New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-11-15


his property divided lie may have lived, so
far as the world knows, blessed with fortune,
friends, and loving children. hOnorcd by his
associates, cnyi.d by all his acquiiutances; he
may have died surrounded 10y ai1estionatc rel
tlvcs; he may have been buried from fash
ionablc church 10y a Supcrline undertaken and
followed to q frst-class grave ~ AN expensive
cemetery by five cauia Ec-iOads of " floral trib-
utes," to say nothing OF tbc wealthy aud emf
nent mourers. ScmLaIics and asylums re-
membcrcd in his last testament may celebrate
his generosity; and a s.aincd-sia-s window
just over the family pew may remind the con-
pegation Of his virtues a, Il man OF business,
and his hhcTality IN leaving behind what he
could not carry with him. so his name passes
into the newspapers as that OF great mer-
chant prince; for few weeks his career is
held up to the imitation of the young; the
world gazes with admiration and awe upon the
glitcring mass of his savings, and amuses
itself IN estimating the value of 1t, while
poor people have half mind to raise their
hats at Gle name which be has made iliu,tr-
Gus. His memory is halowed by the fearal
and mysterious change which has fallen upon
him. His faults are forgotten in the mood o!
solcmnity and tcndrraess which his relative.
put on with the Grape; AMI his figure, that
perhaps was harsh and ugly enough in life,
looks much more noble and refined when it is
seen across the grave, through the golden haze
of hundred millions Of money.
But the critical time comes when the heirs
and legatces sit around the strong boxes and
proceed 10 divide the treasure. Then, as Com
mod0re Vanderbilt said ." there is hell to pay"
For sooner or later, hell always must be paid
If man is foolish enough to die in its debt.
The tricks and jcalouscs and mean little STRAIT
agems of the fortune-hunters the suspicious
and unnatural hatrcds Of one who is 50 mis-
cradle as to be old and sick and rich the
quaircls of brother and sister; lies, hypocrisy,
tale-tellng, sellishncSs, cruelty, mcrcenary at
tentions, rancOr, uncharitablcness, teachery,
all the hundred sins and deformties which
spring from the curse Of gold, are brought to
light as soon as the contest begins. No matter
how carefully the testator may have tried to
keep these hideous things from the public eye.
No matter how aufuly he may have drawn
his will, how shrewdly he may have taken his
precautions against attempts 10 break it. The
law allows him TO do what he will with his
own, and if he leave no more than moderate
fortune the law Will be respected. But no law
can guard against attack on the testamentary
disposal of hundred millions. The prize is
too great. The disappointment of the excluded
is too bitter. The domestic roof is lifted Off and
we are invited to come and look at the unlovely
interior of this envicd household Struggling,
clamorirg, fighting, accusing we see brothers
and sisters preparing for their posterty the
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nothing except to disgrace their parents.
There is no possible issue to such contest
except in misery and discredt. No wealth can
ever compensate for the STAN of such a scan
dial and the long train of sorrow reaching
from generation to generation, which must
follow such an unnatural dispute. The blight
falls alike on the lives of the living and the
memory and ambitions OF the dead Ii was
the aim Of the old CommOdorc'5 later years to
found "a family" and pcrpctuate a name,
but the very means which he took to accom-
plish this design has blown his family into
fragments and put Il blot upon the name
which rivers of gold would no. wash ont
And as for the heirs who are responsible for
these disclosures. they will undoubtedly be re-
minded some day that the curse has not been
removed from the chill Iren who uncovered the
nakcducss Of their father.
There are some reasons why contests of this
kind might be more conveniently and dcccuUy
conducted in private, and yet upon the whole
we are inclined 10 think that the publicity of
an open trial is a good service to morality. In
an age when the passion for getting rich il
almost universal, it is well TO show how little
there is that money can buy, and how often
the cankering touch of gold destroys every
thing that makes life worth having. In Il
country where an exaggerated and debasing
respect is paid to wealth, it Is not amiss to let