Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 September 1875 — A Criminal Merchant’s House. [ARTICLE]

A Criminal Merchant’s House.

Kate Field writes from London to the Louisville Courier-Journal: What are people talking about ? Sinners, of course. Saints, you will find all the world over, are not considered conversationally eligible. First comes the awful failure of the merchants, Alexander and William Collie, who, like the Khedive, were able to putin circulation paper for millions, and who are now charged with the basest fraud. To make black blackest, Alexander Collie absconded, betraying those who gave bail for him, and the once merchant"grandee is posted on every wall as a Criminal, for whom a reward of £I,OOO is offered. What a fall! Only a few days ago 1 walked through this man’s former residence in Kensington Palace Gardens, the most beautiful location in all London, where Thackeray built his Queen Anne house and then found lie could not afford to live in it. The building and furniture were on view prior to the sale. Hundreds of people crowded every room, catalogue in hand. “We can’t print ’em hist enough,” grumbled one of the men in attendance; “we’vesold 500’already.” In point of size the house is palatial; in point of taste I saw nothing to commend —nothing except the billiard-room, which had evidently been made to order, and was a beautiful example of Moorish architecture. There was no picture gallery, no music-room, and the one wretched upright piano attested the abscence of melody in the Collie soul. And do you know that in all this great house I could find no closets? In fact, London houses are systematically built without them, consequently every chamber is disfigured by wardrobes. Modern conveniences are ignored, principally, I think, because the majority of houses are built on leased ground. They afe hurriedly run up at the least possible cost, the walls often being stjjtliin that at times you can overhear yourmext-door neighbors’ voices, to say nothing ol their piano’s perennial tum-tum, and the furniture-dealers reap a rich harvest in furnishing presses in which to hang clothes. There are few freehold residences in this great town. The Marquis of This and my Lord That are monarclis ot the greater part of the soil and never relinquish a rod of it. So Mr. Collie’s palace was not owned by him and the lease sold for £38,000!—only $190,000! Mr. Collie is now r a criminal at large. Within a year lie drew out of the firm £123,000 for personal expenses. PeTliaps it is not surprising that he failed for millions ami lias hardly any assets. You see there is fust living even in England. I find human nature very human on islands as well as on continents. Adam must have been everybody’s father originally, let scientists deny it as they please.