Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-11

India in square miles. L referred him to
Whitaker. He had never heard OF Whit
taker, He wanted it from my own mouth
and would not tell him. Then he swerved
off lust like the other man to details OF
Journalism in our own country. ventured
10 suggest that the interior economy OF
paper most concerned the people who
worked it.
"Thsts the very thing that interests us, "
he said.
"Have you got reporters anything like
our reporters on Indian newspapers?
1--WE have not" I said, and suppressed
the "thank God" rising to my lips.
"Why haven't youP" said he.
Kipling Gets Smart.
because they would die" I said. It
was exactly like talking to a child-s very
rude little child. He would begin almost
every sentence with "Now, tell me some
thing about India" and would turn aim
lessly from one question to the other with
out the least continuity. l was not angry,
but keenly interested. The man was rev.
elation to me. To his questions l returned
answers mendacious and evaslye. After all
it did not really matter what L said. He
could not understand. 1 can only hope and
pray that none of his readers viii ever see
that portentious interview. The man MADE
dwelling than my destiny intended, and
the rankness of his ignorance managed to
distort the few poor facts with which l sup
piled him into large and elaborate lies.
''Then," thoughtI, ''the matter OF Amerl-
can journalism shall be looked into later
Oh. At present will enjoy myself"
No man rose TO tell me what were the
lions of the place. No one volunteered any
sort OF conveyance. l was absolutely alone
in this big city Of white folk. BY instinct
sought refreshment and came upon bar
room full of bad Salon pictures in which
men with hats on the back of their heads
were wolfng food from a counter.
Gets slaugy on Free Lunch.
1t was the institution of the "free lunch
had struck. You paid for drink and
got as much as you wanted to eat Fol
something less than rupee dav man can
feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco,
even though be be bankrupt Remember
this if ever you are stranded in these parts.
Later began q vast but unsystematic eI-
ploration OF the streets. I asked for nc
names. 1t was enough that the pavements
were full of white men and women, the
streets changing with traffic and the restful
roar of great city rang in nv ears. The
cable cars glided to all points of the compass
at once. l took them one by one till could
go no further. San Francisco has been
pitched down on the sand bunkers of the
Bikaneer desert. About one-fourth of it il
ground reclaimed from the sea-any old.
timers will tell you all about that. The re-
msinder is Just ragged, unthrifty sand hills
to-day pegged down by houses. From an
English point of view there has not been the
least attempt at grading those hills, and in
deed you might as well try to grade the hill.
locks of Sind. The cable cars have for al
practical purposes made San Francisco 9
dead level.
No American Language.
Oliver Wendell Holmes says that the
Yankee schoolmarm, the cider and the sal
Goldfish Of the Eastern States are responsible
for what he calls a nasal accent 1 know
better. They stole books from across the
water without paying for 'em and the snor
of delight was fixed in their nostrils forever
by a just Providence. That is why they
talk foreign tongue to-day. Seats is dogs
and rabbits is dogs and SOS parrots. Bu
this ere tortoise is an insect, 30 there aim
no charge" as the old porter said. A Hindu
is Hindu and a brother to the man who
knows his vernsculsr. And Frenchmar
is French because he speaks his own Ian.
guage. But the American has no language
He is dialect, slang, provincialism, accent
and SO forth. Now that have heard theil
voices all the beauty of Bret Harte is being
ruined for me- because find myself catch
ing through the roll of his rhythmical prose
the cadence of his peculiar fatherland. Ge
an American lady to read to you "Hov
Santa Claus Came to Simpsons Bar" ant
see how much is, under her tongue, left Of
the beauty of the original.
But l am sorry for Bret Harte. It hap
pened this way. A reporter asked me wha
1 of ho off Il do
suavely that it was hsllowed ground to me
because of Bret Harte. That was true
"We'l," said the reporter, Bret Hartt
claims California, but California dom
claim Bret Hare. He's been SO long il
England that he's quite English. Hav,
you seen our cracker factories or the new
offices of the E1aminer?" He could no
understand that TO the outside world the
city was worth deal less than the man.
~peVer intended to curse the people with
provinciolism so vast as this.
Admits Degree of Beauty.
Night fell over the Pacific and the whit,
sea fog whipped through the streets, dim
ming the splendors OF the electric lights
It is the use of this city, her men anC
women folk, to parade between the hours Of
and 10 certain street called Kearne,
street, where the finest shops are situated
Here the click OF light heels on the pave
ment is loudest, here the lights are brightes
and here the thunder OF the traffic is mos
overwhelming. l watched young Californis
and saw that it was, at least, eIpensiveI,
dressed, cheerful in manner and self-assert
ing in conversation. Also the women wer,
very fair. Perhaps Is days aboard ship hac
something to DO with my unreserved admi
ration. The maidens were of generous
build, large, well groomed and attireC
in raiment that even to my inexperi
enced eyes must have cost much. Kearne,
street at 8 o'clock levels all distinctions o
rank as impartially as the grave. Again
and again Ioitered at the heels of a coupl
Of resplendent beings, only to overhear
when l expected the level voice of culture
the staccato ''Sez he, "Sez 1" that is tn
mark OF the white servant girl the worlt
over. This was depressing because, in spit,
of all that goes to the contrary, fine feather
ought to make fine birds.
q There was weaith-unlimited wealth.,
the streets, but not an accent that would 10
have been dear at 80 cents. Wherefore, re
Volving in my mind that these folk wer
Osrbarians, I was presently enlightened anC
made aware that they also were the heirs o
all ages and civilized after all. There an
peared before me an afable stranpersof pre-
possessing appearance, with blue and 81
innocent eye. Addressing me by name, b.
claimed to have met me in New York at tin
Windsor, and to this claim gave a quail
fed assent. did not remember the fact, bu
since he was so certain of it, why then
waited Developments.
Picked Up for an.Ignoramus.
"And what did you think of Indiana vhel
you came through" was the next question
Itrevealed the mystery OF previous acquaint
ance and one or two other things. With rep
rehensible carelessness nv friend of the ligh