Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1860-04-21
Barnum on his Feet Again.
His Clock Debts all paid-His Estate
chiefly saUed.
HE'S AGAIN PROPRIETOR OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM

IHtC(tY SuUtU.
HE IS AGAIN PROPRIETOR OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
P. II. RARNUM gave the following speech
from the stage of the American Museum.
on Saturday evening, March oath
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN The Ameri
can Museum will be closed tonight for a
week, in order to thoroughly renovate dec
crate and enlarge it, as well as perfect i'm
portant rehearsals, which have been in ac-
tive progress for months.
My own personal connection with the
Museum, as its sole proprietor, allow me to
add, is now resumed, aud l avail myself
of the circumstance to explain why that
propretorship was ever interrupted.
Never did feel stronger in my worldly
prosperity than in September, 1855. Three
months later | was SO deeply embarrassed
that felt certain Of nothing, except the
uncertainty Of everything
A combination Of singular efforts and
circumstances tempted me to implicit faith
in a certain Clock Manufacturing Company,
and | placed my signature to papers which
ultimately broke me down
After nearly five years of hard struggle
to keep my head above water, have touch
ed bottom at last, and here tonight | am
happy to announce that Ihare raded ashore.
Every clock debt Of which | have any
knowledge has been provided for.
Perhaps, after the troubles and turmoiIs
| have experienced, should feel no desire
to re-engage in the excitements of business
but man like myself, less than fifty years
of age, and enjoying robust health, is
scarcely old enough to be embalmed and
put in a glass case in the Museum as one
Of its million of curiosities.
''lt is better to wear ont than rust out. !"
Besides, if man of active temperament is
not busy, be is apt to get into mischief
To avoid evil, therefore, and since business
activity is a necessity of my nature, here l
am once more, in the Museum, and among
those with whom have been so long and
so pleasantly identified.
am confident of a cordial welcome, and
hence feel some claim to your indulgence,
while l briefly allude to the means of my
present dcliverance from utter financial
ruin.
Need | say, in the first place, that I am
somewhat indebted to the forbearance of
generous creditors In the next place, per-
init me to speak of sympathzing friends,
whose volunteered loans aud eXertionS vast
ly aided my rescue.
When my day of sorrow came, l first
paid or secured every debt | owed of a
personal nature. This done | felt bound
in honor to give up all my property that
remained towards liquidating my "clock
debts" placed it in the hands of Trus-
tees and Receivers for the benefit Of all the
o'clock" creditors.
But, at the forced sales of my Connecti-
cut real estate, there was purchaser be-
hind the screen, Of whom the world had
little knowledge
In the day of my prosperity made over
to my wife much valuable property, includ-
ing the lease of this Museum building-a
lease then having about twenty-five years
to run, and enhanced in value to more than
double its original worth.
| sold the Museum collection to Messrs.
Greenwood & Butler, subject to my wife's
separate interest in the lease, and she has
received more than eighty thousand dollars
over and above the sums paid to the own
ers of the building.
Instead of selfshly applying this amount
to private purposes, my family lived with a
due regard to economy, and the savings
(strictly belonging to my wife, were de-
voted to buying in portions of my estate at
the assignees' sales, and TO purchasing
''clock notes" bearing my endorsements.
The Christian name Of my wifeis CHART
TY. l may well acknowledge, therefore,
that am not only proper Subject of
charity" but that without Charity | am
nothing"
But ladies and gentlemen, while CHARL
TY thus labored in my behalf, FAITH aud
HoPE were not idle. ! have been anything
but indolent during the last four years.
Driven from pillar to post, and annoyed
beyond description by all sorts Of legal
claims and writs, was peruSng protests
and summonses by day, and dreaming OF
clocks run dwon by night My head was
ever whzzing with dislocated cog-wheels,
and broken maiD-springs, ny whole mind
(and my credit) was running upon tick, and
everything pressed on me like dead loeight.
In this state of affairs felt that l was
of no use on this side of the Atlantic, so,
giving the pendulum a swing, and seizing
time by the forelock, l went to Europe
There | furtivey pulled the wires of sever
al exhibitions, among which that Of Tom
Thumb may be mentioned for example.
managed variety of musical and CONNER
cial speculations in Great Britain, Germany
and Holland These enterprises, together
with the net profits of my public lectures
enabled me TO remit large sums to con6den
tial agents for the purchase of my obliga
tions. In this manner, quietly extinguish
ed, little by little, every dollar of my cloel
liabilities. could not have achieved thi