The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 2, 1896, Page 18

18 .. -dome. Queer | Table Manners Noted . b\J a A'lady ftiend recently from “Borneo re- qnested me to accompany her upon )vhnt might be properly styled umgucung‘ exploration expedition in certain locali- ties, She said that she. had Beard much concerning the people of San’Francisco and she wished. to devote her attention to. acute study of certiin types. “Dear me,”. she said, ‘!is it true thatin ‘eveiy restaurant there are autocrats of the breakfast- table? How delightful their -conversation must be. I would so like to see them.” . " 2 So.we started ott to’'make the acquaint- ance -of the aitocrats, and I will confess I bad_some” misgiyings that her delightful anti¢ipations .might be too sanguine for realization -:in° -this ~ workaday world, especially when I thought of - the delight- ful society of Borneo. S She ‘wanted- to see every-day types, she said—the_common people, the hoi.polidi, don’t you know, bécausé théy are so de- ligitfully hatural. “Then, again, there isa sturdy independence. about them' that is s0 refreshing. 3 g We went into a restaurant, which I will not name, beganse that woald ‘be invidi ous. . Besides I prefer to leave the ipfer- Borneo Liady can prance on curved swords with razor edges, and, as a prime attraction, can fence skilliully with a sword in each hand. Lay low, Saladin and Ma- homet, for this son of India would benead you both—flashing swords right and leit at once, the light glancing from them 1like flashes from the aurora borealized icebergs which crunch together in the ice- ‘| ribbed Arctic seas. There is a rapid succession of flashes from the table where our study sits. Something gleaming, a steely blade, catches and reflects the sunbeam which is stiil illuminating our prismatic blocks of gobletice. Is it the entree? Never mind what—so far as that goes. The point of interest is this beautiful and sure knife play. “Nothing like it in Borneo,” said my friend. Cleft from hoary scalplock to pudgy double chin, Baladin and Mahomet may lie under the scimetars which the supple waist of our Indian juggler cause to sibi- lantly whistle through air. Slashed toa nicety, and with neads divided into exact hemispheres, the skill of the juggier is at- tested by these human relics. Ah! The PO, { Uflfi;,«!flu‘ ence that types are to be found in many places.- We sat down at a table, .t was quite-early in the forenoon, and late break- fasters were around. Not the bopton; of coursé; but- thé plaim veople 'whom my Borngo friend expected o be delightful.. ““Of course,” she said, ‘San Fran- cisce- is far- ahead of Borneo in some respects, and (with & becoming little blusk) I want to learn. I am in that m06d."” S 1 had no. objection to_being a party to polishing up the Borneoess mind (to coina word), and-to tell the truth, I much ad- mire -8an Francisco manners, and knew that..the types we would see would still further pointout the inferiority of Botneo as the home of polite society to the corre- spofiding exaltation of our own place. Wetook tea and toast, little to eat and little to drink, but our-purpose was obser- vatién and ‘riot- gastronomicgs. It was a nice -litlle table at* which' we sat, on the ladies’ side-of the house. The tablecloth was snowy, the .plated- ware shiny -and handsome and' the sunshine turned the.| ice that clinked 1n our glasses into, prisms. Iknew that my hat and gloves and gown “werg, strictly up to date and my friend -from Borneo had aiso ‘“‘catight on” to the prevalling mode in a progressive and wide- awake fashion which® indicated -that ‘it Bornéa was in the direct line of progress and- modern improvements it ‘might be .expected” to at once strike a-rapid gait— commensurate, . fact, with the exacting demands of San Francisco. . 3 A’ few minutes lafer s daimty -little creatnre flutterred rather thap walked I am sure thai her eyelashes were not pen- cileéd and that no beauty doctor had any shaze in her makeup, but she.was as fresh’ #s a peach and as ‘gracious as she was physically charming. Yes, indeéd, her . voice .was 8dft and sweet as music, ana while she knew that I looked admiringly at hér she did not become. patronizing or over self-conscious, and she was*too well poised to try to provoke my admiration any further. She looked at me curiously, #nd [ think that she. knew that I am a writr for the press, but that did not catuse her to spar for a puff. Is the phrase *‘to spar”.putting it:ta strongly? For. my “part I pretended not to see her. I fancy that I. must be a good hypocrite, for she really deemed unconscious from then on that I was coyertly studying her and that the Borneoese lady had- marked her type WHat did® she do . that -‘'was unusual? . Well,.I thought that during a part of the performance I saw “the-eyesof my Borne- " ogsefriend twinkle-a little, Butifshe were amused she was too polite to show that openly. Theglimmer of atwinkle, if that is accurate descrip- ~tiony,came up tp the vitrgous surface of the beautitul-orbs of the foreigner during Bome exquisitely dex- trous play on the part " «of type No. 1. Did you ever see a real Indian juggler? Not the ordinary . [aker who pretends to .-swallow long swords and .flaming torches, nor the one who ° " makes plants grow with the not innocu. .ous fapidity of a gas oill while you look on. No, the real ar- sicle, who actually - how seemingly innocent she was. gl idea thrills me. But there is a skill before our eyes which equais Indian art. Knife and fork, knife and fork—they enter the dish and emerge. They alternately travel to ruby lips in such rapid succession that there “is hardly & perceptible interval be- tween them. The violet blue eyes of the stndy show satisfaction and enjoyment. “Extraordinary,”” says my lady from Borneo. “I'have never seen anything like it 5 : I think tliat she was right. I never had ‘seen anything so perfect—in its way. We sat at otir table some time, méchanically sipping-tea and making a vain pretense of really breakfasting. * We were really wait- ing for another type, but no one came near to enliven our monotony. So I puton my gloves and we went out. Fifteen minutes later we were sitting in another restau- rant. There was a repetition of the orig- inal surroundings, snowy cloth, shiny plated-ware, etc. The tables were “indi- vidual”—that is, isolated, and a discourage- ment to gregarious feeding. The prices were a little higher, which fact pro- claimed-itself in the smugger waiters and an additional polish to the table-ware. “Tea and toast again’ and then further observation. The lady from Borneo gave an almost inaudible sniffle of satisfaction. The door opened and a lady and gentleman entered, she dainty and delightful aitogether, he somewhat blase, but tall and manly and | with a tendency to ogle pretty giris. My compgnion was pretty and I—well, let it go that my companion was pretty. But The gentleman_intuitively read that I was not impressed and so0 he looked at my com- panion. Shelooked back at him so frankly and so inquiringly that he was puzzled and wondered if he had not met the lady. Mgn fashipn, he reasoned this out with certain prods of memory along the path- way of logic which his mind speedily traveled and concluded that he had not the honor of her acquaintance. He may have been a little flattered at her interest in him. Idonotknow about that. Man’s vanity is more susceptible than woman’s, whatever is said. He soon ceased to be *‘the drawing-card,” to use a theatrical phirase, Why? Why not? Had he not come there in company with a lady? Was her mind small or could it grasp at Eleusinian mys- terie§? Her face was mobile and lovely and Her makeup was faultless. *‘Married,” OB/ THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 1896 THE LOS ANGELES MAN WHO IS BUILDING A FINE MANSION UNAIDED I said to my opposite. She smiled. | “How do you know? It would be soin- teresting to know,”’ signaled back the lady from Borneo. The sign was sure enough. The waiter brought a morning paper and the man took it. % “Chirrup, chirrap,” said his little wife to him, or what would amount to that if she were really as birdlike as she looked. She was trying on the ante-marriage pro- gramme—the tactics of the period when he listened to her prattle with due regard to its importance. Somebody or other had found it neces- sary to tell the newspapers all about why he was going to vote or was not going to vote and the gentleman found this of more account than the twitterings of his really beautiful companion. He plunged into the paper and was reading about a horse- race, when — “Cheep, cheep,” piped the birdlike wife. But the man hardly looked up, and as he answered only mechanically, we could both see that his real attention was for a “90 to 1 shot,’’ or something like that, of which the paper told him. The bird plumage ruffled. She would not be ignored without a protest. “Chip, chip!” The sound came from between her lips, which were, I think, naturally red—or if they were not the color was well put on—with the emphasis and sharp accept of a very business-like and not altogether amiable English sparrow. Then he looked up. He recognized a danger signal. What said the lady from Borneo? You must judge whether she was sarcastic according to your knowledge of the Borneoese mind. “I never saw anything like that in Borneo,” she said slowly. I am reasonably hardened against the outre. I have seen so many persons in our public restaurants use the tablecloth for a napkin and soil the interior of the sugar-bowl with muddy stains from their individual spoons that I hardly think it worth while todwell upon such happen- ings as these. Nor may it be necessary to descant at any great length on those men monsters who place their knives in their respective mouths and use them as if they were plasterers, putting into crannies suc- cessive layers or strata. The party who sits at table with toothpick in mouth is also notenough of a rara avis to entitle him to be specifically put down. Allthese my Borneo friend looked at, cogitated about, and I would have given a shiny silverdol- lar to know what she thought concerning the people who were contributing to her social and intellectual progress. Sheonly sipped tea demurely and concealed her feeling behind a velvet mask, which was as impenetrable as chilled steel, The scenic revelations from one table at which we sat, I will be bound for a cer- tainty, brought up pictures of a far dis- tant land to my lovely companion. In the half dusk of a tropical forest of Borneo, the cheery Simian customarily depends from the gnarled and lusty branches of the immemorial banyan tree, holding on with a prehensile tail. What he dines on or how he eats it I don’t know nor care. He may eat cocoanuts, first breaking them to get atthe milk, or he may dine in courses and wind up with “a littie black.” That is not material, except in this, that he is natural and all his vices of eating are his own. They are not imitated vices. Next to us sat a young man with dreamy and soulful blue eyes, the brow of & poet and a woman’s complexion, upon which a silken mustache grew with ornamental effect. He smacked his lips overhis wine, which was so distinctly an offense that the lady from Borneo cared for him no more until he ate. Oh, for a mirror to be held in front of that young man. Up and down, up and down, on the sides of his nead traveled his ears as he opened and closed his mouth. Not that the lobes were attached to his cheeks, for they were not. His devoted mouth was stretched to its widest extent. He had practiced so long that his ears had become sympathetic and moved with his jaws. One more instance. We sat at table while next was a man who took out his false teeth and wiped them upon his nap- kin, “Tet me go,” said the Borneoess lady, We went, faint'y. OATHERINE, MILE HAYNE of Los Angeles will soon own a brownstone residence. It will be as entirely the handiwork of one person as was the storied ‘“house that Jack built.” It will possess an ex- tremely ornate and handsome facade. Its windows will be great structures, let- ting in floods of sunlight through richly ornamental panes. The clever chisel of the sculptor will add the graces of art to the archite®ural beauties. Monument- like it will stand in attestation of an industrial romance in which architect, sculptor, mason, plumber, glazier and day labor are all typified in one person, who is Emile Hayne. Walls have been slcwly and patiently raised by one pair of hands. The subtle- ties and refinements and secrets of half a dozen or more trades have been studied and epplied under the unassisted direc- tion of one active brain. Predictions of failure have been guietly smiled to scorn. Methods of building which have been con- demned by skilied men have been adopted in defiance of precedent and haye met with success. A whole town now looks on wonderingly, admiring where once many scoffed. Mr. Hayne’s home will be at 220 East Seventeenth street, which is in one of the residence districts of Los Angeles. The building material which Mr. Hayne selected ‘involved enormous labor in handling. The brownstone exterior de- mands an inner wall of brick, to which the brownstone must be fastened. Stone- mason, brickmason and blacksmith here were found in the person of Mr. Hayne. Huge stone blacks, some of them weighing ten tons, were to be hoisted from the ground to their appropriate places, and Mr. Hayne had to raise them to the re- quired level alone and nnaided, fer he has no money with which to employ helpers. He has successfuliy become, upon the pressure of emergency, 8 mechanical engi- neer, devising a combination of pulleys and levers which have endowed him with the power he needed. He has been compelled in the earlier stages of his work to omit the flooring which is ordinarily counted upon to give stability to the walls, but although rains have beaten upon the walls and winds have tried to shake them they remain steadfast and plumb. Three years ago the work was begun, which has been a sufficiently long period to test the walls under every pos- sible seasonal vicissitude. The weather has been as powerless to affect the walls as the storms ct criticism and caviling have been to affect the adamantlne pur- pose of the projector, designer and exe- cutor. Emile Hayne was born in Brussels, Bel- gium, and is 34 years of age. He has been in this country since 1882. At first he had a hard time to get along, on account of not speaking English. But jossessing a fair education and an aptitude for turning his hand to anything, it was not long before he had employment. He rinally driftea out to California and is now recognized as one of the most intelligent of the working- men of Los Angeles. When he is at home he is found in a little two-roomec build- ing on tbe back of his lot. It is very modest and is not the kind of a place in which one would expect to find such genius. Here he lives with his wife and two children, and when at leisure is very agreeable and entertain- ing. He says concerning his enterprise: “I often wondered if there could not be some way for workingmen to employ their idle time. One day while thinking of the matter it occurred to me that some of us might get together and putin $uch time in building a house, which we would own in common, each one's share being in proportion to his work. I decided to pro- pose to some of my friends to build such a house on my lot, which I had just pur- chased with money tiat I had saved. That was three years ago. I was given some encouragement, and then went to work and made plans for the building. When I was ready to commence opera- tions only one mau showed up, and he worked just half a day. They were afraid that they could not make a success of the enterprise on account of the building being of stone and of such a large size. I was very much disappointed, ana I made up my mind that-the building would go up if I had to do the work myself. THE BROWNSTONE MANSION HE IS o ot " EMILE HAYNE, THE ONLY BUILDER L Jfflfirmnflf ’ X5 2 & T o & 1< S ' L, I felt that the structure must be of zood size and fine appearance to compare with other dwellings in the neighborhooa. I bad but little money and nothing to de- pend upon except what employment I could get, and my two hands with which to do the work. Icancommand, how- ever, pretty good wages, and when I work as a stone cutter and carver I can earn 50 cents an hour. I worked three months for my brick, ana [ have putin the founda- tion and walis 21,000 bricks. Then I went to Fillmore, Ventura County, and quar- ried my stone from the bed of a creek where I was at liberty to get what I could free of charge. Il had paid for it, after it was quarried, it would have cost me 85 cents a foot. I hadto stop at times, and work for wages, when I could get a job, in order to keep up with my expenses. I have made arrangements to pay for the window-frames and doors, and for the lumbez, with work, and in this way I shall secure nearly all of my material. "{ bave felt discouraged time and time again. Once [ went off in despair and almost crazy with the thing weighing on my mind, and I did nothing with it for five months. The trouble was 1 coula not control myseif as I do now. I wouid work all day for wages, and then when I came home woald look at the brick and stone e}nd say to myself: ‘There’s that work; it must be done. If you don’t do it no cne eise will.’ Then I would think: ‘Well, Lam pretty tired, but I will just work at ita few minutes.’” However, instead of doing as I intended I would get rattled fumetime. by & fool or two coming around in order to tell me that I had & job on my bands which [ never would finish. Then I would work until 10 or 11 o’clock at night, using a lantern, and, perhaps, would start in azain at 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning. Asa result I broke down, and I saw that such a course would not do, and since than I have bsen more de- liberate, working only when out of em- ployment. “I am bothered more by people than by anything else. All sorts of folks come around and sometimes ask foolish ques- tions. One man wanted to know if the walls had been taken frof some building and set up there. Other questions have been asked which were still more foolish. Besides all this I am continually told that I can not do the work, although not so often now as at first. If you think it is fun to be pestered as I am just take the job and try it yourself. Iam not so worried as I was; I have got over my hurry and look at it as something on which to merely spend my idle time. Why, if a2 man did not lay but a brick a day at the end of ten years he would find that he had built quitea house. At the rate 1 am going nowin three or four more years the structure will be completed. Moreover, when the work is still more advanced, I can raise money on the property if necessary and quickly finish it . “When I am through with this I shall organize an association of workingmen, and we will build houses—not large ones at first, but small ones. We will put in our spare time that way, paying for the material with work and selling the prop- erty for enough to bring us fair wages, with a smail premium. This dawelling which I am at work on now will have a capacity of five rooms above and three very large rooms below, one of which can be thrown into two. There will be quite a roomy hallway, a parlor, sitting-toom and dining-room. The kitchen will be in the basement, and also a bedrcom for belp. The property so far, counting my work at regular wages and including the price of the lot, has cost me some $5000. When finished it will be worth $10,000.”" This builder, by his determination and courage, has turned contempt into ad- miration, and he has now the sympathy of the entire community. In fact, most of those who have become acquainted with the circumstances are as anxious that he should succeed as he is himself. —— and its securities almost unsalable at one- half or two-thirds their face value, as a consequence of Ismail’s prodigality, while to-day the country isin a corndition which, comparatively, might be called financial prosperity. BUILDING i t Wy ». b ) e~ . The Queer - - People Who Bother th"'e}i Mayor for Alms - It takes s policeman, detailed particu- larly for that ourpose, and a janitor, one or the other constantly on guard, to keep |. the hordes of people who crowd into the Mayor’s office from opening time until the office closes for the evening from making the City’s chief exeoutive’s life a burden to him. Mayor Hilert was easy of access, and almost any one could walk in through the anteroom and seek the chief executive, but with Mayor Satro it is different. He is guarded almost as carefully as the Czar of Russia, and important indeed must be the business that will secure a personal in- terview or even a hearing before Taylor Hogers, the Mayor’s cierk, who guards the inner portal. The applicant must first in- terview the guardians of the outer office. 1t nis business appears to be of importance and he has nothing of the crank in his appearance to suggest possible danger to his Honor, he is permitted to go into the second chamber, where Mr. Rog- ers or Miss Gibson, the obliging stenographer, hears his communica- tion and decides whether or not the is accessible. 3 7 i 'I‘livurwoa\ il orFic) 1'—‘—‘& | Gede And what a vast variety of things those visitors want! 5 . Thereare the hundreds of appiicants for entrance to the Almshouse with their pathetic tales of woe, sometimes palpably false, occasionally queer and often sad enough to inspire pity and tears even in those who listen to such tales until they become hardened to them. N6t more than a few days ago an elderiy man, who give his name as Young H. Roberts, walked in and asked to be sent to the Almshouse. The questioning of Mr. Williams brought out the fact that he had arrived from Iili: nois not more than an hour before’ and that his luggage was even then waiting for him at a downtown hotel. He had been shipped to California by relatives, he’ said, with his passage paia ahd just enough money to buy his meais en route. Too feeble to work, he had landed in a strange city, with no prospect, but ‘starva- tion or the poorhouse before him. 5 Theh there are the constant seekersafter alms, some persevering and many not. One of the most deserving of these for a long Thirtéen years ago Egypt was imolvun(timo was Bridget McGonigle: who haunted the otfice: until finally told that if she would bring a certificate of character from some business man sie would be assisted. Bridget’s search for A recommendation was apparently an arduous one, for she was conspicuous by her absenca for soime time. - Then one day she returned triumphantly, waving a crumpled and battered bit of ‘paper which she turust into Mr. Williams’ hand, with the remark: ““There’s me character.” The document read about as follows: This is to certify that I have known the bearer, Bridget McGonigle, for the pastten years, and known her to be a deserving woman and worthy of aid. She is one of my best cus- tomers. MICHAEL CASEY. “Who is Michael Casey,”” asked Mr. Williams, whose suspicions bad been aroused by the writing and general ap- pearance of the letter of recommendation. “Oh, he’s a friend of mine, and a good, square business man,” answered Bridget volubly, gi ving also his address. Mr. Williams looked up Michael Casey at the number mentioned, and found that he conducted a 5-cent beer saloon. Bridget got no alms. Then there are many who think that the Mayor controls the entire City gov- ernment and at his behest the municipal Mayor, who is still two doors removed, officials will stop the machinery of theii. departments and do his bidding. In this class come those who want their ~ ~ dogs, goats, cows or .other domhestic ani- mals taken out of the Pound. They'usu- ally insist that they know that the Mayor ~. can release the living chattels if be chooses, * and if convinced of their error on ‘that: .score generally wind up with & plea for money enough. to ransomr their ani. mals. Nt o » . Two women came in company the other day, and wsre just leaving in high dud-. geon after a fruitiess effort to get.posses: sion of their pet canines through ‘the instrumentality of the Mayor when a sor- rowiul individual .dragging a nondescript” dog by a léngth or balerope mearly Tan over them as he yanked his unwilling. - charge through the door. He waniedito’ sell the mongrel to’'the Mayor foi hs pro- tection from tramps while sojourning at, the Heights, and was quite indignant 'when refused an audience with his Honor* - Livestock of various kinds is a common . offering at the office, and it is no ancom- mon thing to have-monkeys, parrots and other birds brought in for sale. One man THE HOUSE HE OCCUPIES NOW wanted to sell the Mayor a nest of‘young - & eagles ataridiculously ldw figure as squab eagles are now quoted. © X X The inventors who want to see the Mayor- are legion and if the models and plans théy. wish to leave for his inspectidn were ac- cepted.and given storage room the ghree’ rooms in the hall would logk life the.patent office at Washington. They either wapt the Mayor ‘to buy their inventions apd -double’his already great wealth, or to in- vest sufficient money to manufacture machines on, & large scale. Some ‘of the inventions seem to have merit, but the majority “are those of raftie-brained in- dividuals who possess neither thednveh- tive fagulty nor mechanical genius tp turn, out a machine that would work. s As & usual thing fnventors seek else- where wherr they are once refused an . audience, but there is,one who does not. Heis an old erizzled fellow who, as pften as he is able to leave his couch -t the Alinshouse, hurries to the Mayor’s office to get capital to perfect and manufacture a wat. r bicycle, which he feels certain will make a fortune for him some day. The hordes of professional beggars that ° infest the offics have almost driven®Mr. Williams ouf of his wits to keep track of them, make personal investigations of their cases and report their worth or un- worth to the Mayor. - They comeé with pitiful tales of want.and destitution that would move an ordinary stoneé to tears, but the light of inquiry usually shows that they are fakers of the first water, able to work if necessary, and in many i ces well supplied with the comforts of % 3 3 2T The most barefaced case ever investi- . gated by the office was that of Hilda Fried- lander, who wanted money out of the Robinson bequest Tund: Investication showed that she had-repeatedly been sup- plied with funds to go to her people i Virginia City by various charitable insti- tutions, in one case receiving $25, but she had never used the money for the purpose for which it was intended. It was discovered that she was suffering from varicose veins, which she yeluged to bave treated because they assisted her in obtaining alms, and that she had once gone to a well-known doctor “and offered bim half the receipts of her begging if he would sign a certificate that she “was totally unable ‘to perform labor of any kind. ® ¥ . And then thereare tite cranks--legions of them—with grievances they want the Mayor to adjust; fo tunes .they impagine . are waiting for them if they can get orders | and weird® tales to ° tell that must be lis- tened to for fear the narrators will become violent. The most curiousof * these is & man, evi- dently a Germa who comes in and ex- hibits a cross and ror sary to the Mayor's guardians mumbling * something that they cannot mnderstand. The next day he ‘sendg & communica- tionin German cover- ing several sheets of legal cap in fine writ- ing, which is also uns intelligible. The office was fof- -merly overrun with men of the genus hobo looking for meal tickets, but they have disappeared since the custom of giving tickets was stopped.