Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1853-01-05
some OF the Rich Aneients.

If she United States that think they are
pretty well ofi-even rich. We know a
few Unfortunate individuals that labor un-
der this hallucination, and that look with
mixture of pity and contempt upon their
fellow worms of the dust. whom they think
have less Of the dust than themselves
But heaven help these poor witlings, they
have not the slightest conception of what
wealth is, They rich, forsooth They are
beggars, omparatively. Many n CD man s
upper servants live IN better style. MT:
Crpsus who nourished before our time, and
whom the reader has doubtless heard o.
used to say that citizen who had not a
fortune sufficient to support an army or
; lie ron did not deserve the title OF rich man:
and he is good authority His lanoed proper
ty alone was worth the sung little sum OF
p; $500, 600. Then he possessed slaves,
, furniture, horses, cattle and cash to an equal
amount: making the comfortable sum Of
$4,000 900.
Mr. Cresus was a rich man. but many
of the old gentlemen that kicked the buck
ct centuries ago were richer than he
There was Seneca, the philosopher, that
, uttered and wrote some tolerable good
things, considering the age in which he
lived, who was worth 1850, 600! Many
t modern authors woald doubtless have been
clad to have been remembered IN the old
fellows will. And so they were, all of
them. He has left them an invaluable leg
acy, if they would but accept it; and that
is this whenever YOU have written book,
v lay it aside for nine years; at the explra-
ton of that time, peruse it carefully aid
then if your judgment approve, publish it,
but not before
Julius Cesar like Viking Macawber,
Esq, was continually mourning pecuniary
liabilities that he found it difficult to dis
charge He set high value upon friend
ship, having purchased that Of Lucius Pa
lus for S1,500000 and that of Curio for
$4,000 900. He was a terrible spendthrift.
Before he succeeded in obtaining any Of
} nce, he had amassed debts to the amount
of S14,975, 900. But office holders had
II good pickings IN those days, as well as in
our own and as soon as Julius got his hand
into the public treasury, his debts began to
diminish. He soon became rich. He gave
Sernilla, the mothe: of Brutus, pearl Of
/. the value of 100000. He would doubt
less, have been guilty of many other ex-
travagances, had not 'the well beloved
Brutus" given him that cruel stab under
the fifth rib. On the day of the assasSina
ton, Cesar's friend, Mark Anthony, owec
$780, 600, which was all paid thirty days
afterward, This same Anthony subsequent
ly swallowed pearl dissolved in vinegar
which Cleopatra administered to him, worth
$500, 900: He also squandered $7S5, 600,
: 900 of the public treasure. He would hav,
been splendid fellow to have held fisca
agency under our Federel Government,
Tiberius, at his death, left Sis, l29, 900
which Calgula spent in less than lively,
= months. He lived at the rate of abou
D $3.50, 900 day; one supper cost him $500,
: 600.
T. Esopus, the comedian even transcendet
~ Calignla in extravaganza, having giver
AZ $4,000 for one single dish. He had
81 son, Clodius, who was chip of the oil
81 block. Among other costly gastronomi
3 feats, Clodius swallowed pearl Ia la An
thony,) valued at $4000,000.
iO Appius, another Roman millionaire, SO uan
~ dered in debauchery some $4,000, 600; af
Der one day, he investigated his pecuniary
Al affairs, and finding that he had only half ;
50 million dollars left, he poisoned himself, be
So cause he considered that sum insufficient
Z for his maintenance.
A Mr.. Heliogabalus, who lived in those
"a times, and was one of the Upper Ten, usee
81 occasionally to get up nice suppers tha
50 cost 100000 each.
As Another gentleman, Lucellus, seldom
So sat down 10 a repast that cost less thar
0 100000. His private table eclipsed thu
5 'ladies ordlnaries" of twenty of the bes
III hotels IN the world. The fish from hi
ID ponds were sold for S165, 1000.
IL &s+Mr. George Law, of New York, hav
10 ing of late caused some noise in the world
10 the Boston Herald gives the following fact
l6 in relation to his present position, his ap
IA pearance and his antecedents:
10 "NIr. Law was originally journeymar
5 stone mason, and IN the opinion of his theI
0 associates, his ambition ran no higher that
- to do fair days work for fair days wa
90 ges. They were deceived. Those Bosto
90. 90 mans who have visited New York canno
81 tail to remember that triumph of American
mechanics the High Bridge over the Har
"a lem River The bridge was the keystone
Is upon which Law built his fame and for
Z tune. In 1888 he contracted to build
81 section of 1t, and cleared $4,000 by tn
RI operation. Since that time his course ha
40 been onward stern, unwaverng, and a
33 times morose, he never fails to meet his en-
90 gagements. and can command capital to tn
II amount of S., 100000.
"He is President of the Dry Dock Bank
~ his name is good in Wall street for almos
s. any amount, and although personally I'm
:, popular from his harsh manner,yet there l
- no capitalist in whom the New York mer
AZ chants have more confidence. Besides tn
"A Havana steamers, Mr.. Law is largely in
AZ teIested in those plying to Chagres, an
42 from Panama to San Francisco
49 ellis personal appearance is not prepos
- sesslng. He is SIX feet in height, wit
lis shaggy black hair, flying in all directions,
- tremendous Fair of whiskers, and a fac
er which can be seen as in a mirror, the prom
n inent element in his character-detelmi
in ton, perseverance, fxedness of purpose
IT. we might almost say obstinacy. This wa
an shown in the action he took relative TO tn
IL Crescent CITY affair"