The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1884-10-31
NO.. 46.

man. Lady Manners notwith-
standing, we are not great belly gods.
Here and there may linger an Apicus,
but he is not liable to poison himself,
seeing that the verdict of the ccroner's s
jury would be 'Suicide while tempsra-
rily insane," and not, as with the an
cient epicure, "Died of grief at having
only 100000 sesterces to live upon. :"
Heliogabalus and Lucious Aelius Verus
may have their 10th century represen-
tatives, who wreck fortune in feast.
There may even be persons who crave
dishes of peacocks' brain, and who, if
they could would discover in the exam
pie of Cleopatra or Clodius an excuse
for putting before their guests pearls
dissolved in vinegar and in wine. But
it is not of luxury on this scale that
purists commonly complain. Their war
is directed against indulgences which,
though great in the aggregate, are per-
sonally small. Thus it happens that,
in their desire to save something from
the general wreck, you find yourself
unexpectedly and roughly pulled up on
pet vice. Unfortunately you may not
always have at hand SO crushing an
answer as that lately given by an Amer
lean How much do You spend day
in cigarsp" asked note-receiver.
"Haf a dollar" was the reply. ''And
you have smoked how many yearsp"
"Oh, 20 or thereabout." "Ah, my
friend, had you never smoked, what
fine house you might have had in Fifth
avenue here" "You never smoked"
rejoined the other quietly. mo, never"
cried the brainless one. Then please
point out your house."
Many attempts have been made to
guage opinion upon luxuries, such, for
instance, as tobacco and wine. Every
one of these efforts has strengthened
the axiom that practice is often preju-
dice writ small. Mr.. Gladstone ''de-
tests" smoking, though he finds wine
necessary at the time of greatest intel
lectual exertion. DIR. Freeman tried to
smoke once when young, and, having
q strong memory, has not repeated the
experiment. NJ Jules Simon's love of
female society keeps him from the
male-loving pipe, while Mr.. Ruskin alb
hors smoking because he objects to have
the world made into huge spittoon.
But. however interesting in itself, the
personal opinion of eminent men on q
matter of tis kind is valueless as an.
expression hof the general feeling
Their aims and conditions of life differ
from those of the masses. Hence their
luxuries-and they have lururies-are
just as the late Alfred
Mouchet's tastes were unlike those of
the apostle of estheticism. Alfred
Mouchet, by the way, was celebrated
in Paris as rhomme au seau, or the
bucket man. The achievement that
won him fame was a victory in 1876
over man named Dietrich, who sur
rendered only after having eaten eight
pounds of mutton, eight pounds of
and an enormous quantity of
bread. Of greater practical interest
than this partiguage were calcula-
ions made in 1876 as to the average
amount spent in luxuries by the var
GUS classes of fsociety. Eighteen pounds
/ year was put down for luxuries in
zach laboring mans family. Half was
conceded for comfort, leaving f9 null
iplied by 100000 families, or f45,-
100, 900 ''wasted" by laborers. Six mil
ion middle-class families were credited
With the disposal of f30,000,0O0 in the
anne way. Against 100000 upper
lass society stood the sum f370,0OO.
statistics, where there are no author
zed returns, must always be, more or
ess, mere guess work. How these fig
res were obtained it is impossible to
ay. Like the German camel, they may
ave been evolved out of the inner con-
ciousness. Ii this is the case, it must
ave been consciousness open to one
,rm only of laboring and middle
lass luxury, for it is clear on the face
these figures that drink and tobacco
re considered almost the sole luxu-
es. That the stomach is still stand
I'd of luxury must be admitted, but
lat it is the only standard is no longer
ue. Englishmen as class have no
easure in brutal feeding such as de-
GIFTED their piratical forefathers. The
finement of taste in food, like refine
ent of laughter, has brought with it
rer and more costly forms of luxury.
he jokes and the horse-play that made
ng the welkin over Saxon Hengest
i'd Horsa might stir the mud of coal
'aver's laughter. To move Sheri-
IN you must have the writ of Lamb
a Byron. The analogy between wit,
mental and material luxury is close.
en- who shrek "Oh! ohlr' on seeing
others hat crushed over his eyes, are
It likely to say "Ah! ahr' when Du-
rs remarks, my father is so vain
at he is quite capable of getting up
hind his own carriage to make peo-
, think he keeps negro!" The first
an example of savage fun once COM
IN as blackberries. The second is
ecimep of polished wit, precious as
, mountain edelweiss, and denotes
, cultured luxury which has now so
my adherents and so many guides.
gross luxury our chief danger lies.
t those who encourage, no less than
ose who indulge, weigh well the
gro admonition to 'bruder in debit
oysters. 'Bredren, all the trouble
this land oh ours rises from de fact
1t one man wild $40 to be respect BILE
lst lib like one wild $12."