The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 19, 1902, Page 13

18 LEICE/TER or rrrr rmvorr “SANDALS FROM HASTS & Co- FHoresr B> FOWZFERY is here. Really When London d upon the half- nmenced to cast an something appro- in keeping with scandalizing sock rn with just the and utter in- boot as it could ved © not w t a delightful thought, was of as mueh im- as much a it were of g or another s years and nd that is just time of 1 time of i back even to the period to the to the ot Egyptian There they foun ts. Only sandals. T ntroversy immedi- agree to wear them; he woman who has beauty, w most of all who 1 the wee, small most exclusive ng and daring be tolerated by stant. worn by “miladi and if such ic, they were were quite essential apology for I be worn with gu And now nave ca, even San ible part of shoes are worn it will C's— t shoes. No more cramped h and s. Just light- the satisfying e is at last doing some- To be sure, no one in their could ever call them pret- certainly are not. In fact, has ever been in- sht have been all right robes when wreaths nstead of hats and was bent on having ous good time. knowledge that on e twentieth century, and ideas, our cloth- have changed not a is with evening g appear more ludi- -same shoes were w 1star and for all purposes. vainest monarch of those in them and consid- han silk or precious Vet OUT an dals were not made , but were often of silver, her precicus metal and studued with jew- els ¢ g ransom. As 1 ck as we can go, footgear received as much a jon as any part of one's not an fortune extraordinary about on one's s 2 better thing for little people ecen invented. One of the bothersome worries that c fret mothers 1s encugh?” s ity will trip along n nt and in slippers too small they pinch, consider is cone for & good se women are pitied for feet, but really they do not more pain than do some of our and nd when girls—and they consider themselves en- lightened, too. The child who wears sandals will have good feet. Good, healtny ones, that are free from blemishes and that can stand any amount of running here and danding there. The American youngster- has invaded the shoe shops and has carried the inno- to the seaside and to the vation away mountains, She has taken them out of town, and it now remains to be seen whether she will be brave enough to don them after her outing. The woman who has cheerfully paid down her little $2.50 or $3.50, as the case may be, has packed them away in her trunk for exactly the same reason as the younger generation has, but under it all, and deeper down, she has another reason. That i her very own and one that she would disclose only under heavy pressure. They may be the thing she has sd long nreeded when loafing about on the sand, for it has reached the pass when no wo- man dares say that the feét of her bath stockings are worn out. It admits to all vithin hearing that but little, if any, swimming is_accomplished. While it may be this, it probably is not. This newest of footwear has another and better purpose. It is the most restful thing that one can put on. The one most worn has the same heel that any slipper has, but there the similiarity ends. There are two straps, one from the heel and the other just about the joint of the big toe. From the middle of the sole and just cov- ering the second toe is another strap, which runs through the two cross straps, and with these three .bands the shoe is held perfectly firm. Another one even plainer than the first Las just two straps across the instep and the toe plece is left out. Whether this is as comfortable is a question. Certainly it the sole was a little short the strap would be exceedingly tight and binding, but on the other hand, the foot might slip about. The sandal with three instep straps is practically the same thing, only it looks a wee bit more dressed up. The particu- lar style that was brought out here to captivate the city has been left almost untouched and quite ignored. It has the same heel, but instead of mere straps there is the toe of a boot. To be sure it has five slits which permit five toes to Y, (P53 el %5 (A Mo A7 W s ,q /fi// 1/ NN % ) poke up in five spaces, and it also permits them to be severely pinched, but that _does not seem any great nor lagting bene- fit. One narrow band extends over the instep, but it seems there merely for locks. In reality it is more of a nuisance than anything else. < As this fad is credited to the English it goes without saying that the soles arc heavy, but they are also pliable and soft. All the leather is soft and can be twisted in all manner of shapes without cracking. As a rule anything made out of the rus- set is infinitely more comfortable and it generally wears much better, too. The Roman sandals are not the only s ) 2 5 ones by any means. While they are tne very nobbiest, while they the smart- est and considered the only ones fit to wear by those who profess to really know, there are the Japanese and they have been on the market for years, and after this sudden craze has gone out and has been forgottén they will still continue to be worn just the same as ever. They are ungainly looking things, but as they are worn for’ solid comfort and then only in the privacy of one's boudoir, it makes little or no' difference. The sole looks like matting; say, from four to five thicknesses bound firmly together by th buttonhole or over and over process. Ex. tending from the rear of the sole is a roll of soft but firm cloth, which is fitted to & place just under the first and second toes. It ig perfectly easy, as the material is not tight and could not possibly be. There must be room and to spare, or else it would cut and be exceedingly painful. These sandals of the Orientals are all mage or swraw or wickerware and are their chief foot covering. Nevertheless, they are .not considered fine enough to ‘wear in the house, but are always left at the door, while the people enter the dwelling in their stocking feet. ‘While custom may set forth several reasons discouraging the free use of these new boots it remains the truth that it they were more worn thers would be fewer lame feet. One thing is a certain- ty. They may be converted into a house slipper with all propriety. This fact has ® T is not alone in the weird novels of similar tales of adventure that ship- wrecked sailors and adventurers mount the steps of thrones and own islands and navies. In the remote Marquesas Islands of the Southern Pa- cific there died recently a sailor King who had ruled for half a century over many islands and peoples. The Yankee cannfbal King was John H. Rumrill. On his death he requested®hat his relatives in a distant Neg England village should be informed that he died a Christian. His Majesty Rumrill I of the Marque- sas Islands was a native of Boston. He was born in the early thirties, and began his career as a saflor. It is now fifty years since he left America on a New Bedford whaler to begin. fis remarkable adventures. His ship set out for the Pa- cific by way of Cape Horn. Years passed without her return or any word reach- ing New England of her fate, and she was finally given up as lost, with all on board. It was forty years before Rumrill suc- ceeded In getting word to his relatives. The Marquesas Islands are far out of the way of travel; no mail is carried to them, 'vv":‘::‘Z‘f i 2 and it is only by a chance vessel at long intervals that any message reaches them from the civillzed world. In half a century only two opportuni- ties came to the Yankee cannibal King to communicate with his relatives. King Rumrill's sister, Mrs. James A. Nason of Roxbury, Mass., was the first to receive a messaze from her long-lost brother. The news was brought by an officer of an American warship which had been cruis- ing in the South Pacific. The officer said that his ship had touched to take on water at Taiohae, on the island of Nukuhiva, one of the prin- ENRY CRAWFORD, a young Eng- lishmar of about 30 years of age, has one of the most wonderful memories ever vouchsafed to man. His powers in this respect are as- tounding, for with him It.is impossible to forget, after he has once read or been told anything. A short time ago he gave an exhibition at the Tivoll Theater, in London, before a critical audience, composed of many ex- perts in mnemonics and science gener- ally. Taking a page of one of the London newspapers, as published on that day, he challenged the audience to defeat him in repeating from memory any of the paragraphs. Now, on that particular page on that day there were 285 paragraphs, and for the best part of an hour the enthusiastic audience plied him with puzzling ques- tions without snucceeding In tripping him once. The astounding part of the per- formance was that Mr. Crawford not only knew the substance of all the paragraphs, but he repeated them word for word without a mistake. He was taken up and down the page, across it, and asked the position of many of the lines in the different paragraphs. “It took me a very short time,” said he to the writer, “to commit that page to memory, and I could have casily commit- led to memory the whole issue of the newspaper. I cannot give any explana- tion accounting for my phenomenal gift, but from my childhood remembering things—facts and tales and so on—has 9cen a specialty with me. “I am a native of Tauntonm, and I re- member, as.a tiny tot of three, being lifted up Into the pulpit of the local Wes- leyan chapel to repeat the Psalms from memory. It is a singular attribute with me, and I am the only member of my family in whom the faculty is predomin- ant. I need only read a sentence, para- graph or page but once, and I can re- peat it agaln verbatim, without making any mistake. “I am prepared to commit to memory any page of any newspaper and then fe- peat it, say, a week afterward, and In the meantime I shall have committed to raemory later issues of the paper. Such is the strength of my memory. I repeat I carnot explain it. And the shape of my head is not different from yours.” It is not. Ae a matter of fact. the writ- ‘e: had anticipated being Introduced to a dwarfish person, with a bonnet-shaped head; hence his surprise dn meeting Mr. n discovered and fully appreciated by the head nurse of the Children’s Hospital, and, as a. consequence, the soft-footed nurses will administer to their charges clad in the old-time sandals that even the gods and goddesses themselves wore on Mount Olympus. SOUTH SEA ROMANGE. cipal islands of the Marquesas group, when he met the Yankee King. His Ma- Jesty called upon the officer, and in Eng- lish rendered somewhat awkward from long lack of practice claimed him as & countryman. Never befors had the officer seen this type of American. The King wore the na- tive costume, one side of his face from the center of his forehead down was tat- tooed in native designs and characters, and from long exposure his skin had taken on the same copper color as that of the natives. The King told the story of his remark- able rise to power and royalty, and asked that news of him be carried to his rela- tives. The royal request was carried out as quickly as possible—that is to say, in the course of a couple of years. It ap- pears that the whaling ship on which Rumrill sailed was wrecked on one of the Marquesas Islands and all except four or five of the sailors were drowned. Of these Rumrill was the only ultimate sur- vivor. The sailors were greeted by the na- tives with enthusiasm, and a great ban- quet was prepared. Invitations were sent out to the adjoining islands to attend the feast. According to the etiquette of the islands each of the saflors was bound se- curely and subjected to the siow tortur- ing process of being tattooed from head to foot on one side of the body. Those who dled were eaten without delay. Rumrill lived through the ordeal and became the King's favorite. He learned te'speak the language and taught the na- tives many civilized customs. He became very popular with them, and some years later when the old King dled Rumrill ‘was chosen in his place to rule over the island empire. Under the reign of Rumrill I the isl- ands were peaceful and prosperous. It was largely due to him that missionaries were allowed to settle on the island and that utensils and tools of civilization were, In a measure, introduced. The greatest service rendered by the Yankee King, however, was his abolition of can- nibalism. Years were required to put an end to the custom, but the natives in the end were cured. Taken altogether, the Yankee ingenuity of the cannibal King worked wonders for the simple islanders, and he is remembered after his death with affection, The King was urged to return, or at least to visit the United States, but he refused all invitations. He argued that he was 60 years old and had become prac- tically a native in his habits and sympa- thies. His tattooed face, besides, made it impossible for him fo live in America with any comfort. He urged that the of- ficer look for his sister and if she wdse still alive to give his love to her and ask her to ‘write to him. Mrs. Nason was found, and thereupon a singular corre- spondence was commenced between them. It will be remembered that nearly two years elapsed before the King's message was delivered. His sister's letter, which was dispatched immediately, reached its destination something like & year later. Still another year passed before this cculd be answered. Finally, however, the King's letter found its way to Rox- bury, Mass. The King wrote of his home and the curious life about him. With an old gleam of Yankee humor he even spec- ulated upon what would happen to him if he were to return home and walk down Washington street, Boston, with his sister, bearing his strangely tattooed face and wearing his outlandish clothes. A few days ago Mrs. Nason received a letter from a Mormon missionary in the Marquesas Isiands announcing her broth- er's death. The missionary, EIl Hoiton, called upon the King several times @ur- ing his last. {liness and attended his funeral. The King was burifed with all barbaric pomp befitting his rank. oot oo e HE 15 & HUMRN CHONCGRASH. Crawford was great, and at the same time agreeable. He takes only 6% In hats. “Until very recently,” sdfld Mr. Craw- ford, “I filled the position of private see- retary to a famous millionaire-baronet-M. P., to whom my long head proved an ac- commodating and useful asset. “Yes; I have undergone some very hard tests—that is, you might call them hard; but I shouldn’t, and don’t now. I was once asked to commit to memory the en- tire contents of a London newspaper from title to imprint, and I repeated it after one reading without a fault.” This astonishing feat, partaking some- what of the miraculous, was performed at the Freemasons’ Tavern, before a se- lect gathering of some fifty persons, with C. J. Phipps in the chair, and was re- peated afterward before another select bedy of wiseacres at the Savage Club. “How do I do it?" repeated Mr. Craw- ford, in answer to a question. ‘“Like any ordinary man, when I want to read I sit down and charge my pipe. I pick up my paper, and if I am to repeat over as a niemory test anything I read I concen- trate all my attention on what I am read- ing, and 1 fix myself on it—that's all Then I get up. only to find the whols page, or the whole of the issue of the paper, is vreprinted in my mind, indelibly fixed on the tablets of my memory. I close my eyes and I open my mental ones, and I can see the imprint clearly, as though it had been dcne by means of invisible stereotype plates.” Mr. Crawford can answer from memory any quéstion relating to members of Pas- liament and their constituencies—such as ;helhpolllng strength, majorities, and so orth. “1f I have a specialty,” said Mr. Crawford, “it is as a lightning cal- culator, and it was as such that I was pretty stifly handled by these knights of the quill. Ameong other hard mathematical problems, I was given four to solve—a sqpare of three figures; a com- pound muitiplication sum in £ s. 4., with twelve figures in the £ line; a subtraction sum, with eighteen figures in each line; and an addition sum consisting of nine lines. with six figures in each lne.” Having a good head for figures himself, the wtiter tried one or two experiments on Mr. Crawford. He squared 578x578—334.084. Subtraction sum: 113,029,670, 240,556,124 Compound multiplication sum: £214,345.729,222 195 11dxT £1,500,420,104,560 19s 5d. Mr. Crawford worked out the sums, and gave correct answers simply by mental labor.