The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 30, 1899, Page 30

o0 THE SUNDAY CALL. PHOTOGRAPHED FROM THE FAMOUS HOW LEVIP. of the overworked ars when the sys- and so laid two former States. Levi P. Morton, w the sa and the follow: ath has been lon the health, mentally or mors had Morton Olfver the family sav forgetting the four daughters and Levi Parsons, he educated Danfel and turned him out into the world a scholar. At the age of 14 Levi P. engaged in a small grocery business for money’s sake, and when he was 2 he entered into busl- ness at Boston, removing to New York four years later to form the firm of Mor- ton & Grinnell. He saved his money and it grew pro- digiously. By the time he was 40 years old the minister's son was a banker in New York, and in another year he had a banking business in London. Everything turned into money. When still @ young man he married Miss Strest of Poughkeepsis, and just as the money came freely shs left him. Mrs Morton died at Newport in a lovely tage called Fairlawn. After her de Morton presented Falrlawn to 1 with the twelve acres upon which it stands. But to this day—so it is said—he will not visit there. Not even stop at the station, though another wife and many MORTO 5 FOURSCORE YEARo, One of the Beautiful Girls of Society. daughters have come into his Iife since then. When nearly 50 years old Mr. Morton married again, this time one of the fam- ous Livingston family, and his bride, a beautitul, stately blonde, straightway en- tered irto society, bringing the name of Morton into the 400 of twenty years ago. As a banker Levi P. Morton continued to ‘do business; and so earnestly did he devote himself to finance and so success- ful was he that an acquaintance meeting JUST BEEN PRESENTED TO THE M@RK HOPKINS INSTITUTE OF ART PTTOT TS TSSO TSSO % IS is the first time that ( ¢ | this picture has ever been (/ ) on public exhibition. From () { the time it was first painted ( ‘several years ago it has al- A ways been in the possession ( of private parties. Mrs. Col- ton brought it to the coast () and it hung in the Nob Hill Y ) mansion until removed to its ( Y, present position a few days ago. As a work of art the pic- ) ture stands high, although it is entirely removed from the ¢ modern school of painting. In ! drawing’ and handling it is ) rather suggestive of David, but the coloring is of a differ- () ent order. o o TS exclaimed, in a banking lorton, v laughed the financter, “I was born arsonag my mother before me; father. My pa- rents and grandparent were ministers from time not worth counting.” “Were they rich?"” “Only in heavenly promise. any money.” They hadn’t So, h ancestors to. whom the Golden Streets were a vague dream, this voung man became the financier of both worl of e wealthy men make friends and Mr. Morton formed the acquaintance of another m ter's son in New York— Chester A. Arthur, himself afterward Vice President and President of the United States. Arthur came from a little south of Morton, but both were from New York State. At the solicitation of Mr. Arthur, Levl P. Morton entered into politics on the Re- publican side, thus breaking down all family traditions, for the Mortons were Democrats. In 1880 President Garfield appointed Mr. Morton Munister to France, and, taking five little girls with him—for there were five lovely blossoms upon the family bush —he went abroad and for four years ably sustained the diplomatic reputation of the country, though during that time he was quite ill, the rumor of his sinking state re- peatedly reaching this country. Eight years later, in 1888—the Cleveland administration having ihtervened—Mr. Morton ran on the Harrison ticket for Vice President of the United States and was elected at the age of 6:. Many sup- posed him younger. At the expiration of his term as Vice President Mr. Morton asked to retire to THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF CLEOPATRA'S BARGE IN EXISTENCE BY C. P. HUNTINGTON, THE HONE PRESIDENT I LIFE LEVI P. MORTON as He Looks at 75. his country home, but he was nominated by his party for governor of New York State, and in 1894 was elected. He served well for the term; and during the McKin- ley boom of 1896 was favorably mentioned for the Presidency of the United States. If Levi P. Morton had been 62 In tne campaign of 1806 instead of 72 he might have to-day been President, for there was a high Morton wave rolling the country. As It turned out Mr. Morton was allowed to retire and within a week after the ex- OF AN EX-WICE RETI REMENT. piration of his gubernatorial term he was seated upon the veranda of his mansion at Rhinebeck. looking over at the Hud- son and planning one long holiday to last for life. A word about Ellersile. It i{s consid- ered by experts the finest country place in the world. Lying on the banks of the Hudson, it consists of hundreds of rolling acres carpeted with the best of grass. So nearly related is it. to the blue grass of Kentucky that the cows that pasture upon this land give milk richer than those upon the isle of Jersey. Ellerslie not only affords a magnificent country home for the Morton family, but it ylelds an income as well, for the Ellers- lle dalry is far famed. Its products are sold by contract for years ahead, so it is sald. The cattle upon Ellerslie are shipped all over the world and the farm is as productive of gold as the banking house was forty years ago. Mr. Morton is not a Henry George man. His morey works and brings him in an income. ‘He owns a mighty bullding op- posite the New York Postoffice—the big- gest skyscraper yet built. He also owns buildings behind it and whole blocks up- town. It is said that Levi P. Morton has $40,000,00¢ in New York real estate, but that may be an exaggeration. The life of this ex-Vice President of the United States is singularly simple. He has become so attached to his country place that he seldom leaves it and, though he allows his family the luxury of a Fifth avenue home in winter, he does not al- ways remain with them. When he visits the city it is on business. But so great is his stamina that though past the age limit of man he can spend a whole day at business, riding in a cab from building to building, visiting his agents, inspecting and giving orders, meeting directors and living as much of life in one day as many men live in a month. Back at Ellerslie, he dons his loose coat, visits the stables, frolics with the kennels and is again a eountry gentleman. Mr., Morton’s_acquaintances are world- wide and his autograph collection of pri- vate letters ;;:ie:o be writing a history of the Repub- lican party for the last twenty years; but it 1s doubtful if he will undertake that which has often been urged upon him—a history of his own life. URING my sojourn in Egypt,” said Walton, removing his hookah from his burned black beard, * became Interested in the hors and ' deslrous of possessing an Arabian of high quality, sought guidance of our local Consul as to the best way of going about obtaining one. Ha gave me a letter to a certain camel and liorse breeder of renown, Samana, a Bedouin shelk, Hassam name. The sheik, he inform reason to feel r obligati . which would insure me a pleasant r ith me only a s escort—the Consul’s letter, in the Arab ue, beir ssport and ing me 1 g e 2at be e beginning auty burst upor to blaze f{orth the wonderfu of smoke It which sp tent: e perpendicu rkled among the long, low, wide where preparations for the evening 1 were going on. slaves were roasting coffee, ive forth a perfume only ‘A could yield. Round about re exercising the h such creatures!—with manes flowing the tresses of Princess Badroulbadour. “‘Shetk Hassam, a man of noble appear- e, and after reading the let- relaxed the stern dignity of the supper being artake of the same meal consisted of y with certain and . bade me himself. TI of the nature of eau de cologne, and washed down with mare’s milk. A noble cup of coffee, however, atoned for the singularity of this repast, and lighting cheroots of a strong, swect flavor, we much among _the horses, ose beauty and fine points able in the moonlight, for t! ad now risen above the horizon. 18 of his own the sheik cer- iis best to get me what I and out of fifty, every seemed to possess some different L Shose ‘one and regretted that I al the & strolled B of s th the guest E equally unwilling to have me go, and plied me with rare tobacco and still rarer egends, dusky happenings of desert land, which had come within his ken, and re: vealed to few. I began to feel as if I had chewed the lotus buds and did not care reatly whether I returned to my native and or not. “One evening (that before the day: set for my departure) while strolling and smoking, as usual, in the moonlight at soie distance from ihe encampment, our R AYSTERY OF THE footsteps, whether -by accident or the Sheik’s design, were directed toward a dark ridge of rocks which crested a great rise of sand on_ the horizon and shone Jjagged against the rising moon. *“ “That forbidding pile,’ sald Sheik Has- sam, with a wave of his long arm, caus- ing a meteoric effect with the %‘lowmg end of his cheroot, ‘formed once the cen- ter of an oasis, discovered by myself and tribe while seeking an unfrequented por- tion of the desert for the purpose of es- tablishing ourselves for the favorable pur- suit of our business. “ “This oasis seemed the portal of para- dise when, in the splendor of the noon- tide, we halted, after days of travel be- neath a copper sky, before its waving palms and luxuriant shade, among which gurgled hidden springs of water, blessed water, and the songs of birds echoed among the foliage. “¢+Allah be praised! We shall prosper here!” I cried aloud, and bade them set up the tents, which were not few, and dig a cistern, which was filled from the springs amid the groves. The heat diminished not, but rather intensified from day to day, so that the outer springs became dry and we had to force our way inward (for the oasis was wide and of densest growth) to obtain supplies of water. Here and there we encountered heaten paths, which struck us as being rather singular, as we had seen no living thing save birds, Possibly, we argued, they were made by the jeckals, which howled about in the daytime and went there for water after dark, although on one occa- sion I coild have sworn that a vague im- gr!nt in the sandy pathway was that of a east of prey. “‘I kept a sharp lookout and sentinels ever on watch about the horses, camels and goats tethered a short distance from the camp beneath leafy sheds. Nothing of note transpired for some days, except light additiohal proofs from time to time that some living creature inhabited the place. The heat seemed to increase daily and the sky assumed that reddish tinge which bodes no good to the dweller in the desert. At rare interva}s across the yel- low hillocks would come pirouetting dia- bolical little spirals of sand, moved by puffs of wind, like breaths from a fur- nace. “*'On the morning of the fifth day DESERT. Hamed, my Circassian slave, a man of rare courage and- singular personal y, disappeared into the depths of the oasis in quest of fresh water, that in the cistern being used for the beasts only, and, from the length of time elapsing, must have penetrated farther than usual. Suddenly we perceived him at the edge of the Jungle, wildly gesticulating. The Arabs’ rifles were at their shoulders in an instant, but there was a mingled scream and roar, a flash of tawny flanks, and Hamed, dragged down from behind, dis- appeared into the wood. “‘The riflemen who had been nearest to him fell upon their faces, paralyzed with some awful fear, and could not be in- duced to stir. What they had seen I knew not. Drawing my scimitar and grasping my pistol I bade a huge black, under threat of instant death, follow with a lance, and plunged into the tangled wood at_the spot where Hamed had _disap- peared. White fragments of cloth upon the broken twigs, borne down by what must have been a creature of unusual size and ponderous strength, guided us onward. Panting with the heat, bruised with falling, and now feeling giddy with a strange odor which began to pervade the air, we proceeded with the utmost caution along a path grown steep and rocky. 2 i “The terrible odor had grown almost stifling, and mingling with it came a low, whining purr, apparently at no great dis- tance now. - : ** ‘Crouching behind a.ragged mass of rock which seemed to have been split by the heat (the black calling incessantly upon Aliah with chattering teeth) I peered through the crevice into the space beyond. Soul of Mohammed! What a sight met my gaze! " ‘Sprawling upgn its belly at the en- trance to a caverh, the lithe tail beating the ground, was a creature, the sight of which caused scimitar "to fall from my nerveless grasp. Out of a_tangled red mane rose a white neck of -columnar strength, Surmounted by a countenance of awful beauty. Beneath netted eye: brows glowed eyes like burnished brass, human in all save tHe slitlike puplls. The lips were a vehomous red arch, through w.l!!.clg\efflash‘ed long canine teeth. ore her, slightly propped against a boulder, lay Hamed, white and Jimp, but conscious and fascinated. Ever and anon the great furry paw was thrust forward caressingly (the claws sheathed), and the eyes of the dread creature became nar- row and tender, and the purring sound v *. repeated. ‘Streaming with sweat, I had man- o level my pistol across a projec- ‘nfi‘d. then @ shadow fell over us which deepened, and a murmur broke upon our Cars. increasing to a roar. Springing to its feet, its eyes blazing greenly in the gathering gloom, the Thing seized the Shoulder of Hamed's garments in its teeth and with a horrid screaming snarl leaped Dast us, as the simoon in all its fury burst upon_us. “The black had already clambered te tha highest rock ping a base of a large palm, enveloped in his burnous. I did likewise, and after a pe- riod of unconsciousness awoke and, pain- fully drawing myself up to a sitting pos- ture #gainst what remained of the palra tree, gazed about me. The black lay rigid at my side, stifled. “*‘Around about among the rocks and trees and across the plain were great driftseand billows of sand, but of all my faithful people and valuable beasts there was no_trace. tent pole, with a frag- ment of canvas here and there, marked their graves. “11 was rescued in a delirious condltion by my partner, who came weekly to ?¥isit the encampment.* ““That I am stopping in this vicinity Is owing to an irresistible fascinetion the spot has for me and to-its belng in ‘he direct road to the market town, whither I go at intervals to trade. The mystery that yonder sand heaps envelop will never be revealed until the desert and sea give up their dead.’"—Neville Cain.