"I'VE SOLD THE TREASURY DRY!'' 145 



rifle, and about the day he paid for it his contract 

 with the Government which was paying him 

 largely was abrogated. I bought it of Dr. 

 Maynard and there followed what you shall hear. 

 It then passed to the Third Avenue Savings 

 Bank which soon had troubles of its own. Later 

 "the good Mr. Hatch," as Rufus of that ilk was 

 fond of calling him, became possessed of it and 

 then came the failure of Fisk and Hatch and the 

 resignation of the latter as President of the Stock 

 Exchange. Not until the castle was bought for 

 a school was the Spirit of Evil that presided over 

 it exorcised. Thrice have I purchased or built 

 costly edifices as residences for my family and 

 myself and three times has fate stepped in and 

 taken them for schools, wherefore I have come 

 to look upon myself as an instrument of Provi- 

 dence designed for the promotion of education. 

 My possession of "The Castle" was brought 

 about in this wise. Through a mutual friend I 

 was invited to spend the night with Dr. May- 

 nard. As we drove up to the porte cochere in 

 the early evening I saw through the window sit- 



