Life in the Open 



artistic skill was shown by the builders. Especially 

 does the stone fountain in front, with its round basin 

 and quaint carvings, attract the eye. Near here was an 

 adobe bath-house, in the fa$ade of which a lion's head 

 was carved, from which once poured the clear water of 

 the Santa Ynez. It is evident that the makers of the 

 Mission were men of deep religious and artistic feeling ; 

 and the old building reflects credit upon their memory. 



But we have tarried too long. A number of dark- 

 eyed penitents are waiting for the Father by the con- 

 fessional, and after handing an ancient nail or spike of 

 the old Mission as a memento to one lady, a photograph 

 of the church and some flowers from the garden to 

 others, the Father disappears to banish the past in the 

 sins of the present generation. 



Santa Barbara reminds one of some of the Mediter- 

 ranean resorts, and has been compared to Nice ; but the 

 comparison is hardly just. The American resort has the 

 advantage in climate, is always delightful, indeed per- 

 fect, winter or summer. Its winter mean is 54.29, that 

 of Nice 47.88; its summer mean 67.71, that of Nice 

 72; its difference between winter and summer 13 to 

 24 of Nice. Again, the Barbarian of the Saints, as the 

 young lady on the box seat calls our host, tells us that 

 the hot, burning winds of Southern Europe are never 

 known here, that this is the only true paradise, the real 

 land of dolce far niente, the home of the gods. 



The quiet old town, with its fine hotels, long asphalt- 

 paved streets, its miles of gardens and splendid drives ; 



