"To be honest, to be kind, to earn a little, to spend a little less.
To make upon the whole a family happier for his presence. To renounce
when that be necessary. Not to be embittered. To keep a few friends,
but those without capitulation. Above all, on the same grim
condition, to keep friends with himself. Here is a task for all that
man has of fortitude and delicacy."
This was erected by some admirers of the very interesting English
writer who died, was it not in Samoa, so beloved by the natives.
Piloted by Mr. Burnes, we next viewed St. Mary's Cathedral. It had
been fifty odd years since I had last been inside, and as a boy I had
often been attracted by the music. The cathedral was completely
gutted by the fire, which entered at the front doors and passed up
the tower and to the roof, in fact making a complete ruin of the
building. So that the original landmark should be preserved intact,
they built a complete church inside of concrete and bolted the two
walls together so that the building is as good as ever. New stained
glass windows, altars and a new $25,000 organ have been donated by
wealthy members of the congregation, so that we looked upon a new
church inside and the original outside.
We spent the afternoon at Golden Gate Park, which was the great sight
of San Francisco, four miles long, laid out as an immense garden or
succession of gardens, with conservatories and aviaries, tropical
trees, winding roads and paths in all directions. The first thing to
attract my attention before entering the museum was a statue of Padre
Junipero Serra, the intrepid founder of so many missions along the
coast of California. There were also monuments to Abraham Lincoln,
General Grant, and that stirring preacher of the south, Starr King.
Time was valuable, so I had to give up a further inspection of the
park to give all remaining time to the museum, which closed at four
o'clock. All the time we were in the museum I noticed two policemen
patrolling about and I thought it unusual, and on inquiry found that
lately a most valuable picture had been taken by being cut out of the
frame. After some trouble the thief had been captured and the picture
recovered. The thief gave as a reason for stealing it that he thought
it might inspire him to paint just such a picture, he being ambitious
to be a painter. I hardly think this excuse will weigh with the
authorities. In the room of pioneer relics I found many interesting
things. First a large bell which recorded on the outside the founding
of the volunteer fire department, organized 1850, George Hosseproso,
chief engineer. Firemen of those days were men of account, in fact,
many men of prominence were officers or members of the fire
department. Second, four mission bells from an old mission church at
Carmelo, Monterey County, built by Padre Junipero Serra, 1770; San
Francisco's first printing press, used in publishing the first
newspaper in California, in 1846, at Monterey; a picture of Jno.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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