Juliet signal., 1862-02-04
Ronance OF am Old Couple.

The fo'lowiog somewhat remarkable
narrative Is reIated of a Western lady now
On visit to tLi< city from Marirosa. She
Is herself cE1racter. She has crossed the
plans twiee--1Tst in 1919, during which
ner hnsoand Ferished-an is the first
american iatf1 who returned to the East
oy the way ot he Isthmus Of Panama =
one Is geuuire beroine-a fine specimen
o. stout heartet " estern womanhood-aud
ne1 ,', auventurss}n az the wilds of the unpeo2-
isu Tn " est nave &tn numerous and exciting.
: tue good iei<f OF Mariposa have missed
,aoy rom the1* neighborhood, they are
nereoy appraNp that she is comfortably
;eca'ed at the tearding house Of Mrs Ness
oil' on me cor1H OF Montgomery and Sut-
se. streets, ane VII not return tothe noun
tains until Hnlres, OF the Gazette. ceases
to barrow the warts of Mariposa. mothers
by calling their liftIe babies "brats.''
Well, whiie ire train Of which this lady
was member vas oneamped at a point on.
the Humboldt ~ re the lessen train in.S
tefsects tho - g track nf travel. she vis-
itcd tbs f>s feis II .ailg. 80 ss.sssiar Of am.
| elderly couple and one child-a daughter of
| fourteen or fifteen years The old ladv
was sitting on a yile of blankets, uuder the
canvas, encouraging a most determined
attack of tho 'suiks.' while the masculine
head of affairs bad planted himself on his
wooden tongue, and was sucking his pipe
as leisureiy as though he expected to remain
| there for ever. A single glance developed
! the fact that there vas a difficulty in that
! little train of one wagon and three persons,
and that 1t bad attained a point of quiet
| desperation beyond the reach of peacetrl
| adjustment. Three days before they had
| pitched their tent at the forks of the roads,
/ as they could not agree upon the route by
which to enter California, there they had
remained. The husband expressed a pref
/ erence to the Carson road-the wife for the
Lessen-and neither would yield The
( wife declared she would remain there all
winter the husband said be should be
| pleased to lengthen the soiuurn through the
summer following.
| On the morning of the fourth day, the
wife broke sullen silence of sc hours by
| proposing division Of the property, which
| consisted of two yoke af cattle, one wagon,
camp furniture, smal! quantity of provis-
| ions, and SO in silver. The proposal was
accepted, lard forthwith the "plunder" was
divided, leaving the wagon to the cid man
and the daughter to the mother. The lat
ter exchanged with neighboring train the
cattle belonging to her, Tor pOnyand saddle,
piling the daughter and her portion of the
divided spoil upon the animal, she resolute>
| ly started across the desert by the Lessen
trail, while the Old man silently yoked the
cattle and took the other rout. Singular
as this may seem, it is nevertheless true -
1t is among the many occurrences of life
stranger than fiction. OF course both par,
ties reached California in safety. We say
"ot course, for is scarcely possible that
any obstacle, death included, could have
seriously interfered with the progress of
stubbo!ness so sublime. Arriving at Sac
ramentO with her daughter, the old lady
readily found enployment-for women
were less plenty than now-and subses
quenuy opened boarding house, and in q
few years amassed handsome fortune -
Two years ago she went to San Francisco,
and the daughter, whose education had not
been neglected, was married to one of the
most substantial citizcns
Aud what became of the old man? The
wife had not seen nor heard of him since
they parted on the Humboldt They had
lived happily together as man and wife fol
years, and she sometimes reproached her
sell Tor the willlulness that separated them
after so long p ilgrimage toge her through
this rough life. But he was not dead. We
cannot trace his course in California, how
ever. ALI that we know of him is. that
fortune had not smiled upon him, and that
for years he had toiled without hope.-
Finally, feeling scarcely able to longer
WELD the pick and shovel, he visited San
Francisco, in the hope ofobtaining employ
ment better adapted to his wasted strength.
For three months he remained idle after
arriving here, and then for want of occuya
tion became the humble retailer of peanuts
aud oranges, with his entire stock of traffic
In basket upon bis arm. This was about
six months ago. A few weeks since, III
passing the open door of cottage in the
southern part of the city, he observed a la
dy standing in TIE hall and stopped to offer
his merchandise. As lie stepped upon the
threshold, tha lady approached, aud the old
man raised bis eyes and dropped his bask-
ct. And no wonder, either-fCr she was
his wife-his "old woman !"
She recognized him, and throwing up her
arms IN amazement, exclaimed; Great
God John, is that you.
All that is left of me" rerlied the old
man.
With extended arms they approached
Suddenly the old lady, countenance chang
ed and she stepped back.
John, said she, with q look that mi hit
have been construed into earnestness, how
did you find the Carson road ?"
Miserable, Suky-miserable," replied
the old man, "full of sand and aIkalil ~
Then | was right John?" she continu-
ed inquiring.
You were. Suky," he replied.
"That's enough - said she throwing her
arms around the old mans neck "tbat's
enough, John :" and the old couple, so
strangely sundered, were again united
Both are living with their daughter on
Second street. San Francisco Mirror.
Every man should aim to do one thing
well. If lie dissipates his attention On sew
eral objects, he may have excellent talents
& tod to 1 1