Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-11

to tell OF an English clergyman whose
greatest grief, if his professions were to
| be believed, was that a member of his
| congregation, having sustained pecuniary
losses, was obliged to sell one Of the six
or sven pairs of horses which crowded
his stables. An acquaintance Of mine
has more than once reminded me of
Sidney Smiths clergyman by speaking
with pity of a man about town who is a
familiar figure in the fashionable clubs,
having his annual income reduced by
the depreciation in values which has
been going on the past year or more, from
$4,000 TO $4,000. 1t is, of course, not a
pleasant thing to have ones income
| halved, but the man in question is
bachelor, and even in New York an IN
married man can live more than hand
sOmely on $4,000 year. He may not be
able to occupy a large house, with half a
dozen servants, and continually give eX-
pensIve entertainments, besides keeping
a stud OF bloOded horses, but he can
live quite as luXuriously, if not
so ostentatiously, in a fashionable
fat, and not entirely bride his love for
horse flesh or his h0spitable instincts
either. l therefore do not think my
friends friend an object Of pity when |
see him of an evening lOunging about
always in evening dress-he doubtless
would be chOked by mis- dinner were he to
attempt to eat it clothed in anything but
a swallow-tail-even when l reflect how
much more economically he now lives
compared to his expenditures Of year
or two ago.
Were he a married man with a family
of grown sons and daughters, however,
he would be q legitimate object of pity.
Such family could not have an income
of $50, 900 halyed without interfering very
much with the luXuries, if not the com
forts, of its members. They would GER
tainly, for instance, be obliged to give up
their horses, and would, therefore, no
longer be carriage people" One cannot
serve two masters, and it is not possible
for large family to occupy a good
house in good neIgnbOrhO0d
with an establishment on prOpOrtOnate
scale, and keep horses on but SO, 900 a
year. The rent of such a house would be
at least fifth of that amount, and a lib
eral table, servants, entertaining, cloth
mo, with, in addition summer hotel bills,
would easily exhaust the rest. The eX-
penses of the individual members Of the
family alone would be half as much
again as the house rent. rating them at
no more than six, including the father
and mother. In fact, unless hack hire
were included in these Individual ex-
penses, there would have to be cOnsidera-
bic curtailment of the other outlays-the
family could not be very often on hospital
bic thoughts intent, for not many dinner
parties can be given here inside of a
/ thousand dollars. and a single bail at
| Delmonlco's, or some other place large
enough, for the average New York house
is too small for a dance of any size, would
cost at least that sum.
/ know Of family who, while they have
been spending considerably over $4,000 a
year for long time past, have not in all
/ that time been able to do any more enter
tanning than to give occasionally a small,
| lupretent;ous diaper party. l never
I uuue,D,vou where the money went to. but
| 60 it certainly did. Another family |
could name, and it would be a name your
readers would doubtless recognize, were
it not violating confidence to give it, has
managed to spend nearer $50, 000 than
/ $4,000 for the greater part Of the past de-
| cade without entertaining in any other
way than by giving afternoon receptions
and dinner parties. Such a thing as a
! ball at DelmOnicO's is out Of its reach,
| although the family numbers but three
/ man and wife and q single daughter.
! They have cottage in the country, how
| ever, and their dinners are good. to say
| the least. Consequently l would pity my
| friends friend, ii he were a married man,
! because of the decrease Of his income; as
| it is, don't.
| EVER SINCE THE INAUGURATION OF THE
PATRIARCHS' AND OTHER BALLS
| at DelmOnico's the charity has ceased to
/ be what it once was-the event OF the
! social season in New York. It's receipts
/ have not diminished, for it has always
| been well attended, but, with the excep-
! ton Of the managers who take part in the
| opening quadrille, the bowling swelIs
! have net deigned to dance, and have only
| gone to look on, while the people who
! dance, as rule, have been those who had
! no position in what is called society. In
| fact, it has been considered quite green to
! dance, and the proper mode OF conducting
| oneself, If a woman, (men are always
allowed greater lattude) has been TO
| gaze with languid indifference from some
box upon the dancers of inferior social
condition whirling around the floor This
was not the rule, however, at the
ball OF Tuesday night, which was more
| like an Old-fashioned Charity ball than
| any have attended for several years.
The dancing was quite general, even
| among those who generally scOrn mixing
In a prOmlscuOuS aSsemblage, and Il
number of young girls belonging to some
Of the best families in the city danced
with an enthusiasm that showed it to be
their first ball. The asseInblage was pro-
miscuous, of course. \ prominent figure
on the floor was big police captain who
looked strange enough III evening dress in
place Of his uniform. and there were other
dancers of similar social kidney, but, all
things considered, a much better class OF
people attended the ball than usual, and
the swells who did dance found their own
sets OF lanciers, and thus were not con-
tamjnated by contact with yulgarians.
There was no great display CT dress and
diamonds, although, Of course, many
handsome gowns were to be seen, ami, in
that respect, the ball was inferior to the
old-fashioned variety, but, as a whole, it
was by far the best ball for several sea
sons.
THE ATRE MANAGERS HAVE SELDOM BEEN
FAVORED