The Portland daily press., 1892-07-11

luxurious and as speedy as any of their
kind in the world, was impressed, like
hundreds of my fellow passengers, with
the desirability of owning such foat-
ing clubhouse. That practically is what
many of them are. The scene was a
CAV one, small tugs laden with ice,
fresh water, fresh vegetables; the choic-
est dainties of the market, cases of
champagne, boxes of claret, barrels of
Apollinaris and plain soda darted here
and there among the feet, equipping
yacht after yacht for a cruise of one,
two, three days or perhaps months The
great Nourmahal, William Astors enor-
nous pleasure boat, on which he spent
most of his life-at least most of that
part of it which was not devoted to the
scrutiny of account books-lay close by
Three tall masts rise above her long,
black hull, showing how well she is
equipped for sailing when her powerful
engines take rest for any reason. 1t
has been said that the chief among the
secrets which died with William Aston
was the knowledge of the combination
which opened the locks of the wine
chests and meat boxes of the Nourma7
hal. Such was current estimate of
the mans character. Yet that combi-
nation had evidently long since been
discovered.
Washington Connor's big flyer lay
close by with her cream-colored stack,
elaborate awnings and little feet of
rowboats and launches. The Golden
Fleece, the Coronet, the Dauntless, and
farther off pig-headed Commodore
Gerry's Electa, whose hospitality is
famous, rode at anchor. The sun shone
bright, as in spite Of all lour muggy
weather we know the New York sun
can shine; the air was breezy and
bracing, and life seemed abundantly
well worth the living, especially to
yacht owner. But from what some OF
my friends say I am inclined to think
that yacht owners are subject to the
boredom of existence to even greater
extent than some of the rest of us. With
$4,000 or $4,000, at low estimate,
locked up in his boat man must feel
occasionally that he ought to go down
and exercise her a bit, whether his In
clination leads him in that direction OF
l.
seems to wear off after half dozen
cruises and the burden Of ownership
begins to grow heavier every week.
CALIFORNIA; REWARD.
The presidents appointment of Col.
John W. Foster to be secretary of state
In place of Mr.. Blaine has served to
direct special attention to the diplo.
matte service, and it is interesting to
note, as I do from the recently issued
diplomatic roster, what very considi
cradle, indeed astonishingly large, repre-
sentation California has. For example,
these Californians hold diplomatic posi-,
tions: Romualdo Pacheco is minister ia
| Guatemala and Honduras; Frank l..
| Coombs to Japan; Truxton Beale ia
| Persia; John B. Halves, consul to Rich,
enburg, Bohemia; Felix A. Mathews,
consul to Tangier; Charles T. Grellet
to Algiers; Louis Gottschalk to Stutts
CART; John Darcy Connolly to Auck,
land; L. A. Lathrop to Bristol; Henry
W. Severance, consul general to Homo
lulu; Alexander Willard, consul to
Guaymas; James Viosca to Lapaz; Rich,
ard Lambert to Mazatlan; William
Newell to Managua, and Joseph e. Hay
den to Stockholm. Hasn't California
been pretty well rewarded for standing
by Harrison in 1888?
Gastronomers all over the country
will be delighted. have no doubt, to
hear that DR.. Edward Bedloe, the
United States consul at Annoy, China, is
preparing a brochure on the Chinese
cuisine, which he is embellishing with
notes and suggestions, anecdotes and
"reminiscences of his own-for his ex.
perience in that direction is large.
look for treat when this volume
reaches me, for Bedloe has eaten as
many good dinners and amused as
many good diners as any man of his
years in this country. The number OF
edibles as well as of their combinations
is bewildering in the Flowery Kingdom,
although the ordinary food of the mid.
die and poorer classes is rice and fish.
The idea that the Chinese eat rats is, l
learn, simply ridiculous DIR. Bedloe is
just reaching Annoy after several
months leave of absence very pleasant
ly spent in New York, Washington and
Philadelphia. JOHN A. CocKERrLL.