12 Shades of Amber,.7 Shades of Lilac, 4 Shades of Green, all 4 thread Berlin Wool-4 Skeins of each. 5 Steel Needles, No. 14. Cardboard foundation, covered with White THE TULIP WREATH FLOWER VASE MAT. Amber Cambric, b For the Mat.-- each needle; then cast off, and sew this on to the covered cardboard foundation, Tour For the Tulips. -5 Tulips to be knitted in 7 shades of Amber, and 5 in 7 shades of Lilac; 4 rounds to be knitted of each shade, 4 needles. Cast on 2 stitches on each of 3 needles; Tf at the commencement of each needle: K 1 plain round; pearl a round, increasing at commence ment of each needle. Repeat these two rounds, till there are 11 stitches on each of the 3 needles; then first, K 3 K2+, K1, K2, +, K 3; turn the work back, and pearl the 9 stitches. 3rd.-K 2 K 2+, K1, K2, +, K 2.-4th. Turn back and pearl.-5th. K 1, K 2, +, K1, K2, +, K1.-6th. Turn back and pearl.-7th. K 1, K 3+, K 1.-8th. Pearl.-9th. K 3+; 20 Tulips will be required. The Leaves (10 of which will be necessary).-4 shades of Green. 12 rows of each 2 needles. Cast on 3 stitches; K plain, till before the centre stitch; Tf, K the centre stitch; Tf, K the remainder plain; pearl the next row; repeat these 2 rows, till there are 12 open stitches up the vein of the leaf; then K1, K2+, K plain, till 2 from the centre stitch; then K 2+, Tf, K 1. Tf K 2, + K plain, till 3 from the end; then K 2+, K1; pearl the next row; repeat from * till there are 8 more open stitches, that is, 20 rows from the beginning; then K 2+ at the beginning and end of every other row, till the leaf ends in a point. Now sew the leaves round the Mat by the part where the stem should be; then sew the tulips on as in Engraving, sewing the leaf about 6 rows from the point on to the stem of the Tulip. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF P. T. BARNUM. INTRODUCTION. My career has been truly a chequered one. I have been a farmer's boy and a merchant, a clerk and a manager, a showman and a bankpresident. I have been in jails and in palaces; have known poverty and abundance; have travelled over a large portion of the two Continents; have encountered all varieties of men, have seen every phase of human character; and I have on several occasions been in imminent personal peril. In all this I have had some sad experiences; but, on the whole, my life has been a merry one. EARLY LIFE. My first appearance upon this stage was on the 5th day of July, Anno Domini 1810. I commenced going to school at the age of about six years. The first date which I recollect inscribing upon my writing-book was 1818. A schoolhouse in those days was a thing to be dreaded a schoolmaster a kind of being to make the children tremble. I was generally accounted a pretty apt scholar, and as I increased in years there were but two or three in school who were considered my superiors. In arithmetic I was unusually quick, and I recollect, at the age of twelve years, being called out of bed one night by my teacher, who had laid a small wager with a neighbour that I could figure up and give the correct number of feet in a load of wood in five minutes. The neighbour stated the dimensions, and as I had no slate in the house, I marked them on the stove-pipe, and thereon also figured my calculations, and gave the result in less than two minutes, to the great delight of my teacher, my mother, and myself, and to the no small astonishment of our incredulous neighbour. FIRST SAVINGS. My organ of acquisitiveness must be large, or else my parents commenced its cultivation at an early period. Before I was five years of age I began to accumulate pennies and sixpennies. I always disliked work. Head-work I was excessively fond of. I was always ready to concoct fun, or lay plans for moneymaking, but hand work was decidedly not in my line. My father insisted that I could hoe and plough and dig in the garden as well as anybody else, but I generally contrived to shirk the work altogether, or by slighting it, get through with the day's work. Among the various ways which I had for making money on my own account, from the age of twelve to fifteen years, was that of lotteries. The highest prize was generally five dollars— sometimes less, and sometimes as high as ten dollars. All the prizes in the lottery amounted to from twelve to twenty-five dollars. The cost of the entire tickets was twenty or twenty-five per cent. more than the prizes. I found no difficulty in disposing of my tickets to the workmen in the hat and comb manufactories, &c. I was extremely active as a clerk, was considered a 'cute trader, and soon gained the confidence and esteem of my employers. I remember with gratitude that they allowed me many facilities for earning money. My disposition is, and ever was, of a speculative character, and I am never content to engage in any business unless it is of such a nature that my profits may be greatly enhanced by an increase of energy, perseverance, attention to business, tact, &c. EARLY MARRIAGE. beyond my anticipations, and I was very happy My business in Bethel continued to increase in believing that my suit was prospering with Charity Hallett, the fair tailoress. Although I tended their parties, pic-nics, sleigh-rides, &c., associated with all the young people, and atChairy continued to stand highest in my estimation, and to improve upon acquaintance. I still kept a close eye upon the attractive tailoress, Charity Hallett; and although my good mother and some other relatives feared that I was not looking high enough in the world, those who knew the girl best declared that she was an industrious, excellent, sensible, and well-behaved girl, and some of them added, that "she was altogether too good for Taylor Barnum." I perfectly agreed with them in their conclusions, and in the summer of 1829 I proved it by asking her hand in marriage. My suit was accepted, and the wedding-day appointed. In the meantime I applied myself closely to business, no person suspecting that the "event" was near at hand. In October my "sweetheart" went to New York, ostensibly to visit her uncle, Nathan Beers, who resided at No. 3, Orchard-street. I left home on Saturday, November 8, 1829, for New York, having particular occasion to purchase goods for our little store. On the next evening, by the aid of the Rev. Dr. McAuley, and in the presence of sundry relatives and friends of hers, the tailoress changed her name to Mrs. Charity Barnum, and I became the husband of one of the best women that was ever created. I was at that time little more than nineteen years of age. I have long felt assured that had I waited twenty years longer, I could not have found another woman so well suited to my disposition, and so valuable as a wife, a mother, and a friend; yet I do not approve of, nor recommend, too early marriages. Young persons' minds should become more matured before they venture to decide upon the most important event which can occur to them in a life-time. Marriage has been called "a lottery," "taking a leap in the dark," &c. It is, to say the least, a serious ordinance, deserving serious thought. Hasty marriage, and especially the marriage of boys and girls, has, in my opinion, been the cause of untold misery in thousands of instances, the advice of that worthy old philosopher, Ben Franklin, to the contrary notwithstanding. REMOVAL TO NEW YORK. In the winter of 1834-35 I removed my family to New York, having hired a house in Hudsonstreet. Strictly speaking, I entered that great city to "seek my fortune." Lotteries in the State of Connecticut had been prohibited by law; I had lost large amounts of money by my private customers, some of whom had gone beyond their means in purchasing tickets, while others had put their property out of their hands, and thus defrauded me of considerable sums. was also a large loser by the mercantile business, I and must confess, in addition, that the old proverb, "Easy come, easy go," was too true in my case. I had learned that I could make money rapidly, and in large sums, whenever I set about it with a will, and I did not hesitate to expend it in various extravagances as freely as I gained it. I acquired it so readily, that I did not realise the worth of it, and I entertained no anxiety whatever about laying it up. To be sure, I thought that at some future time I should begin to accumulate by saving; but I cared not for the present, and hence I scattered my means with an open and unsparing hand. TRAVELLING WITH PLAYERS. occasion in the absence of the diminutive employé in that line of business. Squeezing into the allotted space, I found that my nose and my knees were likely to become acquainted by close contact-nevertheless, though heartily wishing myself out of the scrape, I held a live squirrel in my hand, ready to wind the chain of a watch around his neck and hand him up through the trap-door when needed. table. Pentland's arrangement of vases, cups, balls, and divers other accompaniments of legerdemain, were on the table. In due time, he called for a watch with a gold chain. One of the spectators favoured him with the article, and it was soon passed into my possession, under a vase and At Camden, S. C., I had advertised negro through the little trap-door in the top of the songs; no one of my company was competent to squirrel bit me severely; I shrieked with pain, Awkwardly performing my part, the fill his place; but being determined not to disap-straightened my neck first, then my back, then point the audience, I blacked myself thoroughly, and sung the songs advertised, namely, "Zip breakable article upon it, and rushed behind the my legs, overthrew the table, smashed every Coon," "Gittin' up Stairs," and "The Raccoon Hunt, or Sitting on a Rail." It was decidedly “a hard push,” but the audience was satisfied, and, to my surprise, my singing was applauded, and in two of the songs I was encored! After singing my negro songs one evening, and just as I had pulled my coat off in the "dressing-room" of the tent, I heard a slight disturbance outside the canvass. Rushing to the spot, and finding a person disputing with my men, I took their part, and spoke my mind to him very freely. He instantly drew his pistol, exclaiming, "You black scoundrel! dare you use such language to a white man?" and proceeded deliberately to cock it. I saw that he supposed me to be a negro, and might perhaps blow my brains out. Quick as thought I rolled up my shirt sleeves, and replied, "I am as white as you He absolutely dropped the pistol with fright! Probably he had never seen a white man blacked up before; at all events he begged my pardon, and I re-entered my" dressing-room," fully realising that I had incurred a narrow chance of losing my life. Nothing but a presence of mind which never yet deserted me, saved my brains. On four several occasions during my I have had a loaded pistol pointed at my head, and on each occasion have I escaped by little less are, sir." than a miracle. STAGE MISHAP. life curtain! The squirrel galloped off with the speechless, but if ever there was hooting and watch around his neck. Pentland was struck shouting in a mass of spectators, it was heard that night. ner: there is an old hen, that will lay as many eggs as The exhibitor has a bag, in which he declares he pleases. He turns the bag inside out; there the outside of the bag and the lining, is a small is apparently nothing in it, but actually between pocket, so contrived with divisions as to hold six eggs. Having convinced the audience that there is nothing in the bag, he commands the hen to Having bought four horses and two waggons be-lay, and produces an egg. This he does, showing longing to his side show, I hired Joe Pentland and the inside and outside of the bag, each time, until Robert White to join my company. Pentland, all are gone but one. Keeping his hand upon besides being a celebrated clown, is a capital that part of the bag which covers the last egg, he ventriloquist, balancer, comic singer, and perfor- puts the rest of the bag on the ground, and stamps mer of legerdemain. White was a negro-singer. upon it, to show that there is no deception; then, This relieved me from the negro-song line, and stating that he can have as many more eggs as made my exhibition (of which Henry was half he pleases, pulls out the last. "Before I take owner) quite attractive. I called it "Barnum's any more out," he says, "I will satisfy you that Grand Scientific and Musical Theatre." the eggs are real." At this time he stands in front of his table, and while breaking upon a plate an egg, which he holds in his right hand, the empty bag is in his left hand. All eyes are turned upon the egg, to see whether it is genuine or not. While the exhibitor thus distracts the attention of the audience, he slyly passes his left hand to the back of the table, and hangs his empty bag on a hook which is placed there. the same instant he detaches from another hook, behind the table, a bag exactly similar to the one My "Diary," from which the preceding and much else has here been condensed, contains many incidents which I shall omit. I cannot, however, pass an adventure of mine as Pentland's confederate in several tricks of legerdemain. His table had the usual trap-door for passing things to his assistants, preparatory to the magical transformations presented to the spectators. The quarters below were painfully narrow for a man of my size, but I volunteered for the At which held the eggs, but which bag contains a hen. "Now," says the exhibitor, "having seen that the eggs are real, I will show you the old hen that laid them." Dropping the mouth of the bag upon the ground, he turns out the old hen, to the astonishment of the audience. On the occasion to which I allude, we did not reach the town where we were to exhibit until two o'clock in the afternoon. We had advertised a performance for three o'clock, and the village was already swarming with country people, who came "to see the show." We put up the canvass as soon as possible. Hawley arranged his table, and not having time to prepare his "old hen" trick, he handed the bag to a negro boy attached to the tavern where we stopped, told him to catch an old hen, and put her into the bag, and he should "see the show for nothing." The darkey soon returned, handed the bag to Hawley, and passed in. The old hen was duly hung up at the back of the table, our fiddler played a tune (we had but one musician yet), the curtain rose, and old Hawley opened the performances. He first exhibited several dexterous tricks with cups and balls-swallowed apparently a pound of towblew fire from his mouth, and then drew many yards of various-coloured ribbons from the same receptacle. These were followed by wonderful tricks with iron rings, strings, and keys. He apparently swallowed a watch, and pulled an unknown quantity of cabbages, turnips, and onions from the bosom of a verdant young countryman who volunteered to "assist" at the performances. Hawley then commenced the great trick of the day, producing egg after egg as if by magic. The audience applauded him to the echo. He felt they were with him, and with triumphant exultation, he exclaimed, "And now I will show you the old hen that laid all the eggs." He emtied the bag and a bird appeared- but, alas! it was a rooster! Every one was thunderstruck at the phenomenon; but when the old cock, who was very indignant at his confinement, strutted across the stage, shook his ruffled feathers, and began to crow, as if in defiance, the whole audience burst into a shriek of laughter, and Hawley, confounded and abashed, bolted into the dressingroom, cursed the stupidity of the black "fowlfancier," and threatened to break the rascal's head, at the same time declaring he would not again appear in front of the curtain; nor did he. He might have turned the accident to good account, and he probably would have done so nine times out of ten; but the thing was so totally unexpected, and the audience had so fair a start in merriment before he could recover self-possession, that he was literally obliged to quit the field. NO WIFE NO DINNER. At Natchez our "man-cook" left us, and I sought in vain for another. I applied to a white widow who, I had been informed, would answer the purpose. She objected, because she hoped shortly to marry a young painter. We needed a cook; our case was desperate; I called on the lover; mentioned my object; related the story; and asked him if he intended to marry the widow. He had not yet determined. "Can't you hurry up your ideas, and marry her at once?" said I. Certainly not. He did not know that she would have him, and he did not know that he would have her. This was reasonable, but our case was desperate. "If you will marry her to-morrow morning, I will hire her at 25 dollars per month as cook, and you at the same price as painter-boarding free for both-and a bonus of 50 dollars, cash in hand." There was a wedding on board the boat next morning. The bride doffed her white robes, and at noon that day we had a capital dinner. WANTED A PARTNER. I was thoroughly disgusted with the life of an itinerant showman; and though I felt that I could succeed in that line, I always regarded it, not as an end, but as a means to something better in due time. Aiming for a respectable. permanent business, I advertised for a partner, stating the fact that I had 2,500 dollars, in cash, to invest, together with unremitting personal attention. I received ninety-three propositions and such propositions! whoever wishes to buy a cheap dollar's worth of knowledge how people live, or hope to live, let him spend that sum in advertising for a partner, announcing, at the same time, that four or five thousand dollars are "in the wind." I finally entered into copartnership with a German named Proler, who brought recommendations from a city alderman. The latter also assured me, in a personal interview, that Mr. Proler was a man of honour. He was a manufacturer of paste-blacking, water-proof paste for leather, Cologne water, and bear's grease. We took the store No. 101 Bowery, at a rent (including the dwelling) of 600 dollars per annum, and opened a large manufactory of the above articles. Proler manufactured and sold the goods at wholesale in Boston, Charleston, Cleveland, and various other parts of the country. I kept the accounts, and attended to sales in the store, wholesale and retail. For some months the business seemed to be prosperous. But when all my capital had been absorbed, and our notes of hand for additional stock were falling due, our goods meanwhile having been sold on long credit, I began to see the beauties of "the credit system." I felt it, too, for many a sleepless night did I pass, tormented by the note in the bank that would claim my acquaintance to-morrow. Proler was a fine looking man, of plausible manners, but he proved himself a scamp of "the first water." The details of discovery would possess little interest to the_reader. Our copartnership was dissolved in January, 1840, Proler being the purchaser of the entire interest for 2,600 dollars on the "credit system." Before his note was due, he packed up "bag and baggage," and sailed for Rotterdam, having swindled me most effectually. All that remained to me were the following recipes, which I present to the public, gratis :- 1. "COLOGNE WATER. To six gallons of Alcohol, add four ounces each of the oils of Lavender, Thyme, Rosemary, Cloves, Nitre, Bergamot, and Lemon. Mix thoroughly three times a-day. Let it stand twenty-four hours, then add one and a half gallons of pure spirits, only proof. Stir well, let it stand four hours, then filter through red blotting paper." N.B.-As Americans are extremely partial to foreign productions, your sales will be increased by advertising "German Cologne," and copying German labels for your bottles and boxes. 2. "BEAR'S GREASE (made without the Bear!). ---Three pounds of hog's lard and one and a half pounds of mutton tallow. Melt them well together. Then mix, in a separate cup, two ounces each of oil of Cloves and oil of Bergamot, and one ounce each of oil of Lavender, Thyme, and Rosemary. Pour them all into the melted grease, and mix and stir them well together." P.S.-This is the real "Genuine Bear's Grease," which will cover a bald head with beautiful, glossy, curly hair-as quickly as any other composition yet discovered. N.B.-To increase the faith of your customers, exhibit a live Bear in front of the store, with the label, "To be slaughtered next!" The same animal will answer for tomorrow. Occasionally head your advertisements, "Two more Bears killed yesterday!" 3. "BLACKING (which took the premium at the Great Fair of the American Institute, held at Niblo's in 1838).-Put into a tub six gallons of Molasses and add three pints of Whale Oil. Mix thoroughly, then add twenty-five pounds of Ivory Black, mixing as fast as added. When twenty pounds are mixed, put in a quart of Vinegar; then add the remaining five pounds of Ivory Black, and three half pints more of Vinegar. This must be well mixed. Then pour in a quart of Muriatic Acid, and be sure that it is well mixed. Then add a quart of oil of Vitriol. Let it be well stirred for half-an-hour, and your Blacking is complete. Take care not to work where the sun shines." 4. "WATER-PROOF PASTE.-Ten pounds of Tallow and five pounds of Lard. Put into an iron pot over a slow fire. In another pot, melt very gently, two and a half pounds of Beeswax cut in small pieces. Pour this into the large pot, stirring and mixing it well. When this is done, take your pot from the fire and put into it two and a half pounds of Olive Oil, and a quart and half pint of Spirits of Turpentine. Then add ten or twelve pounds of Ivory Black, all by small quantities, and keep a boy always stirring for at least half-an-hour. Then put it aside till it is cold, and fill your boxes. Take care not to fill your boxes where the sun is shining." WRITING FOR A LIVING. Living in the city of New York, with nothing to do and a family to support, in a very short time exhausted my funds, and I became about as poor as I should ever wish to be. I looked around in vain for employment congenial to my feelings, that would serve to keep my head above water. I finally obtained the post of writing advertisements and notices for the Bowery Amphitheatre, my duties including daily visits to the upper stories of many newspaper offices, to deliver what I had prepared, and see that they were inserted. For this I received four dollars per week, and was thankful for even that. I also wrote articles for the Sunday press, for the purpose of enabling me to "keep the pot boiling" at home. These productions afforded me a fair remuneration; but it was at best a precarious way of living, and I began to realise, seriously, that I was at the very bottom round of fortune's ladder, and that I had now arrived at an age when it was necessary to make one grand effort to raise myself above want, and to think soberly of laying up something for a "rainy day." TOM THUMB. Being in Albany on business in November, 1842, I stopped one night in Bridgeport, Ct., my brother Philo F., keeping the Franklin Hotel at the time. I had heard of a remarkably small child in Bridgeport; and by my request my brother brought him to the hotel. He was the smallest child I ever saw that could walk alone. He was not two feet in height, and weighed less than sixteen pounds. He was a bright-eyed little fellow, with light hair and ruddy cheeks, was perfectly healthy, and as symmetrical as an Apollo. He was exceedingly bashful, but after some coaxing he was induced to converse with me, and informed me that his name was Charles S. Stratton, son of Sherwood E. Stratton. He was only five years old, and to exhibit a dwarf of that age might provoke the question, How do you know that he is a dwarf? Some license might indeed be taken with the facts; but even with this advantage I really felt that the adventure was nothing more than an experiment, and I engaged him for the short term of four weeks at three dollars per week-all charges, including travelling and boarding of himself and mother, being at my expense. They arrived in New York, December 8, 1842, and Mrs. Stratton was greatly astonished to find her son heralded in my Museum bills as General Tom Thumb, a dwarf of eleven years of age, just arrived from England! I took great pains to train my diminutive prodigy, devoting many hours to that purpose, by day and by night, and succeeded, because he had native talent and an intense love of the ludicrous. He became very fond of me. I was, and yet am, sincerely attached to him, and I candidly believe him at this moment to be the most interesting and extraordinary natural curiosity of which the world has any knowledge. Four weeks expired, and I re-engaged him for a year at seven dollars per week, (and a gratuity of fifty dollars at the end of the agreement,) with privilege of exhibition in any section of the United States. His parents were to accompany him, and I was to pay all travelling expenses. Long before the year was out, I voluntarily increased his weekly salary to twenty-five dollarsand he fairly earned it, for he speedily became a public favourite. TOM THUMB IN LONDON. During our first week in London, Mr. Everett, the American Minister, to whom I had letters of introduction, called, and was highly pleased with his diminutive though renowned countryman. We dined with him the next day by invitation, and his family loaded the young American with presents. Mr. Everett kindly promised to use influence at the Palace in person, with a view to |