The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 8, 1896, Page 25

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER s, 189 25 Tale of How the First Sewing Machine | - Came Aboard the Ship When the sewing machine came aboard there was excitement fore and aft. It was oneof the small hand affairs capabie of * beinglecked up in a diddy box, but its ~ advent was looked upon with suspicion. Paddy White, the old quartermaster onthe bridge,looked atthe thing longand steadily through his glass as it approached in - the launch, and concluding that it was one of the gunner's new electric aifairs for torpedo firing, did not report it to the officer of the deck. W .ite had been at see 80 long that the shore had become terra incoznita to him, and the great world had speeded on leaving him befogged, as it were, 1nside the bul ¥arks of the ship. - In fact the word had been passed along that | Paddy had come to the frigate diectly from the ark, and his “last discharge,’’ Which he'exhibited upon enlistment, was signed: Noax, Captain commanding, Albeit when Paddy White died in the sick bay of sheer o!d age a strange solemn- looking bird was seen sitting on the end | of the flying boom, and the men said it was the dead man’s old sbipmate, the . dove, come to take him away to the land where olive branches grow In perennial beauty. So Ship’s Tailor O'Keefe carried his pur- chase over the gangway after the master-. at-arms had first examined the machine to see if it was not ioaded in some man- ner with an alcoholic mixture or other liquid explosive dangerous to the circula- tory systems of sailors. BSaxie Fisher . stood on the break of the to’galiant fore- castle, narrating to an interested audi- ence the s of his sister's only venture into matrimony. Her husband was a western ocean packet man that she had run afoul of aiong the East River docks, he said, and she had such a vicious tongue and' temper that the poor feliow cleared out for sea before they had got home trom | the church. He was lost off the Horn and his ghost hovered around her forever after, buzzing "its wedding experience in the ears of everybody, which kept her from marrying again, According to S s statemeni | she is a widow in Fiddler's Green now. | When Fisher saw the sewir | he knocked off his family h lifted up his-voice in an observati 2 lated to bring disrepute upon the tailor's property. It hed caused idleness, extrava- gance and the love of dress to the femules of his race and the same disastrous eifect would soon be noticed among the crew. They would get tco nice in their personal tastes for good, plain, ready-made pay- master’s clothing and the ship wouid be crowded with the clattering affairs. As for him; no tie-ties, gil-gies or gingerbread | work would adora his uniform. Signal riermaster Mickael Donovan was sittin: on & chest alongside of !hc‘ mizzenmast patching one of his flags. It was the British ensign, and as Michael, in whose veins some of Erin’s best blood coursed warmly, had no grea: love for | those colors, be was handling the bit of | bun as though there was profanity | for him in the touch. As he looked up a the object of the unusual hubbub he con- | tinued his sewing, and in his preoccupa- tion stitched the hated emblem of | Queen Victoria to-the leg of his volumin- ous trousers. Starting up suadenly to| cross tue deck he stumbled over the big | evsign that was dragging around his feet. | When Mike found that he was by his own act made a part and parcel of the kinzdom of Great Britain, if not Ireland, | he was furious. He tore the flag from his verson, ripping it in pieces—which cost | him a whole day’s extra work repairing ! it—and swore huge deep-sea vaths that he | i | of his part of the ship. knew the ship was doomec to eternal bad luck when they began 10 bring their new fangled landinbber ideas aboard. Then he wert forward under the fore- castle, where he found *Micky” Farrel, who enjoyed the nom de guerre of ‘‘Chief Growler of the Navy.” Farrel, as usual, wasin a warm condition of ming, as he had just caught a tarry rope yarn blowing across his clean white deck. Donovan somewhat loudly began to speak to him of his latest worry, and the chief growler, happy to find an object on whom to vent his bottled-up wrath, turned on the signal quariermaster like a wild- cat. He wanted to know why Donovan rushed at him abeut the machine. Didn’t he bave troubles enough of hisown? Did he bring the blamed thing aboard? Dia people think he, the captain of the fore- top starboard watch, was going toruna hand-me-down shop and be a man milli- ner for every hay-making recruit that wanted dude stitching on his mustering clothes? Donovan, more angry, retorted to the effect that the foretop man was not too zood for such an occupation, and, come to think of it, he was probably a silent partner in the proposed taloring estab- lishment. They carried the truculent dis- cussion back through all the “last” ships they had sailed together raising their voices high and higher in profanity and recrimination until the officer of the deck bore down upon them and ordered the de- baters to the mast. When the childish casus belll of the contention was made known to the commander the two were severely reprimanded and their shore- leave stopped for a month. In the meanwhile the word went on | down the ship till 1t reached John Kitch, the captain of the afterguard, who was fiercely nerding four sheep belonging to the officers’ mess off the quarterdeck. John was not a stepherd in the biblical sense of the term, but the flock evidently knew bis voice and loved him despite his frequently expressed bitter hatred for them anda they demonstrated their faith and affection by making, uninvited, a fold Occasionally they would dine off his laundry spread out on the coil of a boatfall to dry and it was no uncommon thing for Fitch to find a sheep snarlea up in the mizzen topgallant sheet when : e was trying to let it go at the brst burst of a dark midnight squail. He com- plained to the first lieutenant till that | officer gave him a lecture on the virtue of forbearance and told him to break out his New Testament and study the divine n- junction to Peter regarding the care of his biblical lambs. So when John saw the sewing-machine standing on the hatchcombing he forsook hthe sheep like a hireling and joined the sneering circle around the new trouble. Boatswain’s Mate George Romer dropped the whistle-lanvard he was braiding and | toid Farmer Walker confidentially that the navy was fast losing ils filness as a place for a silor. In view of the fact that | he hated tne ship, hated the sea, and | ted the days that came and went over | it, and was always going to start a| chicken ranch ashore at the end of hisen- listment, his solicitude over the demoral- | ization of the service had justa tinge of | inconsistency. However, as Romer never | got ashore tiil he went six feet down into | it, there seemeth no charity in drawing his frailties from their dread abode. Dave Clark, sitting on a harness-cask, heard the vocal commotion chorusing around Tailor O'Keele's purchase. He laid down a copy of the “rules and regula- tions,” which he had been reading, and launched himself toward the crowd. AND NOW THE DEAF MAY HEAR. It Is Possible to Listen to Music Through | the Agency of the Hands. By meansof an invention of Dr. Thomas | normal. While the sensation of listening | McKendrick, a noted expert in electro- therapeutics of Glasgow, Scotlang, it 1s | po-sible for the deaf to hear music. To | accomplish it the deaf person must dip | his hands into a tub of water. A phono- | graph is used for supplyi the music, The sound waves are directed into a regu- lar telephone transmitter. The transmit- ter connects with a series of batteries un- der the tub, connecung therewith. The harmony is carried to the brain through the hands. TO ENABLE THE The principle on which Dr. Kendrick based bis idea is one -which is but little understood. Water is one of the best con- ductors of electricity known. According to the New York Herald, Dr. William Harvey King o’ New York, a well-known electro - therapeugical expert, who has studied Dr. McKendrick’s discovery, szid = few days aro that the great difficulty which bad always baffled experimenters in this line was that the batteries used did not produce the perfect rhythmical vibrations necessary. “We bave made this experiment with the Faradic battery,” said Dr. King, “but, to speak technically. for a moment, the long period of cessation between the ‘make’ and the ‘break’ destroys the rhythm and consequently the sensation * is not transmitted. The European expert has prepared a spacial battery, the secret of which ne still retains.” The process by which the rhythm of music is transferred through the nerves to the nerve center of the brain is ciearly described by Dr. King. k “If you have ever been aboard a smail steam vessel which was being propelled at 4 high rate of speed by machinery of ;bigh Lorsepower,” said Dr. King, “you have, 1o doubt, felt the unbroken or rhythmical vibrations going through the body of the craft. Now, a deaf person, under the con- dition cited, hears these vibrations as well as one whose auditory nerves are perfectly to the music is accomplished on the same general principle as I have just described the effect on the deai would be much more striking and agreeable. *Take, for instance, a person who has been -deaf from birtb. He immerses his bands in the prepared water connected with the phonograph. The rhythm of the music is conducted by the nerves locally affected to the fi-sure Rolando in the brain, and the sensation is one of pleas- ure. Greater stiil is'the pleasure experi- DEAF TO HEAR. enced by one who has at one time had normal bearing ana who has become deaf from some cause or another. If the tune selected is one with which the subject has been familiar he may easily foilow the varying chances of the music, and by the aid of his imagination, which in the deaf is unusually acute, he can thus enjoy the oddly conducted concert almost as thor- oughly as if his hearing was normal.” While the new svstem of making the deaf hear is yet in 1its infancy Dr. King says that scientists all over the world, himself included, are working untiringly with the electrical agent, and are sanguine of even great r success than has already been attained. £ —————— Keep Your Mouth Shut. A New York doctor attributes the vio- lent thirst which afilicts the majority of riders to the habit of breathing through tie mouth while riding. The vigorous exercise causes all beginners snd many old riders to breathe through the mouth, with the result that the lips and throat become dry and varched. The remedy, of course, is to keep the mouih shut. A subterranean grave of great antiquity has been discovered at Sin Tai, China. ‘The grave contained a pair of vases and candlesticks, besides some ancient orna- ments, Iv is thought to be 10,000 years olde Clark was the lawyer of the navy, and knew by intvition everything. He first practiced marine jurisprudence at the Charleston navy-yard, where he lost a number of cases, the captain of the ship ordering all his clients into the brig. As they would have gone thers had he not undertaken their defense his lack of suc- cess did not pull down' his professional standinz. His great clientage accepted his legal advice and their punishment, I il Illnmnh‘ satisfied with his brilliant efforts in their | undoing. With judicial gravity Dave came, saw and - decided, and, resuming his seat, handed down from the top of the harness- cask” an opinion decidedly adverse to the sewing-machine. ‘Garments stitched by that affair were not calculated to stand the wear and tear of a roaring nor' wester. 1t would soon be the usual thin: for a sailor to come to quarters for inspection | with the seams of his trousers L’fipingi open like the sides of a stranded old whaler. Most any time they might ex- vect to see him —the speaker—out on the yardarm clawing on a reef earring and his shirt flying away in blue patches to “lu’ard” on the bosom of the storm in- stead of staying on his own back where it should be. The spectacle of Judge Clark’s beamy hull bared to the stings and whips of the smiting gale told . against O Keefe's frail stitcber and when the orator issued his decree of ostracism Fisher, Walker, Fitch, Romer, Donovan and White concurred. Micky Farrel would have added his voice to the official protest, but he had shortly before seen a gull looking mockingly at him as it winged past, and he was in too much of a rage at the manifest insolence of the bird to furtber burden bis mind. So the old men of the navy laboriously ) TR sewed ‘their garments, their, stiff, tarry fingers threading the big ‘“homeward- bound” white stitches wigzgling over the | blue cloth, As they sat on their amdy! boxes and held their sewing between their | tottery knees they scowled like a Cape Horn sky at the neat litie steel seamstress as it stitched. stitched” away fashioning | the netty yachtish togs of the new navy. So the sewing-machine came to the ship with the dynamo and the torpedo and the quick-tire gun and it clothed :he splendid new sailor that handles them. Tox GREGORY. Laudable Plan for the Encouragement of Among the expedients which patrons of art have found to be fraught with the most satisfactory results in diftusing a taste for art, while assisting and encour- aging artists, the **union’’ pian has been generally accepted in Kurope in prefer- ence to other systems. In the older East- ern ciries it has also been introduced, with the result that high-class paintings find their woy into many humble homes, tiere to be a beacon, as it were, (o guide and WHEN THE FIRST SEWING-MACHINE CAME ABOARD SHIP. lelevnte the taste of the household. For many years the *‘art union” plan has been an institution in England, France and Germany, and as such has attracted widespread attention, which of itself long ago developed a nice feeling for art, where otherwise people might sill be satisfied with chromos or ‘“potboilers”—anything that has the character of pictures, so lon as it was within the reach of their purses. Here in .San Francisco but litttle is known of this popular sysiem of serving two purposes at the same time—patroniz- ing deserving artists and distriouting | | | i | | The tragic experiences of the British | ship Blairmore, which arrived in port on the 2d of last February, are too recent to require recapitulation. While in ballast she was capsized in a sudden gale and sank to the bottom with six of her unfor- tunate crew in the hold, She was raised with immense difficulty and was at last floated. Subsequently the luckless vessel was towed to the docks of the Pacific Roll- ing Mills, where she now lies. Uncanny stories are floating around about the Biairmore and the belief that she is a haunted ship has grown until all the workmen at the mills are convinced that something supernatural is occurring nightly in the once submerged hull. In no other way can the scenes and incidents which, it is claimed, do occur be explained. The seaman, by inhgritance and tradi- tion, is a superstitious individual, and if the marvelous tales related of the Biair- more originated from that source they might be dismissed with incredulous dis- dain; but in this case no seaman is re- sponsible for their origin but the alert, vigilant and practical mignt watchman of the rolling-mills, who admits that strange things have happened upon the Biair- more, but declines to enter into particu- lars. From an intimate of the watchman and one who has himself been a witness of the unexplainable phenomenon, the narrative was obtained. It was not until the Blairmore had been at the rolling- mill dock for over a week that anything extraordinary was observed. The watch- man used to visit the ship on his rounds, and one night detected a peculiar sound as of falling rock somewhere near. It did not occur to him at the time that the sounds could have proceeded from the Blairmore and it was no: until he had been thus disturbed for several nights that he concluded to investigate, presuming that some adventurous boy pirate was committing depredations. He climbed on deck and stood over the hatchways listen- ing to the sounds that came up from the bull, which resembled those made by the falling of ballast on an iron keel. The watchman let down hislantern into the hold and all sounds were instantly hushed. D ferring a closer examination until day- light he then found nothing below to indi- cate the presence of any person whatso- ever. Considerably puzzled, he gave up the investigation, but on his rounds the next night he again heard precisely the same sounds. These continued with occa- sional intervals of silence all night and for several nights, when the watchman imparted his discovery to several of his friends,who, impelled by curiosity, shared his vigils and were rewarded by a succes- sion of noises that 1illed them with awe and fear. All were completely at sea re- garding the mysterious origin of the dis- turbances. Reports spread about the mills that there were ghosts on the Blatrmore and there are but few of the men now who have not heard these strange sounds tnat nightly proceed from the deserted i ull. A Mr. Atwater, who lives at 532 Illinois street, and who is not only a believer in spiritualism but also claims to be a well- developed medium, asserts that the Blair- more is haunted by the spirits of the lost seamen, and claims that in a wvisit which he made alone at night to the ship his neck was encircled by ghostly arms and his hands clasped by invisible spirits. Mr. Atwater asserts also that he commu- nicated with these and received from one of them & message {0 his home in Scot- land relating to a matter important to his family. The messagze was sent, according to Mr. Atwater, and a reply received by him in which it was stated that an event of great importance to the family had been settled by its means. The mysterious sounds on the Blair- Weird Story of the J-laurited Hull of the Wrecked Blairmore more continue. The ghostly ballasting still goes on night after right and its origin is as mysterious as ever. To quiet the nervous apprehension of the work- men of the mills the ship will shortly be removed to another and more solitary berth. New Patent Law in Mexico. The Mexican Congress has recently amended it laws, relating to patents. The proprietor of a patent or invention or improvement ‘is obliged to prove to the Minister of Commerce and Industry at the end of every five years while the patent lasts and in order to keep it in force for further five years, that he has paid to the treasury at the termination of the first five years the sum of $50 as an ad- ditional fee, at the end of ten years the sum of $75, and at the end of ten years the sum of $100. All these payments must be made in Mexican doliars. The time dur- ing whick it must be proved that these payments have been made is limited to two months after expiration of the period of five years, and such time shall not be extended. Those persons interested, who up to the date of promuigation of this law may Lave to become subject to the forfeiture established in the third paragraph of article 37 of the law of June 7, 1890, may avail themselves of the pro- visions of the law in order to relieve them- selves from the liability of forfeiture, pro- vided that tuey duly pay the fees within three months from the date of the promul- gation thereof, and without prejudice to the rights which third parties may have acquired after the declaration of the for- feiture. ——e———— The cliff where more seabirds are said to build their nests than any other place in the worid is on the coast of Norway. It 15 1000 feet high, and goes by the name of Syoerholtklubben. - THE BLAIRMORE’S HAUNTED HULL. Young Artists their paintings among the people. The art union plan is fashioned after the lines of lotteries, but drawings of vrizes under it are not spoken of as loiteries. - They are given the better sounding name of “art drawings.” In some cities of Europe, after exhibi- tions of pictures, tne works of several artists are collected and disposed of by these art drawings. As a rule there is no trouble in getting rid of tickets for the drawings, for the patrons of art, and, in- deed, men and women of fine tastes, con- tribute iberally. They feel perfectly sat- isfied if they are fortunate enough to get a picture once in years, and eyven if luck does not favor them so far they’ con- tent themselves with the conviction that they are doing their share toward main- taining the steady deveiopment of culture and refinement in their community. So art and artists receive encouragement which helps them on their way, with re_ sults that arevery apparent in the coun- . tries where such patronage flourishes, Ina new art community support of this nature cannot failto have a decidedly beneficial effect, more especially where it is made povular. 5 In this City the art-drawing scheme has been introduced as a permanent feature of exbibitions of the Art Association. Only the more favored few, however, those pos- sesssed of money, who can afford $5 fora single subscription to the drawing, can participate. And yet it has been a flatter- ing success from all points of view. The artists are delighted with it, since by this medium they dispose of paintings which would liein their studios awaiting pur- chasers, and members of the Art Associa- tion are pleased, because they know that their institution has added to its useful- ness through the medium of the art drawing. But tue artists have still further reasons for mutual congratulations. They are, indeed, elated over a movement started in their behalf by the Mechanics’ Insti- tate, which, at this early stage, promises to aid materially in developing a patron- age of local artists that may give new life to art in California. The Mechanics’ In- stitute has organized an art drawing, and as the directors say they will push it for- ward with the same spirit of public enter- prise which has characterized every un- dertaking of the institute, the artisis look forward to a yearly art drawing that will be talked about in every town in the State. This institution is organized under the title of the Associatiom of California Art Patrons, with a constitution and by-laws as follows: ARTICLE L. This association shall be called the Associa- tion of California Art Patrons. ARTICLE IL Section 1. The objeet of this association shall be to provide for a fund for the purchase of works of art by California artists exhi%ited in the art gallery of the Mechanics’ Institute at its annual fairs. The works purchased to be distributed among the members of this association at each and every annual exhibi- tion. Sec. 2. The minimum subscription shall be 50 cents, Sec. 3. The payment of the minimum sub- seription shall entitle members to oné chance in the distribution. Members mdy’ increase their opportunities for securing the works purchased by the payment of additional sub- seriptions to the fund. ARTICLE 11, Section 1. The government of the associa- tion shall be vested in the Board of Trustees of the Mechanics’ Institute, under whose au- spices the association shall exist. Sec. 2. The Board of Trustees of the Me- chanics' Institute shall appoint for each ex- hibition a committee for the selection of the works to be purchased. This commitiee shall consist of two subscribing members of the as- sociation,two artists, and one member of the Board of Trustees of the Mechanics’ Institute. Ste. 3. "This committee shall select before ‘the close of the exhibition each year, accorde ing to the funds provided, the works to be dis- tributed. ARTICLE IV. The works selected shall be distributed im- mediately after the close of the exhibition from which they are purchased, in the pres ence of members of the Board of Trustees of the Mechanics’ Institute and of the selecting committee,. Four .trustees and three mem- bersof the committee of selection shall con- stitute a quorum. ARTICLE V. All {unds collected at each exhibition shall be applied to the purchase of works at that particular exhibition. Though started near the close of the ree cert exhibition, yet practically nothing was.done in carrving the plan into execu~ tion. . The plan .was given no publicity. ‘The directors of tbe institute have not been idle, however, since the exhibition closed its doors, and consequently their association has taken firm roof. Several fayorito pictures that were exhibited at the fair by local artists have been chosen, and are now at the institute library build- ing on Post street. Meanwhile the artists interested, attaches of the Mechanics’ In- stitute, and others are selling subscrip- tions to the association about town. Just as soon as the desired amount is received— about $1000 will be the limit for this first year—there will be an art drawing at the library. Through this means people will have an ovportunity of securing a realiy good pic- ture for an investment of 50 cents. In which particular the scope of the Associa- tion of California Art Patrons differs from the Art Association’s drawing. One is for all alike, the other for the rich. Henry Raschen, the artist, who 1s chief of the art exhibition in the fair, is among the most enthusiastic supporters of the association. It is on the plan of art drawings, which prominent art societies in the East and in Europe have developed into. wonaerful proportions,’” he said yes- terday. “The directors of the institute have started it off handsomely, and sev- eral artists are working hard for its suc- cess. So far we have not decided when the art drawing will take place, but it is the intention to keep it going until enough money is in the treasury to warrant a dis- tribution of the paintings. For instance, when $1000 is subscribed the committee of selection will choose good pictures for that value and distribute them among members. “‘As the directors have thus showna desire to assist the local artists we in turn are willing to meet them half way. **That is, we let the pictures go for much less tuan the real value. It must be understood that this is only the begin- ning of a permanent art institution of San Francisco, and, when properly under- stood by people who appreciate art, it will surely grow to'be an immense thing. In a new art community thisis a highly com- mendable effort and should receive liberal encouragement. ‘‘People may become members by sub- scribing at the Mechanics’ Institute Li- brary on Post street, or with artists who are interested. In due time the resuit ot the drawing will be announced.” Wooden vs. Iron Ships. Mathematical calcutations show that an iron ship weighs 27 per cent less than a wooden one, and will carry 115 tons of cargo for every 100 tons carried by a wooden ship of the same dimensions and both loaded to the same draught of water. BIERSTADT'S MOVABLE FORT The Famous Painter Makes His Appearance in the Role of a Military Inventor. Albert Bierstadt, the famous painter, whose invention of the theater-car cre- ated such wide interest, has now con- ceived and patented a novel folding car, which can be utilized as a traveling fort for soldiers. It is considered eminently wood, is by no means bullet proof, but the iaventor believes that sheet iron or some material of equal resisting force can be uled, thus rendering it a real fortress, which could be moved from place to place with great ease. BIERSTADT’S MOVABLE FORT. practicable, says the New York Herala. It isa two-story affair. Downstairs are the living-room and the barracks for the soldiers. Upstairs sre the officers’ quar- ters, while out on what might almost be called a .balcony a field piece can be mounted or & sentry take hls stand. Of course, all these thingsare not in working order while the railroad fort is moving from place to place. The car is unfolded at its destination. All the walls, and the roof, in which are skylights, can be folded up in such a man- ner that in its most compact form the car will occupy no more 1oom than that of an ordinary freightcar. The mechanism by means of which it is folded is located at the ends. It is operated by a system of screws and cranks, which can be handled by very few men. Mr. Bierstadt has made two designs for this car. In one, as stated, the second story is used for officers’ quarters. In the other the upper story is a sort of observa- tion tower, At the same time it can also serve almost .the same 'purpose as the turret to a ship. Guns can be placed most advantageously, ana so solid is the | material of which the car is constructed that it will endu.e a recoil of considerable force. 3 Again, there is ample space for posting a large number of sharpshooters in the second story. Of course this car, when constructed of A-miniature car of this sort can be seen by the curious at the Patent Office in ‘Washington. It seems, of course, an im- practicable idea, yet the officers of the United ;States army who bave inspected the model and listened to Mr. Bierstadt tell of it have expressed their entire faith i the practicability of the idea. It was often said duringthe rebellion that if some arrangement could have been placed ‘on the railroad, so constructed as to contain thirty or forty'men comfortably and at the same time so_fitted as to enable the garrison to use a small’ piece of artil- lery and other firearms, whole sections of the country could have been held by the Union forces that, under conditions then existing, had to be surrendered. Now this is just the thing. It can readily be seen that the car when unfolded contains suffi- cient room to give the wounded a place where they can be undisturbed. + The bunks are similar to those in the ‘forecastle. of ‘an old-time merchantman. But there is plenty of breathing room ana windows enough to insure the requisite amount of fresh air. The windows, of which there are ‘many, do not look asif they would afford much protection, but it is intended that iron shutters, perfo- rated with loop holes, shall be placed over each opening. There is a place for an eight-pound gun on each side of the car, and it will be possible to use rapid-fire zuns very handily on the floor above.