The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-04-12
The white Sparrow.
"Sleep is the worst of thieves;
He steals half our lives"

III WOeI poiIS Vi OeTmany1 theTe paSSeS
current among the people this proverb:
HE that would thrive.
Must the white sparrow see."
The meaning of this proverb is not, at
first sight, so apparent as that Of some
others that circulate among us, such as,
Early habits make the man" Honesty
is the best policy" etc.; but the moral
Specification it is intended to convey is
not the less true and important will,
therefore relate the story connected with
its origin, even as I received it myself,
from the lips Of an old and valued friend.
There was an old farmer with whom ev-
erything appeared to grow worse from
year to year. His cattle died one by one,
and the produce of bis IpDd was not the
half what it ought to be; in fact, all his
property was, to use fSNsSiSSS AIH1sVeg4:na,
"going to the dogs" In short, scarcely
a week passed by that either the tax gath.
erer or the pawR-brOker did Rot come to
his window, and addressing him cOur
teOus bow, say
81 am really very sorry, Herr Buck
wart, to be counseed to put you to incon-
venience, but am obliged to do my du
y."
The old friends of Herr Buckwart also
tried to do their duty TO him. They ad-
vised, they entreated and they helped
him, but all in vain, and so one after an.
other gave him up in despair, declaring
with sigh, that as for poor Buckwart,
there was no Use in trying to help him
he was past being helped.
He had one friend, however, whose
heart Eas in the right place. aDd who,
- - = - esA,.- - "a
clear sighted one. This friend thought
he would not give ap Herr Buckwart al.
together, without making one more at
tempt to save him. So one day he led the
conversation, as if accidentally, to the
subject Of SpaTrOws, relating many amec-
dnteS Of these birds, and observing how
greatly they had multiplied Of late, and
how very cunning and vOracious they
had become.
Herr Buckwart shook his head gravely,
and in answer TO this observation said:
They are indeed most destructive
creatures. For my part have not the
slightest doubt that it is mainly owing to
their depredations that my harvest has Of
late been so unproductive."
To this conjecture his old friend made
no rejoinder, hut after n moments pause,
he continued the conversation by another
interrogatory-
Neighbur, have you ever seen white
sparrow :" ....-
NO." replied Buckwart, 1.-The spar
rows which alight in my fields are all the
common grey sort
This is very probable, too" rejOined
his friend. " The habits Of the white
swallow are peculiar TO itself Only one
comes into the world every year, and be.
ing SO different from his fellows, other
SparrowS take dislike to it, and peck it
when it appears amOrg them. For this
reason it seeks its food early in the morn
ing, before the rest Of the iea:hered tribe
are a>tir, and then goes back to its nest,
where it remains the rest of the day"
This is very strange" exclaimed
Buckwart. al must really try and get
sight at that Sparrow-and if possible
will catch it, too"
On the morning following this conver
salion the farmer rose with the sun and
sailed forth into the field. He walked
around his farm, searched his farmyard
in every quarter, examined the roof Of his
garnerS and the trees Of his orchards, to
see whether he could discover any traces
Of the wonderful sparrow. But the white
sparrow, to the great disappointment Of
the farmer, would not show itself, or stir
from its imaginary nest
What vexed the farmer still more, how
ever, was that although the sun stood
high in the heavens by the time he had
concluded his round, not one Of the farm
labOrcrS were aStir They too, seemed
resolved not to stir from their nests.-
Meanwhile the cattle were believing in
their stalls with hunger, and not soul
was near to feed than
Herr BuCkwart was rejecting on the
disadvantages of this state Of things when
suddenly be perceived a coming out
of the house, carrying sack of wheat on
his shoulders. He seemed to be in great
haste to get out Of the precincts of the
farm, and Buckwart soon perceived that
his steps were bent towards a public
house, where Casper had unhappily a
long score to pay. He hastened after the
astoniShed youth. who believed his mas
ter still in the enjoyment Of his morning
nap, and quickly relieved him of his bur-
den.
The farmer next bent his steps to the
COW house, and peeping to see whether
the white sparrow had perchance taken
refuge there, he discovered to his diSmay
that the milk maid was handing liberal
portion of milk through the window to her
neighbor to mix with her morning cup
Of coffee.
a pretty sort Of housekeeping this
is" thought the farmer to himself, as he
hastened to his wife'S apartment, and
reused her from her slumbers. "As sure
as my name is Buckwart," he exclaimed,
in an angry tone, "there must be an end
to these lazy habits. Everything is going
wrong for the want Of somebody to look
after them. So far as I'm concerned" :"
thought the good farmer to himself, l
will rise every day at the same hour l
rose this morning, and then ! shall get
my farm cleared of those who do not in
tend to do their duty properly. Besides,
other, | may succeed in catching the
white sparrow "
Days and weeks passed on. The farm
er adhered to his resolution, but he soon
forgot the white sparrow, and only looked
after his cattle and corn.fields.
Soon everything around him wore a
hourishing aspect, and men began to OBJ
serve that Herr Buckwart Backward)
now well deserved to be called Herr VOr-
wart (Forward).
In due course of time his old friend
again came to spend the day with him,
and inquired in humorous tone:
"Well, my fine fellow, how are you
getting on now have you succeeded in
catching glimpse of the white sparrow ?"
The farmer only replied to this ques-
ton by smile, and then, holding out his
hand to his old friend. he said:
"God bless you, Herder ! you have
ca-oA 49,. .xA 49,, c. fr0p1 rnin