And so the young cashier of the Mutual, pondering upon the questions suggested to his alert and active mind, talked the matter over with his friends.  Most of them sought to dissuade him from his purpose; but, nevertheless, upon a memorable evening, that of Saturday, March 12, 1859, he called upon Mr. Frederick S. Winston, President of the Mutual Life Assurance Company, at his residence.  He stated to Mr. Winston that for some time he had been contemplating the organization of a life assurance company, and desired his advice and assistance in the undertaking.  Twenty five years later Mr. Hyde related how this proposition was received:

“The president stated that he did not approve of the plan, and that no one contemplating the organization of another life assurance company could retain a position with the Mutual Life.  I thereupon asked him how soon my resignation could be accepted; to which he replied that I might resign at once, and could call at the office on Monday morning to deliver up the keys of the cash and securities in my possession, which would be examined by the actuaries.  This action, which would be equivalent to a dismissal, was wholly unexpected by me.  On the following Monday morning I called at the office of the company and delivered up my keys.  The cash and securities having been examined by the actuaries and found correct.  I said to the president that it would be very gratifying to me to have a letter stating the facts regarding my sudden and unexpected resignation, and further stating that my cash and securities had been found correct.  This was refused.”

In commenting on this statement, President James W. Alexander says; “It is not to be gathered from this incident that hostility continued to exist throughout the lives of these two forceful men.  Mr. Winton’s method was severe, and it was not within the limits of his conceptin that this clerk could become a rival.  Indeed, it took some years to realize what stuff Hyde was made of, and he was inclined to regard the Equitable Life in its infancy as a frivolous interference with settled affairs.  His regard for the young man personally, however, was not extinguished, and Mr. Hyde himself ever revered Mr. Winton as a sort of Nestor in the Craft.  The stimulus of desire to cope with the Mutual Life after the abrupt close of his connection was a powerful element in his after success; but with the newer company had forced recognition from the older one, as a peer, the ancient affection between these two men not only revived, but was strengthened, and the friendship lasted until Mr.
Winston’s death.”

In order to appreciate fully the feelings which rose in the breast of young Hyde that Saturday evening, some forty years ago, the reader should, for a moment, efface the impression made by events of subsequent years.  Mr. Hyde had entered the employ of the Mutual Life, entertaining, probably, hopeful anticipations of a promising career in its service; and he left it as if he was discharged servant.   That he was surprised by the result of his visit to Mr. Winston, his own words indicate; indeed, there is a tinge of sadness in them: “This action, which was equivalent to a dismissal, was wholly unexpected by me.”

Some men are put to rout by surprises, others are overwhelmed by the unexpected.  To men cast in the mold of heroes, surprise stimulate the faculties; the unexpected presents opportunities.  And Henry B. Hyde was such a man.

Once free from the duties of his former position, his quick mind discerned the path he should follow, and he decided to take the first step at once.  “The same day,” he writes some twenty years after, “I rented one room in the rear of the second story of No. 98 Broadway, at the rate of $900 per annum.  This was immediately furnished with borrowed furniture in the anticipation of an order to be given to purchase furniture when the Society should be established.  In order to make everything agreeable and cheerful for visitors, I purchased a box of cigars and placed them in a convenient position on the mantelpiece.  On the succeeding Monday a sign, about thirty feet in length, with the inscription, ‘The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States’ was placed directly over the smaller sign of the Mutual Life, which company, at that time, occupied the first floor of the same building.  Our room had lawyers’ offices on either side of it, and to obtain possession, a boy from the office on one side and a boy from the office on the other side were given desk-room within our restricted quarters.  More commodious and convenient offices might have been secured elsewhere, but it was with me a sentiment to have the office of the Society above the office of the Mutual Life.  At this time there was no organization, and there had been no promise on the part of any one to unite with me in forming a new company.”

In all the years that followed, there can be found no better indication of the marvelous characteristics of the founder of the Equitable Society than this incident shows.