The Shasta courier., 1858-03-20
NUMBER 2.
A San Francisco Character.

Among the thousand and one shrines of beau
ty in San Francisco at whose altar a train wor-
ships, is daughter Of sunny Italy, whose flash
ing eyes light up one ofthose classcally regular,
embrowned visages the lmners art is SO wont
to paint Among the host who form gay circle
at her soriees, where wit and sentiment, litera-
ture and love, Irritation and fummery, hold
sway, are dignitaries of the law, sciences and
the arts, who mingle with score or two Of ia
monied aristocracy, eager to parry wort
catch smile from the syren's lips. She liN.k
regle-in a surfiptuously furnished house
her carriage has been seen and admired in the
street-her receptions the grandest of the.
s.ascn and yet she is but circe. Her admirers
shower presents on her layishly and the JJoutafe
deposited on her New Years table was valued
at $4,000. This woman who talks so well ; from
whose lips pearls of jeu desprit fall clothed in
three or four languages with startling rapidity,
is profoundly ignorant, in fact but parrot, for
she keeps an instructor who fills the double duty
of crammng her noddle and acting as amanu-
ensis. This fact came to our knowledge through
a curious train of circumstances. In our per-
ordinations about town, three years ago, we met
a arespectably clad Frenchman inyeighing against
his hard foi tune, and being then attached to the
daily press as the ''items man. who is supposed
to profess, at least, knowledge of all known
tongues, in view of suicide or some startling
incident we addressed him, and were agreeaby
surprised to meet an old school mate For few
months or so, he hung around town and then
disappeared. A month or so since we met with
him again. his attire betokening better circum-
stances, and in friendly chat over a bottle of
wine, of which he imbibed the lions share, he
became loquacious, informed us that he was
secretary, professor and amanuensis to rich
lady who was an ignoramus, and to sustain his
assertion, from the recesses of spacious pocket
he produced a budget of letters which he read
explaining that it was his duty to answer them
What page of city life did this expose. Grave
and gray judges, legislators, officials, merchants,
men of wealth; family and position, were writing
letters breathing the fondest love to his Mistress
not one of which could she read, yet all her ad-
mirers in the receipt Of deicately worded and
sPirttneAe answers, were treasuring the illusions
| of her secretafy A modern Nnon De L'Encos,
as she is termed, who in reality is an ignoramus
| "a witty beauty, who rebearses her part like
an automaton, and yet she has enslaved men of
| intellect and position: caused the purse-strings
of misers to open and gold to flow a Marguerite
| Gautier; Dame aux Camelas in San Francisco
who Is necessitated to keep a secretary and
professorl The distinguished jnrists, judges,
literati, bankers, brokers, etc, who have been
whispering, through missives, soft nousense
prize the replies sent dearly-one that we know
| of has his deicately mounted in ormulur frames
but what will they say when the mask is re-
moved? Who knows? If so ignorant beauty
can thrive well, what would an intelligent
one do? The problem is beyond our capacity
at presents. Il. SPIRIT ofrthe Times