24 



your day and generation ! But the tears in our eyes 

 spoke louder than the noble trees, and so we passed on. 



In the morning, after breakfast, we started on our 

 journey through the grove which is in close proximity, 

 indeed, surrounding our hotel. The grove is said to ex- 

 tend over fifty acres, but the largest specimens are grouped 

 in a comparatively small space. We have alluded to the 

 "Sentinels," which form a gateway, as it were, to the 

 a'rove. The laro-est of these is 315 feet in heiofht, the 

 others over 300 feet, and, twenty-three feet in diameter. 

 There are ten trees in the o-rove thirtv feet, or over, in 

 diameter, and upwards of 300 feet in height. Most of 

 these trees have been named, and the names are inscribed 

 on tablets, which are. nailed to the trees in a conspicuous 

 place. Some of the names, as, for instance, those of a 

 State or cit}', are ap})r()priate ; but some of them are scarce- 

 ly short of desecration, according to our view of such mat- 

 ters : Old Bachelor, Old Maid, Siamese Twins, Salem 

 Witch, &c., &c. As these trees have all been described 

 so often by travellers, it would be superfluous for us and 

 foreio'n to our purpose to give a detailed account of them ; 

 but I will name a few of the largest. In 1853, oiie of the 

 largest trees, ninety-two feet in circumference and over 

 300 feet high, was cut down. Five men worked twenty- 

 flve days in felling it, using large augers. The stump ot 

 this tree has been smoothed, and a house built on it which 

 easily accommodates thirty-two dancers, and theatrical 

 performances have been held upon it. Our party of six- 

 teen persons assembled in a circle on its trunk, and there, 

 in commemoration of our visit, we partook of the true 

 California juice, and with united congratulations and' bene- 

 dictions on this relic of former ages, we poured a libation 

 from our glasses on its hoary head. One of these, the 

 '■ Father of the Forest," long since l)owed his head in the 

 dust, and yet how stupendous even in his ruin ! He 

 measures 112 feet in circumference at the base, and can 

 be traced 300 feet, where the trunk was broken by foiling 

 against another tree ; it here measures sixteen feet in 



