CHAPTER XV.
GOULD LAID TO REST.
The first intention, after the death of Jay Gould, was that the funeral services over his remains should be as public as the limited accommodations of the house would permit. Ex-Judge John T. Dillon, who had been one of the legal advisers of Mr. Gould, and Dr. Munn, Mr. Gould’s personal and private physician, met nearly all of the members of the family and agreed upon funeral arrangements with that understanding. But it was soon discovered that the probable result of a public funeral would be a blockade of Fifth avenue, and the intention was consequently abandoned.
The funeral services were held in the mansion where he had lived and died, at four o’clock Monday afternoon, December 5, 1892.
They were heard by his children, whom he had loved, and by many others whom he had known well in life, and some tears fell as they were uttered—not so many, perhaps, as have fallen at the funerals of other men who have attained prominence—and on his coffin were lying flowers, placed there by the hands of affection and of friendship, tokens of sorrow, clearly sincere and deep, that those who gave them would see him no more.
Outside of the house Fifth avenue and Forty-seventh street were crowded with inquisitive men and women, who were grievously disappointed because they were not allowed to enter to look at the face of the dead and to stare at the trappings of wealth. But the policemen who guarded the entrance were inexorable, and there was nothing to do but to stand on the pavement and gaze at those who entered and at the walls and windows.
In the early morning there were many callers at the house. Most of them were from out of town, and had come to attend the funeral services. They were met at the door by George Gould. Those who desired were permitted to go upstairs and look at the face of the dead. The body was in the rear bedroom on the second floor. It had not been disturbed since it was first lifted from the bed where Mr. Gould died on Friday morning. It was in a mahogany box surrounded by flowers and covered with a black cloth. A servant stood at the head and lifted the cloth for each visitor. None of the callers stayed more than a few minutes. They went across the street to the Windsor Hotel to await the hour for the holding of the services.
About 10 o’clock Undertaker Main called with two assistants. A moment later a wagon drove up to the Forty-seventh street basement entrance, and the coffin was carried into the house and up to the room where the body was. The wagon stood there an hour, and then the men who had gone in with Undertaker Main carried out the mahogany case and pushed it into the vehicle and drove away. A little later Undertaker Main came out. He said the body had been carried down stairs and was in the parlor, where it would lie while the services were held. While he was talking two wagon loads of camp chairs arrived. One contained twelve and the other fifteen dozen. They were carried into the house. Even at this hour in the morning the people in the street showed a disposition to stop, and had it been permitted there would have been a crowd in front of the house that would have blocked the street from curb to curb.
When it was announced that the funeral would be public Capt. Reilly arranged to have one hundred policemen on the spot from early morning, but the later decision to admit only the intimate friends of the family made the captain change his plan. Until noon only four uniformed men were on duty. One of these was in Forty-seventh street. Two were on the east and one on the west side of Fifth avenue. They pushed along any one who stopped more than a moment. Some were indignant, and talked back at the officers. Their talk generally resulted in a gentle push and an order to “Come now, hurry up. You can’t stand here.” About noon, two policemen, Sergeant Kelly and Roundsman Bingham came, and a few minutes later a dozen men from the Central office in citizen’s dress. Four of them were detailed to do service inside the house, and the others were to mix in the small crowd that was to be permitted to gather. They had orders to get together at the very first word that indicated a disturbance and squelch the offender on the spot. As a reserve force in case anything should happen, Capt. Reilly had twenty-five men in their rooms at the station-house ready to march on the double quick.
The first of the party who arrived at the house to attend the funeral were three women in deep mourning, an elderly man and two young men. They came about noon. They were Mr. Gould’s sisters, Mrs. Northrup and Mrs. Palen, and Mrs. Northrup’s daughter and two sons, and Mr. Abraham Gould, Mr. Jay Gould’s brother. They came from Philadelphia on an early train, and went direct to the house. The police vigilance to prevent the gathering of any crowd was kept up until 1 o’clock, when Capt. Reilly arrived. He said that people might gather half a dozen deep on the west side curb and above and below the house on the east side, but wide passages must be kept open. Sergeant Kelly and Roundsman Bingham were put on duty on the steps of the Gould house. Dr. Munn talked with them a few moments in the vestibule. He told them they were to question everybody and were not to let anybody pass who did not convince them of his right to enter the house. They were also to keep the steps clear. Five minutes after Capt. Reilly issued his order to let the little crowd gather, every inch of space he had allotted to them was taken. At first it was a crowd composed exclusively of poor people. They were poorly dressed and many of them looked poorly fed. Curiosity only had induced them to come. They had not hoped to get into the house. While this crowd stood in the street there was a hurry and bustle in the corridor of the Windsor Hotel. The men the poorer people came to see were forming parties. The directors of the great railroad companies, the Union Pacific, the Missouri Pacific, and the others, were getting together. Frank Hain, Julien T. Davies, and Charles A. Gardener, representing the Manhattan Elevated railroad, were among them. William C. Whitney had charge of one party.