The morning call., 1893-10-29

emptors. and the purchases are under the
tlmber-iaDd act of 1878. People ask what
is the worth of timber land 10 the noun
talns--S2 or So IN acre. The next genera
tion will find this out if the forests dlsap-
pear. Other States are affected besides
California.
The new Governor General of India. the
Earl OF Elgin, should find his name well
known in Asia, as his father filed the po-
sition OF Viceroy and died in office. He
has had no distinction thus far OF much
note in office, but is scholarly Oxford
man. who owes not little to the late Mas
ter OF Baliol, Mr.. owett, the translator
OF Plato. BY strange accident the name
OF Elgin is connected with the magnlhcent
frieze sculptures of the Partnenon-the
Elgin marbles, as they are commonly
called Copies of these are in every art
museum in the world. They were OBJ
tanned by the then British ambassador to
Turkey, and of late the morality OF carry
ing them out Of Greece has been much dis
cussed. 1t Is very doubtful. however. had
not this pillage been perpetrated. whether
there would be any vestiges OF the marbles
left The Turks cared nothing for them,
and the soldiers thought nothing OF shoot
ing at them as targets. The collector
would also have appropriated what he
wanted.
Mrs. Moiesworth, the writer Of children's
stories. has the attention of a. wide circle
of readers all over the globe. Her success
is an indication of change In the prefer
ences of children in literature. or to put
1t more correctly, former favorites are put
aside for books by Lewis Carroll and the
authoress of Carrots" She had in youth
wonderful power of interesting children
in storytelling. and when she came to
write stories the fascination continu nued.
Some Of her stories we're read to her own
children by the manuscript being concealed
behind newspaper. and the little listeners
Imagined she was reading from print. A
very pretty story is told OF the Crown
Prince of Naples. When a boy he asked
an English lady to write to Mrs. Moles-
worth and say that he did not know how
he should have passed the time without
Carrots" to read when Victor Emmanuel
died. and be requested Mrs. MoleswOrlh
to write another book and show how Car
rots brought up his own children. The
prospect of further fiction about anv OF her
youthful characters is always hailed with
delight, numerous letters reaching the
authoress with naive suggestions on that
point.
The Hopkins mansion on California
street is much too roomy for its true mis-
sion of being center for the diffusion OF
art-at all events at present. Could not
excellent use be made of it this winter by
the University Of California for lectures !?
The professors are arranging programme
of useful work for the benefit of those who
are not registered students. AS rple a
very large audience is undesira ble-a thou
sand persons being the eXtreme-for every
one who attends ought to be a worker in
the particular study or branch of literature
or history chosen. Some Of the rooms
would admirably suit this work in art or
literature.
Architect Shea has confined himself in
his report on City Hall plumbing to find
ings on what is defective and has given up
in des pair any effort at findings fixing the
responsibility therefor. The next Grand
Jury can take up this delicate matter if so
minded. He does venture the opinion that
those who were placed in control OF the
work should have controlled 1t if they had
the ability to distinguish bad from good.