Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-29


another. His methods were legitimate beyond
dispute Eschewing speculation of any kind
and devoting himself strictly to his business,
he found himself in middle life the head, the
foot, the sole owner, of the greatest enterprise
of the kind that the world had ever seen.
This had not been achieved lightly He had
brought it about because, with absolute single
ness of heart, he had put every ounce of
strength and time and talent, which in him
amounted to genius, at the service of his
affairs Time, talent and genius do not always
produce such results; fortune still must be
considered in the game. Fortune had favored
Gornlv. He had succeeded in everything
beyond his own or anvones widest dreams
No one had dreamed dreams for hlm,-each
one must do that for himself.-but the speech
is figurative and CONVEYS the meaning.
He was modest. quiet man, not given to
blowing his own horn. except in so far as the
advertising of his goods might be considered.
and Winding his own concerns until the world
suddenly woke up to the fact that it harbored
a colossus of trade on its surface. and New
York realized that his was George
Gorrnly Keeping out of the hurry and furry
of Wall Street: living modestly in his uptown
apartment; a member only of The Bachelors
a very quiet. subdued. uninfluential, but ex-
tremelv comfortable club, in which even the
thought of woman taboOed, 1t said ;
owning neither yachts, nor horses, nor racing
machines: keeping sedulously out OF the
papers, save by way of business was years
before his fortune became the marvel of the
newspapers and the subject of envious and
amazed comment. Indeed, he might have
gone on indefinitely in his mercantile opera
tions without attracting special attention to
himself personally, had it not been for one
fact. That momentous happening was his
meeting with Miss Haldane.
TT had come about in a commonplace way
enough. Miss Haldane deeply interested
in social settlement work and being brought
IN Inv Of he
employees of the great Gormly establishment,
had concluded to call on the proprietor thereof
to if she could not induce him to make
some adequate contribution to the work she
had so much at heart. Like every other bust
ness man in New York, Gorrnly over
whelmed by charitable demands. His bust
ness was one thing; his charity another. He
employed special Secretary to look after the
eleemOsvnarv end of his affairs. Upon this
astute Young man usually devolved the bust
ness of seeing hearing, refusing, or granting
all such requests, whether protfered by letter
or in person.
There were two reasons why the secretary
felt himself unequal to deal with Miss Hal
dane and her demands The first reason was
Miss Haldane herself. She was member of
the oldest and most exclusive circle IN New
York society. Her family one of the rich
est and most esteemed in that hive of multi
mionaires. would-be-sos, also-rans, and other
people. The second was the magnitude of Miss
Haldane's demand. She wanted something
like a million dollars. This amount appalled,
the secretary. 1t amazed Gormly too, when
request and requester-or should l say re-
qnestresso-were both promptly referred to
him.
Miss Haldane was wise in her generation.
AS she lived among, also she dealt IN,
millions She realized that man like Gornly,
indeed most men if they had the power, would
much rather give million than dime to an
undertaking that appealed to them Still,
Gormlv, having devoted his attention so ex-
clusively to his business heretofore. was rather
staggered by the magnitude of the amount
He would have been more staggered by 1T, had
he been less so by Miss Haldane herself
a man whose chief business it is to adorn
womanknd is likely to take notice of the attire
of such members of the sex he may meet
To say that Gormly could not have told what
Miss Haldane had on at any time during the in
terview or after she left is to convince the
nearer that there must have been adequate
cause for his oblivion. The truth was-trte
though the saying-that Miss Haldane was a
woman who adorned her clothes rather than
the reverse. All YOU got from her was an i'm
preston, an impression the more strong because
of absence of detail. She was a woman, and
must have worn womans frock of course;
but what it was or how it was made was purely
immateral
Miss Haldane had beauty. Thousands of
peope-wOmen, that IS, and some few men
have that. She had more; she had presence