Butte record. (Bidwell, Butte County, Cal.) 1853-1858, 1857-05-09
From The Golden Era.
ELMIRA
Or the Mason's Daughter.
BY JOHN II. FITZGERALD.

Time, gray>bearded and old, plods
on with silent footsteps, never becom-
ing weary on his journey of endless cy-
c'e-with hair and beard VIII te as frost
and hour-glass and scytne, the sands of
which never run out, and the keen
edge Of whose steel nevsr corrodes 4;
covering the palace and howl alike
with mouldering decay and planting
the ivy over the door porch. as if to
set its seal of destruction upon the spot
where once irod proud dame and war
rior bold, exulling over their conquests
the hovel becoming a shapeless
mass, and the clstIe from
'-Turret to foundation stone,"
like their former masters, a p lie of
dust-thcir banner a moth-eaten rag,
and their roof poor shelter for the
bat and screech-owl. Thus all acts of
the p1st become covered with the dust
that falls from off Times wings, leav-
ing to the antiquarian the task of ex-
huming the records of the days long
past and revealing their simplicity,
or telling of arts and sciences unknown
20 us. So with the foundation and Ind
marks OF empires and cities for how
often have we heard of Romul Is and
his plow-mark. which set the bounds to
the eternal city' and who has npt
heard of the Rubic IN, small stream
which marked the boundary of an EN-
pire? 81 it will b. for a res t. come
But TO our story-.San Fra ,cisco and
its Pion ers
In Is l9 the Old ship Eir1rd buffet
ed the waves of the Atlantic, weather.
ed Cape Horn. and af,er a tedioust voy-
age of ten months IRON the port of
New York. dropped anchor in the By
of San Francisc ,, having on board
general as sortm ent of merchandize aud
some thirty paSscng gers. Am"ng the
passengers was an emleiated old nan,
accompanied by h s dlughter, girl Of
about eighteen years. hn lavishcd up
on her f,thaI every atten ion. Th-
passengers had avoided the oil m n all
the passage, for he W S nervous and
excitable to a degree tn It made all un.
happy who encountered him At times
he was morose and sullrn, then violent
and invective, using th.. m st harsh
epithet>, and vowing vengeance upon
s,me imaginary off nler, if there was
no reality To contend with. His daugh-
ter WIS quite the reverse kind, gentle
and attentive, ever ing the most en-
dearing words in r"ply to her fathers
harsh commands The passengers all
paid her those little attent onS wi ich
liy in the power of thoso at sen who
are ex mpted from "a 81 kness, aud
her compan7 WIS sought for; and as
the kind words of the passengers would
fall upon her ears, the cribs of her
large, blue eyes would light I'd her
face with radiance tnat gave an an
gelic expression to her lovely features;
and then. as some new thought would
fit across her mind, smile of melan-
cholv meaning uld replacs it. as
though some hidden sorrox ranked at
her h. art
When the slip was within days
sail of this port, the weather was ex-
tremely fine, and al the passengers
were on deck, viewing the outline of
the CD ,st through their spy glasses, or
listlessly willing away their time in
musine anticipation of what ti:ey would
find in this n Ell Dorado. The old
man was sitting apart from the other
passengers, while at his feet sat his
daughter, whose face, but for the shade
of sorrow which elouded 1t, would have
looked joyous and happy.
'Elm.ra,' said the oil man, Il can
just discern the outline of California IS
coast, and there. in that new and dis
tant Iaud, l shall be buried, and | sup
pose you will be glad when am dead;
then sou will be rid OF a cross cd man,
and have a young husband in my
place.
Oh, no, dear father she replied j
do not think you cross you are much
better now, and l hope you will soon
be well again.
Il get well again No danger OF
that he doggedlv replied, and then,
lookinS half sneerirgly into his daugh.
ter's face, inquired 'Elmira, don't
you want to see your dear husband 2
For a moment her breast heaved
with emotion, and then she buried her
face between her hands, and burst int,
d paroxysm Of tears. 1t was some
time bef IRE she attempted TO check the
outburst of sorrow caused by her faith
er's cruel words. At length she rails
ed her tear swollen face to his, ant
said
1T is but short year since | passed
through that bewildering ordeal. Oh
father, tell me why-tell me what was
the real cause of-of that saer fee ! L
seems as though l were years Older
since that event, and then | was
happy, thoughtless school girl. Oh,
Father, tell me, do
Tell you,' he replied, $50 that yol
will hate me? Well, all avoid me-
and you may as well know the cause o
your msrriage, it Will not change youl
destiny, for you are married. You va
not weoed. but you was pon. If ,ou
leave me, Elnira, | will only be alone
Do you want me to til you this little