The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1864-10-01

! Columns the next mOlnIDS. EIOc1Oy I"O Ui4i-
ions of readers read the announcement, and
asked, 40 Who is Genin, the Hatter?" Genin
became famous in a day. Every man involun-
tarily examined his hat, 20 see If ii was made By
Genin and an Iowa editor declared that one OF
MS neighbors discovered the name of Genin in
his old hat, and Immediately announced the fact
20 his neighbors in front of the Post Office. L.
was suggested that the old hat should be sold at
auction. 1t was done tnen and there, the Genin
hat cold for fourteen dollars Gentlemen from
city and country rushed 20 Genin's store to buy
their hats, many OF them willing 10 pay even an
extra dollar, il necessary, provided they could
get a glimpse of Germ himself. This singular
freak put thousands Of dollars into the pocket of
(" Genin, the Halter" and yet / never heard it
charged that he made poor hats, or that he would
be guilty Of an {" imposition under fair pre-
lenses On the contrary, he IS a gentleman OF
probity, and of the frat responsibility.
When the laying of the Atlantic Telegraph
was nearly completed, l was in Liverpool. L
offered the Company one thousand pounds ster-
ling (S5, OO0) for the privilege OF sending the
first twenty words over the cable 20 my Museum
in New York-not that there was any intrinsic
merit in the words, but that / fancied there vas
more than IS 900 worth of nOtoriety in the
operation. But Queen Victoria and Old Buck"
were ahead of me, their messages had the pre-
ference, and l was compelled TO 80 take d back
seat"
By thus illustrating what / believe the public
will concede to be the sense in which the word
"humbug'' is generally used and understood at
the present time, in this country as we'll as in
England, l do not propose that my letters on this
subject shall be narrowed down to that definition
Of the word. On the contrary, l expect 10 treat
of various fallacies, decisions, and receptions in
ancient and modern times. which, according to
Webster's definition, may be called a. humbugs.'
inasmuch as they were :" impOsitions under fair
pretenses."
In writing of modern humbugs, however, l
shall sometimes have occasion 10 give the names
Of honest and respectable parties now living, and
| felt it but Just that the public should fully
comprehend my doctrine, that q man may, by
common usage, be termed 4 " humbug," without
By any means impeaching his integrity.
Speaking Of a blacking-makers' reminds ne
that one OF the frss sensationalists in advertising
whom l remember to have seen, was Mr.. Leonard
Goslins. known IS q Monsieur Gosling, the great
York in 1880. tie flashed like 8 meteor across
the horizon and before he had been in the city
three mouths. nearly everybody had heard of
- Gosling's Backing l well remember his
magnificent - four in hand 4 splendid team
Of blood bays, with long black tails, and man.
aged with such de1teri;y by Gosling himself, who
was a great whip that they almost seemed 70
iy. The carriage was emblaz0ned with the words
:. Gosling's Backing" in large gold letters, and
the whole turnout was so elaborately ornamented
and bedizEsned that everybody stopped and gazed
with wondering admiration. \ bUgleplayer or
a band of music always accompanied the great
GOsliug, and. of course, helped TO attract the
public attention 10 his establishment. AT the
turning OF every street corner your eyes rested
upon d. Gosling's Backing" From every show
window gilded placards discoursed eloquently of
the merits Of : GOsling's Backing" The news
papers teemed with poems written in its praise,
and showers of pictorial handbills, illustrated
almanscs, and tinEeled souvenirs, all lauding the
virtues of "Gosling's Backing" smothered you
at every point.
The celebrated originator of negro delinea-
tions, " Jim Crow Rice made bis first appear
ance at Hamblin's Bowery Theater at about this
time. The crowds which thronged there were
30 great that hundreds from the audience were
frequently admitted upon the stage. In one of
his scenes, Rice introduced a negro boot-black-
ing establishment. Gosling was too wide awake
to let such an opportunity pass unimproved, and
Rice was paid for singing an original black
Gosling ditty, while a score of placards bearing
the inscription, " Use Goslingis Backing were
al different points in this negro boot
polishing hall. Everybody tried 'sGosling's
Backing :" and as it was a really good article, |
his sales in city and country soon became i'm
mense. Costing made 4 fortune in seven years,
and retired but, like thousands before him, it
was 4" easy come easy 60" He engaged in 4
l~ead-miniDg speculation, and it was generally
that his fortune was, in Z great |
measure, lost as rapidly as it was made.
Here let me digress, in order to observe that
one of the most difficult things is for men to
uAeCEectJ ouuucu pIQSpcTilV. OOleSs con-
siderable time and labor are devoted To earning
it is not appreciated by its possessor ;
and, having no practical knowledge of the value
IF money, he generally gets rid Of it with the
anne ease that marked its accumulation. Mr..
Astor gave the experience of thousands when he
that he found more difficulty in earning and :,
'aving his Grst thousand dollars than in accumu-
ating all the subsequent millions which finally
made up his fortune. The very economy, perse-
Terance, and discipline which he was obliged to
practice, as ne gained his money, dollar by dol
ar, gave him a just appreciation Of its value,
and thus led him into those habits of industry,
prudence, temperance, and untiring diligence so
and necessary TO mis- future success.
Mr.. Costing. however, was not a man to be
put down by a single financial reverse. He
,ame again to New York in 1889, and established
restaurant, where, by devoting the services of
himself and several members of his family assid-
uously TO the business he soon reveled in his
prosperity, and snapped his fingers in
at what unreflecting persons term 50 the
freaks of Dame Fortune" He is still living in
New York, hale and hearty at the age of seventy.
Although called a I" French" blacking-maker, he
is in reality a Dutchman, having been born in the
city of Amsterdam, Holland. He is the father
Of rwenty-four children, twelve of whom are
still living, TO cheer him in his declining years,
and TO repay him in grateful attentions for the
valuable lessons of prudence, integrity. and in
dustry through the adoption of which they are
honored as respectable and worthy members of
York herczrU