The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1894-01-04
Sf-DtA.O<CS.

vi-DtAMONOs.
The SWEAT Of J"nathan's BROW Crystalline.
in Ills NiIc'- Ears-
Man has been perpetuatcd 10 cxpiate
the transgr,-~siou Of his first parent bv
hard labor Jonathan is prpof u IL
The sweat Of his brow crystalllzes upon
the arms AMI neck of his womankiud in
the form of diamonds.
To the American woman the diamond
is not an object Of luxury. il j. an object
of prime necessity. An English old maid
would do without ayr tea before HI
American woman would 20 without dia
monds.
Oh, those diamoLGs in Amcrica! Nol
one woman in a hundred Will Won see
without pair of them in her ears
Diamonds. at night with evening dress
and artificial light. are things of beauty.
but diamonds in the street with morning
dress, at early breakfast in company
with morning wrappers: diamonds in tie
ears. at the neck, in the bonnet strings,
on arms, on fingers, diamonds all dav
long and everywhere, is a remnant Of
savagery. Nay, saw diamonds on shoe
buckles one day in broad day on Union
square.
There is woman who is not afraid
of tripping and losing her diamonds" T"
said to myself; but perhaps she got
them in the same way that She might
have lost them. Certainly she cannot
bs = lady" However. it appears she
was.
Diamonds are worn by the woman Of
fashion. the tradesman' wife, shop girls,
work girls. servants-all the womankind
If you see u shabbily dressed woman
who has not a pair in her ears, she ha.
put them in pawn.
Naturally, in America, as elsewhere.
ali that sQarkles is not diamond.
have seen pretty, lovely women com
plctely distigurc themselves by hanging
enormous diamonds in tleir cars. These
ear drops had very high commercial
value-but artistic value, none.
Love OF woman, innate in the Amcri-
can, is not enough in itaIf ID explain
the luxury that II al Iavl>!lcs On her in
| the United States.
The luxury of the American women
must be explained in another way
| Money is easily earned in the United
States, and is freely spent. Business
savors more Of gambling than of com
merce in the proper sense Of the word.
/ Jonathan, then, is in position much
like that Of a man whom saw give 2
| hundred franc note to bcggar one dav
/ =, Al & I =
/ said he, what are a hundred francs tc
me? can afford ~ he eaneroue to g
poor fellow creature out Of it; if 1 lose
it is SO much that the cIoupiers win not
| get" When Jonathan covers his wife
with diamonds, he says to himself: If
win can indulge my wife without incon
veniencing myself; if lose, it is SO mucl
saved from the fray"
This is not all.
If the American thirsts after money
it is not for the love of money, as a rule
| but for the love of that which money
can buy. In other words, avarice is :
vice almost unknown in America iona
than pursues wealth to improve his posi-
ton in life and to surround those depend
ent upon him with advantages and lux
uries. He Is the first to admit that theil
love for diamonds is absurd, but lie i:
] good humored, and says: Since they
like them, why should they not have
| them:'
In Europe there is a false notion thai
Jonathan passes his life in the WORSHIP
of the almighty dollar" 1t is an error
If q millionaire inspires respect, it is q.
much for the activity and talent be ha.
displayed in the winning of his fortune
as for the dollars themselves An Amer
lean, who had nothing but lis dollars t
boast of, might easily see all English
doors open to linn, but his millions alone
would not give him the entrce into tht
best society Of Boston and New York
An American girl who was rich, bu
plain and stupid. would always fut
some English duke, French marquis O
Italian count ready to marry her, bu
she viii have great difficulty in iindin;
an American gentleman who would looI
upon her fortune or her dot as sufi
cient indemnity.
At public dinner, the millionaire doe
not find a place of honor reserved for him
as he would in England. The seats o
honor are reserved for men Of talent
Even in politics money does not lead t
honor. No. refined Americans do no
worship the Golden Calf. as European
are often pleased to imagine. AS to th
women. that is perhaps dlfferent-bu
we shall speak of them in another chap
ter.