Haphazard studies in the English language

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title
Haphazard studies in the English language
Creator
W. R.
Language
English
Year
1928
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Fulltext
THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL April, 1928 must with dramatic insight and matchless skill portray the whole epoch. Certainly priceless tradition attaches itself to these old pieces at The Heirloom. The handsome escort lamps shown in one of the illustrations were, according to creditable tradition, carried in the inaugural pro­ cession of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, Philip Il’s adelantado to the Philippines, perhaps on May 19, 1571, the day of the formal founding of Manila. It is amazing that these lamps never got into the hands of any of the castellans of the royal governor’s palace or of Malacanang, and especially amazing that they escaped the tyrant Venegas; but their long histcry is un­ known, after all, and on the night Venegas fell the guard may have snatched these lamps from the newel posts of the palace to light his way to prison in Fort Santiago. Some lingering spark of decency in him might have led him to say, “Dogs! Preserve the lamps!” Of the two charming figures in polychrome wood only one remains. If not the more grace­ ful and light, perhaps a more significant interest compensates for the lack of delicate wings, so energized they seem to be upon the point of flight. This quieter figure is the blind Santa Lucia, in the characteristic act of bearing her eyes, the price of her martyrdom, upon a little platter. There are legends without number woven around this heroic saint, originating in Italy perhaps and thence sifting into Spanish annals. The saint once inspired a desperate but successful defense of Manila, legend says; and so there is a city gate, the east one, named for her, and a street and military barracks be­ sides. She is one of the patronesses of “the very noble and ever loyal city of Manila.” 4 1 There is a rectangular mural of polychrome molave with the virgin and child and two che­ rubs in high-relief; enfantin certainly, yet one is curious about it and fond of it for its very simplicity. It is known as Our Lady of Solitude, and there is history behind it. The Obras Pias organized by Don Luis Dasmarinas in 1594, established Santa Isabel Col­ lege in 1634 in honor of Isabel II, the purpose being to educate Spanish girls and give them a dot upon marriage. A charge was made upon those who could afford to pay, but orphans were cared for free. The school persists today, much as in the beginning, save that the racial restric­ tion was removed long ago. The carving now at The Heirloom was placed in the chapel at the inauguration of the school and was revered as the Guardian Mother for 230 years. The chapel was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1864. When a new one was constructed it was dedicat­ ed to the Senor del Tesoro and the panel of Our Lady was removed to the entrance hall, where it remained until last year. Haphazard Studies in the English Language The grammatical forms of a language may be acquired by the diligent student without their giving him true facility in the use of the language, which can only come from putting into his memory, ready for instant use, many thousands of its words together with their precise meanings. Anything that will do this is a proper study of the language. .One may readily make one’s self a critic of one’s own diction. One means to this desirable end is to examine one’s own compositions for loose and cumbersome expres­ sions, and to refine them until all these expres­ sions are eliminated. Another means is to make every new word, or old word in a new sense, encountered in one’s reading, a familiar acquaint­ ance to be called upon in time of need. THE BALLAD OF THE “BOLIVAR” By Rudyard Kipling Seven men from all the world back to Docks again; Rolling down the Ratcliffe Road drunk and raising Cain; Give the girls another drink ’fore we sign away— We that took the “Bolivar” out across the Bay! The dignified jar of reddish brown stoneware among the illustrations suggests the sort of hiding place a geni of really excellent taste would select. According to Japanese authority, jars of this type belong to the time of Cheng Te, 1506-1521, and were made in the province of Kiangsu, at Yi-hsing.* They are little known in China today and would be unrecognized in the West as well, according to Hannover, were it not for the collection in the Field Museum at Chicago. The paste of which these jars were made was apparently very plastic and gave itself easily to the uses of modeling, molding, engraving, piercing or the application of relief ornament; and for a long time it was preferred in China to porcelain. At the close of the Ming period, this ware was highly prized; according to Hsiang’s Album a single small teapot brought as much as 250 taels, roughly 350 silver dollars. Lamps That Lighted Legaspi Into Manila. See text ♦See Pottery & Porcelain. 4 Handbook for Collectors, Vol. II: The Far East. Translated from the Danish by Emil Hannover, late director of the Museum of In­ dustrial Art at Copenhagen. The large jars, often of colossal size, solid, durable and refined in execution, were made largely for export. They have been discovered in considerable numbers in the southern Philip­ pines, on Borneo, and on Luzon. The oldest of them are believed to date from the 13th to the 15th centuries. We put out from Sunderland loaded down with rails; We put back to Sunderland ’cause our cargo shifted; We put out from Sunderland—met the winter gales— Seven days and seven nights to the Start we drifted. Racketing her rivets loose, smoke-stack white as snow, All the coals adrift adeck, half the rails below Leaking like a lobster-pot, steering like a dray— Out we took the “Bolivar," out across the Bay! Felt her hog and felt her sag, betted when she’d break; Wondered every time she raced if she’d stand the shock; Heard the seas like drunken men pounding at her strake; Hoped the Lord ’ud keep his thumb on the plummer-block. Aching for an hour’s sleep, dozing off between; Heard the rotten rivets draw when she took it green; Watched the compass chase its tail like a cat “They are often”, says Hannover “decorated with one, two or three large dragons coiled round the jar, showing up either in relief or incised in the stoneware, under a glaze which may be black, reddish brown, brownish yellow or dark green. Handed down from ancient times, in­ vested with all kinds of supernatural powers (including that of speech), they are regarded by the savage natives as of such enormous value that they are even used as payment for a bride.” At The Heirloom there are many varieties of curious and beautiful pottery, from China, the Philippines, Java, and Japan. There is very little porcelain. But two jars about twelve inches in height, of biscuit, are not without interest to the connoisseur of antique porcelains. They were made toward the close of the 18th century in the Philippines by craftsmen who had brought over the recipe from the Spanish Factory of Buen Retiro built in 1760 under Charles III. Originally the factory was restricted to making articles solely for the uses of the royal household or for gifts to be present­ ed by members of the king’s family. Most of the craftsmen were either Neapolitans from Capo di Monte who brought with them many of the molds in use there, or were native workmen who had carefully studied the Italian methods. Later, when the factory became commercialized, the number of Neapolitan workmen dwindled. In design, the jars at The Heir­ loom bear a vague relationship to Sevres, and an unmistakable one to Wedgwood, two factories that influenced the later artisans of the Buen Retiro. The paste is ob­ viously of an inferior quality, due to some important difference in the composition of materials to be found in the Philippines. This disappointment may at least par­ tially explain why the art of making fine porcelains was not developed here. Considering the rarity of such objects, a value otherwise undeserved attaches to this pair of jars of the biscuit d6cor6. The delightful pastime of describing beautiful objects tempts one to go on, when perhaps at the first mention of their whereabouts you drop the magazine and go to see them for yourself. Both Mrs. Haughwout and Mrs. Welch have been residents of Manila for many years, but it was only a year or so ago that they began to form their collection. What magic tempted them? Perhaps the geni of the dragon jar. at play— That was on the “Bolivar,” south across the Bay. Once we saw between the squalls, lyin’ head to swell— Mad with work and weariness, wishin’ they Some damned Liner’s lights go by like a grand hotel; Cheered her from the “Bolivar” swampin’ in the sea. Then a grey back cleared us out, then the skipper laughed; “Boys, the wheel has gone to Hell—ring the winches aft; Yoke the kicking rudder-head—get her under way!” So we steered her, pully-haul, out across the Bay! Just a pack o’ rotten plates puttied up with tar, In we came, an’ time enough, ’cross Bilbao Bar. Overloaded, undermanned, meant to founder, we Euchred God Almighty’s storm, bluffed the Eternal Sea! Seven men from all the world, back to town again, Rollin’ down the Ratcliffe Road drunk and raising Cain; Seven men from out of Hell. Ain’t the owners gay, ’Cause we took the “Bolivar” safe across the Bay? April, 1928 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 9 As I read the ballad Kipling has given us of the Bolivar, I find I am not as familiar as I should be with the locale. I must turn to the encyclo­ pedia and look up (1) Sunderland and (2) the Start. Lo, as I leaf through the volume Sub to Tom, I find two excellent essays on the tariff and taxation. As I am just rummaging—one must be at ease in the study of language, I pause to read them. One goes, quite properly, the way his mind leads him; he does not foolishly attempt to spur his memory. What a wonderful work of man is an encyclopedia! But at last we are at Sunderland, 261 miles northwest of London, at the mouth of the Wear river; a community of 142,000 inhabitants, fishing, marketing, wresting a living from the sea and exporting Sunderland coals since the reign of Henry VII. Sunderland docks cover 200 acres; they include graving docks up to a length of 441 feet. There are shipbuilders aplenty in Sunderland, ship­ owners too; and life is sometimes hard, and busi­ ness dull enough, so that a group of hardboiled owners might order the Bolivar off to Bilbao overloaded with steel rails and coal and covered with putty and insurance—not caring they a single red herring if she should founder. The encyclopedia is not equal to “the Start,’’ but it will be beyond the bay, where the Bolivar reached comparative safety on the high seas. Organizing to Supply Manila All Her Fresh Beef ORGANIZING THE LIVESTOCK ASSOCIATION Left to Right:—Ram6n J. Fernandez, Ben J. Ohnick, attorney, Richard Paradies, Amando Velilla, attorney, S. D. Winship, F. C. Gearhart, Pio V. Corpus, Guy Stratton, F. W. Maage, F. G. K. Sander, Tom&s del Rio, H. P. Strickler, N. S. Saleeby, F. W. Prising, and Joseph Wernick. Ohnick and McFie are attorneys for the association. Officers chosen are: H. L. Heath, president; Pio V. Corpus, vice president; Tomfis del Rio, second vice president; F. G. K. Sander, secretary-treasurer. Directors: Health, Corpus, Sander, del Rio, Stratton, Saleeby. The men who have organized the Philippine 1925....................... 916,795 Livestock Association represent an important 1926....................... 1,021’169 growing Philippine industry producing taxable 1927....................... 1,136,640 wealth in the form of livestock on the otherwise nonproductive pasture lands of the islands. They believe they can keep Manila supplied with fresh beef if the law is enforced which pro­ hibits the importation of beef cattle. Manila consumes 3 to 3-1/2 million kilos of fresh beef yearly. During the decade ending with 1924 the average yearly consumption was 3,310,337 kilos. Consumption is increasing somewhat, but so are the herds, while a higher type of beef critter is being bred on many ranches. The Manila market required about 9,000 kilos of fresh beef daily. A contract given a temporary extension of three months by Gov­ ernor Gilmore, and therefore expiring at the end of July, permits one importer to supply 40 % of the market with live cattle from Australia, some 3,700 to 4,000 kilos daily. The association asks for the definite abrogation of this contract and ad­ herence to the law. Governor Stimson is to act upon this question, on which he has a report from his staff and G. C. Howard, trade commissioner, based upon data from the bureau of agriculture. Here is how cattle have been increasing in the islands: Year No. of Cattle 1918 ....................... 600,173 1919 ....................... 678,525 1920 ....................... 758,551 1921 ....................... 806,186 1922 ....................... 808,237 1923 ....................... 873,995 1924....................... 887,841 It is colloquial, I conclude. “Felt her hog.” Hog, v. i. (Naut.) To become bent upward in the middle, like a hog’s back:—said of a ship broken or strained so as to have this form. Hog, v. t. (Naut.) To scrub with a hog, or scrubbing broom. We have now three hogs in our pen, and might add more. It is important to realize that Kipling had them all in his pen too; his power of graphic description and terse, eloquent phraseology comes of his specific use of words. He could never have used them with such assurance had they not been his own. This is the explanation of his vivid style. “Heard the seas like drunken men pounding at her strake.” Strake, n. (Shipbuilding.) One breadth of planks or plates forming a con­ tinuous range on the bottom or sides of a vessel, reaching from the stem to the stern; a streak. Let us not lightly pass the simile by, “* * * like drunken men pounding * * Pounding! Pounding home arguments, pounding out jigs and tunes, and demands for more liquor. Thus it is that without deliberate description Kipling pictures the sea’s incessant buffeting of the reeling ship. —W. R. Indian Grade Cattle: S. D. Winship’s Herd, Bukidnon, Mindanao The figures are from the bureau of agriculture, they are furnished from the statistical depart­ ment, presided over by Mr. Pena, at the request of Dr. Youngberg, the director. D. H. Hahn, inspector at the matadero, reports that the native cattle now reaching the Manila market average around 120 kilos dressed weight; that it requires from 70 to 80 animals a day to supply the Manila market, and that the industry can easily supply this number. It means 29,200 head per year, on the basis of 365 days and 80 head per day. As the yearly figures indicate, the increase in native cattle last year was 114,480 head, or four times the requirements of the Manila market. The Journal believes that Manilans are generally unaware of the improvement of native cattle in recent years by the introduction of foreign strains, partic­ ularly the introduction of rinderpest-resistant Indian stock. For this reason a typical new herd is shown in one of the illustrations, that of S. D. Winship, in Bukidnon. Beef from such animals is as good as can be desired. But there are of course larger and better herds, that of the Agusan company being the largest in the islands. This herd too is grazed principally in Bukidnon, a fact that suggests the long distance from Manila of much of the local cattle supply. The men in the industry realize they have problems to solve, an acute one being the shipping problem; from long distances the cattle lose weight rapidly, coming, as they do, directly from the pastures to the loading stations. Director Youngberg advocates graining beef cattle for a month or six weeks prior to shipping, to harden the fat, gentle the animals and reduce losses from shrink­ age on the long voyages to Manila. Here is a problem. To breed up all the herds is another, for there are too many undersized cattle still in the islands. Stock shows such as that held in connection with the Philippine carnival help the industry a great deal, but what would undoubtedly help more, and return in taxes far more than it would cost, would be a series of substantial cash prizes— a resort to the method proved successful time and time again by the Amigos del Pais yi Spanish times. The prizes were worth the winning, and the honors conferred worth striving for. Sincerity in behalf of agriculture dictates a careful study of the successful projects of the Amigos del Pais, to whom the debt the country owes can never be repaid. Echoes of their work are heard today, not only in the cattle industry, but in, for instance, the recent reestablishment of a coffee growers’ association in Batangas with headquarters in Lipa. Millions of pesos will grow out of this within a few years.