New-York tribune., 1878-02-14
PERN0NAL PTRLICITI.

PERSONAL PUBLICITY.
Verify, there is nothing hidden which shall not De
revealed. There are curtains to the WINDOWS OF
New-York, no roofs to the houses-the Devil on Two
Sticks is q familiar imp with us, and everybody Is
well acquainted with eyerybody's business IL Is
not only murder that will out, but all manner OF
domestic spats all sorts of family disagreements I;
all lars of home relations. Determination to DO
priyate comes too Iate-thc mischief is already
done. 1t is now said that the dispute be-
tween Mr.. Lord. the lately married, ana
his children, who were agsricyed by his nuptais
will be accommodated; but IL Is ohly
after columns and columns OF information ABOUT
the Lord aflars-hOw much the old man Is worth {;
how much he lent Mrs. Hicks; how much ne al
lowed his children to live upon; and which leg no
was lame Of with full reports of his cerebral cond
tion. bv his d0ctors-have been printed in the news
papers. People of ordinary good taste ana right
feeling will see at glance how infinitely better 1t
would have been to arrange all these dlSagreements
IN private family c0ncave; that is if selfrespect,
and domestic dignity, and personal pride, are OF
any value. If it has come to a compromise
at last. why could there not have been compro-
mise Mt first 1t may be safely asserted, that there
are prold people in this city who would sacrifice
millions of money rather than be gossiped ABOUT
and paragraphcd in the newspapers; but this re-
fined phase of human nature, 1t Is 10 DC lealeu' is
Incoming rather a rare one Perhaps it has always
heen So True gentlemen and gentewOmen may no.
where and never have been many enough to make
the world over dacorous or insupportably dull.
Unless it be breach-of-p promise case of fasclnat-
ing proportions we know of nothing which brings
out human nature in such plentiful proportions as
will case There has been one of this KIND on near
inu for some days in the Surrogate's Court, which
o,I la
with frightful freedom. One feels on reading the
report private letters and all, If it were hardly
consistent with common good manners TO go on
There is something repulsiye IN thus bein5 taken
INTO confidence though all the world shares It,
Mrs. Merrlls letters to her adopted son are
certainly extraordinary productions to print
though thousands of such letters have been
written if never before printed. They are the pro-
ductons of an irritable woman foolishly fond one
moment and needlessly angry the next Especially
is she angry with the young gentleman for writing
poetrv. Your lines In Memoriam.p she says. " |
threw IN the fire from yexatiOn IN wasting your time
thus. and your lines on a Summer Evening at New
Brighton' | did not keep for the same reason"
Again. there is the singular advice, . recommend
YOU TO remain at the Point and fatten little You
would be very happy married to refined, edu-
Gated, well brought up girl" Again. there are
such odd mixtures as this: " II i were with you L
should give you many kisses. Ny expenses here
are not 50 a week y or this: | have but you
TO love until you have son. Put some black pep
per over all the old clothes to keep the moths out"
After all this familiar affection came letters of DIFF
ferent sort "Sir, despise and scorn you. If you
knew what | feel. you would know that hate
and despise your hypocrisy and self-conceit." Yet
tbcrNare touches of remarkable good sense in some
Of these letters For example: "What can one think
of the American women meets here in Paris,
dancing with rou6s and Bowery boys. gathering III
gambling rooms. When you have an idea OF the
extravaganza of one of these women, you will
know the whole; they are like children, and VIII
have everything the Empress has" Again; 1t
il to he hoped that our new Minister viii come
ont here with strict injunctons not to get into
debt how dsgraceful for MS to hear OF United
States Minister being in debt, and being kept out
of prison only because of his office" There Is
clearly no sign of deficient intellect IN either of
these two extracts.
The advice of the clevercst of French dplomatists
was never to write letter and never to burn one"
II is evident. at any rate, that cannot be TOO
cautious especially if there is likely to be legal
souabblc about a succession for generally they
such excellent evidence, that the temptation of their
possessors to use them is hard to be resisted 1t
il eaually unpalatabe that either Our affection or
our anger should he used to crafty the curiosity or
to distract the ennui of society, which has reveren-
tia feeling for great estate over which heirs-at-
law and legatees are squabbling. Milionaires die,
but not their money. They go out of the world TAX
ing nothing but what they leave behind may per-
petuate the memory of their frailties as we'll
as of their business talents Filial affection
will stand great deal, but it will not
bear with equanimity an unpaatable bequest,
1t will come into court and swear that papa was
never in his right mind that mamma was entirely
under the influence Of Eliza Jane, and always hated
Charles Augustus; that the family table, If not the
family altar, frequently the scene of quarrels
deep and dire that the testator was drunkard or
lbertne, or the estatrix fonder of tabby cats than
of her own flesh aud blood. The witnesses tell all
the lawyers write it down. the newspapers print
il =: the public reads it. Alas more died than
or a woman-love If there ever was any; delicate
sense of dccency if any ever existed; pride, honor,
self-respect and all for whatf