Volcano weekly ledger. (Volcano, Amador County, Cal.) 1855-1857, 1857-01-10


looked at and criticised-now it appeared to
him as though the picture was by some unseen
magic, invested with life, and endowed with
angelic traits.
The disappearance of Mr. Wolner Vas not
the conclusion of the misfortunes The Court
had declared his bonds forfeited and Mr.. Or
ton having been advised that he could avoid
paying The amount for which he was held, re-
sisted it till his means were well nigh exhaust
ed, and then the decision being against him,
it swept from his grasp his entire property.
Seeing her faithful friends thus involved in
ruin through kindness to her and hers, was
too much for Mrs Wolner's weakened consti-
tuition, and she sunk beneath the burthen-
The orphans were provided for among distant
relatives, and the estate was mostly consumed
in its legal settlement Charles Wolner, now
nearly seventeen, was apprenticed to a me-
chanic, but left his master without notice,
aud up to last fall had not been heard from
Mr.. Orton rented a small farm near my
fathers and Lucy and became bosom COM
panions. From her / soon learned, to my
surprise that a mutual attachment had been
confessed betweenhe her and the absent Charles,
and that at their last parting. he had vowed
toreplace the full amount her father had lost,
and then claim her hand in marriage. look
ed upon this as mere children's Stiffness, but
she adhered to her faith in his boyish promise
the more firmly as she grew to womanhood.
Many disappointed beau can vouch for the
truth Of this.
The winter Of 1854 was upon us. For
some unaccountable reason my father deter
mined to remove with his family, his all, to
California, and finding purchaser, he dspo
sed of the little homestead and prepared for
his long journey to the west Being anxious
for company in whom he could confde, he in
shattered fortunes in the land Of golden ex-
pectations, and together the two families
made the tedious trip so often described
Passing over years residence here, which
had not largely increased our store brings us
to the present winter, and we residing in Am
ador county.
The situation of teacher to the school at
- is vacant Lucy has been teaching most
of the time since her arrival, but at distance
from home In family council it is decided
that Lucy shall apply for theplace. Feeling
myself to be quite adiplomatiSt | induced my
father to take me over to -, for the pur-
pose of visiting Mrs. - the wife of one of
the school commissioners. had great hopes
of my success in this quarter | knew Mrs.
- had been teacher in the Atlantic
States and expected to easily enlist her in
Lucy's favor, and secure good salary
Judge of my dismay, at hearing Mrs -
declare that twenty dollars month was
plenty for woman, and let her board round
as she used to do. She only did it because
the children teased her to, she had friends
who offered to board her the entire time at
least so she said. Didn't give this recently
elevated female piece of my mind Z Didn't
| tell her that | had heard that slaves always
make the severest task-masters? You ought
to have seen me carry my calico from those
premises. / grow nervous even while writing
about it,
On arriving at home, grand Indignation
meeting of the two families was held in Mr..
Orton's sitting-room,-b the way, we all live
in the same house, long, story and half
affair,-which meeting was suddenly inter
rupted by knock at the common entrance
door. A young man with an unshaven face
of long black beard, enquired if Mr.. Orton
resided there, and being answered in the af-
6rmative. was desired to walk in On being
seated and running his eye around the assem-
bled faces-he stated that he had overheard
a conversation that day, in which he learned
that Miss Orton desired situation as teach
er. and that he was authorized to employ one,
and would be willing to give Miss Orton her
own price. We were all overjoyed, and Mr.
Orton proposed seventy-fve dollars month
and board. Lucy deprecatingly commenced,
"Oh Pa" - but the stranger stopped
her at once, by saying he could not think of
consenting to accept her services for so tri-
] A