on account of the growing infirmity of his wife.

It did not require a long while for a quiet soul like Apolinaria to take
up once more in the new home the broken threads of her life; and before
she had been there many days, she had found more than enough to employ
all her time. At Monterey Apolinaria had been in part servant, in part
mistress of the household, discharging the duties of her somewhat
anomalous position. In Santa B‡rbara, on the contrary, her services as
domestic and housekeeper were dispensed with, and she was at liberty to
give her whole time and attention to the occupation which she had but
just begun to pursue at Monterey. She offered her services to the
priests at the mission as a nurse for the sick neophytes in the
hospital. The winter before had been a severe one for the health of the
Indian community, and there had been an unusual number of cases of
smallpox - the most common disease with which they were afflicted.
Capable nurses were hard to find, and the fathers gladly accepted
Apolinaria's offer. Once her qualities becoming known and appreciated,
she was in almost constant demand from one end of the town to the other,
for she displayed a skill in the care of the sick that came from born
aptitude.

Here Apolinaria remained for several years, engrossed in her work which
had now taken complete possession of her. As she became better known,
she had calls from many high caste Spanish residents who desired her
services, and not only those living in Santa B‡rbara, but in near-by
towns - San Buenaventura, Santa InŽs, and as far as Los Angeles; and her
fame reached, at last, the whole length of the chain of settlements in
the province, from San Diego to San Francisco, for she was the sole
person in that part of the country who undertook the office of what is
now filled by the trained nurse. After a time, Apolinaria, finding there