Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/249

 leaving out the affectionate element, he was feminine in nature, with marked intuitive perceptions.

Slight of stature and frame, and feeble in body, with a high-strung, nervous organization, a rebellious stomach and flesh-plagued with the neuralgia—such was Mr. Gould as he appeared in the later years of his life. His deceit and far-reaching were the result, largely, of his frailty and timidity. In appearance what a meek, mild-looking man he was! Strangers to whom he was pointed out would exclaim: "What, that Jay Gould! Well, I never would have thought it." About five feet six inches in height and of slender figure, he was not an imposing personage. His complexion was swarthy, his eyes dark and piercing; his closely-trimmed whiskers black and streaked with gray; his forehead dome-shaped and his hair rather thin—such was Jay Gould. His voice was very low and mild. When a witness in courts and before committees, as he frequently was, it was with the greatest difficulty that he could be heard. But when once in close contact with him one soon came under the spell of his intellect. His comprehension was wide, his intuition wonderful, his judgment almost unerring. He was a close student when once he took up a subject. He never ceased until he had thoroughly mastered it in every detail. This was the secret of his success. Henry Ward Beecher once defined genius as the power and willingness to work long and hard, and under this definition Mr. Gould was a man of genius. Though not by any means wholly bad, he was a dangerous man. His