davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

pean cities there are men known as
"Quatorzienes," well recognized in So
ciety, whose business IL is to he ready
to 80. to any house to dinner In order to
make up II at table.
The following anecdote is related in
the biography OF Sir John Millais. the
famous artist He gave dinner in
honor of Matthew Arnold In August,
1885, and one OF the guests called at
tention to the fact that there were Is
at the table and expressed some fear.
Matthew Arnold laughed at such silly
superstition and said:
The idea is that whoever leaves the
table first will die within q year; 50.
with the permission of the ladies. we
these fine, strong lads Indicating Ed.
gar. Dawson and E S@) will rise
together. and 1 think our united con-
stitutions will be able to Withstand
the assault of the reaper"
Six months later Matthew Arnold, in
the prime of life, died suddenly Of
heart disease. A few days later E.
s. was found dead in bed. revolv-
er by his side. Edgar Dawson, the
third of the trio. sailed from Australia
on February is. 1886. on the steamer
Quetta, which foundered off the coast
OF New Guinea, and not single soul
was saved.
But there are those who regard J3
as lucky number George Boldt of
the Waldorf-Astoria so regards 1t; his
house Is numbered 13. the hotel has 13
entrances and was opened on the 18th.
Thirteen was Richard Wagner's pet
niifnber. He was born in 1913; he had
IL letters in his name; he composed Is
operas; "Tannhauser'' was finished on
April 13 and was first played on March
1S. He left Bayreuth on September Is
and died on February f3.
For many years 1913 was the luckiest
engine on the Baltimore and Ohio
Thirteen was the sacred number of
the Mexicans and ancient people of
Yucatan- Their.week had 13 days; they
had 13 snake gods.
There were Is original states in the
American union; Its motto. -E pluribus
unum." has Is letters; the American
eagle has 13 feathers on each wing. and
George Washington, when raising the
republican standard, was saiuted with
13 guns.
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

struggled desperately in the stateroom
of their little friend near by.
"As the FIRE of the fever burned
higher the fire of her life burned down
to its smoldering, darkened embers.
The unequal contest was nearing the
finale. AS the flushed face among the
pillows turned for last pitifully ap-
pealing look into mine the fever bright
eyes closed the hand that held mine
gave a feeble parting pressure, the
trenor of a sigh escaped her and she
lay very white and still. The restless
ness of delirium had gone and nature
relaxed into the submissive resignation
to the inevitable that told me that
had lost my battle with death.
The pulse still moved in nuttering
beats, the respiration continued. weak
and faint, the muscles quivered fit
fully, the pretty lips trenbled now
and then and the facial expression
changed from one indicative sof weak
ness and suffering to repose and calm
the restful calm that follows the wear
ing storm.
Now and again 1t seemed that she
might be trying to speak aloud. but
the working of her dissolving mental
ity was the communion of her soul with
angels rather than of the mind with
men.
As I sat heavy eyed In the darkened
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

needs. Such theory to have any foun-
dation presupposes that every part in
space must have these ascending cur
rents. It is not an uncommon thing in
many sections of the country to see
such immense numbers of ducks or
pigeons as to darken the sun. all flying
along sereneiy, massed close together.
and all hunting no doubt for the as
cending columns of air to keep them
from coming down.
Another theory having many. adher-
ents Is that the wings and bones Of
birds are hollow and during flight arn
filled with gas much lighter than
hydrogen, thereby enabling bird 10
maintain flight. No chemist has been
able thus far to determine the nature
Of this element and 1t is also shown
that.the bones OF bird are not OF such
a nature as to contain q gas; neverthe-
less, we have the theory
Then an extension of this theory is
found in the tenuous media theory,
which il supposed to surround all hy-
ing creatures--some sort OF . light gas
in which II is enabled to foat or which
has a tendency to carry it upwardly.
It is not explained why 1t is that when
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

chamber. awaiting the approaching
transition from life to death, the tears
came; and through the misty haze
saw again another sweet faced little
girl, lying pale and quiet on death
bed away back in the gone days of my
boyhood, when / had watched beside
my sister as she passed on into the
shadows of the great afterwhile, and
in the halo of that vision the iron of
the physician dissolved in the heart of
the man, and l silently sobbed out the
pain that was divided between the sad
reverie and the nearing approach to the
parting of the ways with the dear lit
tie friend beside ME.
"The storm that crashed and rolled
out over the sea, with it's glare of
lightning and peals of thunder, was
wilder and more expressive, but no
more intense and real than the one sup
pressed within me as l watched the
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

evident that the increasing h at OF the
climate did not agree with her and she
soon grew listless. losing interest in the
sea and the ship and her playfeliows.
although she seemed to cling closer and
closer to me as her spirits relaxes and
her physique gradually sueclmbed to
the depressing effect of the heat.
When we were well down into the
China sea she became very i'll and was
confined TO her stateroom. IN a few days
the trouble developed into severe at
tack of tropical fever.
There being little other illness
aboard / was able to give most of my
time TO her. and toward the last ex-
cept when called to some other Incl
dental duty for the moment. remained at
her side almost night and day, doing all
IN my power both as doctor and friend
for. her relief and comfort
"All my doctoring and care, however.
seemed of no avail against the consum-
ing fever that was burning out her
vitality and by the time we had swung
down into the indian ocean had re-
luctantly abandoned hope of her re-
covery.
''The captain and other officers, as
well as the crew, had shown an un-
usual and heartful interest in her fight
beside her. expressing in their sailor
like way their sympathy and doing the
best they could in the kindliness of
their hearts to keep her spirits rallied
TO the greatest degree of resistance,
so that it was with a very real sorrow
and more than a suspicion of wet eyes
that they heard me as 1 reported to
the captain one evening that the turn
ing point for her would come that
night and that the chances were all
against the probabilities that she
would be able to live for the morn
ing.
''Maugre the landsman's belief in the
hardened nature of the sailor. he has,
nevertheless, a heart tender as a
woman's and kindly disposition that
only those who have lived with him
10 the open can fully understand and
appreciate.
And that night it was demonstrated,
for. far into the night, as 1 passed the
smoking room on my way to the locker
for medicines l saw the ships officers
there in little group, silent, waiting
Those big. rough, weather seasoned
fellows were ON watch. tarrying to
learn the issue of life and death that
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

the bird is injured or shot this media
fails instantly to act
The French have a theory which Is
termed aspiration Some years ago
the captain of a French vessel shot a
large condor. which. when held with
its wings outstretched in flying posi-
ton. had the capacity to draw the bird
forward in the teeth of strong wind.
AS result several airships were built
on the lines of the condor. The latest
attempt In this direction is one now
being exhibited at Crystal palace near
London.
There is basis of truth in this
theory. There is something akin 20 as
piraticn--the ability to drawn the
particular form OF an object upon which
air impinges. But there must be some
intelligent force .or direction impaired
to an object In order to get the bene-
fit of the zpcalled aspiration" To
pattern flying machine on the lines
of a bird. furnishing 1t with wings and
legs and a tail. and then supplying
nothing in place of the brains or OF
the instinct which the bird possesses,
is most ridiculous attempt at solving
problem by similarity of suggestion.
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

By |. S. Zerbe

THE problem of the ages. how to
hy, appears to be no nearer solu-
ton than when Tissandier made
the first recorded attempt centuries
ago, when he sought to demonstrate
bird flight. There is a wonderful inter-
est now manifested in aerodynamics,
but how much nearer are we to it's dis
covery than when Montgolfier made his
first balloon ascent in 1900? The bal
looms the thing True, 1t is now a
dirigible structure, and also by means
OF a trailing rope is in a measure
brought within control. But floating
gas bag. whether controllable or not,
is not a flying machine. A bird is q
flying thing, balloon is q floating
structure--no more--and there is a very
essential difference between flying and
floating, not only in a mechanical sense
but commercially and from prac-
ticable point Of view.
Now to account for this lack on the
part Of man to grasp the true solution.
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

said quickly and with an air of sup
pressed excitement
Say, Doc. are you superstitiousT
II assured him that l was immune;
not being altogether certain at the
time, however whether 1 really was or
not.
Well he continued, neither am L
At least. wouldn't want to be ac-
cused OF it, but I just saw something
that has set me thinking quite sharp
About half an hour ago, I should
say. / stood watching the play OF the
lightning balls around the forepeak.
There were several others. but this was
the biggest-the biggest tnat I ever
saw. AS I looked 1t began TO drop. fol-
lowed the mast right down to the deck
and disappeared.
al thought at first that IL must be
an optical illusion, so 1 rubbed my eyes
and looked again to the peak, but the
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

face frightened, her eyes looked out at
me questioningly and. bending my
head low, caught the words of her
murmuring voice:
Oh-iooki How-beautiful.' and
her fingers closed over mine as she
spoke.
She turned her eyes upward, and.
looking. saw, close to the ceiling,
straight over her head, q blurred, misty,
luminous globe, Ike a distant light diff
fused and glowing in a heavy fog This
grew slowly. almost imperceptibiy as
before. until it hung a quivering sphere
of blush white wavy light. 1t was more
nearly like the ST. Elmo's fire that
clings about the ends OF the spars in a
heavy electrical storm than anything
else I can compare 1t to.
Seer she whispered; O-seet
Slowly, SO slowly that I did not no.
tice it at first. the ball of light desce d.
ed Until it seemed to enveIop her face
and hair, giving the peaceful. pleased
look on her face a glory and radiance
such as we think of the angels having
the sweetest and most heavenly vision
ever saw or ever expect to.
''As it lay for a moment wavering
about her niliow I felt her hand grow
tense in mine, her body trembled slight
her head as she cried out falterinsly-
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

signs of death surely stealing over my
little companion.
''UnconsciousIy raising my eyes from
the bed became aware of a feeling, an
unconscious sensation Of the presence
OF something in the room that did
not see, an uncanny something I could
not understand.
Intuitively, / think, it came to me
that it must be the presence of death.
and instinctively, almost mechanically,
] closed the pressure of my fingers on
the pulse, but l found that they still
beat softly beneath the touch.
LAS l looked again at the face tie
room grew brighter. slowly, almost i'm
perceptibly, with a light that was
weirdly luminous. anc yet not alto
gether unlike the birth or dawn of a
day at sea: but knew that 1t was not
near the morning, nor could such a
light be possible with the low hang
ing, black clouds of the tempest with
out that closed about us with an i'm
penetrable wall of light, anu, wonder
ing, yet not altogether surprised. /
waited, watching.
Gradually the light increased until
the room was as bright as the light of
full grown dawn. and then I became
conscious OF a change; change that
was the most marvellous thing l ever
witnessed.
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

EOPLE who smile with a superior
~ air at the notion that ls is an un-
lucky number may have to revise
their increduIous attitude, for science
says they are wrong and that what
they scornfully call superstition is
based on fact says the Post Dispatch.
Now hear the wall from the Thirteen
club.
What. Science on the side OF super
stition? Perish the thought"
Professor Sherman Davis of the Uni
versity Of Indiana delivered an address
TO the public school teachers Of Wilkes
barre a few days ago in which he told
them that Is is the age at which IS per
cent OF boys begin to learn evil, the age
at which vices are acquired. the age
from which the ruin of men dates. He
based his assertion upon a critical ex-
animation Of 1000 men. asking them
when they first contracted such petty
vices as smoking cigarettes. And of
these 1000 S5 per cent answered him
with the fateful word:
Thirteen"
Now listen to statistics. complied by
the acruaries Of the great Insurance
companies of the world.
They seem TO prove this1
That OF any l3 persons assembled ac-
cidentally. or without any selection, one
should be dead within the year. In
other words. taking the population Of
the world as basis for calculation, one
sn every 1s persons dies each year. The
death rate varies, OF course, according
10 age, climate and sanitary. conditions;
81 is decidedly lower in the United
States and the superstition" OF 13
would not apply If the population OF
this country alone were considered.
The origin OF this belief, supersti-
xion, or whatever you may choose TO
call Il, is lost in the chaos Of pre-
historic days. The commonly held be-
lief is that 1t originated from the last
supper, at which Christ and his IL
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08
The San Francisco Sunday Call
THE ENGINE DRIVERS
GHOST WHICH RETURNED
TO THE TRoTTLE."

"T thought So, And then he added:
Doctor, 1 don't believe in ghosts and
spirits and that sort OF thing. and
don't think there are any of us here
that do, but these men and myself have
just seen something that was very
queer: and 1t was so real and plain that
there Is no mistaking that we did
see 1T.
There was a ball OF blue fire. he
continued. just like the st. EImo's IRE
in a thunderstorm. that appeared right
over our heads in the smoking room.
and when we looked up at it the thing
foated straight across the room to the
door. There 1t hung for a second.
turned in this direction and disap-
peared. When it had gone said right
away, Boys, that little girl of ours Is
deadr"
After sending for the stewardess to
sou'wester and went on deck and up to
the bridge. l was worn and nervous
with the long vigil in the sick room.
where it was always hot and stuffy, and
/ wanted to get out and breathe some
cool. fresh air, regardless of the storm
and the spray and the rain.
"As I reached the bridge the third
mate, who was on watch, came to me,
and. before 1 had time to speak or to
tell him OF what had happened below,
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

light was gone. Now. don't believs
in signs and omens a little Bit but III
admit I did about half wonder for a
while If that was a sorewarnins that
we were to go to the bottom in some
thing of the same style as ;nat ball OF
fire had done.
Well. then. while stood there still
wondering that ball of fire seemed to
come right out OF the Geek. raise uD
along the mast and settle around tns
forepeak again.
Queer. though. but it only huns
there moment. and then it drifted
right up into the clouds and disap-
peared. strangest thing / ever sawi
Can you ofrer any explanation for such
queer freak? 1 can't
Yes--I could--and-I couldn't.
Il told him then in detail of the ex-
perfence that l had had below. just as
have told 1t to you.
"He heard me through, rested his
chin In his hand a moment and then
said simply:
oh, was that it, 1 wish that had
known 1t at the timer and walked
away to the pinnacle.
II did not ask him why he would
like to have known. but I wondered:
Just As I have often wondered about
the weird and fascinating thing that I
saw at the bedside OF the dying child"
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

slowly the light seemed to creep
from out the corners of the room and
gather in fiickering, uncertain waves
of blue and white and gold directly
over the body of the child, a tremulous,
lambent ghost light fading, brighten
ing, dissolvins, quickening, faiiing, ris-
ing; reminding me. as / think Of 1t
now. of the quaverfng notes OF soft.
low music coming over the tumbling
water out OF the distance.
"A moment it remained and then dis
appeared, leaving the room in darkness
save for the shaded light OF the night
lamp. The pulse still beat, the heart
moved in fiuttering, pulsing throbs, the
face trembled its childish smile and the
lips continued muttering their un-
spoken messages.
The storm Iulled and I'm the hush I
waited, wondering, but with no thought
of fear. The lips moved apart, the
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

" oh, rnamma,--mamma. / see--the
way-and it's-all bf.sat--and shiningr
And as the voice ended in low
whisper the light rose rapidly, dissolv-
ing and disappearing as it reached the
ceiling; the curly head lay quietly back
among the pillows, there was the faint
est breath of sigh, nervous flutter
of the muscles. the fingers of the hand
relaxed. the pulse was lost and she lay
very still and white as I knelt there
beside her couch, alone with death.
Il placed her hands across her breast,
and. mechanically again, looked at my
watch--it was half past two o'clock. As
! rose to my feet heard the door open
and the captain entered, followed by the
first and second mates and two other
officers. The captain stepped to the side
of the bed and placed his hand on the
child's forehead, then, turning to me, he
said:
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

But we must go even further back In
time than the Morse mythology, for in
the far east, in the myths of the an
cient Hindus, 1t is related that it is un-
lucky to sit with 13 at table. There
can have been no possible connection
between the myths of these far sep
arated regions, and we may even have
to go back to the garden of Eden, as
we have to do for the superstition that
Friday lis an unlucky day on which to
undertake any enterprise or begin
any journey. We Christians have al
ways imagined that this belief was to
be referred to the fact that Christ was
crucified on Friday, but long before
the time of Christ tradition had 1t that
Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit
and were driven from paradise on a
Friday.
The survival of the 13 superstition in
all lands is most remarkable. The
church tried once to extirpate 1t. In
the chapel of the Trindinum Pauperum,
adjoining the Church of st. Gregory,
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

The managers of the st. Louis recep-
tion to President Roosevelt and the
visiting governors withdrew carriage
No. 13 from the procession.
There were to be 90 carriages in the
parade from the river to tho Jai Alai
building and back. In No. Is Governor
Johnson OF Minnesota, Tom Lawson's
ideal man for president and Henry
Watterson's dark horse" of the de-
mocracy, and Governor Warner OF
Michigan were to ride.
When attention was called to this
the managers decided to have no car
riage numbered Is, and Governors
johnson and Warner rode in another
carriage.
Bismarck. the great, the famous, the
practical, hard headed iron chancel-
lor.'' had tho 13 superstition in its most
viru1ent form.
The Turks have almost expunged the
word thirteen" from their vocabulary;
the Italians never use 1t In making up
their lotteries; in Paris and other Euro
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

on the Coeifan hill in Rome. is a mar
bic table with an Inscription recount
Ing that Pope Gregory the Great was in
the habit of entertaining IL poor men
at breakfast every morning and that an
one occasion Christ appeared and
shared their meal, making ID At table.
and that therefore. henceforth Ii was
lucky number. II this had any effect,
that effect has passed away
In the ancient Hebrew numeration.
the letter which was used as the SYM
Dol of 1S was also the symbol OF the
word meaning death"
In the Tarot deck of cards. used by
the gypsies in telling fortunes, and by
many Of the peoples OF Southern Europe
tor playing tarocchi, the thirteenth
card bears a skeleton with a scythe, the
symbol of death.
In modern days there are many strik-
ing instances Of the prevalence OF the
superstition.
There are many hotels which have no
rooms numbered a.
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08
By Richard Maxwell Wlnans

~ OCTORS as a rule, DO not enter
tain superstitious beliefs. nor are
they disposed to be susceptible to
the influence OF occult things, ana
the following strange experience OF q
ships doctor is not related with the
object OF proving the rule by the excep-
tion.
cine deals with the material and the
physical; the psychicsi. the super
natural. the hyperphysical and the di-
vina -particula aurae being left TO the
metaphysicians, thaumaturgists. sky
pilots and heap big medicine men.
This story was told me in such In
tensely earnest sincerity that, even had
I been inclined 10 be skeptical. I could
not have helped being convinced OF the
narrator's honest belief in its actuality.
am quite under the conviction that
the doctor saw the strange manifesto
tion just as 1t was described to me. and
I do not in any way feel that it is my
prerogatiye TO raise a question Of the
why and the how.
-. The almost equally mysterious light
and its movements witnessed by the
captain, the mates and the lookout, or
o1icer OF the deck, corroborate and con-
firm the genuineness Of the visitation
witnessed by the doctor beyond perad-
venture.
Dr.. w. T. s. O'Hara, formerly on one
OF the ships Of the white Star line. tells.
as nearly as I can remember the details,
this story
When I was ships doctor aboard the
Alsutria we had on a trip out Of Yoko-
hama very beautiful little girl of lz
years. who had been orphaned In the
east and was returning with us alone
10 friends and relatives at home.
she was so bright ard intelligent
and was such a jolly, good natured
lassie that I was naturally attracted to
her. The frien lship being mutual we
were soon quite attached TO each other
spending much Of the day together on
deck and about the sh p, for she was
possessed Of a wonaans curiosity and
was eager to investigate the mysteries
OF the great vessel from stoke and en-
gine room TO crows nest. During these
tours Of inspection and rompings about
she readily made warm friends Of all
the crew. and especially Of the COM
manding officers.
LAS we ran down the coast it became
The San Francisco call., 1908-03-08

~ OCTORS. as a rule, DO not enter
tain superstitious beliefs. nor are
4 y they disposed TO be susceptible to
the influence OF occult things, ana
The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1908-11-06
A Picture Romance.

1t is said that one of the most beau
tifu1 ladies in French society today
was first revealed to her husband on
the walls of the salon. 1t was while
visiting the salon in 1878 that the
youthful Marquis de G. was struck by
the childish beauty Of young girl,
one of the prominent figures in pic
ture of a village fete. Her tumbled
golden locks, her dancing blue eyes
and the freshness and graceful aban-
don of her figure so fascinated him
that he sought out the artist and learn
ed from him that the s1ittle witch"
was the daughter Of poor peasant
near Avranches, where the picture was
painted To seek out the peasant and
to make the acquaintance of his fas-
chatting daughter, child Of nine sum-
mers, was soon accomplished, and the
marquis lost his heart even more COM
pletely to the real than to the pictured
maid With the fathers approval he
had the girl educated at one Of the
best schools in Paris, and nine years
later, on her eighteenth birthday, the
maid of the village fete blossomed
into the still more lovely Marquise
de G..