Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-16
TALK.

The Vanderbilt ball few nights ago
was pronounced by the giver of the enter
tainment ga regular snorter." This being
ahead of all outside comment may be re-
garded as authorized and authoritative.
When William Fl. speaks, tits usually
with Napoleonic brevity. It may not be
with the aphoristio finish and the chiseled
perfection Of intellectual conciseness char
scteristic of the Little CorporaPs sayings,
but the resemblance lies in the unmistaka-
bic staccato quality.
There is no glamour about the bent OF
Williams mind, nor will commentators be
divided as to the drift of his meaning.
He leaves e1ip hemism to I'M
profitable gentility without
otant candor- impoverished, indeed, since
it can scarcely call its mind its own, and
without the least hope, too, Of eyer pos
sessing it in the Vanderbiltian sense.
He overpowers this lacking majority with
surprise and even admiration that he can
urbend to the vernacular of the day, and
thst, albeit a millionaire several times
over, his language is yet so very poor. He
seems to think and jerk out his curt say
ings like low-down people, and his vocab-
ulary as q consequence isn't the least stuck
up. STow this may be q relief in disguise,
because if he were to key his talk to the
note of his millions few NOR
tails could stand it, like Holmes
funny man who didn't dare let himself
out to the full capacity of his fun lest peo-
pie should die of laughing.
The fellow citizens and contemporaries
of William Fl. have cause to be grateful,
because when he speaks we all know what
he means. This is his forte, and like in
heriting his money, is largely his inheri-
lance too.
When he tells US his bsIl was "a regular
snorter," We are all much more enlight-
| ened and impressed than if he gave out
| something like that MENU which made the
Willard banquet at the Hotel Lafayette re-
| lnarkabls, and which has borne heavily on
| the minds and purses of some guests ever
| since. Their stomachs, however, were scot
free since the digestive facilities were
wholly untaxed.
Suppose, then, William II. had given
us description of his feast based
upon the same scheme of elegant
emptiness, and refined deception would
we have been half as sure of the whole
business as We !are now when we know
that it was "a regular snorter?"
There is hope of the country yet wher
the foremost man of all our moneyet
world can condescend to describe his 500,
900 ball in such lowly terms.
But the hopeless and doubling sort O
persons maght remark that if the enter
tainment itself were projected and con
Quoted in a purely American spirit an
manner the prospect for native supremac.
might be trifie more encouraging.
And yet it may come, altho' when, t.
quote Gen. Sherman on the tariff in hi
queer letter to John Swinton, "Dios sabe.
Now there is funny instance Of thi
foreign 52rt of remark which makes u
prize our William Fl. more than ever.
Fancy his levying on the Spanish to sa
"God kuows''-or ''the public be id
when he's sure that not one half his coun
trymen can say "Don Key hoty" and as 70
; the rest no one but milIionairies can eve
| afford TO say the other in any tongue.
Come what may, tae balls, routs and re
ceptions of our foremost Moneyed Ma
ought to be managed on the grgndes
foreign scale because Of his exceptions
wealth, and humble origin, that therei
our republican pride may be gratifed b
having him cope with foreign titled ariste
Gratis, wealthy and noble since the food.
The sole exaotion of him Individual
should be in advance that he should d.
scribe the gala occasion as g
} regular shorter" If only to anu
the sterotyped Jenkinses who ar
tethered to their rechercheS and distingue
and naagaifgues, and to make their de
scriptions ever after suggest some insipi
lemonade sort Of affair, while 'snorter
will be the regulation word conJuring Wis
ions of marble halls, seasons of flower;
bands, banquet, Worth dresses, and tn
couglomerate pomp of the world. It wi
rsyoluntionize the whole wonted fol-de-rc
descriptive of grand festal scenes.
When the first shock to our feelings
spent by repetition OF it's somewhat rUd
sound, we shall thank thee, Vanderbilt, fo
teaching Us that word.
The unhappy chamberlain Of Marie Ar
toinette exclaimed on seeing the unpo7
dered head Of Mlrabeau presented for
royal audience, "Madame tout est perdu.
Bat you remember those wer
Itroublous times, and the limo
walton was disturbing because twas sig
niicant Of lapse from court traditions
and of general revolutionary encroaoh
ment. Here. however, is our Moneye
Man giving an example Of that beautif1
| equality which makes the average Ameri
can world kin. and once in while touche
a world beyond its kan. For wasn't it b
this lovely attribute of our race that Tor
, Ochiltree captured tbs Prince of Vale
when he said: "Wales, ny dear boy, let
| take drinkn' And Wales did, to sho,
his appreciation of the republican sin
plieity of the Texan Munchausen. tn
GLOBE is disposed to chide William H. b,
cause he spent 100000 on "a regular jan
borse" and leaves the BarthoIdi statue t