The morning call., 1892-07-17
BY THE WAY.
Being q RanhlGr'S Observations on Things
In General.
Yachting Emperor william 81 Cowes-- pohe-
misns in the Hedweods Gladstone
and the Queen.
written for rur monnrxa CAN.

The arrival OF two ships In port last week
within three hours Of each other. after
race round the Horn, while not very ex-
traordlnary nautical event. especially as tho
voyage lasted III days, II ut least interest
Ing The vessels were unequally matched,
| II Judged 10y tonnage. One went well In gallo
with n fair cloud OF canvas and the other had
the advantage In quiet weather. Advantages
and dlsad yaptaees are pretty we'll balanced
on q long voyage. But neither vessel
is a clipper OF the old style. Tho days for
these vessels have passed away. The best
Of them were built IN America, and some Of
them were maRni1cen,y handled by their
captains. A crew Of 60 was not an uncom-
mon thing on board these clippers. and the
mates kept tho sailors at work very vIgor-
| ousy. Nobody then imagined that tho
| lOug-dlstance clipper could be dispensed
with, but steamers have now taken their
place on voyages 10 Australia aud China
and sailing vessels are only constructed for
cargo. The Yankee clipper and the old
numbering Indiaman have alike disappeared
To those who love the picturesque the
change Is Tegrettable. Those were fine
times for sailors when ships raced to Cali
fornia, Australia and China. There was
truly pride In the seamanshp displayed.
The merchants of London used 10 give n
prize of one pound sterling per ton TO the
first arrival I'm the tea trade from Hong
Kong or Shanghai, and great was the ex-
element over this race. Sometimes vessel
won which had left fortnight after others
had put 10 sea. On one occasion three ships
which had sailed together arrived in the
Downs tho same day. and the one that
carried of the prize Of 92O00 had
only the advantage of three hours.
The shippers themselves took hand in
the betting. and of course the crew worked
with n will when they knew they would
have a share OF the prize money. 1t was no
uncommon thing to behold captains in the
Atlantic trade paying over TO each other
stakes OF $500 or $1,000 upon arrival In port.
To-day steamers have all the glory, and
some OF them do 20 through the water Mt
terrific rate, vet without much vibration
even in the toughest weather. Passengers
are hardly deprived of single comfort they
can enjoy on land. and week on the At
lantic In fiTst-class hotel style is just about
as cheap or dear as a week at Saratoga.
But there is little seamanshp on these
steamers. Ii is the engineer who does the
work.
This Is the yachting season and few
yachtsmen have more magnificent oppor-
tunities for cruising than those who belong
TO the clubs of San Francisco. 1t is pity
those opportunities are not availed of to
greater extent. Our yachtsmen seem to be
IL
They sail their craft up and down the bay
and enjoy many cruises ashore at Sausa-
Tito, but they rarely dream OF going outside
the heads on genuine buitetng cruise,
which would show seamanship. Occasion
ally, however, run is made TO Monterey
or Santa Cruz, but either going or coming
that is not in the nature OF q good race to
windward. regatta which took our
yachtsmen round the Farallones and thence
TO Point Reyes and back 10 poIt would test
m a y = m N nil tt Nup
of the centeT-bOards would find 1t difficult
to weather that trial.
1t is curious to find the aversion to center
board yachts so prevalent in England.
Most Of the English yachts are deep-keeled
vessels on moderately fine lines, and so sea-
worthy that they can keep at sea in almost
any weather. What with deep draught and
heavy ballast, they would right themselves
IL laid on their beam ends Cutters of 80
tons and sch0oners of from 60 TO go tons
built in this fashion can be depended upon
Tor any gale or rough sea IN the English
Channel, and long cruises all round the
British coasts, quite independently Of the
regattas. are feature of yachting life. To
live on board yacht a couple of months
during the summer and visit the fords of
Norway or the lOchs of the Hebrides ana
Western Scotland is very invigorating
manner OF taking holiday. With all its
poverty. England must be a very wealthy
country. for thousands of gentlemen Of
leisure manage to do this.
Cowes is the headquarters of British
yachtsmen. All through the summer there
are hundreds OF yachts mOored here, and the
waters Of the Solent. Southampton Water
and Spithead are gay with light, fitting
craft. Yacht steamers are also abundant
some Of them, like the late II. w. Smiths
Pandora, running up to thousand TONS
but there Is decided preference for the
more picturesque yawl. schooner or cutter.
Somewhere about 40, coo seRmen are en- ploy-
ed In the yacht service of Great Britain Its
OF course pleasant, clean employment and
liberal in rewards. for visitors always dis
tribute gratuities freely when they take
leave OF the captain. The men are also
we'll led and well clothed and have fire.
quent opportunities for Publication ashore
The Emperor William is to visit Cowes
in his yacht on the 1st of August and there
will be a great ''how-to-do" to receive him.
Although it is primarily social visit he
will no doubt discuss politics little with
Queen Victoria, for the situation has
materially changed since last he set foot on
British soil. Lord Salisbury will be no
longer in power and Mr.. Gladstone will be
the man In possession. Mr.. Gladstone has
always had kind feeling for the French
and Tor Russia, Willie keeping clear OF any
ENHANCEMENT in European alliances An
interview between the venerable Liberal
statesman and the young Emperor would
be interesting, but 1t is not likely to occur,
from the fact that the G.. o. NJ. will not
then have formally taken office Be-
sides, the Emperor's visit is ostensibly
social, and good deal of banqueting has
been arranged for his entertainments He
may also have the pleasure of seeing his
yacht Meteor. formerly the Thistle. which
was beaten at New York by the Volunteer
some years ago. race with some of the
cracks OF the Royal Yacht squadron, and 1t
has a good chance of carrying off some
trophy. The Emperor,s first visit in state
to his royal grandmother was paid some
years ago lie brought the best vessels of
the German navy with him, and he saw
about 80 vessels of the British navy at
anchor in very formidable array. His In
perial Majesty no doubt wished he had
such feet, but could console himself with
the thought that he has a far better army
than Britain can muster.
The Bohemian Club of San Francisco APP
pears to roll in plethora of wealth, which,
Ii may be cautiously said, does not deplete
the pockets of the genuine Bohemians on
the secretery's books. Having a member
ship OF 600 or 700. the club has become so
prosperous as to cease TO be Bohemian.
That depends. says the reader, upon def
milton of what is Bohemian. Is Bohemian
necessarily man who does not pay his
debts and, In charitable construction. Is an
intellectual or jocular hummer, wno if he
wears a swallow-tail coat is sure to have
bilked his tailor? True Bohemians would
scout any such definition. and it is quite GER
tain that these types have disappeared from
the scene OF to-day's club life. Perhaps
there Is no better picture Of the genuine
Bohemian than is presented in Henri
Murger's Scenes de la Vie de
Boheme." There the characters are as
real as the life of Paris can
supply them. Literature, music, painting,
philosophy and the drama are all out at
elbows, starving and struggling. and yet