Commonwealth Network
Your first ride will probably be to the Cliff House , to see the seals and the Pacific ocean. This is a pleasant ride, and you can take a carriage and have the privilege of paying several dollars for it, or, if "of a frugal mind," you can go in the public conveyances for thirty or forty cents. If you have not seen the Pacific ocean before, that will be the great attraction--the grand sight for which you will most care. But the seal rocks, and the seals sporting on them, will also claim attention. There are three or four of these rocks only a little way out in the ocean. One of them is as high as a meeting-house ; but the great lubberly seals contrive to get up to the top of it. These seals are protected by law, and really seem to have a very good time of it. They come up on the rocks to sun themselves, and here they squirm and squabble and bark and play and fight. Those who go often to see them make acquaintance with them as individuals, and even know them by name. One monster of unusual immensity is known as Ben Butler. What has secured this cognomen for him--whether he is a manuverer, a wire-puller, or a defeated candidate who has run for the gubernatorial office on an independent ticket, or shown a determination, by "hook or by crook," to lord it over his fellow-seals--the deponent knows not. At any rate, in whatever way he has gained his celebrity, Ben Butler contrives to keep things in motion in sealdom, and maintain a general interest, of which he is the center. "There goes Ben Butler!" can be heard every little while from some of those who are watching through their glasses; and even if he is not seen, it is not always safe to presume that he is asleep, or that he has given up the contest.