Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-12-01
OUTGEKERALED.
Written for the SUNDAY UN1ox.l

further than to show it to be within the
memory of very many now living in the
vicinity of what was then known as Mud
vile, and to them l refer you for the abso-
lutte truthfulness of what I write.
Midwife was half farming and half
mining locality, and, l would like to add,
fractionally manufacturing, only the
above division seems to render it impossi-
BILE. l had purchased half interest in
the Gopher mine early in October, and
with my partner, Tom Hanley, was board
ing at the Widow Mertys'.
1t seemed pity that a woman of Mrs
Mertys' business capacity should be con-
fined to the somewhat limited dimensions
of a country boarding house. She was of
middle age, tall and strong and vigor-
Gus, and if not positively ugly, was a
thousand miles from being hand
some. Her predominating trait was
energy Early and late she was on
the move, and nothing escaped
her eye or failed to feel the power
of her hand. 1t was her frequent boast
that she was always equal to the occasion;
and no doubt she was-that is, nearly al
ways. In truth there was so much vim
and energy IN her nature that there was
no room for social qualities, and her house
would not have been an agreeable place at
which to board but for one fact, and that
was she had a daughter. While there
was nothing wonderful in that fact there
was something wonderful in the daughter.
She was kind-hearted, amiable girl; but
if her mother was not positively ugly her
daughter Liddy certainly was. | dis
when | first beheld her. had not by any
means been prepossessed with the appear
ance of her mother, whose nose seemed to
start out suddenly from the base of her
forehead almost horizontally and for an in
definite length, it seemed to me, and when
she talked she faced you as though she
was about to avenge some awful wrong; her
small eyes sighting along that double-bar-
relied nose with a CLEAN that made you
quail; and when she was somewhat angered
we felt, in some degree | am sure, as one
does when "held up" by highwayman
with his gun cooked and aimed at ones
head. feel | readily can understand how
that poor being who once held subordinate
position under her administration had
been made to call her wife for few brief
years; and how he looked out upon the
blue expanse of sky, the verdant hills and
fiowery wales and longed for one breath of
freedom. He was a man of great tenacity
of life, | am told, for be lived four long
years after their marriage
Rut tbic l. HaUrant di0raccioD cold I
distinctly remembered the shock | re-
ceived when l first beheld her daughter.
Tom Hanley and l had gone together to
secure board and lodging at Mrs Mertys'.
Said Tom, when she had stepped from the
room for moment: Julius Cesar we'll
be served up for mincemeat if we come
here. Let's clear out"
Just then she returned, followed almost
Immediately by her daughter. | gave one
look, and then glanced at Tom; he stood
with his eyes rivetted on the younger
woman's face with a wondering, half
frightened look that was painful to behold,
and he started as though punched in the
ribs when Mrs. Mertys said in her very
positive way: Gentlemen, this is my
daughter. They are coming to board with
U.s. Liddy."
Liddy was tall in spite of the bend in
her back; her scanty hair seemed about
the color of clay, and her eyes would have
been of greenish gray if they could have
been seen; but one turned abruptly to-
ward the nose which shot upward from
the face in the most reckless manner, while
the other modestly sought the floor.
The upward tendency of the nose was so
| Il nd hat ha
lifted away from the front teeth, giving
the whole face most peculiar appearance;
while her chin darted in under the teeth
so sharply that one imagined for moment
that she was minus an underjaw altogether.
| These were some of the charms Miss
Liddy presented to us on the occasion of
our first visit to her mothers. Not entic-
ing by any means, but the moment she
spoke she seemed another person. Her
voice was exceedingly pleasant, even must
cal, and her manner quite agreeable. As
| Tom remarked: Before she spoke she
looked like dose of aloes; but after, as
though it had suddenly been sugar-coated."
| Mrs. Mertys seemed very proud of her
daughter and never tired of talking OF her
good qualities. She never seemed for
moment to realize she was so outrageously
ugly. With her severe ideas it did not
seem to matter much. Handsome is as
handsome does" was her motto, which,
however true in general sense, could not
by any stretch of ordinary imagination be
made to apply to this particular case.
A weeks trial proved to us we had Sc
cured an exceptionally good boarding
place. The food was excellent and we re-
ceived all the attention we could reason
ably ask. One day we ascertained that
the adjoining claim to ours, which had for
some time been vacant, had been purchased
| by stranger and was to be opened i'm
mediately. This was good news to us. as
| the claims were somewhat isolated. There
is no competition in mining, so we stepped
over to make the acquaintance of our new
neighbor We found him at the mouth of
| his tunnel. You will smile, but | assure
you he was as ugly as Liddy herself We
had often said, Tom and /, that her match
could not be found in all the State, but
here he was. And this is how he looked
as he turned to answer our salutation:
A slender and rather crooked man, with
long bow legs, long frizzly hair of dirty
black color; exceedingly long and thin
| features; pale face, an unnaturally long
crooked nose, which, as Tom said, had
lurch to the west'ard he had by some ac-
cldent lost one eye, and the remaining one
had a strangely dull and heavy look. All
in all he was indeed fearfuIly and wonder
fully made. He returned our good morn
ing" in low, pleasant voice, and few
moments conversation showed him to be
an intelligent and well-informed man. On
ascertaining the good points of our board
| ing place, which Tom, for some reason,
waxed eloquent over, he consented to come
| with US and was soon established as one of
| Mrs. Mertys' regulars.
With Tom, | felt decided curiosity to
see how our Mr.. Pickley and Liddy would
appear when first presented to each other
But if We expected anything strange or
peculiar from the meeting of such a Won
derful couple we were certainly doomed to
disappointment, for it was very much like
the meeti.g of any fairly well-bred lady
and gentleman.
'Do you know" said Tom, II actually
| thought that such caricatures on human
itY must necessarily have different
thoughts and feelings from other people !;
| but to hear them talk in the dark one