The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-05-04
LOUNGERS IN LUXURY
The Life of the GiIded Youths of
Great Britain.
FADS OF MODERN SYBARITES.

They Surround Themselves With the
Highest Products of Civilization and .
Make Idols of Their Bodies, These
Twentieth Century Epicures.
In case that came before the bank /
ruptcy court recently the debtor, a .
young man in the early twenties, gave .
in his accounts an item of $1,000 .
which. he said. was the amount he had .
lost owing to the compulsory sale of .
the furniture in his fiat. The original
cost Of the furniture in question is left .
to the ina gination. The truth is that /
our golden lads" do themselves re /
markably well Ito use their own ex- /
pressionJ and think that nothing in the
world is too good for them. We are /
always reading in the papers illusions .
to the luxury and extravaganza Of wo- /
men of the smart world. Now and
then we may come across some refer
ence to the elaboration of self indul- |
gence in which the young men of our
wealthy class luXuriate Some years
since we had description of the
wardrobe of a New York dude" 1t
appeared in an American paper. and
much of it had been communicated by
the young man himself, especially
some information as To the prices of
the garments he affected. Not long
after a paragraph went the round of
the papers about a certain Italian poet
and the little comforts with which he
loved to surround himself. They were
described as in no way inferior to
those of the New York young man, 1t
is not alone in England that the dandy
surrounds himself with the highest
products Of civilization and makes Il
god of his body.
The luxury of a woman of fashion
pales almost to insignificance when
compared with that. for instance OF
her brother in the guards or heir to
the family estates. The young man who
was $1,000 to the bad In consequence Of
the bankruptcy sale" of his furniture
is a case in point He probably Law
ished between 5000 and 10000 on the
plenishing Of the rooms. This is not
much beyond the usual with young
men of the kind. Carpets alone make a
large hole in Il COO Something very
special in wall hangings is proportion
ate in cost. Each piece of furniture IS
a gem in its way. The tradeSmen know
the kind of customer they have TO deal
with and that-for the present-there
is plenty of money. They bring forth
their richest and rarest and not in
vain. The high ambition of the young
man is to go one better" than any
other fellow he knows in every detail
of his surroundings The civilized
L l.
him with the latest rehncments of cost
| ly luXuTiousness in such appointments
as bed and bath. glass. china. orna-
ments, silver and deXterousIy shaded
lights His florists yearly bill would
keep two or three poor families.
As to dress, Il single fact may throw
some light on the relative values of the
young mans wardrobe and that OF the
smart woman. The valet of one such
gijded youth having complained to his
master that in his large and luxurious
west end fat there was no proper &C
commodation for his cl"tLes the re
source Of renting Il second fat equally
large for the housing Of the wardrobe
was suggested and IT ono. adopted \
small room is devoted to clothes and
. brushes and certain preparations for
the treatment Of shoe and Kid and boot
leather \ larger room is given TO the
boots and shoes themselves and their
familiar trees. and So on with the more
{ important articles Of dress Country
clothes have spacious quarters devoted
! 70 them. They include riding gear
cricket and tennis suits. sporting get
( up and travelling kit Here are his
/ nortmanteaVs and travelling bags. an
( imposing array. y large wicker basket
standing among them ELECTS smiling
/ inquiry from the Interested relatives
I whom he has invited 70 tea and TO
whom he is showing his new dig
/ gings-" oh, that" he says. That
/ basket ought to know lis way to
/ France alone. 1t goes every fortnight
/ with my washing. English Iaundries
/ ruin silk things. We tried EN-. Tore
them 70 pieces and made the sheets
yellow in no time"
Six sheetsE'
oh, yes. No one ever has any 9th
| er now"
And you send this huge basketful
| once fortnigbtE''
Every week" he corrects Us. 'One
is On its way back low"
It is interesting to see the young
men OF the day at our smart restau-
rants. each seated alone at one Of the
tables. intent on doing himself thor
ouEhLy well His whole mind seems