The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-10-02
CUR NEW YORK LETTER.
THE YOUNG MAN ABOUT TowN-THE cos
METIC -T.-BCSINESS-THE
WEATHER
New YORK. Sept. 80, 1874.
THE YOUNG MAN ABOUT TOWN.

l had the curiosity, the other day, to
sit in one Of the clubs of this city part
Of Gay. to the end OF studying the
daily life Of the young man about
town" a class very numerous in this
city, where fortunes, colossal III their
proportions, were made by the last gen
Grafton for the present generation to
spend. Ii was curious study, and one,
trust. that carries with it a moral.
The young man about town is, OF
course, wealthy. His father made Il
large fortune in something. and sent the
young man 10 college. lie graduated
somehow, without learning anything,
and being too rich to follow any business,
gave his whole mind Gt wasn't much to
give to the spending of it
His day commences at noon, when lie
rises Before he gets his pantaloons on
he staggers to his side-board and swal-
lows brandy-cocktail TO give him a
little life, Tor the night before took out
of him all the vitality he had, and his
sleep has not been sound or refreshing.
Before he has himself encased in his ele-
CANT clothes, he has swallowed four or
five OF these invigorators, and has got
up enough friskiness in his stomach to
be able TO eat a breakfast, which he does
at his club.
He may play at being a broker. in
which case he goes to Wall street, and,
with a set of choice spirits of the same
kidney, he makes a few transactions. -
going out for cocktails before and after
each one. After business hours, he
drops in at DelmonicO's, and takes bite
of something, drinking the while every
fifteen minutes, and at about say six in
the evening he is ready for dinner. At
dinner he drinks ehablis, sherry, cham
pagne and Burgunda, winding up with
cognac.
This brings him to the serious business
of the day He may go to the opera
with his sister or the unfortunate Young
lady who is to be his wife, or he may
join stag party" and drop in at one
of the theatres for an hour Following
this he goes, if he is in virtuous frame
of mind, to ball or two, dancing a lit
tie at each, and drinking a great deal ::
or, if in vicious mood; there are balls
of the demimOnde. In default of these,
there is always a game of draw-poker at
the clubs, with stakes unlimited; or, if
his system demands fiercer excitement,
there are the faro-banks, where, with
the aid of wine and brandy, the young
man may lose as much money as he
chooses, and the proprietors generally
manage that he shall lose a great deal.
He keeps at this steadily till six o'clock
in the morning, when he goes home, not
drunk, but in n semi-intoxicated and
generally befuddied condition, and
drops into sleep which is not natural
an alcoholic sleep that comes from the
sheer inability of a not over-strong con-
stitUtion to bear any more stimulants
and cigars; for be it known, this gen
lie youth smokes the strongest of cigars
every minute of the time That he is not
in bed or in the presence OF decent wo-
men.
Tie young man about town" does
not confine himself to the three vices Of
alcohol, tobacco and gambling. Not he
There is not Il woman of doubtful char
acter in the city who is unknown to
him: aud he has always one, and gener-
ally more. mistresSes, who share his in
come with the faro banks, the liquor
and cigar dealers.
He dies at something less than forty.
as Il rule, though if he lives beyond that
age, 1t is to wish that he had died before;
for his death is not the ordinary dissolu-
ZION. 1t is a breakup. The system,
enfeebled by dissipation, kept alive by
stimulants, and drained by every known
excess, comes to a point where stimu
lants will no longer act, for the tissues
upon which they acted are gone. There
is not enough of the man left for rum 10
take hold of, and as rum has kept the
machine running for years, it is really
all there is of it. Then it breaks and
goes in a minute. There is no fuel for
the fire to take hold of, and it dies
Poor fellow. 4 lite that might have
blessed the world ended with not good
deed to leave behind-a career charac-
terized by nothing but lust and self
indulgence, and death mourned only
by the harpies who ministered to his
sins, their regret being that he did not
live long enough to squander upon them
his entire fortune.
There are forty thousand of these
young men in New York this day living
the life have only in part described.
THE COSMETIC ARTIST.
If the Young men of New York are
given TO one kind of dissipation, their
sisters are TO another. There are in the
city at least one hundred men and wo
men who have amassed, or are amassing,
large fortunes by beautifying women.
The cosmetic artist is generally lady
whose antecedents are unknown Where
she comes from no one knows, but she
always processes to come from that es-
pecial vanity-fair, Paris. She lives in a
quiet aud severely respectable neighbOr-
hood. and no sign advertises her calling,
for no lady would, for the world, be
seen visi ing a known beautifier. She
is admired by her customers, and if she
is skillful she has enough of them.
What does she do! Look at the com
pIexions on Broadway, and there find
your answer. a lady has good enough
features. but her complexion is bad.
She would be completely beautiful, so
she goes to Madame Y. Madame
seats her in a chair, dips soft brush
into Il vilIainously smelling liquid, and
paints the face, the neck and bust, and
presto, the sunburn, tan, freckles, or
whatever may be the trouble, have dis
appeared. and in lieu thereof, there is a
as clean, clear, soft and
beautiful as the most eXacting could
wash. This is enameling. The prepa-
ration is a mineral paint that simiiates
the clearest flesh, and it stays on several
DAYS without repairs. The victim once
has TO 90 regularly for repairs,
which gives Madame a mortgage ON her
purse. Unfortunately for the artist, the
mineral gets into the system, and the
victim dies in a few years of paralysis;
but as there is a new class of vain wo- |
men born every year, she never lacks |
customers.
The hair is another source of revenue |
to the beautifiers. Does the lady want |
10 convert her black tresses into theyel- /
low, now so popular. Nothing easier.
The hair Is pIastered with something 4
about as pleasant as lime. which must 4
be kept on night and day for a week or
20, which bleaches it TO the color re-
Iuired. the eyebrows being similarly 1
treated. that the effect may be har1noni-
Ous. True, this induces paralysis, but
where Is the woman who would not take
the chances of paralysis for the enhance
nent OF her beauty! Is the forehead
100 high! Madame slaves the hair on
he forehead an inch or two, and applies
l liquid, which she makes, and a iiue
.uZz grows. This is shaved again and
,gain until 1t gets thick, and long enough
% be arranged TO the taste of the wear
II.
Women are not the only patrons Of
Madame. Men write her from all parts
y the country for her preparations 10
make hair grow, and to change the color
If hair.
They drive a profitable trade, for
woman may 90 without sufficient under
lOthing, but she viii have the means OF
,eautilying herself Bridget, in the
zitchen, buys her ten cents worth OF