The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 27, 1904, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, JUNE 27, 1904. B ———— — 2 PHE SAN FRANCIEGUE L] e e e JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprictor . . . « « . » « « . Address All Commanications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manager A Mummy's Curse. Etaft Correspondent of The Call. HEADQUARTERS OF THE CALL, B HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON, June 13.—Few fales of occult fiction have been more extraordinary than the weird story of | & mummy case at the British Museum | #nd its supposed death-dealing powers, vhich has just been told by B. Fletcher Robinson in a London news- paper. The narrative’s truth, how- $ver, is vouched for by the writer, fwho, Desides being the intimate friend $f Sir A. Conan Doyle, 1s a newspaper $oan of much repute. There is a painted cover of the ummy case, which now is reposing : & corner of the first Egyptian room pf the museum, but which once cover- #4 the embalmed remains of a priest- s of the College of Amen Ra, and #vho lived in the mighty city of Thebes | gome 1600 years before Christ. The Wwork is still in a beautiful state of preservation and depicts a woman of | singularly baleful expresssion, whose dark eyes stare into vacancy, as| though seeking there some clew to the | riddle of the universe, while her hands gre peacefully crossed upon her breast. A remarkable circumstance was the result of a London photographer’'s at- tempt to obtain a picture of the| strange face shown on the coffin lid. To the man’s amazement, when a print | was taken from the negative it re- vealed not a dead face but apparently & living one, with wide open eyes, and the baleful expression of the painted efligy heightened to one of intense malignancy. It was Fletcher Robinson, readers |’ may remember, to whom Dr. Doyle publicly acknowledged his indebtedness for the plot of his “Hound of the Bas- kervil Until recently, too, the teller of the following tale was editor of the London Express, which he left td as- sume charge of the society weekly, Vanity Fair. Robinson declares that he has care- fully investigated the evidence of the | afflictions which have befallen those who had the misfortune to incur the enmity of this Egyptian priestress who died 3500 vears ago, and says he has obtained abundant proof of the truth ®f the statements made to him, though, for( the sake of the friends and relatives of her victims he has suppressed their names in his narra- tive. It was in the middle of the "60's| that a party of five friends chartered & dahabia for a voyage up the Nile and tarried at Luxor to explore the ruins of Thebes and the famed temple to Amen Ra, which, even in its decay mnd desolation, is still probably the most sublime monument of antiquity existing. The members of the party were entertained at dinner by Lady Gordon Duff and the Consul at Mus- tapha Aga gave a strange native dance in their honor. One evening an Arab, who said he had been sent by Mustapha Aga, called upon a member of the then happy Mttle party—Mr. D. he is called to con- ceal his identity—and offered to sell him 2 beautiful mummy case, which be declared he had just found. It was the priestess’ mummy case, which has mow found a final resting place in the British Museurs. By what sacrileg- fous means the Arab obtained posses- mion of it, or what became of the mummy, is not known. Mr. D. béught it. But as all the members of the party were keen Egyptologists it had been decided that the ownership of their respective finds should be deter- mined by lot and thus it came about that the mummy case fell into the bands of Mr. W. It was on the return journey that the geries of misfortunes so strangely as- so¢lated with it began. While one of Mr. D’'s servants was handling a gun 4t exploded in some unaccountable man- mer, the charge lodging in the man’s arm which had to be amputated. A second servant died in poverty within the year and a third was shot. When Cairo was reached Mr. W. discovered that he had lost the larger portion of his fortune. Entertaining no suspicion that the mummy-case was in any way connected with his financial troubles, or the mishaps which had attended the party since it was acquired. he gave it to a married sister living near Lon- don. Boon afterward he died. * But from the day that the effigy of the dead priestess entered its new abode misfortune dogged the footsteps of the family living there. It chanced that Madame Blavatsky, the High Priestess of the Theosoph- ists, paid a visit to the house one day. ©On crossing the threshold her manner became greatly perturbed and she told her hostess that there was some strong, malignant influence in the house and requested permission to examine the warious rooms. When she discovered the coffin lid she -declared it to be a most dangerous possession and be- sought its owner to send it away forth- with. This the lady laughingly refused to do, attributing Madame Blavatsky's fears to foolish superstition. Shortly after this, however, she sent the case to a Baker street studio to be photographed and, as already told, the photographer discovered that his cam- era had reproduced the features of an apparently living woman. Shortly af- terward he died suddenly and myste- riously. Soon after this happened Mr. D. turned tp in London and, meeting $he lady who owned the coffin lid, ! her possession. i learned of the misfortunes that had be- | fallen her family since it came into! He urged her to get rid of it at once and, convinced at las! that the thing was a terrible “hoodoo, she agreed. A carrier was found to| transport it to the British Museum. He died withip & week and the man . | who assisted him in removing it to the, museum buildings met with a serious accident. Now, apparently, the misfortunes which have heretofore attended the possession of the mummy-case have ceased. The learned gentlemen who preside over the room in which it rests have not heen troubled by its presence. It may be that. finding herself among queens and princesses and dignitaries of equal rank, with a card Setting forth her various claims to distinction, the Priestess of Amen Ra no longer makes use of the malign powers which she possesses. “It is certain,” writes Mr. Robinson, “that the Egyptians had powers which we in the twentieth century may laugh at, yet can never understand. There is, for instance, a recorded case of an explorer who carried off a coffin on which was engraved the threat that if the man therein buried was disturbed by any thief of the graves, the body of that thief would be scattered in his death. The explorer laughed, for he was not, he was pleased to say, of a superstitious nature; yet soon after- | ward he was torn to pieces by an ele- phant when shooting.” The Oldest Universit . | One seldom hears of what is probably | the largest and oldest—and to Western eyes the oddest—university in the world, FEl-Azhar, “the splendid,” at Cairo, Egypt. While the dates of the founding of the unmiversities of Oxford, Paris and Belogna, for which great' antiquity is claimed, are lost in the mists of the Middle Ages, El-Azhar can read its title clear from the year 975 A. D. Constantinople is the official head of the Mohammedan religion, but the summit of Mussulman learning may be secured only at El-Azhar. Thither flock from every land owning Mahomet as its» j religious guide_those of all ages who, would be proficient in the Koran and other branches of Oriental learning. More than 10,000 students, according to Frederic Courtland Penfield, formeriy United States diplomatic agent and Consul General at Cairo, who has de- scribed the university in his book, Present Day Egypt,” sit at the feet o(‘ the instructors about the pillars. The oddity of the university is mani- | fested at the first glimpse of the build- | ing which houses it. The restorations | have been too numerous to leave any | indication of the original structure, but there is no doubt of its relation mI Mohammedanism, for lofty minaret® of | Oriental type rise here and there. Lit= tle can be seen of the exterior, how-| ever, for it is closely surrounded by buildings. Within is a court, the sky its only roof. On each side are alcoves| covered by roofs supported by pillars. | The porticos about the enormous open | ccurt are each divided into various| compartments for the separate use of | the students of the different nations. | The Algerian students’ have one, lhe} Moroccans another, the Nublans a| third, the Turks another and the In-| dians still another, and so on. The dif- ferent sections of Egypt each have a separate compartment; those who come | from the gesting place of the bones of Mahomet—Mecca—are also provided ! with a section; the blind pupils, | strangely more fanatical and turbulent | than the average Mussulman, also find special accommodation for themselves. | Although only a drive of a few min- utes from the hotel district, compara- | tively few foreigners take the trouble to visit the strange educational insti- | tution. Many are unaware of its in- terest. It is reached by the street of shops, the Mouski, and the narrow lane known as the “Street of Book- sellers.” Picking one’'s way between | the conglomeration of humanity, cam- els, donkeys and Arab workmen, sitting | crossed-legged on the floor of their box-like little shops, binding the curi- ous looking volumes, one reaches the | entrance known as the “Barber’s Gate.” Passing a number of students who are having their heads shaved so closely that they look like a French wig-mak- er’s shiny artificial poll, one gains the interior of the building. Students -nd‘ masters who are entering are remov- ing their shoes at the threshold. Here and there at the foot of the pillars are | seated the ‘‘professors” on rugs u(. sheepskin, discoursing to groups of students squatting in a half eircle | about them. The pupils are listening intently. Discussions of different | | themes are going on. Not a student | turns to look at the visitor, so inter- ested is he in the discussion. The cov- ered portions of the building are sup- ported by 300 marble pillars and each of the instructors has his particular pillar about which to gather his stu- dents. The lecture finished, the stu- dents respectfully kiss the hand of the instructor and hasten away to the pil- lar of another instructor to become ab- sorbed in another subject.—New Yo Tribune. Radium and Earth’s Heat. How far radium is responsible for the heat of the earth is one of the philo- scphical questions now interesting sci- entiste. Professor Rutherford before a recent meeting of the Royal Institution of London stated that he believed the amount of radium present and uni- fermly distributed throughout the earth would be sufficient to account for all the heat lost from that body. In this event the cooling of the earth, so that ultimately it would becom uninhabit- able, as was calculated by Lord Kelvin, would be postponed, and a few million more years would be afforded for the various forms of animal life. Such a possibility was anticipated doubtless by Lord Kelvin himself, for in his cal- culations he inserted “provided no new form of heat is discovered.” This is now held to exist in the minute quan- tities of radium are widely and universally dis over -the earth and which may account for the gradual mnw-mm of the earth is Weekly: % e i e .Third and Market Streets, S. F. MONDAY —_—— e = BUSINESS CONDITIONS BRIGHTER. HE better tone to trade noted a week or so ago T was even more pronounced last week and it really appeared as if business were improving. If a com- mercial reaction should set in mow it would be rather | surprising, for such reactions rarely occur in midsum- | mer, though it may prove a mere fluctuation. But the signs all along the line are better. First, the loss in bank clearings, which has lately ranged from 15 to 23 | per cent, has fallen to 4.9 per cent for the week just passed, and the aggregate clearings were $1,800,000,000. The failures, too, made a more favorable exhibit, being 227, against 223 for the corresponding week in 1903 Another cheering indication was an increase in railway carnings, the record thus far in June showing an actual gain of 4.2 per cent over last year. For some months past these railway earnings have steadily exhibited a de- crease compared with 1903. Thus, as far as the usual figures by which the con- | dition of the commerce of the country is estimated and which may be called the pulse of trade, are concerned, the business situation is showing not only more tone, but more activity than for some months. There is no ques- tion that the feeling in New York is decidedly bullish, ekpecially among the great banking interests and the leading Wall street operators. The stock market for the past fortnight has been acting like a captive balloon, | which sways in a buoyant arc and tugs at its ropes in a persistent attempt to soar away from the carth and seek the skies. From all quarters in Wall street come multi- plying reports of increasing confidence, a desire to in- cest in standard bonds and a general disposition to take a sanguine view of the trade outlook. In this connection the Wall Street Journal says: “The bond market has been practically cleared up of bonds in first hands, except for a portion of the last New York City issue and a portion of the Lake Shore debenture issue. The demand at present is showing indications of passing into bonds of a slightly lower grade. Bond houses say that if they could get absolutely first-class material theyggould do a large business. There is no sign, however, of any fresh material at this moment, and it 1s not thought likely that there will be any new bond issues for quite a while. The Kead of one large banking house says that not in years has there been so good a demand for first-class bonds as there is now. There has-been a great restoration of confidence on the part of investors in this class of security.” The general view of the business situation as far as the city' of New York is concerned is this: That with money in oversupply at anywhere from 1 to 3 per cent and pressing on the market for an advantageous outlet, | with plenty of standard stocks paying from 3 to 5 per cent going begging .for purchasers and crop conditions which are practically perfect, it will be impossible to keep the stock market down for any extended period. These conditions will surely force the apathy to give way. Money is not going to lie idle forever when it can be borrowed at say 2% per cent and put into invest- ments paying 4% to 5 per cent. Such a situation would be absurd on its face. And when that money breaks loose from the timid custodians who are hold';ng it back | and emerges into the arena as an active and buoyant force there will be a market and a good one. It is noteworthy how many astute financiers, veterans in Wall street, take this view, and it will be interesting to watch the course of the market for a few weeks and see how far this sanguine forecast will be verified. It may be that the wish is falher to the thought, but, be this as it may, the feeling in the country’s metropolis is undeniably much better than for months, and further- more is getting better right along. There are other favorable signs which have cropped out within the past month. Provisions are much more active at the important Western centers and prices have lately been decidedly firm. Many cities, large and small, are reporting a better jobbing demand for general mer- chandise and a larger distribution of staple goods. This improved demand, coming in midsummer, is very en- couraging, though, of course, nobody knows how long it will last. Just what causes this general better feeling all along the line of trade is not known. It may be, as said be- fore, a mere fluctuation, to be followed later on by an- other recession and period of dullness; a transient activity due to the replenishing of depleted stocks or to the simplicity and clearness of the political outlook, which is something unusual and decidedly refreshing in a Presidential year. It may be the brilliant crop pros- pects, which ‘almost insure at least fair times for the American farmer for another year; it may be the belief, which is becoming crystallized, that there will be no serious disturbance by the coming election of the cur- | rent settled conditions of finance and trade for an in- | definité period ahead; or it may be that more or less idle money is already forcing itself into active circulation. Any or all of these conditions may be at the root of the current improvement. Still there are drawbacks. The lumber trade is de- pressed all over the country as a rile. The iron and steel trade, too, is dull and unsatisfactory, though a dis- patch from Wall street on Saturday said that an im- provement was slowly extending in the industry and that a better feeling would also soon appear in the dry goods markets. Hides and leather are losing the activity which has heretofore characterized them ani the tanners are taking no more hides than they can help, The wheat exports are much less than those of last year, those for last week being only 1,271,000 bushels, against 3,158,000 for the corresponding week in 1903, while from July 1, 1903, to date they amount to only 132,727,000 bushels, against 220,200,000 last season and 244,143,000 in 1goa. Partially offsetting this loss, however, is the state- ment that the United States is falling back as a great wheat exporter, as it needs more of its wheat than for- merly to feed its rapidly increasing population. On this coast trade is quieter than it has been and in this city complaints of inactivity have been more numer- ous of late. We may be getting the edge of the wave of dullness which has been slowly rolling westward across the continent, or the present quietude may be merely the usual midsummer lull, for the ds of people are out of town on their summer vacations; but the tendency is to report business decidedly quieter, without, however, any disturbing elements or any disposition to croak. We sre naturally affected by conditions in the other parts of the country, though our position as a source of sup- oly for the great markets of the Orient, which have been drawing on us for various lines of produce and mer- chandise im-mmmdyun,omwhupnh_ experiencing the more of business depression. As long as South _ Pacific, lorthern coast and Oriental mrkeb calling on us for goods we can never experience the real acute conditions which occur in the East at regular intervals. Dull we may be for a time, but stagnant probably never. A young forger was sentenced by the United States District Court the other day to imprisonment until he shall have paid a fine of five hundred dollars levied upon his unworthy self by the trial Judge. This un- comfortably indefinite future in durance vile may, as it surely should, have a deterring influence upon other gay young spirits not to commit crime. By forcing criminals to begin a career of dishonesty on a cash basis we will | probably diminish the supply of the evil-minded. A CHANCE FOR AGRICULTURISTS. HE already very efficient department of agricul- T ture at the University of California has inaugu- rated an innovation in the conduct of its university extension courses, which must be p; tive of ines- timable benefit to the agriculturists of the State who rely so strongly upon the counsel that comes to them from the experts at Berkeley. To the work now being done by the State experiment station across the bay and by the extension courses conducted under the auspices of the university there has been added a department for the preparation and dissemination of reading courses upon technical subjects of agricultural science. The details of this new departure on the part of the agriculture authorities as announced in a recent bulletin are these: Those whose circumstances prevent attend- ance upon the fegular courses in agriculture at the uni- versity have only to communicate with the director of the university extension in agriculture at Berkeley and by him be enrolled in a1 reading course in one or more of the subjects offered. To this scholar in absentia there will be forwarded a set of bulletins dealing progressively with the subject in hand and calculated to impart as perfect a knowledge of the science as could be obtained | without the aid of laboratory practice. To supplement this training a circulating library of reference books is open to him and constant communication with the in- structors at Berkeley upon knotty problems in the study is always his privilege. Should the student upon the successful completion cf hiscourse desire entrance to the university he will be given advanced standing in the science in question. By this brief outline of the new scheme adopted by the agriculture department of the State University it may be seen that for every fruit raiser, grain grower and stock breeder in the State there lie open added facilities for the perfection of method and achievement of prime results in their endeavor. Already the scientists from Berkeley, who travel the length of California in pur- suance of the farmers’ close alliance with those who put their theories into suc- cessful practice. Co-operative experiments conducted by the farmers and the university professors in conjunction serve to bring: theory and practice into closer inter- dependence. culturists of the State the opportunity to make the in- fluence of the trained specialists at the university a fac- | tor in the balance of a successful tilling of the soil wherever the mails carry. The Supreme Court has decided that no woman may | be sold liquor in a saloon in San Diego on the broad and thoroughly intelligent ground that a saloon-keeper may not legally dispense intoxicants to persons of bad character in the town. in the State to declare that any woman who seeks a drink in a saloon is by that very seeking a bad char- acter. P stamp nowadays. There is no danger of poison whatever. You will be as safe as when at home yon are engaged in licking your spoon after a dish of ice-cream. For word comes from Washington that cassava starch, more popularly known as tapioca, is the chief element of the gum on the back of all postage stamps. Think of it, tapioca—that toothsome pudding maker found in the pantry of almost every household in the land! The announcement from Wachington is likely to pro- duce a boom in tapioca and at the same time, Uncle Sam, prosperous though he be, may revel in greater prosperity by reason of the fact that the Postoffice De- partment will enjoy a wonderfully increased business. The whole country has a sweet tooth and the postage stamp with its tapioca back js about the most alluring article that can be purchased for little money and car- ried around with the least inconvenience. ‘When the desire for something sweet overcomes us all that will be necessary will be to réach into our purse, wallet or vest-pocket, take out a stamp: or two and lick to our heart’s content. Of course some men will prefer to lick two-cent stamps, but one could get just as much satisfaction, or, to be more accurate, just as much tapi- oca from one-centers. Probably it will suit those plenti- fully endowed with this world’s goods to do their licking with five and ten cent stamps. However, everybody to his taste. Tapioca is a very nutritious farinaceous food, and it is reasonable to suppose the busy man who will not permit himself to get away from his place of business for his midday luncheon will be making a meal hereafter from his tapioca-backed postage stamps. THese will be kept under lock and’ key in his office, as it will be safe no longer, in view of the tapioca announcement sent broad- cast from the national capital, to leave the precious stamps loosely around. The office boys and typewriter maids may be tempted to use them as dessert to lunches hastily taken ‘in nearby hasheries. The Government is to be heartily thanked for the gratifying information it has! given out and the relief it has caused, for there is no denying that we have always had visions of poison every time we have licked a stamp. Nobody can justly complain about our Government. It is all right. And as far as the Postoffice Department is concerned, it will now become more popular with the people, who will point to it and say: “See, we hfive found another pudding.”—~ A young lady, inspired by arcadian simplicity, accepted the other day the hospitality of 2 man she never had met before and probably will never meet again. Her trusting &nfidence led her to a drinking resort, where she was robbed. She has braved notoriety to seek redress and mdah‘whom-v!bréurvice She has given the young women of San Francisco a splendid mmmdmmufiwrdwu«u She even may profi( by her exgmeuce. POSTAGE STAMP LAPIOCA. UT all fear behmd you when you lick a postage o ~ institute work, have come into | This last innovation opens to the agri- | It was hardly necessary, how- | ever, to receive the support of the most dignified tribunal | = A Gentleman. It was at one of the summer resorts not over 100 miles from this city that an assemblege of San Francisco's young people were recently enjoying themselves. It was on a Sunday afternoon shortly after the arrival of the morning train which brought with it quite a lot of young bloods from the city. They had wealth and education, and had come to display the former at least before theff young lady acquaintances. Just beneath a bunch of honeysuckles and other creeping vines on the piaza a party of them, lolling in chairs, exchanged jokes and reparfee of the latest coin- The few vacant chairs that re- age. | mained were used by some of the | young gentlemen who gracefully | stretched their limbs upon them, | showing thereby the latest designs in footwear.. While this was going on an elderly | lady with white hair and a sweet face i strolled down on the piazza in search of a quiet place where she could read a book. She looked about but there was no seat. She evidently expected that one of the many young gentle- men would be gallant enough to pass her one of the seats they used for footrests. But none offered. Just then a hired man, carrying a coaloil can, into which he was stuffing waste paper and other refuse strewn about the walks, passed by. . He set the coaloil can down, walked into the dining-room and returned with a chair which he politely set down for the old lady. She most graciously thanked him. “I am glad to meet a gentleman,” said she. The young bloods sniggered but said not a word. The young ladies | blushed and also remained still. All felt the sting hurled at them. Next morning when the stage ar- rived to convey such as wished to {return to the city, the old lady was waiting with her trunk on the porch. She stepped out from among the rest ;and inquired for Tom, the hired man. He came, and removing his hat stood before her. She handed him an en- velope and thanked him for his kind- | ness ana expibition of good breeding on the previous day. When .Tom | stepped to one side and opened the ! envelope he found two twenty and | one ten-dollar notes with this line on note paper: “Though only a servant, yet a gentleman.” | The Road to Yesterday. | Oh, the nursery is lonely, and the gar- den’s full of rain, { And there's nobody at all who wants to play, {But I think if T should run with all my might and main | I could leave this dreary country of To-day. For it can’t be far to cross it, since I came myself last night— When I went to sleep they brought me 1 all the way— | Anid To-morrow’s very near, they say it's almost in our sight, So 1 soon could come again to Yester- | day. Over there my boat is sailing, all alone upon the pond— I must hurry back before she blows astray; And arbutus’ flowers are trailing in the pleasant fields beyond, With the other little, “lovely flowers of And the trees are white with blossoms, and the air is bright with song, And Ihde chfldren all are happy there an, Oh, 1 want to ‘g0 to find them now, and you may come along, If you'll show me, please, the road to Yesterday. —Caroline McCormick, in Harper's Mag- azine for July. Teachers’ Salaries. President Harper of the University of Chicago argues trenchantly in the World To-Day for July for higher pay for teachers i elementary and sec- ondary schools. He says: “The demands of the work can be met only by those whom nature has endowed with a high order of talent. The teacher to whom is intrusted the fostering care of our children should surely be one whose ability we re- spect. How is it possible to satisfy | the conscience if a policy other than this prevails? Is there anything more precious than the child, whether viewed from the point of view of the family or the state? Is not his train- ing a thing of pre-eminent impor- tance? And vet we ard willing to pay to his teacher a salary far less than is paid in many cases to the keeper of our horses, or to the keeper of our cattle. Who can not see the utter absurdity of this? The teacher, everything considered, should be, and in many cases is, the equal of the man or woman who enters into any other professional life. Shall we stultify ourselves by continuing to pay the teacher at a rate which places on him or her the brand of intellectual weakness for having accepted a posi- tion which promises its occupant so little profit or advantage? The time has come when preparation for teach- ing even in the grades requires a preparation and a proficlency equal to that demanded by any other profes- sion. These requirements have grad- ually been increased until to-day in many quarters only those possessed of a vigorous physical constitution, +—______'__———————-————_—_+ TALK OF THE TOWN OF - o -+ him that the shell he considers “dis- tinetly possible,” and hopefully ven- tures to explore, is already occupied by a near but coldly unsympathetic rela- tive. Finding no empty shell of suitable size, the hermit may be driven to ask a brother hermit to vacate in his favor. The proposition is spurned indignantly, and a fight ensues. The battle is to the stronger. Often the attacking party has considerable trouble in cleaning out the shell, having to pick his adversary ouf in bits. A periwinkle or a whelk may be attacked in a like manner by a hermit who is hard pressed and has taken a fancy to that particular shell. If the householder be feeble the con- quest is easy. If lusty, he holds the fort. At last the search is over. The shell is cleaned and ready. “Yes, this will do! But how my back does ache! I mustn’t delay a minute! Is anybody looking? Here goes, then: and may I never have to move again'™ In the twinkling of an eye the caudal hooks let go their hold deep in the spiral of the old shell and have safely anchor- ed the weak and flaccid body to the inner convolutions of the new one. It is all over; an empty shell lies on the sand and a larger one is near it with a sleepy-looking hermit crab in it. Poke him, and he leans languidly out over his pearly balcony as if to say, “If this deadly monotony is not broken soon I shall die!" But, behind this “society mask,” the cramped muscles are stretching out and adjusting themselves im absolute con- tentment to the roomy spaces offered them. HArtistic Homes. “The national talent of acquisitive- ness, one of the most conspicuous pro- ducts of our educational system—when directed toward the study of art—has lawakened thousands of people to the appreciation of the role which art | should play in life,” says Charles H. Caffin in the July World's Work “Countless homes reflect this in a greater propriety of decoration and fur- | nishing than formerly, and from the home it has passed into the street. Churches, hotels, theaters and of- ce buildings are being erected on all sides with at least a consideration for beauty of de- sign and fittings. Commerce employs | this element of beauty to enhance its own dignity and importance, and has discovered in it an asset not to be ig- nored. Even a regard for that larger element of design, which includes the planning of total effects, has begun to penetrate the public consciousness. At the Chicago Exposition it was seen how a concentration of effect and a union of similarity with difference conduced to the grandeur of the scene. And this new development of civic pride has reached right up to the top and effected a complete change in the attitude of the national Government toward the erection of federal bulldings. A thor- oughly trained supervising architect, with a corps of first-class assistants, and the substitution of public competi- tion for political influence have result- ed of late years In an extraordinary improvement in the character of these buildings. They are signal examples of the way in which the wealth and power of the country Iis expressing itself through artistic means.” strong and untiring purpose, and in addition a considerable sum of money, are able to secure the preparation called for. Is it justice to those who have pursued this laborious course of preparation that in the end they should find themselves limited to a salary so small as to seem pitiful in view of the hardship undergone and the expense which has been in- curred?” Borrowed Plumes. The most disconsolate fellow that walks the beach is the hermit crab whose shell has become too snug for comfort, says Country Life in America. If it were his own, as the clam’s Is, it would grow with his growth and al- ways be a perfect fit, but to the hermit there comes often a “moving day,” when a new house must be sought. Discouraging work it is, too. Most of the doors at which he knocks are slam- med in his face. A tweak from a larger pincef than his own will often satisfy \ & Answers to Queries. STEVENSON MONUMENT—E. A. B., City. Thé inscription on the Robert Louis Stevenson monument in Ports- mouth Square, San Francisco, com- mencing, “To be honest, to be kind,™ is from the works of the writer in whose smemory the monument was erected. COLUMBIA—Subscriber, Alameda, Cal. This department Is unaware of the existence of a Columbia bullding in San Francisco except the ome in which is the Columbia Theater, on Powell street, near Market. There is a prominent building known as the Columbian at 916 Market street. CABINET OFFICERS—E. F., City. Among the members of the Cabinet of President Hayes were John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury; William M. Evarts, Secretary of State, and Carl Schurz, Secretary of the Interior, who were the three who figured most prom- inently in the history of the country. SEVEN-THIRTIES — S., Oakland, Cal. Seven-thirties are treasury notes of the United States bearing interest at the rate of 7.30 per annum. They were first authorized in order to meet the expenses of the Civil War by the act of July, 1861. The total amount issued before the war was concluded was $830,000,000. ‘WHITE SPOTS—A. R., City. White spots on the nalls come and go and there is no outward application that will remove such. Some people who believe in superstitions are of the opin- fon that a white spot appears for every lie told. If that be true, the way to prevent white spots appearing on the finger nails Is to stick to the truth. ————— Townsend's California Glace fruits in artistic fire-etched boxes. 715 Market st.™ _..._,__ hfi-:r Press Clipping ifornia street. ki 'gf: