The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1895-11-09
TWO STORIES FOR SMOKERS

Twelve Hundred Dollars for ColorIne
the Peruviau's Meerschaums.
"Oh, yes, you ought to be able to get 8
real meerschaum for S2-a plain one. OF
course-but there isn't much sale for
carved and ornamental ones now" said
the pipe expert to his interlocutor.
Twenty five or thirty years ago mesr-
schaum carving was we'll done here-so
well that an American ex hibit only failed
to receive a medal at the Paris Exposition
OF 1867 because the judges thought the
work too good to have been done on this
side of the Atlantic. That bulldog would
have cost you two or three times the
price in those days. 1t was expensive
then-the work aud the material both
but people had an appreciation of it that
they seem to have lost since. And this is
the reason, in part, at any rate. The
growth of commerce has made it possible
for American manufacturers to import
meerschaum directly from the producers
i'll Austria and Turkey, instead of paying
the profits OF ten for a dozen middlemen
as they once had 10 do Am Der is cheaper,
too. for the same reason. Then, some
years ago, taking advantage of the cheap
prices, cheap manufacturers went into
the business with cheap labor-ienemenl
house labor, largely-and cheapened and
vulgarlZed the business, Now that you
can buy meerschaum at every Third.
| avenue cigar store, few people have any
| real notion of artistic work.
II mean to cultivate taste for it again,
| though-to populariZe it, if l can. Pm
going TO sell lot of meerschaum blocks,
| at price pretty near cost. Then Pm GO
ing to give directions so that any man
with bent for carving can ornament bis
own pipe. It's such pity there shouldn't
be more popular interest in this branch OF
| art" sighed the enthusiast, "for no ma
terial lends itself TO carving like meer-
schaum. Why. never see one of these
Irregular Jumps that the shape OF i,
doesn't suggest the beautiful form that
lies within it. Here"-he snatched q
sketchbook and opened it's hounds
head, alter Landseer; group of fallen
angels, from Dore; portrait head, carved
from llte-see the range OF subjects? But
Americans haven't generally been sue
cessful at meerschaum carving: our best
workmen have come from Germany
Nurem burg and Munich.
"Do l know any mechanical way OF
coloring meerschaum? oh, yes; l have
known a man TO fix up a small rubber
bellows that was kept going by clock
work attachment, and, so did his smok-
| ing for him; but much more common
method Is TO hire some constant smoker
10 use your pipe until it gets the
tint you want. British officers sometimes
| distribute their meerschaums among their
men for this purpose, and on long voy-
| age passengers give their pipes in charge
| of seasoned old salts.
Some years ago we had customer, q
rich Peruvian, who had bought a great
| many pipes from us: he had about fifty
pieces OF tine meerschaum. Of course
| he couldn't hope to color all those him
| self unless he smok ed like volcano es-
| pecially in the twelve months be ex-
| pected to stay here. So he asked me if |
| knew anybody who would do it for him.
introduced him to one OF our work
men, young follow, and the Peruvian
turned over his pipes to him, supplying
him with lot of the very best tobacco
! he could buy. He used to come in often
/ and watch the man at his work. He
| would Sit and admire the slow colorins
| of those pipes as an artist would a paint
| ing. You know how you feel as you see
the beautiful rich hues come in, dom
| you? Well, sir, sort OF friendship
sprung up between these two. The
| Peruvian took a personal, or perhaps
proprietary interest in his pipe-colorer,
and started out by sending him to his
own barber, 10 be shaved into more pre-
| sentable shape. Then he insisted tina
| the man should have his teeth examined
| and he paid SO dentists bill for him
| lie sent him to fashionable tailor anC
gave him fine outfit; be bought him
| Panama hat, and so on until we figured
that, with S4-a-pound tobacco-and h'
! kept the fellow smoking all the time
and all the rest OF his expenditures or
that work man, the coloring of those pipe:
cost him about $1,000 Then he went
back to Peru, and l heard aflerward tina
he was killed in Australia. lie ought t
have remembered the work man in BIZ
will, to make the romance completes; bu
this Is true story, aud | can't say b.
did. Perhaps he felt himself fully fur
nished with pipes for this world and thu
next without any requests"
ESPECIALLY if he smoked the ghost o
his cut Cayendish in his phantom meer
schaum." suggested his listener.
"Ye-es," said the other, who could ap
preciate Jerome, too. But l don't know
about that. You see be smoked most O
that cut Cavendish by proxy.
Here's another story Of meerschaun
coloring. The Duke of Castelluccia useC
to be one of my customers. One Satur
day he came i'll and looked at fin
meersohaum cigar-holder.
THAT'S handsome he said. But
want il coiored; can you have it done TO
me on Monday"
but, your Grace 1 said, colorint
takes time. l couldn't have it done by
Monday. A few weeks
"'Bahn he said. i will bring it TO yol
on Monday as black as your coat
"And be did. This is how he did it.
He went out and bought hundred Ions
scent cigars. went home and smok &c
them all day Sunday, one after the other
until they were gone. Sure enough. tn,
hold er had beautiful color, but he haC
nearly spoiled his teeth, and he admitted
that be wouldn't do it again. One hun
dred 5-cent cigars in one day was toe
much even for an Italian. New Yorl
| Tribune.
Poor Russia is threatened with anothe
famine. A terrible drought oppressed
for many weeks the Southern Govern
ments, a region already Impoverished by
excessive taxation. In direct taxes tn,
poor farmers there pay annually on al
average about SIS, besides the local anC
school taxes, and the indirect taxes ex
coed the direct ones. Every year tens o
| thousands of farmers are compelled t
| surrender their holdings