STAYING WITH A MILLIONAIRE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5092, 27 October 1894, Page 2

STAYING WITH A MILLIONAIRE.

■ {English Paper.) Those of us who are always afflicted with lean purses are powerfully drawn to scenes where great wealth abounds, and is Bpent with taate, dignity and ease. I am in the habit of staying with one of the richest men in Europe, from time to time, and have jotted down a few peculiarities that may be interesting. Tho first thing that striken %» **sarvant gfneat in the palatial couatr? hous* of the millionaire ie, that in opite c£ the awentyfehtee servants in the building, and the hundred and forty-four gardeners and workmen out of doors, there is no home or family life. Everything is organised in departments, which are. administered as rigidly as in . Government service. Each guest "is dealt with on certain well-con-isidered principles, which are the result of long experience, from the time when his luggage is transferred from the railway to i . the cart in waiting on the Saturday after- : noon, to the moment when he hands a conple of sovereigns to the groom of tho j chambers in the gorgeouß portico on | Monday morning. Every week expenditure-sheets from every department are . made up by a j skilled accountant;, and the average cost of each guest is accurately known to the host on the Saturday after he has left. By this means waste or random extravagance ia detected. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the extravagance j ia organised and calculated with as much forethought as the artisan's wife displays in buying her grooeries on Saturday night. THE POOD SUPPLIES FOR THE GREAT HOUSE are procured from three sources. Milk, butter and eggß, ohickens for soup, and vegetables in. season are obtained in the neighbourhood. Meat, groceries, bread and biscuits, not made in the house, come from London, together with such luxuries rs can be supplied in perfection. But as no price is too great to pay for the best of everything, large sums of money are laid out in delicacies only to be obtained on the Continent or elsewhere, and- then only by special arrangement as to transport from the place of production to the millionaire's house. For example, caviare, quails, truffles, Argenteuil asparagus, canvas-backed ducks, Bterlet, Scottish trout, and a certain, chocolate are only to be obtained outside England, and in some canes the difficulties in the way are enormous, only to be Burmounted by the lavish employment of, a high order of organising geniuß, at a correspondingly high price. Caviare, for example, as sold in jaTs by the West End grocers, is a totally different commodity from that supplied on the bankß of the Volga. The grocer's Btuff ia good enough for needy men with a pittance of a few thousands a year. Sat, being black, Baited, and unlike the fresh article, my millionaire friend, who is fond of Bussia and Russian ways, obtainß his caviare by courier direct from a little town on the Volga. SjThe temperature of the vessel in which it ia conveyed has to bo maintained at freazing point, if it is to be delivered fresh four and a half days after it haa bsen squeezed from the living sturgeon. Caviare of Bterlet is one of the most expensive dishes in the world, even in Bussia. My friend once told me that a supply he obtained by courier from tho Volga, and by special train on the English lines, cost him .£l2B. ' It was merely used as an appetiser before dinner. I noted that a Buesian Prjnceßs who was present sneered at it, refnsing to touch her plate after tho first taste, on the ground that it was not fresh ! THREE FHENOH COOKS, an Italian paatryman and a Viennese baker are responsible for the preparation of the food. The chef brings his master tho proposed menu of the dinner early in the morning, after breakfast. Some items are always changed, and the dinner of the previous night criticised or approved. Gaests order their own breakfasts as at an hotel. Small parties of. congenial souls ! arc made np and served in common with a delicious meal, including the rarest and freshest fruits, and graced with the gorgeous wealth of the orchid and tropical honeer. Speaking of fiowerß brings me to the j beautiful, though costly, custom of dressing the principal rooms and the dining and luncheon tables twice a day with a profusion of flowers, in which one.particular variety predomin&teo. Last time I was a guest there, the orchids at dinner alone ooft &IQQ. At lunchoon the prevailing flower had been Malmnison carnations. Ten . skilled . men are kept constantly at work dressing tae picture-frames and panelß of the b&nqueting-hall and drawing-rooms. In cold weather a celebrated band oi! mundane performs at each meal, conoealed behind A OLOBIOUO BANE OS 1 GLOWING AND SOENT3D FLOWERS. . On summer evenings, the dining-hall is open io the terrace and the lake; and the musicians ate hidden in a bargo floating on the water, and concealed by the blossoms of roses and azaleas. There are many things more unpleasant than smoking a five-shilling cigar, after a good dinner, and intoning to the sweet ctvains of harp and violin in tbe intervals of a quiot flirtation with one or other of the beuutitul girls who are never absent from the scene. At night there is alw&yn some sort of entertainment. A great conjurer; more often a music-hall artiste or troupe; and on Special oooasions, a utstr of the operatic world. As much aa £500 for a couple of gongs has again and again been paid to one of our leading singers. Oat of doors the ecane in like enchantment. Statues, flowers and amooth lawny extending over a hundred acres surround tho houne. The water for the lake, which is paved with stone, is filtered before it is allowed to enter the basiu. In consequence of this precaution, it ia cloar as crystal, and on a fine, breezy day, the mimic races batween the various gaily coloured skiffs, that are always kepi; in perfect readiness, furnish not only an Rmuaiae, bub A MOBT CHARMIKQ SPECTACLE. The glass houson alone cost ;880,000 to build tract stock. In oue of! them, but for the roof, tho tropical illusion is perfect. A jungle path of the South American forest has bo<m imitated to perfection, and the bnfctetfiienof Brazil flying about the foliage enchant, the eye with flashes of colour to which the cold north is a stranger. The production of flowers pnd fruit of the richest and rareut varieties is systematised into a successful business. The highest price is paid for everything, the best work ■a .exacted. . Success is the one test of loerit. .:, No- excuse for failure is of any vaii. This rule ia maintained throughout

the array of C(V'kp, gvmwn, nr<<] i>flrdiMirr:j, and tho consequent is a costly and complicated inaohiue for tho pcodueiion oi: comfort, that has few parallels on the face of the earth. And J8 my friend happy ? I do not know. But when he ia alone I found him playing beggav-my-neighbour, his right hnnrt against hia left,' to pasa away the time. He aa?!- 1 he is tho loneliest man. in Europe. Aiid I can wall believe it. Of flattery, and the scorn begotten of envy, he has nothing to learn.