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The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, June 01, 1902, Image 14

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Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1902-06-01/ed-1/seq-14/

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WHERE IS THE OWNER OF THE HORSE?
¦' v
THE, MATADOR IS PREPARING TO THRUST. WHERE IS THE BULL?
Magistrate (disgusted)— Yes, and he did
open a jewelry store in the vicinity later
on and stole seventeen watches.
New policeman (after_a pause)— Begorra,
yer honor, the man may have been a
thafe, but, he was no liar.
New policeman— Shure. yer honor, I saw
but one man an' I asked him what he was
doing there at that time o' night.- Sez he,
"I have no business here just now, but I
expect to open a jewelry sthore in the
vicinity later on." At that I says, "I wish
you success, sor."
Magistrate (to new policeman)— Did you
notice no suspicious character about the
neighborhood?
SIMPLE AND SURE TESTS ON
PRECIOUS STONES.
use a magnifying glass -when watchlnz
the action of the drop.
Still another test of this nature is to
-pass the stone over .a piece of aluminum.
Both the metal and the stone should ba
absolutely free from any trace of grease.
The metal will give off some of Its color
to an imitation stone; while a genuine
diamond will remain perfectly clear and
unaffected. Among jewelers the final test
is to apply a drop of fluorhydric acid totha
stone under suspicion. The acid will eat
info any false diamond and frost It, whila
the genuine stone will not be damaged In
the slightest degree.
Perhaps the simplest method ot all,
however, is to examine an ink spot on a
sheet of white paper through a diamond,
by holding the upper surface against tha
eye. If the stone be counterfeit, the black
spot will appear greatly multiplied, or at
least doubled. The outline will, moreover,
appear blurred and Indistinct. By using a
magnifying glass the test can readily b«
made absolute.
The optical test*is the best in examin
ing rubies and emeralds. It Is commonly
supposed that such stones can be best
tested by rubbing them with a file, that
the genuine stones resist the steel, whila
the imitation only will suffer; but tha
test is not exhaustive. The best plan la
to examine them closely with a mlcro-
Bcope of about 100 diameters. The gen
uine stones have a number of mlnuto
flaws, whereas the imitations are likely
to be much more nearly perfect In tex
ture.
The imitation ruby Is filled with mlnuta
air bubbles, which are not to bo found in
the genuine stones. The color of tho imi
tation is sometimes even purer and more
even than the real stones. As a rule, any
yellowish tinge is considered suspicious.
Genuine emeralds axe to be determined by
tiny flaws, treelike or dendritic in shape.
Sccsnwc Reps^s *n Pen^cn Offfce.
that my chances of becoming younger ax*
exceedingly slim. In my case senile de
bility is not due to vicious habits; yet I
have a habit of getting older each day."
Disbursing such an enormous amount of
money as it does annually, it would be
surprising if the Pension Office were not
beset by swindlers. Undoubtedly thou
sands of pensions obtained on fraudulent
grounds are now being paid quarterly;
yet the percentage of uncertainty in such
matters is wonderfully small, owing to
the extreme pains taken to Investigate all
claims. All over the country shark at
torneys are constantly in pursuit of peo
ple who may be supposed to be entitled to
allowances; and, though they are not
permitted to exact more than $10 as a fee
in each case, they have various ways of
evading the law in this respect. "Gifts"
of silk dresses and carriages have been
solicited for wives and daughters, and
one lawyer actually induced a claimant's
wife to bake a cake with $400 in it and
present it as a Christmas complimeP-—
Christian Endeavor World.
"Wherein lies the difference between
photography and courtship?" he asked
softly.
"I don't knew," she 1 replied.
"In photography," he explained, "the
negative is developed in the dark room,
while courtship is where the affirmative
Is developed."
"She blushed but made no answer.
"Let us." he suggested, "proceed to de
velop an affirmative."
There being no objection, it was so or
dered.—Stray Stories.
57vP NY one. can tell a genuine diamond
// \\ or precious stone even from a very
Ii x> clever imitation. There are a few
household tests which are practi
cally infallible. The diamond expert,
after long years of experience with gems,
can detect an imitation, as a rule, at a
glance. The layman in «ucn matters, with
a few. simple .' tests, tanes more time to
solve such,probjems. but his judgment in
the end is scarcely less accurate.
An imitation djamond is never so bril
liant as a genufne stone. If your eye is
not experienced enough to detect the dif
ference, a very simple test is to place the
stone under water. The imitation stone is
practically extinguished, while -a genuine
diamond sparkles even under water and
is distinctly visible. When possible, place
a genuine stone beside the possible Imita
tion under water and the contrast will
be apparent to the least experienced eye.
The glass cutting test is, of course,
more or less familiar. It Is probably the
most common.
False diamonds are usually cut "more
regularly than the genuine stones. In
cutting a diamond the material is saved
as far as possible. In an imitation the
material is itself worthless and no at
tempt is made to suit the size or angle
of the facets to the form of the stone. It
can be put down as a safe rule that when
a stone is cut with great evenness and
regularity it is, to say the least, a very
suspicious sign.
Another very simple and effective test
is to place a drop of water on the stone
and carefully 'observe the result. The
stone should first be very carefully clean
ed. On an imitation diamond the drop,
however small, will deliquesce. The drop
will, however, retain its original shape on
a true stone. To make the test quite sure,
mMONG the oddities of the pension
business are eccentric reports
made to the bureau by physicians
who have examined applicants.
One such medical report says: "The
claimant alleges loss of memory; but, as
we could not take it out and examine it.
we have nothing to say — only his state
ment, which we rate nil." In another
case: "Claimant » cannot read without
glasses very much. He never could read
much. He never learned." Another} "I
find a scar on this man's foot at the junc
tion of the sole with the upper." Yet an
other: "In the center was also seen a
largexred lump as large as a small hen's
egg— or rather a small egg, be the hen
herself of dimensions stately or
wise."
From the Pension Office, by some in
advertence, was sent out the following:
"The claimant above named is required to
file his sworn statement showing when,
where and how he contracted senile de
bility; that such disability was not due to
vicious habits, and is to the best of his
knowledge and belief of a permanent
character."
Claimant's answer: , "My age Is 70. I
cannot ¦ say precisely when and where I
contracted senile debility. ¦ It has come on
quite gradually. -. I seemed free from It en
tirely at my birth; yet, if I had not been
born so ' far back as I was, I am sure I
would not be suffering from It so severely
as now. > The most eminent authorities
are agreed that old age Is of a permanent
character, and I begin to feel certain
de out the ; puzzles. They are by
no means as: simple as they may ap
pear,p.t. first ¦> glance, and yet youv
American" r ¥tlcSt6itivehe"ss will ' not
permit you to give them up after'you
have once begun. Take the first one
of this set as a key to the rest and let
us see how the play goes. The ques
tion is to find "Uncle William" — quite
easy when you know, just where to
look. Turn the picture so that the
left-hand side becomes the base and
you will see "Uncle William" just as
plain as day in the lower center,
formed by the wall. Now that you
have an idea how it is done, try the
HERE is another series of six
puzzle pictures, all of them
just as interesting , as those
that have been appearing for the last
few weeks en this page. Just try
one of them, and if you succeed in
solving it why it is safe to predict
that you will not rest easy until you
have studied out the rest. There 'is
a certain fascination in the game and
if your time is limited it would be
well to just tear this page out and put
it in your pocket for future reference;
for the time when you have your easy
chair in front of the fire and the
evening before you in which to puz-
*r vt *v HILE he is enjoying more or
\ A 1 less fame just now, the man
\f \y who boxed J. Pierpont Mor-
Y r gan'a ears Is not the stern in
dividual such a performance
would lead one to believe. There is noth
ing in his make-up, as one views him out
wardly, that indicates hasty temper or ill
humor. Indeed, the impression his per
sonality gives is one of kindliness and ur
banity. As he sat in his revolving cbair
In the office of the What Cheer and Mu
tual Life Insurance companies at Provi
fience, R. I., of which he .-.is- president,
Lewis T. Downes seemed the «mbodiment
at good nature.
"Am T the man who boxed J. Pierpont
Morgan's ears when he was a boy?" he
asked, .repeating the question. "Well, I
must be truthful," he continued, "and
admit I am the man.
"I think it was in 1853," he went on.
""That this little affair occurred. I was
the organist at Christ Church In Hart
ford. We were holding an afternoon serv
ice, and as I was running over the keys I
noticed a slight disturbance in the gal
lery. The offenders, I quickly discovered,
were two lads who were endeavoring to
make tlie girls from Miss Draper's board
ing school laugh. I shook my head at the
youngsters, but that had no quieting ef
fect. The boys continued their 'monkey
shines,' and then I decided to adopt dras
tic measures.
"I left the choir loft, went over to the
pew in .which the two young disturbers
sat a*nd separated them by 'putting one at
either end. Believing I had suppressed
them, I returned to the organ, but as I
was about to touch the keys I turned
my. head and there were the two young
sters together again, indulging in even
more tricks.- ..
"It didn't take me long to reach them.
I gave both a sound cuffing, and taking
each by the ear. led them out of the
church. That ended the trouble.
"Those boys were J. Pierpont Morgan
and Clarence Sterry. You know who Mr.
Morgan' is, but perhaps. you do not know
that Mr. Sterry is one of Hartford's
prominent insurance men' of to-day. That
is all there is to this story about my box
ing young Morgan's ears."
While Mr. Downes has been a wide
awake business man, he has been a de
voted and accomplished musician. He
was graduated from Trinity College,
Hartford, in 1848, but he had begun his
career as an organist eight years before.
HE BOXED J. PIERPONT MORGAN'S EARS
rest of them for yourself. It you can't
see them ; give the page to the chil
dren, and x it is ten chances to one that
they will be able to find the missing
pictures in about one-third the time
that you have spent on them. Ther3
is lots of fun to be had from the sport
even if it is exasperating at times—
especially so when you have spent an
hour on one ¦without solving it and
then turn it over to see what your
friend can do and find that he gets
the answer right away. In that case
try him on some of those that seemed
easy to you and it is more than likely
lie will have to call for help.
apparatus and 1027 firemen in the city—
to the fire. In snowtime the engine
travel on runners instead of wheels. Be
side the driver sits a man ringing a big
bell to warn other vehicles to keep out
of the way.
After the engine five tenders follow,
one after another. One carries the nose,
another a water tank. Then come three
more all filled with firemen.
In the last century Russia has lost
property to the amount of $15,000,000,000
by fire. The loss averages $130,000,000 a
year. -*"'•'-/-
everything of value. The police make no
attempt to establish fire lines, so the mob
hampers the firemen rather than helps
them.
But all this is nothing beside the excite
ment of the progress of the engine or en
gines—there are seventy-four pieces of
ODO FIRE METHODS OF ST PETERSBURG
wooed and won the heart of Princess May.
The Princess went on a visit for "a few
weeks to his sister, the Duchess of Fife,
who lived at Sheen House, near the park
gates. Every day his Royal Highness
could be seen strolling down Sheen lane,
fading to White Lodge, and it was in the
gardens round that mansion that he put
the all-important question. ..-."• "'
In describing how the Marquis of
Lome proposed to Princess Louise, one
cannot do better than quote the record
niade of the event by Queen Victoria in
her "Leaves From the Journal of Life in
the Highlands." The late Queen wrote:
"This w-as ati eventful day. Our dear
Louise became engaged to Lord Lome.
The event took place during a walk from
the Glassalt Shiel to Loch Dhu. We got
home by 7. Louise, who returned some
time after, told me that Lome had spoken
of his devotion to her and proposed to
her, that she had accepted him, knowing
that I should approve."
It was in the same palace, i. e., Rosen
berg, the seat of the Danish royal family,
where Britain's King proposed to the
"Daughter of the Sea Kings," that the
present Czar asked Princess Alix
of Hesse in 1S94 to be . his wife.
He had made up his mind long
before that if he married it would be
to whom he pleased rather than one cora
n:onded to him by his counselors for state
reasons. His choice fell upon Princess
Alix, and a party was arranged at.Rosen
berg to allow Nicholas to meet this royal
lady. Accounts differ regarding the actual
spot where the proposal took place. Some
say the Czar proposed during an evening
party; others that he did so in the gar
dens round the palace while out for a
walk with the Princess. The latter ac
count, however, is generally regarded as
correct. •:.'••:
The Way Royal Suitors
Popped the Question
JX /?? ANY people are possessed of the
// y(\ idea that, as royal marriages
ii Ii\ \ have generally to be arranged as
affairs of state_ the prospective
bridegroom has no occasion to woo his
bride as the average man would do. This,
however, is a totally erroneous idea, as
kSJ be found on reading the following
authentic accounts of how and where
seme royalties proposed to those who ul
timately became their wives:
It was at Rosenberg, the palace of the
Dcnish royal family, that King Edward
VJI proposed to and was accepted by Eng-
Ia2;os gracious Queen. His Majesty — then,
of course. Prince of Wales— first saw his
irfe in the cathedral of a Continental
town, and was so impressed with her
beauty that he determined to secure an
introduction on learning who the Princess
vas. The result of that introduction was
that a short time afterward the Prince
wtnt over to Denmark and made a formal
claim for the hand of the Princess.
A charming story is that told regarding
the manner In which the late Emperor
Frederick of Germany, then Crown
Prince, proposed to the Princess royal
(the late Empress Frederick). The two
became separated from the rest of a
rojal party, who were taking a walk over
a Scotch moor in the vicinity of Balmoral.
Suddenly the Crown Prince discovered a
bit of white heather, and picking it up
pave it to the young girl beside him— for
the Princess was barely 18 years of age
at the time. She knew, however, the
meaning of the simple gift, and whispered
••Yes" loud enough for her companion to
hear. During the remainder of their lives
Iialmoral always had great attractions
for the Emperor and Empress.
White Lodge. Richmond Park, was the
place where the present Prince of Wales
WHEN a fire occurs in St. Peters
burg the nearest citizen doesn't
step to a red box and ring in an
alarm for "The engines by elec
tricity. They haven't advanced so far
yet. The Russian system of spreading
news of a lire is the most primitive in
Europe.
They don't send out any fire alarm at
all in St. Petersburg: until the lire has
blazed out fierce and strong. In fact, the
tire department doesn't know it. One
fireman comprises in himself the St. Pe
tersburg alarm system.
At all times a lireman is on duty in the
tower of the city hall. He watches the
city and when the tire burns up he no
tices it, or is expected to do so.
If Jt is In the daytime he runs up a
number of black balls on the outside of
the tower. If it is in the night he uses
red lanterns' instead of the balls.- The
number of the balls or lanterns indicates
the district in which is the fire.
On seeing the signal the firemen turn
out.
Naturally, this method is not productive
of great epeed in reaching the fire. From
twenty minutes to half an hour is good
time, unless the iire occurs quite near an
engine company's quarters.
The result is that the citizens of SL Pe
tersburg try to do most of the fire extin
guishing themselves and as there is no
order and no discipline the wildest confu
sion usually prevails. At every hint of a
Vre. no matter how slight, the neighbors
begin at once to strip their homes of
READY FOR MORE FUN WITH THE PUZZLES.
PUZZLE
PICTURES
CAN
YOU
SOLVE
THEM?
'GOOD MORNING, UNCLE WILLIAM." WHERE IS HE?
FIND THE CADDY.
"I EEA5 A DOG BARKING." FIED HIM.
"I AM LOOKING FOB JtY DOG. 7 ' FIND HIM.

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