The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-12-14
A Golden Obituary.

UOlucu oDituary.
A great many poor married men and women
live to see the fiftieth anniversary of their wed
ding day; but they hardly can be said to ''cele-
brate' 1t. When our millionaires, multi
miIlionaires, arrive al the same semi-eentennial
station IN their life journey, We hear OF it, 1t is
literally a golden wedding" with many and
great golden gifts from their hosts OF friends.
Two notable instances Ia this city lately at
Uacted much attention. The first was the gold
en- wedding OF Cyrus w. Field, melancholy 10
think OF now, since the general Joy was so soon
followed by general grief. The next il
notoriety was Charles L Tiffany's. The fact
shat, apart from his money, his many millions,
ne is a Justly esteemed citizen, was warrant for
the very considerable space devoted TO his cele-
bFation by the city newspapers. The additional
faet that his great houses here, in Paris
and IN London, are known all over the
clviIiZed world, Is also warrant for wide-s spread
puoicatI0n everywhere OF .he dOiugs OF his eee-
bration day. And when next morning the fine
Old gentleman read the even finer things said OF
MIN In the local journals, il probably did not
occur to him that he was actually reading mis-
own obituary. Here was q complete history of
the great business he established from so small
d beginning as a borrowed capital of $780, car
ried through every stage of growth to the
gigantic growth 1t has attained. Not only this
his biography from boy hood was detailed in the
mInutssi particular. Nothing more or better
could have been printed about him If he had
died on that golden day. All the good things
said OF Elm were true, and the still vigorous
octogenarian has the supreme satisfaction OF
knowing what all the world will think and say
OF him when he has gone.
The casual mention in one of the extended
biographies OF so comparatively minor a matter
as That Dir. Tiffany has been q life long devoted
disciple OF izaak Walton. and that now in his
green old age, he still takes fortnight once or
twice every summer 70 go a-fshIng, revived
some heretofore unpr nted "reminiscences of one o
my journalistic friends, who is fairly cyclopedic
regarding men anu things in this town. Years
ago he was intimate with J. Is. Young, who
was Iinanys first partner, and whose sister,
Harriet Young, Il the hale, hearty and still very
handsome woman who helped her hus-
band 70 celebrate their golden we'd
ding the other day. fondness for
fishing must have run in the firm, for Young in
his day wss as famous a fisherman as the late
BILLY Florence was He knew every trout
stream in New England, particularly in Con-
nectieut, his native state: but he was even more
expert in salt water nshing; nor did he disdain
10 be known as ii irst-class catcher of crabs
which he could deity cook well as catch,
while in clam bakeg and choWders he was
simply immense. This led TO the story of the
small beginning and great growth of the Pequot
house on the shore of New London harbor, on
Long Island sound.
This is the season for the banquets as well as
balls, for the feast given at Delmonieo's
sherrys, the Brunswick, Hoffman and other
like places are not mere "dinners." more
comprehensive word is needed to cover the com
pany and the menus This suggests a notable
phase OF our modern dinner, originally imported
from Paris, and which now is universal, that q
dinner, ii only for wv 0 persons. or even for one
is virtually public dinner. That is the d n
uer, or rather the diners. must be seen from the
street. Half the enjoyment Of dinner at Del
InOuicos, for example-tO some peOple-lles in
the TACT that the diners can be seen and envied
by passersby the sidewalk On the same
principle, ciubmen iatten their noses against
the front windows not 70 see what is going on
in the street, but 10 enable passersby TO behold,
admire and envy the idEers who have nothing to
do but belong TO the club"
JOHN A. CocEERILL