The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 23, 1895, Page 13

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 1895. 13 . |LosT [From THE [W1zzeN-QRoyAL Y ARD. A STORY OF THE MYSTERIOUS LIGHT OF ST. ELMO. BY DAN O CONNELL. It had gone two bells in the middle | watch, and I could hardly keep my eves open. The morning but th ward—j I had thou; s excessively warm, was a lighs air from the wes 1ugh to keep the canvas ful ght of everything I could re- member to fight off the drowsiness which | was stealing over me. _l had heard ashore and the girl who ng it. I thought of the letters I had to ite before we made Hakodate, for we weres cruising in the Japan Sea on this night of June, 1866. There w to trim sail to keep oneself breeze, though light, was ste vake. The and the foot of the main course, to which T had ex- | tended my walk, and the delightful draught it cast, w tionless as if the sailrope had been of metal. Isnddenly felt that I was thirsty, and wandered down to the gunroom for a | I met there a count I recalled the last | i Interested in hi: s mo excuse | know, and one week’s Manor settled me. woman of yvours. I will not describe Nora to you. But here is a silly duffer, you shooting at Eagl | but it w Gilmour, and she had thrown her mid- shipman lover completely overboard. “I met her, Paddy,” the poor fellow said, ‘-and she smiled af me and shook hands. as’if T was a pleasant acquaint- ance and nothing more. rd_Gilmour was quite friendly and spoke of the shoot- ing and invited me on board. I had only one chance to speak to her, and I whi hered, ‘Nora, have you forgotten? and she aughed and said with the air of a woman of the world, *Yousilly boy; I want you to forget all that nonsense.’” But it is all over now. I will never see her again. Never, never!” “Bosh,” said I, slapping him on the | back, “you'll get over il tiis. Why, that i girl that saved my life in Limerick, and who swore I was the only man she ever |loved, was married a week afterward to a | wealthy tanner. and had the impudence to send me her wedding cards.” But all this well-meant consolation had her picture.’” “Humph!” I thought; ‘badly bit, in- deed,” as he took.a locket which he wore from a silk cord around his neck, opened 1t and laid it before me. 1t was the face of an exceedingly beautiful girl—a roguish, laughinz face, with clusters of brown curly hair and d blue eyes. It w well painted. The artist was evidently deeply subjes “That is Nora,” be said, and the gentle lowering of the voice as he pronounced the | name of the loved one told the whole story. | congratulate you upon your good Am I to be the best man 2’ aff me, Paddy,” he said isas poor as I am, but she love She will wait for me. I am sure she N ome one has been telling her i . Elmo’s light, and I prom- | ised her that when I saw it I would go no effect upon my friend, and I was glad | when we got under way and pointed for ! the Straits of Sunda. Bescoby went about | his duty in a dull, mechanical sort of ¢, and even the fellows who used to per- secute him most had respect for his de- ondency, although they knew not the use. He never mentioned the name of his false sweetheart again, and I avoided all reference to the subject. 1 was in the second hour of a delicious sleep a few nights afterward when some- | body grasped me violently by the arm and shook me. “‘Rouse up, sir, rouse up!” cried Gog | Thompson, hurriedly. “I think there is something wrong with Mr. Bescoby. He | is aloft on the mizzen royal yard, and 1 { sent one of the boys after him, and the boy | came back and said that he was talking to himself and muttering something about HIS FIGURE OUILINED AGAINST THE DUSKY SKY.” next pipe. , old ma ! Why have ¥ou turned that looked up to mine from the mess-table was that of a beauty—so re- fined, not masculine comeline: ng-room, no ma could demur to an exchange. nothing effeminate about the figure. shoulders were square and muscul the neck showed unmistakable signs of Arthur_Bescoby. though we “‘Miss Bescoby” in the mes: was no girl boy, but a young lad from the asant county of K. who was a good et and football player, pulled a strong car and gave ample promise of being a valuable addition to her Majesty’s navy. I can’t sleep, Paddy (Paddy was my pet name). I don’t know what it is wor- ries me so, but I feel wretche “You're in loye, Bes That made to Scotland has v Bescoby’s it don’t think I'm rejoined, ‘“‘only something {o keep m, mind busy between mails. By the w what did day?” 1 zave him the ship’s position at noon, and chaffed him at having forgotten it. “Buppose you tuke a turn on deck with me, Dess,” 1 nd you can get a jolly good hosing at eight bells, which will do you more good than scribbling in this messroom. Come along and T’Il tell you y}sit you “No about the girl that saved my life in Lim- | erick.” Before T concluded that rem: Bescol blues had when next watch stere was all right ain. He was a favorite of mine, and though he spol many things there was 1 air of re- serve about him that made all perfect con- fidences impossible. He was sensitive toa degree, and suffered under the chaffing which a lot of larky midshipmen find in- dispensable to fill in their leisu “Y'd Tike to speak to you, 12 e r, for 2 min- ute,” said a huge fellow, the tailest man in | the ship, s marine whom we called Gog Thompson, and who looked aiter Bescoby’s clothes and washing, as well as mine, “Whai is it, G Quick; reel it off. 'm sleepy.” z CAY, lu'y, sir. It's about Mr. Bescoby. Did o ever talk to you about St. Elmo's light?” oW hy, ves; he was curious to see it. Well,-what of it?"” 3 i «He’s more than curious, sir. serstitious about it. He thinks save an effect upon his life.” Nonsense,” said I. “Mr. Bescoby has been chaffing you, Gog.” ; “No, sir,” Teplied the big marine, ear- nestly, who loved the handsome young middy as if he had been hisson. *‘I know you are his caum, sir, and thatif 1 told you yowd talk him out of those ideas. But please, sir, don’v mention that I had anything to say about it.” g “Certainly not, Gog,”” and as the marine saluted and walked forward I remem- bered that Arthur was saperstitious and had asked me many things about ghosts and fairies and banshees and other uncan- ny things indigenous to the Isie of S\amt} But he had never mentioned St. Elmo’s light, that pecu.iar ball of electric light which is occasionally seen in the iow lati tudes clin-__iing to the trucks and the ends he yards. i - 0(‘}l'llypunlp him about "it to-day,” I thought, and fell asleep. e That afternoon when I was writing up my individual log ?e:cnuy cx.mql:\l:o ‘t’llx‘czi inroom. I saw the same curious fiv‘fl:&d cxnre,ssig:' on his face 1 had ob- he night before. ¢ He{‘i;:‘ssxv.whf! the deuceis the matter with you? Are ytgl lrf:liqgrbelf you have vet seen St. Eimo’s Jight 2" : mf%\‘l:)lo bas been telling you' that yarn, Paddy 7" he answered quickly, with aflush of apnoyance. ‘I know. That big donkey, (:'ofi. bas been lgading you up with a lot of bosh.” * : S - : here, old man,” I said, “you con- fidehi’gky{)e‘ Now, I have talked to you about banshees nn,«,l ghosts, tell me about is light business. S 3 ‘hiieh;al:,tdown beside me, and puttmahxs arm on my shoulder, said in a shamei ced Ho‘l:‘lf; t'i':a{': Paddy, I'll tell you all. Iam it will g1y very hard hit, Paddy,” he you mauke her out to be yester- to me freely on | He's su- | t of rum and limejuice to give relish | aloft and examine it closely and make | St. Elmo’s light, and I am afraid, sir, that scientific observations and_all that (sert of thing. And the last words | that Nora spoké to me (we were on the shores of Eaglesham Lake and she had kissed me, and | called me her own sailor and told me that she knew she never could love any one half as well as a sailor) were, ‘Arte, don't forget St. Elmo’s light. And, Arte, when ! you see that light Nora will be near you in spirit. _And_when you do see it you say, : Nora, Nora, Nora three times, and where- “ ever I am my soul will be close by you at | that moment, Arte.’ *Oh, Paddy, she is as beautiful as an angeland I &m sick with longing ain,” and the poor lovesi | buried his face in his hands. “By Jove, you've got it bad, Bessy,” I | said.” “T thought I was fond of the girl | that saved my life in Limerick, but my | affection is but as a_tallow dip alongside | St. Elmo’s light itself compared to yours.’’ |~ “Don’t chaff any more,will you, Paddy "’ | and the hapless lover looked pleadingly at me. ‘I will not, Bessy. Idon’t wonder that Nora fell in love with you; you are too good-looking for a man.” And I promise ou that if on my watch on deck I see St. Slmo’s light I'll send Gog Thompson to pull you out by the heels.” Aifter this conversation I noticed a change for the better in Bescoby. He had lost his moodiness and gave such not shots to his tormentors, who used to chaff him for their digestion, that he silenced their batteries in short order. I think he felt relieved that he had told me his story T listened to the entire tale of his me with and engagement to the Irish beauty. I hoped that she had not been flirting | with my chum, but even as he told the story of their love I was villain enough to conclude in may own mind that Nora was looking out for a_rich husband, and was getting her hand in by practicing on Bes- | coby. There was such a strawberrv and | cream_flavor about the business, a Paul | and Virginia atmosphere, that I felt m | countryman was simply amusing herself | with the susceptible young sailor, and nothing more, Two days afterward we brought up in Hakodate. There were a few merchant- men in the harbor, and an English yacht. At mess that evening one of our fellows | who had been ashore gave us all the gossip | of the place. | “That yacht is the Spray,” he said, “and | belongs to a rich Scotch lord, who has a | large party on board. The Consul told {me all about them. His aunt and married sister are chaperoning the girls. One is awf 1lly pretty, an Irish girl. Sheis engaged to his lordship, and they are to be married at the British' embassy at Hong- kong. say, we must give them a dance. Just think how jolly! Here we are, away from home, and’ the lots of English girls we know. Hey for the maids of merry, merry England. Wouldn’t it be grand ‘if we got to Hongkong in time for the wed- ding?” i ‘‘What is the owner’s name?” I asked. | .. “Lord Gilmour. A jolly young chap, too. somewhere near Glasgow.” ““I want to see you for a minute, Paddy." I looked around and Bescoby was at my elbow. He was strangely pale, and his eyes wore a wild and most unuatural ex- pression. “Paddy,’” he said, as he stood at one of the starboard ports, “there is something | awfully wrong. I know this Lord Gilmour, It was at his Touse I stayed. It was there Tmet Nora. And he was attentive to her, { I remember, but she did not seem to care {about him. And now she is on this yacht- ing cruise with him. And he is engaged to some one on board. Oh, Paddy, I know there is something wrong!” ‘““Nonsense, belay all that stuff,” I said cheerily. “If Nora is on buard, which is not probable, there are other Irish girls in the world, and it does not follow that the Scotchman-is engaged to her.” He shook his head, and as he walked away I felt just as surely as if I had heara i the story that his Nora was the Lord's fiance, and that she hiad used him to bring her laggard to the proposing point. Bescoby lost no time in confirming his suspicions. I met him on the bund ashore a few hours afterward, and he told me that he had seen one of the yachtsmen, and got the whole story from him. The false Nora was soon to become Lady Has a grand shooting " and great place | | he is out of his mind.” |~ While I was hurriedly pulling on my | trousers the marine told me that that | singular phenomenon had been seen first on the main truck, and that another ball | of fire had rested for 2 moment on the end | of the mizzen royal yardarm. The minute | Mr. Bescoby saw this he had rushed aloft | and laid out on the yard. Filled with ap- | prehension I came on deck and started “Windmills, their uncouth gesticula- tions, their air gigantically human, as of a creature half alive, put a spirit of romance into the tamest landscape.” A square, strong tower at the corner of Pierce and Union streets strikes the im- pressionist with awe however bright the day may be. 1t is the passionate note across the scene, as Peter describes the messenger of death in the last of “Love’s Labor Lost.” The fateful note, ever heard through fantastic music of Brahms and Dvorak, marked as a blow,implacable and merciless. A phrase in what medieval grammarians called Tonic minor tetrameter, said by Bishop Adhelm to be fitted for hrayingsand bel- lowings, and its theme is “Terrorand Pity, Pure Tragedy.” All passers-by are not aware of it because, as Mendes says, there are people whoare born mummies. The grove of Monterey cypress which sur- rounds the deserted mill does not hint to them, Trees, and the menace of night. I found it during a solitary walk and | stopped long in delight at. the crossroads, recalling Stevenson’s words: “Some places speak distinctly. Certain dank gardens cry aloud for 2 murder; cer- tain old houses demand to be haunted; certain coasts are set apart for shipwrecks. Other spots again seem to abide their des- tiny, suggestive and impenetrable, ‘mich- ing mallecho.” * * * ut you need not tell me—that is not all; there is some story, unrecorded or not yet complete, which must. express the meaning of that inn more fully.” 3 1 said to my friend living near there, “1 always liked a tower. I will buy that cor- ner some timeand alter the niill, have a Dutch-tiled fireplace and - a driftwood fire.”” The more I thought of living in the mill the better I liked the idea. Whata place for my charming auxiliary Holland calendar with windmills on every page! I thought I might hire it and 'even had fancies about furnishing an Eolian harp of course. My friends and I could sit on the floor, the Eolian harp would be an actual necessity. The_interior shonld be like a icture by De Hoog, red-tiled floors, blue Efi:lflware plaques and vases (with tulips growing in some), cool, soft tones of hang- ings, burlap or denim. There should be hammered brass and copper, pottery of pale green or rich, red glaze, and a tall clock with tinkling chime. But there is | no imagination in_the Dutch genre school. | The stolid figures in Terburg’s scenes never would think of the mighty universe and its mysteries. No, windmills came from the Saracens, and more in keeping with the tremendous scenery would be an “Arabian Nights” ar- rangement of latticed arches and divans and musical instruments. Thiswas a spot for the genii. . With the stars and winds and birds for companions, what might I not expect in the line of “-precipated” writ- ing and calls from Mabatmas? What sky- | farings I could have. I would invite Miss Rose O. Halloran and her telescope and set forth for ruined cities in the Moon and Hebrew-character-shaped canals on Mars! Here I might again try to teach “Twinkle, | twinkle, little star,”’ to the other. the slangy Austrahlan member of the family, the wise oid cockatoo, who looks with fatherly kind- | ness upon my mere human failings, and | thinks I do well for a creature withqut | feathers. I told him how beautiful his plumage of gold and snow would look | gleaming in and out of the cypress trees; | he said, “Bet your life!” and gave the fierce Towser barks with which he notices STORY OF A HAUNTED WINDMILL. “ WHERE THE BREAKER-LINED COAST STRETCHES AFAR.” BY EMMA FRANCES DAWSON, mune with that'is uplifting, like the words of patriarch and pmfihet. It was a new view to look from the west at Fillmore- | street wharf, whose lines of lamps have | been familiar among harbor lights, long dear companions on what Miss Ina Cool- brith calls my “‘perch’’ on Clay-street hill. Friends who are shut in Philistia scoffed at my project; those who have any spirit of Bohemia approved. When I went again to my friend she proposed that we should try to enter the mill. Dainty and fine, from ber house with electric bells and tele- phone, she stood looking at the forsaken garden and gray structure and exclaimed, “Wouldn't it bequaint?” Then she point- | ed out an artist’s studio in the upper part | of a fanciful stable across the way. The house has been moved to another | lot. We asked the care-taker for leave to go into the mill. She said, *‘Itis nottolet, it is all rough.” Isaid, “I do not care how rough.”’ So a procession of the woman, two small children, a big dog and ourselves crossed the great garden, The building was better inside than I had thought it | would be, though oniy a wooden shell. The machinery was all outside at the back. | The stairs went up on one side of four | large rooms, one above another, with windows on the north, east and south sides. My great desire had been to look from the upper windows. but I forgot it. Neither my friend nor I spoke of going beyond one flight of stairs. Some | ictures were tackea on the sides. | felt. an unreasonabje objection to | the unkpown tenant. It was hard to| belieye that mnothing dreadful had ever happened there. Then it wasyetto | come and I might be the central figure. I should live there as Stevenson did at Bur- ford Brisge and Queens Ferry in a perpet- ual flutter,on the heels as it would seem of some adventure that should justify the place, a feeling that would call me to bed at night and call me again in the mornin, Evenin the presence of sunshine the ch: dren and _dog, the care-taker, even while making idle remarks thouzh we said little, we seemed to be thrust out. It was much like when I could not bring myself to go up the stairs of a building where a man had just been killed though I did not know that until next day. We paused in the old garden with a long walk under tall palms, but grass grown | everywhere. ~ The care-taker gave me a moss rose, but in the melancholy quiet it should have been a porpy. They were testing the big gunson Alcatraz Island; the reverberationsgwere far worse than in town, but they seemed rather to jar the | silence than to break it. We came away with as few words as if from a funeral. “It is .impossible,” said my friend. ‘“There is no door but the entrance.’” *It would be too cold,” I said, thinking | of winter storms, the roistering winds roaring round before ‘“‘going off to sea to meet other winds and make a _night of it."” | The trees would groan and beat ngninst‘ the wall. The tower might rock. How | would i like to feel that its extended arm | was beckoning to the lightning? It was | the very place to. muse over lives dreamed and dreams lived, but it would be like that sculptured bedstead of Daumpt's at the Champde Mars’ ex);osition this year, its | Dreams of Love and Wealth and Glory on | one side, counterbalanced by the awful | mystertous figures on the other side, the Hours of night. Earthquake and eclipse might come when, like the criminal led out of court in India, the whole of me | would be seen no more together. 1 I gave up the project, to the great relief “ of an acquaintance who has the gift of | clairvoyance. “It would not do for you to | be alone there,” she said. “I should be | afraid in such a lonely place, not of people noise in the night, thus assuring me that he would continue on guard. From that | quickly up the weather rigging. There | was a heavy swell on and the ship was | rolling considerably. I stopped at the i miz]zen topmost crosstrees and sung out, | softly: i “Hello, Bescoby! Lay down here fora | moment. I've got something to tell you.” He did not’ reply, but kept talking to | himself, so I began the ascent of the top- | gallant rigging. "Asthe ship rolled henvifi\' i to leeward I saw his Rgure outlined | against the dusky sky,and I heard him | say in a peculiarly dull but distinct mono- | tone: “L have found the light at last, Nora. I have kept my part of the promise. Is | your spirit near me now?"’ | _Again the big ship rolled to Jeeward and | the end of the royal yard was lifted up to the clear patch of sky. But there was no one there. Poor Bescoby had either sprang or fallen overboard. I'shouted to the quartermaster to put the wheel hard down, and as the ship came shaking up in the wind I jumped to the topgallant backstay and slid rapidly to the deck. The boat was at once lowered away | and then another, but though we searched | for more than an hour and burned lights | over a vast area of water, we found no trace | of the hapless midshipman. There was gloom in the gunroom mess for many | weeks afterward, for “Bess” was a general | favorite. 1 never told the story of this unfortunate attachment, and I never saw the woman | whose marriase Iread of in a Hongkong | paper who had made my poor friend the | sport of a suramer vacation, and ruined a | young and Eromising life for her own grati- i i{(é:lttlon, and for the winning of wealth and itle. OLSEN CARRIED A DIRK. | He' Also Had a Big Revolver and Ap- peared to Be Insane. Martin Olsen, a tall golden-haired red- | whiskered man, was one of the visitors at | police headquarters yesterday afternoon. | He told Clerk Moffitt that he had a griev- ance. People were saying that he was get- ting lop-sided, that his nose and mouth | were being twisted all to one side. Moffitt | observed a long dirk knife sticking out of | the upper pocket of his coat, and he asked | Olsen to allow him to look at it. He | banded it across the counter and Moflitt | slipped it into the hand of Detective Ed ibson. | Olsen was taken to the City Prison by | Detectives Gibson uand Cody, and when searched a six-shooter was found in his hip pocket. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. He said he was a | laborer and had lived in the City for elaven | years, but now he wanted to go back to Norway. Ile would give no explanation of his reason for carrying the dirk-knife iand revolvef. It is probable that he will be sent before the Insanity Commissioners for examination. . Miss Shaw and Miss Anthony. In response toa general desire on the part of the citizens of San Francisco who were unable | to obtain seats at the late congregs, where they | could hear the two distinguishel women from the East, Miss Shaw and Miss Anthony, the Metropolitan Temple has been secured, gnd on Thursday evening, the 27th inst., a fine pro- | gramme hns Dbeen arranged, in which both of these speakers will be heard. Miss Shaw will ive her world-famed lecture on 'he Fate of | Republics,” and Miss Anthony will speak on ““The Present Status of the Suffrage Question.” The tickets for this entertainment will be on sale at Sherman & Clay’s music-store, corner of utter and Kearny strects, on the 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th, and also at the door on the evening of the lectures, with no charge for re- | served seats. At the low price of 50 cents the | house is sure to be crowded. That it will be a | fashionable affair is already a foregone von- clusion, & Jeader of the 400 -having aiready spoken for fifty tickets for special iriends. ———— | fli;he Russian imperial crown is valued at 12 Y | il B THE HAUNTED WINDM [Sketched by a '/w > ! 5‘/’// 74 <z o T i but of spirits. They cannot come so near | sp ILL ON UNION STREET. “Call” artist.] - . mill I should watch the seamen of Swin- burne’s exquisite ljnes, that have the very sweep.of wind and wave: ‘When T had wings, my brother, $Such wings as thine were mine! The next time I drew near the windmill I rode on the front of a dummy. This gavea more startling and imposing view of its daring arm aloft, forbidding, yet sig- naling, with an air of calling down a curse, s0 gloomy is the aspect of the crossroads, fit %or incantations and the descent of un- canny dreams upon any wayfarer who might try to slecp under those cypresses. A team heaviiy loaded with woo«i stopped for the passing of the car and added to the impression of dangerous forest paths. I would not heed a sense of horror. * I meant to have nasturtiums and climbing roses trained to the very top of the mill, as the trees would shelter them. 1 went on to my friends to talk of tergmg to_ hire it. look .| ing stretch of the They were away. I from their win- dows at pine and cypress, the lovely turn of the dusty road toward the Presidio, my | where there is much human magnetism. | Those rooms that would be above or below you would be just the places they like. It was in the vacant upfier story of our house on Bush street that they made such noises. Some of the family saw unknown women on the stairs. * After we leit a suicide was committed there.”” I remembered ancient tales of waste and solitary Placeu bein; liked by demons. Meanwhile my friend’s husband had grown interested. He sent me a note, which said: ‘‘Lhave seen the agent of the wind- mill and he will not rent it. Too bad, but we cannot take it. I have a cabin in Bel- vedere, in the woods, overhanging the water, somewhat inaccessible and quite alone, but neighbors near. If you like it you are welcome.” But Belvedere is not the city, nor is a cabin a tower. % One morning a German meighbor, an old ‘SBan I'ranciscan, stopped under my open window for a gossip in the sunshine. I suppose it was by chance that I told her longed-for picturesque tower, the fascinat- , and thought how people living in the heart of town know only the v, the material part of San Francisco. The sea is its soul: to com- about the windmiil. Then came the dra- matic effect of one of the apparently studied moves of what we call chance. “The agent Rnew {3“ would not stay,” said she. ~ “You could not live there.” “Why," I cried with swift intuition, “is it haunted ?” “Yes; by something terrible.”” “‘Was a crime done there?” “Yes, a man killed his wife. Ob, I knew of it a dozen years ago. People feared to pass there at night. “‘Some one has lived there. vet tacked to the walls.” *“That was an old man who tried to live there, but he was forced toleave. He conld not endure the ghost’s disturbance.” “Was anything seen?” “No; but dreadful noises were heard, not far away, but close by—in the same room with him. Often I think of Schiller’s line: ‘We know not what may be standing bebind us.’ Pictures are 'THE WRONG KELLY. Mrs. Mary T. Keiley Was Only the Land- lady of the Kelly Who Fleeced Poor Women. It transpires now that the police ar- rested the wrong personin Mrs. Mary T. Kelley of room 17, Phelan building. The complaint against her was that of victime izing women in search of employment. Policemen Coleman and Graham made the arrest last Thursday, but immediately thereafter Mrs. Kelley was released. The real culprits, it seems, were Ernest Kelly and his wife, Frances, neither of whom are of uny relation to Mrs. Kelley, shough the latter says that Ernest Kelly had been pass- ing himself off as her son. The two Kellys without two e’s in their name were merely tenants of Mrs. Kelley. She feels that a wrong has been done her in the arrest and the unpleasant notoriety consequent upon it, and certainly her business has been hurt to some extent by this unfortunate mistake arising out of a similarity of the names of tenantand land- lady. It was Ernest Kelly and his wife who fleeced the poor women, but at the earnest solicitation of the police he has given back all the money thus obtained and squared accounts with all his known vic- tims, thereby escaping arrest. HERE ON OFFICIAL DUTY, Edward B. Whitney, First As- sistant United States At~ torney-General. Will Take Depositions in the Mur- phy Claim Against the Government. Edward B. Whitney, First Assistant Attorney-General of the United State: in California and will remain several day Mr. Whitney is a New Englander by birth, but was appointed to the Department of Justice from New York. He' is a blonde, of slight figure and below the medium height. His manner is simple and cour- teous and his address agreeable. He was seen on behalf of the CavLL at the office of Samuel G. Hilborn in Milis building yesterday. Mr. Whitney said the object of his present visit to San Francisco was to represent the Government in the taking of depositions in the claim of Con- tractor Murphy, growing out of the exc: vation for the drydock at Vallejo. Nom nally the amount claimed was large, and as some one from the Department of Jus- tice had to represent the Governmentin ay | the taking of depositions he was assigned to that duty. In the taking of the depositions the claimant, Mr. Murphy, is represented by Congressman S. G. Hilborn. The attor- neys for the claimant reside in Washing- ton, and Mr. Hilborn acts for them at their ecial request. Contractor Murphy’s work was done twenty vears ago. The first dispute as to the amount due him for the excavation was referred to Admiral Rodgers, then commandant at Mare Island Navy-yard. As referee the admiral heard the testi mony and listened to Judge Thornton; representing the Government, and Mr. Hilborn, counsel 1or the contractor. He took the matter under advisement and decided to award the contractor $6000. Mr. Murphy took the money and gave a receipt for it. Subsequently he sued the Govern- ment for a much larger amount, but the receipt was produced and construed by the court as a receipt in full. The claim then came before Congress and the claimant was given permission 4o go before the Court of Claims to show all the facts in the case and introduce testi- mony bearing on the receipt, which other- wise would have been barred by the statute of limitation. The contractor claims that the Government owes him $200,000 and is pressing a claim for that amount. Mr. Whitney saw the new Attorne General, Judge Harmon of Ohio, for a moments before he left Washington. The interyiew, although brief, not extending beyond fifteen minutes, left in the first assistant’s mind a very agreeable impres- sion of the Attorney-General. Mr. Whitney, in referring to his own trip, said: This is not my first visit to California. I have been out here once before and enjoyed the trip then as I enjoy this one. My present visit has no connection with the litigation in which the Government and the railroad people are engaged. ‘When asked it he knew whether the Secretary of War, Mr. Lamont, would con- tinue his {u‘esent trip to the Pacific Coast, he replied: ‘“Weare so busy in the Depart- ment of Justice that we do not know what is going on in the War Department.” Since his arrival in San Francisco Mr. Whitney has visited the University Club as the guest of Samuel Knight, Assistant United States District Attorney. DS Half Fares for the Fourth. A general order was issued yesterday by the Southern Pacific passenger. department to ticket agents notifying them that on July 3 and 4 passenger tickets may be sold om all lines of the system at hgyf rates. These tickets will be good until July 8. This privilege has not been granted heretofore by the Southern ific. It gives people ‘the epporrunity of buying round-trip tickets at the price of a sin- gle fare either way, a real inducement to tempt crowds to visit San Francisco and other cities for the National celebration. — e One-seventh of the territory of France is composed of forest. I ‘Walking Made Ea.y | BY WEARING , Goodycar Weit Shocs Try It. 'SHOE DEALERS SELL THEM. W™ Goodyear Welts are LEATHER SHOES—not Rubber. 6006460000000600000004 0. Laad NEW TO-DAY. (ITYZPARIS SEMI-ANNUAL CLEARANGE SALE BEFORE STOCK-TAKING. Beginning Monday, June 24. UNLSUAL REDLCTIOS N ALL DEPATMENTS Maryelous Reductions in BRATD TRIM- MINGS, formerly 25¢, nOW......... 2° ""Per Yara PASSEMENTERIES TRIM- 0 , trom 1 50 and $2, to & 5 ana 5(0° Per Yard REMNANTS AND ODD LOTS OF TRIMMINGS BELOW PAR. ¥ LACE 'rnm.\u&n ‘};An- SOLS, formerly $7 50, and #5350, now - : $1.90 All Bemnants_uf fice Sacrificed. Handkerchiefs ! {BEQIDERED HANDKER: . ] ()0 scalloped and hemstitched reduced to.. A = Each 75 dozen CHI edge: Gents’ full size, H. reduced t0.. 03 Each : Kid Gloves! Formerly $2, $1 75, $1 50, $1 25 and §1 ‘)"0 per pair, reduced to. 5 ) In size 514 only Per Pair 4-BUTTON KID GLOVES, white and 7"0 pearl-black embroidery, all sizes, re- [5) doced from $1 25 to +... Per Pafr G. VERDIER & CO., SE. cor. Geary and Grant ave. VILLE DE PARIS. BRANCH HOUSE, LOS ANGELES. DON'T BREAK YOUR BACK Or disfigure your walls try= ing to open your trunk. WE ARE AGENTS FOR THE CELEBRATED PEERLESS WALL TRUNKS Which a child can open without exertion. THEY HUST BE SEEX to BE APPRECIATED PEERLESS TRUNK, zinc covered, sheet-iron + bottom, heavily braced..... .s “eeiesees .28-inch $4, 30-inch $4 50, 32-inch 85 S TRUNK, canvas covered, extra brace, hasp '10ck, sheet-iron bottom. .....28-inch $6 25, h $6 75, 52-luch $7 26 PEERLESS TRUN fine quality, canvass covered, extra heavy bumpers, reinforced sides, double lock, sheet-iron bottom 1, 82-inch $12 28-inch 510;32&116!1 $1 Large Assortment of Steamer Trunks, Telescopes, Bags and Baskets AT PRICES THAT DEFY COMPETITION. Electrical Construction and Repairing of All Kinds. Estimates Given. Special attention given to Sporting Goods and Barber Supplies. Razors, Shears and Knives ground and repaired. 818-820 Market Street Phelan Building. _ Factory—30 First Street. I nel v fchester’s English Diamond ENNYAOYAL PILLS for Chichester's English Dia-, P Brand ia Ited and Guid metalie COAL! Wellington 8 50—Half ton 4325 Seven Sacks of Redwood, $1 00. 000600044000040000600080060000000600009900 KNICKERBOCKER COAL CO., 522 Howard Street, Near First.