The record-union., 1897-10-03
GOLDEN GATE PARK.
(Communicated.)

I
| find anything that surpassed Golden
Gate Park, with its many attractions
1 will not attempt to describe its
| beauty, for those that love the grand
and beautiful must go there and see
for themselves.
Flowers of every variety and hue
adorn its walks, and cover almost every
part of its enclosure. I know that 1 am
enthusiastic on the subject of flowers.
They are the embodiment of all that is
| beautiful in the human soul, and, like
/ delicious dreams OF beauty falling from
! some heavenly sphere to eradicate the
| darkness which enwraps our own, they
are the few things that remain to us as
| heirlooms of Eden, unsullied by fallen
man.
| In the midst of all these attractions
! there is children's playground, fur
nished with everything necessary for
their amusement and comfort.
! The plants and shrubbery have grown
so rapidly in the new park, which was
prepared for the Midwinter Fair that
they show the ingenuity of man in his
efforts to beautify our earth and make
it a paradise of joy The monuments
of our illustrious dead are there-not
only one, but many. They are distrib
uted in different parts of the park.
Francis Scott Key, author of the star
! Spangled Banner" occupies one of the
most prominent places. A donation of
! $50, 900 was bequeathed by James Lick
for a monument to be placed in Golden
Gate Park 1t was executed in Rome
| by William w. Story, in 1887. The
hight Of this monument is fifty-one
feet It consists of a double arch, under
which the bronze figure of Key IS
seated. 1t is surrounded by a bronze
statue of America, with an unfolded
| flag.
I thought as L looked at the statue,
as he sits there writing his poem, yes,
Key, you are rightly named, the key
that shall unlock the hearts of rulers,
and prompt them to deeds of charity
and love, with the sOul-inspiring words
OF your immortal song.
The Memorial Museum was presented
to the Park Association, or rather to
the President, Joseph Austin, March %
| 1895. by NJ H. DeYoung. You might find
/ a better collection Of vatuables, II you
should visit London or Paris, or some
of the other cities of Europe, but you
must remember that San Francisco IS
only in it's infancy and the valuables
that are collected here have been gath
cred within two years. 1t would take
more than a feeting hour to walk
through the halls and learn the lessons
which you can receive there, if you
were 10 take time to examine the We
riety on exhibition.
AS you walk into the main entrance
you will see on each side pictures Of
the early days of California. The
building is decorated in the most ar
tistic manner
The murnnies, which are placed in
the first hall, are in a very good state
of preservation, it is true. The caskets
are damaged some, but that was done
when they were removed from the place
where they were put away with so
much care three thousand years ago.
Their names. ages and station in life
and sometimes a part of their funeral
| ceremonies. are written on the inside
of their coffin.
In the museum at the Sutro baths
there are hieroglyphics written all over
| the casket, and by the side of it lies
the shoes the occupant wore when he
walked the streets of Thebes three
thousand years ago; when he owned
its splendid palaces and presided at
| their feasts, and had an army at his
command to do his bidding. AS l
looked at him I thought L would like
very Il uch to have some conversation
with him. What valuable knowledge l
could obtain in the arts and sciences
that have long since been lost to the
world He could tell me of the glory
and honor and strength of his nation,
and the obedience of his servants, but
his tongue was silent and his lips re-
| fused to speak.
The idols of the different nations are
carved out of wood or stone in the
most hi6eous forms. How strange that
men can claim such objects of worship
and in their Ignorance and superstition
they really become like them. How
| grateful we should be that in the light
of Divine truth we are guided in bet
| ter way. On one side of the room /
noticed glass plates and cups which
were taken from the tombS of ancient
kings. This proves that glass making
had arrived to "a high degree of per-
lection.
The various hues here represented are
caused by the earthly silicate found be-
meath the luminous scales, which, as
time goes on, separate themselves from
| the body of the glass. The Egyptians
made glass at a very early period of
their national existence. The glass
taken from the tombs of the ancient
kings along the shores of the Mediter
ranaan Sea is of blush color and
very perfect.
The old-fashioned kitchen, with its
fireplace and gun over the mantle
piece and the candle stick and snuffers,
are all in their place; the wheel and
loom occupy prominent position in the
center of the room: the dishes standing
| on their edge in an old-fashioned cup
board. and various other things that
were used fifty or a hundred years ago
are all Of great interest.
In arother room there are a few
things which belonged to George Wash
ington- pictures, bedroom set, chair
and some dishes. These are priced, be-
cause they belonged to the first PreSi
dent of the United States.
As / ascanded the stairs the first
thing that attracted my attention was
/ the butterflies. l counted a hundred
and fifty varieties, well preserved for
exhibition. The curious thing about
them is that both sides of their wings
/ have very bright colors, while other
! insects of the same family are only
colored on the one side. How different
their life is, flying in the fields and over
/ fro,,, woe xx-oa,,