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

The Vanderbilt bali 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. 1t may not be
with the aphoristio finish and the chiseled
perfection of intellectual conciseness char
acteristic Of the Little Corporafs sayings,
but the resemblance lies in the unmistaka-
bic stGccato quality.
There is no glamour about the bent of
Williams mind, nor will Commentators be
diyiaea as to the drift OF his meaning.
lie leaves euphemism to I'M
profitable gentility without
stocks and bonds TO brace it to his omnip-
otent 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
unbend to the vernacular Of the day, and
that, 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 a consequence isn't the least stuck
up. Now this may be relief in disguise,
because if he were 80 key his talk to the
note OF his millions few NOR
tails could stand it, like Holmes
fanny man who didn't dare let himself
out to tine full capacity Of his fun lest peo-
pie should die of laughing.
The fellow citizens and contemporaries
of William e. have cause to be grateful,
because when hs speaks we all know what
ne means. This is his forte, and like in
heriting his money, is largely his inheri-
lance too.
When he tells us his ball was 'a regular
| snortsr,' We are all much more enlighs-
sned and impressed than If he gave out
| something like that MENU which made the
Willard banqset at the Hotel Lafayette re-
markabls, 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 Fl. had given
Us description of his feast based
upon the same scheme Of elegan!
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 SO regular snorter?"
There is hope of the country yet wher
the foremost man of all our moneyec
world can condescend to describe his 500.
600 ball in such lowly terms.
But the hopeless and doubling sort o
persons might remark that if the enter
tainment itself were projected and con
Quoted in 2 purely American spirit ant
manner the prospect for native supremRc.
might be trihe more encouraging.
And yet it may come, altho' when, Il
quote Gen. Sherman on the tariff in hi
queer letter 10 John Swinton, ''Dios sabe.'
Now there is funny instance OF thi
foreign sprt OF remark which makes u
| prize our William H. moro than ever.
Fancy his levying On the Spanish to sa.
"God knows"--or ''the public be id
when he's sure that not one half MS coun
trymen can say don Ksyhoty" and as TO
the rest no ono but millionairies can eve
afford to say the othsr in any tongue.
Come what may, the balls, roUts and re
ceptions OF our foremost Noneyed MAJ
ought to be managed On tho grandes
foreign scale because of his exceptions
wealth, and humble origin, that thereil
our republican pride may be grati6ed b.
having him cope with foreign titled aristo
Gratis, wealthy and noble since the food.
The sole exactlon of him individual
should be IN advance that he should dc
scribe the gala occasion as s'
, regular shorter" if only to snu1
the sterotyped Jenkinses who ar
tethered to their recherches and distingues
and magnifgues, and to make their de
scriptions ever after suggest some insipi
lemonade sort of affair, while "snorter
will be the regulation word con1uring Wis
ions of marble halls, seasons of flowers
bands, banquet, Worth dresses, and tn
conglomerate pomp of the world. It vii
revoluntionize the whole wonted fol-de-ro
descriptive of grand festal scenes.
When the first shock to our feelings
spent by repetition of its somewhat rud
sound, we shall thank thee, Vanderbilt, 70
teaching US that word.
The unhappy chamberlain of Marie Al
toinette exclaimed On seeing she unpow
dered head of Mlrabeau presented for
royal audience, "Madame tout est perdu.
But you remember those wer
Itroublous times, and the limo
walton was disturbing because twas sig
ni6oant of g lapse from court traditions
and of general revolutionary encroach
ment. Here, however, is our Aoneye
Han giving On example Of that beautifr
equality which makes the average Ameri
can world kin, and once in g while touche
world beyond its ken. For wasp't it b
, this lovely attribute of our race that To1
} Ochiltrse captured the Prince of VALE
when ne said: "Walss, my dear boy, let
/ take drinkv And Wales did, to sho
} his appreciation of the republican sin
. plicity of the Texan Munchausen. Tt
I GLOBE is disposed to chide William q. b
J cause he spent 100000 on 'a regular jan
u