Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/330

 recess in the wall, but for the love of the art it displayed and the enjoyment it gave him. His was the true artistic spirit."

"The quality for which I most greatly respected Mr. Gould," said an acquaintance, "was his consideration for others. This may seem a strange quality to attribute to a man who is esteemed a 'wrecker' by nine-tenths of Wall street men, but it was the thing that I often remarked in a long personal acquaintance with the man.

"It was once my pleasure to accompany him and some members of his family to Florida. His son George and a young companion were of the party. When we arrived at Palatka, Fla., Mr. Gould found that a suite of apartments had been reserved in Orvis' hotel for each member of the party.

"This was not unusual on the trip, but it happened that at Palatka there were many tourists arriving by the same train who were unable to obtain accommodations in consequence of the allotment of rooms to the Gould party. Mr. Gould took in the situation at once. 'See here,' said he to the proprietor, 'why do you give me all these rooms? Others need accommodation as well as I.' 'But,' said the man, I' 'That's all right,' replied Mr. Gould, 'I know all about that. These people need rooms and should have them, and if there are not enough here for the ladies just send those boys of mine over to the barn.'

"George Gould and his companion," said the