The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-12-05
OF GOULD.
Incidents in the Active Life of the
Multi-Millionaire.
SOME ENECDOTAL "reminiscences
illustrating Mr.. Gould's Character.
His superstitious Nature--once Ann
bilious to be an Edltor..Young
Gould as a Tanner-.nis Last Big
DeaI-His Generosity.
Ee,v York Tina.

things on Friday, aud the new moon
over his left shoulder may not have dis
turbed him. But couple OF weeks ago
he admitted his superstitious weakness
He was on his way down town. when
he came across a Wall street friend,
with whom he kept up conversation
down the avenue. In the course OF the
chat Mr.. Gould expressed himself as
feeling physically much stronger than
for long time. HA eyes were clear,
his countenance was rudy; he did not
look like a sick man.
"I am getting along famously," he
said. my appetite has come back. l
feel like new man. Why, last night l
ate two bowls of bread and milk. went
to bed at o'clock, and slept through
till s this morning"
There was as much enthusiasm in the
tone as if record was being made OF
some stock market transaction with a
million profit in it. But the cheerful
ness disappeared when Mr.. Gould's
companion asked: show old are you,
Mr.. Gould?"
"oh, Pm young man yet" answer
ed the millionaire.
The evasion was noticed, and for
politeness' sake the questioner remark
ed blandly: Pardon my inquiry, l only
happened to be thinking OF an odd
thing heard yesterday. Did you ever
hear, Mr.. Gould, that once every seven
years a man runs extraordinary risks,
and that whenever man has BIRTH
day diyisib!e by seven he is in danger"
"No-I never heard OF that" said
Mr.. Gould. Then he turned to his
Times. The elevated train ran down
two or three blocks further. MIR.
Gould was scanning the death notice
column.
s'ifhe stock market looks well" re-
marked the other gentleman.
"How strangep quoth Mr.. Gould.
His gaze went on through the death no.
tees.
81 think stocks are going good deal
higher" was further remarked.
ats really true" said Mr.. Gould.
"Still," went on Mr.. Gould's COM
panion, "the bears arc we'll organized
and they are confident"
"Sly gracious, it's So" said Mr.. Gould,
His neighbor looked at him little
astonIshed. Mr.. Gould had finished
reading the death notices and was look
ing out OF the window. There was not
much glisten in his eye. The couute-
nance wasn't ruddy. He had been
dividing by seven the ages recorded in
those death notices.
"Western Union ought TO 20 good
deal higher, oughtn't it, Mr.. Gould"
said the other man.
And Mr.. Gould's answer was: at
may be odd, but really never heard
before about this dividing your age by
SEVEN"
ooh, that's only foolish supersti.
ton, was the soothing reply.
"oh, of course, said Mr.. Gould; "ot
counsel"
Then the chat went on of stocks, of
money rates, OF all the fol-de-rOl OF Wall
Street.
"Cortlandt next" yelled the elevated
railroad guard.
If in reverie, and he arose to leave the
train. 'Do you know" said he, eight
seyens make fifty-six-and tifty-six, Sir,
is just my age"
AMBITIOUS TO BE AN EDITOR.
In his youth Mr.. Goulds vaulting
ambition was to be an editor. He ven
tured over the hills from Roxbury up
to Stamford, the beauty spot of Della
ware county, while he was yet in his
teens, to get the chance to learn the
printing business. Venerable S. B.
Champion, then q hustling journalist
hardly much older than young Gould,
gave the lad the chance he sought. Mr..
Gould tied on his apron, rolled up mis-
sleeves, and went at it. f,
Champion is full OF anecdotes OF that
apprenticeship time There is tradi-
ton that in addition to setting type,
the apprentice was permitted to look
somewhat after the editorial side OF the
paper.
Champions journal was able, for one
week at least, to attract considerable
and rather unusual attention.
"Champ" went one day to a political
convention, held over in an adjoining
town, and young Mr.. Jason Gould was
left in charge on publication day to
close up the forms and generally look
after such importantmatters as address
ing wrappers and seeing to it that the
office towel was kept standing safely in
its accustomed corner.
But the future master Of the railway
world was ambitious. He bethought
himself to scan the editorial, more or
less feryid, in which Champ" was ex-
tolling the party's nominees. Somehow
it seemed to the budding genius that
that editorial lacked something.
After consideration he came to the
conclusion that he ought to round the
rhetoric out; that he ought to supply
the virtues that were lacking. He did.
Mr.. Champion came home to find his
eulogistic periods slightly changed.
Only slightly. Mr.. Gould had only
taken the liberty of writing in an occa-
sionai mot" here and there.
That was the week that "Champ"
learned to swear. 1t was also the week
that Mr.. Jay Gould became an ex-editor.
YOUNG GOULD as A TANNER.
1t was soon after his school teaching
ambition had been sacrificed that Mr..
Gould took to driving wagon through
the villages eff Ulster, Delaware and
Greene counties, peddling very fine
quality of tin cups and tin basins to the
country storekeepers theroabouts.
Probably no such tin cups or tin basins
had ever before reached the market.
There Astounding excellences were
eloquently told by the young huckster.
One Of the customers he found on his
tours was that famous old "huStler,n
Col. Zadoc Pratt, a tanner with some