The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-04-26

occupies. far, far beneath the man who was
favored by circumstances, and coincidental
changes, that failure was q physical and
moral impossibility. / saw three or four
people to-day who struck me as being ad-
miTable illustrations OF the power of circum.
stsnces. The first was William II. Wander
bilt He was walking toward his stables.
he is doubtless the richest man in this
CONTEMPLATING out Mr.. Maokay, who be.
longs much on the other side as he does
here. William had his hat, not q particu-
lsrly nice hat either, pulled way down over
his eyes, his HANDS were behind him, his
overccat buttoned up close in the neck, and
he pushed heavily and Iogilv along the street
with bis head down. Finsnciers and real
estate men and hoTssmen say that
vANDEEBILT's JUDGMENT
of men, real estate and horse6esh is good.
We know he has q tensciOus grip, for the
talents which his father gave him were not
buried in napkin, but were multiplied aud
increased ike the mustard seed alluded to
in our old friend. the B bic, and assuming
that the Commodore left his son SIS 600, 900,
and he I ow has 1875, 0O0, 900, it m ust be con-
ceded he has done pretty good taing.
Could he ever have made thst ncresssd
amount of money If his father hadn't left
him the original SO 600 900? Well, the
question answers Itself. No one thinks he
could. Every enc knows he could not. His
circumstances placed him in the very van OF
II
nve years old, and If he had Kept the original
5 IN invested at interest only, IT would have
| g'oEn amazingly, for with mott extravsgant
tts'es and hablTs he couldn't have spent
wha 1t would have ma ie annually. Bat hs
don't do that De invested aud reinvested.
He extended his lines of road. he went into
other spheres of work He INDUCED to an
| extent in horsehesh and to an extent in real
estate and TO day, BY reason of the boost and
push that circumstances gave him, he Is
much richer man than he was the day after
his father died, making him the heir In chief
10 his great property. l saw another man
very much the same build as Vanderbilt
without his side whiskers and mis- thick lips
and without his money, bat q man whose
name is known wherever NandeIbilt's is
known, and whose influence is greater q
thousandfold than that of a dozen Wander
bits rolled inte one. l refer TO my good
friend, Henry Ward Beecher, who In all
pIobs bllitv would never have been a minis
: er OF the gospel had not bis fathers cream
stances forced him TO attend the theological
seminary, where he was what they call con-
verted" and put upon the pietic track,
where he has since run very rapid pace.
Bsecher as an orator, as a ury advocate, as
politician, would undoubtedly have made
his mark, but the very fact that his
CREST natural talents are garlanded
with eccentricities, which seem slra ICE
pulpit, has given him an exten5el re-
nOwn which he would be the last to question
or decry. AS passed from my Office to the
Astor House an honr ago, met Postmaster
Pearson. He is a short. good looking, gentle,
we'll NAME red fellow, of no especial force
who would have bean content all the q tys
OF bis life, with y, 600 salary as one Of the
upper grade clerks III the New York post
office. Circumstances made the postmaster
postmaster. general who made, part Id par
Gel OF his bargain with Garfield, that his SON.
in-lav Pearson should be appointed his sue
cessor as postmaster OF New York. He is an
excellent officer, honest, devoted to his b0si-
ness, intelligent, active and wide awase
Bat be isn't ass enough TO say to me or you
that there are not dozen men in tae New
York postoffice, to day. who would have
made just as good an officer as he, had Cir
cumstances decreed that either of them
should be the successor of Postmaster James.
Take
YOUNG WALTER DAMROsCH,
His father for twenty years fought poverty,
opposition, impecuniosity, distress of all
sorts and kinds, never obtaining so much as
finger clasp, let alone foothold. upon the
ladder of success until the year of his unfor-
tuDate death. Henry Z. Abbey refused to
touch the Metropolitan Opera House. Mr..
Stanton, In behalf of the directors, selected
Mr.. Damrosch, ST., and arranged with him
as conductor Of German opera in that mag
ni6cent temple of the arts. Mr.. Damrosch
bad a son Walter-a clever, bright young
man. pot genius. Not great in any
sense. Not particularly gifted as con-
ductor or musician. Pneumonia claimed
the old gentleman for its own, and Walter,
who bad conducted rehersa.s occasionally for
his father, and, in default of under di-
rector had taken his fathers place for two
or three nights in the vast auditorium, was
chosen, to the utter amaZement and aston
ishment OF everybody, except Mr.. Sentiment,
ss his fathers successor-absolute-w all
the contrasts OF his father placed ia his ado
lescent hand. Wat do you think of that
for circumstances? What else but circom-
stances had augt to do with youngDamr0ch's
good lucs? You see the point OF course l
used 90 think. when l was q very young man,
that the two fellows Oh Gods round foot
stool whom l envied most were Albert Ed
ward. Prince of Wales, and young James
Gordon Bennett. They were about .my own
age, but attended by circumstances of such
consequences, afforded foundations so solid
and subs tantial. confronted by careers upon
which they could not turn their backs with
honor, as to make them we'll worth the envy
Of any mortal man. To day, the one is brave
~ meeting the brutal Irish in their own
streets. and, Dob'esse eblige. facing with his
sweet faced wife, snarling uiobs and howl
| ing bell-bouDds. The other, in ripe middle
| sge is absolute controller aud director of the
most successful morning paper on the facs
| OF the globe and toe most prosperous evening
! De wspaper in the city OF New York. Rich
| beyond the dream OF avarice, his potency
/ III SOOu VI evil Cou uOb DC c4tESSfdLets p JF.
tuna ely his tastes, his incIinations his wide
! horizon of education, his interests lead him
ID take hold OF the right band Of public good
and eDeral veal. and do all that in his DOW
sr es to hep them uron a fra founda-
| ton without which the most de-
serving enterprise can not hope n stand.
Who believes that Albert Edward, Prince of
Wales could by sny inherent virtue, talent
or what not have placed himself uOoa the
broad pinnacle he occupies, uusided, to day2
| Wbs believes that James Gordon Bennett,
! with eli his native shreTdness, with his mar
vellousIy quick perceptions OF right and
wrong, with his sound Judgment as 10 men,
1 with bis as yet uneoUalled spirit OF enter
| prise. conld nnaided by the ciYcumstances