The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-12-09
FAST LIFE IN FIFTH AyEsUl


Huo Vi luxury ID SeuerdIly Ilttle ulOl
than deceptive show. II you live
this fashionable spot you must pa
SO, 900 for a house, tperhaps 500, 200
or you must give an equivalent rem
Think of $1,000 rent to begin WITH
You cannot furnish the house at n les
expense than $4,000, and, il picture
and statuary he introduced, yOu ma
treble that figure. To this is 10 be .ad
ded your carriage and span of matche
horses, worth 5000 at least. The
look over your payroll of servants
Here IS the cOachman, who, with hi
family, lives in a finished room owe
your stable. He must have SS0O a year
and will have ii, even if lie be oblige'
to rob the Oat-bin in order to meet de
ficiency. Next is tile footman, who
| on public drives, is perclled OH the rea
of the carriage, and wears the sam
uniform as the driver. He must Law
$50 month and board, Add to les
the cook at SIC per month, chamber
maid at Sl0 and nurse for the children
must not be neglected. at ST. pc
month. The hOusekeeper caps the list
| for fashionable lady would as sOOl
take care of her children, or do any
other unbecoming work, as attend Il
housekeeping duties, and no house
keeper can be got for less than $50 pei
month. l Ihave only put down hal
dozen servants, which is O moderate
number; but, when we consider thai
each of these may be a thief, it is a.
many as you need; and if you can meet
the expenses and peculatiOn which
your establishment involves, you must
have al income of Sd, 900 at least.
HOW 10 KEEP UP AN INCOME.
Notwithstanding the immense finarl.
cial resources of this city, it is admitted
that to keep up q regular income is a
matter of no little difficulty. Business
here is subject to o3ncesSxs,t yicissitude.
Our social and commercial strata are
volcanic, and sudden eonvulsions are
constantly occurring. "A man must bc
indeed fortunate who can hold his own
year after year. A collapse like that
of the Pacific Mail Company strikes out
the support of many a princely house.
Men here often become suddenly insOl-
vent-but the disbursements continue.
The pressure of these Fifth avenue fa-
miles often becomes fearful. The cred
it system prevails here extensively, and
as consequence there is an incessant
"duI ningn carried on. The profess
sional collector is OH his rounds, and
knows how to infiict his presence at
the most annoying hours of the day.
Then comes the appeal of the money
lender, whose loans require a chattel-
mortgage. The struggle TO maintain
appearances may be prolonged, but at
last comes he grand finale-an eXpIo-
sion, amid which the unlucky family
sinks out of sight of its former friends,
and at last finds bottom in some lower
stratum. To these exigenccs are TO DO
ascribed the frequent defalcations. in
banks, insurance companies and SINH
lar institutions.
GRADES OF HANK.
il will be found that after social am
bitiOn has been gratified by reaching
the distinction of Fifth avenue estab-
lishment, there is still vast Unrest
High life has its peculiar grades, and
the Fifth avenue is anything but Il lev
ell. The man who hires a house there
is not on par with one who owns his
and he, hy the same rule, is
not equal with one who is admitted To-
be of higher wealth. There is Il perpet-
ual criticism and u looking down on
ones neighbors because they are poor
er, or looking up TO them because
they are richer, and there is also per-
petual effort to reach the highest rank,
at least in social if not financial
way. Hence it is not TO be imagined
that social and domestic life here is like
love in q cottage, or like the happy val
ley of Rassclas.
a LOOK INSIDE.
1t may be inquired whether there be
much of what is called domestic life in
the Fifth. There are some exceptions
to be found in the Old-fashioned class
of such people as James Brown, Robert
l.. Stuart, and few families who are
not only possessed of great wealth, but
also of what is of more value, good
principles. Domestic happiness cannot
cO-eXist with that artificial life which
prevails here, and which is productive
of so much misery. Indeed, the splsp-
did misery, as it is sometimes called, OK
this famous street, would, if written,
fill a volume.
MARRlAGE y LA MODE.
The modern style of marriages is as
fruitful O source of this splendid misery
as can be imagined. The artist HO-
garth made great hit by illustrating
the marriage ala mode of his day, and
We're he now alive he might find an
equally rich subject in the high life of
New York. | knew an instance of
splendid marriage in which. among
other items of display, half dozen
groOmsmen and bridesmaids were put
In service. The welded pair sailed for
Europe, and while enjoying the luxu-
ry of its gayest capital the husband de-
tected his wife corresponding with her
music teacher, fine looking German,
by whom she had been captiyated. He
notified the parents to
send for their daughter, whom he at
once abandoned. Within six months
from her wedding the bride was back
in her fathers house. That trifiing in
gredient in matrimOny called love is
overlooked when the qualification of
social ambition is at hand, but the bride
will yet find the true master of her
heart, and as i'm Hogarth'5 famous Sc
ries to which | have referred, al in
trigue will be the result. In the mean
time, while she shares tie grandeur of
a splendid establishment, she feels that
bitterness of disapp )intment which
gives life to n iidis0t.
Among the more noted Of these mar
riages q t0 mode is that of n public
man of considerable notOriety, who was
at that time widOwer of fifty, with a
bad reputation both in social and politi7
cal matters. However, he was reputed
TO lie rich, and wealth, like charity,
covers multitude of sins. He offered
to young lady who had reach
cd the ripe age OF sixteen, and hence
might be expected to know her price.
This was Il house in the Fifth avenue
TO bc conveyed before the performance
of that ceremony which was to unite
llrc afiectionate couple. The deed was
executed, but it is more than whisper
ell that just one day previous the prem
ises were mortgaged> for So5,O0U. The
bride, under these circumstances, might
draw consolation from the fact that her
and honOred husband shaved
that came in contact with
him, and hence such a piece of sharp
practice might reasonably be expected.
: / presume that the youpg lady refer
red to took pattern by another marriage
u Ia mode, which occurred several
years previously, and excited a great
deal of remark. This took place be-
tween distinguished financier and
daughter OF an eminent naval officer.
Ii is said that in this instance the COLI
sideration was not only a deed OF "a
Fifth avenue mansion but SlUU,UO0 in
stocks. This match, AS have
said, excited great notice and even cen-
sure, owing to tue husbands antece-
dents. rssg1s