Norwich bulletin., 1909-05-08

visited a summer resort, and so pop
ular that real estate in Santa Cruz
| increased in value from twenty five
to fifty per cent. But the busy sea-
son is only between three and four
months in duration and the dull times
Intervening get away with all the
! profits. / stood it until the winter of
1858. and then gave it up and returned
ITO San Francisco. Meeting an old
time friend who had leased the Napa
Springs hotel he asked what I had
cleared in the hotel business. 1 told
him that / had cleared a three-raiI
fence in getting away from the sheriff.
He shook his head and limited at mis-
management, but I met him again at
the end of the season.
Charley" said I, how did you make
out?"
Well" said he, II didn't quite clear
that fence"
But such were the ups and downs
Of shotel life in those days.
1t was while employed as a store
keeper in the San Francisco custom
house, good many years later, that
received a message from the Southern
Pacific Railroad company, asking me
to come to their Office at the corner
of Fourth and Townsend streets, as
they wanted to see me on business.
Now, that was what you might call
sumner, but I went. and there l found
the four men who built the first rail-
road across the continent. After a
very cordial greeting they unfolded
the plan in which l had been summon
ed to take part and which proved to
be the building Of hotel at Monterey
which would surpass anything on this
side Of the continent. They had can
Vassed the state in search of the right
man to act as manager and proprietor,
and had fixed their choice on me- Talk
Of peal Of thunder from a clear sky!
That wouldn't be in it, compared to my
surprise at the announcement, but on
recovering l expressed my apprecia-
ton of the honor but said | would
have to consult my wife. They agreed
to this and when l made the propo-
sition known to her, it was some little
time before she took it in, and then she
said:
George, if you should take that
hotel you wouldn't live three wears.
Your hotel life at Santa Cruz would
have worn you out in a very few sea-
sons more, and for you to take charge
Of such hotel as they propose build
ing at Monterey, your days would be
numbered"
I thought so myself, and consequent
ly ] wrote to the railroad officials
thanking them for the honor they had
conferred, stating the opinion Of my
wife had expressed and my own con
currence in her very sensible conclu-
sion, after due elaboration. So I did
not take charge of the Hotel del Monte,
but the fact of its management hav-
ing been offered to me is evidence that
my failure at the Santa Cruz hotel
was not attributed to any fault of
mine.
1t was during the quiet winter
months at Santa Cruz that the lady
teachers of the public school decided
to get up an entertainment to raise
funds for repairing the schoolhouse,
as the school funds were entirely ex--I
hausted. Preparations were made, pro-
grammes were Issued, and the commu-
nifty was on the tip-toe of expectation.
On the evening Of the entertainment I
was behind the scenes assisting the
ladies in preparing their tableaux. But
when the time came for beginning the
exercises, the two gentlemen who were
to furnish a song as the opening num-ll
Der had fallen down." SO to speak, |
and the halfgrown men and boys
who composed a large part of the au-
dience became so noisy in manifesting
their Impotence that the ladies began
to grow anxious and asked me if
would not go out on the stage and say
a few words to keep them quiet.
was rot on the programme, but It was
not in my nature to refuse anx rea-
sonable request coming from az lady, |
10 ! got myself together and made my