What a contrast to such contemptible men was John Jacob Astor, who, at the age of twenty, left his German home, resolving to seek a fortune in the New World. He was a poor uneducated boy, and he trudged on foot from his home to the seaport whence he was to sail. He was educated by his mother. His school-books were his Bible and Prayer-book, and these he read and pondered over to the last hour of his life. When he left home, a small bundle contained all his worldly possessions. He had money enough, for a common steerage passage—that was all. He landed penniless on American soil. As he left his native village, he paused and cast a lingering, loving look behind. As he stood under the linden tree he said, “I will be honest; I will be industrious; I will never gamble.” He kept these resolutions till the day of his death. He sailed from London for America in 1783. In the steerage he made the acquaintance of a furrier, which was the means of his introduction to a business by which he made millions. All sorts of stories are circulated about the early career of Mr. Astor. It was said that he commenced by trading in apples and pea-nuts. He took with him seven flutes, from his brother’s manufactory in London; these he sold, and invented the proceeds in furs. He went steadily to work to learn the trade for himself: he was frugal, industrious, and early exhibited great tact in trade. He was accustomed to say, later in life, that the only hard step in making his fortune was in the accumulation of the first thousand dollars. He possessed marked executive ability. He was quick in his perceptions. He came rapidly to his conclusions. He made a bargain, or rejected it at once. In his very earliest transactions he displayed the same characteristics which marked him in maturer life. He made distinct contracts, and adhered to them with inflexible purpose. He founded the American Fur Company, in which he had shares, and by means of which he amassed a fortune of over 50,000 dollars. His son succeeded in his father’s business, and in his father’s ability for acquiring money. His habits were very simple, and mode of life uniform.