who arrived at California to expel them, and to take charge of the country, expected to find a rich and powerful fraternity, with immense treasures hoarded in their missions, and an army of Indians ready to defend them.  On the contrary, he beheld a few venerable silver-haired priests coming humbly forward to meet him, followed by a throng of weeping, but submissive natives.  The heart of the governor, it is said, was so touched by this unexpected sight, that he shed tears; but he had to execute his orders.  The Jesuits were accompanied to the place of their embarkation by their simple and affectionate parishioners, who took leave of them with tears and sobs.  Many of the latter abandoned their hereditary abodes, and wandered off to join their southern brethren, so that but a remnant remained in the peninsula.  The Franciscans immediately succeeded the Jesuits, and subsequently the Dominicans; but the latter managed their affairs ill.  But two of the missionary establishments are at present occupied by priests; the rest are all in ruins, excepting one, which remains a monument of the former power and prosperity of the order.  This is a noble edifice, once the seat of the chief of the resident Jesuits.  It is situated in a beautiful valley, about half way between the Gulf of California and the broad ocean, the peninsula being here about sixty miles wide.  The edifice is of hewn stone, one story high, two hundred and ten feet in front, and about fifty-five feet deep.  The walls are six feet thick, and sixteen feet high, with a vaulted roof of stone, about two feet and a half in thickness.  It is now abandoned and desolate; the beautiful valley is without an inhabitant—­not a human being resides within thirty miles of the place!

In approaching this deserted mission-house from the south, the traveller passes over the mountain of San Juan, supposed to be the highest peak in the Californias.  From this lofty eminence, a vast and magnificent prospect unfolds itself; the great Gulf of California, with the dark blue sea beyond, studded with islands; and in another direction, the immense lava plain of San Gabriel.  The splendor of the climate gives an Italian effect to the immense prospect.  The sky is of a deep blue color, and the sunsets are often magnificent beyond description.  Such is a slight and imperfect sketch of this remarkable peninsula.

Upper California extends from latitude 31 10’ to 42 on the Pacific, and inland, to the great chain of snow-capped mountains which divide it from the sand plains of the interior.  There are about twenty-one missions in this province, most of which were established about fifty years since, and are generally under the care of the Franciscans.  These exert a protecting sway over about thirty-five thousand Indian converts, who reside on the lands around the mission houses.  Each of these houses has fifteen miles square of land allotted to it, subdivided into small lots, proportioned to the number of Indian converts attached to the mission.