Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-11-05
EMPTY CASTLES.
THEIR RICH OWNERS NOT FITTED
TO BE COUNTRY GENTLEMEN.

| 10 bt COON KY GIN ltMtN.
II is One Thing TO Have n Country
Seat" and Quite Another Thing to he
at Home and Happy in It-A Remark
able Exhibit.
There is a te gGency among men of large
| wealth." said a real estate dealer down
town, Ito establish big country houses
near New York and live after the English
fashion. They seek 10 make their country
| place the home of the family, give 1t a
high sounding title, dream Of establish
ing family which shall stand high i'll the
county and make name for itself i'll
dozen honorable ways. They take fur
nished house in town for the season, just
as the Englishman does for eight weeks
in London. This is growing more prac-
ticable here than formerly, as the season
grows shorter every year. We can all of
us remember when society came back to
New York on Sept and stayed till
June. Now November is considered early,
December acceptable. but Jan. l the
really proper time. This gives an oppor-
tunity for spending Christmas at the
country house in the old fashioned way.
BY May 10 half of society is on the move
again to Europe or elsewhere. So. you
see, q great city establishment is sup
ported all the year round by the old plan.
though occupied less than five months out
of the twelve. 1t is very expensive run
ming a town house all the year round this
way, but when a furnished dwelling is
taken and only four months are spent here
the expenditure is greatly reduced. The
other eight months are spent at the cOun
try house.
THE TROUBLE WITH AMERICANS.
son the other side Of the water this
is easily accomplished, because the real
home Of an Englishman is in tine
country and he locks upon city life as an
excursion. The trouble here is that
Americans look upon their Out-of-town
life as a vacation in the country. and
hence they grow dissatisfied if il is too
much prolonged. They feel themselves
above their neighbors and do not make
acquaintances, so that there is no visit
ing and calling among them. Thus the
family gradually bores itself to despera-
ton. Friends are invited out from town
only at rare intervals, and there is gen
eral stagnatiOn. The women do not in
terest themselves in the churches and |
schools of the villages nor do the men take |
a hand in politics or local Improvements. |
The head Of the family is usually bust |
ness man who has been accustomed TO the |
drive and rush of the city, and who is |
quite at sea if thrown on his own re
sources He has no inclination for read |
ing, is not interested in farming, and
thinks constantly about his interests in
the city. IL il takes three generations to
make a gentleman, il takes five at least
to make country gentleman or a gentle
man farmer.
The New Yorker who is anxious to
become a country gentleman does what
the Lopdoner avoids. Our merchant
seams nsansst whep. .h.ssffe aTf 'Sdt6 her
his residence sslsSss.,-,uszes.E,Is-,
ont of toyn-nT nTSlcnsisted of prep 20
cannot ,,ive mn represented to far 10
and in trying to sit on twft Stools at once
he comes to grief. The only way to live
In the country is to give up the city alto
gether, and make the rural place the
home. Running in TO go to the theatre at
night, and then travelling home, is no way
to establish contented feeling, you
know. The big estates that are good
journey from New York are ALWAYS sue
cessful, but all that have in this book
and many more have failed. Society has
" Io Will IL, VI COuTS6.
A REMARKABLE EXHIBIT.
Away from New York the residents
make their own society, and are content
Such places as New Haven, Hartford,
Elmira, and other small cities often have
cultivated and cordial So
ciety, while points nearer New York are
very unsatisfactory, because they are
made up of boarding houses, commuters.
and summer residents only. Now We'll
run through this book-and it is only one
IF eight devoted to this style of property
and you'll see what remarkable failures
aires have made"
1t was a remarkable exhibit. The man
who has dreamed of a country homeland
where is the man who has nots-wOuld
De hard TO please if something in that col ,
ection Of stone palaces, castles, rambling
I'D gable rooted houses, picturesque vii
as and Queen Anne dwellings did not
please him. Perhaps the most striking I
hing about the collection to the average ,
itizen was the amount of money {
pent on every place. The agent had .
,een particular to get at the actual (
apital expended in every instance, I
g that was the only basis on which ,
price could be set in localities '
With which he was unfamiliar A !
,lace that had cost less than SIS, 900 or &
1000 was very rare, and there was
my number that had caused the quarter G
million mark TO slink in the background J
Il have a word of advice for all |
vould-be country gentlemen. They /
hOuld renounce New York forever ex- l
ept as place for a yearly visit and set {
lie far from it. They should take up
arming, cheese making, or some other
ursuit, and they should not consider r
themselves above their country neigh S
ors New York Sun. 6