The California padres and their missions . near the fountain, watching people come and go. Every car brings somebody, generally tourists, but hereare two nuns getting out to pass into the church to their de-votions. Sometimes the tourists are serious, gentlemanlyand ladylike folk whose red Baedekers show them to be con-scientiously doing California. At times they are under thewing of a resident who sedulously sees that all of interest isnoted — the great trough of solid masonry below the foun-tain, where the Indian women did their laundry work; and,of course, the old fountain itself with its s
The California padres and their missions . near the fountain, watching people come and go. Every car brings somebody, generally tourists, but hereare two nuns getting out to pass into the church to their de-votions. Sometimes the tourists are serious, gentlemanlyand ladylike folk whose red Baedekers show them to be con-scientiously doing California. At times they are under thewing of a resident who sedulously sees that all of interest isnoted — the great trough of solid masonry below the foun-tain, where the Indian women did their laundry work; and,of course, the old fountain itself with its stone standardadorned with delightful scrolls and fiutings and convention-ahzed leaves, arising from an octagonal basin, which wasmuch more beautiful before some latter-day rage for neatnessinspired the application of a sleek plaster of cement to it. Thestately towers, too, are to be admired, and the dignified pil-astered facade upon which the three Christian graces. Faith,Hope, and Charity, perch in effigy. Quite often the visitors 162. <;< P3 « < H < en ZO anb t^txx QUi00ioni( are in a hurry to catch the next car back; and sometimes won-derfully ignorant. Here comes a young lady, for instance, chew-ing gum. I fancy she is on her wedding tour with the strip-Hng who has grabbed her arm and is pushing her up the slope. Gee, aint it an old place! she exclaims in open-eyed sur-prise. Two men, smoking pipes, are the next to pass me, and Icatch the following: — ist Gent.: There aint any of the old Padres alive now, arethere? 2nd Gent.: Lord, no! why, man, if they were, theyd bethree hundred years old. ist Gent.: I mean, any of the last bunch — since the war,you know. The countrys only been civilized since the war,aint it? Full of bushwackers before, was nt it? In the lull between tourists, the sound of childish merri-ment came intermittently, to my surprise, from an open win-dow in the Mission, and curiosity impelled me to transfer myseat to a bench in the corridor
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubj, booksubjectfranciscans
