San Francisco is rather proud of being built like Rome, on seven
hills, and it certainly is effective. One street was so steep that a
ladder was built onto the side walk to help one up. The cable cars go
slipping perilously down, or crawling terrifyingly up. But the towns
in this country that I have seen vary little in the way of buildings
and streets. Their atmosphere varies.--San Francisco for instance,
has that foreign cosmopolitan feeling that characterises New York.
But whereas New York gets its atmosphere in ships from Europe, San
Francisco brings it in from the Orient, and with it some of the mystery
which New York has not.
The temptation to me to board a ship and go to China is heart-breaking,
and it seems so easy, so obvious. Only I can’t, because after five
months of wandering the funds are low. I must return to New York, and
work and work through the winter before me, to store up for the next
adventure!