The Life of Phineas T. Barnum Part 19

"Of all your speculations--from the negro centenarian, who didn't nurse General Washington, down to the Bearded Woman of Genoa--there was not one which required the exercise of so much humb.u.g.g.e.ry as the Jenny Lind concerts; and I verily believe there is no man living, other than yourself, who could, or would, have risked the enormous expenditure of money necessary to carry them through successfully--travelling, with sixty artists; four thousand miles, and giving ninety-three concerts, at an actual cost of forty-five hundred dollars each, is what no other man would have undertaken --you accomplished this, and pocketed by the operation but little less than two hundred thousand dollars!

Mr. Barnum, you are yourself, alone!

"I honor you, oh! Great Impressario, as the most successful manager in America or any other country. Democrat, as you are, you can give a practical lesson to the aristocrats of Europe how to live. At your beautiful and tasteful residence, 'Iranistan' (I don't like the name, though), you can and do entertain your friends with a warmth of hospitality, only equalled by that of the great landed proprietors of the old country, or of our own 'sunny South.' Whilst riches are pouring into your coffers from your various 'ventures' in all parts of the world, you do not h.o.a.rd your immense means, but continually 'cast them forth upon the waters,' rewarding labor, encouraging the arts, and lending a helping hand to industry in all its branches. Not content with doing all this, you deal telling blows, whenever opportunity offers, upon the monster Intemperance. Your labors in this great cause alone should ent.i.tle you to the thanks of all good men, women and children in the land. Mr. Barnum, you deserve all your good fortune, and I hope you may long live to enjoy your wealth and honor.

"As a small installment towards the debt, I, as one of the community, owe you, and with the hope of affording you an hour's amus.e.m.e.nt (if you can spare that amount of time from your numerous avocations to read it), I present you with this little volume, containing a very brief account of some of my 'journey-work' in the South and West; and remain, very respectfully, "Your friend, and affectionate uncle, "SOL SMITH.

"CHOUTEAU AVENUE, ST. LOUIS, "NOV. 1, 1854."

Although Barnum never acknowledged it, there was a vast deal of truth in Mr. Smith's statements.

Whenever Miss Lind sang for charity she gave what she might have earned at a regular concert; Barnum always insisted upon paying for the hall, orchestra, printing and other expenses. But Miss Lind received the entire credit for liberality and benevolence.

It is but just to say, however, that she frequently remonstrated with Barnum and declared that the expenses ought to be deducted from the proceeds of the concert, but he always insisted on doing what he called his share.

CHAPTER XXI. CLOSING THE GRAND TOUR.

APRIL FOOL JOKES AT NASHVILLE--A TRICK AT CINCINNATI--RETURN TO NEW YORK--JENNY LIND PERSUADED TO LEAVE BARNUM--FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE ENTERPRISE.

Five concerts were given at St. Louis, and then they went to Nashville, Tenn., where the sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh of the series were given. At the latter place, Jenny Lind, accompanied by Barnum and his daughter, Mrs. Lyman, visited "The Hermitage,"

where Barnum himself had years before seen "Old Hickory" Jackson.

While there, the prima donna heard, for the first time in her life, wild mocking birds singing in the trees, and great was her delight thereat.

They spent the first of April, 1851, at Nashville. In the forenoon of the day, the various members of the party amused themselves by playing little "April Fool" jokes on Barnum, and after dinner he took his revenge upon them. Securing a supply of telegraph blanks and envelopes, he set to work preparing messages full of the most sensational and startling intelligence, for most of the people in the party. Almost every one of them presently received what purported to be a telegraphic despatch. Barnum's own daughter did not escape. She was informed that her mother, her cousin, and several other relatives, were waiting for her in Louisville, and various other important and extraordinary items of domestic intelligence were communicated to her. Mr. Le Grand Smith was told by a despatch from his father that his native village in Connecticut, was in ashes, including his own homestead, etc. Several of Barnum's employees had most liberal offers of engagements from banks and other inst.i.tutions at the North. Burke, and others of the musical professors, were offered princely salaries by opera managers, and many of them received most tempting inducements to proceed immediately to the World's Fair in London.

One married gentleman received the gratifying intelligence that he had for two days been the father of a pair of bouncing boys (mother and children doing well), an event which he had been anxiously looking for during the week, though on a somewhat more limited scale. In fact, nearly every person in the party engaged by Barnum received some extraordinary telegraphic intelligence; and, as the great impressario managed to have the despatches delivered simultaneously, each recipient was for some time busily occupied with his own personal news.

By and by each began to tell his neighbor his good or bad tidings; and each was, of course, rejoiced or grieved, according to circ.u.mstances. Several gave Mr. Barnum notice of their intention to leave him, in consequence of better offers; and a number of them sent off telegraphic despatches and letters by mail, in answer to those received.

The man who had so suddenly become the father of twins, telegraphed to his wife to "be of good cheer," and that he would "start for home to-morrow." And so cleverly did Barnum manage the whole business that his victims did not discover how they had been fooled until next morning, when they read the whole story in a local newspaper, to which it had been given by Barnum himself.

From Nashville, Jenny Lind and a few of the party went to the Mammoth Cave, and thence to Louisville, the others going directly to the latter point by steamer. There they were joined by Signor Salvi, whom Barnum had engaged at Havana. Three concerts were given at Louisville, and they then proceeded to Cincinnati, accompanied by George D. Prentice, the famous editor of The Louisville Journal. A stop was made at Madison long enough to give one concert, and they reached Cincinnati the next morning.

There was a tremendous crowd on the wharf, and Barnum was afraid that an attempt to repeat the ruse he had played with his daughter at New Orleans would not work here, as an account of it had been published in the Cincinnati papers, and everyone would be suspecting it. But he was fertile in expedients, and quickly devised another scheme.

So he took Miss Lind on his arm and boldly started to walk down the gang-plank in the face of the crowd. As he did so, Le Grand Smith, who was in the plot, called out from the deck of the boat, as if he had been one of the pa.s.sengers, "That's no go, Mr.

Barnum; you can't pa.s.s your daughter off for Jenny Lind this time." The remark elicited a peal of merriment from the crowd, several persons calling out, "that won't do, Barnum! You may fool the New Orleans folks, but you can't come it over the 'Buckeyes.'

We intend to stay here until you bring out Jenny Lind!" They readily allowed him to pa.s.s with the lady whom they supposed to be his daughter, and in five minutes afterwards the Nightingale was complimenting Mr. Coleman upon the beautiful and commodious apartments which were devoted to her in the Burnett House.

A concert was given at Wheeling, and another at Pittsburg, and then, early in May, the company returned to New York. There they gave fourteen concerts, partly at Castle Garden and partly at Metropolitan Hall, making ninety-two of the regular series.

Miss Lind now came within the influence of various legal and other advisers, who seemed intent on creating trouble between her and her manager. Barnum soon discovered this state of affairs, but was little troubled by it. Indeed he really hoped that they would persuade her to stop at the hundredth concert, for he was already worn out with the constant excitement and unremitting exertions of the tour. He thought that perhaps it would be well for Miss Lind to try giving a few concerts on her own account, or under some other manager, in order to disprove what her friends had told her, namely, that Mr. Barnum had not managed the enterprise as successfully as he might have done.

Accordingly he was much pleased when, after the eighty-fifth concert, she told him that she had decided to pay the forfeit of $25,000, and terminate the concert tour after the one hundredth performance. After the second series of concerts in New York, they went to Philadelphia, where Barnum had advertised the ninety-third and ninety-fourth concerts. As he did not care enough for the probable profits of the last seven of the hundred concerts to run the risk of disturbing the very friendly relations which had so far existed between him and Miss Lind, he now offered to relinquish the engagement, if she desired it, at the end of the ninety-third concert. The only terms he required were that she would allow him $1,000 for each of the remaining seven concerts, besides the $25,000 forfeit already agreed upon.

She accepted this offer, and the engagement was forthwith ended.

After parting with Barnum, Miss Lind gave a number of concerts, with varied success. Then she went to Niagara Falls for a time, and afterward to Northampton, Ma.s.sachusetts. While living at the latter place she visited Boston, and was there married to Otto Goldschmidt. He was a German composer and pianist, who had studied music with her in Germany, and to whom she had long been much attached. He had, indeed, travelled with her and Barnum during a portion of their tour, and had played at several of the concerts.

After the end of their engagement, Barnum and Miss Lind met on several occasions, always in the friendliest manner. Once, at Bridgeport, she complained rather bitterly to him of the unpleasant experiences she had had since leaving him. "People cheat me and swindle me very much," said she, "and I find it very annoying to give concerts on my own account."

"I was always," said Mr. Barnum, sometime afterward, "supplied with complimentary tickets when she gave concerts in New York, and on the occasion of her last appearance in America I visited her in her room back of the stage, and bade her and her husband adieu, with my best wishes. She expressed the same feeling to me in return. She told me she should never sing much, if any more, in public; but I reminded her that a good Providence had endowed her with a voice which enabled her to contribute in an eminent degree to the enjoyment of her fellow beings, and if she no longer needed the large sums of money which they were willing to pay for this elevating and delightful entertainment, she knew by experience what a genuine pleasure she would receive by devoting the money to the alleviation of the wants and sorrows of those who needed it."

"Ah! Mr. Barnum," she replied, "that is very true; and it would be ungrateful in me to not continue to use, for the benefit of the poor and lowly, that gift which our kind Heavenly Father has so graciously bestowed upon me. Yes, I will continue to sing so long as my voice lasts, but it will be mostly for charitable objects, for I am thankful to say that I have all the money which I shall ever need."

It is pleasant to add that this n.o.ble resolution was carried out.

A large proportion of the concerts which she gave after her return to Europe and during the remainder of her entire public career, were devoted to objects of charity. If she consented, for example, to sing for a charitable object in London, the fact was not advertised at all, but the tickets were readily disposed of in private for from $5 to $10 each.

As for Mr. Barnum, he was glad to enjoy a season of rest and quiet after such an arduous campaign. After leaving Miss Lind, in Philadelphia, therefore, he went to Cape May for a week and then to his home Iranistan, where he spent the remainder of the summer.

It is interesting, as a matter of record, to review at this point, the financial results of this notable series of concerts.

The following recapitulation is entirely accurate, being taken from Mr. Barnum's own account books:

JENNY LIND CONCERTS.

TOTAL RECEIPTS, EXCEPTING OF CONCERTS DEVOTED TO CHARITY.

---- New York .............. $17,864.05 " .............. 14,203.03 ----------- No. 1. "................ 12,519.59 2. "................ 14,266.09 3. "................ 12,174.74 4. "................ 16,028.39 5. Boston............ 16,479.50 6. "................ 11,848.62 7. "................ 8,639 92 8. "................ 10,169.25 9. Providence........ 6,525.54 10. Boston............ 10,524.87 11. "................ 5,240.00 12. "................ 7,586.00 13. Philadelphia...... 9,291.25 14. "................ 7,547.00 15. "................ 8,458.65 16. New York.......... 6,415.90 17. "................ 4,009.70 18. "................ 5,982.00 19. "................ 8,007.10 20. "................ 6,334.20 21. "................ 9,429.15 22. "................ 9,912.17 23. "................ 5,773.40 24. "................ 4,993.50 25. "................ 6,670.15 26. "................ 9,840.33 27. "................ 7,097.15 28. "................ 8,263.30 29. "................ 10,570.25 30. "................ 10,646.45 31. Philadelphia...... 5,480.75 32. "................ 5,728.65 33. "................ 3,709.88 34. "................ 4,815.48 35. Baltimore......... 7,117.00 36. "................ 8,357.05 37. "................ 8,406.50 38. "................ 8,121.33 39. Washington City... 6,878.55 40. "................ 8,507.05 41. Richmond.......... 12,385.21 42. Charleston........ 6,775.00 43. "................ 3,653.75 44. Havana............ 4,666.17 45. "................ 2,837.92 46. Havana............ 2,931.95 47. New Orleans....... 12,599.85 48. "................ 10,210.42 49. "................ 8,131.15 50. "................ 6,019.85 51. "................ 6,644.00 52. "................ 9,720.80 53. "................ 7,545.50 54. "................ 6,053.50 55. "................ 4,850.25 56. "................ 4,495.35 57 "................ 6,630.35 58. "................ 4,745.10 59. Natchez........... 5,000.00 60. Memphis........... 4,539.56 61. St. Louis......... 7,811.85 62. "................ 7,961.92 63. "................ 7,708.70 64. "................ 4,086.50 65. "................ 3,044.70 66. Nashville......... 7,786.30 67. "................ 4,248.00 68. Louisville........ 7,833.90 69. "................ 6,595.60 70. "................ 5,000.00 71. Madison........... 3,693.25 72. Cincinnati........ 9,339.75 73. "................ 11,001.50 74. "................ 8,446.30 75. "................ 8,954.18 76. "................ 6,500.40 77. Wheeling.......... 5,000.00 78. Pittsburg......... 7,210.58 79. New York.......... 6,858.42 80. "................ 5,453.00 81. "................ 5,463.70 82. "................ 7,378.35 83. "................ 7,179.27 84. "................ 6,641.00 85. "................ 6,917.13 86. New York.......... 6,642.04 87. "................ 3,738.75 88. "................ 4,335.28 89. "................ 5,339.23 90. "................ 4,087.03 91. "................ 5,717.00 92. "................ 9,525.80 93. Philadelphia...... 3,852.75

Of Miss Lind's half receipts of the first two Concerts she devoted $10,000 to charity in New York. She afterwards gave Charity Concerts in Boston, Baltimore, Charleston, Havana, New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia, and donated large sums for the like purposes in Richmond, Cincinnati and elsewhere. There were also several Benefit Concerts, for the Orchestra, Le Grand Smith, and other persons and objects.

RECAPITULATION.

New York 35 Concerts. Receipts, $286,216.64 Average, $8,177.50

Philadelphia 8 " " 48,884,41 " 6,110 55 Boston 7 " " 70,388.16 " 10,055.45 Providence 1 " " 6,525.54 " 6,525.54 Baltimore 4 " " 32,101.83 " 8,000.47 Washington 2 " " 15,385 60 " 7,692.80 Richmond 1 " " 12,385.21 " 12,385.21 Charleston 2 " " 10,428.75 " 5,214.37 Havana 3 " " 10,436.04 " 3478.68 New Orleans l2 " " 87,646.12 " 7,303.84 Natchez 1 " " 5,000.00 " 5,000.00 Memphis 1 " " 4,539.56 " 4,539.56 St. Louis 5 " " 30,613.67 " 6,122.73 Nashville 2 " " 12,034 30 " 6,017.15 Louisville 3 " " 19,429.50 " 6,476.50 Madison 1 " " 3,693.25 " 3,693.25 Cincinnati 5 " " 44,242.13 " 8,848.43 Wheeling 1 " " 5,000.00 " 5,000.00 Pittsburg 1 " " 7,210.58 " 7,210.58

Total 95 Concerts. Receipts, $712,161.34 Average, $7,496.43

JENNY LIND'S RECEIPTS.

From the Total Receipts of Ninety-five Concerts.....$712,161.34 Deduct the receipts of the first two, which, as between P. T.

Barnum and Jenny Lind were aside from the contract, and are not numbered in the table.....32,067.08

Total Receipts of Concerts from No. 1 to No. 93....$680,094.26 Deduct the Receipts of the 28 Concerts, each of which fell short of $5,500.....$123,311.15 Also deduct $5,500 for each of the remaining 65 Concerts.........................357,500.00 480,811.15

Leaving the total excess, as above....$199,283.11 Being equally divided, Miss Lind's portion was....$99,641.55 Barnum paid her $1,000 for each of the 93 Concerts.....93,000.00 Also one-half the receipts of the first two Concerts...16,033.54

Amount paid to Jenny Lind.....................$208,675.09 She refunded to Barnum as forfeiture, per contract, in case she withdrew after the 100th Concert..........$25,000 She also paid him $1,000 each for the seven concerts relinquished..........................7,000 $32,000.00

JENNY LIND'S net avails of 95 concerts................$176,675.09 P. T. BARNUM'S gross receipts, after paying Miss Lind ....535,486.25

TOTAL RECEIPTS of 95 Concerts $712,161.34

The highest prices paid for tickets were at auction, as follows: John N. Genin, in New York, $225; Ossian E. Dodge, in Boston, $625; Col. William C. Ross, in Providence, $650; M. A. Root, in Philadelphia, $625; Mr. D'Arcy, in New Orleans, $240; a keeper of a refreshment saloon in St. Louis, $150; a Daguerrotypist, in Baltimore, $100. After the sale of the first ticket the premium usually fell to $20, and so downward in the scale of figures. The fixed price of tickets ranged from $7 to $3. Promenade tickets were from $2 to $1 each.

CHAPTER XXII. A FEW SIDE ISSUES.