Volcano weekly ledger. (Volcano, Amador County, Cal.) 1855-1857, 1857-01-10
Written for the Volcano Weekly Ledger
THE SCHOOL MISTRESS.
SKETCHES OF CALIFORNIA INcIDENrs.-No
BY CLARA CALICO.

Reader, (or what will suit me much better, J
kind reader in making my courtesy before
you as a newspaper writer, let me beg your
indulgence for one who would be glad if she
could be the means of enabling you to while
away the long evenings that are at present
upon us, and who now writes for no other
purpose.
California is truly wonderful land vieing,
in many respects, with the widest visions of
the imaginative author of the Arabian Nights
Entertainments. Many of the events daily
transpiring before US are SO exceeding strange
that we write of them to our friends abroad
with feelings of misgiying, lest we should be
charged with the intention Of usurping the
privileges of Baron Munchausen and Captain
Gulliver
During my two years residence in this al
most fabulous land, incidents bordering on
the miraculous have so frequently been brought
to my notice that | am becoming SO used to
the strange that l am only surprised at the
commonplace.
The manners of the oden times have not
kept pace with the " Star of Empire" in its
westward course No six per cent years
credit no long courtships and good charac-
ter before marriage mo visits from kind old
grandmother and aunts and unces. No
frolics and apple-paring and country dances,
and sly kisses in the corner Here, a man
sees a daguerreotype, falls in love instanter,
sInashes a hole in his hat, seeks the original,
and-they are married before night. AS for
riches if a fortune is not amassed in six
months, look out for a sot or a suicide "trip
to Stockton, or free ticket to the hospitali-
ties OF GEM. Estell. The kissing arrange
ments are sadly neglected. Children are
taught the useless accomplishment, and we
women sometimes practice in kissing each
other just to prevent the word from becoming
obsolete.
But, phsaw Here I've been running on
about every thing, when intended to tell
you a story, for the truth of which | can refer
YOU to the real characters
In the northern part of Ohio, near Cleve-
land, there lived two families on adjoining
farms, the Ortons and the Wolners. They
had both emigrated from the eastern States,
when they consisted of Thomas Orton and
bis wife Lucy, and Sanford Wolner and Lu-
cinda Being from the same neighborhood
originally, an intimacy sprung up between the
two families in their western home that only
increased as time brought additions to their
freside circles.
In lS46 when first knew them, young
Lucy Orton was but twelve years old, and as
pretty fair haired, blue eyed girl, as could
have been found in the country around She
was general favorite with us all at school, -
so quiet and gentle, and good. When she
received the premium for scholarship and be-
havior, there we're no enyous eyes among the
rest of us, no complainngs of favoritism In
every school there are always a number of
boys who take delight in tormenting the girls.
Ours was no exception, but somehow Charley
Wolner was the only one who could be indu-
ced to tease the gentle Lucy. He, being the
son of her fathers neighbor aud friend, and
her senior by two years one would have nat
uraly supposed that he would have acted as
an older brother, but such was not the case,
and he seemed to seek opportunities to vex
her, and in so doing succeeded in securing the
hatred of the rest of the school Charles did