The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1890-11-29
Cor, sspondencs Baltimore County Union.
LETTER FROM BALTIMORE.
The Financial Panic Over-Death of Mr..
Belmont-A Remarkable Mantle
Theatres - Thanksgiving and
How it was Formerly Cele-
brated in New Eng
land, ETC., etc.

BALTIMORE, November 27th, 1890
Messrs. Editors THE monetary panicS OF the
early part of last week have been happily aver
ted and the black clouds of the financial sky,
which so seriously at one time threatened to
pour down ruin, have disappeared, leaving
much clearer vision of good times again. The
mastery and magnanmOuS action OF the Bank
of England. as well as the great firms which has
tened to the relief of the Earrings, produced
a ana f ne e ee Stocks Wcs
were utterly unstable, except at enormous sac
rifices, have been steadily maintaining their
value and advancing in price.
The death of Mr.. August Belmont. of New
York, on Monday last, closes remarkable career.
He has always been credited with being natural
son of one of the Rothschilds and was sent to
this country very many years ago as their agent.
Whether the story be true not as to his parent
making which has always distinguished that
house, and he made large fortune before he
was married. In his younger days he was noted
as gallant and on account of his attentions to
married lady he was challenged by her husband.
They fought and Mr. Belmont, wounded in the
married Miss Perry, one of the three daughters
of Commodore Mathew G. Perry, of the Japan
expedition fame. One of the sons by this mar
a Democratic politician and Congressman: Mrs
Belmont's two sisters married respectively C0i.
nSdgerS 0o ohn RaGees so and u Mr.
George Tiffany, formerly of Baltimore. Mr.:
Belmont was greatly noted in the social as well
lar leader of society, even Ward McAllister, of
flour hundred" fame, stamping him as "A1 cop
per fastened" He entertained very literally,
both in New York and Newport, where ne mad a
magnificent estate on Belle avenue, and was one
of the members of the fourth hand club, his
splendid drag ana horses 6e1hg oiten seen nP0a
with fine bronze stseue of his father-iIt-law,
more celebrated Commodore Oliver Hazard Per-
ry. He also built a costly and beautiful chapel
in the Island Cemetery of Newport, dedicated to
the memory of an only daughter who died at an
early q
owning fine stud of race horses and winning
very large sums by backing his favorites, he
gallery is one of the finest private collections in
New York, which has been literally shown to
the public on certain days every week.
Theatre and fashionable parties are nightly
made up to see her and enjoy supper after
wards. The piece she is now playing was written
for her by A. K. Fulton, one of the Americdn's
family. In her way Lolita is inimitable and inno-
cent enjoyment is always to be obtained from
witnessing the pranks of the winsome little
creature. The other theatres, several of which
present spectacular attractions, including Mag
gle Mitchell, are running full. The Peabody
MOuton, after Christmas, will deliver course
of four additional lectures on the ancient Greek
drama, especially intended for those who are not
classical scholars Those mighty works of
genius, the old Greek tragedies by Eschylus and
others. have never been exceeded in grandeur
even by Shakespeare. The lectures this week
on Tuesday and to night are illustrated ones on
dress and are very well worthy of attention
They will be continued next week.
THANKSGIVING has now become recognized in
stitution at the South as well as at the North,
although its origin was exclusively of New Eng
land. There it has been celebrated from old
Puritan times. The puritanS would have none
of Christmas, no roast beef and plum pudding,
no egg-nogg, not even small beer, because it
smacked of prelacy and the Church of England.
In the wilds of the New World whittier they had
come they hardly knew when Christmas day oc-
CURED, and for long time they had no thanks.
giving either They had an abundance OF fast
days, of humiliation and prayer. and uncounted
thousands of savage sermons on the divine wrath
At length one level-headed man, worn out with
their gloomy theology, arose in meeting and
boldly said it was about time to render thanks
for Gods mercies as well as to deprecate his
eternal displeasure, and moved that a day be set
apart for doing so. The idea struck the assem-
bly, with new light and thus the one day. when
divine wrath" was set aside was established as
a custom. They must have been cheerful sub
jects for small tea party, those old Pur1tans,
who most of the time grOaned over mans lot as
Brother Stiggins groaned over his buttered toast.
Once established, however Thanksgiving became
the Christmas of the North and the festivities
were not confined to one day. Separated fami-
lies took occasion to unite in home gatherings,
coming from distant parts to do so, and pres -
were literally exchanged: AT length the IN
crease of the Episcopal and Catholic churches in
New England brought in a much wider observ-
orally kept as at the South, while the distinctive
features of old thanksgiving have in a measure
been modified.
To-day / have been in Washington again.
Every time visit it / am more and more i'm
pressed with the magnifcence of the city and
with sense of its future grandeur. An i'm
mensity of building has been carried on this
autumn and hundreds of fine houses and other
gressmen are beginning to arrive and in few
days, next week, the Capitol will re-echo to the
tread of the two Houses, and then-war again.
WALPOLE.