| Show STUDENT LIFE Mexico had increased beyond numbering the mission of San Louis Rey having at one time nearly 40-0head To these were added horses and sheep which came to number many thousands During the most prosperous period of the missions there were upwards of thirty thousand Indians leading industrious peaceful and contented lives undr the guidance of these disciples of' St Francis The entire story of the mission life is one of intense interest from its beginning as here briefly given through its many prosperous years to the final secularization of the missions and their consequent decadence It is a story of an almost forgotten life of a bygone time The historian searches the rec 00 ords of this life for knowledge of the development of the civilization of the west The artist seeks in the noble ruins of these mission buildings an inspiration for more And there are enduring work other more important lessons than these of broad application in the ethics of life that all may learn from studying the works of these Franciscan Brothers We learn the necessity of a high ideal in life and of the need of working steadily and persistently toward that ideal We learn of the great good that may be accomplished by an unselfish love for all humanity We learn lessons of unswerving devotion to duty and of unfaltering trust in the great Father of us all r r 37 - '! 1 2 The First California Mission m |
