pains with his
education and training, for he wanted the midget to appear a finished
man of the world. He became a great public favorite, toured America and
Europe, was introduced to kings and princes and made a great fortune for
himself and his exhibitor. Barnum struck the apogee of his fortunes when
he discovered another midget, Lavinia Warren, who achieved a success
scarcely less than Tom Thumb's. Indeed, she and the General fell in
love with each other and were married at Grace Church, and as General
and Mrs. Tom Thumb were perhaps the greatest drawing cards in the world.
Another triumph of his career was his engagement of Jenny Lind for a
series of one hundred concerts, at a salary of a thousand dollars a
night, the receipts of the tour being over seven hundred thousand
dollars.

Barnum had many ups and downs, which he met with an invincible optimism.
His museum burned down and he rebuilt it, but it soon burned down again.
It was then that the idea occurred to him to establish a travelling
museum, exhibiting under a tent, and it was this idea which developed
into "The Greatest Show on Earth." It really was the greatest and its
owner never spared money in his endeavor to keep it so. Large-hearted,
benevolent, a true entertainer, he will always occupy a bright place in
the memory of the American public.

* * * * *

Perhaps no name in the history of America was ever more closely
connected in the public mind with money-making for its own sake than
that of Russell Sage. It will be surprising news to many, who knew him
only as a money-lender on a large scale, that he started out on a public
career, as alderman, county treasurer, and finally as member of congress
for two terms, from 1853 to 1857. He was the first person to advocate,
on the floor of congress, the purchase of Mount Vernon by the
government. His career on Wall street began shortly after that, at first
in a small way; but before his death, he had developed into the
greatest individual money-lender in the world.

That was his whole life. He took no part in any political or charitable
movement; he had no interest in art, and he lived in the simplest
manner. He used his wealth, not to procure enjoyment for himself or
other people, but to procure more wealth. He was saving to the point of
miserliness; he got the utmost he could out of his money; he never took
a vacation--and dying, at the age of ninety, left a fortune of many
m