DIVISION TWO — COLONIAL. 1 45 



he, ' didn't I fix it nice for you in there ? Don't those covers keep the sun 

 off of you and make it cool and comfortable ? Wouldn't you like a fan, 

 now, and some ice cream (with sarcasm) ? If you don't see what you 

 want, ask for it. I'm not the man to be backward in the matter of hospi- 

 tality.' And then language failed him and he gave it up. " 



THE PREACHER AND WILSON'S WINE. 



John W. Wilson relates the following "old settler" incident. Some 

 time in the Sixties a clergyman from the Kast was spending a season at L,os 

 Angeles ; and being strongly " American " in his sentiments, he thought it 

 a good idea to introduce East the pure California native American wines for 

 sacmmental purposes, instead of the imported French, Spanish or Italian 

 brands usually obtained for that purpose. Accordingly he hired a horse and 

 buggy and drove out to B. D. Wilson's I^ake Vineyard home-place, which 

 had the only large winery then in this section, to sample the wines, " purely 

 for sacramental purposes." He introduced himself and made known his 

 errand to Mr. Wilson, who invited him to stay for dinner. He took the man 

 into the house to wait, while he himself went to give his workmen some 

 directions. When dinner was ready the stranger was seated at table as a 

 guest of the family ; and Mr. Wilson opening a bottle of wine poured out a 

 glass for the visitor first, which he gulped down at once ; then after it had 

 passed around the table, Wilson set the bottle down near the man. He took 

 it up, filled his own glass again and drank it oflF greedily, smacking his lips, 

 and remarked with an air of self-importance, " I like that, Mr. Wilson ; I 

 like that ! ' ' 



" You do, eh ?" said Wilson, with a twinkle in his eye. 



"Yes, really, I like that! It's a good article, Mr. Wilson! a good 

 article ! " 



" Well, you stay with it, and it'll play hell with yoic before long," came 

 the quick response — Wilson having entirely forgotten that his guest was a 

 preacher. 



STAGE TALENT IN THE COLONY. 



The Daily Star of May 24, 1889, reports a sketch of a little casual 

 gossip between two or three " old settlers " which the reporter heard one day 

 in a private office ; and it contains some historic reminiscences of Pasadena's 

 teething period which are worth preserving : 



"Speaking of social matters," remarked the first gentleman, "I remem- 

 ber how readily we all mixed in those early days ; there were no cliques, 

 but all joined in getting up entertainments and having a good time, and the 

 whole colony went. After the school-house was established on the square 

 — the first school-house, that now does duty as a dwelling on Adella 

 Avenue — we used to meet there for everything, whether it was a minstrel 

 show, a play, a dance, or a church entertainment ; and what jolly times we 

 had ! " 



"Yes," chimed in another old timer, " I remember the first perform- 

 ance of a dramatic kind we had there. ' ' 



"Let's see; I can give you the characters from memory ; there were 

 Miss Ella Gilmore (afterwards Mrs. C. S. Martin), Miss Annie Swan (now 

 Mrs. Wm. Martin), Chas. Bell, Will. Martin, Seymour Locke, Will. Swan, 

 Miss Annie Clapp, Miss Wallace (now Mrs. Croft), and George Clapp. 



10 



