Untitled Page 188

6

sane persons they bent over them affectionately, like a mother over her babies, and kindly, sympathetically asked them to do this or that. Violence or unkindness or lack of feeling was not in evidence.

In the afternoon we visited the almshouse of Santa Clara Co. and I took my first meal in the poor house. We spent a pleasant hour or two here making investigations, questioning the unfortunates and endeavoring to learn the true courses of their degeneracy and the reasons for their accepting the hospitality but disgrace of a poor house. One old man frankly told several of us fellows, that he was there because he was too lazy to work. He was quite a philosopher and gave us much amusement. Another old man, a fanatic Catholic, and slightly in