Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-11-29
MANHATTAN'S CHAT.
cocKERlLL'S CONTRIBUTION OF
LATEST NEWS AND COMMENT.
"Reminiscences OF FIorence-Foundation
Of Bretano's Fortune--The sixth John
Jacob Astor--Iarze Salaries.
Correspondence Of The Richmond Dlspatch.i

try more profoundly regretted than this
genial, noble-hearted actor. He was oil
sunshine and love. aud his happiest mo-
ments were those which found him con-
tributing to the happiness Of Others.
knew him for twenty years and l never
heard him utter an unkind. malicious word
about human being. If ever o man lived
who was free from envy and all unchari-
tableness that man was Billy Florence
But what life nc led He was so con-
stituted physically and mentally that he
could enjoy all of life's blessings. HIS
profession brought him into contact with
pleasant people the world over. he could
always commands good income. Acting
was never drudgery 10 hint was for
tune. He saw all that was bright and good
IN humanity. Nobody was made the worse
for knowing him. ALI, the good dinners
that he ate. the good wine that he drank,
the good stories that he heard. the good
deeds that he performed! What a pity
that he should have been cut of before
completing his Memoirs, o,and that. too,
IN the very prime of life, when
every sense was acute and every
capacity for enjoyment intense. A
year ago went with him 70 his room IN
| the Fifth-Avenue Hotel TO look at some
rare books which the Duke of Manchester
suite on the south side which he had made
his home for years. Whether in the city
or out, IN Europe or America, these rooms
were his. Here he had gathered his pic
| lures, his books, his letters, his souvenirs,
| his mementoes. And what collection he
had, and what stories they all toldl On
| the wall was charming water-color pOr-
trait of a smooth-fac man Of thirty.
| There was blue in the eye, bloom on
| the checks, and sweetness and light
resting upon the brow 1t was Billy
| Florence Of thirty years ago. l admired
/ 1t and apOstrophised 1t. Billy gazed at
/ Il for q moment IN sadness. Oh" be ak
| claimed, why do we grow old That
/ picture appalls me. Here | am nearly
| sixty years of age. That's the Billy Flor
ence that love. All, what rascal he was
at thirty! Look at him, the rogue,
| then look at this old reprObate. I'll have
| TO turn his face to the wall; / can't bear TO
| look at him" There was the suspicion of
/ a tear in the corner of each eye as he ut
| tered these words, and one could see that
| his heart was aching. but with the VIOLA
| tility for which he was celebrated he broke
OF into bit Of an Irish dltty and skipped
about the room as gay as Dublin Jarvey.
dc had 10 do that or cry, think.
The last time [ saw him TO really enjoy
his company was in Philadelphia last sea-
SON He invited me with some friends 10
visit Philadelphia to eat terrapln and duck
with him in the Continental Hotel, where
he died last week. He met us at the rail
way station. he placed the entire hotel at
our service-nO schOOl-bOy was ever hap
pier. At the dinner, after the Theatre, we
had Joe jefferson, Mr.. and Mrs. Kendall
and daughter, and Marion McMichael of
the North american. As usual. Billy was
the touchstone of jollity. After dinner in
his room he pointed TO vaporating appa-
ba tol 10 yrrif qh a
for his throat. He dwelt upon the nuisance
of such medication and said: II my
throat gives out | am gone. This travel
| ling about the country at my age IN the
winter is fearfuly dangerous. | am al
ways catching colds. and the one thing l
dread is pneumonia And IN the adloln-
inc apartment he died last week of pneu-
monia-died there the sweetest, kindest,
most loyable man that the world ever
knew.
HOW HE GOT EVEN.
Among the hundreds of stories and an
ecdotes that come to me touching Mr..
Florence is one which involves CIncin-
natl experience which he related TO me
nearly twenty years ago. IL Is story OF
how A. r. Cazauran, afterward noted aS
translator and play-adaptor here, got
even " with him. Just after the war,
said Billy. " ! ran across Cazauran IN Mem
there. We had a disagreement about
finances, and professionally L suffered
somewhat at his hands. Later IN tho season
Mrs. Florence and myself played an engage
ment in Cincinnati The morning after our
first appearance my wife got up early, as
usual, to read the newspaper Criticisms
She aroused me with a wlld shrek
and Informed me that the Enquirer con-
tanned a bitter and scathing, not TO say
abusive, article about US. read 1t. was
named and dismayed. The Enquirer had
ALWAYS been exceedingly kind TO me.
knew personally the prOprietors and nearly
all the writers. l was dumbfounded. AS
soon as | could get my breakfast rushed
around TO the Enquirer office. found my
old friend, Wyley Mclean, the business
MANAGER The matter was soon explained.
The adverse criticism had been written by
| Ca2auran. who mad changed his base OF
onerations from Memphis TO Cincinnati.
MIR Mel can was indignant. lie promised
! that CaZaurau should be discharged and
promised that we should nave net
morning such treatment at the hands OF
| the Enquirer as would make amends, !
wont hack TO the hotel, told my wife, and
| all was serene. Next morning when Mrs;
| Florence read the newspapers she found
| something that froze her blood. In the
| Eao,uypr there WAS nearly a column OF the
most savage blackguardlsm had ever read
about ANYBODY. We were literally skinned
alive. Then | was annoyed. l rushed
around to the Enqde' Office and this
| was the exclamation: CaZauran. alter
! receiving his note of dismissal, had sad
never a word 10 anybody. About
midnight he walked no stars to the
composinp-room with his scathlng ar
! ticIe in his pocket. He asked the fore
| man if any notice had been sent mp
for the Florences. The foreman informed
| him that he had a half column IN type.
! XII IT," SAID Caz, in his nonchalant way:
" was afraid / wouldn't DO able TO get
around to the theatre. and 50 l asked
Jones to write something, but here's my
crjhgue in good shape" The foreman,
| knowing nothing about the changed rela-
tions of Cazauran, accepted ms savage
meat-axe article and killed the lovely pun.
Next day received an lnsolent note from
the fellow. dated at Columbus, asking me
how l liked his second notice. ana win
MI this | believe that Billy torgaye poor,
wretched Cazauran and contributed to hls
comfort in his purgatorial days.
THE STORY OF BRENTANo.
This CITY ls full of instances Of business
successes resulting from combined indus
try energy, and enterprise; but few eX-
amules are more marked than the begin
ming. gradual growth, and eventual es-
tablishment of the BrentanO business on
its present extended scale. Inc story OF
the founder OF the house reads like ro-
nance. Less than forty years ago. or to
be exact, in 1853, a young Austrian, born IN
Trieste. arrived IN this city at the age OF
twenty-three and looked about for
ways and means of getting Il living.
There was then no army OF newsbOys,
as there is now. A few newstands
and shops sold newspapers, mornings
and evenings, dozen papers here and
there. where thousands upon thousands
are sold daily now. The young Austrian,
AUGUST Brentano, the first, saw an opening
az least for scant living, and began to
buy and sell daily papers. People still in
their prime remember meeting him IL
early morning and again in the afternoon
when Brentano was bringing his bundle
Of pspers on his back from Printing House
Square, and saw him standing, on
the street corner and selling them
He was on Broadway, near the
Nav York Hotel and secured the sale
of papers in that house. His industry,
Intelligence, and courteous manners con-
stanily increased the number of his Gus
tomers till he was able 10 take basement
room under the Latarge, the, original
hotel on the site Of the now Grand Central.
Next he opened little shop on Broadway
nearly opposite the New York Hotel. and