by man's
handiwork.

Was there ever such an emerald green as adorned those hills which sloped
down to the bay? Could anything equal the fields of golden escholzchia
which lay there in the sunshine? Or the blue masses of "baby-eye," which
opened in the mornings and held up their pretty cups to catch the dew?

Was this a real Paradise?

It surely seemed so to us; and, as if Nature had not done enough,
the Fates stepped in and sent all the agreeable young officers of the
regiment there, to help us enjoy the heavenly spot.

There was Terrett, the handsome and aristocratic young Baltimorean, one
of the finest men I ever saw in uniform; and Richardson, the stalwart
Texan, and many others, with whom we danced and played tennis, and
altogether there was so much to do and to enjoy that Time rushed by and
we knew only that we were happy, and enchanted with Life.

Did any uniform ever equal that of the infantry in those days? The
dark blue, heavily braided "blouse," the white stripe on the light blue
trousers, the jaunty cap? And then, the straight backs and the slim
lines of those youthful figures! It seems to me any woman who was not an
Egyptian mummy would feel her heart thrill and her blood tingle at the
sight of them.

Indians and deserts and Ehrenberg did not exist for me any more. My
girlhood seemed to have returned, and I enjoyed everything with the
keenest zest.

My old friend Charley Bailey, who had married for his second wife a most
accomplished young San Francisco girl, lived next door to us.

General and Mrs. Kautz entertained so hospitably, and were so beloved by
all. Together Mrs. Kautz and I read the German classics, and went to the
German theatre; and by and by a very celebrated player, Friedrich Haase,
from the Royal Theatre of Berlin, came to San Francisco. We never missed
a performance, and when his tour was over, Mrs. Kautz gave a lawn party
at Angel Island for him and a few of the members of his company. It
was charming. I well remember how the sun shone that day, and, as we
strolled up from the boat with them, Frau Haase stopped, looked at the
blue sky, the lovely clouds, the green slopes of the Island and said:
"Mein Gott! Frau Summerhayes, was ist das fur ein Paradies! Warum haben
Sie uns nicht gesagt, Sie wohnten im Paradies!"

So, with music and German speech, and strolls to the North and to the
South Batteries, that wonderful and never to-be-forgotten day with the
great Friedrich Haase came