The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 31, 1901, Page 8

8 THE SUNDAY CALL. Hon. John &. Foster---Jhe Man. A Personal Chat With the Best .Informed [Man on International Affairs of Modern Times. ID you meet Hon. Jc sig - i ey mewhere o s . s o AN W ‘ r—or ast a rich e < for him tle m mes to a fa ¥ ? the most confirmel ‘ ame wweuld cause one t . n as g emphatics n Mr. Foster one evening aftor t re. H chebrful and conrta- hall the'ardy. This Rrticie. s Daoactt Foster in his narlor. one ectate the s ny problems of inter that his smail hands ha held s0 many of the threads of destinv, t men g of one of which wor 2 change the history of a na- tion of 75,0000 people: yet when we eon alfer the tm yortance of the missfons on which he has been sent it is easy to belleve that a wonderful brain lles be- neath the white hair—a brain specially « wigned by Providence for the express purpose of figuring out Tncle Sam's Aif ficult problems and keeping the old man's eredit good emong his neighbors. . . . . . S “Bit with your back to the light—an tell the truth!™ guoted Mr. Foster smil- ingly when speaking of what it takes to become & successful Afplomat; but T lean toward the opinion that there is a knack ~—known to @iplomats only—whereby one may tell the truth without putting the other fellow & rage—an accompliso- s to call forth our 1 whenever we cor 1 it 1s such a goi1 thing t w ver we get in a tight place we 1 » Prov ce PmitYs ats alone, Stit is all for best, 1r s have the secret of be- with fmpun & ourselves ere yet ro- honest lie; so on that t good old we t are comferted Mr. Foster believed he would lie down The grip microbe was getting frisky in his midst; so I came away, had seen General Foster #l. With the tr eper et I was bound ie Be looked when well, 5o I called again cays later Cor shouted a hearty voice on the other side of the deer in response to my rather timid knock, Richard was him- self again, active and good-natured, @agine you are growing tired of er people, My, Foster,” | said. By Lowell “It's all in the life’s business, my boy.” ed the general. |showing me to a seat: “all in the life’s bus! 2 “My diplomatic career hegan in 1873 " sald Mr. Foster In respnse to my 1- when 1 was appointed Minister to Mexico by President Grant. In 1880 I w made Minister to Ruesfa, and in 1883 w transferred to Madrid. T resigned th office at the beginning of President Cleve- land's term and came home. but was re- turned bv the President on a spacta) mis elon to Spain. In 1891 1 was commissioned by President Harrison to negitia ties of reciprocity with Spaln, Ge San Dominga and other cour M Blaine s of State and signed the firs nexation of the Hawalian Islands. I 8 1 represented the United States Paris tribunal of arbitr the ing Sea quektion. On the adjournment of that tribunial T made a tour of the wor.l by way of C; rnia in Juno, retur I succeede: trea* the I Lt Hux r between China aperor of z Chang I was asked by ter of the 7 1 was appointed by Embassa- an, lent McKinley as special London and St. Pete 1588 1 w s a member of the Ar High Commission on Canad fcan his simple catalcgue of one man’s svements sot sy. but. as merely nds g ance, let the virtu: ended nd Japan. Th most men as the results of 1 g 1 ob- of Li Hung C! his reputation as a diplo- in your estimation, dogs he at diplomats of other He doesn’t rank at all,” sa'd M phatically. “To be sure, Li Hu s a great man—probably the grea se empire, but as for al law and of t possess it! Chang in all the Chin sess is almost of native shrewd- cuggested. first meet Li Hung 1 asked. while on my trip around the rld. 1 met Li Hung Chang as I was ng through 1 on my avay to He camedf, state, brir ing along inese (Here Mr. Foster's eyes ned.) ‘““We felt bound to do our best to add to the festivities; so we had up Moncacy's band. It v nost in- ng occasion when those two bands t together announced his desire —there w e would t fon for a pa 1 what t d an return from Peking. e e sint merican customs and rather lowing m Li Hu ted with d this gave rise to a g Cha using circumstance. been informed that he wae Foster out to dinner; so rived the old gentleman walked . lady and made a low bow. He ched away to the banquet hall with Mrs. Foster following along be- hind. Following his lead, all the other hen Chinese dignitaries approach appointed to them, made low stalked away, each with a lady e it was rather better; Li Hung (‘hang sat at the right of Mrs. Foster and 1 opposite; but it was some a before that solemn march to the banquet hall ceased to be a standing among the bers of the American contingent. mer 1 it must be remembered that this was the first oceasion upon which ladies were ever invited to attend a public b cuet in China. ly in 1895 1 was requested by the mperor of China to assist Li Hung Chang. It was during this visit that Li and I saw much of each other. Together we went over to Shimonoseki (Japan). oc- cupying the same - It took twe steamers to carry ‘our’ suite Oitus Reese. “Arrived In Shimonoseki, I'was lodged in the only European house in town, fur- nished with hangings and otber European accessories from nelghboring citles. LI Hung Chang, however, was quartered in a Buddhist temple, which had been gor- e fitted up for the occasion. We were in Shimonoseki four weeks.” “Were the Japanese pleased with the treaty?—the common people, I mean,” I “Yes, Indeed. They were extremely ful to the United States and were lavish in their expressions to me and the v with me. They got up a great dem- ration and were evidently as happy < the outcome as were the Chinese. Ycu ree they were afraid that, without our influence, China might ‘never have ob- erved the treat:." “Can you not relate some little inct connected with your own personal experience that would serve to Mlustrate this friendly feeling on the part of our little brown nefghbors?” The general considered. “You might tell him how the Japanese publishers managed to secure your photo- aph,” suggested Mrs. Foster, who had come in durlng the conversation. “It isn’t much of a story,” sald he, “‘but it may {llustrate Japanese enterprise, to- gether with their eppreciation of Amer- ica's efforts in their behalf. “During the war with China the Japan ese newspapers came out strongly with war pictures. After the war some books were published, both in the Japanese and the English language, and profusely illus- trated. “Coming home from China, 1 stopped at Yokohama. One day 1 epped Into a book store and asked for’ some books on the late war printed in the English lan- guage. he proprietor eyved me closely. you Mr. Foster? he asked. “I admitted my Identity, and he went away, to return immediately with a book. the frontispiece of which was a reproduc- tion of a photograph of our party of five, taken when we passed through Japan on our journey around the world. ' ‘They had cture, and, having no oiher had been compelled to repro- duce the entire group in order to &et it. Accc mpdl‘\mg the frontispl dc ‘Aren’t was the n the centér is Mr, Fos- ter; on the right, his wife; the other three vely) ‘we do not know.' Beneath the pilecture graph. was my auto- This set me to wondering again, for I had no { where they had sec it. I learned, however, that a Japanese rey r had arthed one of .my cards from some place in the country und had photographed the signature.” “And to further illustrate the good fecl- ing existing among the people.” said Mrs. Foster, “we had a Jananese gervant while \ Jan ce we came home has ai nt us a card at Christ- mas. A recent card bore the quaint in- scription, ‘The Japanese will never forget you forever! 2 in my mind, it is sucl little per- sonal recollections that go further to- rd giving one a true insight into the al fe: of a people than all the out- nd all the formal as: "ances nguished consideratien which we all hear—and often doubt.” . Our conversation drifted @round to the conditicn of affairs in Spain. “Judging from your experience in Madrid,” I sald, o you think that Spain is in any seri- ous danger from the Carlists?" “I don't think so,” returned Mr. Foster. n is in rather more danger from the s, T should say. She is be- res. However, the little King ins his majority soon, now, and then things may reasonably be expected to brighten up. s “Yes, one ally expect-to loik for a more settled conditién of thiing: then than has obtained under the rule of we were n. ws @ repub tween two attz can nat am egent. “But the Regent i~ a good woman!" protested Mrs. Foster stoutly. “Did you not have some difficulty in getting through vour reciprocity trea'y 7" 1 asked. “Well,” said the general, “the first treaty that I helped negotiate wasg in 1851 It came to Washington, where Mr. Cleve- land promptly killed it—and that was the last of it. The next was in 1891 and was drawn up under the McKinley tariff act of 18%. This treaty was opposed by no one in particular, except the Spanish flour merchants. It ruined their business in Cuba and gave the trade to the United States.” “And did you ever meet Captain Gen- eral Valerfano Wer ster's expression ¢ he did not constder hing. “Weyler n who has ety. I do seemed to denote ¢ that he had missed an came after my He Is a ma but recently sprung into not not Ir w him."” “Don’t ycu think that America has gzihed wonde: tige Auring the last few years “The last few ver exclalmed the general with gne of his suddenibursts of energy. “‘Sav her has always pos- sessed it. The wcrld has nevef known the equal of Frankl'n and Adams. Why, there is not in all our history a greatc: triumph for American diplomacy than the treaty of independence and the conces- slons wrested from England after the war of s that America secured as much as she deserved and much more than she ought ever to have expected—biit then the Yankee is proverbially a govd bargain driver,” and he smiled. But along the line of peace making,” T suggested, “and the settling of Interna- tional differences?” . “Oh, yes. Our reputation is now fir peace; and our situaticn geographically makes us peculiarly fit to be arbitrators.” 1 suddenly noticed with surprise that my five minutes had lengthened into near- ly an hour. “Mr. Foster,” T said as I rose to go, “I promise to trouble ycu no more—until you are nominated for the Presidency!” T in diplomacy ully in pres or a moment the observation seemed to take him aback ! he wag not expecting it. However. he ralifed instani- 1y and shook his head smiling “1 nave nad my share,” he replied. “1 have seen enough of the world to know that fame is the least part of it. I wish to iive cuietly now.” “We want only our home life,” added Mrs. Fester; “it is better than all the rest. il @ he Best @rown of Ed\uard Vil &A% T the coronation of King Edward /D VII and Queen Alexandra four » crowns will be used. The chief one, known as Queen Victoria's crown, will be the one actually used in the ceremony of crowning the King; the second one will be used in crowning the Queen Consort, and the other two will be worn by their majesties during the ser- vices following the actual crowning. Thepe, together with the sword of state, the scepters and coronation ring. all taken from the tower by order of the Earl Mar- shal of England, are in the custody of the Dean of Westminster during the corona- tion services. The Queen Vietorla crown, also called the state crown, Is a dazzling mass of précious stones, 208 in aill, and many of them have interesting hisfories. There ‘s a magnificent sapphite which s said to have come from the ring of Edward the Confessor. Then there are sixteen small sapphires, eleven »meralds, four rubles, of which one belonged to the Black Prince: four drop-shaped pearls, 273 other pearis, 1363 brilliant dlamonds, 147 table dlamonds and 1274 rose diamonds, With all this mass of jewels the whole crown weighs only thirty-nine ounces, It was made in 1888 for Queen Victoria's corosietion from jcwels takem frem old crowns, and is valued at §1800,000, Tha cap is of crimsen veivet lined with white eills, and has an ermige bordes, It is not the most esstly royal erewn in Europe; that distinctien is asserted foy the erown belenging te Pertugal, which is vaiued at $8000606. The crowm which represents the smailest outiay Is that of Roumania. It is made eut of a bit of old cannon captured at Pievaa, The most beautiful crown is that of the King of Denmark. It is simple in design, but of, artistic workmanship, the leaves by which the circlet is surmounted being curved and veined vy precious stones, and each leaf ornamented by a magnificeut Jewel. The oldest erown in Europe, which is also the smallest, measuring only six inches in diameter, Is the iron érown of Lombardy. The one crown which is distinguished as being the sacred crown is that of Hun. gary. It is revered by the peopls, being regarded as a palladium. Two nobles of anclent lineage and a troop of halberdiers guard it night and day in the Castle of Buda, where it is kept. In olden times no king could reign in Hungary unless the sacréd erown had rested on his brow, and if he dled before he had been crowned his name was strick- en from the record of kings. Bven a pro- tender acquired a quasi title to the king- dom if by force of stratagem he could possess himself of it, Twice the crown had disappeared, but how or whers it was found the first time is unknown to this day, The last time it was found buried in the ground, ‘A meg- nificent éapphire is its bright partioular ornament, This is surmounted by four beautiful green stones of somé unknown kind, lapidaries disagreeing as to Wwhat the gems arve. A sapphire 8f matchless beauty also aderns the imperial crown of Austria, Phe erown most deeorated with emblems is that of the German Emperer, It has the figure of an eagle, four diamond crosses, four hoops upporting & globe, and this surmeunted by another cress, The petentate who possesses most crowns is the Pope, eight at least belng stored at the Vatican. Many of them are simply gifts and have no espectal signi- finance. Napoleon I was the donor of one to Pius VII. This is the handsomest one of all, having a beautiful emerald. A Queen of Spain was the donor of another, The principal papal crown is a triple on In Spain and Belgium the crown does not figure in the coronation services. The feature of the ceremony in both countries consists if the King’'s swearing to pre- serve the eonstitution and laws of the country, Nor is it a matter of course that & Czar should be erowned, though Nicho- las and his consort were crowned with great pomp at Moscow, The Czar, being a religlous as well as a temperal lord, the erown in shape is modeled after a bishop's miter. Again, in this case, a sapphire s the most beautiful stone in the crown. There are five diamonds resting on a mag- nificent ruby, which forms the cross sur- mounting the erown, Outside of Hurope the erewn becomes a rarity. The Bultan, for example, po: #esses ne crown, corenation belng un- known in Turkey, In place of this is sub- stituted the investure of the monarch with the sword of Othman. The saber is girt around the Buitan with the words: “Take it with faith, for ye have recelved it from God.” The Bhah of Per-h has a crown, if such it can be called, which s variously described as resembling a flowerpot and @ bonnet. The small end Is open, the other closed, It {s made of cloth of gold, with strings of hanging precious stones, with here and there tufts of feathers orna- mented by dlamonds, rubles, emeralds ang pearis. At the top is set what is perhaps the greatest ruby in the world, an uncut, absoiutely flawless stone as large as a, hen's egg.—The Sun. Hon PAmeriea’s (reatest Diplomat John W. Foster--Sketched From Life by Therndike,