ctogenarian merchant informed me that, calling once at Mr. Astor's
store, he found him in an upper loft clad in a long, coarse wrapper, and
engaged among his furs. 'I shall get for that,' said he, holding up the
skin of a splendid silver fox, 'forty dollars, in St. Petersburg.' It
probably cost him less than five dollars. Astor had no sooner gained a
position as a thrifty trader, than he took a higher step by induction
into Free-Masonry. We say a higher step, not with a view of glorifying
this institution, but because at that time it was exceedingly popular
and aristocratic, and gave tone to citizenship. Among the leading
Free-Masons of New-York were Peter Irving and his brother William,
Martin Hoffman, the founder of the great auction business, and father of
the late L. M. Hoffman. Moving among these magnates, John Jacob Astor
became Grand Treasurer. Mr. Astor had a brother of the same thrifty
turn, though not so successful in acquiring wealth. He was a butcher by
trade, and slaughtered himself into a pittance of one hundred thousand
dollars, which, as he died early, he bequeathed to William B., his
nephew. 'To him that hath shall be given.' Mr. Astor's oldest son is
said to have been a very promising lad, but his brain became injured by
a fall, and he soon fell into a state of derangement. A private asylum
was arranged for his use years ago, and this, with its grounds, covers
an entire block in the western part of the city.

Mr. Astor's profits rolled in upon him at a rate which no one could have
dreamed of, and he kept their amount a secret until he had so penetrated
the frontier by his agencies that he controlled the whole trade, when he
occasionally acknowledged a degree of wealth which astonished those who
heard. For instance, we may state this fact in illustration: He had
occasion at a certain time to use a large amount of cash, and what was
very rare with him, applied to his bank for a heavy discount. The
unusual circumstance and the sum demanded startled the cashier, who in a
plain, business way, put the question: 'Mr. Astor, how much do you
consider yourself worth?' '_Not less than a million_,' was the reply. _A
million_! the cashier was overwhelmed. He supposed that he knew all his
customers, and had rated Astor at hardly more than one tenth of that
sum.

Mr. Astor commenced at an early day to buy real estate, and the habit
grew upon him until it became a passion. He was for years a leading
character at sher