Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1884-08-07

dreary will irove.
Oh say shall the dark clouds be lifted again.
And seasons more blessed and shining APP
A bliss everlasting be born Of our pain,
Like jewel distilled from the depths Of a
tear?
The Widow - Fortune
Innumerable stories are told of James
keene's rise in the world, and of those he
helped to better fortunes, and l shall
try to tell one of these "a 1t was told to
me at Saratog> two years ago. 'Do
you see That little woman with the
India shawl who is just going to drive"
enquired the ex Senator from California
Of the writer, as We sat together Oh the
piazza one afternoon. "She has had a
wonderful experience. Would you like
to hear how jim Koene helped her to a
fortune" Relighting his cigar the
Forty. miner proceeded. II remember
very we. n 1856, when Tom Cri.tenden
came back from New York with pref
ty little wife. He was daring opera
tor then, snd for while all he under.
took succeeded. But times changed.
Cri.teDden got OH the wrong side of the
market, and could not get right. One
day he came home ruined, and after a
brief illness died, SOME said, from a
broken heart. 1t was hard lines for his
wife. She had been gently reared, and
was no more fitted to battle with pow
erty and the world than n turtle dove
A few friends who bad known her hus-
band in his better days interested them
selves in her, and their wives gave her
enough work in the shape of plain sew
ing to keep the hungry wolf from the
door.
'In 1874 Flood, O'Brisn, Mackey
and Fair organized tho largest sche.ae
of mining speculation ever KIN avn on
the Pacific SLOPE. The stock OF B,nan-
"a mines was then very low-about %,
believe. One afternoon Mackey, who
was the general superintendent of these
mines (all u part of great Com stock
system) came in hurry to SanFran-
cisco aud went at once to Flood and o.
Brien. He said that they had struck
the most wonderful lot of bonanza or
pockets, full Of almost pure gold, that
he in all his experience had ever seen.
He proposed to the two gentlemen
named and Fair that they should quiet.
ly get hold of all this stock that could
be had before the news Of this wonder.
full strike was made public. This was
on Thursday. BY Saturday evening
they had three-fif ths of all the stock
Only two outsiders Sharon andBill Rails
tOn-were allowed to come in, and the
reason, the latter was told, they wanted
the Bank of California TO carry them
through. Keene, shrewd and sharp
felt that something was in the air, bu1
for the life Of him he could not tell wha
it was. One afternoon little woman
In rusty black came into the office and
with a timid air, asked clerk il sh,
could see Mr.. Keene.
The young man addressed was very
busy just then telling story to another
clerk OF how he and several others hat
painted the town red the night before
He looked over her head and every
where, and finally saw some one wht
was begging, and insolently answered
| that Mr.. Keene was very busy then ant
could zee no one. She waited momen
and modestly said: Will you take my
name in to him p just then a tall
slender man came out of back Office
with two or three others, and, hearing
the conversation, said II am Mr.
Keene ; did you wish TO see me p? Come
into my office, madam She went with
him. He offered her q chair with a
much courtesy as if she had been tn,
l
waited for her to speak. " Air. Keeue,
she said, am the widow of Tom Crit
tenden, Of whom you once knew, and
have been used to hearing OF mining
operations all my married life. Yes
terday l was at the house of--(nam
ing one of the bonanza set) and heard a
conversation which convinced me tina
great operation is being engineered by
Flood, O'Brien, Mackey and Fair
They say they have made a wondsrfu
discovery that will put up the Comst0cl
certificates of stock 800 or 400 per cent.
She then opened little box and hand
ing It to Keene, said :: These diamond
ear ornaments were my mothers pres
to me the day ! was married.
Thr, sghout all my distress and povert!
l have kept them. They are worth $500
Will you take them a. security and on,
for me ON margin all this mining stool
they are good for 2
Keene saw 1t all in seoond. Hort
. was the clew he had 30 vainly tried d
find. You have rendered me u mos
. important service, Mrs. Crit.enden,
said he. Keep yonr diamonds. vii
buy you q line Of shares in the mininl
stock you me ton, and carry it for you
, Whenever you want your prorts com
TO me, anu ne DOWou ucT out. Ahoi
was no time to lose, bu. by working
diligently he had stock enough to max
lS1, 900 900 profit II the stock went abov'
Zoo. Four days after tho wonderful
news became uolic. At first the bro
kers thought it was job, but the ex
, Iperts they sent down said that nota I'M
like such deposit had ever beer
known in mining history. The stool
started. FROM 90 It jumped to 90 in on
Iday, then to 80, 100, 100, 160, 200, 2St
8 lTbe little woman watched the upwar
rise with feelings that can only be in
j, lag,ued. She scarcely slept; she cou!
Il not work. At 2S5 she sent MI Keene
m note to sell whatever he had bought fc
RS her. She had no idea how much IL was
a, but thought i: might perhaps be 70
80 shares-mayb DO not more than 1oc. Thi
would give her at least 81, 900 after a
expenses were paid. That afternoo
III he went down to his Office. The SINAI
ID Young clerk remembered her, an
" was moro civil this time.
% Gle said Mr.. Keene was out Just thei
D but was momentarily expected. woul