FOREWORD
A few years ago I lived for a time at the Hotel Del Monte, during which period I became intimately familiar with the Monterey Peninsula. Its beauty and its charm caught me. The delightful days revealed a climatic excellence of which I had often heard, but concerning which I had hitherto reserved some doubt. I became a frequent visitor to this circle of enchantment and came to have a genuine love for it.
I knew in general way something of its romantic history—enough to make me want to know more. I began reading about it; and as I read my interest grew. I talked about it with those who, like myself, had been caught by its magic lure.
I frequently discussed its unique history with Mr. Samuel F. B. Morse, himself a profound student of history and whose love for the Monterey Peninsula had led him to select it for his permanent home.
He it was who persuaded me to undertake a thorough and painstaking study of this playground of California,
