The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-02-16

money in its adornment. He built large |
brick house of the Southern type, with |
wide verandas encircling each story. A |
highway ran through his grounds and the
smaller portion across from his house he |
made garden of wonderful beauty, with |
flowers, shrubs and trees arranged with
much taste for landscape effects, but never
trimmed, for he believed that tree was
most beautiful when it grew as God made
1T grow, In these ornamental grounds he
placed large pond, which was stocked
with goldfish and water-lilies, and under
| the roadway he built an expensive tunnel
| for private passageway.
| About his house were many flowers and
| ornamental trees, and up the hill to the
rear his grounds became vineyards. and
orchards, full of variety, in which he took
much pride. Though his life had been
largely passed on salt water, he had in his
quarters on board many ship acquired
wisdom about chickens, fruit trees, the
most scientific ways of draining wet land,
etc. Perhaps he was born for a pastoral
| life, and that streak in his nature asserted
itself when he INDUCED in faneies; but at
any rate the man whose active lie had
been devoted to doctoring marines and
|
Obispo farmers when he went to Paso
Robles. So it was an expert that superin-
tended the fifteen acres of flowers and
| fruits.
His residence he furnished with simple
| elegance, but he made it, too, his own ideal
of comfort His library was large, and in
his grounds were all sorts of summer
houses fashioned to filter every harshness
/ f,oY +l,o-
means of extracting enjoyment that the
hours could bring there. Few people
| would build summer house up in big
| live oak tree, but that was what DR.. Rob
inson did, and he didn't care whether any
body laughed at it or not.
| By day the Robinson place was always
gem of striking beauty seen from the town
below, but at night it was still more no
| ticeable The big house was filled with in
candescent lights, while outside and on a
tower rising above the roof arc lights with
colored globes were placed. These always
burned brilliantly far into the night, and
one of the doctors peculiarities was to
| always leave his doors wide open at night
| through some strange notion that was
nobody's business; the house always sug-
gested to stranger at midnight that some
great social event must be going on up
there. Many a patient, sleepless in the
small hours in the hotel below, has watched
the weird radiance up on the hill and gone
to sleep to let strange nightmares come.
In that place of beauty DR.. Robinson has
lived the life of his choosing for eight
years. and there he has INDUCED every
wish that could be indulged up to his re-
cent wish to leave it all to go to his nearer
friends. His life has been bachelor one
to the utmost possibilities of such an
existence. His housework and his assist
ance and service about his home and place
have been furnished. by two elderly men.
No woman has ever set foot on his property
if he could help it. He has for many years
showed an intense dislike for the society of
females, and would always avoid meeting
ladies that he we'll knew if he could do so.
The reasons of his being a woman-hater
are not generally known, and that has
generally been accounted merely one of
his peculiarities.
But though no ties of friends ever rooted
him to his hearth, and though woman's
presence was unwelcome, Robinson was no
recluse. He has gone to the postoffice
downtown daily, and generally welcomed
strangers with warm hospitality. When
his naval or other friends have come to see
him his hospitality has been princely, and
his checkbook was always at their dis
posal. He liked to go to Mare Island
frequently, and when there would visit a
friend who is butcher and with whom
he liked to discuss the best and most
scientific ways of killing cattle, and such
practical questions.
Not less noticeable than his peculiarities
of manner and living is his appearance.
His face much resembles that of Edwin
Booth, fact of which he has long been
proud. 1t is strong, expressive and intel
, lectual. His hair has always been worn
long and he never touched it with brush
or comb. He always dressed his long
dark locks by running his fingers through
them from his forehead backward. His
physique is striking and his manner some
what tragic. His hat is invariably a stove
pipe, generally tilted back. When in the
service he had great aversion to uniforms
and he suffered much discomfort when
compelled by naval regulations to attend
some function that required full-dress uni
form, with its brass buttons and gold braid.
He liked civilians attire and never cared
whether the cut was fashionable or not.
When he was in charge of the naval
hospital at Mare Island this cultured man
and tireless student liked the society of an
) old stableman named Barney" better
! than that of most anybody else. He and
Barney would pace the stable-yard for
hours discussing the raising of chickens
and turkeys and such things as Barney
/ experience and the doctors reading had
given them a common interest in. Hewas
always loved by his interiors in the service,
e and, while he was recognized as a man OF
l great executive ability, it is said that he
g was never known to speak harshly to
e any one.
/ The doctors aversion to cats has been
: even stronger than his aversion to women.
: In case of cats he would kill one when
} ever he could, and he generally used a
: small rifle with which he was expert.
< The peculiarities most talked about
among those who know him have, perhaps
/ been his gastronomic tastes. He was al.
: ways making strange experiments in the