Life, 1883-11-01 · page 10 of 16
Life — November 1, 1883 — page 10: what you’re looking at
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# "Coincidence" and "American Aristocracy" **"Coincidence"** (by John Moran) is a sentimental poem about a man enjoying an elegant dinner who is suddenly reminded—by a clock striking ten—of a lost love. The memory turns his wine bitter and ruins his evening. The accompanying illustrations show a melancholy gentleman and a draped female figure, visualizing this romantic regret. **"American Aristocracy, No. VIII"** satirizes Western critics who dismiss New York high society as brainless and extravagant. The author defends NYC society, arguing that Westerners judge it ignorantly from hotel porticos and unreliable journalism. He introduces Mrs. Dunderteufel Symmons as a counterexample—a woman of genuine intellect (not inherited wealth) who maintains her social position through intellect alone. The satire mocks both the Western critic's shallow dismissal and, implicitly, the pretension that "intellect" alone sustains American aristocracy.
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222 COINCIDENCE. I" was after a little dinner, Over coffee, cigar and wine. I had dined as befits a sinner, For saints, as we know, do n't dine. And the glow of that calm contentment That follows a well-done deed Precluded the fell resentment That waits on the glut of greed. Each f/at had been simply blameless, The service without a hitch— And the palate is surely shameless That Beaujolais fails to witch. > LIFE: Et puis ?—There was something wanting To render the thing complete ; Some shadowy form kept haunting The opposite vacant seat,— When, all of a sudden, clearly The étagére clock struck ten, And memory paid me dearly For what had been blank till then. For that was the self-same hour, | In just such another place, That robbed me of hope'’s best flower And my queen of love’s sweet grace. So the wine on my lips turned bitter, And my reina refused to light ; And the restaurant's latest sitter Went early to—dream that night ! Joun Moran. AMERICAN ARISTOCRACY. No. VIIL. Small learning struts where wisdom bows his head. Semiramis, Act II, A LOATHSOME and Western contemporary recently, in speaking of New York society, said : ** Without exception, the foolish clique which by lavish entertainment and ridiculous extravagance leads New York Society, and to which all the lesser Circles owe obsequious allegiance and devotion, is composed of brainless crea tures who have never contributed the smallest mite to literature, science rey This is wantonly untrue, and shows that your average Western man has about as intimate a knowledge of New York Society as the average Eastern hen has of pork packing and kindred West- ern amusements. When he visits the metropolis he sees nothing * MONS. of it save in desultory flashes from tbe portico of his hotel, and the journalistic erudition from which he gleans his information when at home is usually served up by correspondents whose only capital is an enormous talent for lying, backed up by an immeas- urable ignorance of the subject. I will charitably suppose, however, that the writer of the above quoted paragraph believed what he wrote. In that case he cer- tainly never has met nor heard of Mrs, DuNDERTEUFEL SyM- This great genius is generically and specifically a society per- son, She is not a possessor of millions ; she is not a VAN VRIES nor a KOBBLESTON nor a WALLOON nor a DesmyTH, but has at- tained and maintained her position solely by Intellect. Intellect is Mrs. DUNDERTEUFEL SyMMoNs’ strong point, and hence be-