P. T. Barnum：Struggles and Triumphs, Additional Excerpt 110

My newspaper squib war against the Peale combination was vigorously kept up; when one morning, about the first of December, I received a letter from the Secretary of that company (now calling itself the “New York Museum Company,”) requesting me to meet the directors at the Museum on the following Monday morning. I went, and found the directors in session. The venerable president of the board, who was also the ex-president of a broken bank, blandly proposed to hire me to manage the united museums, and though I saw that he merely meant to buy my silence, I professed to entertain the proposition, and in reply to an inquiry as to what salary I should expect, I specified the sum of $3,000 a year. This was at once acceded to, the salary to begin January 1, 1842, and after complimenting me on my ability, the president remarked: “Of course, Mr. Barnum, we shall have no more of your squibs through the newspapers”--to which I replied that I should “ever try to serve the interests of my employers,” and I took my leave.

Source： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50115
Locator：Additional excerpt 110 · Verified：2026-10-19 · Verification：Short excerpt

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