Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-25

would have done it were it possible, fol
a fellow human being while on earth. using
the phraseologv and the terrestrial time
divisions with which am most familiar.
The circumstance which at our last inter-
course 1 was trying to explain to you was
simply this: In the early summer Of the
year 1892 sudden interruption of naviga-
tion occurred on the Pacific coast, which
curiously enough attracted very little atten-
ton outside of scientific circles. ! was living
at tine house of my wealthy friend, Judge
Brisbane, in Gramercy Park. To tell you
the truth, was in love with his beautiful
daughter, of whom 1 shall have to speak
more fully to you, for she was intimately
associated with me in the appalling scenes
which you desire me to describe.
I was sitting in the Judges library on the
night of June %. His daughter was present,
and I had been conversing with her in an
undertone while the Judge read the evening
papers. He suddenly laid down the paper,
took off his spectacles, and turning round in
his chair said to me: "Did you see the brief
dispatch in the morning papers two days
ago from San Francisco, SAYING that all the
eastern-bound vessels were overdue on that
coast?"
1 replied at once that had not noticed it.
SIT is astonishing" he said, "that in our
present system of journalism the most i'm
portant events connected with the welfare
of mankind receive the slightes. attention
from the newspapers and the trivialities of
life are most voluminously treated. A
movement in the iron trade that affects
millions of homes gets brief paragraph in
small type and the quarrel of a ballet girl
with her lover receives illuminated at
tention down whole columns. Here is some
thing taking place in the Pacific Ocean Of
surprising interest to the race and nobody
pays the slightest attention to it, except per-
haps the consignees and shipping clerks.
"What is it?" we both asked, with the
languid interest that young people having
would be apt to take in matters of national
or universal Importance.
The Judge got up, and. going to a side
table, where he kept his papers piled in
chronologic order, pulled cut q recent issue
OF morning journal, and after looking it
over searchingly moment, said:
"Here. should think you would notice
such paragraph as this" Then he read,
as recollect, telegraphic dispatch to this
effect:
"SAN FRANCISCO, June %.
considerable anxiety is felt here In
commercial circles by1the non arrival of
any eastward bound vessels for a week. The
steamship Cathay, of the Occidental line, is
overdue four days. An unusual easterly
wind has been blowing for "a hours.
Weather mild"
''That dispatch, you perceive, f" said the
Judge, "was sent two days ago. Now here,
on the 25th, read in the evening paper an
other dispatch from San Francisco, hidden
away at the bottom of column of CONNER
cial news. Listen to this:
"SAN FRANCISCO, June %.
"The entire suspension of travel from the
West continues to excite the gravest appre-
tensions. Nothing but coastwise vessels
have come in during the past eight days.
The W. s. cruiser Mobile left Honolulu
three weeks ago for this coast. There is no
official intimation of storm in the Chinese
SEAS"
The Judge laid the paper down. and re-
garded us both moment in silence, as il
expecting to hear some remark that indi-
Gated our suddenly awakened curiosity.
1 don't think we responded with any ade-
quate interest to the occasion. Miss Bris-