Hill is 394 feet high, Clay Street Hill 376 feet, and Russian Hill 360
feet. A San Francisco Sunday is painful to one accustomed to our English
ways; travelling in every form, and buying and selling are very
prevalent. The Y.M.C.A. have a large building there, and get large
meetings. I attended one gathering, which I addressed shortly.

San Francisco is described as having "the mildest and most equable
climate known to any large city in the world." January is the coldest
month, and the mean temperature then is stated to be 50°. September is
the hottest month, and the mean temperature then is stated to be 58°.
Thus only 8° difference between the coldest and warmest months, and the
average for the whole year is 54°.

San Francisco has a population of about 300,000 (including some 40,000
Chinese), is the principal city of the State of California, and the
principal commercial centre on the Pacific coast. I must not, however,
dwell longer on this part of my journey. On Monday, December 8th, I left
San Francisco with one of my clients, Mr. C.H. Huffman, for Merced, by
the 4 p.m train. The sun was shining gloriously, producing a charming
effect upon the placid waters of the Bay and its beautiful surrounding
hills.


SAN FRANCISCO TO NEW ORLEANS.

The train reached Merced at 10.23 on Monday night, December 8th, 1890,
where I was met, and in a spacious family buggy, drawn by a pair of good
horses, I was very soon at the residence of my client, Mr. C.H. Huffman.
The continuous day and night travelling by rail, and the taking of
voluminous notes all along, had caused a constant excitement which told