In the Santa Clara. 269 



as a piece of fun at the expense of the southern city. I hear that a year ago 

 Los Angeles began this business by the construction of a painting of the 

 satirical order, the motif oi which was a sarcasm on the resources and civiliza- 

 tion of the Santa Clara valley. It must be confessed that the San Joseans 

 have got even with the Queen of the Angels. This alleged painting is 

 highly entertaining. It has mountains in the background, sharp and peaked, 

 and covered with snow. They are marked on the summits, "Summer re- 

 sorts of Los Angeles." Up there in the inaccessible glaciers are laid out lots — 

 " For sale— a thousand dollars per front foot." Down here in the valley are 

 some of the products of Los Angeles— a tarantula, a horned toad, two or three 

 little blasted oranges, some pieces of prickly-pear and bits of broken stone. 

 The artist has had his revenge on the people of the south, sure enough; but 

 I trust he had no malice. Malice is the meanest reptile in the world. It has 

 a head on each end, bites without provocation, eats its own offspring, and 

 hates the daylight. 



There are many things about the city of San Jose to hold the delighted 

 attention of the visitor. It is a beautiful place, and a beautiful country. In 

 ancient days there was an old Spanish mission here, but that has been swept 

 away by the incoming tides of civilization. Progress, refinement, enterprise, 

 wealth, all the benefits born of industry, and all the virtues born of intelli- 

 gence, have taken the place of ancient immobility and superstition. San 

 Jose is well and substantially built. The streets are wide and straight. Her 

 public structures are highly creditable. Her people are keenly awake to the 

 benefits of their situation, and are reaping a golden harvest by the develop- 

 ment of the limitless resources which nature has put at their disposal. The 

 people of the country round about are adding orchard on orchard for miles 

 away, to the foot-hills of the mountain ranges. In these orchards are planted 

 such a variety of fruits as it would indeed be difficult to parallel in any other 

 region ; and the annual yield from these beautiful, bright trees is so great as 

 to be incredible. 



Besides the sessions of the Society, besides the valuable addresses which 

 were delivered, besides the rich and variable display of fruits and flowers in 

 the hall of the citrus fair, besides the beautiful city herself, with her endless 

 hedges of square-trimmed cypress, her lines of eucalyptus and her nodding 

 palms, besides our formal reception on the night of our first day, with the 

 music, and speeches, and promenade — besides all this, two or three matters 

 of the first interest remain to be mentioned in connection with our sojourn 

 in San Jose. First of these was the banquet. On the last evening of the 

 sessions of the Society, in the fine Turnverein Hall of the city, a feast had 

 been prepared for us, and to this, in due time, we were conducted. Many 

 invited guests besides ourselves thronged to the hall. Rarely has such good 

 management been seen, as it respects a great crowd at a banquet. Fully five 

 hundred guests were present. On entering the vestibule, ladies to the right, 

 gentlemen to the left ; well ordered cloak-rooms; everything conducted by the 

 compass and square. It was most admirable in the beginning, and the rest. 



