The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 13, 1896, Page 17

THE N FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1896 17 THE ADVENTURES OF A SAN FRANCISCO MERCHANT IN EUROPE. ASIA AND AFRICA To be mobbed at Jaffa on the way to Jerusalem; the king of all the gypsies in Spain; to attend a seriesof bull-fights at Madrid, surrounded by Spanish grandees and Spanish cigarette-smoking ladies, while the general environments were reminiscent of a production of “Carmen” oh a prodizious scale; to stand on the hill of the Alhambra and gaze on the Sierra Nevada, rising above the beautiful orange groves under their Protection; to attend mass celebrated by the Pope in the Sis- tine Chapel in the Vatican on Easter day; to see the Sultan of Turkey go forth on a great occasion from his palace 1o the mosque on the day when he took his forty-secona wife; to find the cruiser Charleston in the Medi- terranean, off the African coast, anc to be received with an American wel- come and then to go sailing away at night, while the masts and spars of the cruiser were aglow with electric lights and over the waves sounded ‘“The Star-spangled Banner” and “Home, Sweet Home."" These were some of the adventures and experiences which attended Mr. and Mrs. Henry Payot of this City during their year of touring through Europe, Asia and Africa; but these were not all. They saw Where the industry and enterprise of a Californian is urnearthing the foundations of that patient old Sphinx, which has set itsim- placable stone face for centuries in a haughty stare above the engulfing wastes of sand, which have sought to bury it. They met the Crown Prince of Greece and saw him ride to superin- tend the reconstruction of the Stadium for the revival of the an- cient Olympian games, talked with him in English and observed how differently he moved from the ancients, for he wasona modern “‘bike,” which he propelled in a way that might have astonished Agamennom and would have puzzied Aristotle. They were chased through the streets of the international exposition at Berlin by an inquisitive and hysterical throng of sightseers as they rode on donkeys from Cairo, which were lashed to their fullest speed by black Egyptian boys. They walked through the catacombsat Palermo, and as the flickering lights of the tapers which they carried in their bands flickered across the grinning skulls and fleshless bones of thousands they real- ized how weird is that strange and uncanny scene which has been often described. As they sailed through the Bosphoras, which connects the Black Sea with the Seaof Marmora, suddenly there flashed from the roof arnd all the windows of the American college American flags, which, like the flag made famous by the story of *‘Barbara Fritchie,”” were waved “‘with right good will” by the studentsin the college, and a band in that far-away place played National American airs, which were responded to by the band on the deck of the steamer Fuerst Bismarck, on which they were passengers, They became well acquainted with Arabs Egyptians, Turksand many others of different nationalities, and clasped hands with glee with black donkey-boys for the sake of old acquaintance. One year they journeyed, seeing strange and interesting sights and meeting with odd experiences. Their traveling companions were Peter Spreckels and his wife and daughter. Peter Spreckels isan old Californian and is now & banker at Dresden. Heisa brother of Claus Spreckels. “I will not describe to you scenes which are in the beaten travel routes,” said Mr. Payot, when he was requested to tell of his and Mrs. Payot’s experiences abroad. “Perhaps there are enough odd things to interest and amuse you. Mrs. Payot and mygelf went away just about one year ago, traveling overland h OQakland Commandery. We were gone, in fact, just two weeks short of one year. We visited all the well-known points of interest in Europe, and also traveled along the African coast of the Mediterranean and went into Asia Minor. We took a steamer at Genoa for Gibraltar and went through there and then went up to the Alhambra. We traveled enough in Spain to see for ourselves that the Moorish civilization has left its impress all over the country. Of course the Alhambra is beyond descrip- tion. The Spaniards say that Christopher Columbus discovered America and that Washington Irving discovered the Alhambra, We were shown the room in which Washington Irving stopped. ‘We saw the progress of restoration of the Alhambra which is zoing on at Government expense. That progress is ata snail’s pace. They will do about as much in one year as would be ac- complished in this country in one week. “Turning from the beauty and grandeur of the Alhambra, with its lacework and coloring of red, blue and goid, and looking toward the Siérra Nevadas with orange groves at their feet, we went down to the headquarters of the pypsies. Spain is the stronghold of the nomads. As we came up we saw the king of the gypsies. “He is a swarthy, medium-sized man who was gorgeously dressed. He bad in his righy hand a staff, and with this he struck an attitude. His right arm was extended with a proud gesture. His left foot was thrown out in front. Altogether his appearznce was quite striking and the pnini- tiated might and naturaily would suppose that he was a person of consid- erable consequence. But all that he wants is a fee. He is on the lookout for tourists and he has his picture to sell. It omeof the party buys one every membsr of the party must do so. ““As we went toward the heart of the gypsy qnarter it seemed as if the earth must have ovened and vomited up beggars, large and small, men, women and children. They seized our horses and even jumped into our carriage. They ran aiter us with astonisting speed and endurance, even children. It was a marvel to us how they could keepitup. The girls and boys were barefooted and half dressed only. The little children had nothing on them. Now for a genuine gypsy dance. We were tola to be swindled by ordinary Spanish dance by ugly, fat women. There were none of the beantiful costumes or beautiful women which had been promised. The dancers are really fat, lazy girls. We paid a fee to go in and then they wanted more money. Part of the dancing was a bad imitation of the muscle dance and it was vuigar without being graceful. I will confess that I went away with the feeling thet I had been done up. ““We went to Seville of course, the heart of Andalusia, where are found the true types of Spaniards. How they can handle those great cloaks! We saw the narrow tortuous streets and walked along the main street, which is so narrow that it 1s called ‘the snake’. The Alcazar was the main attraction for us, with its story aaded above the old structure for the accommodation of the King'and Queen when they visit the town. In the Alcazar yard Mrs. Payot and the remainder of our party had some the beautifully carved Moorish columns, of which there are not two alike. ‘At Madrid we saw several bull-fights. I shail never forget that sight. I had often wondered how bull-fighting could be a national amusement. The bull-ring was in the Plaza de ‘Toros, which is about the size of the City Hall. The amphitheater, which will hold about 20,000, was packed, and there was as much dress there as there is at the Baldwin Theater on a first night. Nearly all the fashionable ladies were smoking cigarettes, and were in full dress. Buil-fighting has cruel features, but the real cruelty is not to the bulls but to the horses, as far as I could see. The bulls are dispatched not much differently from what they would be at the slaughter- house. We saw four bull-fights, and they all terminated in the same way. The horses upon which the bull-fighters rode were ripped open. by the bulls every time. Around the ring went one horse stepping upon his own Mr. and Mrs. Henry Payot of This City and Mr. and Mrs. Peter Spreckels and Miss Spreckels of Berlin, as Pl’\otographed at the Base of the Sphinx in Egypt. fun out of the invention of ‘Peter the Cruel’. In the middle of the stones over which we walked were jets. Here Peter the Cruel invited the grand ladies in their fine dresses on a special occasion. Suddenly from the pave- ment arose thousands of jets of water, which deluged them and their finery. There are between 2000 and 3000 of these jets Ishould think and the water is thrown up two feet. The gentlemen of our party were asked whether we wanted the joke played on us and we said yes. The ladies were surprised sure enough. We were all there to make the fun complete. The jets were turned on and turnea right off again. When we looked down from above and had the iets flow the sizht was striking—like thou- sands of fountains playing and splashing at once. We saw Cordova and entrails, and on his back was the rider. The bull gored the horse the second time and he fell, but was not killed, and as he lay on the ground the bull attacked him the third time. The horses were led in blindfolded. The horns of the bulls were sharpened like needles. The scene was like one from the overa of ‘Carmen,’ but on a very large scale, of course. “‘After the bull-fighting, and as the handsomely dressed crowd was riding away, I noticed something odd which I have never seen described in print. Here and there, scattered along the streets of that great city, were flocKs of goats, from twenty to fifty goats in a flock. Each flock was in charge of one or more persons, men or women, who were calling milk for sale. ‘How much milk do you want?' asked the goat-driver. Receiving an answer, a goat was milked then and there in the presence of the purchase, of the milk, There would be no use for Milk Inspector Dockery on that plan. You can see how odd the transuction appZared for a city by imagin- ing herds of goatsor cows driven tnrough the principal streets of San Francisco and milked while vou wait. “We saw Algiers. Curiosity led me to see the muscle-dance there. The woman dancer is about 30 ysars old. She is really very beautiful in face and figure. She will not dance for less than $50 for a performance. She danced no better than Bella Baya danced at the Midwinter Fair, but she is very handsome. Tunis we saw and went to Malta, visiting thecathedral at the latter place, w here the tombs of the knights are the flooring, and we walked over the coats-of-arms. Going to Alexandria and up the Nile we_ found time to look at the excavauons which George E. Raum, a Cali fornian, is conducting about the Sphinx. We did not know then that he was a Californian. He had sbout 200 boys at work. The day we were there the sund seemed to blow back as fast as it was dag oat. We were quarantined from Cairo, and so we went up to Beyrout, where we lay in quarantine five days. Peter Spreckels said that he was familiar with Switzerland, but that he had never enjoyed such a si ht as we had ‘there. The Jong range of the Letanon Mountains was covered witn snow. Every night the Alpine glow was on the mouritains. Just over beyond the mountains lies Damascus. After we were released from quarantine we went to Jaffa to go - toJerusalem. There were 300 passengers to land there. We were fairly mobbed by thebeggars at Jaffa. I thought thatthey would tear my skin off. The guides, runners and beggars all " stood in together and made common cause against our persons. The mob stayed with us for a quarter of a mile until we reached a place of shelter. That demonstration was awful. “At Smyrna we found the United States ship Charleston. ‘We were sailing on the Fuerst Bismarck, and of the 300 passen- gers on that steamer 250 were Americans. While we were at Smyrna our launch and the launch of the Charleston were on the move all the time. We were welcomed most heartily, and as we knew some of the officers it was a very pleasant meeting. The Charleston was a beautiful sight—snowy white and kept in fine trim. The officers were very proud of the silver service which was given to the ship by the merchants of San Fran- cisco, and they showed this to all visitors. When the time came for usto go away, which was at night, the Charleston was illu- minated at every place where an electric light would stick. Two searchlights were also in use on the cruiser. As we passed around the Charleston on our way the bands on both ships played National melodies and the searchlights were on us unti] we were miles away. It is a great pleasure to see the American flag abroad and a greater pleasure to see so many Americans. “From Smyrna we went through the Busphorus into the Black Sea. Coming back, after we had turned, we came by an American college. Every windowand the rooftop of the college were manned by students wbo waved flags. Students who could not get flags waved sheets. Our band played and the students, band responded with American melodies. “When we next came to anchor it was opposite the Sultan’s palace at Coastantinople, and we were distant not more thana pistol shot from the palace. It wasthe month of fast, and on the last day the Sultan took a new wife, who we are told was his forty-second wife. We went to see the Bultan pass thatday from the palace to the great kiosk, thatbeinu a special occasion. He is not allowed to walk at such a time upon European soil, and the road from the palace to the kiosk was covered with earth which had been brought over from Asia for the occasion. Ten thousand Turkish troops were there. The road was lined all the way with bands of music. The Embassadors and others were in glittering apparel. The Sultan went to the kiosk in a carriage accompanied by Osman Pasha, the hero of Plevna. The Sultan was as white as any of us, and looked lise a Euro- pean and not at all like a Turk. He did not seem robust. When he came back to the palace he was on a white horse, ac- cording to custom. The Sultan wears a black beard. He is an ordinary sized man. *“In Athens we saw the Crown Prince. He was coming from the Acropolis and going toward the Stadium. That was just before the Olympian games. The Crown Prince had the work of restoring the Stadium in his care. He rode along beside us, knowing that we were tourists, and talked with us in Eng- lish, which he speaks well. He was proceeding to the ancient amphitheater of classic sports on an up-to-date bicycle. He talked freely with the workmen, and it was clear to seq that they all liked him. Good fortune gave the five in our immediate party tickets to the private mass cele- brated by the Pope in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican on Easter. The Pope said the mass himself. % He was brOI{ght in upon a throne by eight men. After the Pope had said mass a Cardinal came and repeated the mass for the benefit of the Pop_e, and the Pope knelt all the time, and communion was personally administered by the Pope. He then received fram twenty to thirty specially favored persons. We were not re- ceived. The Pope was dressed in white. After the ceremonies he was taken back on his, throne down the entire length of the church, and he blessed the people. His smile is beautiful—just as you see it pictured— and his face looked very kind. o g “We considered ourselves very lucky in peing privileged to witness this most solemn and impressive ceremony. All told, our journey was highly of beautiful girls and graceful movements. Whnat we really saw was an went into the mosque, which has four hundred and sixty-seven of “People came from the houses with pails, bowls or other receptacles. agreeable, and I feel muck younger and stronger for the long vacation.” [F LI HUNG CAME TO SAN FRANCISCO The living interrogation point who has been rendering the great men of Europe and America ill at ease wherever he has come in contact with them by asking a multitude of pertinent guestions and keep- ing mum as an oyster on subjects which those great men would gladly hear him dilate upon, in fact the personal repre- sentative of the Chinese’ Emperor, Li Hung Chang, has concluded to deny him- self the pleasure of feasting his eyes on the Western gateway of commerce; to | deyy bimself, furthermore, the means of enlightening himself as to the condition of the members of his race in their most populous New World colony. There may be reasons other than those advanced by the secretary of the “Chinese Bismarck™ for givinz San Francisco the go-by—that itwould fatigue the Viceroy and imperil his health to be besieged by supplicating Celestials who bave been legislated against | and not treated by Americans as the equals of European foreigners. Li Hung Chang is not loved by the coclies, who claim that he bas amassed his stupendous fortune at the expense of the manhood of China; that he is the cause of the slaugh- ter of Chinese armies by supplying the soldiers of the empire with condemned arms, making fortunes in their purchase frcm nations which had cast them aside, and then sending out the coolies to meet mren with modern rifles in their hands. These things and more the Chinese har- bor against the Viceroy. It is quite probable that Li Hung Chang is afraid to | trust his life among the cocly class, and | he cannot be blamed for not wanting to | visit the city in America where that class | is most numerous. But if Li Hung Chang | did come to SBan Francisco he would doubtless steer clear of Chinatown with- out a very strong guard sround his person. If he came to San Francisco he would be received with pomp by the municipa: and military authorities and a committee of the Chamber of Commerce, and conducted to a carrisge drawn by four splendid horses and conveyed up Market street to his hotel. He would peer out of the car- riage and immediately begin to unload his questions. He would catch a glimpse of the gaudy banner lately stretched across the street. “Is it for me they hang out the colors?” he would inguire. “Tuat’s the Bryan banner,” somebody would say. “‘And who can he be?” “*Candidate of a faction of the Demo- cratic party for President.” ‘‘President of California?” o, of the Nation.” “An, strange I did not hear of him in the East. Everybody there speaks ubout Mr. McKinley. Heis not yet your Presi- dent?” CHANG “No, he goes in next March.” The Earl would wonder what caused the jolting of his carrnage and would take a look at the cobblestones. “Very busy people vou Californians | are,”” he would observe. ‘‘So much you rush that no time you find to remove the stones from the street. Why should you not stop a while, and by securing smooth streets facilitate travel and traffic? T see many two-wheeled machines being ridden by your peonle. Those machines must be calculated for better pavem-nts than this, Areall your streets like the one we are driving on?” “Oh, no. We have a couple of the best paved streets in the world.” “‘Only a couple?” “Yes, for a start- B “It is too bad you did not finish before Icame. My bones are old and cannotstand much shaking.” In admiration of the tall towers and steeples and great or- namental windows L1 might exclaim, after learning the charac- ter of those archi- tectaral piles: “Such fine churches! I mar- vel why your mise sionaries would not choose toremain here for the purpose of saving their own peo- vle. Can it be that there is po work for them here? Possibly the rich buildings have not sufficient room for them zll. However, I am in- formed that mission- aries, as a rale, live much longer in this country than in Asia. But what does that troop mean, with drums and flags?'’ “That 1s the Salvation Army. ‘“Can it be that there is some war going on near by?” N The Viceroy’s excited interest is soothed and satisfied, and he smilingly remarks: +If there is 80 much work of this kind to do at home, yoa should appeal to your ‘m ssionaries to come back from the Orient, for the benefit of all coneerned.” After a night’s rest he would be escorted into the presence of the head of the muni- cipalit., “Ah, do I behold the Mayor?”’ “The same, your Excellency,” his Honor might reply; while one of the com- mitieemen might add: “Builder of Sutro tunnel, owner of the Oliff House and | uncompromising foe of the octopus,”” “Yes, yes,” Li would say. “Then you must be the richest man in California.” ““I dare not confess how poor I am.” | “What? Bo greata man, in such high position and still in poverty? America is | certainly a funny country. What do you call this magnificent domain '’ “Sutro Heights.” “And do you not own all these lands?” * “That is the general belief.”” “Then what makes you poor?”’ “Taxes." “That is wrong. Those who govern should receive tribute from the governed. Taxes should make you rich.’” haul him back again, the while he quieted the misgivings of the famous Mongolian by explaining that all great men who vis- ited the Heights went through a similar programme—that of being photographed | at Sutro’s side. The kingpin Mandarin | would then compose his features, even in- | clining to a smile, and, with the Mayor gripping his arm, permit himself to be added to the list of Sutrofadical victims. Just prior to the departure of the China- bound steamship, as a matter of course, | Li Hung Cuang would have to be inter- | viewea as to his impressions of this coun- try. The result would be as follows: “What do I think? This is a great country. You have fast railroads, tall houses, wonder{ul inventions.”” “How do we compare with European countries?"’ “You compare with any of them. Ail I have seen of them are great.” “Have you concluded to place any or- ders for ships in this country?” “You build fine ships. We snall think The party was taken to the summit of Sutro Heights, where so many famous peo- ple have stood alongside of the proud owner while tue camera artist caught the group, as per contract. Suddenly Li Hung Chang's guards, it may be imagined, would close around him and the great Chinaman would be discoy- ered shivering and shaking with a dread inexplicable to the Mayor. “Wiy have you lured me here?’ Li might demand. “Look there!” Ana all this while he would be making a desperate endeavor to get out of the range of a cam- era that a determined kodaker is aiming at Li and the Mayor. The latter, it may be supposed, would in such an emergency grab the Earl by one of his flowing green silk sléeves and about it.” “Engiana will probably construct some for the Chinese empire, will she not?’ “‘Probably.” “Have you accomplished to your entire satisfaction the object of your long tour?”’ *‘Assuredly, yes.” 3 “Wouid you kinily state that object 2 “Certainly. To see and learn.’” “What strikes you as the most remark- able thing you have observed while in’ the United States?” “The nerve of the reporters,” “Wiil you import any of it to China?” ‘““Ah, no. China does not court revolu- tions, and Li Hung Chang is disposed for the present to remain Li Hung Chang, with the peacock feather and the yellow jacket. Good-by.” HOW A PAIR OF DIAMONDS - | REPRODUCED THEIR KIND The power to develop and grow and re- | produce their kind is not hmited to the vegetable and human kingdoms. There are many phenomena which go to show that even in the mineral kingdom the selective faculty resides, and that this ex- tends to the point of the generation of mineral offspring. Minerals grow! You ask, how? In re- ply L avk you to tell me, how do plants grow? How does the acorn develop into | the oak? Botany has merely recorded the fact that the acorn does produce the oak, but has never explained the reason why. The reason is that in the acorn there is stored a certain volume of life energy. Under favorable circumstances this ex- What Might Happen at Sutro Heights if Li Hung Ghang Game to San Francisco. pands and draws from the soil and air the various elements it needs for its complete expression as a tree. The character of life force in the acorn aiffers only in de- gree from that which exists in the ele- ments it draws to itself for sustenance, and the life of tie seed may be compared to positive electricity which unites with the pegative electricity which permeates the soil and air, the union resulting in the production of the tree. Were there not life latent in the soil, water and air, the seed could not germi- nate. The fact thatitdoes do so proves that it has drawn more life to itself from® the storehouses of nature. Admitling then, as one must, that life is inberent in evervthing and only needs to be called into action, it is but a step to the further admission that this life might possibly be awakened in the mineral king- dem itseif. It is admitted bv science that “'sex’’ exists in the vegetable world, though the word is really a misnomer when applied below the animal and human kingdoms. And the same correspondence appears in the case of minerais. This may best be described as positive and negative mag- netic forces. As each variety of plant and vegetable is said to inclurle both of the “sexes,” so-called, so in every variety of mineral these two co-ordinating forces may be discovered. We are prone to limit “magnetism” in minerals to the com- monly known mag- netic ores, but it is also true that there are phases of mag- netism especially re- lated to every min- eral substance, each of these phases beingz divided into positive and negative aspects. Because of the action of these magznetic forces we find aggre- gations of minerals in certain iocalities. Ore does not occur in veins by chunce, but because of these forces, commonly koown under the general term ‘“‘chem- ical affinity,” which have grounped them in such combina- tions. An iliustration fa- miliar to a number of mining men is that in the case of dumps of waste ore the min- eral has been known to arrange itself in veins. Onesuch case was observed at Central City, Colo., a few years ago. At an old conc&itrator there was a dump of waste minera: which had accumulated during the '70’s. It was de- terminea to work this over with modern macuinerr, and on opening the dump it was found that a regular vein of ore had formed through the center of the pileof waste rock. There was first an inch vein of rich ore; en each side of this were two inches of clayey gangue matter, and then well defined walls of porphyry. Again, as illustrating the fact that gold BTOWS, there are numerous cases on record where specimens of ore showing a streak of gold, say a thirty-second of an inch in width, have after a lapse of twenty or forty vears shown the same streak increased to a width of one-sixteenth of an incs. These two illustrations, marvelous as they appear, the one showing the power of selection and the other the ability of | Dame Nature to transmute base mineral | into gold, are quite overtonped by another phenomenon — the power of certain crystals to actually give birth to smaller crystals and furnish them the means for growth to larger size. There is a current belief among the com- mon people (who, by the way, often possess a knowledge of occult truths) of Russia and some other of the Europran countries that diamonds are either mas- culine or feminine, and that when bril- liants of opposite ‘“‘sex’ are placed to- gether and left in the dark for several months they will breed smaller brilliants, At the conrt of St. Petersburg upward of a year ago one of the courtiers, whose e-tates lie beyond the Caucasus, observed that a iady of the court was wearing two unusually large diamonds of the finest water, and they were of opposite sex. He sought a conversation with her and told of the prevalent notion on the subject, ad- vising her to lay the diamonds away to- gether and watch the result. She laughingly agreed to do so, but had not the slightest belief that her store of precious gems would thereby be increased. Her consternation may be imagined, how- ever, when after a lapse of eight or nine | months she removed the box containing the diamonds from the dark recess where she had hidden it, and found a brood of turee litle diamonds locat:d midway be- tween the two large brilliants. They were so small they could hardly be seen, but {they were nevertheless diamonds, as a | careful test showed; and it was further | found that the large diamonds had not | lost any of their weight. Desiring now to | continue the experiment she replaced the | five gems in the box in their former posi- tion and again laid them away in the darkness. Four months later the box was reopened and it was found that thne “young” diamonds had doubled their ize. | The only explanation that can be offered for this remarkable occurrence is that the two diamonds shot out rays of electric force, and as these rays met and crossea | they formed a center or focusof energy, or as it appears, three foci were formed, as the facets of the stones.so faced each other that the rays from one found three chief centers of union with the rays from the opposite stone. And with the foci | established and permitted to remain un- disturbed there Tollowed an accretion of life force and supstance from some plane of nature, probably from the air, and other diamonds were produced. The rationale is precisely similar to the pro- cess of the germination of the acorn. If one can be explained the other will be un derstood. Rax Sivem.