Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1860-01-14

ptopcr work; and in them pity-aS an cn'o-
tim ending in itself, or at best in tears and II
long drawn breath, lCsscnS, while pity aS
m0tire is quiokcncd, and gains power and
purpose. It Is well for human nature that it
is 50.
The operating theatre is crowded; much
talk and fun, aud all the cordiahty aud Stir ol
youth. The suIEeuJ with his stall Of assis-
tantS is there In comes Allc; one look at
her quicts and abatcS the eager students
That beautiful old woman is too much for
them; they sit down and are dumb, and gazc
at her. These rough iookiing boys feel lh,
power OF her pl"SclICr. She walks IN quickly,
but without haste; dressed in her mut,h, her
nrck,rchici, her white dnity short gown,
her black homlazcrn rttticOat, showing her
white wnlstcd stockings, ainl htr carpet shoes.
behind her was james, with Rah. james
sat down in the Ill tanra, and tool; that hug
and Loblc head L,tWcrn his knees. Eah
looked pcrplcXrI and dangerous; forever
cochins his ear and dropping itar last.
. Mic stepped up on n seat, and laid herself
on the table, rs her ficnd the surgeon todd
her; arranged herself, gave Il rapid look at
JamtS, shut her ry,>, Tested herself Un me,
and trrh ny hatd. The operation was at
once began; ii WIS necessarily SLOW, anrl
chluroluru--nhr u! GoG'> best lifts To his >ul.
lciing childrc;I--Na~ thcu unkuuwn. 1hr
st!rgcon did hlS work. The Pale lace Slowed
its PAIN but WAS >iill aud silent. Iiah's soul
wits workih: within hiu;- he r-~'tw- that >eilt,'-
! thing was going Un-bluUd flowing from his
mistress, and she suffering; his ragged car
was up, aud importuuatc he groNlrd and
gave n0w and :hrn II sharp and impatient
! yclp; lac would have liked to have done sting
4 tl,It, Itt,t HAL L
gave him glover from time to tmr and an
intimation ola possible kick all the better
! for James, it kept his mind and his eye oil
Aic.
! 1t is ovcr She is dressed, steps gently and
dcccntIy down from the table, and looks lu.
james; then Turning to the surgeon aud stu
dents, she curtr>c>, and in II low, clear voice,
brgs their par'ipn if She has behaved i'll. The
Atul!cnta-all Of us-wcpt like children; the
surgeon wrapped her up carclulIy-and rest
| lug Oh Jane and me, Alic went to her room,
ltab following We put her to bed. James
took lis heavy shoes, craIuntd with Jackets,
! heel capt and toc-caPt, andput them carefully
under the table, saying, Master John, I'm
! Tor name u your >tlangcnulsr bodies for .\ir
/ I'll be- hcr nui>r, and on my stocking solcS
Ill gan% about aS canny as puffy. And 50
he did, and handy and clever, and swift and
tender a> any woman, was that horny handed,
small, pclcnptutH little man. Everything
She got hc gave her; he seldom slept, and ni.
ten saw his small shrcwd eyes out of the
I dal kncss fixed on her. AS before, they spoke
! little.
Rgb behaved well, never moving, showing
how mcvM and gentle he could be, and otra
>i"nal!y, in hi, sleep. letting us know that he
was dcmo!i>|Iing some adversary. lie t""k
walk with me every day, generally to the Can
dlc-niak Row, but he was sober and mild de-
c,incd doing battle, though som. fit eases OH
/ rrrd, and indeed submitted to sunIry indig
mites; and was always ready to turn atd
come Easter back, and truttcd mp the stair with
much li-htnc>>, and went straight to Mtt
! door
! jess, the marr--now whitc-had been sent
with her wrathri-wurn cart, to How gate, and
had doubtless her oNn dim and placid mcdi.
tationS and rouiusionS on the absence Of her
master and ltah, ami her unnatural freedom
! from the road and her cart.
For some days Allie did well. The wound
healed "hy the first intention, " aS James
said, "n'r Alir'S skins over clean to hvil. ="
! The students caIhc in quiet aud anxious, and
surrounded her bed. She said said she liked
to see their young honest faces. The surgeon
dressed her. and spoke to her in lis own Snurt
kind way, pity ing her through his eyes. Rah
and james outside the circle - Rah b inr now
rcconrlrd aud even culGm), and having mad,
up his mind that rs vet nobody required wor
rylnE, but, rs !"n may suppose, %,mPor l'"rt'
tbs.
So far well; but, four days after the OPP
Grafton, my patient had sudden and long
Nhvrling, Il "groo>n, as She called it. |
saw her soon after; her eyes were too bright
her check coiorcd; she was restless, and
ashamed of being 50; the balance was lost ;
mischief had begun. On looking nt the
wound. a blush of red told the secret; her
pulse was rapid, her breathing anxious and
quick. She Wasn't herself rs she said. aud
was vcXcd at her rrS,lrSSnrSS. We utd
what we could. James did everything, was
rvcrvwhrrr-- never in the way, never ont ol
it; Eah Sub>dcd under the table into dark
place, and was motiunlr>S, all but his eve,
which followed every one. Allie got worse.
began to wander in her mind, gently; was
more drmou>trativc in her ways to James,
rapid in her questions and sharp ut times -
lie wa> vcXcd and said, "Shc was never
that away aErr: no, never. For n tim,.
she knew her head was wrong, and WAS al.
ways asking our pardon, 10 dear, kind, gen
= =
without pause. Her brain gave way, and
that terrible spectacle,
"Thc intellectual power, through words and things,
Went sounding on its dun aud prrilous way
She san" bits of old songs and Psalms, stop.
ping suddenly, minrling the Psalms of David
and the divincr words Of his Son and Lord,
with homely odds and cnJS and scraps Of bal
4 lads.
h. Nothing more tourhing, or in n sense more
strangely beautiful, did | ever witness Her
trcmulouS, rapid, alrctonatr eager Scotch
voicr-thc swift, aimlr. $, hrwildrrrd mind,
the hailcd uttcraurr, the bright and pcrilouS
eye; some wild words, some household cares,
something for James, the names Of the dead.
Rab called loudly and in Il trrnyt voice,
and he started up, surprised, and Sinking oil
aS if he were to blame somehow, or had been
dreaming he heard. Many eager questions
and hcsccchingS which James and could
make nothing OF, and on which she seemed to
set her all, and then sink back AL understood
1t was very sad, but better than many things
that are not called sad James hnvcrrd about,
put out and miserable, but active and exact
AS ever; read to her when there was lu
short bits of PSalmS prose and metre, chant
ing the latter in his own rude and serious
way, showing great knowledge Of the tit
words bearing up like Il man, aud duting over
her aA his ain Allie" "Ailir, my woman =
"Ma ain bonnie we dawtic!"
The end was drawing On, the golden bowl
was brcaking-the silver chord was fast being
ooScd--that anilnula, blandula, vagnla, hos