Sept 17, 1872

We next visited Mr Lathram'^s grounds & place. It contained
70 Acres of Fruits & Flowers. He also had the finest stables & Har-
ness I Ever saw. We also visited Mr Athenton gardens &
orchards his son-in-Law accompanied us through his orchards of Apples
& Pears & vineyards. We then took cars & rode some 30 Miles to& there
Met Mr Ralstons servant with a coach & 4 Horses awaiting us & we
drove to Mr Ralston Princely palace & was received with all the attention
that Princses could expect. He had a Telegraph from his bank in San
Francisco to his dwelling 20 Miles distance. He telegraphed to the family
to receive us kindly & make us Happy & they did so, his princely
Mansion did not cost less than a Million of Dollars & his wife
spent a quarter of a Million Dollars in Furnishing it. The chairs were
made of the finest Ebony in China, spitoons & kindred vessels carved
out of the finest Persian Marble, the rooms decorated with the finest
Marble statuary & bronze, Many cristals of a pure water from one to 5
inches in diameter, chandeliers cost many thousands of dollars, in fine
the whole palace had more the appearance of a Museum than a private
dwelling it had its Turkish & Russian Baths besides scores of Baths con-
nected with bedrooms, had their 9 pin allies. Had a retort & made
their own gass to light their dwellings & barns, & their many Mirrors
were large & costly & the surrounding grounds of 100 acres was cultivated
at a great expense I almost spent felt like spending the night in visiting
the House & surroundings instead of Going to sleep. I became so dazzled
& Bewildered with the scenery, & attention of the last 24 hours & since
our arival in Calafornia, that I felt to ask myself the question
Am I an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? if
so, what has come over the world, that such a great change is
manifest to wards us? another thing it was hard work for me to compr-
ehend that I was in Calafornia, a country built up in twenty years
while it had the Appearance of a centaury's gro^w^th. I felt to thank the
Lord that he had softened the hearths of the people & raised up friends
unto us. While we were taking supper the wating Lady of the House
was called away by telegraph to go 20 Miles by coach that night
to San Francisco, But we had the Freedom of the House. We visited the
grounds, stables, Bath Rooms, Boling Allies &c & had a vary plesant time
& finally had music out of a penonna by turning a crank. 75 M[iles]

Sept 17, 1872

we next visited Mr Lathram's grounds & place. It contained 70 Acres of Fruits & Flowers He also had the finest stables & Harness I Ever saw. We also visited Mr Atherton gardens & orchards his son-in-Law accompanied us through his orchards of Apples & Pears & vineyards. We then took cars & rode some 30 Miles& there Met Mr Ralstons servant with a coach & 4 Horses awaiting us & we drove to Mr Ralston Princely palace & was received with all the attention that Princes could expect. He had a Telegraph from his bank in San Francisco to his dwelling 20 Miles distance. He telegraphed to the family to receive us kindly & make us Happy & they did so, his princely Mansion did not cost less than a Million of Dollar & his wife spent a quarter of a Million Dollar in furnishing it. The chairs were made of the finest Ebony in China, spitoons & kindred vessels carved out of the finest Persian Marble, the Room decorated with the finest Marble statuary & bronze, Many cristals of a pure water from one to 5 inches in diameter. Chandeliers cost many thousands of dollars, in fine the whole palace had more the appearance of a Museum than a private dwelling it had its Turkish & Russian Baths besides scores of Baths connected with bedrooms, had their 9 pin allies. Had a retort & made their own gass to light their dwellings & barns, & their many mirrors were large & costly & the surrounding grounds of 100 acres was cultivated at a great Expense I almost felt like spending the night in visiting the House & surroundings instead of Going to sleep. I became so dazzled & Bewildered with the scenery, & attention of the last 24 hours & since our arival in Calafornia, that I felt to ask myself the question Am I an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? if so, what has come over the world, that such a great change is manifest to wards us? another thing, it was hard work for me to comprehend that I was in Calafornia, a country built up in twenty years while it had the Appearance of a centaury's growth. I felt to thank the Lord that he had softened the hearts of the people & raised up friends unto us. While we were taking supper the wating Lady of the House was called away by telegraph to go 20 Miles by coach that night to San Francisco, But we had the Freedom of the House. We visited the grounds, stables, Bath Rooms, Boling Allies &c & had a vary plesant time & finally herd music out of a peonna by turning a crank 75 Miles