In Tamal Land

A secret nook in a pleasant land,

Whose groves the frolic fairies planned,

Where arches green, the livelong day,

Echo the blackbird's roundelay,

And vulgar feet have never trod

Spots that are sacred to thought and God.

To the average tourist there are few states in the Union which offer more attractions than California.

Though its mild climate, fertile valleys, and scenic beauties are counted among its chief assets, still they are not its sole possessions, for, linked to the present great commercial activity of the Pacific Coast is a chain of picturesque events, clustered about its birth and infancy, which lends to the whole a peculiar charm, giving it a distinct indiWhile the footsteps of the Spaniards grow fainter and fainter as they glide away into the corridors of time, and their traces become gradually assimilated by the progressive and oft-times aggressive Yankee, nevertheless the echoes from that former non-progressive splendor float back to us, and history re-animates the old adobes, breathing into a few secluded valleys the spirit of the past.

As the seat of historic interest, Monterey has received more homage than any other county on the Slope. Tourists flock to pay court to her old landmarks, writers eagerly pore over her time-worn archives, and the wielders of the brush have congregated in such numbers as to form an artists' colony. Though Monterey is undoubtedly justified in carrying off the palm for her many attractions, yet it is but fair that she should divide the honors of the past with her sister counties, being content to reign as Sovereign of the Coast.

Skirting the Northern end of San Francisco Bay is one of the smallest and most picturesque counties of California.