the fairness of President Edgar Thomson, of the
Pennsylvania, that, upon learning the facts of the case, he allowed an
extra sum to secure us from loss. The subsequent position of affairs,
he said, was not contemplated by either party when the contract was
made. A great and a good man was Edgar Thomson, a close bargainer for
the Pennsylvania Railroad, but ever mindful of the fact that the
spirit of the law was above the letter.

In Linville, Piper, and Schiffler, we had the best talent of that
day--Linville an engineer, Piper a hustling, active mechanic, and
Schiffler sure and steady. Colonel Piper was an exceptional man. I
heard President Thomson of the Pennsylvania once say he would rather
have him at a burnt bridge than all the engineering corps. There was
one subject upon which the Colonel displayed great weakness
(fortunately for us) and that was the horse. Whenever a business
discussion became too warm, and the Colonel showed signs of temper,
which was not seldom, it was a sure cure to introduce that subject.
Everything else would pass from his mind; he became absorbed in the
fascinating topic of horseflesh. If he had overworked himself, and we
wished to get him to take a holiday, we sent him to Kentucky to look
after a horse or two that one or the other of us was desirous of
obtaining, and for the selection of which we would trust no one but
himself. But his craze for horses sometimes brought him into serious
difficulties. He made his appearance at the office one day with one
half of his face as black as mud could make it, his clothes torn, and
his hat missing, but still holding the whip in one hand. He explained
that he had attempted to drive a fast Kentucky colt; one of the reins
had broken and he had lost his "steerage-way," as he expressed it.

He was a grand fellow, "Pipe" as we called him, and when he took a
fancy to a person, as he did to me, he was for and with him always. In
later days when I removed to New York he transferred his affections to
my brother, whom he invariably called Thomas, instead of Tom. High as
I stood in his favor, my brother afterwards stood higher. He fairly
worshiped him, and anything that Tom said was law and gospel. He was
exceedingly jealous of our other establishments, in which he was not
directly interested, such as our mills which supplied the Keystone
Works with iron. Many a dispute arose between the mill managers and
the Colonel as to quality, price, and so forth. On one o