Volcano weekly ledger. (Volcano, Amador County, Cal.) 1855-1857, 1857-01-17

than her lord and seemed to live only for her
children.
The son and daughter differed as widely in
appearance as their parents While the son
united all the malignant traits of the fathers
character to the mothers plainness of feature,
the daughter seemed to have been gifted
with every desirable quality of each.
Doha Felicidad was more transparently
fair than the daughters of the Saxon race;
exposing every transition of the purple tide
in her delicately tinted cheeks. Her eyes,
large, full and beautifully black, were shaded
by long lashes Of the most delicate texture,
from beneath which, flashed no fiery rays, but
rather those sweetly melting glances, which
seemed like purest beams from heaven. Her
wayy silken tresses Of glossest raven hue,
ioated in careless rnglets over q neck and
shoulders unequalled in their graceful mould
and curvature. These charms added to a
form not TALL but slender as the bending
willow, yet possessing fullness of bust, the
outlines of which were embodiments of grace
and you have picture less enrapturing than
was the living Seforita of nineteen joyous
summers For who can describe the easy
elegance of the Castian maid who por-
tray the sweet enchantment of her voice?
Morales had taken no active part in the
troubles of the war The fear of losing his
flocks and herds, his teasures and his posses
sons, had kept him neutral In fact he felt
no great love for Mexico. His feelings went
beyond the rebellious Republic, and his affec-
tions centcred in Old Spain. Not so with
his SON. Truly Mexican in heart as well as
person, he had early joined their forces under
Pico, and when there ceased to be hope in
California, he fled to Mexico to there aid in
driving "Los Gringos' from his mother
land.
Although it was the strict orders of the
officers in command at the Pueblo, that the
persons and property Of every one should be
inyiolate, under the leyerest penalties, yet
such is the vandalism of some individuals in
every body of troops, that daily depredations
were committed, substance wantonly destroy
ed and inoffensive persons maltreated. So
frequent had the offences become, that an
extra guard was ordered on duty and the
Sergeants in turn, detailed to prevent if pos
sible all malicious acts about the Pueblo.
The second evening that Sergeant Ranell
was assigned this duty, not satisfied to leave
the care to the guards under his control, he
determined to reconnoitre in person the limits
of the Struggling town. He scarcely reach
ed the outskirts of the place when his ear
caught the cries of female in distress. In
stantly springing over dilapidated fence, he
hastened to the place from whence the sound
of voices yet came, and quickly found him
self confronting two soldiers, whom the dark
ness kept him from recognizing, who were
bearing off a female form that was motion
less in their arms, and whose face seemed
mufiled with her reJozo to still her cries. The
soldiers at once dropped their burden and at
tackled the Sergeant with their bayonets. He
in self-defence, drew his sword and succeeded
in putting the two Williams to fight; but not
before he had received severe stab in the
left arm, and slight wound in the side
Without waiting to examine the nature of his
injuries, he FASTENED to relieve the yet pros
trate woman. On removing the covering
from her face she revived from her fainting,
aud yet thinking herself in the power of the
ruflians, she entreated for mercy. The Ser
geant told her in her own language of her
release, and begged her to be composed; as
suring her that she was safe from all danger,
and that he would escort her to her home if
she felt sufficiently recovered. How sweetly
to his car sounded her voice as she blessed
her prcseryer, and how surprised was he to
learn that he had rescued the daughter of
Don Antonio.
On their way to her fathers house, Ranell
learned that Doha Felicidad had been on a
visit to her old nurse who was sick, and that
as she was returning alone through her fa-
TIERS grounds, she was seized by the two
soldiers smothered with her own rebozo and
carried from the path, when she tainted from
fright and was only aroused after her rescue.
Not I'LL after the maiden was within her