Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-06-13

struggling cries. The hideous embrace of a
sWarthy rufhan, and his threatening words
whispered In her ears, caused her to swoon. aud
she was borne unconsciously from the garden
hen she awoke it was with painful SEN
satlon in her head, and for hours she could not
bring her mind to realize the change that had
taken place. An attendant soon entered her
room and relieved her Of a painful suspense.
by informing her that she was upon the blue
waves of the Pacific, and that the spreading
sails OF the vessel were bearing her to distant
| land, lar from home and her protector Her
body was weakened by the shock. and her mind
almost paralyzed with the thought of the un-
utterable misery her absence would cause him
who had been to her a father, when upon his
return, in place Of meeting his petted child and
receiving her welcome greeting, he would be
told that she was not to be found, and then his
gray hairs would whiten to a frosty color, or
perhaps he would fall beneath the stroke pal
sled old man. But the vessel sped over the
blue waves upon its journey, and the invalid
was enabled to spend few hours each day in
conversation with her nurse from whom she
learned that her abduction was only to carry
out some scheme of vengeance premeditated
upon the old officer, her protector, and she was
being sent to California as the first step toward
Its accomplishment
1t was on a bright April morning, in 1850,
that the bark Guy dropped anchor in the
harbor of San Francisco, and n quantity of
goods on board being consigned to n mercantile
hrm IN the city, clerk was dispatched on
board, and the gallant reception be met with
! from the master of the vessel rather favorably
impressed him with the selfish notion that
| he was somebody so, standing on tiptoe in the
long-legged boots which encased his neither
eItremities, he reached to that all-import-
ant article, his shirt collar, and, giving it a
hosting twitch, in nautical phrase, to assure
himself, the captain and a number of females
who occupied the cabin where he had Just
transacted his business, that he was somebody
he looked around upon the ladies with n view
to critlcise, and with rather more impudence
than the occasion called for. The captain of
the vessel noticed the movement, and whisper
lngly inquired If he wished to purchase q mis-
tress, as he would sell him either of the classi-
cal mugs present for the nominal sum of the
cost OF their passage, including n small bonus
for himself
Let's see Them was his laconic reply:
and, accordingly, twenty or twenty-five of as
variegated a collection of the female kind were
called out for his individual inspection, as were
ever huddled together within the refuse slave
market OF Cairo; red-headed, pugnOsed, blear-
eyed, crooked, pOck-marked short and tall.
light and dark, some lean as shadows and Others
as corpuient as the Gugenie hOOped skirt gives
to the appearance Of the women Of the present
day. But among all those graceful creatures
not one came up to his standard of excellence
casual glance into tidy state room revealed
the wan face Of an invalid, and sympathy he
had never felt before took possession of his
breast.
&" Can you suit YOURSELF? the captain in
quired.
-, No, :; he replied; yet who is that sick
I" She why she is the mildest girl you ever
saw, he continued; would like to get rid of
her; she was sent off here TO get her out of the
way, because she was bringing disgrace upon
her family, who are wealthy and respectable
citizens of Sydney. You can have her for
twenty-five dollars, as her passage has been
paid by her relations
That information was surprising. To buy
woman was a purchase Of a style never
dreamed of before. To own a woman A Turk
ish American The bargain was soon made,
for the cheapness warranted him in doing so,
and the following bill of sale was drawn:
"'SAN FRANCIsCo, April I6, 1850
4" Sold to Mr.. -, the girl, Anne Cleve-
land, for the sum of twenty-five dollars, five
pounds English money! to be delivered to said
Mr. - when called for.
"'(Signed)
7. B. C, Master Bark Guy.
" The clerk inquired what time it was neces-
slry to call for his purchase, and it was inform
ed that any time during the day would answer
L ou cannot imagine with what patience the
clerk conducted himself upon landing upon the
wharf! Why, he thought that every one knew
his seeret-that he owned woman by purchase
mot black, but a white one; but the walk
from the wharf to the store sobered down his
thoughts, for he knew not what to do with her
She was sick, and of necessity must be provided
for; and ten thousand ideas few through his
volatile brain in regard to the responsibility he
had assumed and what to do in this emergency
he did not know, until he bethOught himself Of
his employers amable wife. when away he flew
to her residence; but, upon his crossing the
threshold, and the plain facts of the case came
to his mind, and he began To tell the tale fancy
came to his aid and he disclosed the sufferings
OF the girl, her amiability and her beauty. and
furthermore, that he had solemnly promised to
befriend her in fact his story was 50 touching
ly told, that he almost believed it himself: and
IT so won on the wOmanly feelings of the lady.
that she was willing to receive the girl beneath
her roof, through pure philanthropy-a feeling
which she believed caused the clerk all this
anxious solicitude; but the fact was, he was
truly desirous to get rid Of what he supposed
would be an ilcumbrance.
THE girl was conveyed to the hOspitabIe dom
icl by the clerk, the bill of sale was thrown into
trunk among his old letters, and a month
slipped round and the girl was almost forgotten.
''One afternoon he was dispatched to the house
after important papers. and then for the first
time, the forgotten purchase flashed upon his
mind, and YOU can imagine that il was with some
trepidatiOn that he rang the bell. On the door
being opened, the lOyeliest vision in the form of
a-oh, pshaw you cannot understand what L
mean-there was young woman who inquired
the object of his visit which he blushingly STAN
mered out. for the werds fairly stuck in his
throat, and As he was leaving the steps he heard
shout of laughter within the open easement,
and could distinguish words that sounded some
thing like What BOBBY Then he did not
know you Why, Anne, the fellow is blindn
1t rather bewildered his ideas for the bal
ance of that day, as the many wrong entries
and ink blOts of his books. and the misleliyery
of goods could attest. But, to cut the story
short, one day he folded her in n willing en-
brace, and they had joyful wedding in his
employers house shortly after, when Anne
Cleveland bee ame his wife, and then she whis-
Psred, l am yours, just as if did not know
she vas"
Pray how did you know al! this ~ eagerly
inquired my bachelor friend.
replied that had " Bought her; that her
love was not in the bill of sale. but won that