, and, after engaging in various pursuits, opened a little sugar
refinery in New York City, which soon brought him a comfortable income.
There, in 1804, William Frederick Havemeyer was born, and after a
careful education, entered the refinery, gained a thorough knowledge of
the business and, in 1828 succeeded to it, having as a partner his
cousin, Frederick Christian Havemeyer. These two men developed the
business in a wonderful manner, installing new machinery, inventing new
processes, which reduced the manufacturing cost, acquiring possession of
other plants and securing government support in the shape of a
protective tariff, which made a naturally profitable business doubly so,
and netted its owners many millions.

William Frederick Havemeyer found time, in the intervals of running his
business, to take a prominent part in New York politics. He was mayor
of the city from 1845 to 1851, and again in 1873, dying before the last
term was finished.

As far as possible removed from Havemeyer's humdrum existence was that
of Phineas Taylor Barnum, the greatest showman the world has ever seen,
the originator of the great travelling circus, the exploiter of Tom
Thumb and Jenny Lind, the owner of Jumbo, the most famous elephant that
ever lived, whose name has passed into the English language as a synonym
for bigness.

Barnum was born at Bethel, Connecticut, in 1810. His father was an
inn-keeper and died when the boy was fifteen years old, leaving no
property. He tried his hand at store-keeping, and failed; ran a
newspaper, and was imprisoned for libel, and finally reached New York at
about the end of his resources and looking around for something to do.
That was in 1834, and by accident he hit upon his real vocation.

A man by the name of R. W. Lindsay was exhibiting through the country an
old negro woman named Joice Heth, advertising her as being 161 years
old, and as having been the nurse of George Washington. Barnum went to
see her and found her an extraordinary-looking object. He has himself
told how he was impressed by her.

"Joice Heth," he says, "was certainly a remarkable curiosity, and she
looked as though she might have been far older than her age as
advertised. She was apparently in good health and spirits, but from age
or disease, or both, was unable to change her position; she could move
one arm at will, but her lower limbs could not be straightened; her left
arm lay across her breast and she could not remove