It is owing to the ever active missionary spirit among the Friars Minor (Franciscans) that millions upon millions of American Indians have obtained the Christian faith. The children of St. Francis were, indeed, the principal factors in the very discovery of America, inasmuch as the persons most prominently connected with that event belonged to the Seraphic Family. Fr. Juan Perez de Marchena, the friend and counsellor of Christopher Columbus, was the guardian or superior of the Franciscan monastery at La Rabida; * * * and the great navigator likewise belonged to the Third Order. FR. ZEPHYRIN, in _Missions and Missionaries of California._ MAY 28. JUNIPERO SERRA. Not with the clash of arms or conquering fleet He came, who first upon this kindly shore Planted the Cross. No heralds walked before; But, as the Master bade, with sandalled feet, Weary and bleeding oft, he crossed the wild. Carrying glad tidings to the untutored child Of Nature; and that gracious mother smiled, And made the dreary waste to bloom once more. Silently, selflessly he went and came; He sought to live and die unheard of men-- Praise made his pale cheek glow as if with shame. A hundred years and more have passed since then. And yet the imprint of his feet today Is traced in flowers from here to Monterey. MARY E. MANNIX. MAY 29. San Gabriel! I stand and wonder at thy walls So old, so quaint; a glory falls Upon them as I view the past. And read the story which thou hast Preserved so well. * * * * * San Gabriel! What souls were they who fashioned thee To be a blessed charity! What faith was theirs who bore the cross, And counted wealth and ease but loss, Of Christ to tell! * * * * * San Gabriel! A glamour of the ancient time Remains with thee! Thou hast the rhyme Of some old poem, and the scent Of some old rose's ravishment Naught can dispel! * * * * * LYMAN WHITNEY ALLEN, in _A Parable of the Rose._ MAY 30. Wherever a green blade looks up, A leaf lisps mystery, Whereso a blossom holds its cup A mist rings land or sea, Wherever voice doth utter sound Or silence make her round-- There worship; it is holy ground. JOHN VANCE CHENEY, _The Grace of the Ground_, in _Poems._ MAY 31. TO MOUNT WILSON.