The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-12-23
BY Ise;Ie ivian Pierce

Wv christmas spirit for the sake of
others. when so many other San
Franciscans arc cxiles altogether, striv-
ing valorously for acheerful readiust
ment, it Is good and il is fitting to
think again of man who also loved San
Francisco and who spent bitter Christ
mas here with the same splendid cheer
and hopefulness that he spent unlit days
observation-disclosures day, 1879. nearly
thirty years ago
It is good this Christmas OF 1906 to
look down the years to Robert Louis
Stevenson, brave in the face OF starva-
ton, cheerful in friendless foreign land,
leaving drolly ininitable records of those
cloudy days-records that will undoubt-
edly tighten other hearts TO the erdTot.
time
Our acts may be forgiven, was .
favorite watchword of his; but not even
God can forgive the hanger-bdck. And
in the midst of cruel circumstance he
battered himself into a brave cheerful
ness and entered into the spirit of San
Francisco with the abandon OF a true
San Franciscan.
The spirit of San Francisco! AS gay
and brave IN this year of calamity as IN
that wear of plentyi To Stevenson, as
to many Others this city of impershable
gayety is like naive, hoydenish girl
who runs to meet one, laughing, with red
flowers in her hair; and the laughter IS
infectious Perhaps there is something
Calvinistic in your very marrow; she will
not be dourly taken, and you finally love
her, faults and all.
Stevenson lived on Bush street, off
Powell The friends of Stevenson, be
fore April Is. used TO look for Mrs.
Carson's house and debate as to whether
it mightn't have been the Chinese laun-
dry with the orange, black-lettered
prayer strips pasted all over the door
At any rate, it was the spot, and one
turned and walked the same way, up
to Powell and down the hill, with eyes
filing just little; smiles, too, at the
memory of his conceits -
On Christmas eve he wrote~in - a cafe.
waiting for the music. to begin This
is not a gay way to spend Christmas, is
it?" Then follow all the inirnitable ex
travaganza, the respectable ways of Mrs.
Carson, the landlady, getting. rap: But
this is wild work for me, nearly NINE
O'Clock and me not back What will
Mrs. Carson think of me? Quite night
hawk, do declarew
On Christmas day, in one of the brav
est attempts at happy heartedness on
record. he wrote to Colvin as follows:
A Christmas Letter
This is a circular. letter to tell my
estate fully. Any time between eight
and half-past nine IN the morning, a
slender gentleman IN IAN ulster, with a
volume buttoned into, the breast OF it,
and descending Powell with. an active
step. The gentleman is r. L. 81. the
volume relates to Benjamin Franklin, on
whom lie meditates one of his charming
essays He descends Powell, crosses
Market and descends in Sixth on a
branch of the original Pine-street Coffee.
House, no less; j believe he would be
capable of going to the original branch,
itself, if he could only find it. In the
Branch he seats himself at table COW
cred with waxcloth, and pampered
menial of High Dutch extraction, and,
indeed, as yet only partially extracted,
lays before him a cup of coffee, a roll
and pat of butter, all, to quote the
deity, very good. A while ago, and
r. l. S. used to find the supply of butter
insufficient; but he has now learned the
art TO exactitude, and butter and roll
expire at the same moment For this
rejection he pays ten cents, or hvepence
sterling.
serve the same slender gentleman, armed,
like George Washington, with his little
hatchet, splitting kin@ling wood and
breaking coal for his. FIRE. He does this
quasi-publicly upon his window-sill; but
this is not to be attributed to any love
of notoriety, though he is indeed vain Of
his prowess with the Ratchet (Which he
insists on calling an AK, and daily sur
prised at the perpetuation of his fingers
The reason is tllis-that the sill has a
strong supporting beam and that blows
of the same emphasis in other parts of
the room might knock the entire sflanty
10 hell Thenccforth for from three to
four hours he is engaged darlly with an
ink bottle. Yet he is not backing his
boots, for the only pair he possesses are
innocent of luster andswear the natural
hue of the material, turned up with cake
and venerable slush- The youngest child
of the landlady remarks several times
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