St. Paul daily globe., 1892-12-26
MANY FAOS OF MILLIONAIRES.
The Strange Ways in Which Wealthy Men Of An
cient and Modern Times Have Loved to
Squander Their Money
Jay Gould's Yacht--Mausolus and Cheops--Feasts OF
LucuIlus--Robert Bonners Horses--Baron
Hrsch's Charities.

Guiding the aitruiStic duties. are fully
performed, and that the money Is
gained without oppression. cheating Or
sharp practice, 1t is difficult to make
sin ont of the mere sale OF an eXpendl-
ture which in moderation every one not
essentially ascetic would approve. We
could all eat with horn spoons instead
Of silver and give The difference to the
poor, bat if we did civilization would
he lost under an ocean OF manu-
fIctured pauperiSm. Ivory chars
and golden dishes are follies-blamable
follies if you like, because they degrade
the standard of aspiration, but they are
not moral evils any more than silver
forks. Indeed. did not clergyman of
Queen Elizabeth'S time denounce the
monstrouS luxury Of using any forks at
all when God had so Vlsbly provided
me3 with five fingers TO eat with?
There is always danger of running an
argument of this sort into the ground.
And who is to judge at what point the
argument is kept above ground? In
deed, as the diversifying of industries,
and so preventing the labor market
from being congested at any one point,
is benefit 10 the honest workman.
Il safeguard against the oppression OF
the capitalist; it might even be argued
that tue rich man with an expensive fad
is benefit TO the world at large.
or course, This argument, too, must
not be run into the ground. it is evil
dent that if the rich man has either
through his riches or through some adj
ventitOus accident the power of draw
ing too many artisans out of their leg
itimate lines of activity, the necesSaries
of life must diminish and the price rise
i'll accordance with the ineXOrable law
of supply and demand. When the
Grecian cheOps employed $50, COO men
for the space of twenty years in build
ing that great pyramid which was to be
his tomb, there may have been 100000
bread-WinnerS. but who was to make
the bread for them TO win? No won 'er
that after succession of Pharaohs. each
with his little fad for an expensive
Sepulture, the entire Egyptian empire
crumbled into decay and ruin. Even an
isolated case like that of MausoluS of
Caria must have drawn extensively upon
the resources of that kingdom. MausO-
lus. it will be remembered, was the gen.
tleman who is etymOlOgically RESPONSE
ble for the existence of the word mau
soleum. When he died, in the year 353
&. g., his widow. Artemisia. decided to
erect to his memory Il structure which
should be more magnificent than any
thing known i'll the past. 1t consisted
of a pyramid and pedestal inclOsed in
columns and adorned with statues and
bas-reiefS-the whole so beautiful that
it was reckoned among the seven Won
ders Of the world
And surely the lOng-continued eX-
cessrs of the Roman emper0rs were not
favorable TO the prosperity OF their sub
jectS.
The amiable Caligula made his favor
ite horse, Luctatus, first a consul and
then god. To provide gOd-like en-
vironment for the animal he built him
all ivory stable with golden manger.
But, as rule, he was not even allowed
to eat out of the manger. TO Caigula's
fancy it cOmpOrted more with the dig
nifty OF Lucitatus to feed him on gilt
oats out of a golden dish. What Luci-
tatuS thought of his luxury is not re-
corded. Caligula, who fancied himself
quite the equal of his horse, was equally
lavish upon his own table. He once
gave dinner that cost $4,000, a pretty
large sum,yet that was exceeded by sew
eral Of.his successors in the empire.
There was the lordly Lucullus, for
example, who used to spend as much as
$4,000 in a single banquet to his friends,
and who once sat down to magnifi-
Gently prepared feast, and when his
major domo inquired where were the
guests, lottilY replied, Tonight Lucul-
luS will sup with Lucullus." There
was HeliogabaluS, who not only Jared
sumptuouSly, but had his bed made of