a large niche which was
used for the confessional. Above the altar is painted the "All-Seeing
Eye." The heavy rafters of the roof extend through the walls and long
wooden pins are fitted through the ends to bind the walls together. Not
a nail was used in the entire structure.
We take luncheon at Paso Robles (Pass of the Oaks), famed for its
healing waters. The hotel is pleasant and the new bath house with its
handsome marble and tiling is very fine. Many sojourn here for the
medicinal uses of the waters. Between Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo we
come through a stretch of very beautiful country, part open forest land,
part richly pastoral, the property of the Atascadero Company. The
Atascadero settlement is one of those Utopian plans for happiness and
prosperity which bids fair to be realized. The climate is almost ideal,
the scenery is charming, the country is richly fertile. They tell us
that people are pouring in from the East and that the colony is growing
constantly. At the north end of the Atascadero territory we pass a
handsome sign swinging over the road, which reads: "Atascadero Colony.
North End. Ten Miles Long and Seven Miles wide. Welcome." As we approach
the south end of the ten mile stretch we come upon another sign whose
legend is: "Come again." Turning back as we pass under the sign we see
that its reverse legend is the same as that of the north end sign, save
that it is for the south end. So whoever passes along the main road
through Atascadero property is bound to have the uplifting welcome and
to receive, as he passes on, the kindly farewell. We congratulate the
Atascadero colonists on the lovely rolling country in whose midst they
are to dwell and on the magnificent live oaks that dot their park-like
fields. San Luis Obispo is quite a large town, but the Mission of San
Luis Obispo has been spoiled by being incorporated into the new church
and school plant. One catches only a glimpse of broken cloisters within
the school enclosure. I stepped into the church as we drove by in the
late afternoon, and saw the children coming in for prayer and for
confession. Little stubby-toed boys tip-toed in, kneeling awkwardly but
reverently, and crossing themselves with holy water; while from the
confessional came the low murmur of some urchin making his confession.
Not long after leaving San Luis Obispo, near Nipomo-by-the-Sea, I had
the misfortune to lose my leather letter case. We were horror struck
when we fo
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