When Jay Gould reached New York in 1860, after the tannery war, he was almost impoverished. He settled down at the Everett House, a comfortable hotel, and there he lived for a little time while waiting for something to turn up. Gould was not very busy just then and used to wander around the city, up town and down town, through Wall street and Lower Broadway, where in later years he became such a power; maybe, even then, wondering if he would ever reach the point in wealth and influence that belonged to the men he met, and figuring, as every one does at times, what he would do if he were a millionaire. He knew the tannery business thoroughly and had many influential acquaintances in “The Swamp,” which was the seat then, as it is now, of the leather trade in New York. But he most wanted to get into the railroad business. He believed that greater opportunities were there than in any other occupation for the acquiring of wealth and influence. So he bent all his energies in that direction. One day just before the war, Gould came walking down the street toward his hotel, and looking up toward the window of the parlor, he saw seated there, looking toward him, a most charming young lady. He was not by any means inclined toward flirtation, but he could not avoid an appearance of interest in her, and he passed on into the hotel. Soon after that the same episode was repeated. By a little investigation, Mr. Gould learned that the young lady was Miss Ellen Miller, whose father, a wealthy New York merchant, was a member of the grocery house of Philip Dater & Co. She lived in a house across the street, and a delightful flirtation with the girl whose pretty face appeared at the window preceded any formal acquaintance. Circumstances, however, permitted them to meet socially, and they became excellently well acquainted. After a few weeks, the acquaintance became more and more intimate and finally ripened into love. Miss Miller’s father indicated opposition to their marriage, their desire for which they made evident, and they were compelled to seek some roundabout way to accomplish their purpose. The result was, that after trying several ways to circumvent the unsympathetic parent, they decided upon a secret marriage, and this was actually accomplished. There were no runaway features about the match, except that to avoid the opposition that they were certain would come, they simply walked to a minister’s, a short distance from their home, and were married without letting any one know of it. When they returned, Mr. Miller indicated no ill-will at their action, and went to work to make the best of it all. He did this by giving the famous financier his first introduction into the railroad business. Mr. Miller owned some shares in the Rutland and Washington railroad. He asked his son-in-law to look the property over and see if anything could be done to save the investment. The road was sixty-two miles long, running from Troy, New York, to Rutland, Vermont.