tern Union, and
no war would take place; up that stock went to 104. But when the day
came for the election, no Gould was to be seen, and back down it
tumbled. It is reasonably supposable that Gould profited by each of
these fluctuations. American Union became a fixed thing, and Western
Union becoming alarmed at renewed rumors of war, at once caused Mr.
Gould to be seen, and he to-day owns twenty millions of Western Union.
His Missouri, Pacific and other lines, together with his elevated
railroad schemes, are somewhat familiar topics with our readers.

The career of such a man is a type and a proof of the progress of our
land and the boundless opportunities that are open to energy and
ability. Jay Gould has attained this dizzy height from poverty and
obscurity. Unlike many rich men he is not a "fast" man. He is an
excellent husband and father; he is never so happy, seemingly, as when
at home sharing the family hearth, while others, who are more widely
respected, are at their clubs. Jay Gould has been the subject of much
abuse; indeed, what great men have not been? He is often described as a
heartless oppressor of the poor and an enemy of his country. These
accusations can often be traced to jealous rivals. While he has made
millions in the new systems he has opened in the West, our territories
and new States have been wonderfully developed and enriched billions of
dollars. We honestly believe that the wonderful growth of the Western
country would have been utterly impossible but for such men as Gould. If
there had not been money in it their energy would have been lacking, and
without that energy they must have lain dormant until other capitalists
had opened the way to progress. That it takes a vast capital to develop
the resources in a new country must be plain to every one. Show me a
town which is blessed with men of capital and enterprise, and I will
show you a town that is prosperous. Show me a town which has little of
either, and I will show you a town in which you would hate to live.

Mr. Gould appears to be a man whom nothing would excite; and one of his
brokers says of him: "You never can tell from his expression when he
reads a telegram whether he has made five millions or lost ten."
Reticence is one secret of Mr. Gould's success. He absolutely cannot be
induced to say anything which he desires kept. He is on the whole the
most incomprehensible of New Yorkers. He is an embodiment of the
money-making faculty. It