en
to the twice-removed; all the Castros who were his wife's family, all
the Saises, Romeros, and Eschobars,--the relations of his relations-in-
law. There you have the beginning of a pretty considerable town. To
these accrued much of the Spanish California float swept out of the
southwest by eastern enterprise. They slacked away again when the price
of silver went down, and the ore dwindled in La Golondrina. All the hot
eddy of mining life swept away from that corner of the hills, but there
were always those too idle, too poor to move, or too easily content with
El Pueblo de Las Uvas.

Nobody comes nowadays to the town of the grape vines except, as we say,
"with the breath of crying," but of these enough. All the low sills run
over with small heads. Ah, ah! There is a kind of pride in that if you
did but know it, to have your baby every year or so as the time sets,
and keep a full breast. So great a blessing as marriage is easily come
by. It is told of Ruy Garcia that when he went for his marriage license
he lacked a dollar of the clerk's fee, but borrowed it of the sheriff,
who expected reelection and exhibited thereby a commendable thrift.

Of what account is it to lack meal or meat when you may have it of any
neighbor?

Besides, there is sometimes a point of honor in these things. Jesus
Romero, father of ten, had a job sacking ore in the Marionette which he
gave up of his own accord. "Eh, why?" said Jesus, "for my fam'ly."

"It is so, senora," he said solemnly, "I go to the Marionette, I work, I
eat meat--pie--frijoles--good, ver' good. I come home sad'day nigh' I
see my fam'ly. I play lil' game poker with the boys, have lil' drink
wine, my money all gone. My family have no money, nothing eat. All time
I work at mine I eat, good, ver' good grub. I think sorry for my fam'ly.
No, no, senora, I no work no more that Marionette, I stay with my
fam'ly." The wonder of it is, I think, that the family had the same
point of view.

Every house in the town of the vines has its garden plot, corn and brown
beans and a row of peppers reddening in the sun; and in damp borders of
the irrigating ditches clumps of _yerba santa_, horehound, catnip, and
spikenard, wholesome herbs and curative, but if no peppers then nothing
at all. You will have for a holiday dinner, in Las Uvas, soup with meat
balls and chile in it, chicken with chile, rice with chile, fried beans
with more chile, enchilada, which is corn cake with a sauce of chil