Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-05-06

which the news from Manila threw them
Monday morning. They have all along
had fai1h in the ultimate triumph of Ameri-
can arms on sea and on land, but they have
been full of caution and Astounding with
forebodinEs
"You will whip the Spaniards yes, in
time. said member Of the iunta the 9th
or day, but believe me it will not be so
easy as some think. You may indeed suf-
fer reverscs at first, and my only fear Is
that an early setback would bring lack of
/ aggression. You do not know the Span
iards 1t is true that they are cruel, but
they are also brave, and they know how
to fight
The bulletin crowd, which had already
grown 60 hugo proportions daily, has been
larger than ever since news came from
Dewey. 1t has assembled earlier in the
/ day. too. "a good sized but constantly
changing nucleus showing itself as early
/ rs O'Clock in front of the Park row
| boards every day this week. SO far, be-
! ginning with Monday. But while the PEG
/ PIE in the crowds are yisibly excited and
vastly Interested IN every scrap Of news
/ there have been no hysterical demonstra-
/ tions of wild excitability.
1t is not nervous, mcrcurial crowd
! that gathers in front of the New York
! bulletin boards, but thrunR OF self con
/ tanned patriotic Americans-men who
/ have never lost confidence for a moment
| in the ability and the viii of our fighting
/ men 10 clean up the Spanish mess both in
/ Manila and Cuba, and spain. too. Tor the
matter of that, If need be- with neatness
/ and dispatch,
The Richest Bachelor.
Interest in the war is naturally driving
almost every ether topic completely out Of
mind. The condition Of the city S finances
/ and the rumor that Crokcr's plan is to
/ turn down Van Wyck as mayor and put
/ Guggonheimor III his place would ordina-
rily come in for excited discussion in all
circles, and the papers would bc filled
with reports, comments and criticisms
/ AS 1t is little is said in print about either
of these things, and some papers have not
I even dClEned 10 mention the rumur with
regard 20 Van Wycs
Surprisingly little attention. too hns
1 been paid 70 the announcement OF the APP
/ preaching marriage between George an
/ derblt and Miss Edith Stuyvesant Dresser,
/ the most important piece of social news
that has been printed here IN many "a long
| day
Had it not been for the overshadowing
/ interest felt in the war, said well
| known clubmnn this morning pages
I would no doubt have been allotted 20 this
announcement by some papers that in the
/ circumstances have been obliged to dis
| miss it with the soant courtesy Of "a half
| column.
THE statement that he is the richest
bachelor In the world, which has been
virtually reiterated within the past week
| by every paper in town save one, is far
ernl unmarried men in the world possessed
OF greater riches than be.
lone Of them is Eugene Higgins Of
New York, whose wealth is said To toe at
least quarter bigger than that Of Mr..
| Vanderbilt and probably larger than that
| Of any other unmarried New Yorker.
Mr.. Higgins, by the way, has good
looks and TO spare as well as wealth. He
is tall, compact OF build, with dark hair,
| pleasing countenAnce, graceful manners
! and excellent taste in dress. His father
was maker of carpets who began near
the bottom but left IA surplus Of $40, 600,
/ 600 for his son when called TO the world
where there are neither carpets nor bank
notes. Young Higgins has "A handsome
house in middle Fifth avenue a spacious
country seat at Morristown, y. j., near
| Sun-in-law NICK. Twom hley's place. and
] NuIlhuh OlutT thlulSS- I1lEElus i lltn ave
nue. house Is almost literally filed with
costly pictures from the enses of the most
celebrated painters both living and dead.
His steam yacht is a floating palace, his
entertainments in town and out are ire
proachable, and his stables and kennels
in New Jersey are tenHnted by the finest
bred horses and dogs money can buy.
He is himself Il model of hospitality,
an athlete, good shot and possessed OF
the sort Of temperament that would have
made him popular even had he been born
poor. just how he manages 70 remain sin
gle in all the circumstances is a mystery
to New York inner circles Perhaps the
announcement of his marriage when II
comes will be as abrupt as young Wander
bilt's. Like Mr.. Vanderbilt Mr. Hig
gins is out of the country at present, ru
NOR having it that his is one of the steam
yachts that Spaniards hope yet to capture
in Mediterranean waters.
The Bradley Martins.
Coincident with the Vanderbilt Dresser
marriage announcement comes the state
ment from abroad in the form of an auc
tioneer : advertisement that the Bradley
Martins will never, never live in America
again
1t is generally understood that their de
cision to dwell in Europe hereafter was
brought about by the criticism passed OF
their famous fancy ball Of few years ago
and though some affect TO view the wal
with Spain in the light Of a contributory
circumstance this is not generally accept
ed as founded in fact. Even were it entire
ly true, it wouldn't be of half as mucI
real interest as correct answers to the
questions asked in many quarters within
the last few days concerning the ultimau,
disposition Of the Bradley Martin oollec
tiOn OF watches.
The public has not heard much of thes,
watches and might never have know
about them ut all had il not been for tn,
inconsiderateDess of a burglar who brok,
in and stole few of them one night som,
months before the famous ball. In it.
way, however, the collection is not great
ly surpassed in interest by anything of the
sort in existence. Mr.. Martin has spen
much time and many thousands of dollars
in getting his watches together.
Practically all types are represented
from the invention of watches, some time
in the fifteenth century, to the present
and of course some of the cases are highly
jeweled and of great intrinsic value, hav
ing been handed down from old world pc
tentates of almost every degree, from popet
and emperors TO common, ordinary sill
knights, though not one single watch
they say, has ever been added to the oolleo