The herald., 1896-02-12

| NnarleS ~. DickeflSOD, a CnlCaSO Relltie-
man of means, and very active in religious
and benevolent work, said: "The out
spoken editorial in The HERALD in refer
ence to street preachers pleased me great
ly. We in Chicago know this fellow Rice,
the so-called cowboy, most thoroughly, and
how false are his preteusions to being a
reformed and truly converted man. He is
simply big lazy loafer, whose sole idea
is self, and the avoidance of honest labor.
| II your city authorities should cut off his
hair and put him to work on the rock pile
to reduce his beefiness and quiet his braz-
en- impudence. every lover of true evange-
listic work would heartily rejoice. Yester-
day at noon his piety did not urge him to
attendance upon any of the meetings for
| prayer at that hour, held all over the city;
but at quiet private box at restaurant
on Main street he gorged himself on the
best that could be obtained at that little
| place dear to the heart of the local gour-
ment. Rice may be able TO punch his wife,
| but to punch a COW would be too severe a
| task upon his courage.
! In this column recently it was stated
| that some capitalists were seeking a suta-
Bile location near Los Angeles on which to
erect factory for preserving and picking.
j. +. Knowles of Philadelphia, one of the
number, said yesterday at the Hollenbeck,
that the probable repeal of the charter of
the Southern Pacific by the state of Ken
| lucky had SO scared the European end of
the line that for the present they could do
nothing. He also said that they had found
| a very desirable location in Southern Ore
gon which would be donated free of all but
the usual legal cost of transfer. Los An
| geles was, however, their first choice, and
| If o0uI] ho fpr
| ge,and the price asked for the needed land
was not to exorbitant, the factory would
be located here.
| William j. Kirkpatrick. a retired dry
goods merchant of Albany, N. Y, is with
his family spending the winter in Los An
geles and vicinity. AT his cosy boarding
house on South Hope street. he said: The
death of George Bliss, Governor Morton's
| partner. is surprise to me. He was only
10 years old and | am 81, and as well as
ever was at "a. l fear that George
let his stomach get away with his brains
and that he ate something
at his dinner that was no go.
| Why it seems only year or two ago since
| and George, both poor boys. worked each
on neighboring farms, and though l was
much the elder George was ahead of me i'll
tellectuaily, devoting all his spare hours to
| books. and especially to those relating to
| finance and political economy. lie was
very nice looking boy in those days, and at
corn huskings and similar opportunities
for young people to get known to each
| other, George was the star. But you never
saw such a shy fellow in your life If a
pretty girl ioked him he would blush and
| get SO nervous that the other girls would
| frown and make her quit. He went to
New York before l did and was successfully
with several old-time dry goods firms, be-
| coming partner in each. He was the Keen
| est buyer and the finest tinancier | ever
met, and with it all a most generous man
| to all deserving charities. He made heap
| CT money in the Delaware and Hudson Canal
| company. of which he was for over thirty
| years a director. 1t is impossible to esti-
mate how much he gave away privately.
He was treasurer of the board of missions
| of the Z. E. church. and spent 100000 in
| the erection of church for the poor on
| Blackwell's island. l expect his estate is
somewhere about $20,O00,000. saw
him only three weeks ago at the Metropol-
| itan club, and he was looking very we'll
| then.
Like that of the Hindcos, the Chinese
civil year is regulated by the moon, and
| from the time of the Han dynasty. two
centuries before Christ, has begun with the
first day of that moon during the course of
| whch the sun enters their sign of the 20
diac corresponding to our sign Pisces.
| They have also an astronomical year
Wnlcn Is solar, ana 1Or tne adjustment Oh
| these solar and lunar years employ a sys-
tenn similar to our leap year plan, except
that instead of an intercalary day every
fourth year. as in the Gregorian calendar,
they insert an intercalary month, occur
ring alternately every third and second
year in periods of nineteen. Two intercal-
ary months in five years. or seven in nine
! teen years. The year therefore is thirteen
! or twelve months according as it has or
has not an intercalary one. month
| has either twenty-nine or thirty days, the
| number of days being intended to corre-
i spond to the number OF days which the
moon takes to make the revolution round
| the earth A month. indeed, means one
| moon, the same Chinese character being
used TO indicate both. So, too, the number
used to indicate the age of the moon at any
! time indicates also the day of the month;
| thus there is always full moon on the
| 18th, no moon on the lst, etc. Conse-
quentiy the moon always presents the
! same appearance on the same day in any
| month from year to year. This plan i5
very convenient for farmers and sailors,
| whose memory is thus materially assisted
in remembering the changes Of the moon
/ and tides. The spots on the moon which
we call 1.-The man in the NOON suggest to
the Chinese mind the idea OF a small ami
NAL shelling rice; and a common saying in
! China is "There is a little white rabbit in
| the moon pounding cut rice" TIE era
| used by the Chinese is the oldest employed
! by any nation next to the Jews, as for over
| 1000 years they have for chronological
purposes made use of daily, monthly and
yearly cycles of sixty. Each day. month
and year has its own name in its cycle,
| and by compounding these names, sim
| gle one is made to csignate'ths date en-
| pIoyed. Red is the Chinese festal color,
| and is believed 10 be eillcacious in keep
ing away evil spirits, and strands of red
silk in chiidren's queues prevent them
from being carried off or harmed by evil
spirits. Uevout Chinese, sad Robert +.
Ogilvie, an old resident in China who came
| over few days ago to visit friends in Los
Angeles, and to whom the reporter is in
debted for the above information, avail
| themselves of this season to settle their
accounts with the gods, and you will see
on the walls of the joss house colored
strips OF paper about twelve inches long
| by four wide, containing the names of the
| donors to the idols and the amount of
| their benefactions. This year 1896 has
| an intercalary month, children born in it,
marriages contracted in ii, and business
| partnerships entered into before it passes
! away will all have luck.
| John Hudson. u rch, retired glover OF
| Yeovil. Somersetshire, Engiand, the pecu-
| liar dialect of whose inhabitants has been
| so admirably reproduced by Il. d. Black
more. was found in comfortable quarters
| on Hill street Yesterday, with his pretty