The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1889-07-18
IN SINGLE ESSEDNESS.
luxurious Quarters in Which New York's
Wealthy Bachelors Reside.


The rich bachelors of New York are
to my mind the most comfortably and
luxuriously housed men in the world,
says New York correspondents of the
Philadelphia Times. l do not know
exactly how to account for it. 1t
seems to me a condition of things
which exists only in New York. The
London bachelor may be tremendous
swell if he is rich, but in nine cases
out of ten he is satisfied with quiet
chambers in Jermyn street or in To-
cality that is similarly near the clubs,
while the larger portion of his income
is expended for guns, dogs, horses and
a house or shooting box somewhere in
the country. In Paris the apartments
of bachelor are nearly always pretty
and tasteful, but seldom expensive.
The Frenchmen have a great fancy for
Creton hangings and white paint we'll
gilded. The pictures in their rooms
are invariably good, but the decora-
tions do not display anything like the
magnifcence that prevails in the homes
of New York's unmarried men. |
think that this is largely because there
are very few confirmed bachelors in
l.
upon marriage as his fate. 1t is large
ly business transaction, and he SIM
ply waits until he can make a good bar
gain. Pending that time he lives COM
fortably, but does not invest fortunes
in his surroundings. / had breakfast
once in Paris with a man whose repu-
tation as a viveur is more than nation
al. His name has been associated with
those of a number of famous women,
but aside from this phase of his life he
is promoter of cable companies,
man of title, a member of the jockey
club, and Parlsian to his finger-tips.
He was just the sort of man, in fact,
that one would expect to find housed
in magnificent fashion. l found that
he lived in an apartment on the first
floor of big house OH the Boulevard
Haussmann. His stable was in the
rear of the house. There was draw
ing-room, dining-room, two or three
bedrooms, and then long passage
way, at the end of which were the SER
wants quarters and the kitchen. The
dining-room was the most pretentious
room in the apartment. We took
breakfast there at a table that would
accommodate about ten guests. The
decorations were in blue and gold.
The table was oval, to match the room;
t . nairs were oak and the hangings
neither notable norparticularly valua-
BILE. 1t was precisely like the interior
of any one of five thousand flats in
New York city.
Yesterday, on the other hand, / met
a man on Broadway as 1 was walking
up toward home to dinner whom l
knew slightly, and who insisted upon
my going into his apartment for
glass of sherry as an appetizer. He is
the manager or junior partner, or
something of that sort, in an importing
house on Worth street. His age is
about 40 years, his habits are stocky
and methodical, and he is not particu-
larly attractive. / had not seen him
for two or three years, and he evident
ly had an abundant fund of gossip.
We turned into the Metropolitan opera
house building, went up in the elevator
and entered his apartment. The re-
ception-room was neutral tinted and
everything was perfectly harmonized.
We went up from there into the draw
ing-roon, and for a moment | was as
tonished. There were $60.O00 or $70,-
600 worth of paintings on the walls,
and the room might have served fit
tingly for the ante-chamber of the czar.
Indeed, doubt if the czar has so cozy
and beautiful an apartment in either
of his palaces The room was octago-
nal, and in the middle of it was plush
lounge or settee precisely the shape of
the room in miniature. The back rose
to marble base, which was surmount-
ed by a superb bronze water nymph,
Iife-size and wonderfully graceful and
perfect in outline. There were several
smaller bronzes about the room, and
all the divans and chairs were built so
that they fitted into certain inches in
the wall or corresponded to the gener-
al contour of the room.
The dry-goods man lives alone in
this magnificent place, indulging his
fancies with lavish hand.
Il do not care to marry" he said in
the course of our short talk, "It is
much better this way"