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Show THE WONDERS OF CALIFORNIA. 161 ince of mere word- painting. A man must die and learn the language of the angels before he can describe Yosemite. The return route, all the way down hill, was as rough as the going, but took less than half the time. We found four changes of climate. From the cool Sierras to the hot valley was a trial of endurance. Tak-ing the steamer at Stockton, we were soon down among the tules on MIRROR LAKE. the San Joaquin. At 3 P. M., the thermometer stood at 100; at dusk, on the river, it was just pleasantly cool; we woke next morning at the San Francisco wharf, where the cold sea- breeze made over-coats a necessity. The seasons are all mixed up in that city. August is the coldest ( to one's feelings) and September the warmest month in the year. There is no perceptible difference between January and June. Ladies wear furs in July and August, then lay them off till November. The changes in the ocean- winds account for this paradox. A day in August is a miniature copy of the seasons, except that no snow falls to represent the hard winter of the East. We rise at 7 A. M., to a balmy early spring morning ; if very hardy, even a visitor can go without a summer overcoat; but, to stand around the streets. I find it more pleasant to wear mine. The rising sun scatters the 11 |