Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-03-15
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER.
A BREEZE OVER MANAGEMENT OF
The PATTI CONCERTS.
Dark Ways of Money Ma king-Things
Not Musica]-Yoang Criminals
Personal Eotes-stc.
SAN FRAxc1sco, March u, ISIS.

SAN FRASc1sco, March II, 1854.
This is an outraged community. Per.
haps the children's word mad expresses
the prevailing state of mind better than
any other word We have been horribly
swindled on the first Patti night-to.mor.
row highland nobody is disposed to take
it calmly. The worst of it all is that the
seats were not sold to spectators, as the
phrase is generally understood, but whole
pocketfuls OF tickets were given away
secretly by those having control, and given
with orders to sell as high as possible,
with the understanding that the plumber
was TO be divided. Men who would lend
themselves to such a contract are not from
the most reputable stratum of society, and
it is not altogether pleasure to be swim
died out of $50 ticket by them. There
is a certain obstinacy aroused in people by
such treatment when the enthusiasm for
the star herself is high, so people allow
themselves to be cheated for t1is first
night, but it is likely to injure the rest of
the season very much, and ruin the Patti
nights, and there are people in town who
freely give it as their opinion that
PATTI WILL SING FOR TWO DOLLARS
Before she leaves the city. she had to
sing for one dollar in New York city when
Colonel Mapleson tried on what tle youth
of the period stigmstzes as this funny
business there. Mapleson has been
scalped in Chicago and scored in ST. Louie,
and is fearfully In debt; has never made
money by his peculiar practices, in which
he has always overreached himself. But
the foods in Ohio, making it necessary for
him to cancel mis- engagements in Cincin.
natl, always paying city, have put him
up very lofty financial tree, and he pro-
poses to grind his ladder to descend by out
of the crude and childlike Californian. l
hope sincerely that the people will repay
his kindness and fair dealing by the easy
little course that lies open before them
simply and calmly stay away from his
show. Little Emma Abbott makes bet
ter showing, with her honest faith with the
pull lie, than her Majesty's emissary with
all the stars Of the musical armament gilt
tering in his advertisements. OF course
Gersters opening night Monday in
Lucia was a brilliant affair, handsome
dresses and rich jewelry making the au.
dience glittering spect scle, and Gerster's
pellucid, far-reaching voice, with remark
able power of sustaining tone, and its
stfecting sympathy, fulfilled even the exac-
lions of an ideal formed of avoice unheard
Galassi, the baritone, that the Eastern
papers have taught US to know SO favor
ably, shared the honors with Gerster He
has full, fine voice, and noble stage
presence. His performances of Rigoletto
is said to be of high order of art, his
trionic as we'll as lyric.
THINGS NOT MUSICAL.
How certain spirit will sometimes per-
wade the conversation of whole day (,
Last Friday was day of horrors. 1t be-
gan by reading and protracted discussion
of the Sacramento body. snatching horrors
so graphically reported in the RECORD
UNION, then peculiar case of poisoning
was brought forward, and all its details
and treatment were dwelt upon. The day
ended by party being formed to go to the
| lecture at Cooper Medical College. About
book from the college the figure of a
man was discernible in the moonlight, ly-
ing in heap on the sidewalk close to the
houses, occasionally partly raising one arm
as if feebly motioning for help or overcome
by convulsion. a suppressed giggle from
above made the passers-by look up, when
! they discovered that the PROSTATE man was
a dummy, manipulated by some enterpris-
ing young people huddled together on the
platform of a high flight OF steps,
against the blank side of which
the man lay. The evenings lecture, de.
livered by DR.. Hirschfelder, was on the
spinal chord, and was accompanied by ex-
periments performed upon frogs. DR..
| Hirschfelder is very cool lecturer. He
nipped the exposed nerve in frogs leg,
remarking that when he did so the muscles
of the leg and foot would contract. They
hung limp and motionless, however, and
the experimenter said, coolIy: "They do
not contract, 1 perceive, We will try
another" He took up the companion leg,
upon which his operations were entirely
successful There was a beheaded frog,
who drew up his feet and legs when they
were plunged into solution of acid, and
live frog which seemed quite normal, but
whose spinal cord had been severed at the
neck by a delicate incsion. He was
turned into an automaton, and eroaked
dismally whenever the doctor compressed
the proper muscles.
GIRLS AND BOYS AID SOCIETY.
Mrs. Jarboe, Mrs. Otis and many Others
of our Influential ladies take so deep an
interest in the Boys and Girls Aid Socie-
ty, that it was distressing to read in one of
the New York papers that their Boys and
| Girls Aid Society is seriously troubled
about the expostulations of the people of
the rural districts, complaining that the
destitute children and those rescued from
vicious parents, the children, in fact, of
whom the Aid takes notice. when placed
in country homes to remove them from I'M
wholesome influences, carry and spread
their evil habits and propensities, and are
corrupting the more innocent country
children. 1t is almost impossible for peo-
pie in the more sheltered walks Of life to
understand the villainy of these little
waits. One of the lldies who visits at the
Aid picked out one of the boys for a
special fsvorite, and ssid one day to Mr..
Djoiey, the Superintendent, John seems
such a bright, obsdient, courteous, quiet
little boy, find it very hard to think of
him as criminal" Mr. Dooley
laughed, and repeated, "Obedient,
quiet, courteous John happens to be
one of the most accomplished burglars not
only here but in Oregon. Give his full
name to almost any policeman of expert.
enee, and be will give you the boys his.
tory" Bad food, bad air and exposure
during their growing years stunt and
bleach the children Of the slums so that
they are very pale and puny representa-.
tives of the very large crimes they some
times commit. There was another inter.
esting boy at the Aid until recently, also
the hero of two or three burglaries, res
cued from the sentence of fourteen years
at San Quentin on the plea of his youth
He was almost handsome, little sullen in
manner, but not at all so by nature, and ne
distinguished himself by a well organized
attempt to burn down the Boys and Girls
Aid. That attempt nearly put him in
prison a second time, but once more he
was reprieved, and lately place was found
for him on sailing vessel, and be has
started upon a voyage round the Horn to
Z 4 II. 1