The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-14
THE vrCIssIruDKs OF FORTUNE.


AN EARL DYING IL MISERY.
The heir to the Irish Earldom Of Wicklow died
lately in Dublin in state of miserable dCstitu-
tion. The London Rcriei0 gives the following
account OF hls prospects and closing hours
at, in his last moments, the untOrtuna.e man
who died last week In q bruthel in one of the
lowest slums in the neighborhoOd of Dubln
could have cOntrasted his deathbed and It's sur
rouudings with his social state, his opportunities
and expectations, he might have cursed the hour
which brought him into the world with the GER
tauty Of most Of these advantages, and with the
strong possibility Of ENJOYING of them. II one
could designate before ones birth in what posi-
ton in life he would be born, II would not
show a deficiency of Judgment to resolve on
coming into the world as did the late Will
liam George Howard Many years before his
dealh he was presumptiye heir to the earldOm of
wicklow and though, II man had the right TO
select TO which out OF a dozen cardoms he would
like to succeed II would not be difficult to choose
more attractive one than thGt OF wicklow, 10
must be admitted Captain HOward's prospect of
sue essiOn was not to be looked down upon. He
was, to say the least, nOOy born. If the revenues
which ne had the strong probability of inAering
were not immense they were sufficient to enable
him TO raise very large sums Of money from the
Jews. When, some years ago, he came before
the lnsOlvent Court, his debts were stated at
little il any thing, less than one hundred thou
pounds. And this enormous sum had been
raised upon post-obit bonds. Yet in thc history
of this man we tiud not single trace of any
feeling that he owed to himself or to others the
duty of living decently for a single day. His
associates were the lowest OF the low the vilest
of the vie. In the pcersge he ranked as heir to
an earldOm. In society the most abandoned and
despicable knew him, and saluted him as Billy
And when last week ho bade farewell to the
world he had scandalized, the historian OF his
last hours was an unfortunate, in whose arms
he expired.
ain such miserable companonship did the heir
to the earldom of Wicklow breathe his last--iu
the prime of manhood, with hostages given to
in a wi ythp hoI hpruo ,hi
and was abOutto bear him another. Itwould ap-
pear that as if led by the instincts which had de-
based him from his early youth, nc had left the
roof which sheltered wife and child, to close his
days in a manner more BETTING his sntecedents
than their society. He had known the woman in
whose house he died for eleven months, and on
the Tuesday week before his death he took up his
quarters with her. 1t Is dreary narrative that
we now learn from her lips. He told her he had
been ill., He complained of cramps and diarrhpa,
but would neither see a medical man nor take
medicine. He would take whisky and day after
day he lay in bed drinking whisky-sometlmes
quart a day and when he found that whisky did
him no good, drinking brandy. During the
ten days preceding his death he appears only to
have eaten one egg and one chop, butnot to have
retained either on his stomach. Day after day
his cry was the Same-'whisky.' And so drifting
out to sea the wretched man spent his last hours
till on Wednesday week he became delirious,
craving to his last breath for drink. He conti-
nued wandering and delirious,' says the unfor-
luuhlC VINO uLlCuutu ullllJ up 10 luC LlUG OF MS
death. 1t was at l0I o'clock, and he had been
asking me to lift him out OF bed all day. 1 had
promised to raise him up, and when l caught his
hand to raise him he said, Don't catch me-"
then put my hand behind his back, but he said
let him lie down, and he fell back. l then heard
something in his throat, but l did not think he
was dying. He died then, but did not know he
was dead. l asked him to speak TO me, but he
did not, for he was dead.
$50 passed the scion of noble house. Had he
been born the son of one of its aborers, he might
have had a better chance for the life of soul and
body than fell TO him the heir to its honors and
revenues. Malicious he was not, nor an intriguer
nor brutal, nor daring in iniquiy, nor strongly
wicked He was weak. Empty of brain, soft OF
disposition, easily manipulated by the vicious,
and in his teebleness the most notably vicious of
them all. Poverty might have compelled him to
Thelmed him. He possessed the means to dis
tinguish or debase himself And Of the two am
bitiOns he chose the latter"