Page:Helen Hunt--Ramona.djvu/502

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6
RAMONA'S HOME.

ments, which are kept in a chest of drawers standing near the altar. In that same chest, too, is the cloth, with the rent in it still showing, supposed to be the very one that Ramona mended,—a fact illustrating the remarkable gift Mrs. Jackson had of observing every detail of places she visited,

THE CHAPEL.

and, later, of using that information to embellish her works and render them realistic. She was at Camulos less than twenty-four hours, and yet her description of the ranch-house and of its surroundings in "Ramona" is wonderfully perfect. She undoubtedly saw the torn altar-cloth, and in her novel worked the fact into the story in a most realistic way. How "H. H." saw so much and remembered it all so well is a marvel. Taking "Ramona" in hand, one staying at Camulos can find almost every scene described. There are the corrals, where the band of Temecula Indians sheared the sheep; the barn from which Alessandro took the saddle on the night of his and Ramona's departure from the ranch; the willows, near which the lovers were surprised by the Señora Moreno; and the thicket of wild mustard through which Father Salviederra was slowly making his way when Ramona came suddenly upon him. No detail of construction or location seems to have escaped notice.

BELLS FROM OLD SPAIN.

Near the chapel, at the northwest end of the garden, stands a tall frame of heavy beams that support a trio of bells. They came from Spain, and at one time were hung in the tower of