rable land not
reduced. Marvellous as the boom was, I think the present recuperation is
still more wonderful. In 1890, to be sure, I miss the bustle of the
cities, and the creation of towns in a week under the hammer of the
auctioneer. But in all the cities, and most of the villages, there has
been growth in substantial buildings, and in the necessities of civic
life--good sewerage, water supply, and general organization; while the
country, as the acreage of vines and oranges, wheat and barley, grain
and corn, and the shipments by rail testify, has improved more than at
any other period, and commerce is beginning to feel the impulse of a
genuine prosperity, based upon the intelligent cultivation of the
ground. School-houses have multiplied; libraries have been founded; many
"boom" hotels, built in order to sell city lots in the sage-brush, have
been turned into schools and colleges.

There is immense rivalry between different sections. Every Californian
thinks that the spot where his house stands enjoys the best climate and
is the most fertile in the world; and while you are with him you think
he is justified in his opinion; for this rivalry is generally a
wholesome one, backed by industry. I do not mean to say that the habit
of tall talk is altogether lost. Whatever one sees he is asked to
believe is the largest and best in the world. The gentleman of the whip
who showed us some of the finest places in Los Angeles--places that in
their wealth of flowers and semi-tropical gardens would rouse the
enthusiasm of the most jaded traveller--was asked whether there were any
finer in the city. "Finer? Hundreds of them;" and then, meditatively and
regretfully, "I should not dare to show you the best." The
semi-ecclesiastical custodian of the old adobe mission of San Gabriel
explained to us the twenty portraits of apostles on the walls, all done
by Murillo. As they had got out of repair, he had them all repainted by
the best artist. "That one," he said, simply, "cost ten dollars. It
often costs more to repaint a picture than to buy an original."

The temporary evils in the train of the "boom" are fast disappearing. I
was told that I should find the country stagnant. Trade, it is true, is
only slowly coming in, real-estate deals are sleeping, but in all
avenues of solid prosperity and productiveness the country is the
reverse of stagnant. Another misapprehension this visit is correcting. I
was told not to visit Southern Californi