Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/212

 ever clung to life more fiercely than this frail and silent embodiment of intellect.

He knew the truth, but he bit his teeth upon it. He would not let men into the secret, and sometimes put himself to actual pain in order to conceal the truth, as when, only a few weeks ago, on October 26, he appeared among the guests at Dr. Shrady's house and took a quiet part in the Gould-Shrady wedding, which had been somewhat hurried at his request.

This was his last appearance in public, unless you can count a visit or two to his office in the Western Union building, to which he went from his home in a closed carriage, and dodged in by way of the basement office before any one could see him. No one who saw him at the wedding would have suspected that he was so near death, and perhaps he would not have been had not an injudicious ride, in company with Dr. Munn, on the day before Thanksgiving, caused a cold which settled on his lungs, brought on a hemorrhage and paved the way to death.

The story of Mr. Gould's last night on earth is one easily told. It was as simple as any tale could be. He was prepared, and so were all the members of his family. His going off was merely a question of time. All understood how it would be. He had laid his earthly house in order, had explained to his older sons exactly what his property was, how he had made it, and what he should do to develop it if he lived.

He had passed the distressing stage of his dis