Life — July 27, 1893 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

“QMle there's Life there’s Hope.” ~ XXIL JULY 27, 1893. No. 552. 28 West Twenty-Tiirp Street, New York, Published every Thursday. $s.ooa year in advance. Postage to foreign countries in the Postal Union, $1.04 a year, extra, Single copies, 10 cents, Rejected contributions will be destroyed unless accompanied by a stamped and directed envelope. IFE presents its compliments to the Duke of Veragua, and begs him to accept this expression of its sincere regret at the intelligence that the bulk of his fortune was on the red at the particular moment when black came up. It happens that way sometimes to the carefullest people, so the Duke must not permit himself to be unduly mortified or cast down, It does, to be sure regretted that hi bet so high during his Grace’s f absence, since the man who puts up the stakes ought at least to share the fun of the game. But that is past help now, and the thing to do is to gather up the pieces, and confront the situation, With a fortune of half a million, a distinguished title and an interesting set of historical curiosities, the Duke has hitherto been expected to occupy one of the front places in the world’s show case. He has posed in an seem a thing to be partner should have elegant and dignified manner, and the various gazers within eyeshot of him have stood outside the rail and taken appreciative note of his appearance. But now, the diminishment of his fortune warrants him in coming out from behind the glass doors and taking his place with the spectators. It will not be expected of him for the present to contribute largely to the ceremonial side of life, and quit of that obligation he will find that a very moderate income suffices for the ordinary comforts of living. Nine-tenths of the personal expenditures of the rich are for an apparatus which is really not so much intended for them to enjoy as for other people to admire. Once one discharges himself of all obligation to be fashionable and spectacular, the problem of living becomes immensely simplified, and the cost of com- fortable maintenance immediately shrinks to such an annual sum as undoubtedly the remnants of the Duke's fortune will! still afford. have been full of shudders this last month. There ¢ Victoria disaster. That was dreadful. A cyclone in Iowa picked up a township and dashed it on its head. That was pretty dreadful too, The burning of the firemen at the cold-storage fire at the Fair was hideously dis- a tressing. These calamities \\ > and others have made bad reading for us all. It will be well if they have toughened our sensi- bilities so that we may read without undue trepidation the reports of the impending session of Congress. LIFE violates no confidence nor any rule of propriety when it reminds its readers that there will be Hell! to pay in Washington next month. No one who has perused the addresses made at the recent silver-congress at Denver, can doubt the purpose of the representatives of the people of Colorado to set the congressional cuspidors atloat in con- gressional blood before they let go the constitutional God- given right of Colorado to have sixty-seven cents worth of silver coined into a dollar. There will be lively times next month, and it is past guessing what percentage of sudden death the proceedings will assay. ertheless, confidence has not absolutely failed the t, for it is known, and the proof is in the Treasury vaults, that Uncle Sam has paid for having holes made in the ground of Colorado that are big enough to hold the whole population of the State, and that if necessary he can drop that population into those holes, and « * * HAT is a delightful portrait, which Koppay has made of William Walter Phelps, Otto Von Bismark and two beautiful hounds, Prince Bismark is good, Mr. Phelps is good, the dogs are excellent; but the charm of the whole is in its Landseerian flavor. Noonecan see it without being instantly reminded of Landseer's familiar __ _ picture of the terrier and the tiff, It is very charming, and very, very funny. But dear, dear! What a coun- tenance has this, our Walter Phelps, that he should have ventured to have himself depicted in the act of giving points to Otto Bismark. ‘There have only been one or two Americans since Daniel Webster's time who would not have looked funny in such a combination, and neither Walter Phelps nor any other states- man who bangs his hair, 1 ee is either of those. comicbooks.com