The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-09-01

There be those who jeer at Newport
>cottagers for playing at being circus per-
formers or vaudeville actors. Such criti-
cisms are either thoughtless or ill-na-
tured. The Oelrichs' circus and the Penn
broke Jones' vaudeville were childish
amusements. The efforts of the perform
ers to be witty or humorous may have
been feeble. but it was all perfectly
harmless.
1t should be remembered that the ca
pacities Of these people for rational en-
joyment are limited and the things in
which they can take genuine interest are
few. The ordinary diversions of society
become leonotonous in their aimless inan-
ity. and it MIST be relief from the dull
round of fashionable vacuity to tumble
around in the sawdust &c circus ring, or
dance the can-can on stage; or even
to sit around tub and blow soap bub-
bles.
That these things are so, Mr.. w. K.
VanderbiltS recent complaint of the bur-
den OF inherited wealth abundantly
proves. He complains that his life was
laid on lines which he could forsee al
most from the earliest childhood" 1t has
left him with nothing to hope for, with
nothing definite to seek or strive for"
Inherited wealth, Mr.. Vanderbilt thinks,
is handicap to happiness because ''it is
certain death to ambition, as cocaine is to
morality" He adds:
"If a man makes money, no matter how
much, he finds certain happiness in its
possession. for in the desire to increase
his business he has constant use for it,
but~tEc man who inherits it has none Of
this. The first satisfaction and the
greatest, the building of the foundation
of fortune, is denied him. He must la
Dor, If 1le does labor, simply to add to
what may be an oversufficiency. / TRY
TO GET ALL THE FUN CAN out of life,
and ] am quite pleased if other folks get
something out of it also"
Think of that, Was there ever more
touching self-revelation And yet that
is Newport, with it's circuses and dances
and soap bubbles. Weighed down with
inherited millions, they can see nothing
beyond it save to ''try to get all the fun
they cam"
In the teeming earth, with its barely
scratched surface covered with human be-
ing cropping biindly, not. for happiness,
but for even endurable conditions. they
see no opportunity. Having themselves
got wealth. there is nothing more to be
done than get "all the fun they cam
No one will begrudge them that
But even the fun is not all on their
size
These Newport palaces that call them
selves cottages as Marie Antoinette and
hAn III, 4 o,ln llal
themselves milkmaids and shepherdesses;
these feasts beyond what Lucullus and
Apicius knew; these smooth rolling
equipages, these superb toilets-are they
the unalloyed pleasure the dancers and
the diners and the drivers pretend. and
the newspapers declare? Far from it..
In truth these folks have little personal
pleasure in the incessant round. They are
conspicuous but mechanical parts of a
routine pageant. They wear what they
call the smart gown, the jewel, the bro
cade, the cloth of gold-not for their own
enjoyment, FOR that is consumed by the
fear or certainty that somebody else is
more splendid, but for the spectacular ef-
fect-upon you and me sitting on the
fence, or strolling on the sidewalk, or
staring from a public conveyance
1t is all a play; involuntary, it is true,
but no less a play. To the players it is
serious almost to tragedy; but to us on
the fence it is comedy
Egeira-"Amarylis looks very happy
tonight" land Ageira smiles as if she
knew the reason.]
Cavalier-"And why?"
Egeira-"Because l have not a single
diamond. Yesterday at the house Of
Shephon | wore my diamonds, and poor
Amarylis was dimmed. When i came
into the room tonight her eyes swept me
from head to foot and saw that l had
spared her. Amarylis is very happy"
This is the play among the players not
so elevating as the real thing, but inf
nitely more amus1g-to the audience on
the fence. 1t does not know the names
OF the players, this audience, nor does it
care-the plays the thing. It's the plot
they want; it's the singing which pleases
them. They award the prize to the most
luxurious equipage, to the most gorgeous
bonnet. to the greatest profuson of silk
and velvet. The players only play to
each other. but it is the disdained audi
ence on the fence that sees the comedy
and enjoys it.
Nor is it alone at Newport that we
find such things.
'All the worlds a stage,
And all the men and women merely
players"
Everywhere there are Cavaliers and
Egeiras and Amarylises, less gorgeous in
their trappings and settings than New
port. but all playing their little parts.
Ihey seldom present heroic images or
suggest romantic ideal. They hardly
AFFECT, even, to speak noble sentiments.
The queens of the actual stage at least
assume queenly air and hint queenly
conduct. But this is beyond the skill and
art OF the company that now plays for
LIS
Yet let us be patient The players do
ineir best. Their pathetic persistency in
costuming and posturing should disarm
criticism. Though the play may not
touch the imagination and though the
costumes and stage settings are brighter
than the wit displayed, yet we must re-
member that the show is free. It is not
for us who sit upon the fence and enioy
gratis the pretty pageant to look a large
gift horse in the mouth by remarking