davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

US, however learned and sophisticated
we may pride ourselves on being.
The old Frenchman at Sc is like Dur
er's Head of an Old Man" The same
indomitable look about the eyes, the
same fine wrinkles, the very dignity
of age; and the keen Gallo intelligence.
the French charm and eagerness and
magnetism dominate still. as he talks
Stevenson or politics or French litera-
ture with you.
There is a little old wife, dark,
eager little Mexican face with restless
eyes and eager hands. There is some
thing OF the charming devilment of the
gypsy in her lit face. She acts every
word she says, sometimes springing
from her chair with extravagant ges-
ture to illustrate some whimsical point
with pantomime. She il is who has
made the tamales that until lately the
old man has been able to sell: she 1t
is who has proudly brought to bloom
the little scented wilderness in front
of the house, and she 1t is who has
brought the old man every step of the
long downward slope that these last
months have been, an inflexible spirit.
"Ah. she," says old Jules Simoneau.
"she is the good old woman. But she
work too hard-she work too hard"
And his eyes dim, and he brushes his
hand across them and smiles cheerily.
When 1 think of old Jules Simoneau
bravely creeping down the last incline
into the hopeful shadows, I like to
think of those gallant lines of Steven
sons about dead friend-the verses
they found only after his death. Surely
they fit the case of the old man very
well, and the friend he lost still loves
him and Is waiting just ahead:
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

urhes that he knows by heart, and
read the tender, playful little inscrip-
tions that zigzag childishly across the
front leaves. To US who never saw
hina-"Louis''-yet know and love
him SO well, there is always in that
little crooked irresponsible-lookin g
hand something of the lovable child
that Louis was to the last.
In one volume, "The Strange Case of
DR.. Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde we read:
But the case of Robert Louis Steven
son and Jules Simoneau. If the one for
got the other, would be stranger STILL
and the old mans eyes shine again
with pride and pleasure as we read it.
And again in "underwoods": 'If
there ever was a man who was a good
man to me, it was, Jules Simoneau.''
The old man said quantity, as we
looked at him and envied him and
loved him for his naive pride: II am
proud of that word. And 1 try still to
be that man."
And he is still is that man-though
Louis has stopped writing these four
teen years, and misfortune and poverty
and old age have been dogging this
brave hearted friend for many year
now. The whimsical courage of that
gay-hearted adventurer who briefly
crossed his path so long since seems
more and more to have become part
OF the old Frenchman who loves and
remembers. Perhaps he has thumbed
the red books so thoroughly and lived
so much in that past autumn when he
Jules Simoneau, was the prosperous
one, kind to the lonely stranger at his
full board, that he is, actually, little
nearer to Stevenson than the rest Of
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

Market streets The Mission still re-
NAMED inaccessible by any other means
than walking or riding.
When Abner Phelps died In 1873 the
gay old days OF festivity lapssd into
the quieter life OF his widow and chill
dren. Still they kept up the old house
Sometimes the children thought OK.
moving II, but IN deferencs to their
mothers wishes they allowed IL to re-
main where It was. After her death
which happened In 1893. they lifted
the old house from it's foundation and
pegged IL down securely In the back
Of the lot Then the store was buf1tl
in front, where IL now stands Thel
house which was built in louisiana
and came around the Horn, w4thstood
the earthquake. suffering no injury.
and the sisters and brothers who 1--we
in il value their old home even more
than before, as we value that which Wsi
thought to lose. realizing from thsl
sharpness OF the panS how dear Il II
earthquake could not wrench It from
its foundations. but when the fire came
near they packed up a few OK their be-
longings and prepared to share the LOT
OF vast number OF their homeless eAl-l
low citizens. They were destined 70 Be
among those who were spared this sus-
fering. and so the old house stands
yet, relic OF a time that has fsWI
mementos in San Francisco now.
The people who would take 50 much
trouble to preserve their old homAl
would naturally treasure all the fam!
lily relics, that carry with them asso-
Citations of interest. Among their most
cherished possessions are the picture oe
their father painted in his New Hamp-
shire home when he was 21 years old.
and a flag riddled with bullets, q txo-
ply brought from the Mexican war, IN
which he served as colonel. Another
valued heirloom is a silver cup OF old
fashioned workmanship. 1t was given
Abner Phelps by the jefferson Lodge In
Lafayette. where he was Mayor, In
memory OF an act OF heroic tsnselash-
ness. A member OF the lodge was taken
I'll with smallpox. which IN the early
forties was a much more terrible disease
than now. and Phelps nursed him. Just
because there was no one else TO do IT.
No wonder his daughters voice rings
with pride when she speaks Of It.
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

where tae haberdasAery now stands,
Many years later it was moved back on
the-lot
In 1852 1t was bought by Abner
Phelps, a well-known attorney. 1t was
his home until his death. and all his
children were born there -Four Of
them, two sisters and two brothers,
still live there, keeping the family
home intact.
tAhas cost us more than building
new house, said waiter Phelps, in
telling about his home. but we like to
keep the old place.
The old gray house was called tho
mansion, in the days of it's prime. for
it was quite the most magnificent abode
for miles around Even pow its wide,
low rooms suggest comfort not found
in flats. Gradually the old furniture
has gone the way of all flesh, but
something OF the old-time atmosphere
still. chngs to the place, especially in
the quaint rooms full OF hooks aAd
corners Where business blocks now
stand arrayed around the Phelps home
shutting it out from the view of the
street-there was once a flower garden
three acres in extent and hardly
equaled in San Francisco at the time.
There were walks laid out after the
fashion of the times, hedges and bow
crs, and even croquet grounds in the
days after that game came in. The
wide, long yerandas invited the weary
traveller. to rest. There were horses
coming and going with the gay throng
of guests. for the house was of the
true California type of hospitality.
Every Sunday there were long tables
spread for a host, of guests and there
were few of the prominent people of
the time who were not at one time or
another under the roof of Abner
Phelps.
The house stood in the middle of a
ranch that took in what is now a
dozen blocks in the heart of the bust
ness district Two water color views
of it painted in 1870 by Rogers, the
scenic painter of the old California
Theater, and hung in places of honor
in the Phelps home, show rustic
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17
TIE philips HOG3E A9LT -5Z4ND5 ZO-D4lr CR0WDED
OUTOF SZ04Z ar THE AACK OFZHE Lot

large at the top and small at the bot
tom. Just why the thing that is beau
tiful one year is absolutely ugly the
next, and why a number of seemingly
intelligent people follow the dictates
of fashion" to quote the fashion page,
not with slavish obedience, but with
absolute enthusiasm, is a question that
has never engaged the attention of
psychologists as much as it deserves.
I confess to wondering about it in an
aimless sort of way as far back as
can remember, but no solution seemed
to offer itself in return for such de-
sultory speculation. Worse than that,
I have rebelled against it, not once,
but = thousand times, only to be
.scourged back to the path of conven-
tionality in a more or less chastened
condition by the dread OF being ridicu-
lous.
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17
By Hanna ASrup Larsen

- HIS is an age OF brand d-newness.
In clothes or literature ii must
be the latest thing out, and new
er mind the rest. Most OF US are
hsIf-sshamed Of our lingering fondness
for Dickens and Jane Austen, and we
feel it q little banal that we still would
rather see the Tower OF London and
Westminster Abbey than any newer
sights. It seems not original to enjoy
what everybody else has enjoyed be-
fore US. in clothes, of course, those
OF US who are not blessed with unlim-
sted money or credit turn our sleeves
upside down at stated intervals in ODE
dience to the mode which DEGREES that
they shall be small at the top and bag
at the bottom, and then turns right
around and says that they must be
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

bon was one OF those rare ones who
never forget kindness.
So 7, too, climbed the road UP to
the little cottage below the pines fhe
bowery little garden so overbalances
1t that at first it almost escapes you
All the year through 1t is RIOT OF
bloom; the keen sea airs OF the little
town are kind to the little gardens;
and here all the year through ploom
the fuchsias, globes of pink, crimson
flush and purple, and a riot or roses
and the graveled path is f1anked py
carpet of violets, sentineled in the IN
terstices with tall spikes of poignant
narcissus.
And then one came out of the trance
that rush of sweet odors nings one
into, and raped on the little door.
Simoneau let's one in and makes one
welcome in quantity polite Frencn-
English; and for the moment recedes
into the background. He knows that
Stevenson dominates. that little living
room. as he has dominated the whole
life of the kind old Frenchnian. There
is large portrait facing you-that
familiar, thin, individual face, with
the brilliant far-apart eyes-with un-
derneath an inscription in the nerv-
Gus, familiar hand; and on the otner
side of the room another photograph
familiar through reproductions; and
the old man says: There is Louis;
the look is in the eye; he look to me
like that
The little bookcase in the corner IL
hlled with the rcd-covered array OF IA
miliar tales and essays, letters and
travels; and he lets you take them
out, those dingy weil-thumbed vol
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

Houses and furniture bear the I'M
print OF the year in which they were
first launched upon this world in every
line of their makeup. They do not go
out of fashion so rapidly as do clothes,
and the demand for newness is not
quite so imperative, but they do be-
come old-fashioned before very long.
And then, If we can afford it, we throw
out the "old sticks" and have the house
furnished in the latest style. or we
tear it down and buildisomething more
up-to- date, or we move away from the
quiet street altogether and push our
selves into some swell neighboriood.
And we wonder why the pulling up OF
the old tent poles seems somehow to
pull at our heart strings. and why the
new things never have the same
honey feeling as the old. Europeans
know the charm of things that have a
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17
IMk|ONE1AU, \
dStevensorls
friend

his little world. He kept a restaurant
in the old French Hotel off the plaza,
where delectable French and Mexican
concoctions were served and there was
a white cloth and red wine on every
table
Outside the windows one looked on
the plaza, a deserted relic of bull-and
bear batting days when the Spanish
beauty and gallantry of the capital OF
the early forties looked on and Cali
fornia spoke foreign tongue.
Stevenson often must have recalled It
ell as he drank his wine or chaffed with
Simoneau in French or tried Italian
phrases with the fishermen who used
20 frequent the place, brave in a blue
Jersey and scarlet sash. The little COS
mopolitan crowds grew to like the lean,
brown foreigner, with his feverishly
happy spirits and merriment, his evil
dent illness that he made a whim OF.
But there was day when he did
ceme- The gay crowd talked on, hardly
knowing what they missed-aH but
6inoneau- Simoneau's feeling for the
stranger had gone deeper. He had
guessed his bitter. proud, little secrets,
and there was a bitter fear in his heart
when he went TO hunt up his belated
guest He found him in that damp
little back room in the old hotel, rack
ingly weak and III, breakfastless,
dinnerless, paper spread before him
the audacious bravery of the man we
know now, the man who joked with
death and defeat to the very last, as he
joked with Simoneau that day as he
lay there in pain.
Simoneau has never forgotten that
day. Stevenson never forgot 1t as long
as he lived-the quick tenderness Of
this man who spoke foreign tongue.
who brought him coffee and rolls. meat
and wine. on those bittermost days when
he could not get to the little crowd in
the plaza restaurant, and who did not
reckon UP the account because this
poor stranger, who spoke his tongue
with such lovable, brilliant eccentrici-
ties, had become his friend, and friends
do not keep accounts and reckon pence.
Stevenson never forgot this friend
OF those dark days. Every book he
published afterward, from France or
Switzerland or Scotland, or from
those bright lonely islands of the last
days, crossed the oceans back to Mon
terey and Simoneau, with whimsical.
tender messages Of gratitude. Steven
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

of Stevenson had trudgsd up TO his Lit
tie cottage below the pines, as to q
shrine. for nearly fifteen years, ever
since Louis" as the old man calls him,
died and left him also, the old friend.
little refracted aureole of fame
Because 1t is the last chapter 1t Is nt-
ting to revert again to those earliest
pages when it was Jules Simoneau UP
and the benefactor and Louis Steven
son i'll and weary and unrecognized-
a stranger in strange country, and
very far down, indeed.
There is a great. damp. picturesQ
adobe building in Monterey that has
fallen upon evil days. IT is the haunt
OF tawdry people and outcasts gener-
ally; but there is sign above the door
which reads R- Stevenson House." and
this is to tell the Stevenson lovers
who come to sad, beautiful little Mon
terey that here, near thirty years ago.
that vivid, careless, brave, brilliant
man who belongs to everybody now
lived and suffered for a few months
and wrote some of his most charming
papers and dreamed dreams we can
only imagine and never know, and suf-
fered a loneliness that was strange and
new.
Until he found Jules Simoneau, Jules
Simoneau, as have said, was up In
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

Kept stoutiy step by step with you.
Your whole long quiet lifetime through.
Though he that ever kind and true
Be gone awhile before.
Be now a moment gone before.
Yet doubt not that the ages will re-
Your friend to you.
He has but turned corner-stil
He pushes on with right good will.
Through mire and marsh, by heuxh
and hill.
That selfsame arduous way,
That selfsame upland hopeful way,
That you and he through many n
doubtful day
Attempted still
He is not dead. this friend-not dead
But In the steps we morta1s tread
Got some few trihing steps ahead.
And nearer to the end:
so that you, too, once past the bend
Shall meet again as face to face this
friend
You fancy dead
Push gayly on. strong heart, the whtlo
You travel forward mile by mile,
he loiters with a backward smile
TIL you can overtake,
And strains his eyes to search hia
wake,
Or, whistling as he sees you through
the brake,
Waits on a stile
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

scene with steep h.lls and clusters OF
trees. Not another house In sight. In
front OF the house was lake. which
however does not appear in either OF
the pictures. 1t was hundred feet
deep and afforded splendid opportuni-
ties for boys who were devoted 10
swimming and shooting. as the
proprietor of the haberdashery will
testify with a reminiscent look. This
lake was filled from other lakes higher
up. and in times of great rainfall 1t
sometimes happened that the sources
overfewed. with the result that the
lake on what is now Devisadero street
broke its bounds. 1t did not injure the
Phelps home, which was placed In an
elevated position, but others were less
fortunate man, by name Pioche,
had his house washed away, and 1t Is
a matter of history that his piano and
a barrel of whisky belonging to him
were found out in the Mission.
Ousting the Squatters
sauatters were the terror OF the old
settlers at IndI Time IL Noo AS70
trouble and cheaper TO keep watch and
prevent them from erecting their
houses than to dislodge them when
once they had built the shacks, which
were the work of a single night The
elder Phelps took the usual measures
to protect his very desirable property
and hired desperate named French to
do the work 1t was the mingled de-
light and horror of the children when
morning broke and discovered the un-
welcome squatters lodged outside OF
their windows. Then ensued an excit-
ing scene in which the smashing OF
houses and some rather harmless gun
play figured prominently
There were no United Railroads in
those halcyon days, and the only way
of getting about was on horseback.
Just imagine how different the world
must have looked to the cavalier gal
looping across the sand hills on his
fiery steedH from the aspect which II
presents to the weary strap-hanger Of
today, The first mechanical mode of
locomotion was the steam car from the
old Hayes pavilion down at Hayes and
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17
The Old Amid the New

1t is refreshing in the midst OF this
atmosphere of new paint, fairly reck-
ing with the odor of turpentine, TO
come suddenly into place that is mel
lowed by the hand of time and kept by.
loving hands as a shrine for precious
memories. It is most of all refres hing
to meet people who have the courage to
cling to the traditions Of their house
and who prefer the sentiments that
cluster around the old place to any
spick and span newness the world has
to offer.
Standing we'll back from Deyisadero
street, not far from Oak. there Is such
place which is the shrine of q fine
and high family tradition. YOU may
have passed it thousand times and
never seen it, or il YOU have seen it,
it has been TO YOU only a plain old.
gray house with nothing remarkable
about it. Fronting Devisadero street
is a new building bearing the prosa:t.
inscription "Haberdashery. II yot:
are privileged to pass through it to
the owners home in the back of the
lot you will come upon one of the old
est houses in San Francisco. 1t was
built by John Middleton in the year OF
our Lord 1850, which might not be an
cient history in the Old World, but
which means long span of time in
this Western world where things hap
pen quickly. After the destruction by
/, the fire of the old houses on Rincon
Hill and the gradual destruction Of the
old adobe buildings around the Mission
, Dolores to make room for more modern
, structures, there are not now many
houses in San Francisco boasting more
years. 1t was built in Louisiana and
came around the Horn all ready to be
put up, and was pegged into the ground
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17
By Lucille Vivian Pierce

DIV AuClllS lNldil iClOC
Ii the lovers of Stevenson in
this country-snd ne man in any
"A country. It is probable, ever had
so increasing an army Of lovers
have a chance this year of bringing
little Joy and surety to that old man
who, nearly thirty years ago, brought
SOY end surety to Robert Louis Steven
son himself.
An attempt is now being made to
collect a fund for old Jules Simoneau OF
Monterey. with the members OF Steven
sons own family at the head; fund
that il is hoped. viii give that kind,
generous old man a competency so long
As he lives and preclude forever the
sharp little struggle that he has
silently and proudly kept UP for so
many years The Stevenson Society is
interested in the movement and the
fund is IN charge of Professor Henry
Morse Stephens OF the University OF
California
II Is Jules Simoneaus last chapter
He is a very old man now and his story
has been told very often, and lovers
The San Francisco call., 1907-02-17

used look; they know how to preserve
the atmosphere which comes only from
a faithful guarding of the old things
Tary few Americans. except in certain
communities which we are pleased to
imagine have gone to seed in the midst
OF general progress, are in the secret.
The craze for antiques is but another
phase of the same craving for newness.
The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-12-17
MISSED HIS VOCATION.

Reginald De Koven. the composer,
tells of a grocer and a druggist who
attended a Wagner concert. AS the
program did not please them they
began talking of music in general and
on Wagner in particular.
Another example of the fact that
every man wants to do something out
OF his line" said the druggist.
That's all right" assented the
grocer, Now, I'm a grocer; but I've
always wanted to be a banker"
You'd probably fail" added the
druggist. Look at me. I'm a success
as druggist, yet I've always wanted
to write a book. This man Wagner
tries his hand at music. Just listen to
it. And we all know he builds good
parlor cars"
The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-12-17
JUDGE HAD A VISION.

The routine OF the Criminal court
proceedings had been marked by only
one unusual incident, and that was the
alacrity with which certain hard
character was sentenced for 60 DAYS to
the workhOuse.
Judge observed the District At
torney at the close OF the dreary ses-
sion, you seemed to relish the pri-
vilige Of sending that man to the work.
house. Did mis- case impress your"
Now look here" WHISPERED the
Judge as he beckoned the attorney
aside, that man is worthless fellow.
Always drunk and never contributes n
cent to the support of his wife, who
is a most deserving woman / feel sor-
ry for her, and whenever he IS in
prison she comes to our home and as
sists my wife in the kitchen"
And" chuckled the Judge, as he
tapped the attorneys shoulder cheer
fully, she does know how to bake
apple pie"
The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-12-17
FELT AT HOME.

The former sexton had been arrogant
boisterous and irreverent. To do the
wrong thing at the wrong moment was
his specially He retired at the end
of the year by request of the trustees.
The new sexton was a negro gentle
man, and from the very first gave in
tense satisfaction. His movements were
as soft as cats; doors were never
slammed, nor did he open windows
with q bang.
Where did that man receive his
training asked the elated pastor one
evening while attending a meeting OF
the trestees.
In the Pullman service" grunted
a member who was battling the hay
fever, where he was taught to have a
regard for the comfort of the sleepers. 81
The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-12-17

ministration currency measure con-
sidered by Congress. Outside of his
recommendations for postal saving
banks, which he warmly favors, it is
not thought that he is committed to
any particular project
The leaders of the Senate and House
are DESTROYS Of avoiding what looks
like administration pressure for this
or that proposition, and they have so
far kept away from conferences with
the President and Mr.. Cortelyou. In
the Senate Mr., Aldrich prefers to be
unfettred, and in the House Speaker;
Cannon will use his influence for the
enactment of certain views he enter
tains. White House and Treasury OPT
mons will be accepted as parts of the
contributions to an important subject,
but there is a distinct undertow for a
bill that represents the thoughts OF
Congress and of Congress only.