The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1877-04-03 00:00:00

THE DORSET COUNTY EXPRESS AND AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE, TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1877.

J. Holland (assistant overseer). Mr. ii. Lock waste- they wanted their church to prosper they must eve paid by cioysrament,.
wile ns‘ly certificated person
appointed rector's churchwarden, and Mr. W. Slade themselves to private prayer in their homes and at the autoonoljetwtte applicant.
ioyes, M;,;,,,
irnonwarr,
School,
b
by the parish. The sidesmen were appointed am before, family altar. Mr. Wray then , appealed to those and she
wirivi ,e uanituously selected by the Board to MI the vacant
.n
Mr. E. Bascombe and Mr. G. Greening. Great satin- present to give liberally to the coilechon about to Ise
faction was expressed with the musical services tinder made—challenged any o
one to stand up and say thoy Frye SESSIMIS, Thursdxy. —M agis l rates present • The
the able direction of Mr J. it.hinson. Juns• .; it is were .2Wthing the (sewer for what they gave to the mapw (Mr. A. lialst.n), NI essr, W. Pearce, d. K.
oeriainly marvellous the sound and harmony he °rings cause five years ago, hit' several interesting instane.'s Welch, C. J. Stone, W. D. Dugdale, a 11. Oath, and 3,
out of this worn-out organ. An unanimous vote of of the efforts put forth in other parts in erecting B. DerrelL
thanks was given to those gentlemen who kindly give chapels, and convulsed his audience with laughter by The Mayor was appointed chairman, and Mr. A. A.
their services Sunday evenings. £sBe. were afterwards relating racy and telling anerlotes,.all with a view to Allen, clerk of the committee of magistrates for visiting
distributed to the poor from charities as usnaL —Holy stimulate them to give until the amount required wee Juristic*.
Triads .. Present—Rev. H. Everett (in the chair), raised. The collection was then made, and Mr. Wray AFFORITSWIT OF O•6IISESSS.
Churchwardens Mr. E. Burnett and Mr. R. I)avis, announced that £45 were required to make the day's The overseers of the poor for the various parishes in
andMasers.(T H. Mayo, F. Holland, U. Hawkins, J. efforts a complete succe)s, and this amount was borough n"u were anted as follows :—St. Jams.'.—ga .
F. Hodges, Junr , C. I'arsons, A. H. Lock, G. speedily raised, tine person gave £5, several £1 each,
Mr-roes.
Churchill, amd m
W. Gould. The same churchwardens and the smaller sums reduced the ammint, until Mr. Gilliivi T. Ines and R. C. Allen. Lonefleet—Mmerrs. T.
and W. E. Palmer Parkstone—Messrs. G. Wallis
and T. Horn. H.uuwiwthy--Meisrs. J. Loge and J. Fi.e.
and sidesmen were unanimously re-elected, viz ,_ Mr. Wray exclaimed, '' Now we have girt them imey, antWill.am Saunders. tranter, leingfleet, wits brought up on
E. Burnett, Mr. R. Davis, churchwardens, and Mr. ('. ' we'll go Mime," Mut riot before we have praised the remand charged with stealing a arising telt, the property
Parsons and Mr. G. Hawkins, sidesmen. A converse- I Lord. The meeting was then concludel by singing ,of Mr. Thomas Builder,. bricknorker, Lingfleet—The
tion ensued respecting the building on the east end of I the doxology and the benediction Ise.mg pronounced. 1 prosecutor did not appear, and the prismer Was die.
the church by Mr. .T. Galpin, which was fully gone To summarise briefly the results, we may say the I thrteit. ~.
into, and answered by the Rector. £5 6s, were dis chapel cost about £3,600. A fertnight previous to
Good Friday £5OO were reqiiired t) ensure the free I ntrtrk Fnl y..it mariner, was charged on remand with
stealing a quantity of gib, value gl the property of Mr.
tributed to poor people. Killion. from tire schooner " Arctic.' —Prisoner WM again
loan and grant. This autollalt Was considerably remanded to see if additional evidence could boo btained
reduced, and at the above meeting £lO7 74. 9,1. was ageing him.
required, which, as we hare said, was raised. .I'he
whole debt now remaining is the £2OO loan free 14
interest (to be I..ia off in 10 years) and alsnit £159 as
a ret:n!artent :Ibt on the chapel and
..lvelling-lionso
adjoinin.z. This must be inest gratifying ; and the
fact that a mere handful of worshippers PI Id in five
years build and pay for a chapel costing ouch a large
sum as above, with telly the trifling ileht of 2404)
remaining on it, speaks volumes for their devotion to
the cart-c.

THE GREATF.EIT HUMBUG, IN THE

WORLD.-P. T. BARNUM AT BRIDGEPORT.

A stranger in America happening to alight at
Bridgeport—a thriving city of some 23,000 inhabit-
ants, beautifully situated on the shore of Long [eland
Sound, within gray miles d New York City--might
be surprised to discover that much of ita prosperity is
due to the bluaines tact and energy of Mises. Taylor
Barnum, the one American whom name has bscome a
common noun in English epeech,—Barnum, the prince
of humbug and good-nature and successful audacity.
Ask any inhabitant of this third city of the State of
Connecticut who built these rows of cottages, remind-
ing an English traveller of those erected be the more
philanthrepie manufacturers at home, and the answer
comes, "Barnum." 'How is it that no many id the
operatives poSseS• home,' id there own ?" Again the
answer, " Errnann- helped them." " Whe, I,lanneil
your Mountain Grove ?" --one of the most beautifid
cemeteries in America. Once more the answer
" Barn Laded it ;" and thereby dia away with an
old neglected burying-ground which used to be in the
very heart of the city, " And your lovely fiesanid•
Park, who eriginateil that ?" "And your lovely Sea-
side Park, who originated that?" "0, Barnum, if
course : he gave mime of the laud lugged and bought the
remainder, and never rested till the park became what
it is—the greatest ornament and loan to "us city."
While hunthugging the universal world, and bill 'sang
on the credulity id nations, forcing his nhowtnan
pranks into the sacred pi:relates of a court, and
humbugging Majesty itself, Barnum has showered
advantages upon his own home. That his fellow.
! citizens appreciate hin labour& is apparent. They
elected hun Mayor, twice Rent him to represent the
town in the State Legislature, and made him the
candidate if the Republican party for the 'U.S.
Cangrees. On one Mt:Alien within the last few years,
on has return from a visit to England, over 200 of the
most substantial citizens of Bridgeport gave a com•
plimentary dinner " honour of the lilseralty and
energy in private enterprise, in promoting the
industries and public improvements of Bridgeport, and
the genuine philanthropy" of their popular townsman.
The rtuneur that the canny old showman paid for the
dinner himself, as an advertisement, was generally
believeil in cynical New York, but disdainfully
rejected in thrifty Connecticut.
Mr. B:umum when at hems is in great request. Few
temperance meetings are coneidereil i:omplete unless,
he is a prominent speaker; church-baztars expecting
to encored call on ham to open them with a Immoreus
address, which seldom fails to find its way to hearte
and purees Standing on a slight eminence, looking
down on Sea-side Park, and acmes its narrowest part
to the waters of the Sound, over whose surface
steamers, yachts, and every variety of water craft are
continually passing, is Waltlemere, from who., cupola
float a silken flrg, bearing the well-known men:errant
" P.T.8." whenever the "king of nhowinen," tile
progenitor of the Maio ribber of Washington, mei the
diecoverer of the woolly horse, is at home. Waliletnere,
" wash% by he sea," si named by its inviter'. friend,
Bayard Taylor, is an estate whose natural beauty is
perfected by art. It.. well.kept lawns, broad and
sweepings, are ornanieeted with fountain,' of bronze
and marble ; statutes gleam against a laackgrounil
grove and thicket; the house is girdled with a broad
belt of flowers, whilst Hauer-beds 'f every Eitaltila
device border the drives from gateway to porch. The
house itself I'.an aetientilingly bewildering composition
of Gothic, Italian, anil French architecture and
decoration, and a great deal of Yankee thrown in—
Presenting a front 160 feet long of water, whereby
most of the rooms command a very charming view—
and as it can be seen from the leveeing trains, is
generally reeardeil :is Barnum's most striking
advertisemsnt. On entering one is pleasantly
surprise! at the spaciousness of hall and reime,
Taste as well as wealth in shown in the furniture.
Pictures of high merit hang on tinted walls and attend
on easels; Chinese vases of quaint and wonderful
ilesign guard the fireplaces • haunts and statuette.. fill
nooks and owners. On It pe:lestal in a place of honour
I gaud, a marble butt af Jenny Lind, whose original
eintract with P. T. Barnum hangs frameil in a
neighbouring apartment ; the signatures of Jenny
Lind, Sir Jules Itengliet, Giaovanni Belletti, an I P.
T. Barnum <NMI'S:IHWg ea to Pause a fitment bef .m it:
A corner-bracket in a eelty sitting-room holds a small
Parian Baca:hue, a Christmas gift from the Swedish
nightingale to Mr. Barman, in gotel-natured
of his lirtn temperaecc principles and practiise. On an
erietere, ii, thie sante pie:want room lie dimpled marble
mielels of 'Finn Thumb's hand and foot, taken when
his size was smelled and hia, fame greatest. (Inc looke
in vain bur the Fiji mermaid, or the ' What is it ?" iir
Koine of the best•knewn achievement tlte owner.
Ilene, however, are the trifles of an earlier and more
eecentrii- life. Barnmn, XV we see him in Wahlemere,
is Barnum in happy and virteitus retirement —the
white:de of Wiener:thee, and the benefactor of that
human race IT has humbugged for two generati .
Mr. Barnum is a firm believer in cleanliness, if not in
gisllinees. The mandon is inter•ectel with a network
of watenkipes, there lying scarcely a risen that laws reit a
bathroom er lavatory attached. Many ..f the rismas
bear the names of otstingundied gnests who have '
occupied them. A spacious bedroom, with kale:imp
and furniture of pale green and white, is known an the
" Greeley room, for here hail Home Greeley repose!.
Two pleasant risme are associated with the me ttttt ry
ef the sister pisteseee, Alice and Poiclae Cary.
Doubtless there will some time be a Twain nom,"
is the liumerist 1., a frequent guest at Watlentere.
Mr. Barntun'e second wife is a young English lady
of culture, and the daughter of an oil friend of his in
leuicashire. The gissl taste ilieplayed in the ornamen-
tation id' Waldeniere is lue ti Mrs. Barnum, who is
highly apprsiaareil loy the ber,t faMilier• if I;rilrie'm-t,
and regarded IT dlr. Barnum's daighters as a
treasure a 1.61 ta their en 'patent and to their
father', happincee. A.. far Mr. Barnum I self, his
ri mold full face beans with extra smiles whenever lie
speak., id her, lie defers to her juilgnaent iit all
Matters ,oltsi.le his latsiliegs. Mel net er %eche,
happy as when at her side in Ow family landau to and
from church, or iii Stra-eisle Park.
Mr. Barium's
lihrstry, er " warkshop " as Ike cell"
it, is a epaciims octagonal room, furnished and li:swilled
with cherry, birch, and' !maple wise la I 'poling from
it on one hand is a lasatory, awl on anether, a risen
where his private esseetary works within call. At a
large and much-littered desk, with papers strewn ankle
deep around his chair, Mr. Barnum spenile nearly
every warning of his life, communicatang with his
agents in every land ; often intemtptal by some
etneloy., desiring orders, or by friend or stranger asking
advice or more substantial help, but never laying alewn
Ilk pen, which Ls travelling as rapidly as ever ere the
door is closed behind the visitor. He is eismomical of
his time, never wasting nor sea "tting ta be robbed
of a moment of the hours set apart for business. Them
hours over, the keen man of buniness, the head of so
many undertakinge, enjoys himself with au much
apparent freedom from care as the workman whia hue
just pocketed a good week s wages, If Mr. Barnum,
when working, dislikes to he interrupted, Mr. Barnum,
when enjoying himself, is even less tolerant of business
intrastate. The visitor may desire to purchase valu-
able land, and come with the money in his pocket--he
is none the lese decisively told to "conic in the in wis-
ing." Tall, portly, erect in :mite of sixty-six years id
hara work and several fortunes earned and loot and
won again; with high forehead, keen hard twinkling
eyes, grey hair curling crisply around a bald head
with a firnt decided voice and step,—the master
of WalJemere is very different from the popular con-
ception iif a showman. It is only when large pLteanls
and [Limning advertisensenta announce, once a year,
that Mr. Barnum's " Alusenna, hlenagerie, and
Hippo Irome." " travelling ion a hunilreil railway-ears,"
will stop a day at Bridgeport, that its citizens actually
realist that their fellow-citizen is a showman,
Vlien-
ever lie visits hie travelling show he is ievariably called
Into the "ring," where he entertains hi.' patrons with
a short speech.
In the eelirse of a recent conversation with Mr.
Barnum, he said, "I have long wished to take my show
to Great Britain, and I sail for England in April next
to make arrangements for taking it there in the spring
of 187 fl."
" The expense of such an undertaking will be
emormonsi."

--;`-kie'; was the reply. "I have 000 risp/oes, 500
horses, and 200 cages and chariots, whieh will require
half a-dozen steamships to get them all across the
Atlantic; but I am used to big enterprises, and have
no fears of the result of thin one."
Heaven denied Mr. Barnum is son, and wisely; for
there could be no worthy second of P. T. Barnum.
But he is blessed with three daughters and a troop of
grandchildren, —including two boys of bright promise.
For his married daughters he bought fine houses in
New York and built summer residences on his estate
at Wallermere. Here it is that the great showman
plays the genial host, the indulgent father, the ideal
grandsire : entertains his frienik, not alone with the
good things of the earth, hot with an inexhaustible
store of experiences and anecdotes toll with an
inimitable gravity that never falters, while his listeners
are convulsed at the different voice and facial es pressii n
he involuntarily give* to each character he describes,
and hold aching sides when they hear Barnum tell how
he has roped in the public to a thousand shows; or
how he iiv ermatched damesi Gordon Bennett to the
extent of 4:40,000 in a real-estate transaction, at the
close of that shrewd Scsitchnian's long and busy life.
All summer long, in the centre of this group of
children, grandchildren, and guests, he is the prime
mover of picnics, clam-bakes, insect/es, and long
country drives. Mr. Barnum imported, for his
grandchildren's amusement, English donkeys and
Shetland ponies; and not unfrequently is seen riding
in the little dunkey-caxriage with his delighted juvenile
playmates. Every evening, when all are gathered-
together, he enjoys his favourite amusement, whist,
pausing occasionally to applaud a song sweetly sung
by an accomplished daughter, or to dislodge a small
grandchild who may be perched perilously on the back
of his chair.
A love isf children in one of Mr. Barnum's
characteristics, a love returned by all his small
acquaintances; for who so patient with the little
folks; who so fertile in devising amusements for
them; who can relate such wonderful stories, im-
provising when the original narrative is not sufficiently
thrilling ; who can conjure no fearfully, swallowing
watches, making pennies drop out of little curly
heads; who can hark so like a dog; who, when the '
babies seize the tail of his coat, can slip out of it no ,
unconsciously, and suddenly ',mei% e he is ciatle.ss
with such an air of astonishment as seta the small
thieves wild with delight: and who but he has taught
every chill of his acquaintance to drive like a Jehu ?
Another trait of Mr. Barnum is his admiration of
fast-trotting horses, of which be always keeps
several for his own especial use. Timid men never ask
I'. T. Barnum for a seat In his "buggy" for he seem*
a reckless driver. His light vehicle skims along the
road, rocking, swaying, spinning around corners at a
speed that leaves one to marvel how it is he is never
thrown out. Ile will not submit to be passed on the
road, and in oonaequence he almost daily arrives home
spattered from head to foot with dust or mud, accord-
ing as the weather may be; such features as are not
entirely covered with spatters beaming with satisfac-
tion, as he usually wins the race, thanks to his
favourite black horse—a superb animal, whom his
master (to use his own expression) has never
" insulted" with a whip, a word being all that is
needed to start or stop him. When the reader thinks
of that special phase of business experience which the
great Barnum represents; when he recalls Barrium's
own excellent narratives of how he gathered in his
treasures; when he remembers that this of the
showman king is the palace of nccfi4 humbug;