Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-12-12

1t is One Thing to Have Country
Seat" and Quite Another Thing to be
at Home and Happy in TIA Remark
able Exhibit.
There is a tendency among men Of large
wealth." said real estate dealer down
town, "to establish big country houses
near New York and live after the English
fashion. They seek to make their country
place the home of the family, give 1t a
high sounding title, dream Of establish
ing a family which shall stand high Ill the
county and make name for itself IN
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. l and stayed I'LL
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, great city establishment Is sup
ported all the year round by the old plan,
though occupied less than five months out
of the twelve. Ii is very expensive run
ming town house all the year round TINS
wov hut when furnished dwelling is
taken and only four months are spent mere
the expenditure is greatly reduced Inc
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 the
country, and he looks upon city Life as an
excursion. The trouble here is that
Americans look upon their out-ot-toWn
life as a vacation in the country, and
hence they grow dissatisfied if it is too
much prolonged. They feel themselves
above their neighbors and do not make
acuuaintanceS 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
tcrest 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 a 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. If it takes three generations TO
tnl-ns fNn nj 1nnSt
TO make country gentleman or gentle
man farmer.
THE New Yorker who is anxious to
become country gentleman does what
the LOndOner avoids. Our merchant
seems pruudeSt when he can boast that
his residence is only 1ifty-four minutes
out of town-or something like it. He
cannot give up his town life altogether,
and in trying 10 sit on two stools ut once
he comes to grief. The only way to live
in the country is to give up the city alto
gcthrr, and make the rural place the
home. Running in To 20 ito the theatre mt
night, and then travelling home, is no way
to establish n CUntCntcd feeling, you
know. The big estates that are good
Journey from New York are always sue
ccssful, hut all that have in this book
and many more have failed. Society has
something to do with il. of course.
\ 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
delightfully."- cultivated and cordial so
ciCty. 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
of eight devoted to this style of property
and you'll see what remarkable failures
few hundred of our ambitious million
aires have made
II WAS a remarkable exhibit The man
who has dreamed of n country homeland
where is the man who has nOt2-wuuld
be hard to please if something in that col
lection of stone palaces, castles, rambling
old gablc-roofed houses, picturesque vii
las and Queen Anne dwellings did not
please him Perhaps the most striking
thing about the collection TO the average
citizen was the amount Of money
spent on every place. The agent had
been particular to get at the actual
capital expended in every instance,
as that was tic only basis on which
price could be set in localities
with which he was unfamiliar. A
place that had cost less than So, COO or
$lOO.O 600 was very rare, and there was
any number thas had caused the quarter
million mark TO Sink in the background.
Il have word of advice for all
would-bc country gentlemen. They
should Tcnouncc New York forever cX-
ccpt as place for Il yearly visit and set
tie far from it. They should take up
farming, cheese making, or some other
pursuit, and they should not consider
themselves above their country neigh
bors. New York Sun.