The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1885-04-25
A REDUCED SWELL.
Down ON His Luck But with Plenty
| of Friends.


OF Friends.
The world doesn't always 90 back on
a man when he is down. If he is of the
right sort his friends are apt to stick to
him, regardless of the condition of his
finances. was impressed with this last
night.
There were two men dining at one OF
the small tables at the Cafe Delmonico.
One of them was in evening dress and
is tolerably well known as the son of .
man who has owned many famous race
horses, and is an enthusiastic turf man.
Opposite him, conversing quietly, was a
man in an ordinary business suit, who
ate his dinner with good deal of salts
faction. He was rather small of stature,
his hair was thin on top and his face
heavily lined. He had dropping
mustache and rather blase manner.
His sack coat was well worn and he
wore simple bone sleeve-buttons. He
was as plainly dressed, without being
ragged or careless in his attire. as any
one you would meet in a days walk,
and he was thoroughly at his ease. The
head waiter lowered around him and
another waiter who had attended to the
wants of the pair was so very obsequious
as to cause some amusement among the
other men in the place. 1t is not often
that so much attention is paid man as
he received during his dinner. There
was constant succession of men stand
ing over him, talking to him or drop
ping into a vacant chair at his side.
Every habitue of the place, from the
banker. George Work, to the now re-
nowned Berry Wall, made it point as
soon as they entered the restaurant to
go over and shake hands with the round
shouldered little man in the business
suit. They all called him by his first
name and greeted him with the utmost
cordiality. He did not rise from his
seat, but shook hands calmly with one
after another as they came up, and con-
tinued to eat his dinner. He conversed
quietly with them. At one time there
were half dozen well-known men
around his table, all of them treating
the man with degree of kindness that
was almost ELUSIVE. 1t looked as though
he were holding a reception.
1t was the first time that he had dined
at Delmonico's since the death of the
late head of the house. Less than ten
years ago he was probably the most
popular man in Upper New York. He
had an income of $4,000 a year, life
membership in several of the best clubs,
was a yachtsman, an owner of fast
horses, and one of the most hospitable
of the bowling swells about town. He,
by the way, was swell of the proper
type; man of intelligence and culture,
who invariably did the correct thing,
knew how to order a dinner, and was
generous to a fault. He spent vast
sums of his principal and interest every
year without appearing vulgar. When
he was a very young man he belonged
to the little coterie of men who made
their headquarters at Delmonico's Four
| teenth Street restaurant.
A few years ago he discovered that
he had been spending his principal so
lavishly that his fortune had dwindled
to quarter of its former proportions
and he went into Wall Street for the
purpose of building it up again. In
about three months he was landed fiat
on his back without penny. He sold
his horses, got little ready cash, ran
over to the other side of the water,
stayed there for six months, returned to
New York, and accepted position in a
life insurance company at salary OF
SO, 500 year. He has rooms uptown
and spends his nights at one or other Of
the clubs in which he was so fortunate
as to have life membership when he
was millionaire. He is said to have
been offered numberless opportunities
by friends down town, but he sticks to
his position and refuses all outside Of
fers. He says that he is quite as happy
on SO, 500 year as he was ON 800, 600,
and in very much better health. He
certainly has as many friends now as
when he was at the height of his for
tune. So that money does not make
the man in every instance, after ALL
| BrO0klun EG0le.