ain
tavern near the summit, and, seating ourselves before an open fire
blazing in the hall, requested some restorative nerve-food. Yet this
aerial inn is only one hundred and eighty minutes from Los Angeles;
and it is said that men have snow-balled one another at this tavern,
picked oranges at the base of the mountain, and bathed in the bay of
Santa Monica, thirty miles distant, all in a single afternoon. It
certainly is possible to do this, but it should be remembered that
stories are almost the only things in California which do not need
irrigation to grow luxuriantly. I was told that although this
mountain railway earns its running expenses it pays no interest on
its enormous cost. This can readily be believed; and one marvels, not
only that it was ever built, but that it was not necessary to go to a
lunatic asylum for the first passenger. Nevertheless, it is a
wonderfully daring experiment, and accomplishes perfectly what it was
designed to do; while in proportion as one's nervousness wears away,
the experience is delightful.

[Illustration: THE CIRCULAR BRIDGE.]

[Illustration: IMITATING A BIRD.]

[Illustration: SWINGING ROUND A CURVE.]

[Illustration: THE INNOCENT TROLLEY.]

Living proofs of the progress made in California are the patient
burros, which, previous to the construction of this railroad, formed
the principal means of transportation up Mount Lowe. Why has the
donkey never found a eulogist? The horse is universally admired. The
Arab poet sings of the beauties of his camel. The bull, the cow, the
dog, and even the cat have all been praised in prose or verse; but
the poor donkey still remains an ass, the butt of ridicule, the
symbol of stupidity, the object of abuse. Yet if there be another and
a better world for animals, and if in that sphere patience ranks as a
cardinal virtue, the ass will have a better pasture-ground than
many of its rivals. The donkey's small size is against it. Most
people are cruel toward dumb beasts, and only when animals have power
to defend themselves, does caution make man kinder. He hesitates to
hurt an elephant, and even respects, to some extent, the rear
extremities of a mule; but the donkey corresponds to the small boy in
a crowd of brutal playmates. It is difficult to see how these useful
animals could be replaced in certain countries of the world.
Purchased cheaply, reared inexpensively, living on thistles if they
get nothing better, and bearing heavy burdens till t