Life — December 4, 1884 — page 2: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

1155 Broapway, New York. Published every Thursday, $5 a year in advance, postage free. Single copies, 10 cents, Back numbers can be had by applying to this office.’ Vol. I., 50 cents per copy ; Vols. IT. and HI, at regular rates, Rejected contributions will not be returned unless accompanied stamped and directed envelope. UR friend the Emperor di Cesnola—or is he now a Mikado, his exact title always was a mystery to us— is once more forced upon the gaze of the public in a state of alleged spuriousness, reminding us of the man who not only hieved greatness, but had greatness thrust upon him. The present element of weakness in his Royal Highness’ collection seems—as we understand it—to be the treasures from the Temple of Curium, which a man named Richter— who, t even a Ding, but a poor miserable Mr.—claims are bogus be- cause there was no Temple at Curium for them to come from ; which allegation Mr. Richter bases on the fact that he cannot find the hole in Cyprus from whence Viscomte di Cesnola ex- ated the said Temple. We must confess that this seems to us a sound basis for the charge of fraud against the autocrat of the Metropolitan Museum, but one which—if unsound—can be easily so proved, for the accused nobleman has only to produce the hole to re- and knowing Adjutant di Cesnola’s capacity in the past for absorbing everything in Cyprus worthy of absorption ; and having heard on undenia- ble authority that he has a small but select collection of holes, the way, is not an Emperor, nor a Abkound, nor store confidence in his treasures ; in which, judging from countless newspaper paragraphs, he | spends most of his time, we doubt not that, provided any such hole ever ¢xisted, Police Commissioner di Cesnola has it safely stored in some odd corner of the Museum of Art. The Corporal should produce that hol . . . \ HILE on this subject we beg to record our difference with many of our esteemed contemporaries who are disposed to smite our distinguished countryman—by Italy, proxy—because of the assumed truth of the rumor that the velry now in the Museum was made in New- ark, North Attleboro and other rolled-gold townships, in- stead of hailing from Cyprian Cemetaries, Pompeiian Policy- shops and Herculaneum Hotels. If an article of jewelry so like the excavated article that aphers as Dr. Prime, President collection of je such distinguished jewelog Barnard, and others cannot tell them apart, can be made on s side of the Atlantic at much less expense and without involving volcanic eruptions, archxological explorers and similar visitations of Providence, we should be devoutly thankful and congratulate ourselves upon the birth of an- other infant industry and proceed at once to so protect it by legislative action that the foreign article would be driven out of the market, and every household in the land, however rich or poor, find such useful art treasures, not in museums, where none but a favored few can reach them, but at home, far beyond the reach of hostile criticism. * * * HAT considerate gentleman, Mayor Edson, has involved us in another municipal muss. It is small consolation to reflect that with one Board of Po- lice Commissioners de jure and another de facto, each spend- ing the whole of its time establishing its right of tenure, our streets will even outdo their record of previous dirtiness, and offer special inducements to itinerant germs such as are at present making it pleasant for all Europe. We can only hope that with twice as many Commissioners, the streets will fall behind the usual average and not become twice as dirty, although our past experience with these orna- mental luxuries—Police Commissioners—does not lead us to place much confidence in the realization of our hope. « * * HE Faculty of Harvard College propose to abolish foot- ball from that institution, declaring that it is “ brutal, demoralizing and extremely dangerot This is certainly a radical step on the part of the learned gentlemen of Harvard, and savors strongly of that icono- clastic spirit which led a distinguished New Englander to gitate the abolition of Greek from our Universities some years since. As far as we are concerned we heartily favor the game for undergraduates, for they one and all need something of the sort to eliminate, as it were, so much of the natural cussed- ness peculiar to the species. If the learned gentlemen who oppose the game were to indulge in the play themselves they would, no doubt, find their hypotheses correct as far as they individually are concerned, but we think if Foot-ball were abolished the animal spirits of the students would become so overbubblesome that corporeal punishment would become a positive necessity which we think would result in demoraliz- ation and extreme danger to the member of the Faculty im- mediately concerned. Surely the Professorial heads of the University should pon- der long and deeply before overthrowing the most “ footful” of college “ Feetishes.” comicbooks.com