The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 10, 1896, Page 17

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SU EVEN young women of Monterey, all of them bachelor maids, and every bachelor maid of them school-teacher, have in a pic- turesque manner brought the modern reform movement tion with the quaintness of the old Califor- nia capital. They have brought the bloomer into the | old adobe dwelling place. These girls, for they are not long out of the Normal School, are self-reliant. Not only are they able to ignore the sterner sex, but they go in advance of their gen- eration so far that they can bid defiance to the boarding-house kzeper and do their own work. They live in an ancient adobe house, running a home of their own, and in & domestic way are as independent of the world as ever new young women can be. Their unigue home establishment grew out of dissatisfaction with boarding- | houses and boarding-house keepers. The young women are known as “The Pleiades.” They are Normal Schoof grad- uates, and tneir exceptional self-reliance may be ascribed to the circumstance that they are all Californians. When they into associa- | THE PLEIADES ARE OMICILED iN AN HISTORIC ADOBE | andas on two sides of the many-roomed, two-storied building. The adobe that | they obtained is the Thomas O. Larkin | | place. |~ This house, in which dignitaries now | g, WL g plic—fic dhreeter 1t g b | One of the Plciades on a Excursion. [From a photograph.] Hunting wood. Itstill isin the old adobe, and is the special delight of the bachelor maids. Though the keys have somewhat turned in color and are wo:n cousiderably, the tone is yet clear and sweet. This was the second piano brouzht to this coast. The first also is in Monterey and is owned by | Mrs. Abrego, a sister of the present owner | of the adobe mansion. | In_ 1850 this Larkin house, with sll its | furniture, was bought by Jacob P. Leese, | @ prominent pioneer of San Francisco, and | bas since fallen to his hei Mr. Leese | occupied the Louse up to the time of his death in 1890. | As is well known, the house was the | scene of great festivity in the early days. | | Juacob Leese Jr., who resides in Monterey, tells many interesting narratives of the | old-time hospitality. Captain Swasey of this City spent many of his pioneer days there, as he was asso- ciated with Larkin. General Sutter was on several occasions a guest within,the adobe walls. : Al the court balls were held there, and when any foreign officer was at Monterey he was entertained by Lark . On the street, at the corner of the adobe, is a hitching-posi. This is a caanon, which is planted muzzle downward. Thit cannon was one of the three original guns taken from the frigate Savannah to fortify Fort Halleck. When the enterprising young school- teachers secured a lease of thc mansion, | they quickly dispelled the gloom which long had hung ebout the place. In the | lower story the floors were all covered with | Japanese matting and skins. As some of | Ay, v 0 SN Iy MAY 10, 1896. 17 I i MILE JAUNT. This Pleiad Is a Crack Pistol Shot. went to Monterey to t encountered the ‘inconvenience of hotel and - boarding-house .life. = They agreed that reform was needed, and so they held a formal convention and resolved to bring about a reform. Educational subjects were not consid- ered at that teach meeting. On the contrary, the entiire discussion was about the ho —abouf the home should establish for themselve: A result of the conference was teachers decided to lease an' ol house, a picturesque old struct walls three feet thick, and with deep ver- ch school they that they | historical were entertained in the days of Mexican dominion, stands at the corner of California and Alvarado streets. It is a typical adobe building, long, low and rambling. The tiled roof, nearly all | covered with green moss, is in pretty con- | trast to the whitewashed walls. | The old structure lhad been for years | without occupants, but in two or three | weeks the carpenters, painters and fur- | nishers made it bright, homelike and { attractive. | " The unigue home of the girls, which comes so near being *‘ideal,” stands prom- inent among the historic adobes of old Monterey. The house was built by Thomas O. Lar- i Mr. Larkin was then Ameri- sul at Monterey. It wasthe finest {'structure that the adobe_ city could then [ boast of. If is two-storied, with a wide veranda running around two sides. The courtyard in the rear is surrounded witn a high, tile-covered wall. In thisinclosure ihe old time quadrilles were held. In establishing their nome in the his- toric structure, the bachelor maids did not ave to entirely refurnish the building. They found that the upper story was well fitted out with furniture of veautiful, antique design. importea by Larkin from China, and cost thousands of dollar. The furniture is entirely of iron, wood and onyx, put together without nail or scre Some of the tables, of which there are several, weigh as much as 400 pounds | each. The value of each of the tables is | not less than $500. here are lounges and divans of odd and :lous design. These are fifteen feet h and four in breadth. They have 8 ends and are covéred with ins. There are wide drawers that pul! out from the front, with carved dragon | heads for knobs. All the chairs are unwieldy, but are | dsomely carved. i One of the rocking-chairs is six feet high and is so heavy that it cannot readily be | moved. The rockers are six or seven feet | | in length and are made of iron or steel, | | nt in the shape of a wagon spring. | i en yet living remember the p | the Thomas O. Larkin days. That was | imported cottage piano, in frame of rose- | ma in J bi en t | This was all | The Principal Living-Room in the Adobe Occupied by the Bachelor Maids. the Vertebra of a Whale Is to Be Seen on the Floor. The Footstool Made From On the Table Are the Rare Old Candlesticks. A BIKING COSTUME WORN BY ONE OF THE PLEIADES fastened up to make the different suites, | the deep recesses left in the thick walls were used as china closets, bookeases and cabinets, and with their blue embroidered portieres and draperies one would never dream that they were designed for any other purpose. _ All rooms facing upon the verandas are immense, for in the olden times they had | quadrilles, and all the dons and ladies of | the old times in Monterey danced there. . These large front rooms have been util- ized by the girls as living-rooms, and the visitor never fancies, when seeing the low, wide divans, covered with tapestries of artistic design and adoraned with flounced pillows, that these Inxurious siesta ar- rangements can be transformed into com- fortable beds. While the divans look neat | and pretty, they are useful and save room. Screens hide the dressing tables. A little discovery resulting from linger- ing traces of the old-fashioned feminine curiosity added to the interest of the Pleiades’ early occupancy of the adobe. In oneof the walis was detected a little secret recess, which in the olden days may have been the hiding-place for the family plate and jewels. Stowed away in that place were found two pairs of antique candlesticke, carved in curious design, The young iadies have a footstool of the vertebra of a whale, which they picked up while on a rambie along the coast. They are always on the alert for relics, and their rooms are fillea with rare old curiosities. The large ‘living-rooms” open into a cozy little dining-room. Where the win- dows face Tipon the garden in the rear, which used to be the pride of the Spanish grandees, is now an jinclosure with high adobe walls where honeysuckles, palm trees and sweetbriars grow. Within the adobe walls the bachelor mads think they have anideal home. It is no poarding-place. There they can dis- cuss, entirely away from the world, their own ideas. The walls have no ears, and it would be pretty hard to hear through three feet of adobe. One of their dearest principles is dress reform. They all wear taeir reform suits in the schoolroom, and, although at first the children stared instead of studied, they are now used to the sight and behave as well as they did before the innovation— which proves, the teachers say, the falsity of the assertion that short skirts, bloomers and leggins detract from a woman’s dig- nity. ’lyhe first appearance of the bloomers upon the streets of Monterey caused the descendants of the men and women of the Alcalde days to Jmuu and ponder and shake their heads. Not a word of ap- proval have they for the latter-day Ameri- can women who walk or ride througn the streets without the ancieat and ortgodox style of skirts. All forms of open-air exercise available for goung women are popular with the teachers. The seventeen-mile walk or bicycle run on Cypress drive is frequently indulged in. Other Monterey girls often join the Pleiades on the pedestrian excur- sions, which include the trips to Point Pines and the lighthouse, and sometimes as many as twenty-five of the “bloomer girls” are seen together on the roads about Monterey or Pacific Grove. The Pieiades have distinguished them- selves in fishing and boating and at times the doors connecting the rooms had to be ) have interested the inhabitants of the | adobe town by their exciting boat races. Bloomer costumes are not worn exclu- sively. In walking some of the girls wear skirts which reach tc the knees. When they go bicycie riding, however, they wear the unmodified bloomers. The bloomer suit of the Pleiad is tailor- made and graceful. It has pockets at the sides and straps for the beit and resembles knickerbockers, with the exception of greater width. The goods is a heavy blue- black serge. The wearer also has a Scotch cap with a large mother-of-pearl ornament and a black A Pleiad Who Handles a Gun Like a Man. [From a photograph.) feather at the side. Her leggins are of mole-colored corduroy and button, instead of buckle, up the side. A light shirt waist and patent-leather boots complete a very comfortable and durable outing outfit, with a belt of Mexican-stamped lea; worn in the South. All the girls are early risers, and every morning they may be seen, tramping, bicycling, bathing, uu.rchmg‘tf:e rocks for curious shells or having a lively bout on the tennis courts. ¥ They have a romantic, delightful home, and they are happy in it. er, so much Hard to Tell Apart. Among the many representatives that have come on from the Indian Territory this winter to aid Congress in legislating for that region are two young lawyers, both citizens of the flourishing fown of Ardmore, bearing the names of Pouglass and Ledbetter. They are both bright men and successful in their profession, friends and have offices in the same build- ing. Though not atall related, they bear to each other the most wonderful resem- blance in form and features. They are as much alike robabs' as any twins ever were, even to height and weignt. People of the town get them mixed up constantly, and clients who get into the wrong office take Douglass for Ledbetter, and vice versa. The children of each have no more than one occasion called the wrong man papa. Douglass is a stanch Republican, ana his friend is equally asstalwarta Dem- | ocrat. The former is not on!y learned in | the law, but is a writer of capital dialect verse.—Was| t. Mark Twain’s Hospitality. In his article on Mark Twain in the May | Harper, the Rev. Joseph T. Twitchell re- culls en amusing story of Mr. Clemens’ marriage. His bride’s father bought and furnished a handsome house for the young pair, and Mark knew nothing of it until after the wedding, when it was shown him in all its completeness by a party of his wife’s relatives, and of course his wife, who at length broke out: “It’s our house yours and mine, a present from father,” Everybody came to hear what he would say. He choked up, and, with tears in bis eyes, stammered out to his tather-in-law- “Mr. Langdon, whenever you are in Buf- falo, if it’s twice a year, come right up here and bring your bag with you. You may stay over night if you wantto. It shan’t cost you a ] B e — ““Clean’’ Money. A clerk in the redemption division of the Treasury Department says that the “icleanest’’ paper money in circulation is that which circulates in Washington, while the dirtiest is that which comes in from Chicago for redemption. St. Louis is a close second to Chicago, and Cincin- nati next. New York is next to Washing- ton in the record for clean money, Phila- dele)hin next, while Baltimore ranks next to Cincinnati for having dirty money. The money that comes in from Chicago, be- sides “being dirty, is always much muti- lated, so much so, he said, that thereis twice as much time consumed in patching it.up prior to_cancellation as there is in counting it.—Washington Star. H ~-—— - - = " £ OIDEST. - CTAGEA(H- 5 (4] IERNIA- HE old stage that is at present running between San Jose and Alviso is probably the most ancient vehiele in use in- Califor- nia to-day. Just when it was made or by whom is a fact of which there is no | record. Judging from s careful examina- tion, however, it is likely that it is the identical American stagecoach exhibited at the Crystal Palace in ‘London in 1851, a description of which was published in the | Art Journal at the time. | The old coach is battered and worn, but | not enough to obliterate the fine work that | was put on it. This work isof such a degree of excellence as to indicate that the coach was intended for show purposes as well as hard use. The way the paint and varnish has lasted also indicates thatan extra quality of material was used. All that is known of the old coach for | certain is that it came to San Francisco in | 1854, having been brought around the | Horn in a seiling vessel. It was sold at once and for ten years did service in differ- | ent parts of the State. | The present owner of the coach is Ed Marlatt. He bought it about the year | 1864 and put 1t on the road between San Jose and Alviso,where it hus been running ever since without any repairs except to the wheels. It made regular connections { with the steamers that ran between this city and Alviso and transferred all of the passengers to San Jose. In the early days | the coach returned a good income and the | driver, Ed Marlatt, did a fine business. He soon acquired considerable proycrky about Alviso, the most valuable of all being the big brick warehouse in which the San Jose freight was stored until Ed's teams | could transport it to its- destination. Ed | was the king of that section of the coun- try in those days and could have been a | Senator had he wanted to. | The broad-gauge railrcad made the first cut at the business of the old_stage, and Alviso begarn to lose some of its impert- ance. But when the narrow gauge went directly through thelittle town that settied it. The wharves began to rot away and | the idie warehouses to fall to pieces. But | | there was always a little business until the steamboat line put on its own stage to San | | Jose. | * But Ed never for 2 moment thought of | going away. Not much. He and his old | coach had helped to make the town and | he intended to stick to it even though he | didn’t make a cent. And he has stuck to | | it, in spite of the fact that things kept get- | ting worse every day. As Ed had no use | for the warehouse he concluded to use it | for a stable instead of paying rent else- | where. Somewhat later he decided to| move into the warehouse himself and save | that much more. And there he has been domiciled for several years. ! Ed’s business is at present confined al- | | most_entirely to the transportation of Chitese. He has a corner on this busi- | ness, as he carries them between San Jose and Alviso for 10 cents. On such days as | the boat makes cheap trips to San Fran- cisco Ed has all he can carry, and the coacn certainly looks picturesque with its motley joad and tired lorses.- Ed and his old coach are insepsrable. Even though he wants to go to a ain place only a | few miles away he will ‘ch up’ and go | in the coach =l by himself. People in San Jose have become so used | to the coach that they pay no attention to it when it passes along the streets, but if | it should drop irito any other city it would | be sure to draw large crowds. There is certainly no more picturesque vehicle in | existence. The forty years of service have told on it in more ways than one, butitis | just as good for transportation purooses as | | ever. Every bit of wood in itis perfectly | | sound, and if the broken windows were re- | placed and the paint given a good washing | 1t would still be presentable. | The decorations on the outside of the old | | the coach fails to disclose any cracks, but the general appearance is most dilapi- dated. ~ Old rags and pieces of leather are made to do duty as windows and_several signs in Chinese are pasted in different places. The cushions on the inside have nearly all disappeared. The floor is coy- ered with rubbish and a vile smeil like to- Ed Marlatt, Une of the Oldest Stage- Drivers in California, bacco and opium will almost paralyze the | nostrils of any one daring enough to poke their head insid RUNNING A LOCOMOTIVE. What It Means to Speed a Train Sixty Miles per Hour. To May Ladies’ Home Journal John Gil- mer Speed contribiites an article upon the safety and comforts of railroad travelin the United States, in which he says that the highest type of American railroad is to-day constructed with such skill and sagacity that we travel in more luxury and more security than any people in the world. In considering the locomotives and the speed attained by them on our railroads, A\Fl’\ Speed says: * * Atsixty miles an hour tle resistance of a train is four times as great as it is at thirty miles—that is, the fuel must be four times as greatin the one case as it is in tha other. But atsixty miles an. hour this fuel must be exerted for a, given distancein half the time that it isin thirty miles, so that the amoun* of power exerted and steam generated in a given period of time must be eight times as great as the faster speed. This means that the capacity of the boiler, cylinders and the other parts must be greater with a corresponding ad- dition to the weight of the machine. Obviously, therefore, if the weight per wheel, on account of the limit of weight that the rails will carry, is limited, we soon reach a point when the driving- wheels and other parts cannot be further erlarged, and then we reach the maximum of speed. The pice adjustment necessary of the varions parts of these immense engines may be indicated by some figures as to the work performed by these parts when the locomotive is worked at high speed. Take a passenger engine on any of the big rail- roads. At sixty miles an hour a_ driving-wheel 1; feet in diameter revolves five times every second ; now the reciprocating parts of each cylinder, including one piston, Ed Marictt’s Old Stage, Which Has Been in Constant Service Since 1834 {Drawn from a photograph.] vehicle are worthy of aamiration, and it is safe to say it would bs hard to find a coach-painter these days capable of dupli- cating the work. The body of the coach | 1s painted red, and in spite of its great age | the color is still brilliant if the airt is | washed off. All over the sides below the | wirdows is some magniticent scroll work | in gold that is almost as bright as ever. In the center panels of the doors there are paintings of landscapes that are almost works of art. They represent Eastern scenery and are rich and brilliant in color. | Both of them are splendid in tone. They were painted on the door by an artist and are not the decalcomania pictures used in the same class of work to-day. A careful examination of the joints in the body of ) ™ ) i ) 4 ) itk ) St THE HOME OF THE BACHELOR MAIDS. [From a photograph.l piston-rod, crosshead and connecting rod, weighing about 650 pounds, must move back and forth a distance equal to the stroke, usually two feet, every time the wheel revolves, or in‘a fifth of a second. It starts from a ‘ state of ‘rest at the end of each stroke of the piston, and must ac- quire a velocity of thirty-two feet per sec- ond in one-twentieth of a second, and must be brought to a state of rest in the same period of time. A piston eighteen inches in diameter has an area of 2541 square inches. Steam of 150 pounds pressure per square inch would, therefore. exert a force on the pis- ton equal to 38,175 pounds. This force is applied alternately on each side of the piston ten times in a second. e ——— - Pensive Pencilings. I¢ has been observed that the man who likes to entertain his wife with remin. iscences of his early love affairs seldom likes to have his wife reciprocate. How gratifying it wonld be if the man who had a fine voice thirty orforty years ago would only be contented with the rec- ollection! R s Already the grass is beginning to be as green as a servant girl from the north end of Aroostook County, Me. Flies and_the yachting season—but, happily, not Dun- raven—will soon be with us. When a man takes a $100 bill to the bank to get it changed why should he try to loofi as if he was accustomed to doing the same thing every other day? A Chicago girl is never =0 happy as when she1s wearing a dress with a long train. It is a delight to the observer to see how skillfully she draws it aronnd in front to cover up her feet. Speaking of rules for letter-writing, one good rule is never to write & letter when you only need to write a note.—Somerville Journal. ———————— - Above Suspicion. Mrs. Bigwad—It must be terribly em- barrassing to be as poor as the Joneses; thh? never give anything to charity. r. Bigwad—But we don’t, either. Mrs. Bigwad—Well, they can’t say that it is because we haven't got it to give.