Mr. Stewart at length brought
him their reward. In 1828, he found his little room too small for his
trade. He leased a small store, thirty feet deep, on Broadway, between
Chambers and Warren streets. Here he remained four years, his trade
increasing rapidly all the while. In 1832, he removed to a two-story
building in Broadway, between Murray and Warren streets, and in a short
time was obliged by the growth of his business to add twenty feet to the
depth of his store, and to put an additional story on the building. A
year or two later he added a fourth story, and in 1837 a fifth story, so
rapidly did he prosper. He had now a large and fashionable trade, had
fairly surmounted all his early difficulties, and had laid the foundation
of the immense fortune he has since acquired.

The great commercial crisis of 1837