Two days before Penloe and Stella left San Francisco for Japan, I was seated in the parlor of Treelawn, in front of the large bay window. On my right was Penloe and on my left was Stella. The windows were raised and a gentle breeze wafted the fragrant odors from the flower beds into the room, filling the parlor with perfume. At times the muslin curtains puffed out gracefully by the gentle breeze, and the external atmosphere was like the internal of my companions' sweetness and harmony. The other members of the company were Mr. and Mrs. Wheelwright and Mr. and Mrs. Herne. Many reminiscences were gone over. Penloe in a very nice way spoke of the influence on owners of ranches, through Mr. Herne's noble example of the treatment of his men, and there was a great improvement in the treatment that ranchers gave to their hired help, and the ranches became more profitable accordingly. Clara Herne expressed her thoughts and feelings in regard to how different the world and herself looked to her now, to what it did when she first entered her home as a bride. She added: "The world within me has become so beautiful, so bright, and so very large. How lovely life has become, what a pleasure it is _to live_." It did me good to look into the faces of Stella's parents. That grand old couple who had lived a life of purity under marriage, and who gave to the world, Stella, "The Pride of California." EPILOGUE. I must now part with two very dear friends, two whom I have known so well, two whom I have loved with all the warmth of an intense nature, two who have been an inspiration to my life. The consoling thought I have in taking leave of them is, that though visibly they are not with me, yet they are always with me in proportion as I manifest the same spiritual life which has made them so dear to me. May they both be to you, dear reader, what they are to me. [Illustration: THE END] TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES Quotation marks are used inconsistently through the book; these have been left as printed. Inconsistent and unorthodox spelling (Lanair/Lenair, wont/won't, Vivekanada/Vivekananda, bethrothed) has been retained.