202 Life in the Open 



feet wide, and sixty feet high, its walls, like those of 

 San Gabriel, being four feet thick. A fine tower graces 

 the south side, and is pierced for eight bells. The cor- 

 ridor has two hundred and fifty-six arches. Its fine 

 dome, its groined arches, the Byzantine pulpit, the long 

 corridors, appeal to the imagination, and make the old 

 Mission one of the really beautiful pictures of Southern 

 California, whether seen against the green slopes of 

 winter or on the barren mesa in summer, when its tints 

 and shades seem to blend with the soil. 



The Mission has been repaired by the Franciscans 

 who now occupy it and tender visitors a courteous re- 

 ception. They relate fascinating stories of the days of 

 Zalvidea, of the Indians saved ; and one is glad that 

 the old Mission is rehabilitated and not allowed to go to 

 decay. 



San Luis Rey is about eighty miles from Los Angeles 

 and four miles to Oceanside, from which the coach turns 

 away to the south along El Camino Real, or as near it 

 as possible ; a trail along which Serra and hundreds of 

 the padres of old and the soldiers of Spain walked. 

 The run to San Diego Mission is about forty-seven 

 miles along-shore, passing towns and hamlets, through 

 great ranches, and over a charming country, in its coat 

 of green. Off to the east are the San Ysidro Mountains 

 and lofty Cuyamacha and Santa Margarita. There are 

 countless little lagunas along-shore, often filled with 

 ducks. The roar of the wings of quail fills the air, and 

 the delights of life in the open are emphasised in the 



