THE EARS OF TWENTY AMERICANS.         69
What a situation ! What exquisite proportions !
That wide curve of snow white sand about the dark
blue bay is as exact a crescent as if cut with a knife.
And that semicircle of hills behind the town with
its pine and brush forest tapering down to the cres-
cent's points I Nor could anything be more pict-
uresque than this scattered little town with its
bright red tiles above the white walls of the houses
and the gray walls of the yards ; its quaint church
surrounded by the ruins of the old presidio, its
beautiful, strangely-dressed women and men who
make this corner of the earth resemble the pages of
some romantic old picture book-----"
" Ay!" she interrupted him. " Much better you
feel proud that you conquer us; for surely, senor,
California shall shine like a diamond in the very
center of America's crown." Then she held out her
hand impulsively. " Mucho gracias, senor—pardon
—thank you very much. If you love my country,
senar, you must be my friend and the friend of my
daughter. I am the Senora Dona Eustaquia Carillo
de Ortega, and my house is there on the hill—you
can see the light, no ? Always we shall be glad to
see you."
He doffed his cap again and bent over her hand.
" And I, John Brotherton, a humble captain in the
United States navy, most sincerely thank the most
famous woman of Monterey for her gracious hospi-
tality. And if I abuse it, lay it to the enthusiasm
of the American who is not the conquerer but the
conquered."