Struggles and Triumphs

You humbugged us--that we have seen, _We got our money’s worth_, old fellow, And though you thought our _minds_ were _green_, We never thought your _…

_Dear Sir_:--I have just received a slip containing a call for a public meeting of the citizens of Bridgeport to sympathize with me in my troubles.…

In misfortune the true sympathy of neighbors is more consoling and precious than anything which money can purchase. This voluntary offering of my…

I trust I am not blind to my many faults and shortcomings. I, however, do feel great consolation in believing that I never used money or position…

My poor sick wife, who needs the bracing air which our own dear home (made beautiful by her willing hands) would now have afforded her, is driven…

Granted, but, after all, the man who looks upon the loss of money as anything compared to the loss of honor, or health, or self-respect, or friends,-…

I regret, beyond expression, that any man should be a loser for having trusted to my name; it would not have been so, if I had not myself been…

Meanwhile, my eyes were fully opened to the entire magnitude of the deception that had been practised upon my too confiding nature. I not only…

Many of the old creditors favored this proposition; but it was found that the indebtedness was so scattered it would be impracticable to attempt a…

About this time I received a letter from Philadelphia proferring $500 in case my circumstances were such that I really stood in need of help. The…

Of course, I knew very well that if all the creditors took this view I should never get out of the entanglement in which I had been involved by the…

We were now living in a very frugal manner in a hired furnished house in Eighth Street, near Sixth Avenue, in New York, and our landlady and her…

In the summer of 1855, previous to my financial troubles, feeling that I was independent and could retire from active business, I sold the American…

And now there came to me a new sensation which was at times terribly depressing and annoying. My wides-pread reputation for shrewdness as a showman…

They therefore took what are termed “supplementary proceedings,” which enabled them to haul me any day before a judge for the purpose, as they…

Just after my failure, and on account of the ill-health of my wife, I spent a portion of the summer with my family in the farmhouse of Mr. Charles…

I could not comprehend what a “honk” was, but concluded that if it was worth fifty dollars a year among the Long Island fishermen and farmers who…

I decided not to attempt to buy the “honk,” but my eagerness to do so and my entire ignorance of the character of the curiosity furnished food for…

One morning we discovered that the waves had thrown upon the beach a young black whale some twelve feet long. It was dead, but the fish was hard…

This important movement of the Wheeler and Wilson Company gave me the greatest hope, and moreover, Mr. Wheeler kindly offered me a loan of $5,000,…

Accordingly, leaving all my business affairs at home in the hands of my friends, early in 1857 I set sail once more for England, taking with me…

And among my many friends in Liverpool and London, but one death had occurred, and with only two exceptions they all lived in the same buildings, and…

A year or two before, he had succeeded in reaching the top of Mont Blanc, and after publishing a most interesting account, which was re-published and…

Calling upon Albert Smith, I found him the same kind, cordial friend as ever, and he at once put me on the free list at his entertainment, and…

This always excited the heartiest laughter; but Mr. Smith knew very well that I would at once recognize it as a paraphrase of the scene wherein he…

When we went to the Garrick club that day, Albert Smith introduced me to several of his acquaintances as his “teacher in the show business.” As we…

At one of the Egyptian Hall matinees, Albert Smith, espying me in the audience, sent an usher to me with a note of invitation to dine with him and…

I was amazed, yet amused and half alarmed. What to do, I did not know, so I sat still on a box which I had stumbled over, as well as upon, afraid…

Brushes, water and towels soon put me once more in presentable condition and we went to the Garrick Club where we dined with several gentlemen of…

The late Charles Kean, then manager of the Princess’s Theatre, in London, was also exceedingly polite and friendly to me. He placed a box at my…

Otto Goldschmidt, the husband of Jenny Lind, also called on me in London. He and his wife were then living in Dresden, and he said the first thing…

My old friends Julius Benedict and Giovanni Belletti, called on me and we had some very pleasant dinners together, when we talked over incidents of…

I had numerous offers from professional friends on both sides of the Atlantic who supposed me to be in need of employment. Mr. Barney Williams, who…

Mr. Lumley, manager of Pier Majesty’s Theatre, used to send me an order for a private box for every opera night, and I frequently availed myself of…

Meanwhile, I was by no means idle. Cordelia Howard as “Little Eva,” with her mother as the inimitable “Topsy,” were highly successful in London and…

He was duly informed of my determination, but he was immovable. He lighted his huge Dutch pipe, got the exact weight, and marking it down, handed…

To be sure, I could not spare the placards for any length of time, for they were exceedingly valuable to me as advertisements and I could not…

I found Baden a delightful little town, cleaner and neater than any city I had ever visited. I learned afterwards that Mr. Benazet, the lessee of the…

The games open at eleven o’clock every morning, Sundays included, and close at eleven o’clock at night. Players have been known to sit at the table,…

A few days before my arrival, a young lady hung herself. Indeed, several suicides occur in all the German spas every year from the one cause--ruin by…

In due time, when our preliminary arrangements were completed, the General’s attendants, carriage, ponies and liveried coachman and footmen arrived…

Some time before I left America I received several letters from a young man residing in the Black Forest in regard to a wonderful orchestrion which…

But I could not wait, even under this strong and certainly extraordinary inducement, and was obliged to return to my engagements without hearing…

From Baden-Baden we went to other celebrated German Spas, including Ems, Homburg and Weisbaden. These are all fashionable gambling as well as…

There was the greatest difficulty, however, in getting permission to hold our exhibitions in Frankfort. When I applied for a permit at the office…

I waited one hour and a half by my watch for that mighty man to dine, and then he condescended to admit me to his presence. When I had stated my…

But a day or two after our exhibitions began, came a messenger with a command that I should appear before the Commissary of Police. I was very much…

Impressed with the magnitude of the loss he might be called upon to suffer, I ventured, as I was going out, to ask him the amount of his investment.

When I thought of his liveried lackeys, his house, his style, his dignity, and his enormous consequence, I could not but smile to think that all…

We exhibited at Mayence and several other places in the vicinity, reaping golden harvests everywhere, and then went down the Rhine to Cologne. The…

We remained at Cologne only long enough to visit the famous cathedral and to see other curiosities and works of art, and then pushed on to…

Holland gave me more genuine satisfaction than any other foreign country I have ever visited, if I except Great Britain. Redeemed as a large…

As for the scenery I cannot say much for it, since it is only diversified by thousands of windmills, which are made to do all kinds of work, from…

The reason, I think, why our exhibitions were not more successful in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, is that the people are too frugal to spend much money…

We visited the Hague, the capital and the finest city in Holland. It is handsomely and regularly laid out, and contains a beautiful theatre, a public…

The superintendent then politely asked me to go into his office, as he had something to offer me, which, as an American gentleman, he was sure I…

He stammered out an apology for his mermaid remarks, but I patted him on the shoulder in a friendly way, telling him it was “all right,” and that I…

I have no doubt that this estate is still unsettled, and that a few of the valuable paintings, if cheap Dutch artists keep up the supply, are still…

After a truly delightful visit in Holland, we went back to England; and, proceeding to Manchester, opened our exhibition. For several days the hall…

He testified to having visited the prisoner’s Museum, and of being humbugged by the Fejee Mermaid; the nurse of Washington; and by other curiosities,…