The New York herald., 1864-11-26


the novelty that viii charm In other cities w'ii
80 from ours. and svery impule Of life that
shall stir the hlstrlonIs Or lyric world will
originate here
Oar 0ifss % P~Ssts mss-assa sna sii.
vsr Esspassss
ia EAstern countries. according 10 veracioas
travellers. when one nobleman wants 70 ruin
another. hs makes bin present Of . white
elephant TAis AHlms' "a sacred. snd has
prsdislous appetite. lilo cannot be killed hs
must NOT bs givea away again, aud be costs
large fort1ne 10 feed A retIaus Of servants
must be hired 10 wait upon him. and special
building has to be erected Coz hs aooommodA-
ton. Under thess circumstances the unhappy
rsciPisss Of this prineely gin soon dads that
bic friend, tho giver has been too much for
bim, aad hs either iesyss the world or the
country o. violates stiqaesss and prsseots the
mammoth aaisasss 10 some ether unfortunste.
In tAls country We have habit u forcing
white elephants In gold sud silver upon our
public men. Almost every one cf our generals
hss I've or three slsssst asd useless fancy
swords, valued ss . great deal Of uoney and
worth nothing 10 bin. Gen~rai Banks has
twenty thousand dollars worth of these besntl-
fui toys A few days ago the citizens Of Ror-
bury gave Captain winslow . service Of silver.
Twenty thousand dollars has been collected In
this city for similar testimonial % this gallant
sailor. Yesterday moraing We gave the par
ticulurs Of The presentation of silver plate 10
Commodore Rodgers Ericssss wss recently
h. II "a AL -
which cost ten thousand dollars. Cap
tain Williams, OF the Sound steamers,
Ia to be made miserable By model Of his YES
sci 10 gold and silver, now on exhibition on
Broadway. Such incidents arc happening
almost every day, and while they show the
wealth and the generosity Of our citizens, they
also show great want Of practical sense npsa
the part Of those who select the donstioos.
What is the use Of these white eiepssats In
silver and gold' What csn the reslpieats do
with thsmt So many knves ssd forks, 80 many
spoons aud so many iespots and codecpots are
all one can use In his family. aad the rest hare
to be put away in bsak vault where they are
never seen, since Il Il not safe 70 keep
| such yalusblcs In ths house. Captain Wins
low has just been robbed Of one silver service
by burglar aid this new set. from the good
people OK Roxbury, Ia only an invitation for
the burglars TO call again. Commodore
Rodgers is going to ses, aud his silver must 70
into tue bank. Ericsson dare net keep HE
gold mode. out OF bis safe, and CAptsia VIII
llams will find his 10Y boat harder to manage
than bis real vessel. In old times We used TO
give our merchant captains silver tranpcts
when theY made isst voyages; bat many
captains family has since been without
good meal with oil this waste silver
/! in the best room. Captain Ezra Eye, Of the
| old Liverpool packet line. had boat OF such
!. trinke,s. aad they were all burned 20 worthless
! dross at nrs In New Jersey. No doubt the
captain, who is quite = wealthy man, Vas very
| glad to get rid Of sll his white elephants so
! respectfully. The city OF Baltimore gave Gem
| medors Decatur . splendid ssrviee OF plate.
| The commodors's widow was reluctantly con-
PEELED to sell itsuch Is The gratitude OF 70.
| publios land, whom IT was bought IL Tor her
| by few friends, she was obliged 70 sell IL
! again, and we purchased II At an auction In this
city fer Commodore Barney, In whose family Il
| 10 still preserved. These instances, aud many
| more we might mention, prove that the money
I subscribed for auch donations is really mic
! spent
! In England they DO these th,sgs much more
| ss,sbly, aud we are beginning to follow their
| example Parliament presented the Duke OF
| Wellington With an estate valued 1T quarter
| Of . million sterling, and allowed him to select
it for himself The reform party In Eng-
land made Golden a present Of sixty
| thousand pounds invested Ia the funds
Several New Workers clubbsd together
aud gave General Mcclellan . hsnd-
| some house up town, which will always be q
| home for himself aud his children. General
| Grants wife has been presented with ten
thousand dollars worth OF government stocks
and gcts Der interest In gold. General
Meade was recently blessed with house in
+, philadelphia. where bis wife resides, Such
| gifts ~ these are not white elephants. They
make the recipients happy aud do not cost any
more than swords and tea SETS. Burglars can
not steal them easily, and II fires destroy them,
there is the insurance. Instead Of costing great
deal TO keep, they pay well for their own
/ keeping aad grow more valuable
| every year. A dandy once said that he
| did not wear mustache because he
could not afford to dress up to It; and upon
the same principle NEST people csnuo. affsrd
70 use services Of plate, which, like the white
elephant require plenty Of servants and costly
surroundings. Officers Of the army and navy
are not very rich, as class, and few Of them
are economical There would be comfort for
| them In the reflection that their msthcrs, wives