St. Paul daily globe., 1892-07-17

taurant of his own because they
''charged too much for pie" at his regu-
I lar eating house. He is an eccentric in
deed, but a man with S2,000,00O well in
vested can afford to be.
Another famous and eccentric mill
i0naire was Stephen Girard; but the
world has not yet analyZed his charac-
ter. In fact, very few men in history
have united so many apparently contra
dictory qualities. He loved children
most passiOnately, and the sight of a
crippled or miserable looking urchin
would bring tears to his eyes. His de-
votion to the United States never once
faltered, and at every reverse during
the war OF 1S12-15 he ground his teeth
and, it is said. Swore in his native
French. At length he offered to dedi-
cate his entire fortune to the cause, lent
the government $1,000. 900, and asked no
interest till the war closed. A rich man
who loves children and is willing to give
all his wealth to his country must have
a deal of good in him.
His bravery was of the morally sub
Scme order. When the yellow fever
haourged Philadelphia. and the panic
and driven away most of the nurses, he
I'D Peter Helm worked two months in
the hospital at the most menial offices
and shanltd the faint hearted into BRAY
cry. An affiiction in early childhood
destroyed his right eye and distorted
that side of his face, so the boys nick
! named him by French word that
might be translated "wall eye." He lost
his mother when he was quite young,
and his father was harsh. In short. he
was miserable, lonely child, and fled
from home to be cabin boy at the age
of ten.
The romance of his life came to him in
Philadelphia, where he opened his first
store. He was loved and beloved again.
She was Singuiarly beautiful and viva
ciouS; he taciturn, badly disfigured and
eleven years her senior. For few years
they were very happy: then she sud-
denly lost her health, soon became vio-
Iently insane. ana lived in that cOndi-
ti0n thirty years in the state asylum.
Their only child died in infancy, and
the sad old man finished his journey
alone. His magnificent charities have
preserved his name tor all time. He
was deist in religion and named his
ships after inideI authors, and here this
subject must be dropped. for the
famous ''Girard will case" is worthy of
volume in itself.
Peter Goelet was another millionaire
whose eccentricities long amused New
Workers. He and his brothers were
volunteer firemen and enthusiasts, and
when Peter was worth his millions he
stlll ''run wild der machine" as long as
he was able. Adjoining his residence
at Nineteenth street and Broadway lie
had tract of pasture on which he kept
COW. Long after the land was worth
many hundred dollars a foot, he still
refused to part with it. because, as he
said, he wanted milk right from the
cow. and hoped he could afford it,"
Men whose early life is passed in pow
erty and who grow rich are nearly al
ways eccentric, and it is not to be won
dered at. Extreme poverty is not quite
as bad school for youth as extreme
luxury. but it is very near it. Who can
withhold his pity from the poor, lonely
and dishgured child of Bordeaux,
France, or wonder that the man Stephen
Girard was, to outside appearances, a
crusty old money grabber? The mill
ionaire of today is not eccentric, how
ever; he makes his money too easily for
that.