his is his working time, and he cannot afford
to waste it. In social life, he is said to be a cultivated and agreeable
man.

Mr. Stewart resides in a handsome brown stone mansion at the northeast
corner of Fifth avenue and Thirty-fourth street. Immediately across the
avenue, he has erected a residence of white marble, the handsomest and
costliest dwelling in the Union, and one of the handsomest private
residences in the world. It is said to have cost upwards of two millions
of dollars. "The marble work, which forms the most distinguishing
characteristic of this palatial abode, receives its entire shape and
finish in the basement and first floor of the building. The fluted
columns (purely Corinthian, and with capitals elaborately and delicately
carved), which are the most striking feature of the main hall, are alone
worth between three thousand five hundred and four thousand dollars each.
On the right of this noble passage, as you proceed north from the side
entrance, are, the reception and drawing rooms, and the breakfast and
dining rooms, all with marble finish, and with open doors, affording
space for as splendid a promenade or ball as could be furnished probably
by any private residence in Europe. To the left of the grand hall are
the marble staircase and the picture-gallery--the latter about
seventy-two by thirty-six feet, lofty and elegant, and singularly well
designed. The sleeping apartments above are executed upon a scale
equally luxurious and regardless of expense. Externally, the building
must ever remain a monument of the splendor which, as far as opulence is
concerned, places some of our merchants on a footing almost with royalty
itself, and a glance at the interior will be a privilege eagerly sought
by the visiting stranger."

Mr. Stewart is not generally regarded as a liberal man in the metropolis,
probably because he refuses to give indiscriminately to those who ask his
assistance. Yet he has made munificent donations to objects which have
enlisted his sympathy, and has on hand now several schemes for bettering
the condition of the working classes, which will continue to exert a
beneficent influence upon them long after he has passed away. His
friends--and he has many--speak of him as a very kind and liberal man,
and seem much attached to him.

Mr. Stewart is now seventy years old, but looks twenty years younger. He
is of the medium height, has light brown hair and beard, which are
closely t