The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-06-04
or tries to set apart for her writing. And

Der Will letters ana requests when Sne Is
too kind hearted, weak she calls it, to re-
fuse. It costs Mrs. Burnett thousands of
dollars year to be good-natured to
strangers
Here are some of the people who appeal
TO her rs If she were the answer column
department OF a newspaper:
l. Dung woman named Hodgson or
Burnett, who on the strength Of their
names, want her to please correspond
with them regularity
2. Fathers have taken their boys to see
Little Lord FauntlerOy" and wish she
would write them long letters, which would
give the aforesaid boys mu"h pleasure. In
exchange they suggest sending on some of
the boys compositions ''she might enjoy
reading"
8. Anxious mothers who want to know If
thew should whip their children when they
are bad. Also the proper time for weaving
infants. Also information about teaching,
etc.
4. Young ladies of talent who want lit
erary advice. How are they to begin ?
What style of writing had they better Sc
lect? Does the business pay we'll? etc.
3. Autograph iends by The drawerful.
These include people who send on copies
of her books with requests for "a few
original remarks on the fly leaf.
6. Children whose mammals. or aunts. or
grandmothers think they are prOdiges.
They usually arrive when Mrs. Burnett is
particularly busy, accompanied by their
nurses and carving bundles of type
written poems tied with pink ribbon. She
is requested kindly to look over the
poems"
7. Last, but net least, the reporters. who
arrive from the four quarters of the globe
on MISSIONS so extraordinary as to ma Ike
the Japanese idol in the hail., which
is perfectly black. turn blue with
amazement. These gentlemen insist
Oh knowing immediately with a hop.
nd Jim h.,f hC,, L
nett arises and has her bath. how she
dresses her hair, what she eats for break
fast, whether she says her prayers, and If
not why not; how many words she can
write in an hour, whether she believes in
divided skirts. who are her favorite au-
thors, grocers and updertakers, where she
expects to go when she dies, what she
thinks of God, and various other things.
Then the next day all this is presented in
print as if Mrs. Burnett herself had been
dying to tell the world these things, and
as if the reporter had done her the greatest
possible favor in allowing her to do so.
These alleged interviews are usually &C.
companled with one or more photographs
on the nurderous plan already mentioned,
which makes the horror com plete.
So much for the jewel, now a little more
about the setting. The Burnett house
stands on Massachusetts avenue, few
doors from the Chinese legation and the
Blaine mansion. 1t is the home of a Guilt
waited woman who likes to have pretty
things about her. and knows how to ar
range them effectively. The rooms on the
lower floor at the right are three in num-
Der. and open into one another. running
the whole length of the house. The first
TWO are parlors, the third is coy music
room. These rooms are furnis he'd in thor
oughly modern style, with few books and
liberal number of paintings 1t is these
which the casual visitor sees, but what is
DeSt in the house he does not see
at the left in the back is a dinng-room
very large and abundant in treasures of
woodwork aud carving brought from
Venice. Several of the cabinets in this
room would do credit to a museum and in
one OF these are specimens of Venetian
glassware that could not be eXcelled. On
the walls hang two fpil-length portraits of
Mrs. Burneit's sons. Vivian and Lionel,
one OF whom has been taken from her.
Dr. Burnett's offices are on the other
SIDE OF the house at the front.
Passing upstairs through the square hall
with It's fine woodwork one comes to the
Sleeping apartments on the second floor,
and then up another flight to Mrs Bur-
netts den up at the top of the house.
Wherever she is Mrs. Burnett always
where no one can get above her.
This "den" is full of interest. full of
memories. full of triumphs. There is the
table at which many pages of her rather
scraggly handwriting have been turned
out. There are books she has consulted
there the lounge on which she has rested,
there the photographs ana tasteful things
about the walls on which her eyes have
fallen while seeking inspiration, or " lille
trying to caJole 1t into good humOr And
there, never out of her sight, are the pho
tographs of her two boys, wreath OF flow
ers around one.
remember standing in this room one
afternoon and remarking to Mrs. Burnett
that with such a pleasant home and so
many friends, with such success behind
her and promise ahead, she ought 10 be
great optlmist. She thought a moment be-
fore replying, with that way she has of
trying To be fair in everything, and then
said:
Il think l am an optimist about people,
but perhaps so about life. Do you see
what mean? l always see the best side
. hEst OF men and women | meet. | dwell
on their nice points and never notice the
unpleasant things until they are forced
upon me. Only what troubles me, when
take broader view,is thai | cannot see the
motive of it all. this human game. There
is too much suffering in it, too many peo-
pie who are unhappy"
1t was then l suggested that she ought
TO be Buddhist and she made laughing
reply: Perhaps | am without knowing
It, Bpddha may have plagiarized my
thoughts"
1hCiiI WIFI OUe Ol LUOS6 QUICK Trans
formations usual with her. Mrs. Burnett
changed from this gay sally into intense
seriousness ana spoke of death.
L wish could make people know as
DO, Tor L have been near it twice, that death
is Natural and pleasant process, not a
fearful thing, but only the easy opening of
door which leads into another ROOM"
ala not venture TO inquire at The time
what she meant by having been near death
on two occasions. | learned later from an
intimate friend of hers that once was
when she lay unconscious for five days
from conclusion of the brain, the result of
runaway accident In England: the other
time was when she watched for eight
months at the bedside of her dying boy.
When L heard that story | understood the
depth OF her womanly nature. Lionel
oled In Paris about Two years ago, and up
to the very last never knew that be was
seriously I'LL. His mother determined that
he should be spared that knowledge,
and as his whole life had been happy
and bright, so should his death be- His
Illness was long, developing from an at
tack OF grip" Into rapid CONSUMPTION. bur
long as 1t was and irving it was more than
equaleu oy the mothers devotion and
courage. Fox II took courage, rare cour-
age, TO sit beside thap handsome Young fell
low OF 10 and see the warm color OF his
lace fade away, and The hands grow thin
and the body waste day bv day. and yet
smile and be gay through it all and never
let him suspect anything was wrong
mat Is what Mrs Burnett did during