Amador weekly ledger., 1858-07-03

/
funeral expenses were one hundred and fifty
more, and she had not twenty dollars in the
world towards it.
Inc next morning, therefore. saw me at
oonh WoieS store he had just returned
from business tour south. and was onite
shocked TO hear of his book keepers sudden
death. ] briefly related to him the situation
IN which the young wife had been left and
the arrangements | had made with the credi-
tors, and awaited his answer.
Call as you go home this evening" said
he, and l will attend to it, am very busy
now"
When called in the evening he handed
me letter for the widow, and begging to let
him know if he could be of any service IN tbe
future, he started for home, and | did like
wise.
lett the letter with the widow as went
home, and after supper Mrs. Dick and myself
walked over to see her, a little curious, must
say, to know the consents of John Wolfe's
letter.
confess | had never entertained yery
favorable opinion of John Wolfe he had
always seemed to me overbearng and proud.
and looked, thought, as many young men
do, who have never known anything of max
ing living for themselves and are very apt
to think that they are made out of rather
superior stuff to the rest of us, and must be
looked up to and smiled upon by all the rest
of the world
But tell you / got new sight into the
human heart when | read that letter. 1t
was, without exception, the kindest, most
feeling, most consoling letter ever read--so
full Of deep sympathy for her sudden loss, so
oyerflowing with expressions of esteem and
regard for her husband, and winding up with
sentiments of so divine and heavenly trust
in an overruling Providence, and the sweet
consolation Of religion, that declare could
scarcely think the letter could have emanated
from man SO wholly engrossed in himself as
he always seemed to be- The letter, more
over, contained his individual check for one
thousand dollars, to meet, he said, the expen-
ses incidental to SO sudden and unexpected a
bereavement.
Well, John Wolfe" said /, after this |
will never again Judge man from appearan-
ces !"
g should like to know" said my cynical
friend, interrupting me, "what has this got to
do with John Wolfe's rich wife ?n
Certainly said /; we shall probably
come to all that in due course of time. Here,
take another cigar, and don't be impatient"
The young widow returned to her friends
in Vermont, and what followed, although |
did not get acquainted with the facts until
very short time ago, shall proceed to tell
you in the order they occurred
Within few weeks or so after her arrival
at her old home, John Wolfe received let
ter from her father, returning him the thou
sand dollars so kindly advanced to his daugh-
ter, with profusion of thanks for his kind
ness to his bereaved child, and expressed
strong desire to be able to repay it by any
service it might be in his power to perform in
return.
But there was another enclosure, which
John, it seems, thought a great deal more
about than the old man and the thousand
dollars, and this was letter from the young
widow herself, so brim full of gratitude that
he began to be almost ashamed to think that
he had done so little for so rich return, and
was rather sorry that he had not found time
to have gone personally to comfort her in her
sore affliction
| do not know exactly how it came about
but one letter brought on another, until a
pretty regular correspondence sprang up be-
tween them.
1t happened, also, that the widows father,
who was retired lawyer, living on frugal
savings OF frugal life, was able to confer
very considerable favor on John Wolfe's
house, by saving them from a Sc sere loss by a
dishonest customer who had suddenly taken
it into his head, after lifetime Of honesty,
to turn rogue, sell his goods to cash Gus
toner who presented himself just at the right
time, and slip off to California with the pro-
ceeds.
A friend of the old lawyer was employed
to draw up the bill Of sale, who mentioned
to him, casually, that so and SO was selling
out and going to the new land OF promise
and knowing that this individual was largely
Indebted to Wolfes house, he quietly slipped
off to New York by the first stage, without
mentioning to any one but his wife and
daughter where he was going Arrived in
New York, he introduced himself, personally,
to John Wolfe, and then proceeded to inform
him of the important business which brought
him to the city. AS the rascal creditor was
expected to take the next California steamer,
no time was lost in getting matters fixed, and
Just as the gentleman was depositing himself,
carpet bag and plumber, on board the steam
er for Aspinwall, he found himself rather I'M
expectedly obliged to relinquish his journey,
and pay visit to John Wolfe's store, where,
after paying over his full Indebtedness, he
was released, only to be carefully attended
to by the rest of his rather urgent creditors.
The whole affair proved most successful
-, and hi0hlv creditahle 10 all narties con-