Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-04-21


time, never wasting nor submittin
to be robbed of a moment of tn
hours set apart for business. Thes
! hours over, the keen man of busi
ness, the head of so many undertak
: ings, enjoys himself with as mucl
, apparent freedom from care as tn
I workman who has just pocketed
good weeks wages. If Mr.. Bar
: mum, when working, dislikes to b.
interrupted, Mr.. Barnum, when EN-
joying himself, is even less tolerant
/ of business intrUIsions. The visitor
may desire to purchase valuable
land, and come with the money in
his pocket-he is none the less de.
cisively told TO ''come in the morn.
ing" Tall, pOrtly, erect in spite OF
siXty-siX years of hard work and
several fortunes earned and lost and
won again; with high forehead,
keen, hard, twinkling eyes, gray
hair curling crisply around a bald
head; with a firm, decided voice
and step,-the master Of Waldemere
Is very different from the popular
conception Ofa Snowman. tits only
when large psacards and flaming
advertisements announce, once a
year, that Mr.. Barnum's "Museum,
Menagerie, and Hippodrome,' d
"traveling on a hundred railway
cars" viii stop day at Bridgeport,
that its citizens actually realize that
their fellow-citizen is n Snowman.
! Whenever he visits his travelling
show, he is invariably called into
the "ring," where he entertains his
| patrons with snort speech.
In the course of a recent conver-
satiOn with Mr.. Barnum, he said,
81 have long wished to take my
| show to Great Britain, and sail for
England in April next to make ar
rangements for taking it there in
the spring of 1878"
''The expense of such an under
taking viii be enormous."
"Yes," was the reply. 81 have
800 employees, 500 horses, and 200
cages and chariots, which viii re-
quire half a dozen steamships TO get
them across the Atlantic; but ann
used to big enterprises, and have no
fear of the result of this one"
Heaven denied Mr.. Barnum son,
and wisely; for there could be no
worthy second of II. Il. Barnum.
But he is blessed with three daugh-
ters and a troop of grandchildren
including two boys of bright prom
Use. For his married daughters he
bought fine houses i'm New York
and built summer residences ON his
estate at Waldemere. Here it is
that the great Snowman plays the
genial host, the indulgent father,
the ideal g1andsire; entertains his
friends, not alone with the good
things of the earth, but with an in
eXhaustable store of experiences and
anecdotes told with an inimitable
gravity that never falters, while his
listeners are cOnvulsed at the differ
ent voice and facial expression he
involuntarily gives to each charac-
ter he describes, and hold aching
sides when they hear Bamum tell
how he has roped in the public to a
thousand shows; or how he over
matched James Gordon Bennett to
the extent of 40,0 ,0O0l. i'm a real estate
transaction, at the close of that
shrewd Scotchman's long and busy
life. All summer long, In the CEN
ter of this group of children, grand
children, and guests, he is the prime
mover of picnics, clam-bakes, must
Gales, and long country drives. Mr..
Barnum imported, for his grand
children's amusement, English don
keys and Shetland ponies and not
unfrequently is seen riding i'm the
dOnkey-carriage with his delighted
juvenile playmates. Every evening
when all are gathered together he
enjoys his faVorite amusement,
whist, pausing occasionally to APP
plaud a song sweetly sung by an ac-
cOmplished daughter, or 10 dislOdge
a small grandchild who may be
perched perilously ON the back of
his chair.
a love of children is one of Mr..
Barnum's characteristics, love re-
turned by all his small acquaintan-
tances; for who so patient with the
little folks who so fertile in devils
ing amuSements for them who can
relate such wonderful stories, inn
provising when the original narra-
tive is not sufficiently thrilling; who
can conjure SO fearfully, swallowing
watches, making pennies drop out
of little curly heads; who can bark
80 like q dog; who, when the babies
seize the tail Of his coat, can slip
out so uncOnsciously, and sudden
~ perceive he is cOatless with such
an air OF astonishment as sets the
small thieves wild with delight
and who hut he has taught every
child Of his acquaintance TO drive
like a Jehu?
Another trait Of Mr.. Barnum il
his admiration for fast-tr0tting hOr-
ses, of which ne always keeps seve-
raj for his own especial use. Timid
men never ask u. II. Barnum for
seat in his buggy" for he seems a
reckless driver. His light vehicle
skins along the road, rocking, sway
ing, spinning around corners at a
speed that leaves one to marvel how
it is he is never thrown out. He
will not submit to be passed on the
road, and in consequence he almost
daily arrives home spattered frOm
head to foot with dust on mud, ac-
cOrding as the weather may be (;
such features a. are not entirely
covered with spatters beaming with
SdllSltCAlOhs dS he usually WIFE AHf
race, thanks to his faVOrite black
horse--a superb animal, whom his
master Ito use his own eXpressiOn)
has never "insulted" with a whip, Il
word being all that is needed to
start or stop him. When the reader
thinks Of that special phase of busi-
ness experience which the great
Barnum represents; when he recalls
Barnum's own excellent narratives
of how he gathered in his treasures;
when he remembers that this palace
Of the Snowman king Is the palace
of successful humbug; when he re-
fleets ON the shrewdneoS, the infinite
resource, the amazing audacity Of
this remarkable man, he may be
s0othed by the thought that the in
ner life Of Barnum is lived in con-
tented and happy home.
Warming TO Thin Women.