nion, in which he bears an
important commission. In addition to this, Mr. Astor has the aid of a
gentleman of business character and habits, once a member of one of the
largest shipping houses in the city, who has become connected with the
family by marriage. The labors of all these parties would not be more
than adequate to the task of collecting interest on bonds, looking after
dividends, etc., since that little fire-proof office in Prince street
contains several millions of Government and State securities.

In order to give something like an estimate of the immense income
rolling in upon this family, we must commence with the fact that two
dollars per day is considered fair wages for working men; that the man
who makes five dollars per day all the year round may be considered very
fortunate; that ten dollars per day is attained by that few who are more
favored and gifted, and whose proportion to the mass is about one to a
thousand. Starting from this estimate, we may be better prepared to rate
Mr. Astor's position by comparing any of the above sums with six
thousand dollars, which is said to be his daily income. Bless me! one
can not but exclaim; here Croesus himself might die with envy. Yet we
reply, after a moment's pause, let no one envy the man of gold. It is
said that when John Jacob Astor was once congratulated by a certain
person for his wealth, he replied by pointing to his pile of bonds, and
maps of property, at the same time inquiring: 'Would you like to manage
these matters for your board and clothes?' The man demurred to the idea.
'Sir,' continued the rich man, '_it is all that I get_!' Hence, thinking
on these things, we have never envied Mr. Astor, and would not bear the
burden of his wealth for all its glory. It is not the possession but the
use of money, which affords enjoyment, and this is a secret which the
rich seldom learn. Alas! among the annals of moneyed men, how seldom do
we meet a Stuart or a Lenox--men who have learned what Goldsmith calls
'the luxury of doing good.'

It is one of the peculiar misfortunes of the rich, to be subject to the
attentions of parasites and flatterers, and hence they can not possess
that same certainty of the value of friendship enjoyed by the poor. The
latter of these classes know that when a kind act is done to them, it
comes from a pure motive; the other seldom can be sure that it is not
from selfish ends. To illustrate the idea which wealth suggests, as to
the