The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-08-16
HIGH LIFE IN NEW YORK.
TIE FOLLIES IND EITRIVAGANCE
OF "THE BEST SOCIETF."

, THE FOLLLES IND EYTRIVAG4NCE
OF "THE BEST SOCIETY,""
One Hundred and Sixty Millions a Year
Spent by our Shoddy NObnity-How
the Money Goes.
A New York letter gives the following tull
and interesting sketch-no. whit overdraWn-
of the wild and reckless extravaganza that
rules the hour in 'sthe upper circles" OF
Gotham:
ABOVE SOCIETY.
New York is not so much place OF high
life as of high living. The people who move
In the highest circles are not the people VINO
live high. The great families whose ancient
name has given them semi-noble station In
society, the Astors, Livingstons, de-, live well,
of course, but Quletly-somewhat like a.Well-
regulated family In Europe. They have been
accustomed to wealth and its luXurieS all their
lives; what should they care to show OF before
the world, Mrs. A. T. Stewart, when she
goes to Saratoga, dresses very plainly. She
can afford to do so; society will fawn round
her nevertheless. We're; she less rich, she
would have to dress more, just as William 3.
-Astor would have to live In grander style
were his wealth not 80 fabulous. As soon as
;5ou have reached here point where you
are above society. you are absolVed from Its
commands.
on socIET7's LEVEL.
Nest of the people in New York who live
to do what Mrs. Stewart and Mr. Astor do
They have to drink champagne to excess, give
large parties, live on Fifth avenue, and spend
a fortune year. The lot Is not very un-
pleasant one, and they take to this mode OF
life very well. They can live high WITH as
oh .kooo n EDOl0nn
and with good deal more ostentation.
Americans are born arstocratlc In spite Of
the constitution and the declaration that all
!, men are equal. The tastes for the grand,
.sumptuous, magnificent aye innate with us;
every boy, they say, Is a candidate for the
Presidency. We know better. Every boy
wants to make money as fast as he can. Mo-
ney can buy the best Of everything the earth
affords, and Americans all want the best.
They want the most sumptuous apartments,
the biggest bills Of fare In their hotels, the
-costliest clothes, the fastest horees In the
world, aud they get them. 1t Is ridiculous to
hear people who have never been In Europe
talk about the
THE sPLENDoRs OF THE NOBILITY.
They talk as If there was the splendor, and
here the Republican plainness, while the re-
verse is the case. The nobility of Europe live
much more plainly than for instance our
wealthy New Yorkers. An English dinner
winds up with bread and cheese; an American
with rich pie. The Emperor and Empress: OF
France have In all their apartments of the
Tuileries but one bathroom; an American has
one attached TO every room. HOW plainly
were those Imperial apartments furnished
In the times Of the Commune a New York
gentleman-lke many other Americans
went through them, wondering at their plain.
iDess, and comparing them with his own home
on Fifth avenue, where there are apartments
much more magniacently furnished Shan the
drawing-rooms of Queen Victoria and Empe-
ror william. Americans want the biggest bills
.sof fare, and no hotelkeeper has 80 large one
.as our best houses In New York. They yswantto
dress better than any other people in the world
which they do-and they want to have the
fastest horses and the quickest yachts, and as
they have to pay for all these things they
dukes spend more money. In the Brevoort
House, where the Lords OF London and New
York can be seen together, all the walters say
that the lare Of Prince Arthur and the English
nobility In generals much more plain than
that Of the American guest. They are palmer
people, and much easier to please, they say,
than4the New York nobility, who, 1t Is admit
ted at the same time, spend also more money
than the bloods from England. These Engllsh
noblemen we see here are not Of SO delicate
cast as our Americans. They don't live 80
much on cake, and don't depend 80 much on
their carriages. Prince Arthur used TO walk,
when he was here, every morning from pre- pre-
Yorker would ever do that! MOI one IN
thousand.
THE AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT
here in luxury is fabulous. Every one seems
to be vieing with the other in extravaganza.
Every one wants to have the biggest house,
the best dressed girls In society, the fastest
span of horses, the grandest establishment.
l$ kkna. 1trafh 40 yr1nf ~
than 10000 families In this city who keep up
an establishment in fashionable style, and
spend at least SIC, 900 q year. Ten thousand
familIes-a hundred millions year! The
figures will seem impossible, but here is
proof. The number on Fifth avenue ex.
ceed 750. Those on Madison avenue exceed
$40. There arei between Fourteenth and
Fifty.ninth streets alone, forty-h side streets
that will fairly average l60 houses between
Sixth avenue and Fourth avenue, the bounda-
cyof fashion. These alone would give 1000,
and, with Filth and Madison avenues, over
5000. And now. we have to include Lexington
avenue, Park avenue; the streets be-
ionable localities scattered over the city
and the number of fOur.story brown-stone
front houses will easily reach thirteen
thousand, which would leave our calcu-
lation far too low. Some Of the men
who keep up these establishments are poor.
There Is many poor teloW on salaIy Vi per
..haps $4,000 q year-for q man with $4,000 year
Is poor in New .York-who lives In nice
brown, stone front house on fashionable side
street. He has to keep at the very least four
servants; o cook, 8 scallery-maid, who helps
her, and may do at the same time the laundry
work; an upstairs girl, and--if he has children
{poor people mostly do have children)-a
nurse. he pays $4,000 rentfor the house, and,
after he hes paid his servants, has nothing LETT
20 live on, Nevertheless, 1t costs him $40 600
to live. How can he do 1t? He does do 1t,
no matter.ifhe can or not. People live reck-
lessly in New York, and In the vain struggle OF
emulation they go far beyond their means.
They starEe themselves, as some Italian
mobiles do,:to keepup grand state before the
world. Your readers will scarcely believe 1t,
J. that here 10 many family ths food Is seenty
because of the carriage being elegant; that
many lady on Fifth avenue has nothing 20
= wear at home because she gives parties In
which she! likes to be gorgeousiy dressed.
FASHIONABLE HOTELS.
There are ten hotels here, kept on the Eu-
ropean plan, in each of which some one hun
-dred persons board. These families pay for q
suite of rooms, consisting of parlor and bed.
soom. from SIS TO $50 day. Let the reader
we'll fix his eyes at the fgure-sl5 to $50 day
for two or three rooms This price is paid, no
matter whether the guest stays week or TWO
wears. In the Grand Hotel there are few
suites whict are higher-sS00 week. But
the average Is not 80 high. You can get two