Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1860-02-23
MISCELLANEOUS
Snobblsh High Life.

'Ihe country Is running wild " exclaim-
cd an Atlantic cotemporary 'Extrava-
gance, folly and fraud are the great pre-
vailing vices Of the times-the grand char
acteristicts Of the age. 1t is manifcstly
more or less in our cities, and It's infu-
ence Is seen in the dcbasement of men snd
women, and the complete ruin Of children.
Every successful speculator or fortunate
operator must initiate, and, if possible, ex-
Gel his neIghbor, the lucky banker or the
money-maklng grocer; and, to do this with
out regard to expense, away they go into
the marble and satin, the rosewood and sill
yer, keep extrayagant carriages, with horses
to match, and give parties where Brussels
and Wilton outvie in their color the silks
and the wine which make up the chief part
of the entertainment. Up it goes into the
air, huge pile, or a fantastic residence,
but not u room in it for the comfort of the
owner or his famil ily-all Of it for show and
the public gaze. The women flaunt about
IN lace and lazincss, or reclne upon soft
cushions in fine carriages, neither knowing
whether the money that keeps them up be
stolen or honestly gained They are hap
py in the fact that they dash as much as
the richest of their neighbors For an
American of tOrtune-real, solid fortune
to dash into all this extravaganza is fol-
ly; but the man is guilty of downright
wickedness, who, upon little money. goes
to vast and f Olish expense; for lie must
rob somebody to carry out his plans or,
if ne has enough to warrant it all, his chill
dren, when his fortune Is divided among
them, will have all the silly and extravagant
notions Of their father, without his money
to give them reality. Out of all this mis-
cradle life there spring evils worse than
bankruptcy. The sins OF their fathers are
visited upon the children to the third gen
Grafton OF what use to society are the
the children of such people? Sons who
are educated to believe that all this splendor
constitutes the best Of life, and that fast
horses and champagne are emIlouatic Of
high life. Daughters brought up by silly,
ridiculous mother, who glories in her cur
tains and her carpets, her carriage and her
parties, and the fashionable training of her
children. Nice creatures, these, for life
battle in a world where energy, industry
and endurance are worth to them more than
all the airs, graces and style they learned
in the parental drawing-rooms or from for
eign masters. Out Of this struggle to ex-
eel in this sort of life there spring, too
fraud and chicancry, and all manner of
crime for in the contest, gold, gold is the
end and aim Of all, and the means of its
attainment are not regarded. The sensi-
bic part of the community laugh at this
folly, and laugh loudly, too, at coarse vul-
garity parading itself in gay equipages, and
moving about with all the airs and affecta-
ton of snobbish high life-pe9ple eleva-
ted above their fellows by stock operation
or a rise in lots, and rejoicing thereafter in
fashy dresses and in gaudy houses. If
they made fools Of themselves alone, it
would all be proper enough but the effect
upon their families and upon society is most
to be dreaded. In country where the
law divides among mans heirs all his es
tate after death, unless disposed of by will,
and where the chances are that the proper
ty will not remain in the family beyond the
second generation, it is an utter folly to
build palaces to live in; far better would
it be to expend the same money in building
schools or founding asylums, the benefit of
which the rich mans heirs may need. On,
on, goes our American life Helter, skel-
ter-hurly burly-on it goes Dash.
make sensation-get money-honestly, if
you can-but get mOney-educate your
children after the same fashion, and then die
and be forgotten.