The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-12-17
The Lesson OF Barnum's Life.
from the Times.

tpI0m Tue tlNleS
In this country, more Per ZAP tuan In any other,
success IS regarded as the test Of worth, and Braun
ia the embodiment aud representation OF success.
From being poor and obscu r, ne has rapidly made
consequence he Is watched, adm red ami snvied BY
hundreds of Thousands VINO are as poor % he WAS,
and who are anxious to ba as rich as he is. You g
men sspecisy-that vast army Of our Ameics N
youth just entering up5n active life, and embrac;
more of intellect of intelligence OF active energy
AMI enter prise than can be f0u perhaps elsewhere
in the world--look to Bssnum with eagar wonder
ard emu alton. How has bis splendid success bsen
achieved2 To what qualities Of characterize what
business faculties is it due Mr.. EInum has writ
ten bis life In order to satisfy these inserrog atoms
He has nara ed step by step tue history Of his ca
reer, pointing out for tee amusement OF the curious
and the instruction OF the ambitious, the path by
which he Las sen from poverty to wealth aud from
obscur!tv to conspicuous influence. OF course the
book will be eagerly and widely read. It viii pro-
Guce very marked effect upon the sentiments and
the coyoucs Of TIE great body of the youth of Ans
RIGA. It will do much towards guiding their amb
tion ping their plans and Directing their career.
What 10 the l.sson it is likely to teach?
Tie great fact which Mr.. B,rnnm sets forth in
tais biography Of himself, 10 taxt his success nas
been achie ged, bis wealth acqired. his reputation
and consideration established. BY tae Systematic
Cd, OFT and perseverins plan Of obtaining money
der false preences from the public az Iargs This
JIG the beginning and the end Of his snter5:iss aud
the great secret Of his success. H. seeus occ,-
sonaiy conscious of the fact, and seeks TO cloak it
urder phrases ard forms OF speech. He calls it
hum5ug; and, under the Seming can FOR of corfes.
sion, pallates it by variety OF Apologies aud ex.
plaraiiocs. We must take men al we iiad item
human nature is full Of weaknesses, OF wai,a it is
our right to take acknowledgement like to be de-
ceivef. il 1t is 80 ceyely done TO seem amusing;
no wrong s done If they get wat they consider an
equivalent for their money; these are some OF the
moral maxiiDs and reflections which ers br .ugns
forward to pailiate aud excuse tbs leading fact,
THAT his wealth has been acquired by complicated
system of falsebood and fraud. Ne. Ba-dum does
not deny that the representation which have made
bis schemes successful have been fass and frau To-
lent; his only effort is to make the public appear 10
have been an accomplish In his plans instead Of
their victim.
Mr. Ba1num's profession has been taa. Of show.
msn--a business that may be honestly pnrsuad. Bat
he takes special pains to proclaim the fact that be
pursued 1t dshonestly. He never recognized the
slightest obligation, in the prosecution OF 1t, to tell
the truth or offer his exhibitions to the public upon
their merits He said that Tom Thumb was eleven
years old, when he knew he was only five. ae rep
resented Jeice Hsth as having been the nurse OF
Washing son, when he knew che had not. He pro.
claimed that the Fejee mermaid WAS the remains O.
an actual animal, when lie knew TIA: It was a base
fabrication. He asserted that the Yoolly horse aas
capture by Col. Fremont 10 the Rocky Mountains,
when he knew that there was not one syllable OF
truth IN the assertion. In all these schemes as vel!
as In all the others in which he vas engaged, NJ.
Barnum coined aad promulgated the most dissioc.
and deliberate falsshoods, and solicited and received
money from miliors Of ind viduals on the strength
Of them. This was the way ia which his fort1ne
has been acquired. Other msn do the same thing
on small scale. They sell sand for sugar, chicory
for cose, counterfeit bills for good onss they seldom
get rich aud more frequently into the State prison.
But tits 10 Tot the fault of the principle OF their
action; but only Of the mode in which it is carried
out. They do no. act upon shre Nd kcowledgs Of
humln nature. They do not enlist the weaknesses
Ct their victims On their side. They neither pique
their curiosity, nor tempt their crsdulty nor give
them ans chance to laugh al the cheat as a good
!eks. They are mere pros .ic, cammoa-place, aud
BarEum's life; master the who art and mystery OF
their business; learn tire advantage Of doiag
thugs on grand sale and with flourish
OF irumpets; steer clear of ths emear'assmen.s
which jealous laws have ttrown IN the way or snsu
pursuits; ~. sass courage from Bsrnum's success,
as well 40 lessons from his pefence. Tnea IL the,
fail, the fault mus. be their own.
Nothing in this book Is more rerarkable than the
obvious nsepsibility OF M Barnum 20 the resl char
acter Of Its dis l0sufes. He takes Al evident pride
IN the bodness and enofm'ty Of toe impositions by
which he has amasssd bis fortune. he Dies
Tot confess then - he boasts Of them. He
Las written his life for the sake OF con-
v.nciIg the world-not that he is a moral or
an upright man, not that he is capable of gen.
erous ac.s and Of maply codduct--but that he is
Just zoe sbrewdest and the sherpest Yankee that
this hemisphere has yet produced. This is With
him the highest point Of ideal greatness. When.
ever he chronicles an apparently noble and gene.
reus deed-suc as his voluntary offer to make
uhoIe ouVantAgeous c0htfact Will jenny Lind than
the one she had accepted he takes special pains
to add that he did II on calculation, and from SELF.
ish motive, and not from generosity or sense of
justice He seems to fear that be shall be suspect
ed OF having sometimes acted without IN eye to tue
main chance. aad interpolstes disclaimers into his
narrative whenever they may seem 10 be re-
qured. Taere is an occasional intmstion TIA. this
ls done from an excess Of candor, and to prevent
me sus icion that he s claiming more credit than
belongs to bim but this Is intended only to make
the impression more effective Mr.. Bsvnurn Il proud
Oh his sagacty-of bis tact in playing upon the
weaknesseso others, and of his skill In prohng by
The public credulity. He feels that his strength
lies In this faculty, rather than In strict adher
ence to lofty morals and nice sense Of the rule OF
tight. he accordingly sacrifices all other consider
ATOMS to the desire of standing before the wor fas
The most remarkable product Of American genius ia
the art Of making money. The whole book Is writ
ten TOR this purpose, and all its incidents ara ek
July adapted to produce the desired effect. He has
shown very great invention In IN. variety Of storss
Of biz cid ooo end .oath, his saciy experience, !