Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-09-13
AMERICANS SHOULD DIE AT HOME.


York turfman and president of the
Coney Island jockey club, went to
! Europe in 1890 for the benefit OF his
health, and to visit his wife and daugh-
tiers, who had made England their
home for several years past. His
health declined, and in March last he
died. For some reason his body was
| placed in public receiving vault in
kensal Green cemetery, London, until
a week or two ago, when it was shipped
like so much shoddy to New York. No
one came with it; neither wife nor
| daughter, friend or servant. Not one
OF his aristocratic daughters, OF whom
! there are two, Mrs. Frewen and Lady
Randolph Churchill, nor his grand
dame of wife took the slightest in
terest in the shipment, even so far as
to notify friends or relatives in New
York that it was coming. On the ar
rival of the body in New York, it was
placed in an undertaker's wagon and
hurried direct from the ship to the
cemetery and placed in the family
vault. One of Mr.. Jerome's relatives
heard of the body's arrival BY accident,
and was barely able to reach the ceme-
terry in time to see the coffin removed
from the wagon-not the hearse, gentle
reader. There was no hearse.
When the disgraceful affair reached
the ears OF Mr.. Jerome's multitude Of
friends, Indignation at the heartless
conduct of his family was fierce and
widespread. 1t was hardly to be ex-
pected, OF course, that his wife or
daughters, or any of them, could tear
themselves away, for few days even,
from the fashionable frivolities OF
English high life to accompany his re-
mains to Jonathan's continent, but
friends of the dead man did think that
they should have been mott
fed of the shipment, so as to
permit q decent burial of their old
friend on the arrival of his remains.
How little those friends seem to know
of the exactions of fashionable life
among English aristocrats, and how
little time there is for anything else,
especially for such depressing matters
as funeral dirges, ceremorials and the
like. II is perhaps only justice to the
ladies OF Mr.. Jerome's family TO say
that they would have followed the
husband and father TO his grave, or at
least have sent substitute, as Blaine
did on certain occasion, did they not
incur the danger by SO doing of
FORGETTING their positions in
high society. For be it known
that position in English
swelldom is hard for an American to
gain and easily lost. The slightest in
discretion, such as vulgar interest in
the carcass of O defunct Yankee, is
enough to precipitate the most pre-
tentious American funky from the
highest sta ton attainable with money.
The ladies were not heartless, only
prudent. They loved not their husband
and father less, but their position
more. They had lost the first. Why
endanger the other also? Why in
deed?
All apparent neglect can be easily
remedied by erecting a grand monu-
ment over the fathers grave with
suitable epitaph, inscribed thereon to
the memory of the Dear Departed"
In this way the 'bereaved wife" and
"heart-broken daughters" can make
themselves solid with posterity, that
vague and VIGOROUSLY helpless entity
for whom we are constantly doing SO
much in politics.