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Show PERSONAL ADVENTURES S nrroun dI.D ()' tlle church are the remains of 0 an ex t ens1. ve adobe ' or mud building, .w h.i ch f ormer1 y ser.. v e d .1e'0 r the purposes of• a JniSSion. The scenery in the neighbourhood IS of an ex-cee rl1. ng1 y pleas·l ·ng and even picturesque ch. a- r.a e t. er. Close to the church, and running out in the direction of the bay' lies a large and beautiful sheet of ·water, shut in at one side by some steep but verdant hills, studded here and there with cottages. The road to San Francisco runs through a sn1all valley, lying between these hills and the church ; and the country, on either side, presented very much the aspect of the park scenery of England, with this exception, that the trees were, in O'eneral of a n1ore stunted character. The 5 ' illusion was rendered more complete by the rich green by which the slopes were clothed, the winter being at its close, and the vegetable world refreshed by the copious rains that had fallen. The stunted appearance of the trees near the coast, and the inclination which they take from the sea, naturally lead to the conclusion that they are affected by continuous 85 and powerful ·winds from the north-east and south-east. In strolling through the woods, I stumbled upon a sn1all cemetery, intended, I presume, exclusively for foreigners, there being but few, if any, Spanish names inscribed upon the tombstones. Here lay the remains of a great many of the crew of the Columbus vessel of war; and a feeling of sadness stole over me when I reflected that, like those poor fellows, I might be destined to lay my bones in some sequestered and lonely nook like this, thousands of leagues distant from my family and friends. And yet for those who are epicures in such matters, no prettier spot could be found, the scenery around being of that pleasing and tranquil character which \Ve love to associate with the mernory of the dead. In returning to the town by the San Francisco road, I encountered a yoke of oxen and waggon, of a most primitive and curious build. The wheels are generally formed of the hardest and toughest kind of wood, cut horizontally from the trunk of some irnmense tree, and |