Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1872-03-30
The Romance Of Erie.

The Romance Of Erie.
Seventy days ago, VIII t is known
as tie Eric ring, was in the pride
and pleu,ltudc of full.bloom power
Its chiefs, Jay Gould and James
Fisk, Jr., ranked among the fore.
most men of Now York, and in The
extent and variety of their infu
cncc were surpassed by none. The
former welded the forces of II ,yrea,
corporation, reigning an unques
toned autocrat over its money and
its patronage; tho lattcr--in spite
of his glazing sins the better man oil
the two-sat in his splendid parlors
at the opera-houso, cncompassed by
all the pomp and pageantry of Of
fetal station, an anointed high
priest of MammoG, whose fiat none
could dispute, whose favor thou
sands sought to gain. His horses,
his carriages, his steamers, his sol
diers, his mistrcsscs, his clothes and
his cash, were the envy of millions
throughout tho land, who bcheld
in him the Embodiment aud bright
consummato flower Of The worlds
favorite provcrb-"Not!.ng sue,
"ceds like success" Few who saw
Gould .'utching a grand railway in
MS relentless grasp, brfbing legisla-
lures and judges, buying the keen,
est 'cga!Sintcllccts to do his work,
defeating hostile combinations, over
riding the claims Of justice and
honor, and ruling his myrmiaons
as though he were born in the pur-
pie and had a crown for heritage
cared to inquire who and what
this man was, or upon what meat
the bastard Caesar fed that he had
grown 80 great. Few who saw Fisk
whiring through tho avenues Of
Central pork in an cquipage fit for
IL prince of the blood royal, with a
bcvy of Patisian beauties by his side
and sa,ut ID by the silent homage
of II CARING crowd; or Longing
alor { the beach at Long Branch,
att cnled by his nymphs du tcatre,
tie observed Of all observers or
marching at the head of his rcgi,
rlont to offer the Russian grand
duke tho congratulations of re-
preventative Amcr;can-carcd to
inquire how this brilliant charlatan
had vaultcd from a pcdlers cart to
the throne ofcapital, or what means
had been u cd to achieve such su-
porb surroundings, such 1azzling
triumph. Enough that there men
were what they wcre-why exam
inc the latdcr by which they
climed?
Three short months have not yet
gone, and Fisk sleeps in his bloody
shroud beneath the cold sod of New
England hills /; and &, uld, stripped
of his prestige and his rank, has
fallen from his high estate to regain
it no moro. The story Of the one
is almost forgotten tho career CT
the other, now q nine days wonder,
will soon sink into the same ob.
livion.
Yet quickly as remarkable events
arc pushed aside in the hurry and
rush of our fcverish, Unnatural life,
we arc glad to believe that the his
tory of Gould and Fisk will sorve a
more enduring purpose than the
adornmont of an idle tale, the point
ing Of a thread bare motto. Tho
dullcst fool who reads the glittering
romance of Erie, cannot avoid the
sharp, pregnant les; OF it conveys,
There is ;omothing in this world,
after all, hotter than dollars, better
than station, better than power. 1t
is better to
"Benr, sans blight or ban
The noble name of gentleman
than wear the tinscl trickerics Of
ill-gottcn wealth, live in sumptuous
mansions with trained servants ut
beck and call, snuff the incense of
obsequicus fattery, and hcay the
loud acclaim of the vulgar mob.
There are some things, thank God,
which money, though it flow from
the Golfers of Crnsus, cInnot buy:
honor, honesty, culture; the con-
cioi sness of duty done; tho happi-
ness which springs from the faith
full discharge of every trust; the
dignity of unsullicd manhood; the
pride which comes from q faultless
record the nobility which belongs
alono to virtue--these cannot be
purchased in the market they have
a valuo beyond the reach of bank
checks, and are not quoted in
Change bulletins. What father,
though he may DO struggling TO the
very lips in the sea of poverty,
would take the money which Fisk
left, on condition that his children
should inherit Fisk's reputation
What business man, though he be
ST. aimed every nerve to meet the
demands of his creditors, would ac-
cept relief from present and pros
pective embarrassment, on condition
that he should carry the odium
which Gould is likely to boar
through life2
The two kings Of Eric, one dead
and the other dethroned, preach a
sermon from hich saint and sinner
may alike derive proft-and no
country and no generation need
such sermon moro than our own
Missouri Republican.
A schoolmistress was trying TO
teach class Of four and FIVE year
alds tho names of the DAYS of the