LUCK TURNS AGAIN 271 
figure; it had not been a success. At sixty-eight, he was finan- 
cially back where he had been at thirty. 
Much sympathy was expressed for him, with indignation 
at the other stockholders of the Elevated company who had 
failed to help him support the stock. The “Manhattan 
squeeze”’ passed into financial history. It had been a terrible 
day for Cyrus Field. There is something of a commentary on 
the American financial system in this story of a well-meaning 
and honest man who starts the day with a fortune of several 
million dollars and finds himself a few hours later almost 
ruined, with all that such a loss implies in consequences for 
his family and his old age. 
