The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 1, 1896, Page 25

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1896. [ ] < AN EXCURSION DOWN THE ROMANTIC RIVER RHINE COLOGNE, Horraxp, Oct. 14, 1896, — ‘When the attractive lady, whose move- ments have been so veraciousiy chronicled appeared one morning in the little Datch village till that moment sacred to paint- ers she was greeted by her iriends with what she felt was but a tempered enthusi- asm. She had taken a *“run” up from Paris, she informed them genially, and had thought to give them a jolly surprise. If a bird of paradise had walked into the chicken-coop in the back garden and had wished to fraternize with the decrepit | birds who brooded over their wrongs and | their eggs with an expression of the deep- | est melancholy, the astonishment could not have been more complete. “Why in the world did you come?’ de- manded Miss Verdantina Grey, whose de- votion to her work was as intense as it was new. “You'll be so uncomfortable, and you have not the compensations of art.” +Can’t T get ’em?” asked Mrs. White- | nat, anxiously. *“What shall I do to be | It's not a disease,” said Miss Ver- dsniina, with a suspicion of temper in her voice. “l warn you, you'll be miserabie. We haven’t time to notice little discom- forts. We can’t entertain you. There’s nothing to do. There are only three or| four men, They all paint —'* { “I used to paint when I was a chila,” interrupted Mrs. Whitebat. “I used to love it. I used to paint ail the pictures in my geography with colored chalk. Do vou know Il've always thought I had a talent for it. I was thinking about it in Paris. * * * That’s why I came!” This btilliant conclusion seemed to afford Mrs. Whitehat as much fliverslen] as it did us, | “Do you always have to have smudges on your fuce to be a real artist2” she ques- tioned with that eager and serious look which made her thirst for knowledge a thing not to be laughed at or scorned. “‘And I'm really ashamed to ask, but—but —must—you—have all that magoo on tte front of your skirt?”’ “I don’t know what you call ‘magoo,’” said Miss Grey, with even more tartness in her voice. ‘Ii you mean that I lave paint spots on my dress, I know it. You can’t be thinking of the beauties of nature and try to render them and keep consider- ing whether you've got a little paint on your hands or skirts. I suppose you’d go out and paint justas you are dressed now, because you’d be afraid to put on unbecoming ciothes! Why, you'd be 1aughed at, 2ll the little boys would run after you—"" Mrs. Whitehat was a picture to behold as she glanced down with dismay at her tailor-made gown, new and immaculate, with flashes of silk in the lining. She re- covered in an instant, however, and rose with dignity from the trunk on which she had been sitting. She removed her pic- ture-hat, the chiffon scarf that floated inder her demure chin, and asked to bei own to her room at once. Ske had an | rof joyous determination about her that made even Miss Grey pause and wonder. | An hour later she reappeared, and for ah instant we failed 1o recognize her. She | 7ould nave passed unncticed any artistic neighborhood in the world: she might| e walked into the Hopkins Home un- | challen-ed. She had grasped, with a won- | derfui accuracy, the salient points of the | artjstic wardrobe. From what mysterious | corners of that Dutch peasant’s bouse she " Mrs. Whitehat Studies Art in a Dutch Village and Makes a Visit to the Ancient Gathedral at Gologne haa evolved her picturesque aitire we never discovered. 8be asserted it was all from her inner consciousness. Her hair was an elabora- tion of disorder that would have made her fortune on the stage from its dishevelea masses; strings of it fell over her eyes and eurs. She wore a crumpled shirt waist, with a careless tie. Her skirt, which seemed to be a little damp, was stained and discolored, and hung longer on one side than on the other; a bit of braid dan- gled from it. She wore a man’s Scotch fore and aft cap, and, with a superb atten- tion to detail, a smudge of brown paint ran from her cheek under her neck. There Wwas not a touch of exaggerationabout her costume, This was a promising beginning, butthe next aay it rained! Mrs. Whitehat could not bring herself to paint the model. The models in question were two diminutive women, of 6 and 8, with ragged clothing and sticky white hair. “If I could scrape them first gested. Bo she read ncvels all day at the win- dow. > It rained for three days, unceasingly; the vegetable g#rden was a mud patch; the fields were soaked; the dampness was & thing to be felt. On the morning or the fourth day Mrs. Whitehat appeared on the scene with a glass of water, which she pointed at with a tragic gesture. “I held 1t up to the light,”” she groaned. “I—was about to brush my teeth. I— don’t think it is a good habit to brusn your teeth in Holland. Tue natives never do, and do you know the reason?” “They have mno- toothbrushes,” gested Verdantina. “They have no teeth,” I offered timidly. she sug- sug- For sole answer Mrs. Whitehat held up the glass. The pollywogs were kicking and splashing about with youthful aban- don. We regarded them with theliveliest interest. She packed ber trunk that night. Art ‘was, after all, she concluded, but a pas- time, a luxury: and no serious-minded person could hope to devote herself to it with ardor and pot find it a disillusionist. Never have I heard such pessimistic views of the future of painting, And on the firsi train in the early morn- ing Mrs. Whitehat left the Dutch village and her artistic longings bebind her. By what means she prevailed upon Miss Grey to join ber, by what blandishments, tears, threats, prophecies and cajolings she in- duced me to drop palette and brushes and depart for a trip on the Rhine, I leave the inteliigent reader to conjecture. ! Cologne was a reward to us for our sac: rifices, The great cathedral, against the night sky, towered loftily above the enor- mous railroad station,the swarmiag hotels the incongruous rushing, modern streets, a mute menument of the superiority of age. In thecld days the ancient houses crept around it to iis very feet, black, lean- in, old houses, almost as antique as the protecting towers. At great expense the streets around it were cleared, great hotels were built and the railroad stations. The improvement, from the picturesque stand- point, is distinetly questionable. We attended mass in the morning, the beadle being finally induced to allow us to enter. He was as magnificent asa flamingo, that red-robed beadle; and never have two feet been sc ample a support. He seemed to push them along the stone pavement like snowshoes. His intelligence was not as well developed. THE UBIQUITOUS CHILDREN. _ The Rétation Period Of the Evening Star In the recent observations of the planet Venus at Flagstaff, Ariz., which resulted | in-a determination of its rotation period, nonew discovery was made, but a very important confirmation of a conclusion reachéed some years ago by Schiaparelli of Milan. Astnis couclusion differed from all previous conjectures on the same sub- i ject, and is founded on observations of a icult nature, the astronomical world | accorded it a qualified credence. To de- tect the rotation of a heavenly body it is | necessary that markings of some perma- | nence be discerned and identified on | other occasions, the position on the disk | being also accurately noted. The efful- | gent surface of Venus is singularly elusive | in this respect. Being an inferior planet | it never comes to the midnight. sky in op- | THE SHADINGS FROM WHICH ROTATION position where a direct view is obtained of the center of the disk, conseguently, though nearer even than Mars, the sur- face is seen only obliquely, and is besides illuminated by a degree of sunlight too dazzling for distinct observation., The views obtained as it revolves round the sun at nearly three-fourths the distance of the earth are clearly explained in every textbook of astronomy. First the gibbous phase, then with in- creasing diameter the half-phase, then with stidl inereasing diameter the crescent; and, after inferior conjunction, a repeti- tion in reverse order. The balf and cres- cent phases are the best for observation, which can often be favorably taken in daylight or twilight. The record of the 286 years during which it has been under tele- scopic scrutiny are of a contradictory nature, some maintaining that it rotates in twenty-three and a half hours and others that thereis no evidence of rota- tion; for, while experienced ob-ervers like Cassini, Shroter, De Vico, and later on Secchi, Huggins and De La Rue, saw What they believed to be permanent iarkings, others of equal reliatility have res, even when sought for with the largest instruments in use. This may be the fault of climate or of the large instruments, for it is not light- gashering power that the radiant orb in | question needs so much as defining power, aud the smaller lens is sometimes superior |in this respect, and the reflecting tele- | scope probably better than the refractor. | It1s generally agreed that the sheen of | the planet’s illuminated surface is not | uniform throughout, bright and dark areas blending imperceptibly into each other being often discerned; also bright spots, bluntness of the cusps and indenta- | tions on the terminator. Many years ago Schiaparelli, whose vision was entirely untrammeled by the impressions of previous observers, com- menced a systematic study of the surfaces ot Venus and Mercury, first with the 8-inch and afterward with the 18-inch refractors that have proved such successful searchers of planetary detail. As a result he was SCHIAPARELL! DEDUCED THE PERIOD. able to announce in 1889-90 that the rota- tion periods of both pianets corresponded nearly or perhaps exactly with the time of their revolution. In case of Venus this is 225 days, and it was also fbund that its axis is perpendicular to the plane of the orbit or nearly so. The accepted periods of 23)2 hours he classed as erroneous de- ductions, not even according with the ob- servations on which they are based, which he found to be rather confirmatory of his own conclusions. To the atmosphere of Venus he attributed the variations noticed by Bianchini, one of the early observers, who asgsigned a rotation period of about twenty-four days; wuile the earth’s atmos- phere was held responsible for the blunt- ness of the cusps and the indentations of the terminator. Finally this worthy suc- cessor of Galileo invites the renewed at- tention of observers to the southern por- tions of the planet where clear markings sometimes appear, from which a more accurate estimate of the rotation period may be deduced, and also mentions the occasional bright spots as real phenomena, Unfortunately the daylizht observations of Venus at Mount Hamilton are rarely satisfactory, but a brief series of observa- tions witu the telescopes of Nice and Mounier bave been favorable to this inde- pendent theory. S8iill, like the Martian canals, 1t met with opposition, notably from Trouvelat, who took observation at Cumbridge, Mass., and at Mendon, near Paris, but in general doubt took the wiser form of silence. As the beautiful orb shines above the prairies of Arizone, the clear atmosphere and high altitude of Flagstaff give facilities for observation not surpassed even at Milan, and thoagh Mr. Lowell's 24-inch lens is but a few months in use the news has arrived that Venus turns on its axis and goes round the sun in the same period. This uniformity is often described as being similar to that of the moon’s axial and orbital motion, but there is a marked difference in the result, as the lunar brightness is not derived from the earth rouna which it performs Jthis twofold motion, but from the sun, and conse- quently all sides of the lunar sphere are successively illuminated. Venus, on the contrary, provided that the axial and orbital motions are completed in exactly the same time, is divided between eternal day and eternal night, eternal twice- tropical heat accumulating for ages, and eternal cold compared to which the win- ter Antarctic is a genialclime. Authentic accounts exist of a dim gray tint being discerned on this dismal hemisphere which has been outlined in the slender crescent phase by sunlight refracted “Strangers are not allowed here during service; come again between 12 and 1. The guides cannot explain now.” After whispered protestations in flatter- ing German we were graciously passed on- ward, like culprits, and sternly marched by a brother beadle to three seats where Mrs. Whitehat as an Art Student. we might look up the dim aisles as into some gigantic forest and listen ‘to the mighty orean and the light, pure voices of the chorister boys, sinzing somewhere un- seen high above our heads. We hoped to see the cathedral on our return. S e T T o T The Rhine steamer leaves at nine, It was a beautiful morning; the sun- light made the river almost intolerably bright; the steamer was gayly decorated with flags and was already crowded with people when we reached the landing. We found seats at last, and with shrill whistles and toots we started. Then we glanced at our fellow-travelers. A young man and a young woman on one side, mast evidently on their wedding journey. A large and interesting family of children with a beamingly affectionate, proud and fond mamma on the other. All these, be- yond question or doubt, loyal Americans. ! Ooposite four girls, dressed all alike, with large feet and large waists, red dresses, bluck capes and blue bats, as evideptly not Americans. Next to them a pearl powdery, bejew- eled person, with a very remarkabie poo- dle; then a very larg: man, witha melan- choly expression, who was claimed every now and then by some child of the large family opposite, steadily read the news- paper; and beyond these were more shirt- waisted, black-skirted damsels, and more men 1n straw hats, and frequent children and little pet dogs. The bride, who was a pretty little weman, with glasses, an infantile coun- tenance ard a guidebook, was enzaged in reading alond descriptions written in the German-English langznage which would have delighted Carlyle’s heart. Here are j two verses from two poems. I wonld like | to add that my veracity 13 my strong point, and that be who runs or sails on the Rhine steamers may read. RHINE LIFE. See I the birds flying High the blue air through, See Fihe ships striving In distant gray 10 anew, Is me, as 2 in flight The b rds’ words sing, As in quick despite To ships others cling. ‘Ard here 'is a verse from a Rhine wine song: The Blocksmount s & renowned stronghold, And produces only windy lamentations, There the devil and satellices is ever old, Expectorate thelr weirdly incantations. Any one who cannot understand that exquisite sentiment has uo true poetic sense. Mrs. Whitehat settled herself for solid enjoyment. Here, at last, she was going to see the far-famed Rhine, with its won- aerful mountains and its ruined castles. ) E e Every one has seen the Rhine, except a few million people who have not, but for these unfortunates guidebooks exXist— not in German-English. Suffice to say that for the first hour, the wonderful purple nills, the castles around which so many legends have been woven, were to be seen in the enchantment of a flood of golden sunshine. The river sparkled blue and silver; the joy was un- controlled. After this there were shad- ows. The pearl powder lady, who was & singer, she informed us, crossed to our side with her poodle in her arms. She had scen the Rhine countless times. “Yap, yap,’” snapped the poodle. She pointed oat tho Lorelei almost im- mediately and we gazed at a lonely rock in the water with all the proper emotions. “You can slmos: imagine her sitting there singing with her golden comb and her golden hair,” sighed Mrs. Whitehat. “I’ve always had an interest in her char- acter; she was so frank and aboveboard in her transactions.” “Singing with her golden hair!” re- peated Verdantina. “Mamma,” cried one of the dear little American boys, punching bis mother to attract ber atteation, “what did you say this river was?” “The Rhine, my darling. That wonder- ful river mother has so often told you about.” “Why is it the Rhine?” asked my dar- ling. “Edwin, listen to thi: s, said the litule THE BRIDE :WHO READ ALOUD. bride: ** ‘Thereupon he took his zither an sang an old morning song. ‘‘‘Ab, that sounds,’ indeed said the joy fully surprised, ‘exactly as the song which & poor captive knight in the north tower- sings when I pasture my sheep in the neighborhood.” With these words the maiden sprang away.'’ *I don’t tink,” said Mrs. Pearlpowder, doubtfully, *‘that that was the Lorelei. “I tink dis rock now coming is her.”’ Mrs. Whitehat regarded her with deep indignation. To have wasted her sentie menis upon a commonplace rock was maddenine. The children on our left now began to ciamor for food and, baskets being pro- duced, they were soon talking again with their mouths full of apple and bread and jam. Every other moment one or the other would precipitate himself upon the melancholy gentleman with the news- paper and drag him reluctantly to see some view. The smallest hopeful, in a saildr dress, insisied upon climbing up Mrs. Whitehat's sleeve with jammy fingers to investigate her hat, upon wkich several bunches of cherries bobbed in the breeze. The fond mother reproached the child mildly, and Mrs. Whitehat moved as far as she could, but the attractions were too alluring and soon the little darling was pulling off the cherries and eating them blissfully. “I feel like a murderer,” said Mrs. Whitehat, “but I do hope they’ll have an almost instantaneous fatal effect.” With reproachful glances at Mrs. White+ hat, the mother warded off that catas- trophe, and the baby shrieked with ear- piercing. yells into that irate lady’s ear. The poodle barked furiously, and there were sirained relations for the rest of the day. The little bride continued to read aloud, the pearl powder lady continued to give us her impressions as to the scenery and to correct them later on. The dear litile boy asked questions over and over again, and punched his mother to attract her at- tention. The melancholy gentleman fell asleep behind his paper, and the sun burned the skin from our noses. Broken bits of conversation floated to us in this wise. It was all so romantic. *Just think, dear,” murmured the bride, “‘this is St. Goar, and the guidebook says it is 1300 years old.” “Didn’t grow as fast as Chicago, did it?” said the young husband, looking at the gray little village with most open con- tempt. On we steam past the Rudesheim, where the sun glitters in the wings of the noble figure of Germania guarding her river. Opposite is Bingen of ‘dying soldier fame,”” and behind are the vineclad hills, On we steam past Coblentz with its tre- mendous fortresses; past the gloomy ruined towars of Roland’s castle, and the little bride reads the'legends of the Lorelei and Bishop Hatto eaten by mice in his impregnable tower, black and terrible, haunted by his restless spirit. It is im- possible to shudder with horror: for that the poodle and the baby are excellent an- tidotes. Ican only quote as typicalof all our sentiments another verse of that too delightful Rhine-Wine song: On the Rhine, on the Rhine our vines grow, Biessed be the charming, romantic Rhine, Which its jovially sociable people well know Yield freely the exbil--arating noble wine. VA~ Dyck Browx. e through the extensive atmosphere of Venus. Conjecture is vain as to the cause of this mysterious gleam, as the atmos- pheric conditions of the planet are too complicated for plausible theory. One peculiarity of this mode of rotation is that the evening star always presents the same terminator and its adjacent lunes to view, and the morning phases present the opposite side of the di-k, while both include the central parts like the evening and morning moon. In July last, when Venus emerged from the sun’s obscuring rays after superior conjunction, it was nearly round in form and its silvery disk as unreaaable in the average telescope as the much-talked-of silver bullion before it is coined. Even now, though much nearer to the earth, it is far from the most favorable position, and only exceptional conditions reveal the shadings. These no doubt were ob- tained at Flagstaff, and, combinea with previous investigations, formed a chain of evidence confirming the assigned period of about 225 days. Thus modern skill and perseverance has succeeded in penetrating the dense at- mospheric veil that perplexed telescopic scrutiny for nearly three centuries. Rose O'HALLORAN. Baird’s Sugge;tians For Mountain-Glimbing After having climbed about every moun- tain and hill around this City within ara- dius of fifty miles that was worthy of the effort I have come to the conclusion that too much care cannot be exercised on the subject of clothing. To come to a better understanding on this subject let us con- sider the elements and obstacles that have to be met. To begin with, the beat of the journey, arising from the laborious ascent and the rays of the sun if the trip is undertaken in the daytime and on asunny day, is sometimes excessive. But, on the con- trary, the chill of the cooler atmosphere of the summit should be provided for. A per- son could catch a dreadful cold by dropping under a tree in a breeze and cooling off suddenly. To provide against these ex- tremes a man should wear a pair of old trousers of some thick, hard material, 1t you have such a pair reserve them jeal- ously for such occasions, as they are in- valuable, and for these reasons, 1i they are of old material you will have no compuactions in throwing yourself on the ground anywhere if you get very tired. For my part I have dropped in the middle of the road on a blazing hot day on Diablo at the only piece of shade anywhere in signt. If they are of bard material they will resist the briars and thorns when you leave the beaten tracks. Such material is very likely to prove cool in hot weather and warm In cool—strangeas it may seem, Mine are so, at any rate. Thisisa most important consideration wheun you cannot very well carry on your back a knapsack full of changes of raiment. Remember, thin pair of trousers are most likely to tear; and moreover, you are very lixely to catch cold at the first sudden change. The coat should, as far as possible, be in keep- ing with what I have just said. The shirt should be of flannel and not w00 thick. The hat bad better be of the slouch order, soft, with plenty of small holes in the crown. Straw does very well, But it is not as adaptable to being turned into a pillow and is more likely to be injured in an accident. Bhoes are the most important partofa mountain climber’s outfit. 1ll-fitting foot- gear can do more to unfit a man fora long tramp and a pleasant time than anything I know of. This subject has been a specialty with me for vears, and I will take the public in my confidence. Above all things vour shoes should be tried and seasoned. No matter how many patches there may be on them, so long as they fit well and are practically sound they will fulfili the requirements. Choose an old pair of shoes, even if they have been cast aside, as long as the uppers are in fairly good condition they will do. Take them to a shoemaker, tell hira what you expect to do withthem, Have him half sole and heel them, put patches on the cracks and sew them. Tell him not to mind appearances, but to do his work thoroughly. After this try your shoes on, and if they are at all loose cut out a pair of pasteboard insoles carefully; they will make the feet fit snugly and absorb the perspiration, Another matter of preparation is of con- siderable importance. For two days be- fore a tramp do not drink any more water {han you can possmbly help. If you can abstain entirely and not drink a swallow for twenty-four hours before you will be much better off. It may not be generally known, but a_person in good health can abstain from liqmds of apy kind for a week without danger or weakness.. Dr. Tanner fasted absolutely for one week and then continued for thirty-three days more on water only. The more water you pour into your system the more you will sweat, and the more you sweat the more uncom- fortable you will be. There may be ex- ceptions to the latter rule, but they are rare, In my recent walk on Tamalpais I no- i ticea two things that bear on this subject: In spite of the intense heat I felt durmg the laborious ascent, caused by the heat of the sun and the heat of my biood com- bined, I did not once wipe my face with the many handkerchiefs brought for that purpose. But that was not ail: there was absence of intense thirst that surprised me. I have given the reason of the ab- sence of perspiration: the indifference to thirst was accountable by two things: first, I kept my mouth closed as much as possible, excluding dust and preventing my throat from drying. Again, I have been endeavoring for some months now to drink as little as possibie. ‘For one who takes exercise I believe this is the proper course—providing, of course, that you live properly—but for one of sedentary habits, and particularly those quite closely con- fined, the other course may be advisable, to keep the system flcshed. 7 A comical incident occurs to me that illustrates the habits of some people. Talking to a young man concerning diet I remarked: ““A person in training should e ——————— e not drink water while preparing for a race, as it increases the perspiration and Heats the vitals during the struggle—both of which are to be avoided.” . “Oh, I rarely drink water,” responded he; “in fact, I hardly drink any atall.” 1 looked 2t him and thought, “Why, diet- ing in trainine should be child’s play to one who has his appetites under such con- trol.”” But my reflections were cut short by the young fellow continuing earnestly, I only drink beer.” Now it frequently happens that water is scarce on the mountains, so itis advisable to carry something to drink. T are two ways that this can be done to the sat- isfaction of the mountain climber. One of these is to carry an army canteen slung over the shoulder—on the shady side if possible. These are equipped with a cov- ering of felt. After the canteen has been filled and corked it should be dipped in the water and the felt thoroughly soaked. The evaporation of this water will bave the effect of cooling the water within. Once during a walk to S8an Jose with a compuny of the National Guard I filled and soaked my canteen as described, and although the weather was very warm I was agreeably surprised io find bow cool the water was when, hot and thirsty, I sat fl.'l\'l to drink. Gxo. D, Barzn. The view of Oakland from Broadway wharf in the year when the first election of officers was held cannot fail to interest the thousands of people who will vote next Tuesday. Many of them will be the sons and grandsons of the pioneers of the county, and the wealth of the modern city is in a great measure the result of the labors of men whose names are now the most powerful and the most honored in the county. And there are just a few ex- ceptions. The first election of officers for the new county was beld in May, 1853, Althouzh parties were organized throughout the HOW OAKLAND LOOKED State as Whigs and Democrats, politics ! ‘The First Election in Alameda Gounty The new county was the scene of con- siderable debauchety. Gambling flour- ished; fandangos were in favor; drinking, bull and bear fighting, horse-racing and dog-fighting were regarded as regular Sunday amusements. The ceremony of “hanging Judas” on Good Friday never failed to draw together people from the whole surrounding country—Indians, Californians, Mexicans, Portuguese and even Americans, Oakland had the only lock-up in thecounty. At thecounty seat, San Leandro, tne Sheriff had to stund guard over his prisoners or lock them up in a room in the Brooklyn Hotel. Tosave trouble sometimes the Sheriff would be 1 IN did not enter into the contest, and any man who considered himselt qualified to run entered the lists for office. ‘There is no record of any convention, and there were from three to six candidates for each office. The election was spoken of for years afterward as the ‘‘steeplechase.” So little regard had previously been paid to the proper names of persons that until the election some were known only by nicknames. Thus, the gentleman who had conferred upon him the inelegant alias of “Tom Snook” emerged from the contest as A. H. Broder Esq., Bheriff of Alameda County. v The first officers of the county were: A. M. Crane, County Judge; A. N. Broder, Sheriff; William H. Combs, District Attorney; A. M. Church, County Clerk; J. 8. Marston, Treasurer: James 8. Wat- kins, Public Administrator; William H. Chamberlain, Coroner; H. A. Higley, County Burveyor; Georze W. Goucher, County Assessor; W. W. Brier, County Superintendent. Many of these names have been familiar with the county gov- ernment eversince and two years agoa son of A. M. Church was electe i Supervisor. The total vote of the county in 1854 was about 2000; the great register just com- pleted contains 26 447 names. relieved of his charge and the prisoners taken out in the saltmarsh and hanged. 1853. Instances of this kind, however, were not numerous, for the peovle, though not par- ticularly morai, were notably law-abiding for a mixed community. The moral and religious welfare of the population had not received much atten- tion up till that first election day. There were three Protestant places of worship, but the Catholics had either to go to San Francisco or to Mission San Jose. W. W. Brier of Centerville, who was elected first Superintendent of Education, was the pioneer Protestant minister of the county, In the same year (1853) attention was first paid to the business of fruit-growing. Before that the only trees in the county were those belonging to the mission orchards, of which E. L. Beard possessed the best. A few months after the first county election several gentlemen clubbed together and sent Captain Whalley to Rochester, N. Y., for a general assortment of trees. Fancy sending a man around Cape Horn to New York for some young fruit trees! And upon this slight foundation has grown up the wealthy county of to-day, with its “modern Athens,”’ its ‘“‘classic Berkeley,” its esthetic Alameda, its nu- merous interior towns and complete sys- tem of railroads, its wealtb-producing orchards and its growing manufactures. £rvasr W. Boorse