of buildings, from the midst of which rose the white
two-towered Moorish church. Back of all was the long range of mountains,
stretching off far into the north, in color a wonderful changing golden
pink, streaked with palest blue-grey in the shadows. It was a perfect
picture of peace, the sole hostile point in the whole being the
presidio, which served but to accentuate the quiet beauty of the rest.

Even when the passengers were landed from the ship, the quiet of the
town was not disturbed in any great degree. It was only when a vessel
from Mexico, arrived, when the Governor of the province visited them,
or when news of an Indian uprising was brought, that the town awoke from
its almost lethargic calm. All this Apolinaria found out later. Today,
however, the undisturbed quiet of the place suited her best, and she
would not have had it otherwise, surprised as she was at first to find
it thus, so different from the bustle attending any event, even the
slightest, occurring at Monterey. Don Raimundo and his family were
domiciled in the home of Captain Jose de la Guerra, a friend of his,
who met him at the landing to render all the assistance in his power.
The captain's house was a large one, and Don Raimundo was led to this
plan on account of the growing infirmity of his wife.

It did not require a long while for a quiet soul like Apolinaria to take
up once more in the new home the broken threads of her life; and before
she had been there many days, she had found more than enough to employ
all her time. At Monterey Apolinaria had been in part servant, in
part mistress of the household, discharging the duties of her somewhat
anomalous position. In Santa Barbara, on the contrary, her services as
domestic and housekeeper were dispensed with, and she was at liberty to
give her whole time and attention to the occupation which she had
but just begun to pursue at Monterey. She offered her services to
the priests at the mission as a nurse for the sick neophytes in the
hospital. The winter before had been a severe one for the health of
the Indian community, and there had been an unusual number of cases
of smallpox--the most common disease with which they were afflicted.
Capable nurses were hard to find, and the fathers gladly accepted
Apolinaria's offer. Once her qualities becoming known and appreciated,
she was in almost constant demand from one end of the town to the other,
for she displayed a skill in the care of the sick that c