The San Francisco call., 1905-01-01

All n0HSCIy HuAidH Souuy VI CihiA
life; told with simple pathos and with
out affectation. - j.: ).
:: ON HE heavy fog spread wraith-like
-: :J:. about: the. Golden Gate and
-: swept softly by the slopes of the
-: Twin: Peaks. standing guard
:':. !: -. ~. over the old Mission Dolores;
: gently; as with the wand of a magician.
these twin sentirels parted::the heavy
curtain; one. portion folding in over
:. lower San. Francisco, the: e:other spread.
ing. out about the hills and flats. along
the: coast of San Mateo. In the Mis-
:. sion itself the sunlight still fingered;
this favored warm belt. knowing few
of the. diseomforts of less favored
!: nelghborhoods.: &: 4. =:
: The last rays: of the blood:-red sun
struggled bravely. but vainly to- dissi-
pate. the. gathering gloom. =,
Over the. .graying waters of the bay
a. hush seemed stealing; the tiny wave
let's murmured. in .undertones. as the
night fell darkling down: the world
: seemed: blotted out. Here and there,
starlike points sprang up as the lamp
lighters went their rounds. 1t was
!. New Years eve; chiiied. belated. shop
. pers: drew overcoats and furs about
=: numbeds ears and slipped through the
+" ever -thickening. fog like ghosts, or
memories of, New Years long past. The
pavements were damp and sloppy; the
caves: dripped upon the unsuspecting
passers-by, the fog condensed like fine
mist; men. seemed to spring suddenly
from coverts upon each other, avert COL
lisions. with difficulty; humble excuses
or. curses, as. suited their differing per-
sonalities, and drift again into oblivion,
swallowed UP in a chaos OF cloud. ;.
- Women went tripping by with >uplift-
: ed. skirts and umbrellas held closely
:: over lowered heads, constant menace
!. to "a long suffering public. calling forth
arathema from their more irritable fell
low creatures. ;:
q Wagons ratified by, the sound Of their
wheels upon the cobbles '.dulled and
deadened;, the. .horsecars tangled up and
down, missing. the waiting passenger
who. standing beside the track. risked
life and limb in an effort to attract
the conductors attention.
:. DRIVERS Of wagons and cars beat their
hands together, or with; the backs Of
soaked mittens wiped the gathering
moisture from face and beard.
Far out near the Cliff House the rest
less ocean beat, and the spume fled far
up the beach. pursued by each success
sive wave:
The sand dunes spread their SOFT
gray, rounded knobs through the sea
of fog, lonely. .desolate. shifting, chang
ing ever their shape. to suit the humor
of the winds.
AS night drew on; the fog horns, bells
and whistles changed, answered and
changed again. From off the blotted-
out waters Of the bay, huge monsters
with glaring eyes emerged, signaled to
other monsters, bumped against the
rotting piles and with changing of bells
and clanking of chains submitted to be
made captive. and to lie breathing and
putting heavily, while shades fed in
and out unloading and reioading their
freight.
Voices called to other answering
voices. muffied IN the thick gray pail.
Occasionally some jolly, invisible gnome
shouted New Years greeting to a pass
ing friend and laughed with hearty ex-
ultation az the friend took more sub
veriest stranger.
Along the broken, wooden sidewalks
a thinly clad little figure stole, a tiny
violin beneath one arm, each grimy,
cIaw-like hand thrust into the wrist of
The opposite sleeve, seeking warmth.
The purple knees peeped out from holes
in baggy trousers, which had evidently
seen long and good service upon the
neither limbs of some man of Goliah-
like proportions. Turned up in many
folds at the bottom, they tapped about
his feet. His shoes broken and evident
ly rescued originally from some ash
heap, let the water filter through at
every movement; each step fell with a
soaked, squelching sound.
He had quit playing at the street cor
ners some time before; people were too
hurried, too busy making holiday to
listen: the thin sttle tunes had fioated
unheeded on the chill air; the little fig
ure stood unnoticed beside the lamp
post in the raw mist.
He shivered and racking cough tore
at his yitals as he leaned for support
against a wall. BY degrees he made
his weary way. a sad little waif, adrift
on sea, the shores Of which had long
since faded from view.
Amid the slums of Barbary Coast he
halted before dwelling where the un-
curtained windows stared like dull,
bleared, unseeing eyes, and sooty
streaks ran down its front as If these
same eyes had wept' untold grimy tears.
From the sidewalk broken stairway
J led to basement lair. where, in the