THE RUINS 



San Fernando Mission, California 

 By T. SHELLEY SUTTON 



Relic of days departed, wreck of a perished time, 

 Over whose wasted grandeur lingers a charm sublime ; 

 Shadow and sunbeam mingle, splendor and darkness blend 

 Over the padre's palace — Ah, 'tis a sombre end! 



Still there is pride and beauty e'en in that crumbled waste, 

 Time has bestowed a grandeur greater than it effaced ; 

 Age is not always cruel — youth is not always kind ; 

 life has a hidden beauty only the old can find. 



209 



