The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-23


regularly one Sunday afternoon | was sit
ting outside writing. when o shadow fel
across the paper, and, looking up. beheld |
skeleton standing there before me- Accus
toned as / was TO lonely encounters will
strange men OF all kinds. my hair stood OF
end as ! stared at tho spectre. He was tht
| merest boy In years, pretty and delicate b,
nature, aud evidently reduced 30 this shadow,
state by starvation lis story was soon told
| He had left Boston on board vessel bouno
| for the northwest coast; had been wrecked al
| the mouth of the Umpaqua and been wander
| ing about IN the mountains ever since, feeding
on roots and berries"
mo, | assure YOU interrupted Joseph
with mn amused look Mt my wife, "the boy
was not young woman in Disguise II that
what you are thinking. He was just poor
weak, half-starved lad named Edwards.
fed and nursed him until he was able to work
for himself. and then | got Sam Chong Sung
70 let him take up claim alongside Chi
nese camp, promising to favor the Chinanan
In n beef contract If he would be good to the
boy. / still continued TO see great deal Oh
him"
"And did Edwards succeed p
Eyes. he got on. One day two Cinnamon
stole some Of Sam Chong Sung's horses, and
he offered $500 TO Edwards II he would 90
after the thieves and track them Edwards
go, telling him where | fancied he would find
the men. SO hsetarted In pursuit, and con-
Tess missed him
Again Joseph paused. We did not inter
rupt him.
"a man came to my fort one day who was
naked and starving. He was bad-lookng
fellow. very, but you will say man naturally
does look bad when his clothes are nowhere
and his bones prOtrude through his skin
clothed him, fed him, cared FOR him kindly
until he was able to travel, and then he went
away The next Sunday | was sitting outside
my fort, ~ customary on that leisure day
reading some translations from the Greek
poets for | dare say you remember | was
never much of o hand ut the original when
CHANGING to look off my book / beheld Wis
ion"
"A whatP'
"A vision. A vision Of lovely woman.
She was riding up the approach to my fort on
2 fine horse riding gracefully and slowly as
II TO give me time to get over my surprise:
and i believe needed IL. The picture she
made ls In my mind now. | see the very
flicker Of tho shadow and the sunlight across
the road. and the glitter Of some steel that
fastened her horses trappings as he arohed
his neck In impatlenoe of her restraining hand.
Are you tired. old friendP'
Never less so IN my lfe.'
THAT vision, breaking In suddenly as Il did
upon my solitude gave me the queerest SEN
sation. | was just spell-bound. Not so she,
Refining In her horse Mt my gate, she squared
round on her saddle and looked at me, silently
asking my assistance to dismount | helped
her down-what else could do2-and then Mt
her request, gently preferred, went to put W
and feed her horse. Had she dropped from
the cloudsp / did not know.
"Well?"
IF you'll believe me, when turned indoors
my guest had got her habit Off. Evidently
she meant to make herself Mt home. tall.
young. beautiful. well-dresaed womanl Her
eyes were large. black and melting. Her hair
was superb, her manner easy. She was hun
CRY, she said: would / give her something to
eatp And while ! was making preparations
to give her of my best, she read aloud one of
the Greek transatlons- an ode to Diana
commenting upon 1t herself. That she was a
woman Of culture and education, whatever
might have brought her into her present
strange position, was obvious Well, now"
continued Joseph, you can guess whether
young man, isolated on the mountains, ruined
by the grasshoppers. and Tilted by tho girl Of
the willamette Valley, was bewidered or
not. Entertaining goddesses was not in my
line"
How long did she stay?"
" Wait n bit. What with reading and eat
ing, our acquaintance improved fast She
offered to sing song, and gave me Kate
kearney.' | might have lost my head to her,
perhaps TO say nothing of the heart-but for
u certain inward latent doubt. / did not care |
that my girl should ride about, elegantly ut |
tired, Oh prHnrfng h0r5es, att drop tfuwti TIT t
eSpeCtedly on hermts. Still IL was pleas
ant feeling To find ones self near her, and Ger
tainly novel one. / asked her her history |
md she told it me. She was of n good New
England family. reared in aflluence well edu-
;ated and accomplished, but bya freak Of |
ortune she had become reduced to poverty |
ind exile from home"
"What was 1t, joseph ~
All what, indeed? The old story, | sup
,ose; but did not ask her. She had made
Ter way to California, resolved to get on and
ret money; and she had got 1t. She went
bout from camp to camp with stationery
nd various articles needed by the miners
nd others sold them these things wrote |
etters for them, sang to them, nursed them
when sick, and carried their letters express
D San Francisco to be posted For all these |
ervces she received large payments and
he also had good deal Of rough gold given
er as specimens. Did she like that kind OF
fel asked her, so contrary to her early
abitS and she answered me quickly 1T is
OF what we choose that we do In this world.
ut what Fate chooses for us. | have made
competency and gained a rich and varied
xperience. Life Is not what | once pictured
to be- but ] am content She sighed as she
aid it: and didn't believe in the content ="
But what had brought her to you that
ayr
.'She had not told me herself then, but pres
1tly / asked her. | shall never forget the |
mile with which she turned to answer IL |
retty nigh disarmed me. We were sitting |
Dmewhat close, too; hor flowing silk gown
,uched my knees. Altogether, | began to {
INK Oh llOSe USELESS pegs In my mousse down I
Rogue-River Valley But what she said s
ulled up my wandering thoughts and turned :
lem 70 present things. Will you be sur
rised to hear that | came to do you a real {
,rvicer she asked. And she went on to say |
lat having had to pass the previous night /
place not many miles away, in a house '
here the partitions were thin, she had t
lanced TO overhear plan for numbering and q
,bbing me- the villain-in chie6of the plot be- t
e the starved and naked wretch whom | q
I'd sheltered and sent away rejoicing not c
any days previously. All in moment, z
lille was bordering on the doubtful prob i
IN of gratitude, fancy came over me that /
lat she might not be telling the truth; that t
might be just an excuse got up to Justify t
ar own visit; and playfully limited as much b
woman does not trifls with subjects like +
lese. nor does she deceive when she goes out a
her way to do a service, she answered, I l.
de off from that house the other way this t
orning, made long detour and came here I
warn you. And now that have done it, if 4
ou will please to get my horse, will ride b
way again All fair. that. /, full Of thanks
Id repentance, asked her to stay longer 1t b
he was not perfectly rested but she declined. b