The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-28
VARIED IDEAS OF PLEASURE.
Everything From Boomerang Throw.
ing to Riding on Omnibuses.

Ing W OH
From the New York Mail and Express.
Perhaps the world, which forms it's
crude but often intuitively correct esti-
mate of men by considering their fol-
lies, is more concerned to know how
a great man deports himself in the
twilight intervals of his greatness
than in the full glory of his heroic
deeds, or in his most marvellous cam
paign. 1t would like to know, for in
stance, exactly what street ditties or
vaudeville songs Homer sang when he
had no princes and warriors to listen,
and had to wander through the land
begging his bread. What wild baccha-
nails did Alexander plunge into, after
"a hard days or a hard months fight
with Darius? How did Napoleon, Cea-
sar, stern old Friedrich der Crosse
amuse themselves between battle and
battle? And what, pray, do Signora
Duse, and Nine. Bernhard, and Alfred
Austin, and Dom Paul do to amuse
themselves, after startling or entranc-
ing the world?
The great things are seen of all men
*"seen by us and all the world in
circle;" but the foibles and playthings
of a great mans life-they are known
and seen only by his valet. 1t was for
this that Marshal Catinat said: mo
man is hero to his own valet de-
chambre." There is an English book
which, along with a great deal of other
information tells us infinitely of the
piaythings of the statemen, warriors,
Bishops and poets of England 1t
shows us the other side of planetary
greatness-"side unseen of herdsman,
huntsman, steersman;" and places
every reader in the seat of judgment
heretofore exclusively occupied by the
valet. Here we see sedate canons OF
the church confessing to fondness for
playing at beadle or verger, showing
visitors about cathedrals, or riding
about London on knife boards of
omnibuses," empire makers of Africa
reading the classics '1n a typewriter
translation" a gambler turned garden
er-for fun: and a hero" of the
South African war who characteristic
cally enjoys "pigsticking."
Humor in Their Fancies.
The particular charm Of these flashes
lies in the fact that they are in the
nature of confessions. Each author, or
statesman, or fighter, was asked TO
disclose his "recreations," and the re-
suit is volume of unconscious humo~
which let's in a food of light upon
English character and adds to the
gayety of nations.
Some of the "recreations' are purely
the joys of Renaissance. James Perry
Miller still enjoys in 1900 the ecstacy
of having s'won the Derby in 1890 with
of recollection of the rapture of the
shouting when Sanfoin dashed under
the wire, making himself. and owner,
and jockey immortal in England. He
won the Derby" people say. as they
said of Wellington "he won the battle
of Waterloo"
The Hon. Harold Finch Hatton, NJ.
p, still glories in the self confessed
pre-eminence of being the only white
man who ever could throw a boome-.
rang like the blacks of Australia"
Cecil Rhodes, the maker of war, re-
creates himself in many ways, being
a man of much versatility. He naive
ly admits having a prediction for
collecting anything Dutch" He has
collected almost everything that is
Dutch in South Africa. He also knows
Gibbon almost by heart" he says likes
Vanity Fair" more than any other
work of literature; has a library of
typewriter TRANSACTIONS of the clas-
sizes" executed specially for him, and
daily visits his collection Of lions,