He thought the matter over, and determined to have a good time. He engaged several youths of his acquaintance to assist him in wasting his substance in riotous living. The party went first to Cleveland. At the railway station they had some dispute about a carriage, and so John bought a carriage to take them to their hotel. When he reached the hotel he concluded that that was not the kind of carriage he wanted, and so gave it away. He secured all the best rooms in the house, ordered the best supper the proprietor could furnish, and the party went to bed on the floor as drunk as a quartette of badgers. They rose the next morning with very large heads on their shoulders, and were occupied during the forenoon in removing their Mansard roofs by means of soda water and cocktails. John sent for the best team in Cleveland, and obtained a four-horse one, with a carriage gorgeous enough for a third-rate emperor. He picked out one of the drivers round the front of the hotel, told him they were going to stay in Cleveland a few days, and if this driver would take the team and drive them round during their stay, he should have the whole concern, at their departure, for his trouble. John next proposed to charter a grog-shop, and another institution which shall be nameless, for the exclusive use of himself and friends during their stay. They made things lively for a few days, and then left for Philadelphia by way of Buffalo. They stopped at Niagara Falls, and proposed hiring a boat-load of people to be sent over the falls for their amusement; but, somehow, they could not find anybody willing to make the jump. John wanted to buy the Falls and run them as a private show, but he changed his mind and continued his journey. [Sidenote: WASTING HIS SUBSTANCE.] In Philadelphia, and subsequently in New York, the party was guilty of various extravagances, and sometimes displayed absolute ingenuity in getting rid of their money. On one occasion they treated a party of fifty or more street laborers to champagne, filling each of them up to his chin, and sending them home blind drunk. They bought horses and carriages to give away next day. They chartered hotels and other public resorts for their exclusive occupation. They used to give away ten-dollar bills, and sometimes hundred-dollar bills, as gratuities to servants. John seemed to be troubled to know what to do with his money, and it gave him more anxiety than he was ever blessed with during the days of his ox-driving experience. I believe he died after a year or so of this new life. It was too much for him; he could endure poverty, but he could not enjoy or endure such an accumulation of wealth.