her or separately at old Mr. Astor's musical
parties, and at one of these he said to us, as we stood together: "You
are my singing birds." Of our two _repertoires_, mine was the most
varied, as it included French and German songs, while she sang mostly
operatic music. The rich volume of her voice, however, carried her
hearers quite away. Her figure and carriage were fine, and in her
countenance beauty of expression lent a great charm to features which in
themselves were not handsome.

Although the elder Astor had led a life mainly devoted to business
interests, he had great pleasure in the society of literary men.
Fitz-Greene Halleck and Washington Irving were familiar visitors at his
house, and he conceived so great a regard for Dr. Joseph Green Cogswell
as to insist upon his becoming an inmate of his family. He finally went
to reside with Mr. Astor, attracted partly by the latter's promise to
endow a public library in the city of New York. This was accomplished
after some delay, and the doctor was for many years director of the
Astor Library.

He used to relate some humorous anecdotes of excursions which he made
with Mr. Astor. In the course of one of these, the two gentlemen took
supper together at a hotel recently opened. Mr. Astor remarked: "This
man will never succeed."

"Why not?" inquired the other.

"Don't you see what large lumps of sugar he puts in the sugar bowl?"

Once, as they were walking slowly to a pilot-boat which the old
gentleman had chartered for a trip down the harbor, Dr. Cogswell said:
"Mr. Astor, I have just been calculating that this boat costs you
twenty-five cents a minute." Mr. Astor at once hastened his pace,
reluctant to waste so much money.

In his own country Mr. Astor had been a member of the German Lutheran
Church. He once mentioned this fact to a clergyman who called upon him
in the interest of some charity. The visitor congratulated Mr. Astor
upon the increased ability to do good, which his great fortune gave him.
"Ah!" said Mr. Astor, "the disposition to do good does not always
increase with the means." In the last years of his life he was afflicted
with insomnia. Dr. Cogswell often sat with him through a great part of
the night, the coachman, William, being also in attendance. In these
sleepless nights, his mind appeared to be much exercised with regard to
a future state. On one of these occasions, when Dr. Cogswell had done
his best to expound the theme of immortality, Mr.