The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 18, 1897, Page 21

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JULY 18, 1897. 21 REVISION OF JOAQUIN MILLERS WORKS—A LITERARY EVENT Joaquin Miller has laid strong hands on the broad Pacific. He who for years in- toned his chants as the bigh priest of the mountains, who was recognized by his title of “Poet of the Sierras.” has modu- Jated his lyre to the ‘“‘moaning and the of the ocean,and right royally he signalizes his devotion to the grandeur “Balboa’s seas.” T In speaking of his new volume of poers | wiil issue from the press of the taker & Ray Company about the e of the present month, Mr. Miller I sang of the mountains, streams piains, of the forestsand the deserts, | because I loved them, and now I speak | my love of the waste of waters. If there| be one who loves these things better| than I he has a better right to them, but | until be comes I will not yield my privi- | lege to tell their glories.” | It was at ‘‘The Heights,” above Oak- | land, that I taiked with the poet of the | mountains and the seas, and he said that | he hoped his book would be worthy of | the themes that had inspired his muse. | His intention was, and 1s, to gather all | that he is willing to recognize as bis. | In the preface is this significant para- | graph: of that Wh be found,as witn Hawthorne d up his tales, that all I bave iere. Let me answer with him | h to answer for is here. The | t be the sole judge as to what De- | public aud what to the flames. | have written has been on trial he honest, wise old worla safe jury. While ii1s true | lead rather than be led, yet ntly, or he may n the world let | surged by I | duce & second is & fair] must ead 1at all. So that wh t ot sight as the e, not cared to intr — he putting forth of a book like this is | softiciently important to mark an epoch ary history of the Pacific Coast. d be deemed a noteworthy event ded author-world of Eu- ere that our Californian s in fact received such acceptarnce | 1as compelled recognition at home. he scope of the new volume, in addi-) tion to giving all the acknowiedged works | of Mr. Miller, will contain copious foot note t will be autobiographical to a great degree. Iam permitted to include he most interesting passages in | iving a brief view of the life haracter of the man, as well as an of s revised works. He asks in- | lgence for the hasty creations tbat in | gone by he was impelled by circum- | ¢ out forth for the public, and after explaining that much of his writing ne while traversing the four cor- of the globe, he sa; Hence the need of this revision. And yet, tting and care, I am | d, and can commend to my | v the few! last poems in the book. | i carlier ones have cotor and climeand | > of wood or waste, and 1 am not un- friends they have brought me, fall short of the large eternal | ie scer is born to teach—the | 1s beyound. I bavetried tomend | tside of revising entirely | to this book such poems as | te of warning here, & campfire | ence of a pioneer; so that | who come after may not falter or go derness that darkens along Iympus. without a great literature, st be to the end | Jerusalem was ever over her on the head, yet she hat have been. devoutly loved, the sublime | ful. From this love was born cedars of Lebanon, the. lilies | se were st letters of And as there cannot be a great page of history without first a | literature, so there cannot be a great | ure withont first a deep, broad, devout on. soet of this greatland of ours, and the ultimate t Syrian hills, will me when we, ave iearned to love and | ligiously love the sublime and besutiful. | it the coming poet to take up morning ot life where1t is laia down in the twilightof one whois | a and her poet. bea divest the prophets of all cial evil and special good v were ever plain men. | and the more human | is love that 18 bornof this truth, r by piein and shinple ways, and d care, as all nature toils and cares, #s God toils and cares; that isall. I write this down for those who may come aiter. We will all have higher results from the plain sweet truth, * * * A good poet need not be a bad man. He may not be a better man than your- self, but he is not necessarily worse for being apoet. Irepeat,heis merely a plain, sincere human being in love with the beautiful world “and all that is his.” Speaking to the yonnger poets who shall follow, Mr. Miller says: Arnd now let me note an error. A poetshould not write prose. Onlya Scott can do that. Better be a daylaborer, anything in reason, than write pot-boiling prose. Only of late, since I leaned on my hoe and plow for bread rather than on prose, that I have felt my full strength in verse. * # Why have we so few true poets and fearless papers to lead the people upward to-day? Because we gather money, and gather money, and gather money with the right hand, and at the same time try . to write poetry with the left hand. Referring to his health, that had been shattered by the malaria of other climes before he returnad to California and *“The Heights'” for the last time, he joins sug- gestion with admonition: Butatlast I dug health and strength and new life to complete and make my old work new right out of the earth here on my moun- teinside in the hotsun—ten years in doing it, and now am stroager and really younger than since I can remember. Let this lesson of bard contact with our common moiher not be thrown away. In the sweat of thy face— notin the sweat of another’s face—shalt thou eat bread. It was God's first command at the expulsion, and really includes all others. * * * Plain, simple, apart, alone, God only at your side, you must toil by day and meditate by night, remembering always that the only true humility is true dignity. Pov- erty, pain, persecution, ingratitude, death, and maybe obliviou at the end; but always and tnrough all, and over and above all, faith and hope and charity: the greatest and the humblest that has been, your one ex- emplar. And so, following him, shall you never answer back except and only by some white banner, set on your own splendid and inaccessible summits—the flag of forgiveness and good will. He insists, however, that if the party dwell apart it shall not be for his own ease and glory, but only that he may labor all the harder in his chosen voca- tion, and with greater strength may be prepared to fight the battles of the weak, ana to be a bulwark 6f hope and protec- tion for those who otherwise would be defenseless. In paying homage to the | “‘dead, unknown deep of all sea-deeps,” the poet does not forget the inviting scenes of the wide *‘Franciscan Bay,” that may be viewed in all its glories from the hillside home. Reversing the olden say- ing, *'See Paris and aie,” he sings: tee once (his boundless bay snd live, See once this beauteous bay and love, See once this warm, bright bay and give Goa thanks for olive branch and dove. Then plunge head:ong yon sspphire sea And sall and s il the world wi:h me. Some isies, drowned in the drowuing sun, Ten thousand sea-doves voiced as one; Lo! love’s wings furied and wings unturled; Who sees not this warm, half-worid sea, Sees not, knows not the world. Then comes his invocation to the roomy, | surging world of waters: | Such room of sea! Such room of sky ! Such room to draw a soul-tull breath! Such room to live! Such room to diet Such room to roam in after death! White room, with sapphire room set "round, And sitil beyond his 1oom profound; Such room-bound boundlessness o’erhead As never has been writ or sul1 Or seen, saved by the favored few, where kings of thought play chess with stars Across their board of biue. s . Whoever reads will recognize the stroke * . . . of a master hand in drawing this picture, | with sharp strong lines: A porpolse, wheeling restiessly, Quick draws a bright, black, dripping blade, Then sheathes it 1n the sea. From the days of the blind bard of Chios poets have been describing the ocean. Itwould bedifficult to find among them all anything more spirited than the following lines, from the first part of “Saprho and Phaon” : The black sea-horses rode in row; Thelr white man's (0ssing to the night But made the blackness b acker grow ¥rom flashing, phosphorescent light. ow like hurdle sieeds they leapt! ow moen burst; the black troop swept t throuzh her hoilow, on and on. ave-wet scimitar was drawn, Flashed twice, flashed thrice triumphantly, Bu still the steeds dashed o, dashed oo, And drowned her in the sea. So many felicitous passages present themselves that there is a temptation to extend quotations beyond the limits of an ordinary newspaper article. What is here given may be accepted as a sample of the flavor of the sea hymns. Mr. Miller insists that he has not de- sired to be more eccentric than other men, and in proof of that he will print in his new book a serles of photographic repre- sentations of himself at different periods of his life. . “‘Some of the writers had a great deal to say about ‘the cowboy poet of the plains’ when I made my first appearance in Lon- don,” said Mr, Miller; ‘“‘but all that sort of trash was written by men who never saw me there. The truth is I was con- siderable of a dude in London, and my photograph, taken at that time, will bear out this statement. I have alwavs tried water to the summit of his rocky patch of land to slake the thirst of his growing trees, clearing the potato patch of weeds, pruning the fruit trees and performing other work that may be necessary in car- ing for such a place. His dress is not no- ticeably different from the costumes of his neighbors, with the possible exception that he dispenses with the use of suspen- to dress in a manner that would best suit | ders, preferring the red silk sash that in the apostrophizer of women, of men; the worshiper of duty; the celebrant of love; he ennobles human nature, and there is no lack of dignity in his lines, however humble the subject of his verse. It seems to me that the keynote of his life and writings may be summed up in this, which is taken from the little poem, “Battles’': When I am dead say this, but this, JOAQUIN MILLER AT DIFFERENT AGES. 1—Oregon, 1868. 2—London, 1871. s—Kentucky, 18¢6. 3—Cuba, 1878. 4—San Francisco, 1887. Center—Sierras, 1870. without consulting the prejudices others. Here, as a man who works with his hands, my garb is becomingz to my vocation, and I do not deem it incumbent on me to ask permission of others when engaged in selecting my raiment.” The Poet of the Sierras, for by that name be shall be known notwithstanding his new-found allegiance to the ‘‘Argen- tine Seas,” is brave enough to live his creed, for he labors every day, carrying | my convenience and my personal comfort, _early times grew into favor with the race of | of horsen.en who possessed the land. wears & broad-brimmed He/! hat, ana so do they; he has dust on his boots, and so have they; his face at times shows the trace of heat and the mark of sweat, and his companions on the mountain side, those who live in the same vicinity, know the burden of similar conditions, Mr. Miller is not only the poet of the great and magnificent things of material nature; he is the poet of the passions; He grasped at no man’s blade or shield, Or banner bore, but hetmetless; Alone, unknown, he held the fleld; He held the fleld with saber draw, Where God had se. nim in (he fight; He held the field, foucht on and on. And so fell fighiing for the Right. These are the only conflicts that he lifts into the world of his written works. In his preface he says: “And I glory in the fact that I never celebrated way or war- riors.”” Such scenes of contest have been introduced merely as incidents to the de- velopment of his favorite theme, which may be binted at in these stirring words: Believe In man norturn away. Lo! man advances year by year; Time bears him upward, and his sphere Otlife must broaden day by day. Belleve in man with large belief; The garnered grain each harvest- ime Hath promise. roundness, and full prime Forall the empty chalt and sheat. Recurring often to this subject, he says: Come, let us kindle faith In man. What though you eagle, where he swings May molt a feather i1 God’s plan Of broader, strouger, better wings! ‘Why, let the molted feathers lie As thick as leaves upon the lawn, These be but proof we cleave Lhe sky And siill round on and on and on. Yet another battle he hasdrawn into the light by the poem subjoined, which, though it may not be reckoned among his greatest productions, vet will be ac- cepted as one of the noblest tributesto womanhood ever penned. So negligent has Mr. Miller been of his literary output that this has often been attributed to other writers without clamorous outcry on his part, as is usual with other writers. Every woman owes a debt of gratitude to the author of these lines: The bravest battle that ever was fought; Shall T tell yog where and when? On the maps of the world you will find it not; 1t was fought by the mothers of men. This poem isdoubtless familiar, as it has been often published. I have had an opportunity to view the proof sheets and the “‘author’s revise” of the forthcoming book, and it may be stated that there are few pages of his ear- lier poems that have not been amended in substance as well es in diction. He has sincerely striven, as he promised in his preface, to give his poems *‘not only body, but soul.” Mr. Miller is pre-eminently the poet of the argonauts—of the pioneers who builded great States on the Pacific Coast— and his tributes to them must ever stand as their proudest monuments. His most eloquent words appear in *By the Sun- down Seas.’” My own parents were among those who “fell in silence’’ and who “silent lie and sleep,’’ and, in com- mon with thousands who were similarly bereaved, I appreciate the tender pathos of the poet’s tribute in “The Heroes of My West”": s My brave and unremember'd heroes, rest; You fell in silence, silent lie and sleep. Sleep on unsung, for this. 1 say, wers best; The world to-day has hardly time 1o weep; The world to-day will hardly care to keep In heart her plain and unpret+nding brave. The desert winds, they whistle by and sweep About you: browu’d and russet grasses wave Along a thousand leagues that lie one common + grave. The proud and careless pass in pa ace-car Along the line you blazon'd white wi.h bones; P85 swift to people, and possess and mar Your lands with monuments and letter'd stones Unto tnemselves. Thank God! this waste dis- owns Their touch. His everlasting hand has drawn A shining line around you. Wealth bamoans The waste your spendid grave employs. Sleep on, No hand shall touch your dust this side of God and dawa. The members of the Scciety of Pacific | Coast Pioneers owe a vote of thanks to the master of “The Heights” for these iines: Bty brave world-builders of the West ! Why, who doth know ye? Who shall know But I, that on thy peaks of snow Brake bread the first 7 Who loves ye beat 1 Who holds ye still, of more stern worth Than all proud peoples of the earth Yea, I, the rhymer of wild rhymes, Indifferent of blame or praise, Still sing of ye, as one who plays The same sweet air in all strange climes— The same wild, piercing highland air, Because, becuuse, his heart is there. The footnotes of the coming volume are replete with personal allusions arnd the inmost thoaghts of the writer appear to be revealed for the edification of the reader. He does not deny that “The Tale of the Tall Alealde” is in a certain degree autobiographical, and he says that of all his books he most heartily cherishes the “‘Songs of the Soul’”” The division called “Sappho and Pnaon’ may be ac- cepted as a veritable epitome of tke tender passion, and lovers need never fail for ex- pressions of their intensest feelings so long as they have access to Mr. Miller's writings. There is scarcely a poem of any length that is lacking in an exposition of his deep appreciation of this all-moving In his *Songs of the Amazons” t! e declares that There is nothing so much as a brave man’s kiss, And she adds that there is in all the world Nothing so strong . . . As the silk-soft touch of a baby’s brown hand. 8o she decides quite humanly, and as all good women have been deciding from the beginning, that It were better to sit and to spin on a stone The whole year through, with a babe at the knee, With its brown hands reaching caressingly, Than to sit in a girdle of gold and aione. There is an ingenious 2dmission of po- litical or rather judicial aspirations that were doomed to be unrequited. Mr. Milier had served as District Judge, a position similar to that ot Suverior Judge in this State, and in the meantime his little book of poems was published, which seemed to settle adverseiy all his claims to official preferment, for he thus relates the oute come: Being a ‘“cold-water man” and a sort of preacher and teacher on all political occa- sions I was so unpopular that when I asked a place on the Supreme Bench at the conven- tion I was derisively told, “Better stick to poetry.” May I proudly admit that I had sought a place on the Supreme Bench in order tnat I might the more closely stick to poetry? 1had a serious purpose in saying this. Was Lowell & bad aiplomat beceuse he was a good poet? Is Gladstone less great beeause ol his three hun- dred bocks and pampnlets? The truth is there never was, never will be, a great general, judge, lawyer, anything, without being, at beart, at least, a great poet. Then let not our conventions, presidents, governors, despise the young poet who does seek expre-sion. We have plenty of lawyers, judges, silent great men of ali sorts; yet the Jand is songless. Had my lonesome ambition not been despised how much better I might have sung., Who shall say? It is interestine to know that the poem entitled *“With Walker in Nicaragua'' was written to celebrate the renown of another hero—one whose soul is reputed to be ‘‘marching on’ to the music of a familiar tune. In a note the author says: 1 first wrote this poem for John Brown. You can see John Brown ot Harpers Ferry in his D aring, for Walker was not of imposing pres- ence; alsoin his tenderness to the colored child on his way todeath. But when about to publish I saw a cruel account of General Walker and his grave at Truxillo, Honduras, in a London newspaper. It stated, among other mean things, that a board stood at the head of his grave, with this inscription. Here lies W. W., Who never more will trouble yon, trouble you. I by good fortune had ready for my new book an accountof a ride throngh a Central American forest. Putting this and the John Brown poem together in haste and anger and working them over, I called the new poem “With Walker in Nicaragua.” Many will recall the apening lines, which so startled and pleased staid old London when they first saw the light of the press: He was a brick—let this be said Above my brave, dishonored dead. Mr. Miller’s latest sea songs touch every partof the Pacific Coast from Alaska on the north to San Diego on the south, and though he seems to have a wish to be im- partial in bis lays it is evident to the reader that his heart is in the south while his colder resrect is bestowed on the frigid northland. “No one has been authorized to say for me that Ishall write no more after this book has been publishea,” said the poet. “I may have said that I was weary, and that I would be glad when the work is done and out of my way, as doubtless I shall be, but no man can say that he will never write again any more than that he will write. Those things that are worth writing and worth keeping are not pro- duced by the simple volition of the au- thor. They grow in the mind, and when they come to maturity they must be exe pressed.” After pondering briefly Mr. Miller added: *I have hopes of being able to write at least one great drama. Itought to be possible for me to do so. I feel that itisin me. Ten years ago I originated my themes for a series of strictly Ameri- can plays. My intention is to take the names of some of the distinctively Ameri- can cities, like Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and New York, and from their lives weave a drama of truth that shall teach and startle the world. Those names I copyrighted ten years ago and the subject has never been outof my mind, but so much has happened to occupy my time and attention that I have not written a line of my drama. 1t may come in due time. If it does I shall welcome it and give it to the world. I(f not, some one else will take up the work where I lay it down and the world will receive its own.”’ There are surprises in store for the readers of Joaquin Miller's revised poems and, I believe, much pleasure for such as are by rature and cuiture capacitated for a thorough appreciation of earnest work performed by an earnest scal with an earnest purpose to hold the field and fight on and on, and if need be to *“‘fall fi-hting for the right.”” WELLS DRURY. SOCIETY. Continued from Page Tu ant H. Huber and wife, Mr, and Mrs. O. F. Hu- Major C. Boxton and wife, Mr. and Mrs. ian John, Mr. and Mrs. H. Thom Worden, _and Mrs. C. Sagehorn, Mr. and 3 Mrs. H. Neuman, Mr. and M ¢ Misses L. Popp, C. Breusskemp, Lehmhardt, Edna Huber, | Mary Neuman, K. Dotcher, Tieizen, W. Wiebold, Phil Neuman, Charles gehorn Jr., A. Neuman Jr., W. Broderson, W. Huber, H. Lehmhardt, J." Dal dorn, W. Siebe. Hotel Portola, Among the late arrivals at Portola are: Mrs. Mann, Miss Liela Mana, Mr. and Mrs. Tobin, Mrs. Burns, Egan and Pearks, William Ro- meain, Mr. Mondt, William Hatfield. On Saturday evening, July 5, Mrs. William oman gave &n impromptu reception to the hotel and cottages. Itwasa A jolly conchload from peroned by Mrs. A. J, ¢ Miss Doyen, Miss 1 Brown, Mr. Rowe and cre among the guests for the R guests of the most delightful affai ¥agle Home Farm, Hallidle, compri: Beecher, Professor Van rely, eve Th es of the hotel gave a moonlight drive on Thursday nigh The cribbaze board still occupiesa promi- nent place in the parlors, with Mrs. Drink- water wearing the blue ribbon. Mountain View Hotel. tihe proprietress of the Mount in Ross Valley, entertained her heir friends recently with a most masquerade party. yunds were besutifully illuminated and presented a most attractive appearance, vas attended by visitorsirom Ross malpais, Escalle, Larkspur and Corte Madera, 5 The costumes worn were original and ele- gant. AtZ A M. the guests adjourned to the , where an elegant dinner was Klamath Hot Springs. Among the late arrivals at Klamath Hot Spriugs are: Governor James H. Budd, whoac- companied Hon, Wilifam J. Bryan on his way » Ashland, C Mrs. L. H. Lord, Mrs. Goode- W. B. Simpson, Naylox, Or.; San Jose; E. P. McCormick, Salem, Or.; Dr. E. B. Pickle, Varoter and sonm, 1. A. Webb, Medford, ¥. Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Stemler, Sacramento: H. Sinsheimer, A. Kaufman, Portland, Or. ; Miss Ruby A. Jewell, J. J. Sul- ivan, Sai Francisco. Camp Meeker. y, E. Hage. | ) Among the late arrivals at this popular camp are: A. G Anderson and wife, G. M. Leavitt, Fritz Benn, Miss Gussie Benn, G. R. Hans- brow and family, Mrs. O.C. Jargens, J. H. Stahle and family, E. A. Bunker and family, W. J. Chipchese &na family and Mrs. Wood- ward, all of Alameds; William Rieger and femily, Mrs. C. Collins and family, Mrs. Laws and family, Miss R. Alexander, John Jackson, Mise Juliet L. Sexton, M:ss Kate McClain, Miss Joste MeClain, Miss Boile Brown. Miss Josie Brown, Miss E. C. MacMiilan, Dr.C. H. Du- Bois and John Colgan, of San Francisco. Wall’s Springs. The following guests registered at Wall's Springs during the last week: Judge James Hayden, Mr.and Mrs. John Hallett, Mrs. M. ester, Mrs. E. W. Brown, Master George Geautit, Mr. Oiiver, Miss A. Oliver, Miss M. Oliver, Miss Straub, Miss Uster, Mrs. McCarthy, ter John McCarthy, Miss Mamie McCarthy, s Grace MeCarthy, Mrs. Withola Friedman, Masters Meryin and Jesse Friedman, Mrs. War- field, M Welsh, Mr. and Mrs. A. Braese, Misses 8, Ebba and Carin Braese. Agua Caliente Springs. Registered at Agua Calientc Springs during (.he past week were: J. F. Wilson and wife, Santa Rosa; Fi . Judah, San Francisco; Richard Grey, San Francisco; Mrs. Asa R. Wells, Mr. Clement, wite and son, San Francisco; J. A. Hopper, San Francisco; Rober: Halstead, Honolulu; Dwight F yne, Tacoma; Mis§ Ednee, Los Ange . Padgelt and wife, san l-_ru'\cv Miss Foster, Miss Hanlon, Sun Francisco; R. W. Ronistise, San Fri : Miss Grey, Santa Rosa, AT Seigler Springs. ‘The following are among the late arrivals at Siegler Springs: Alex Hay, Miss Rebecca Ale: ander, Miss Marie Johnson, Miss Agnes Kelly, James Kelly, Margaret Flynn, Mr. and Mrs, Angler; Dr.'T. Jones and wife, San Franciscos Dr. Poweli, wife and chila, Middletown s Mre Seligman. children and maid; Mre. Low, enile dren und maid; Mrs. Loeb and children; Mr, and Mrs, Newmark of Los Angeles, : Moss Beach House. Among the guests ai the Muss Beach House, Blenheim, San Mateo County, are: Mr. and Mrs. William Barstow, Miss Eunice Barstow, Miss Mae Mylan, Mrs! E. A. Hermann, Miss Lydia Hermann, Master Alvin_Hermunn, Miss Bertha Hermann, Mrs. James Wilson, Masters Herbert, Raymond and Robert Wilson, Panken, O. Panken, James Westwater. Triple Lake Villa, Among the late arrivals at Triple Lake vilis, Santa Cruz Mouniains, Sauta Clara County, are: Mr. and Mrs, H. Kirschbaum, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Laskey, son and daughter: L. Lsakey, Miss Carrie Meyer, Misses Essie and Carrie Levy, Mrs. F. N. Lawronce, Misses Alice and Edna Lawrence, Harry Lawrence, . §, Loveland and C. Carr. New Carlsbad Springs. The following are registerea at New Carls- bad Springs: Mr. and Mrs. Carrols, Miss Kitty Curroll, Mrs, Wall, San Francisco; J. Bing- bam, Sacremento; Mrs J. B. McCloud, San Francisco; Miss Bergland, Oakland; J. L. Sims, San Francisco; H. H. Howard, Oregox. Jacob Jacobson, San Francisco; Miss Viola Springer, Charles Springer, Charles Bigelow, Frank Smith, San Jose; H. Howard, J. J. Shaw, Mr. and Mrs. J. Pauli, Saa Francisco; F. Copper, Harry Copper, Siockton. IN THE FUTURE. Anniversary Parties, Dances and Receptions Announced. The P. D. C.’s will hold their next quarterly perty at Odd Fellows’ Hall on Tuesday even- ing, August 3. It will be strictly evening dress. Inviiationscan be had from any of the members. Mr. and Mrs. J. Levin announce the Bar- mitzvah of their son Wilfred on Saturaay, July 24, at the Gearv-sireet Synagogue. Reception Sunday, June 25, from 2 10 5 P. at 1805 La- guna street. The Mystics’ third anniversary party will be held at Native Sons’ Hall on Tuesday evening, August 10, PERSONALS. Mrs, B. W. Paulsen and Miss C. Lehnhardt, who have been spending some time visiting the principal cities of Holland and Belgium, areat present in Cologne, where they expect to be present at the unveiling of the monu- ment of Emperor William. Frederick M. Biggerstoff, the pianist, and L. S Sherman of Sherman, Clay & Co., left for Europe on Monday. Mr. Sherman will join his family, who have been spending some time in Germany. Mr. Biggerstoff goes to Paris and Berlin for an extended stay to continuc his musical studies under more famous teachers. Miss Marian Ashley has been visiting in 8an Francisco with her schoolmates, Mrs. Deriston and Mrs. J. E. Richards. Miss Ashley leaves for the East on the 22d and will syend the re- mainder of the summer with relatives in Buf- falo, N. Y. Miss Maude Westphal of San Jose spent last wesx in San Francisco with Mrs. John E. Rich- ards. Mr. and Mrs. William T. Sawyer will spend the summer at Pescadero. Mrs. Harry Baum and child have gone to Sonora for tne month of July. 2 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Burns of Oakland left Thursday for & driving trip through Lake and Mendocino counties. Mrs. Gillette, wife of the late Colonel M. G. Gillette, arrived recently irom New York City and is visiting her niece, Miss K. Stone, at the home of Mrs. A. L. Athearn, 817 Turk street. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Harris and Miss Edith Harris are at the Hotel de Paso Robles for the summer, Leo E. Alexander and Michael 8. Alexander are stopping at the Hotel Rafael. The Misses Theresa and Liiy Sherwood left on Thursday for Pacific Grove, where they are engaged 10 play at the concerts of the Chau- tauqua Assembly, They ar¢ also engaged for 5 the Chautauqua Assembly concerts at Shasta, and will leave for shasta on the 26th inst. Mrs. A. Rothholz and Mrs. I Roth will be at home on the second Wednesday. Miss Annie E. Nyhan has returned to the City after spending her vacation at Liberty Hal), Mountain View. villiam Meyers, president of the Violet Social Ciub, will leave in a few days for an ex- tended Eastern trip. Mrs. H. Abraham has removed from 187 Rincon place to 134 Fourteenth street. At home Tuesdny. Mrs. N. A. Gosliner, formerly of 1823 Sutter street, has given up housekeeping ana is at present on a visit to her daugiter, Mrs, E. A. esser, Forbestown. Mrs.'A. Seides, accompanied by her niece, Miss Laura Sheetz, are here on a visit from their home in Reading, Pa. They are visiting friends at San_ Francisco, Del Monte and Pa- cific Grove, znd will be tlie guests at the home of Mrs, S:ides’ brother, George W. Fisher, in San Jose Lefore leaving for their home 1 ihe latter par: of July. The Misses Essie and Carrie Levy of 1035 Post street are spending two weeks at H. Plncubrunn's ranch in the Santa Cruz Moun- ains. Mrs. John R. Skelly and Miss Josephine have gone to the “Dennison” ranch at Halfmoon Bay to spena the summer. The ranch is owned by Mr. Skelly, and & merry party of so- ciety people make'it their headquarters from July to September. S Mr. and Mrs. Max Cohen of Macon, Ga., are visiting their sister, Mrs, C. A. Gans of 1414 Cottage street, Alameda, Jr. aud Mrs. R, E. Birdon and Miss Birdon of San i House, N Andrew Y. Wood has returned from his va- caion in the Sminas Valley. Mrs. Wood is spending a few days in Vallejo. Ar. and Mrs. A. W. Fisher of San Francisco gr. Stopping st the Cataract House, Ningara ‘alls. S. A. Hosford and wife, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and Mrs. Berrien of Armoak, Westchester County, are visiting their sisters, Mrs. R. Casstdy of Oakland, Mrs. McLaln of 'V liejo, Mrs. Hunt and Mrs, English of San Fra. cisco. On the return trip they will visit Yel- lowstone Park and olher{)hces of mote. Miss Lottie Barr and Miss Parthema Burk- hardt are spending a few weeks in San Mateo. Miss Florence Barr is camping for a few weeks with a party of friends in Sonoma, The Misses Klorence and Maude Smith sre spending the summer at the Kilnkner villa, Santa Cruz Mountains. Mrs. F. McLean and her aaughter Ella sailed Eaturday morning on the steamer Umaulla for Seattle. They wil. make an extended trip through Alaska before they return home. Mrs. M. Reyman and Miss Revman of Oro- vilie, Cal, are at the Irving, 816 Sutter street, for the summer. Mrs. G. B. Mackret of this City has returned from her southern trip, after visiting Mrs, H. G. Neff at San Jose. Mrs. Morris Windt of 1434 San Bruno ave- nue has returned from her outing in the Santa Cruz Mountains., After a shortrest at home she will leave for Japan to visit her son Henry, who is engaged in business in the Orient. Mrs. M. Heffernan, with her two daughters, Misses Mamie C. and Regina, and Master Fra.k M. Heffernan, are stopping for a few weeks at the Hotel del Mar, Santa Cruz County, Cal, | Mr. and Mrs. itzig Levy will return from Harbor Smings Monday, August 2, and about September 8 will leave for Europe to be absent one year. Mrs. Buswell and George Buswell are stop- ping at the Hotel Miramar. Mrs. Buswell will receive every Tnesday. Mrs. H. C. Neff of San Jose, who has been in the City atrending the Christian Endeavor conventlon, has returned to her home in com- pany with her cousin, Miss Fiorauce Cahill, one’ of the schoolteachers from Boston, who came out with the Houston excursion. Miss Cahill will remain at the Garden City as the guest of Mrs. Neff and her uncle, C. F. Wyman, until the end of this month, when the Houston party will depart on their return trip via the Yellowstone Park. G. Coleman left last Wednesday for a summer trip to Eureka, Humboldt County, from which piace he will go south to San Diege, San Pedro and adjoining country and over the Mexican border to Tia Juana. The President’s Invitation. Among the callers at the White House vesterday was Colonel John 8. Mosby. The object of kis visit was to introduce to the President J. West Aldridge of Virglaia, a gentleman who was one of the bravest of Mosby’s boys during the war. Mr. Ald- ridge is now the proprietor ot the famous Orkney Sorings, the beautiful resort in Shenandoah County, and be called to ex- tend to Mr. McKinley, as well as to Secre- tary Porter, an invitation to visit the sprin s this summer. The President and Secretary seemed pleased and will proba- ly accept the invitation. All about Ork- ney are the scenes of the campaigns in which the President, as a soldier boy, took an active part while serving with the army in the Shenandoah Valley, and it will no doubt be a great pleasure to him to visit again the places identified with his early life in the field. Colonel Mosby urged as an additional inducement the fact that the three counties of Shenan- doah, Page and Rockingham, known fa- miliarly as the Tenth Legion, from their long and unswerving adherence to Demo- cratic principles, had given handsome ma- jorities to the President last November. ————————— State Mineralogist A. 8. Cooper has evolved anew plan for the publication of the county mining maps and register of mines which he has decided on. He proposes to ask the Super- visors of each mining county to pay part oy the cost of publication, allowing them to have for their own distribution a few thousand copies which they can combine with any de- seriptive matter they wish to publish as an ad- vertisement of their resources. —————————— ‘There are 6003 pieces in the modern high-grade locomotive. The Gold Fields The wonderful tale of the Yukon diggings in the valley of the Clondike is not a new one, but it has just happened to blaze forth as a great sensation because a few of the miners and some of the gold have actually arrived here. The discovery of the marvelously rich placers of the Clondike and 1t8 small tribu- taries was made last year and news of it reached the world some time ago, brought to the coast by the occasional mail-carriers and others who made the verilous winter tripover the mountains to Juneau. These reports all agreed as to the phenomenal richness of some of the claims, but the stories. such as yields of $600 to a single pan and of the miner’s wife who picked several hundred dollars wortn of gold out ot the dirt on the dump while wait- ing for her husband to get ready for supper, seemed simply the wild exaggerations that have attended every gold discovery ever made. The arrival of a steamer with a party of the lucky ones and a million dollars or less of gold dust hasbut given confirmation to what was known before, but it has also had the natural effect of producing & new and contagious ex- citement—a new rush. This is especially no- ticeable in Seattle and other Sound ecities, where a large part of the population have gone crazy and scores of men are throwing up their jobs to join the newest med rush for gold. The earlier reports induced s very large spring rush to the new fields, but now there will be a greater one undoubtedly, and many will go from San Francisco, getting there when the season is over and a terrible winter is just ahead of them. There is littie doubt thatthe Clondike gravel deposits, as far as they go, are the richest ever discovered. In the early days of placer min- ing in Californis rich deposits were found in pockets here and there, but never exten- sive deposits which averaged as high. There have come no competent opinions or accounts from mining experts and there are at hand no atements of what any of the deposits have averaged to the cubic yard or tonm, but the stories of the generally inexperienced miners, the results in gold dust and the prices of $50,000 or more for which claims have been sold establish the general richuess of the fields. The exceptional concentration of al- luvial gold is undoubtediy due to the geogra- phical or rather topographicai conditions under which nature washed the gold into the big sluices which the valleys are, in effect. Descriptive aceounts by intelligent mining eugineers, mineralogists and geologists will be read with great interest whenever they arrive. The Clondike fields are comparatively limited in extent. The Clondike is & smali tributary of the upper Yukon, and the richest deposits are found in the beds of some of the short and small creeks that empty into it, Whether any other placers as rich exist in that region re* mains to be seen. The placers which have been worked witn fair success for five or six years by an increasing number of men are in the beds of water courses fifty to a hundred miles down the Yukon on the Alaskan side of the boundary, and close to the point where the boundary, the Yukon River and the Arctic circle cross each other. These have now all been sbandoned for the far richer digzing: found fifty miles or so across the boundary, it is unoflicially supposed to be located. For the time the placer diggings engross at- tention, but more significant than the gold found in the frozen gravel of the water courses 1s the evidence they present of the existence of rich quartz ledges, from which the gold h: been eroded. The veins from which nature has mllled this gold are hidden somewhere above, and will be found. A great quariz- mining development 1n the interior of Alaska, and in the most northerly region of the North- west Territory, may be confidently predicted. No quartz ledges have yet been found, and none have been looked for. There are the most insuperable difficulties presented by any gold region of the worid to overcome befors the era of quartzemining makes a faint begins ning. The country {s extremely difficult to pros- pect. The summers are short, the ground is covered by thick, stunted growths and tan- gled moss, and the ground is perpetually frozen a little under the surface. The trans- portation of anything in the way of mining machinery would now be enormous!y expen sive. But the quartz-mining era will come. Already coal deposits of value ara announced. The Government of British Columbia is mov- ing to accede to the popular demand for the opening of a trail to the new region through British territory, and aiready the railroad, which would be pushed north with the aid of provincial subsidies if sufficient resources were discovered, is vaguely talked of. Rich veins of goid, quartzmills and railroaa leco- motives inside the Arctic circle reasonably meet the prolanged vision. A few months ago a member of the United States Geological Sur- vey, who made & superficial reconnoisance of thé Yukon country, predicted the discovery of quartz veins throughout & region 300 miles long. The? Yukon country presents strange and new problems to mining engineering. Pres- ent operations are of the crudest, and the goid-pan stage of development has not been passed. The rich grav.l lies a few feet under the streams, which are frozen up most of the year. The gravel has to be mined out during the winter, when everything is frozen solid, by sinking shafis and drifting in below the frozen streams by alternately thawing the ground with fires and noisting the dirt to the dumps. When capitalists get hold of some of the richer claims and send in skilled min« ing engineers there will be a fieid for inge« auity and reports of much scientific interesh