XVII. The Family of Jay Gould 226 XVIII. The Great Fortune and Its Inheritors 245 XIX. Jay Gould’s Relations with the Public 264 XX. A Chapter of Anecdotes 280 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE PORTRAIT OF JAY GOULD _Frontispiece_ YOUNG GOULD IN HIS FATHER’S DAIRY 18 JAY GOULD AS A SURVEYOR 29 CANVASSING FOR HIS BOOK, “THE HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY” 32 THE TANNERY WAR IN PENNSYLVANIA 37 GOULD’S FIRST GLIMPSE OF HIS FUTURE WIFE 49 THE MEN OF “BLACK FRIDAY” 88 “BLACK FRIDAY” IN WALL STREET 106 GOULD BEFORE THE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE 132 GOULD FAINTING AT DIRECTORS’ MEETING IN RUSSELL SAGE’S OFFICE 161 GOULD’S BIRTHPLACE AND PALACE ON THE HUDSON 170 JAY GOULD’S DEATH-BED 181 FUNERAL OF JAY GOULD 193 WHERE JAY GOULD RESTS 200 A FAMILY GROUP 226 PORTRAIT OF GEORGE GOULD 245 JAY GOULD’S PRIVATE CAR AND YACHT, “ATALANTA” 264 CHAPTER I. JAY GOULD A GREAT MAN. In every walk of human life, in every imaginable human occupation, that man who stands at the very top, who is superior to all others in that particular occupation, is of necessity a great man. No matter how humble that occupation may be, absolute superiority in it, in itself means greatness. The time once was when commercial eminence was considered to belong rather to the lower classes, and was, indeed, despised by those who thought themselves to be of knightlier blood than their fellows. The Crusades, the Renaissance, the discovery of America, and the impetus these gave to voyage and trade and commerce, were potent factors in changing all of this. For the last few centuries, commercial ability, financial capacity, knowledge of how to manipulate men and measures in a way to increase fortune, and so to secure more of what fortune will buy, have been more and more appreciated, until to-day aristocracy and royalty clip coupons, families whose ancestors trace from the Conqueror invest in stocks and draw dividends, and the bluest blooded of all great families engage with avidity in the struggle for business and wealth.