The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1921-01-29

not truly men Of God? I think they
were, and any man who does the
same now is too. This hotel is built
and furnished after the general style
of the mission. It's mission is to
serve mankind and benefit humanity.
And surely ii one of these good old
monks could drop in here he would
think he was in Paradise. The place
is really most luxurious, yet the lux
ury is so subdued and unobtrusive
that you do not notice tit minis
ters to your every want. When we
were shown to these rooms there was
that great half bushel basket OF
roses-the morning dew still on
them-upon the dresser, and baskets
Of fruit-oranges, bananas, peaches
and plums-on the table. A pitcher
Of ice water is at hand, and in the
funny little corner cupboard are
sugar and lemons and things, galore.
And if run short of lemons, why, we
can just lean out of the caement and
pick few from that tree where the
mocking bird MARBLES us welsome.
No servants seem to be in sight
they move with soft slippered feet
and everywhere we find this sane
quiet courtesy and good cheer and
loving attention"
What the Mission Inn Represents
The Mission Inn is the reflection
of a personality; it is a sentiment ex-
pressed in concret terms. Mr.. Frank
A. Miller, the originator, planner,
builder and owner of this hotel has
lived in Riverside since 1874 and is
terefore entitled to be called IAN old
Californian" although in years he is
comparatively young man.
Now Mr.. Miller, like many of the
old Californians and others. has al
ways been greatly interested in the
history of the beginnings of our civil
lIzation on the Pacific Coast, as re-
presented by the Franciscan padres
during the first quarter of the Nine
teenth Century.
But in order that you may see the
connection between those old Mis-
sion buildings and this new Mission
Inn, between the Spanish Eighteenth
and the American Twentieth Century
| shall need to tell you a little bit
about the old Missions. l promise
you it will not be long, and can al
most assure you that it won't be tire.
some. Of course, you ran skip this
part if you want to.
Well, here is little bit of:
The Story of the Missions.
In 1867 the Spanish king, Charles
the Third. sent military expedition
from Mexiro City to upper Califor-
MIA, under the leadership of Gaspar
de Portola, with Instructions to es
tablish forts Or presidios at San Die
go and Monterey bays.
The object in building forts, in
what was then an uninhabited land,
was 20 keep back Russia from any
Southwark move into Spanish terri
tory. The fact is that Russia got
sort of toe hold in California, al
though not foot hold, and has left
us q reminder of that fact in the
name Of one of our rivers--the Rus
sian river. If Russia and not Spain
had gained possession of upper Cali
1ornia, the history of the Pacific
Coast would have been very differ
ent.
You will remember in the history
of Spain that the sword and the
cross have always gone together;
that in her conquests, discoveries and
colonization schemes the priest and
the soldier have always marched side
by side.
1t was so in this instance for along
with Portola and his troops came
Fray Junipero Sierra and his fifteen
Spanish Francisrans. The purpose
of those sandaled, corded and brown
robed sons of ST. Francis was to eff
feet the spiritual conquest of upper
California-that is the conversion
and civilization of the Indians, of
whom there were quite a number
then. This military, religious expe-
dition reached San Diego Bay in July
1859, and the founding of the first
Mission was celebrated there at that