The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-09-27


Landlady, cheerfully, for every one had
the world looked rosy to her. Il / o e
/ find you we'll this bright sunny morn
ing"
"Passably so. Madame" returned the
Idiot "A trifie depressed, but other
wise ship-shape. l have no appetite
but--well, Mary you may bring me a
little of everything, as usual, neverthe-
less. do not believe in permitting the
whim of an appetite to keep one from
getting all that am entitled to-
What is the cause of your depres.
sion?" asked the Doctor.
Never you mind" said the idiot
calmly. IF l told you you'd probably
tell me how to get rid of it and then
I'd owe you money"
IN put you on the free list this
morning." laughed the Doctor.
And promise not even to give me
advice? 1 might take it and have a
relapse. you know" said the Idiot.
II promise on my honor" returned
the Doctor.
II guess it's too much late supper"
put in the Bibliomanisc.
"Mince pie and lobster, most likely"
suggested Mr.. Brief.
You gentlemen might get up pool
on the question" said the Idiot. Five
dollars to get in and the one who
guesses right takes the pot. If none
of you guess right, 1 take it, eh?'
Excuse me-" said Mr.. Brief. Il
haven't any use for these get-rich-
quick schemes, and what is more
don't care a rap what is the matter
he sa11f
case of the Nugalosaur.an measles
complicated with faradidd,e of the
polyglot for all care"
That being the case" observed the
Idiot, land in response to your kind
inquiry, ] will tell you why the fabric
of my disposition is dyed blue. 1 see
by the papers that Newport is about
to he abandoned by the 400 as place
of residence"
"Pah," calculated the Bibliomaniac.
why vex your soul with thato What
difference does it make to you or any
body else where the 400 spend the sum-
mer?''-
Hear him." cried the idiot. Did
you ever hear such disloyalty! There's
lese ajeste for you. Here's man
dares say openly that he doesn't care
where the 400 spend the summer. It's
a good thing for you. Mr.. Bib, that you
don't live in Germany, else you'd be
jagged before night for utteri e a sem
timent so essentially seditious !"
We'll ] donit!" persisted the Biblio-
maniac. Il don't approve of the 400"
Ssh! Do hush-somebody might hear
you and then where would yo,"'be?"
cried the Idiot in a tragic whisper.
Suppose Mary, for instance, should
overhear what you say. ard tell the
cook and the cook should communicate
it to the kitchen maid of the Van Rem
sellaer Squares, through whom it would
reach the ears of the Squares butler
who would tell Stuyvesant Squares
valet, who would be in duty bound to
tell Stuyvy himself that Mr.. Bibloma
MAC does not approve of the 400, and
thus-why we'd have the police down
upon US in one hour"
II still do not approve of them" re-
torted the Bibliomaniac. They con-
stitute the most useless society the
world has ever known. They have no
raison d'etre. They have no cultiva-
ton. Their influence on art ard let
tiers is absolutely nil. They are zeros
in science and in education. Even in
the days of the Roman Empire, or in
France prior to the Revolution society
had some influence upon life, but these
people-oh well, what's the use?
There's no achievement in EN- and they
can spend the summer in Hades for all
I care about it,"
There's plenty of summer to be
spent in Hades," agreed the idiot.
that is, there is if the reports we get
of the prevailing temperature there
are correct, and when you've spent all
YOU have there's a lot more ready
made, within reach of the humblest
citizen. They have summer to burn
in Hades, but as for me 1 shall be sor-
ry when the AGO abandon Newport for
the slightly shadier resort. 1t is all
nonsense to say there's no achievement
in EN-. 1t is not the fact that our mod
ern society is useless. They have dis
tinct influence upon life, and while l
can't speak as to the relative merits
of the 400 and society during the
French Revolution or the Roman EN-
pire-I wasn't in the swim at either
period-the 400 are good enough TO- me,
educationally in art, in letters, science,
or any other way, and when they be-
gin to show signs of dissolution"
"Why didn't you say decadence and
be done with it?" demanded the Bibiio-
maniac.
Because 1 don't mean decadence,"
said the Idiot. "I mean dissolution
When they begin to show signs Of
breaking up 1 feel very unhappy about
it. Up to this time we have known
where to look for them in their eff
1t was as if you owned fine herd of
cattle and knew just where to put
your hands on 'em when you wanted
to. Now, if these rumors are correct,
the aggregation is to move on to turn
up elsewhere no doubt, but no longer
as an aggregation. For all we know
some of 'em may turn up in Jergey
City, others at Schoharie, others at
Attleboro-any old place, but hopeless
ly scattered, and fear that once scat
tered they will lose that copious row-
er of public entertainment that has
hitherto made them thing of beauty
and a joy forever. The things they
do and the things they say, done spo-
radically, will cease to be diverting,
whereas achieved by the mass they
were most impressive. Moreover,
doubt if widely diffused society could
produce such social Napoleon as Mr..
Tommy Wristlets, the inventor of the