"
This was always Uncle John's cry. His enormous fortune was a constant
bugbear to him. He had been so interested in his business enterprises
for many years that he had failed to realize how his fortune was
growing, and it astounded him to wake up one day and find himself
possessed of many millions. He had at once retired from active business
and invested his millions in ways that would cause him the least
annoyance; but the income on so large a sum was more than he could take
care of, and even Major Doyle, who managed these affairs for his
brother-in-law, was often puzzled to know what to do with the money that
accumulated.
Doubtless no one will ever know how much good these two kindly men
accomplished between them in their quiet, secretive way. Dozens of
deserving young men were furnished capital to start them in business;
dozens more were being educated at universities at Uncle John's expense.
Managers of worthy charities were familiar with John Merrick's signature
on checks, and yet the vast fortune grew with leaps and bounds. Mr.
Merrick's life was so simple and unostentatious that his personal
expenses, however erratic some of his actions, could not make much
headway against his interest account, and nothing delighted him more
than to find a way to "get even with fate by reckless squandering," as
he quaintly expressed it.
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