To California 
piece of pleasure. I do not believe that Adam 
and Eve ever tasted better in their balmiest 
nook. 
The last of the Coast Range foothills were 
in near view all the way to Gilroy. Their union 
with the valley is by curves and slopes of inim- 
itable beauty. They were robed with the green- 
est grass and richest light I ever beheld, and 
were colored and shaded with myriads of flow- 
ers of every hue, chiefly of purple and golden 
yellow. Hundreds of crystal rills joined song 
with the larks, filling all the valley with music 
like a sea, making it Eden from end to end. 
The scenery, too, and all of nature in the 
Pass is fairly enchanting. Strange and beauti- 
ful mountain ferns are there, low in the dark 
cafions and high upon the rocky sunlit peaks; 
banks of blooming shrubs, and sprinklings and 
gatherings of garment flowers, precious and 
pure as ever enjoyed the sweets of a mountain 
home. And oh! what streams are there! beam- 
ing, glancing, each with music of its own, sing- 
ing as they go, in shadow and light, onward 
[ 189 ] 
