Great Fortunes: John Jacob Astor Part 17
“Another house, which was then engaged in the China trade, knowing the worth of this ‘king of captains,’ as Astor himself used to style him, bought him a ship and dispatched him to Canton two months after the departure of Astor’s vessel. Our captain, put upon his mettle, employed all his skill to accelerate the speed of his ship, and had such success that he reached New York, with a full cargo of tea, just seven days after the arrival of Mr. Astor’s ship. Astor, not expecting another ship for months, and therefore sure of monopolizing the market, had not yet broken bulk, nor even taken off the hatchways. Our captain arrived on a Saturday. Advertisements and handbills were immediately issued, and on the Wednesday morning following, as the custom then was, the auction sale of the tea began on the wharf—two barrels of punch contributing to the eclat and hilarity of the occasion. The cargo was sold to good advantage, and the market was glutted. Astor lost in consequence the entire profits of the voyage, not less than the sum previously named. Meeting the captain some time after in Broadway, he said:
“‘I had better have paid for that chronometer of yours,’”
Yet he could do a kind act when he was in the humor. When he was poor and struggling for fortune, he had a friend in the city named Pell, a coachmaker. As he advanced in the world he lost sight of his friend. One day a young man called on him to ask if he would sell one of his leases which he (the visitor) then held. He replied promptly and decidedly that he would not sell.
“But what is your name?” he asked.
“It is Pell,” was the reply.
“Pell—Pell—” said the old man, hesitating a moment, “I knew a man by that name once; he was a dear friend of mine, but I have not seen him for years.”
“That man,” said the visitor, “was my father.”
“Indeed,” exclaimed the old man, warmly; “your father? Why, he used to give me rides in his coaches. How I should like to see him.”
Then pausing a moment, and smiling as he recalled the past to his mind, he said:
“You shall have the lease, young man. Go home, have the papers drawn, come here at eleven o’clock on Thursday, and I’ll sign them. But don’t put in any consideration.”
The engagement was kept punctually by both parties.
“Have you got the papers?” asked the merchant. “Did you put in the consideration? Well, let it be one hundred dollars. Have you got the money about you? Well, no matter, Bruce will keep the lease till you come and pay. I’ve given you two thousand dollars, young man. Don’t you buy any more, for I sha’n't do it again. You tell your father that I remember him, and that I have given you two thousand dollars.”
Mr. Astor dearly liked a joke, and occasionally indulged in a sly bit of humor himself. On one occasion a committee called upon him to solicit a donation for some charitable object. The old man took the subscription list, and, after examining it, signed it and gave the committee a check for fifty dollars. They had expected much more, and one of them ventured to say:
“We did hope for more, Mr. Astor. Your son gave us a hundred dollars.”
“Ah!” replied the old man, dryly, “William has a rich father. Mine was very poor.”
