ssessor of millions, began to
withdraw from active business, confining his efforts chiefly to such
investments as the management of his immense estate made necessary. He
now put into execution an enterprise which he had long cherished. When a
poor stranger in the city, he had once stopped in Broadway to notice a
row of buildings which had just been erected, and which were considered
the finest in the street, and had then made a vow that he would one day
build a larger and finer house than any in Broadway. He now set to work
to carry out the plan he had cherished ever since. He owned the entire
block on Broadway, between Vesey and Barclay streets, with the
exception of one house, which was the property of a Mr. Coster, a
merchant who had amassed a large fortune and retired from business. Mr.
Astor made him many offers for his house, but the old gentleman was
unwilling to remove. Mr. Astor offered him the full value of his house,
which was thirty thousand dollars, and increased the bid to forty
thousand, but Mr. Coster was obstinate. At length Mr. Astor, in despair,
was compelled to reveal his plan to his neighbor.

"I want to build a hotel," said he. "I have got all the other lots. Now
name your own price."

Mr. Coster replied that he would sell for sixty thousand dollars if his
wife would consent, and that Mr. Astor could see her the next morning.
Mr. Astor was punctual to the appointment, and his offer was accepted by
the good lady, who said to him, condescendingly, "I don't want to sell
the house, but we are such old friends that I am willing for your sake."

Mr. Astor used to remark with great glee that any one could afford to
exhibit such condescension after receiving double the value of a piece
of property.

Having got possession of the entire block, he commenced the demolition
of the old buildings, and on their site reared the Astor House, then the
largest and most elegant hotel in the country. This building, when
completed, he gave to his eldest son, William B. Astor.

In 1832, Mr. Astor sailed for Europe to visit one of his daughters, who
had married a nobleman, and remained abroad until 1835. In that year he
was compelled to return home by the action of General Jackson with
regard to the Bank of the United States. "He reached Havre," says Mr.
Parton, "when the ship, on the point of sailing, had every stateroom
engaged, but he was so anxious to get home, that the captain, who had
commanded ships for him in