The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-12-20
Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington.


thoroughfares in the world than this
avenue. Here ruler and ruled jostle
each other here thunder the liveried
equipages of foreign mobiles here saun-
ters the President, and nobody turns to
look. Sooner or later all the famous
of the world are tolerably sure to be
met upon it: history walks beside US
and mighty shadows move before US.
Washington has dashed down that ave-
nue. in his yellow chariot that was paint
ed with cupids and drawn by six white
horses; Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette,
Burr, and all the gods of the republic
have trodden it before us; dishonoring
British squadrons have marched upon
it; it has shaken to the tread of our
own legions and great forms begin to
loom in the national memory that have
Just passed from its daily crowds. Nor
does all its interest belong to the past ::
those daily crowds themselves are full
of perpetual dramas in which the ac-
tors are unknown perhaps to fame or
fiction, but none the less real and in
sad earnest with their play. Here goes
a little withered man in his threadbare
coat he has proud and scowling face,
but he pauses with a singularly sweet
and gentle manner at every group of
children, black or white. He is an old
numismatician, a foreigner, and his
youth in Europe was given to the gath
ering of coins and medals till he had a
nearly unrivaled collection, and he
came over the sea, hoping to dispose of
them to the government of this country.
Failing in his purpose, his means
dwindling day by day, he was obliged
to pledge portion of his treasure that
he might be able to live. 1t cut him
to the heart to divide his collection ::
he had the history of the world in those
incontrovertible records of brass and
silver and gold, currency of the old
Hindoo, of the Assyrian-medals where
Alexander's superb profile shown
crowned as Apollo-coins of the Ptol-
emies, of the Caesars, of almost every
people and generation from the begin
ming of civilization till to-day. But di-
vide them he did, and left part of them
in other hands, and went to the North.
There driven by necessity, he pledged
another portion; and after while, wish
ing to redeem the latter pledge, and
not being allowed to do so, he began
lawsuit to obtain it. The court deci-
ded the case against him; and the lit
tie man, half crazed, unable to obtain
the portion he had pledged in Washing
ton, and now seeing this also leave him,
cried out in the open court, " o unjust
judge ! God shall demand your soul of
you!" And the judge with sudden
exclamation, fell backward, and before
the sun was set he was dead The little
numismatician returned to Washington,
and having failed in all the hopes of his
life, took translating and any other
writing he could find to do. But there
a certain high official having treated
him unworthily, he adjured him much
as he had adjured the unjust judge: and
and a fortnight afterward the official
had gone to join the judge. 1t is hard
ly surprising if there were a vague feel
ing toward this really excellent man and
scholar as toward one having the evil
eye, whom people dread to meet and
fear to offend.
But here is another individual with
another experience. Gems are his pas
sion, and for years he has sacrificed to
it. He is only an old clerk on mod
crate salary, but no misadventure has
ever disturbed his plans, and year by
year he has added some treasure to his
hoard till it is unique as it is precious.
There are rings of bishops and kings;
jeweled baubles from Egyptian tombs
and gold-wrought ornaments of the
Montezumas cameo where a single
face with its shadows makes six laugh
ing and six weeping outlines; cats
eye quartz to which the one the King
of Siam has is perhaps the mate; dia-
monds and pearls, amethysts and to-
pazes, beryls and opals, single emeralds
of rare beauty and doublets of great
size, rubies of the real pigeons blood,
and sapphires whose heart is blue as the
bluest midnight, but whose angles re-
tracts a radiance red as fire chains of
carved beads; seals, intaglios-to al
most all of them some legend attaching.
Her passes person very different
from either of these-a tall and martial
figure, a flibustero in every cline,
hunted with blood hounds in the Span
ish sierras when Don Carlos needed
him, floating naked on bladders down
the Danube, with dispatches in his
mouth, when the Hungarians were sore
pressed. Here goes a jolly, happy man,
who contentedly lets title and coronet
60 by across the sea while he practices
law in the Patent Office. Here on the
avenue go up and down all these peoples;
and countless others with stories as
pointed, whether it be such story as
that of Captain Sutter, whose treacher-
GUS servant bartered all the gold of
California for single drink, or of this
black who to-day is free and yesterday
was a slave.-Lippincott's Magazine.
CAUGHT IN HIS OwN TIARA Bur-