The New York herald., 1877-01-05
Cornelius Vanderbilt.

III Cne cOuntry-Cuc tuIeo Heu, ~ ieuot, VIII
have been so held in popular estimation
should have died within so short period.
William B. Astor, two months the senior of
Mr.. Vanderbilt, died in November, 1875,
while A. IT. Stewart, nine years his junior,
died in April, 1876. These men were all of
ALL Mr. Astor showed the prudence necessary
to keep intact his vast inheritance-a rare
power in such time of imitation and shuf-
fling of values as we have had since 1861.
Mr.. Stewart kept in one narrow path. He
was great merchant and as a merchant he
lived and died. Toward the end of his
career he made few whimsical investments
like Garden City, hotel in Saratoga and
so on but they were faDcies, not deliberate
business purposes, and he never seriously
turned aside from his calling. The impress
sion made upon the community by both
Stewart and Astor was faint one compared
to the deep mark Of Vanderbilt. The Astor
estate will go on and on in the hands of the
estimable gentlemen who inherit it, and
there is no reason why it should not con-
tinue for generations, until it becomes as
vast as that of the Westminster family
in London, which it in some respects
resembles. The destiny of the Stewart
estate is problem, as the only heir is a
venerable lady, and the business, the great
source of its revenue, has been transferred.
The estate of Vanderbilt will, it is presumed.
remain in the possession Of his eldest son,
who for long time has been the coadjutor
of his father.
Mr.. Vanderbilt's character was that of
a most remarkable man. Astor was born
to wealth and began life under the tutor
ship Of the celebrated Bunsen. Stewart had
some capital and fine education. Wander
bilt had nothing but the unconquer-
able will which in time made him the
foremost man Of his class. He was
born to poverty and effort His youth was
boisterous and full of trial He loved the
sea and horsemanship. When sixteen years
OF age. and he became his own master, he
could sail anything under canvas through
the toughest seas, and could handle an un-
broken colt; but he could scarcely write
his name. Sixty-six years ago he sailed his
first ferryboat from Staten Island to the Bat
terry. New York was then city Of sixty
thousand people, and steam was still prob
lem. Then he became the captain Of small
steamer and kept hotel at New Brunswick.
1t is said of him that he had no vices that
he was always at his post; that he was a
lucky man and saved his money. In time
he came to have many vessels, and when the
war broke out he was the largest owner of
steamboats, and steamships i'll the country,
and perhaps in the world. His fame as a
commodore" had spread over the world. He
was very rich, and, as he was nearly seventy
years of age, it was supposed he would re-
tire to the enjoyment of his fortune. Sud-
denly he changed the tenor of his whole
business life. He withdrew from shipping,
to which he had been devoted for half
century, and purchased control of the
Harlem, Hudson River and Central railroads.
1t was said that this movement was but the
morbid, irrepressible activity of old age;
that it would end in ruin; that he should have
stuck to his last and avoided new enter
prises. But he knew himself better than his
great railway king Of the country. Roads
which had been the playthings of gamblers
and the preserves of politicians prospered
under his hard, cold, daring management,
and, although we have passed through
period of unexampled prostration and de-
preston in business, his genius has sus-
tanned his railways. He leaves them at his
death in a better condition than when he
became their master, and he leaves them in
the control of his son, who has shown him
self to be no unworthy successor.
The lesson to be learned from the life of
Vanderbilt is simple and impressive.
Courage in the performance of duty enabled
this man to become one of the kings Of the
earth. The hardy, strong-limbed boy who
guided his vessel from ferry to ferry nearly
seventy years ago lived TO be ruler of men.
He had no advantages in his battle no
political. social, educational aid. 1t was
one honest, sturdy, fearless man against the
world, and in tho end the man won. There
was no poetry, no romance, no illusion in
this long, stern, busy life. He was simple
and direct in his ways, knowing his mind
all the time, and ever going to his purpose
like a ball from cannon. In time the
world came to his feet and his old age was
one Of vast power and ever increasing re-
sponsibilities. There are few kings whose
will was as potent as that Of the simple citi-
zen who goes to rest in the tomb Of his
ancestors, on beautiful Staten Island, and
by the waters of the bay on which he began
his extraordinary career so many years ago,
md which he loved so we'll.
The Necessity OF Rapid Transit.
The miseries suffered by travellers in the
city horse cars during the recent storm have