The silver lance., 1897-08-20


Fifth avenue.
You see," said the Calforniana
friend, &C. B. Alexander's house ~
built so that one MAY look from ms
windows into the Vanderbilt back yarc-
Now, one may derive considerahie IN
formation as 20 the habits and co"dl-
,ious of ones neighbors By peeping ih'o
the back yards. and If ones wihoo"
happens to be turned that way there IA
no law to prevent ones pec2ing. MI
Alexander denies that the trees were
planted to close his view
The Californian pricked up his ears
while his friend told this tale, ano
when the other was done he smn'ec
broadly.
That's very funny" he said
the Varderbilts planted those tew trees
to hide out the Alexanders' light, .t WIZ
be bit of retributive justice sdch as
one often reads about but sst'lpm sees
You see. Alexander is q son-in-law
Of old Charles Crocker, whose house OF
Mob Hill, in San Francisco. is one OF
the sights OF the town. When o-o
Croeker's pile had risen to monuments
heights. he concluded to build for Fin
self a house that would cutshine any
thing or the Pacific coast
Just at the crest Of California and
Jones streets there was big biock
of real estate that took his fancy, and
he went ahead gathering it in. Around
on the back street there was au under-
taker-Yung, | think his nans was
who owned q city lot. When lie heard
that Croeker was buying up the land ne
bided his time Crocker eventually
made E.m an offer-a good prle" Tor the
tand-and the undertaken refused H.
when crocker wanted to knew how
much he could have the property for
the under taker hoisted the price again.
Croeker offered $4,000. Yung wanted
SIC. 900. Crocker agreed to the $4,000.
Then Yung wanted s11,0 900. CrockeI
put up the money, and YunS hoisted ths
price to $4,000.
This bunco business made old Crock
er furious. and he swore he wouldn't
take the property at any price He
went on building his s2.0co.oo0 house.
and the undertaken Haunted his wares
on the roof of his own diminutiye dweh-
ing. hoping that the sight OF the coilns
world drive old Croeher to buy.
"But the cid rnan went grinly ahead,
and not until Yung threatened to let
his house to a Chinese launaryman did
/ he arouse himself to action. Theu one
| day big load of lumber was dumped
| On the Crocker place, and with it came
a host of carpenters. To the amaze
| neut of the undertaken they set up
huge scaffcid.ng, and VISA it a fence
hat day by day grew 10 towering
heights. until it oyershado'Fed the
| house of death.
"Yung raved and swofr, and offered.
as a last extremity, to sels cut at any
price. But Crocker was islplacob)e.
and the fence went on grow iog. Final
,y il hid the undertakes house on
| shree sides, shut out the air and most
| Of the light.
painters took the place Ct the car
pspters and covered II with a shaSe
Of harmonious color. When the paint
vas dry. gardeners took the place of
the painters, and presently the Crocker
Iawn was terraced to the fence, and
trailing vines were climbing evcry-
where upon the broad, blank wall. In
o few months the vines had hidden the
fence from sigh,, and with it the under
takers house.
"The fight with Crocker played out
old Yung, aad one day they carried him
off in one of his own cofIius. AS the
house was useless where it stood it was
moved away from its niche and car.ed
off to some less preter.ious neighbor-
hood The widow CT Yung tried to sell
the ground, but neither Crocker nor
any other man in San Francisco wanted
II.
dov x-fr
fence erected by the late Charles
crocker stands as heritage of spite
bequeathed to the heirs and assigns
Of Yung. the undertaken But the Van
derbilts seem to have taken retributive
Justice on old Crocker's daughter ard
sou-in-law."