RELICS OF THE FRANCISCAN FATHERS.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1587, 29 April 1887, Page 3

RELICS OF THE FRANCISCAN FATHERS.

By far the. mist interesting section of the Mission is th • garden belonging to the fathers. E itranco to its quiet preecints, fillel all trie year with gree'". shrubs, trailing viuec, aud myriads of bright flowers, h through the sacristy, at the left ot t 1 e altar, and thence down a short flight of stoae Bteps. Wandering into tie sheltered spot one finds himself isolated from every suggestion of activity and worldliness. In the centre of the garden is a largo stone fount liu basin, tilled with clear water, and from this centre radiate a number of paths that lead beneath the shadow of orange and lemon trees to a corridor containing long rows of wooden benches, on which one may s.t and look out upon the peaceful scene. Trie garden is sacred to man. No woman is allowed tj enter it, aud the only exception ever male to this rule was during the visit of U.K. 11. the Princess Ljuise. Ho the fathers now in charge of the Mission the garden is a world in itself. There they taae their walks, and there they read or sit in meditative idleness, listening to the birds, watching the doves that are always circling around the towers, drinking in the rich perfume wafted from the (lowers they so carefully nourish. The place is restful to look at aud to live m. The one side not protected by the church and its wings is guarded l>y a high stone wall, and the only sound that ever disturbs tae stillness is the clanging of the tower bells calling the monks to prayer. In front of the Mission are the Fathers' olive trees. Years ago this aud the vineyard near it gave no inconsiderable revenue to the guardians of the church, but to-day the one has been utterly destroyed, and the other, the oiivegrove, coutaius only a tew hardy trees wnieh bear little fruit. Tney utfird s jflicient shade, however, f or all purposes, aud are oiten re-sorted to by the fathers, who may be seen, clothed in long coarse robes, taking solitary walks up and down the neglected paths ; and it is from here that one obtains the best possible view of Santa Barbara. At his very f»;et lies the little valley, its houses gleaming amid the trees and open fields, tided in winter with fresh green grasses, and in autumu a mellow brown. Beyond is the bay, guarded by a group ot tslauds. —Prom the Ait Journal for January.