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Show JOHN J VC0K AsTOi:. Jolin Jacob Astor, the original of the inrut iu this city, was uotablj a a crt-at man. lie was great Iu something some-thing Ih-iUcs moue) making and iimin) saing. lie was a niau of tliou.ht and ideas, and his monej came to him as a sequence, lie was more than thin. In his earlier days he wa a Foetal, geuerou, good na-tured na-tured man, who did not let his great wealth chill his blood, and afar-ti-ing one, wLo could nutfali 'o become rieh if he follow t-d out thoc far see-iug see-iug ins'lueU. Jleforesav the coming com-ing greatness of the ci'y of lusadop-tion, lusadop-tion, ind aitiil on it by inesting in rfal estate, mui.li of winch the family fami-ly still hold, a hundtcd times enhanced en-hanced in va'uc. I remember, when i ly, having had many opi-ortunities of hearing an 1 seeing him, hisiiijuiiitiontoni) father ana to others "lluy dirt it won't ru u aw a ." On this, j rinciple, whirh he in-lillcd into his children, he bought real estate, but nevtr sold. I heard him once saj: "I will ne t r gi vc a lease, for, if ills a good one, the) will sell it- If tad, the) will run away ind leave It." I thiul: he haruly knew how ricli he was, or, If he did, had a full appreciation of it. I oneu heard him s) to Philip Hone, w lio was Mayor of the city of New York, and supposabl) a very rieh man "I'liilip, Low much are you worth?" The ansn er was "Oh, aloul quarter of a million, Aster." The then thirt) millionaire responded. respond-ed. ' I don't know but that's as goodasifjou were a rich mm. Astor was erj fou 1 of the society of literal) men, and sought them ns much as he could, lie V4is a lifelong life-long friend of Irving, I'aulding&nd Halieck, the litter being fur many ) ears Ills ecrttry, and who ollen related to me that he told his em-1 em-1 l'jj er that he did not want to lw rich, but thut If he Lad a steady income in-come of $200 a )car he woulJba s-iti-fii-d. Hie oM man, as a grim juke, left tlie poet that sum per annum, an-num, in his will, which It is pretty well known that hlsoou William IS. increarf to n comfortable sum as long a Fitz Greene i ed A-torhEda great liking for old Hill) Jlejuoidt chop-houe. In Thames btreet, ltk of Trinity Chureh, ami woukl go there almost dally to enjoj his chop, or steak, and Ids pester of ale, in cniupan) with FilzOreeue, Halieck, Irv lug,ursomo literaryman sometimes I'oe though he lid not like I'oe, and denounced him as quarnlsome, which he was." franl LctUc'$ I'vpular ManUi'y fur Jime. |