OCR Text |
Show MONEY THAT HAD WINGS How Royal Spenders of the Past and Present Have Cast Away Fortunes. DE CASTELLANE THE, KING Frnch Husband of Anna Gould Seems to Have Had Absolutely No Conception of the Value of Money In England the Marquis of Anglesey and In America "Coal Oil Johnny" Dissipated Enormous 8ums They Had Not Earned. Count Donl Do Castollnno hns squandered squan-dered $8,000,000 In four years. Half of tho millions wero tho Gould millions mil-lions and tho other half bolongcd to trusting tradesmen. Notwithstanding tho Ill-timed boasting boast-ing of Pliny, Seneca nnd Juvenal, now principally read by collego boyB, ngalnst their will, of tho nblllty of tho royal money Hjtvnilors In their time, Count Do CiiHtellana appears to do-Horvo do-Horvo tho palm us tho king of spendthrifts. spend-thrifts. StutthiR out to vio with Aplclus, who, upon tho sUtomont of tho ancient writers mentioned, squau-dored squau-dored $1,000,000 on riotous living, ho has eurpassod Ducullus, who "at ono meal dovoured n wholo estate." Juvonnl did not Intend this allusion to a wholo cstiito to bo tnken literally. In tho caso of tho French count who married Anna Gould tho estate to bo devoured was n very largo ono, but tho noblomnn mado n good fight, and if ho fallod to cauBo It to disappear at a slnglo llttlo suppor it was because ho lacked tho necessary invention. Tho Fronch count was too much of a gentleman to nsk tho prlco or to question ques-tion tho bill. Hcnco ho ncqulred for n bogatcllo of $00,000 n fow palntlngH appraised nt about $50 nnd a pair of cnndlostlck8 for $18,000 which connoisseurs connois-seurs avor nro Imltntlon nnd perhaps worth about ono ono-thousandtli of tho prlco. Anybody would bo glad jHBHBBsaHSIMBaSISaSiBBBlBllBBBlMBaiB to do business with such a gontloman ovon if. ho did havo to Bond a collector col-lector for tho monoy. Tho fact Is tho count is typical of a Tory numerous class of porsons who havo no adequatu conception of tho valuo of monoy. I la appears to havo Imagined thnt Uio Gould millions bred Ilka rabbits and that ono llfotlmo was entirely too short n period In which single-handed tho most onorgetlo and dotormlued spendthrift could throw thorn away. Victim of 8harpers. Although tho lata Jny Gould Is crcdltod with having left un estate of $75,000,000 In rapidly Increasing investments, tho dowry Anna Gould brought to tho French noblomnn wns only $3,000,000. This was rognrded ns ample, considering tho fact that It was practically $3,000,000 moro than tho count wns accustomed to enjoy. Under tho French law tho husband has full control over tho Incomo of Ills wife, so that nt n stroko of thu pon tho ioor count hud millions to spand. Appreciating his own weakness, ho guarded tho countess against acquiring acquir-ing his habit by limiting hor to from $00 to $80 a month. This prevented hor from buying cheap paintings at fabulous prices and Inculcated a model spirit of frugality. As for him-I him-I self, tho count lost nbout $25,000 a I day during tho racing season. After the first day or two the ordinary ninn wduld havo become suspicious ot "straight tips" and "sure things," bnt Donl appears to havo been too much of a gentleman to havo over harbored a suspicion against any jierson cither ci-ther at Longchoraps or In tho plcturo dealer's gallory. Wisdom does not appear to havo guided any expenditure of which tho count has been guilty- Ho put his wlfo's wholo dowry into n town houso In Paris, modeled after tho Llttlo Trianon. Then there Is a country houso which cost another half million. A yacht cost $200,000 and a yacht cannot can-not bo kept in commission for nothing noth-ing nor a crow paid with "I. O. O.'s." Ills attempt to becomo a politician cost another $100,000. Follies Are Numerous. Dut tho enumeration of his follies Is by no means concluded. Donl Is fond of entertaining. Most of tho entertaining en-tertaining was of a character responsible respon-sible for lending him Into court ns n dofondnnUin a suit for divorce Yot It was not nt all equal to tho extravagant extrava-gant wny In which ho provided enter-tnlnmpiit enter-tnlnmpiit for roynl guests. Ho gavo u bear hunt for Grand Duko Doris, of Itussln. This cost Donl $100,000. Tho duko could havo given a better ono in Itussln for ono-twentleth the sum. A hunting party for tho king of Portugal Portu-gal cost only $25,000, for his majesty is very stout and his nctlvlty as a hunter la limited to shooting nt released re-leased trapped birds or freed deer. Tho luncheon which followed was responsible re-sponsible for bo largo an expenditure No extravagance was too stupendous stupend-ous or too astonishing to bo neglected by Count Donl onco ho had conceived tho Idea for an ontcrlainmenL His dinner to tho king of Portugal mado him famous. Not only was It carried out with a magnificent dlaregard for cost, but It was ono of thoso completo and porfect cntortulnments whero every guest fcela that an nrtlst Is in command. It wns cheap, too. According Ac-cording to reports It ran tho count only nbout $50,000 In debt, although It Is roportcd that a $00,000 clock was udded to tho Llttlo Trianon Do Cos-tellano Cos-tellano In order to provldo tho son-sntlonnl son-sntlonnl fcaturo and glvo a regal zost to tho dinner. Tho $11,000 fur coat which tho count purchased is not porhaps to bo credited to tho account ot tho bear i SSBSJSJJJSJSJJBJJBBJfc iCir! iter? S5''fciBssssW .'"- X" JS . C c?s. U3 JglMD EARN IT hunt which Uio Croesus gnvo for n Russian grand duko. Opinions differ us to whether tho hunt wns tho oxcuso for adding a fur coat to his wardrobe or vlco vorsa, thus giving rlso to another an-other Impenotrnblo historical mystery. mys-tery. As nbout tho same tlmo a hand-soma hand-soma wardrobe, prlco $280,000, was Introduced In-troduced Into tho count's apartments It may bo surmised thnt this fact will bo selted upon ns tho key to tho mys- tory by thu future chronicler, who will show conclusively that tho coat was taught to ornament tho costly piece of fun.lturo nnd thnt tho boar hunt wns n mora incident. Danco Is Expensive. Another entertainment which was tho talk of "all Paris" was n "llttlo I dunce, Ixiuls XVI. stylo," This costume cos-tume ball was very charming and not too dear at $200,000. A moro modest danco Iiuls XIV. stylo cost $130,-000. $130,-000. Doth of thoso fetes woro appropriate appro-priate In tho palatial Betting which tho CnBtollano mansion afforded, Ono colling of tho palnco that of tho countess' room wns decorated at an oxpenso ot $100,000 ns un evidence of tho count's gratitude. When tho other dny tho countesb' lawyer denounced llonl ns n "monumental "monu-mental spendthrift" ho evidently was well Informed, for tho rapidity with which tho count showered money and obligations for mora money has perhaps never been equaled. Thoro la far more fiction than truth m In tho accounts ot tho royal sp d- V thrifts of former ages. For Instance, M tho statement that Caesar's supper V bills for four months wero moro than M 5,000,000 sterling or almost $25- , B 000,000 is probably exaggerated. V Some explanatory notes aro needed W also with tho nnccdoto of Antony giv f Ing his cook a town ot 35,000 inhabitants. inhab-itants. Next morning, very likely, Antony An-tony rebuked him for falling to tnko a Joko. Dut tho caso of Count Do Castellan Cas-tellan o is ono of those modern Instances In-stances which In u measure -Is opon to tho inspection of the world. In Class by Himself. . Tho modern spendthrift Is In a class I nil by himself. In nearly every In-stance In-stance ho has developed his prodigality prodigal-ity by sudden tIbo to iurgo wealth, wealth of proportions far exceeding tho dreams' of tho nlchomlsts of another an-other time. In tho cases ot tho lato marquis of Anglesey and tho lato,Maz Lcbaudy, young men who rucoived immense im-mense estates by Inheritance, tho lnck of restraint nllowed them to Uovolpp tho most reckless extravagance. Dplb died very young, neither having tho physique necessary for tho strain of throwing millions nwny. Anglesey cnstlc, In Wnlcs', was novcr so charming nor so gny nn dur-ing dur-ing tho brief lennncy of tho young marquis. Llko Count Donl, ho did. things handsomely, but It wus his own tnhcrltiinco ho-wns squandering. Much of his wealth was lnvlsho In nn attempt to ndorn his own slight llgurc. In two years ho spent $3,000,-000 $3,000,-000 and was adjudged n bankrupt for n sum considerably moro than $1,000,-000. $1,000,-000. Wardrobe a Wonder. Jewel ey, gorgeous figured waistcoats waist-coats nnd n prlvnto thentor wero tho principal avenues through which his money disappeared. Ho gnvo $50,000 for n single pearl and $250,000 worth of Jowclry was sold during his bankruptcy bank-ruptcy proceedings. His wnrdrobo was tho envy of every dandy. Ho owned 227 suits, 3G2 waistcoats, 453 ties, 278 pairs of gloves, 100 overcoats ono of them of snblo fur, which coat r $5,000160 pulro of pyjamas, 73 smok- , Ing suits, CI loungo suits but tho cat-aloguo cat-aloguo Is entirely too long to ho followed. fol-lowed. Tho salo or his effects at tho castlo occupied scvornl weeks and was ngrccably divided. Ono day of tho salo would bo known as tho day. of waistcoat poems, another na bath-gown bath-gown day, and so on. Hccklcss and riotous living nnd falling fall-ing Into tho company of swindlers wero responsible for dissipating tho millions ot tho Into Max Lobaudy, who, Indeed, died of consumption bo-foro bo-foro all his monoy loft him by his father, fa-ther, a wealthy French manufacturer, had gono from him. Ho arranged bull fights and prlvnto theatricals on an ox-trnvngnnt ox-trnvngnnt scale, kept raco horses, Indulged In-dulged in ovory freak which suggested ' itself to him and gavo his monoy to ororyono who naked of lls bounty. -A Two brothers survivo him nnd ench f" keeps his monoy on a quick movo. Ono of thorn fitted out nn oxpcdltlon for tho conquest of tho Sahara and for tho last thrco years has been Jocosoly nlludod to by Kuropoan newspapers ns "Jacques I., emperor of tho 8a-hnrn," 8a-hnrn," for so Jio styles himself. Tbo other brother has spent somo of his monoy on building gigantic nlrshlps nnd ono ot Ills Inventions actually mado a record flight. ' America has had Iti shnro of gorgeous gor-geous spendthrifts, Thoro aro so many of thorn that only onco In awhllo ono distinguishes himself by somo freak which compels attention. Tho first of tho magnificent money spondors was John W. Slijclo, still living In Franklin, Pn., nnd known host ns "Cont Oil Johnny." Ills reign lnstod but n fow months, but In that short period nctunlly seven months ho Is said to lmvo squandered $3,000,000. ' Coal Oil Johnny wus n youth or 20 when In 1801 oil was found on tho farm which had been bequeathed to him. Had ho held on to his farm ho might to-day been ono of tho envied Standard Oil group, but ho did not rUo to hlB opportunity. Instoad, ho planned how ho could cut n dash with tho enormous sum paid him for his property. Unique Rich Men. Ho began by lining Jiln clothing with bank notes. Ho pinned somo on his coat; ho gavo awny notes; ha lighted clgnrs with $10 bills; ho lipped wn. jrs with $5 or $10 at a tlmo; ho hired tho Continental hotel In Philadelphia nnd boarded everybody every-body freo. Another tlmo ho had a bathtub filled with champagno nnd took a bath In tho costly liquid. Ho backed n mlnstrol company. Frequently Fre-quently ho hired n cab, then ho bought It nnd nt tho oud of tho dny ho pro- sontod It to tho drlvor. Ono dny his hill nt tho Olrnrd houso wns $10,000 nnd thoro woro days when ho spont us much as $100,000. Now ho Is "down and out" nnd for 40 years has had to pay with hard work for his HHvon months of folly. Walter Scott, familiarly known as Scotty." blows Into tho offeto cast now and then on n special train and ( proceeds to enjoy himself In a bUarro manner. Scotty Is tho owner of a mysterious gold inlno In Death valley and cautiously brings Its products east In $5,000 parcels nt n tlmo. Decently De-cently ho wsb sinning In a play written writ-ten nround his mlvonturt's and at tho same time acting as "angel" for the enterprise. Tho .amount of Seotty's wealth has novor been disclosed, but as ho Bhowers his pold on bellboys, muBswiKurt. wallers and hires special , trains to run across tho contlnon and ' bieak rocords It Is probably cousld- erablo. However. Scotty Is not very communicative. Ho drawls when put to It, that "perhaps ho biu a mino and pvrhuiis ho hasn't." |