The San Francisco call. [volume], August 18, 1895, Page 13, Image 13

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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THE SLEEPING CAMILLE.
Matilda Heron's Unrivaled Reign on Two
:.:•';:••. Continents.
Frequently has the question "Why has
'CamHle,' a play •which attracted so largely
a few decades ago, been dropped almost
entirely from the stage?" been put to me.
The answer is that there is no one to-day
coinpe+ent of portraying this grandly
emotional character as has been done by
"the only Camille," Matilda Agnes Heron.
It.;has. been attempted by many since
death.' claimed this, beautiful woman,
";but ;her powerful work, living in the
'•.m.emories of her . .admiring surviv
ors; •. 'immediately stands out so over
whelmingly superior to any subsequent
. v productions that the' comparison has
• .cried down every imitation excepting that
of.CJara Morris, In thecourse of a quarter
• of a: ceri;tufy, no doubt, the majority of
.those memories will have died with their
possessors, and the fact that the name of
Matilda Agnes Heron is alone identified
with the character of Camille •will have
become but a matter of history. Then, it
i.s-quite probable, the public will be pre
pared^-accept such, rendition of the hey
-day and struggles oi .tlie younger Dumas'
heroine :as: some "star ! of the time shall
choose to present. ' '•■
Miss Heron was. indeed a great artist,
possessing a very remarkable elemental
power. She had a wild ness of emotion, a
force of brain, a vitality in embodiment,
and many indefinable magnetic qualities,
that, combined to make her exceptional
among human creatures. Those who
knew her remember her.: as a woman un
usual for personal charms— strong and
fine in • physique, with dark hair, dark
eyes,. .and -a' beautiful white complexion —
A'-it more unusual for. an electric sym
pathy, of temperament, that captivated
every heart. ' She was never more at her
best than in "Camille." She appeared In
other parts,' but that was the part she
always "acted; and though, it is true, she
may have: refined upon her method in
after years, she never acted it better than
at the first. It afforded -the agonized and
agonizing situation which alone ' could
serve for the utterance of her tempestuous
nature. Once, in speaking to an author
regarding a play that she wished to have
written for herself, she was careful to state
that the heroine jnnst be "a lost
woman." No doubt she knew, as every
body knows, that a woman lost is not
a particle more dramatic than a woman
found; but she loved .the storm and
reveled in the reckless jagony of a nature
that is at war with itself. The woman
knew what it is to love, and what it is
to suffer through the truth or through
the consequences : of that awful and tre
mendous passion. When, in the first act
of "Camille," she used to rush forward
and sob out the exclamation, "Respect
me— and in this house!" she made the
heart of every man who ieard her stand
still in his bosom ; and when she parted
with the lover whom she never meant to
see again in this world her agony was
so great and so real that few could look
upon its exhibition. . Hers was not,
perhaps, the power of • imagination — that
seizes upon an ideal and enables the artist
to rise out of this actual, world and embody
a creatv.~« of the poetic: brain, like Lady
Macbeth — bot hers, beyond all doubt, was
the human woman's ..heart, that had
soundeH every depth of passion and could
embrace all possible experience of woman
in that world of love which is so essentially
i>erown. And while Tshewas thus human
' a: d passionate in fiber, 'she was weird and
fascinating in. her individuality. All h«r
ways were her own; and the eyes followed
LEGEND OF THE
CYPRES TREES.
Rfc S^*.
' her with a strange kind of delight at abso
! lute newness and formidable sincerity.
j Her Medea was half a prowling maniac and
half a reckleos slouch, with now and then
a gleam of fateful fury, like fire that
! streams through the Suddenly opened
: mouth of a volcano. Her Edith, Sybil and
! Geraldine were erratic and bizarre'figures,
i to be rememoered for strong and surpris
! ing points. Never was the sense of an
! original, vigorous, brilliant and startling
I personality missed. She was an actress of
I the passions— of the passions in their uni
versal ebb and flow. The sort of nature
that, unless it be curbed by a prodigous
moral sense and intellect, inevitably breaks
: all the bounds of a serene life.
In a beautifully picturesque spot in
| Labby Yale, near Londonderry, Ireland,
■■ was the Heron homestead, into which, on
i October 7, 1830, Matilda Agnes Heron
made her infantile debut. She came to the
i United Spates with her parents when a
mere child. While Btill very young she
studied dramatic art under the direction
of old Peter Richings, manifesting de
■ cided talent. Her first appearance on any
! stage took place on February 17, 1851, at
I the Walnut-street Theater, Philadelphia,
as Bianca in "Fazio." In 1853 she left for j
California, where she met with wonderful j
success. Then fame and wealth were
rapidly acquired. During this time Miss
Heron had among her many admirers a
i favored one of the name of Henry Herbert
i Byrne, a rising young San Francisco law
' yer, with whom she contracted a secret
| marriage on -June 11, 1854, the sequel to
i which was a separation after the brief
I honeymoon of five days.
Shortly after the demise of this tragic
j actress the followine story came to light:
! "Among the host orfriends Miss Heron's
| talents gathered around her none were
! more assiduous in their attentions than
i Henry Byrne, and their friendship having
j developed into a deeper affection it was an
j honest wish of his that she should
I leave her profession and become his wife.
This Miss Heron did not want to do, as
arrangements had been completed for
her brother to escort her abroad, and she
desired to defer her marriage until after
her return and the fulfillment of two the
atrical engagements she had made. At
last, moved by his frequent solicitations,
she consented to a secret marriage, and
became Mr. Byrne's wife, both determin
ing not to reveal their relations to each
other until after her return and the com
pletion of her theatrical contracts.
''With loving words and bright hopes for
the future they parted, the wife, accom
panied, by her niece and brother, to go in
one of her father's vessels to Europe; the
husband, with fond expectancy, to await
her return as the realization of all his
dreams of happiness.
."At a. social dinner of gentlemen, Mr.
Byrne being present, conversation turned
upon women, and mention was made or.
Miss Heron's remarkable ability, when
some one sneeringly alluded to her being
an actress. At this Mr. Byrne requested
that Matilda Heron be spoken of with
more respect, as he would answer for her
being a lady. One of the party satirically
remarked, 'Probably she is as much of a
lady as is the original of this,' taking a
daguerreotype from his pocket and handing
•it to bis next neighbor at table, who, in
turn, passed it to another. Every one
upon seeing it exclaimed 'Miss Heron !'
Mr. Byrne, looking at it, said, 'My God,
where did you get this?' 'Gentlemen, 1 re
plied the owner of the picture, 'this is not
Miss Heron, but a picture of her sister,
called Kate Ridgely, the proprietress of
•the New York House of Mirrors.' The
effect of the statement upon Mr. Byrne
may be imagined, he being an excessively
proud man.
"The irregularities and uncertainties of
the mails was Mr. Byrne's excuse for not
THE SAN FKANCISCO CALIi, SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 1895.
Tell me your tradition hoary,
Grand old Cypress Trees,
Dwelling on this promontory
By the Sunset Seas !
Whisper the delicious story
Of dim centuries !
This is not your place primeval ;
Not your native clime ;
Hither borne in medieval
Unrcmembered time,
By some western wave's upheaval :
Make the legend mine.
From the vast and velvet branches
Of a patriarch tree ;
Mingling with the songs and dances,
Of the restless sea ;
Freighted with its fragrant fancies,
Came the tale to me.
Long ago from far Benares
Grove of Cypress Wood
Went a band of missionaries,
Devotees of Boodh ;
Bound to build new sanctuaries
For the spread of good.
Sailing by a course uncharted,
Wandering, but not lost.
This small band of noble-hearted
Long on Ocean tossed,
By the law of Karma guarded,
Gained this rocky coast.
Here the pious exiles landed,
And upreared a shrine ;
Seeds of sacred Cypress planted,
For the grove and sign
Of their mystic creed, commanded
In its books divine.
Found the fair land all unhauntcd
By the forms of men ;
Rested in its vales enchanted
For a space, and then,
Urged by purposes undaunted,
Set to sea again.
Through the centuries' slow transition,
Since they sailed away,
We have kept the sweet tradition,
Treasured to this day;
Kept the faith which iinds fruition
Still in far Cathay.
And in all our somber glory,
Guard a sacred shrine ;
Cluster round this promontory,
As in olden time,
To repeat the fragrant story,
Which to-day is thine. J. E. R.
writing about this affair to his wife, and
he long kept brooding over the matter.
Her silence on the subject he is said to
have considered willful deception on her
Eart, and gradually his mind became
iased against her. Upon her return to
this country, he met her at Pittsburg and
at once broached the subject that seemed
of such importance to him, reproaching
her for bringing a stain upon his name
and deceiving him. How could he take
her to California and acknowledge her as
his wife, when her sister's position was the
talk of the State? This and much more
he said, and those knowing Miss Heron's
high spirit and integrity of purpose will
not wonder at the reply she made him :
" 'Seventeen years ago,' she said, 'I re
member as a child seeing a young widowed
sister an inmate of my father's house;
then she disappeared, my brother followed,
was absent two or three days, and re
| turned, bringing her little girl of 2 years
with him. The child was brought up in
my father's house, but her mother's
name was never mentioned in the
family. I have heard that I re
markably resemble, in form and face,
that sister; but since childhood I have
never seen her. What temptations and
trials caused her fall I do not know, but
wherever she is my prayers will follow
her. As for my not showing you this
blotted page in our family history, I
did not think of it in connection with our
affairs, but now, thank Heaven! our
marriage was a secret one. You return
to your friends — henceforth 1 will be wed
ded to my profession.'
"After-redection changed Mr. Byrne's
view of the subject. He followed Miss
I Heron to New \ ork, urged her to forgive
| his injustice, and return with him to San
Francisco; but all his persuasions, aided
by the entreaties of her brother (whom he
had enlisted in his cause), did not avail to
change her decision. Ambition took the
place of love, and made her heart dumb to
all his pleadings. Fiading there was no
hope, he finally consented to a separation,
though neither of them ever obtained a
divorce. On being asked why she
did not refute the aspersions made
upon her character by publishing
the true facts connected with the
separation of Mr. Byrue and herself, Miss
Heron said: 'I could not doit. The sis
ter who was the unfortunate cause of our
trouble could not cling to evil; bitterly
repentant, she changed her course of life
and has married a gentleman of position
and wealth, after making him acquainted
with the errors of her past. Now she is
aged and her days are spent in doing good
to others. If I wrote a vindication ot my.
self the public would expect names and
particulars regarding her which would
tend to humiliate her deeply ; therefore I
will bear it for my sister's sake.' "
Mr. Byrne returned to California, where
he soon afterward died. Miss Heron
opened an engagement in New York City,
which proved a brilliant success; after
which she appeared throughout the coun
try, and, returning to New York in 1857,
was much admired at Wallace's old thea
ter as Camille.
In December of the same year she mar
ried Robert Stoepel, a German musician
of considerable ability and reputation,
who was at that time orchestra leader at
the above-named theater. After an ex
tended tour through the States they
visited England. Upon returning to
America with her young daughter, Helen
Wallace Stoepel, Mrs. Stoepel separated
from her husband, being ever after known
as Mme. Heron. Her whole interest was
now centered in this child; her affection
for whom was actually tigress-like in in
tensity and exclusiveness. Bijou, as the
child was fondly called, was the day star
of her existence; she feared le st any one
should ever draw away from her the small
est particle of the little one's love.
Many of the eccentricities of the later
years of "Camille's" life were traceable
to this morbid affection for her little
daughter. The woman's soul was wrapped
around the girl. At a merry party of
friends assembled in New York City to
celebrate the thirteenth birthday of little
Bijou, Mme. Heron, then in her happiest
mood, spoke of the future, and her eyes
rilled with tears of pride as she led out her
little girl, who nestled lovingly by her side,
and said : "When Matilda Heron is gone,
and that will not be long, you will all soon
forget her ; but here is her picture, her very
life and soul — take care of my Bijou 1"
An enormous fortune was amassed by
this great tracic actress during her re
markably eventful theatric career, her
carefully kept diary showing that her re
ceipts from "Camille" alone had reached
nearly a quarter of a million; yet, owing
to expensive habits and luxurious tastes,
she was, during her later years, entirely
dependent upon her little daughter's
stage earnings and her own small income
derived from her instructions in stage
elocution. This condition, with ordinary
prudence, might have been avoided. In
deed, Mme. Heron might have been wealthy
had she but limited her expenses to any
reasonable degree. Even at the height of her
success, when managers were paying her
great sums, her agent, with much diffi
culty, kept her supplied with funds. She
welcomed not only friends, but all whom
she met, to a table bountifully laden with
choicest viads. Her most modest meal
was a sumptuous feast. Then, again,
while she numbered among her posses
sions numerous costly jewels and rare
laces, as well as a surprising amount of
elaborate goods of every description, yet
for her to see an expensive article of rarity
and oddity immediately summoned an un
controllable desire to possess it, and she
would at once obtain it, regardless of cost.
The annual amount of her livery bills
alone was ample to support a goodly sized
family. She followed the scriptural in
junction literally, and took no heed of the
morrow.
That this life of revelry could cease
never occurred to her mind, and when her
resources were finally exhausted, her ex
travagant desires still remained, and it
was indeed pitiful to note her disappoint
ment and surprise in being unable to
gratify them. And with this depletion of
her funds she bitterly experienced the
cutting-off of her association by those she
so short a time before had entertained as
"friends "
At this point her halo of fame was trans
formed into a glare of notoriety. With de
cline of popularity, in every sense of the
word, her life naturally became a troublous
and sorrowful one. Her ability was soon
forgotten, and she was remembered but as
a flighty relic of a past decade. Finally,
realizing her unfortunate position, she be
came embittered and at emnity with the
world at large; her thoughts turning to
her Creator, then her life became one of
profound devotion, and she sought in
prayer the peace of mind she could not
otherwise obtain.
Matilda Heron's last public appearance
took place in April, 1876, at a performance
of "Medea" for the benefit of her daughter.
Shortly after this, during the initial per
formance of a pretty little play, in whicn
Bijou took a minor party, the attention of
the audience was divided literally between
the players on the stage and a woman in
the corner of the dress circle, who, at every
point of interest, to her, stood up and
wildly waved her arms and handkerchief
in token of admiration. At first the inter
ruption was quite offensive, but as the play
went on Mme. Heron was recognized, and
sympathy for the mother joined hands
with" pity for the weau, and turned the
offending to a pleasure.
Early in November of 1876 Mme. Heron
was taken seriously ill, her complaint
being internal hemorrhage. It waß clearly
evident, she being but a shadow of her
former self, that she had not long to live.
In her sadness and affliction she felt she
had but one earthly tie, and that her lit
tle 13-year-old Bijou, who watched long
and patiently at her mother's bedside.
The once famous actress' heart was con
centrated upon the pale, shrinking child
beside her.
When from her pallid, trembling lips as
she was about to pass to the great beyond,
issued the pathetic expression, "Poor Til
lie 1 you have never done wrong to any
one/' she fervently embraced her darling
daughter, and then exclaimed, "Oh! 1 am
so happy." And she who had simulated
painful death a thousand times, expired
peacefully at last on Wednesday, March 7,
1877, at her home, 132 East Twenty-fifth
street, N«w York City. For several days
previous, being perfectly resigned to die,
THE NEW MUSIC FOR "AMERICA."
The words of "America" were written by Rev. Samuel Francis Smith of Boston in 1832, and heretofore have been snng to far*
eign music only. The English use the same tune when they sing "God Save the Queen." It is but natural that Americans should
be desirous of having the beautiful words, "Mv Country, 'tis of Thee," set to a native air, if for no other reason than National pride.
The following melody is an American composition and will afford a choice to those who prefer both words and music by their
fellow-countrymen.
WITH AMERICAN MUSIC.
Samttkl Francis Smith. Gbo. M. Viohkh.
The composer of the new music for
"America," George M. Vickers, was born
in Philadelphia in 1841. During the Civil
War he served in the Union army and was
wounded in the battle of Glendale, June
30, 1862. He has written and composed
about 600 lyric poems and songs, which are
published and sung f broughout the world.
Among his greatest successes are "Guard
the Flae," of which over three million
copies have been sold, "Columbia, My
Country," and many other pieces which
are familiar to the public.
The United States has many patriotic
songs and anthems, for the ambition of
every American poet or composer* seeks
no higher glory than to write or compose
his country's song, which would be a mon
ument to his memory as lasting as the
Republic itself. The United States has
never formally, either by act of Congress
or proclamation of the President, adopted
a song as the accepted lyric of the Nation,
but by common consent the "Star-span
gled Banner" is recognized as the Ameri
can National air, both at home and by for
eign nations.
A National song, to be appropriate and
she objected strenuously to any efforts to
prolong her life.
In compliance with Mme. Heron's re
quest made to Bijou, elthough a devout
Roman Catholic, her funeral ceremony
took place at "The Little Church Around
the Corner," so dear to every theatrical
heart, the Rev. Dr. George H. Hough ton
officiating. A time is not known when
there were together assembled «o many
professional lights as at this funeral.
Among the honorary casket bearers were:
Edwin Booth, Lester Wallack, A. M.
Palmer, John Brougham, William J.
Florence, Dion Boucicault, Joseph
Jefferson, William H. Crane, John
Gilbert, and several other eminent mem
bers of the dramatic profession. It was
the sincere regret of Edward H. Sothern
tliat he was compelled to remain away.
On learning of Mme. Heron's death be im
mediately left Providence for New York,
although seriously ill with throat trouble.
On his arrival he was obliged to take to
his room, where he was confined for fally a
week. His absence from the funeral was
marked at the time, as it was to Matilda
Heron he owed his theatrical success, his
first stage popularity being gained in the
part of Armand, Camille's devoted lover.
Mme. Heron's broadcloth-draped rose
wood casket bore two silver plates, the
one bearing an inscription of name and
dates of birth and death, the other the
footplate, simply "Camille." There was a
profusion of choicest exotics, but the
flower most in evidence was the camellia.
The chancel was an ideal wilderness. A
small fortune was expended in these testi
monials of affectionate regard, and to those
who knew the sad straits in which Matilda
Heron frequently found herself it seemed
almost a mockery to lavish over her dead
body the means which she had so much
needed in times of destitution.
The following week Mme. Heron's child
was officially placed under the guardian
ship of Albert M. Palmer, her mother's
sincerest friend, whom she had repeatedly
sought by letter to care for her "precious
all" when thrown on the mercies of "the
cold and cruel world." By an act of the
New York Legislature, shortly afterward,
the name of Helen Wallace Stoepel was
changed to that of Bijou Heron. This
child, now over 30 years of age, is Mrs.
Henry Miller, the devoted wife of Actor
Miller, who achieved considerable success
throughout the country, especially in the
"Shenandoah" and the "Masqueraders."
"Camille" had selected for her epitaph,
the words, "Here lies the Belle of the
Season." In the early days of her theatri
cal career, she wrote and produced, herself
appearing in the principal role, an
emotional play, entitled, "The Belle of
the Season." It proving unsuccessful
financially, and not being of a character to
draw out Mme. Heron's great power of
expression and dramatic action, her man
ager urged that she withdraw it from the
stage, whereupon she insisted with her
usual determination that "The Belle of
the Season" she wanted to play, "The
Belle of the Season" she would play, and
that when she died she wished nothing
placed above her but the epitaph:
"Here Lies the Belle of the Season," but
as yet her grave is unmarked by stone or
inscription.
Matilda Agnes Heron was impressively
entombed in Greenwood Cemetery, Brook
lyn, when the sun was declining in the
western horizon. A mound ot English ivy,
surrounded by a framework of pink and
scarlet geraniums, now covers her grave,
which is situated in her sister's plat in a
lovely dell of this far-famed "God's
Acre." Ever since the demise of this
renowned woman, her daughter Bijou has
seen that the grave has appeared as a
blooming flowerbed. Close Deside her
rests the one-time idol of Matilda Heron's
heart, "Little Marie," a child of "Ca
mille's" first-love husband. This child
had been the apple of her mother's eye.
She was dressed and decorated like an
ideal beauty queen; elaborate silk and
satin frocks, costly gems, expensive lacfts,
and all that unlimited lavishness could
supply, made this ethereal-appearing pet
an unrivaled attraction. But her reign was
short-lived. After a very brief illness,
she breathed her life away. The brood
ings of the almost frantic mother were
most intense, yet even to her most inti
AMERICA.
Copyright, 1895, by Quo. M. Vicke&3.
consistent, must, in the first place, have I
words that in themselves are inspiring, j
and which contain no allusion to events !
or persons — words that can be sung j
always, breathing only patriotism and
devotion; in the second place the music
must be majestic, simple and well marked,
with sufficient pathos to touch the
heart; moreover, the melody should not
fail to possess a distinct originality of
construction, at least to the extent of de
fying the charge of plagiarism. Such
songs have been written by most nations,
and it is absurd to think that Americans
lack the ability to do likewise. "Yankee
Doodle" (the words) appeared about 1775,
but it was after the Declaration of Inde
pendence that it became popular in the
American camps as a soldiers' song.
The melody is very ancient, some writers
declaring it to be an old Spanish national I
air. It has done good service, how
ever, since the birth of our Nation, and :
ha 9 thrilled our warriors with patriotism
on many a battlerield and weary march.
Whatever the origin of "Yankee Doodle"
may have been, it is now America's song
and will be always. "Hail Columbia"
mate friends and relatives she would never
even mention her departed darling's sa
cred name.
Many dreamless sleepers surround Ma
tilda Agnes Heron's final bed. Isabella
Cubas-Blasco, the bewitching Spanish
danseuse of another generation, rests but
a few rods away, in a friend's grave; Laura
Keene, the historic actress of Lincoln's
time and death ; James Kirke faulding,
the historian and bosom friend of Wash
ington Irving, and Wilson G. Hunt, the
multi-millionaire merchant, who assisted
Cyrus W. Field and Peter Cooper to insti
tute the Atlantic cable, are awaiting res
urrection near her resting place.
Well might Matilda Heron say at the
close of her eventful life, in the words
which end the play with which her mem
ory will ever be identified :
"All the pain is gone! Is this life?
Now everything appears to change. Oh,
how beautiful! Do not wake me — I am so
sleepyl" Esther C. Quixx.
THE GOLDEN GATE PARK
Commissioners Will Construct
the Music Concourse With-
out Delay.
Marble Columns and Caps for the
Peristyle— Money for the
Material.
The Park Commissioners have consid
ered the project of constructing the con
course for music according to the plans re
cently published in The Call. The Com
missioners have practically decided to go
ahead with the work aa soon as the new
appropriation for the present fiscal year is
available.
The levy of 10 cents on each $100 of the
valuation of real estate and personal prop
erty will produce a revenue of $300,000.
The maximum levy for park purpose is 10
cents and the minimum 6. According to
Auditor Broderick's estimate the Commis
sioners will be allowed to expend every
dollar that the law allows.
Irving M. Scott, one of the Commission
ers, sailed for Japan a few days ago, but
expects to return before the holidays. His
views are well known to Commissioners
Austin and Rosenfeld and in proceeding
with the work contemplated they will have
his sanction.
The initial work of the enterprise will
consist mainly of excavation. It will be
necessary to excavate to the depth of ten
feet to obtain shelter from the winds and
supply space on either side for terrace
seats. The music stand will be placed on
the concowrse at the westerly side, so that,
the prevailing breeze will waft the sounds
to the audience, but the stand will not at
first be designed as a permanent structure,
for so much pertaining toaccoustics is con
jecture at best. Real tests in the trahs
mission of sound will be made, and when
the proper location for the music stand is
determined plans will be presented for a
durable and ornamental structure.
The Commissioners consider that the
peristyle should be of marble. Wooden
columns and crowns will not survive the
action of the elements in this region. The
evening atmosphere charged with the
moisture of fogs is followed the next fore
noon by the heat of a tropic sun ; hence all
the conditions for hastening the decay of
wood exist.
The argument is advanced by the Com
missioners, and by Joseph D. Redding, un
der whose direction the plans were pre
pared, that permanent columns of marble
fashioned in pure lonic, Doric or Corin
thian style, or blended in these styles of
Grecian architecture, would lend a beauty
to the structure and enhance the fame of
the park, as well as the wealth of San
Francisco. The opportunity of displaying
the varied specimens of California marble
would invite quarry-owners to present
was written in 1798 by Hon. John Hop
kinson of Philadelphia and was set to the
music of the President's (General Wash
ington) March, the melody of which waa
composed by a German music-teacher
named Philip Roth. The words were
written to suit, the times, as the line,
"Behold the chief who now commands,"
shows conclusively. "The Star-spangled
Banner" was written by Francis Scott
Key, a Maryland lawyer^ in 1814 ; the music
is an adaptation from a foreign air
entitled "Anacreon in Heaven." The
words record an historical event; but no
one will deny the beauty and strength ol
both words and music, and, as "The Star
spangled Banner" will always be sung,
whether as the official song of the Nation
or not, it seems strange that no one has
ever suggested a revision of the words to
the degree of consistency. "Columbia
the Gem of the Ocean" ("The Ked, White
and Blue") was written and composed by
David T. Shaw in 1843. It is a spirited,
patriotic song, and is distinctively Ameri*
can. "Guard the Flag" was written and
composed by George M. Vickers, a native
of Philadelphia, in 1888.
highly finished and superb specimens of
stone.
Rich men and women whose loyalty to
San Francisco might induce them to con
tribute of their means to enrich the park
could have in this peristyle the oppor
tunity to give something to preserve
through future centuries the name and
character of the donor. As the work pro
gresses and each new section reveals a new
glimpse of the completed structure tha
Commissioners will seek to awaken an in
dividual spirit of local enterprise.
Assurance has been secured that the
street railway companies whose lines ex
tend to the park will contribute to the
work of constructing the concourse and
the peristyle.
TO PROTECT THE DEER.
Boards of Supervisors M:iy Pass Ordl«
nances Extending the Closed Season.
An interesting opinion to sportsmen was
rendered by the Attorney-General and
sent yesterday to M. S. Sayre, the District
Attorney of Lake County. The Super*
visors passed an ordinance prohibiting the
killing of deer in Lake County at any time
prior to August 1, and Mr. Sayre wanted
to know if it was annuled or in any way
affected by the fish and game law of the
State as amended by the last Legislature,
Mr. Fitzgerald say 3:
I am of the opinion that as the Boards of Su«
pervisors of the various counties have the
power under section 11 of article XI of the con«
stitution to enact any law in regard to the
regulation of fish and game which are not in
conflict with the general law, and that as the
ordinance in question is not in conflict, but it
in consonance with it, it was not affected by
the ti.«h and game law of the State as amended
in 1895.
J. aL Morrison, the Fish Commissionet
at Sacramento, sent a similar inquiry to
Mr. Fitzgerald, asking whether or not the
Boards of Supervisors have power to ex
tend the closed season for deer beyond the
limits prescribed by the last Legislature,
As in the foregoing ppinion.Mr. Fitzgerald
stated that the ordinances extending the
limit of the closed season are not in con*
flict with the general fish and game law,
and the Supervisors have this power.
The French artificial pearl is produced
by boring a hole in the shell of the oyatei
and introducing a small bit of glass, which
the animal covers with "nacre," or mothei
of pearl, to atop the irritation. Such pearla
are flat on one side, and of less value than
those produced naturally.
Harmless Deception.
■ Thousands of Goodyear Welt
' shoes are ■ sold annually as
! "' hand-sewed shoes. We have
no part in this deception.
; We prefer that shoes made ;
'. with the Goodyear system !
be sold as Goodyear Welts. -
Shoe manufacturers and shoe <
dealers are responsible for <
the deception. • It is harm- i
! less, however for the shoe <
■ buyer, as a rule, gets a ,bet- !
, ter shoe than he would if it ■
;i ;- were really hand-sewed. ;
1 ' * . . *
(', GOODYBAR SHOB MACHINERY Co., '",
I ' Boston. • '
I ! : ; -. ■' •■-'• . '
!■ ' . (38)- • * •'* *
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