Morning journal and courier., 1886-07-19

time, when a local manager of larking pro
 pensities caught sight of him and immedi-
 l ately sped across the Rialto to drinking sa-
 ! loon kept by one Collins, which is much fre-
 l quented by theatrical folk. There in the
 I center of an admiring group sat Mir. Pony
 ! Moore of London. He wore waistcoat cut
 so low that it readily gave room for the ex-
 hibition of three mammoth studs. Each ! shirt stud was composed of eight or ten big diamonds. His cuff buttons were remarka- i ble collections of brilliants and his rings, collar buttons and watch chain ornaments | dazzled the eye. Taken in conjunction with I Mr Pony Moore's plastic mug, elegant man. ! ners and loud check clothes, the exhibit was ! rather striking. The London minstrel was | in radiant humor, telling negro stories in crude Hbernian dialect when the manager rushed in.
 "Pony," he said, with great emphasis, ! 'this is the greatest piece of luck ever ! heard of My friend, Charley Davis has ! just come to town and I want you to meet ! him and make it pleasant for him. He's l quiet and retiring, but you can easily warm him up. Come on.''
 ! MT. Moore was all affability and willingly ! wobbled acrosB the square toward the Nor I ton House, making the eyes of the walking gentlemen and tragedians stand out further | than ever. MT. Davis was standing in his accustomed place when he and MT. Moore ! were introduced. Neither man said word ! but each eyed the other keenly. Then MT. I Davis said, Good day." but MT. Moore was ! mute. Each glanced at the others dia- l monds, and after a long silence the great English minstrel made profoundly satirical ! bow and stalked out of sight without paying l the slightest attention to the many invita- | tions to drink.
 That the love for diamonds is extreme at times is proved by the number of men who will wear seedy clothes and live in wretched quarters. It is not an unusual sight to see thin but happy clerk walking Broadway in ! the winter without an evercoat, though hundred dollar diamond spsrkles in his shirt front. The fondness of sporting men for diamonds is pronounced. Harry Hill wears monster H in his shirt front and all the lesser lights of the sporting world follow his example. The professional New York gam bier of the more ambitious pattern, however, no longer wears showy jewelry of any sort. It is apparently his aim to express simplicity and refinement in his attire. The old-time barkeeper with the oiled locks, ruf1ed shirt bosom and waxed moustache was never quite himself unless he had two-inch cross of diamonds for headlight. His diamonds have gone with hin into the past. It seems to me that the livery stable keepers more given to diamonds than any other kind of
 business men. In every livery stable in town one is likely to find large man, snug ly ensconced in an arm chair, showing be-
 meath double chin diamond pin of more or less grandeur. MT. John R. Rogers, the theatrical mana | ger, is rather given to diamonds, carrying 1
 beside his own complement number of the l
 bigger gems of his star. He is given to |
 flashing these upon admiring multitudes in l
 neighboring bars while the play goes on. l
 One gem that he was very fond of, and that l
 was valued at seventeen thousand five hun |
 dred dollars, was set in black enamel heart l
 of considerable size By pulling tiny gold |
 chain the middle of the heart swung back, |
 turned on pivot and the big diamond |
 moved forward into the vacant place. It l
 blazed like electric light. This diamond I
 did not belong to MT. Rogers his lively l
 little star. It was the property of 8 Maiden |
 lane diamond merchant, who let 1t to the |
 theatrical manager. The notable point about the whole transaction was that MT. Rogers never claimed that he owned the stone. Perhaps the most notable of diamond wearing men was Dr. Lighthall, who died several months ago in Texas, where he was suddenly stricken down with pneumonia. He was called the Diamond King and was known in every town in America. Dr. Lighthall's fortune was in his diamonds. He was a street peddler and he sold vast quanti ties of harmless tooth powder through the at tention his diamonds attracted. He wore twenty diamond rings, shirt studs, collar and cuff buttons and string of diamonds for a watch chain. Every button on his coat and waistcoat was gold and set with brilliant \ stones, and the rim of his great white som | brero was beaded with bright stones. Though 1 some of stones may have been spurious | there is no doubt that the majority of them I were genuine. The appearance of the doc tor as he walked through the streets at night was SO extraordinary that crowds followed him wherever he went. His wife always &C., companied him, carrying boxes of the tooth powder, this labor being considered too me- nial for her magnificent husband. When ever the doctor stopped in his pompous pa rades to sell tooth powder the public pushed forward eagerly, though it is at first blush bit difficult to gee exactly what relation ex- ists between tooth powder and diamonds. When the stages were running Broad way the drivers fond of poking quiet fun at a one-eyed man who rode up and down town all day long in an apparently fruitless effort to create havoc in the hearts of the ladies. He was not noticeably suc- cessful He would throw so much soul, fire and energy in the glare of that solitary eye l that it usually frightened away rather than attracted the wandering glances of the wo- men passengers in the stages. He square cut, short and direct. He wore half 8 dozen diamonds of great beauty. They I were exquisitely clear and bright and they l attracted great attention. Another man l much given to diamond wearing is the pallid and sharp featured secretary of prominent | insurance company The Union club men | who made such sudden splurge in the way l of diamond rings about three years ago, and | started the fashion of wearing many rings | among men, are now giving up the habit. 1 Men of fashion who wore three four rings 1 two years ago now conine themselves to one ! The real diamond lover, by the way, rises superior to fashion, habit or propriety. He 1 wears his gems at all times and in all places, and he never talks so we'll upon any subject | as upon the one that is nearest his heart. | The fate Charley Backus wore big diamond pin as well as a ring, and he never stood in l the shade when he could pose where the sun would bring out the lustre of his jewels.