CHAPTER XV—CONTINUED

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 227, 23 October 1873, Page 3

CHAPTER XV — CONTINUED

Loftt hills, their bummit» crowned with dense woods, peopled with deor, close in a valley which miglit, for its beaut) and its seclusion, be that in which Rasselas learned w isdom and weariness. Far boyond them, rolling blretchea of woodtid land lie basking in tho golden sunshine, which touches, with its splendour the mighty crests of the giant* of the sierra. From the encircling hills, uianj sheer descents, through richh wooded depths, thickly strown with huge granite rocks, lead ' to the level plain — of vast extent, cultivated at tho sides , only, irregular and picturesque, forming a wide-atretching strand for a river, bordered with willow bushes, which run» through it, and throws off many a littlo rivulet, to wander through the green and brown expanse One of those rivulets, its flat banks fringed with poplars and willows, raeandora through the plain, and pmses by the foot of an enormous mass of aunftrous rook, which, worn by tho constant action of water, lias split into fragments, crumbled, loosened, and let free its veins of gold A streamlet gushes from its reces«es, and swirling amid tho roots of overhanging pimu, forms a busin at its foot, lurrounded with green turf, and then rushes away in a glittering httlo cascade, over a fall of a few feet, to swell the rivulet. The beauty of tho scene could hardy be exc 'e^e , even in the Golden State, which has been declared to be ' uiiburpaosed in the world for climate, scenery, and soil.' It is » busy scene, as well as beautiful. The plain is studded with miners' huts ; and men in every variety of costume, of many nations, and all periods of life beyond childhood and short of actual old age, are pursuing their unvarying, absorbing task — gold finding in Placer County. All stages of the operation are going oc simultaneously over the vast space occupied bv the valley. The claim belonging to Lawienoe Daly and Walter Clint is one of those known as 'river-bed,' and their hut is situated on a little strip of stony land, like a slab of stone embedded in shallow earth, which juts out at the foot of the huge mass of rock already mentioned, and overhangs tho rivulet, a few hundred yards below the bmin and case do. Behind the hut, which is of n *'»!>« ml in nowise different from the others in the valley 1 'i« i » » m-i » abruptly, with its scattered covering of fir and }><u\ an-l siwtches on for many unles, it» ancient surface furrowed ami s>l iiiied by the relentless soarch of the gold -seekers. The door of the hut is closely shut, and there is no »ign of activity or life about it or in its immediate neighbourhood, in which are all the appliances of the occupation of the inmates. For the moment, stillness and idleness reign, and the only living creature visible is a large dog, which lies across the doorway, in an attitude of quiet vigilance, his pointed muzzle resting on Ins outstretched fore-paws. About a mile farther down the valley, there is a cluster of huts, forming a kind of little town, with a rough palisade enclosing it ; and in the centre, is a long, low , shed-hko building, as large as six huts put together, from whoso roof floats the banner of the Stars and Stripe*. A motley crowd of men, hovses, wagons, unyoked oxen, bales, casks, and inquisitivo dogs, occupies the space around this — the most imposing building in the locality. It is known si the store, and it contains everything and is the general resort of everybody. Between this cluster of huts and the solitary one with tho sentinel dog, the rivulet sweeps round, and enormous boulrlfrs jut out from tho body of the rocky hill, ■o that tlio hut is isolated on that side, and shut out from all knowledgo of the bu\v, swarming crowd beyond it. It looks very quiet and peaceful with the evening coming on, full of the indescribable beauty of that hour on the Pacific shores ; and there is something of neatness and order about it, which mdicatei that it is not tenanted by low, fierce, or ignorant specimens of the miner population. A« the evening advances, two figures make their appearance, coming round the jutting boulders, and advancing to the cottage. Tho sentinel dog pricks up hii ears, rises, and inspects them. One is familiar to him, the other is not, but the stranger arrives 'in company with Walter Clint, and Sambo accepts the fact as a certificate of his character, and a guarantee of his intentions. The stranger is a young man, rery little older than Walter, but taller and stouter. He has red hair, a red bushy beard, and small sharp gray eyes, with sagacity of the ounmng sort in thorn. He wears a motley costume, in which, through tho roughness and carelessness characteristic of the manners of the place in this respect, there shews tbo former fastness of a pecjlinr type of man, less harmless than the ' loafer' proper, and vet not belonging either to the avowedly dangerous clashes. He we. n a checked ahirt, and a flashy tie with a horse-shoe pin in it, and though his boots are high, and pulled over his trousers, they are not miners' boots. Walter Clint is altered in appearance since that day on which he took silent leave of his wife and his sister at the railway station at London Bridge, lie could not personato » candidate for a lady's-maid's place now, with any hope of success His fair skin is tanned to a healthy brown ; his hands are more than ever muscular and hirsute ; and his figure h&i developed into undisguisable manliness, under the influence of constant exercise and hard work. There is no mingling of the past and tho present in his attire ; the red shirt, wide-leaved straw hat, and capacious boots, all mean bmiuess, and nothing but business. The two walk briskly on, and Walter enters the hut, preceding his companion, who looks curiously about him, with a sharp observant glance, into the room on the right of the doorway. A bare, plain room, but clean, and not devoid of comforts, though thoy are of a makeshift kind, and testify to the ingenuity rather than to the means of the inmates. From stout iron hooks in the rafters, which form the ceiling and the roof at once, a hammock is slung In the hammock lies Lawrence Dnly, dozing, not sleeping, in the uneasy semi-consciousness of low fever. He lifts Ins heavy eyelids, and looks stupidly at Walter, as he says to him : 1 1 hare succeeded in finding Dr Deering, and bavo brought him iv with inc.'

A London correspondent of a Scotch paper remarks :—: — Dr Gumming, of prophetic fame, in a speech at the City Missions, made tome curious revelations about theatres, plays, and players. " The church in which I have long officiated," he said, "is the centre of eleven theatres ; 1 might pitch a stone from my pulpit into Drury Lane on my right hand, and into Covent Garden on my left. I have a little service on Friday evenings, and actors, actresses, and scene-shifters come in occasionally and take & mouthful of living bread and go away. Madame Grisi attended for three montbi, and got much good. Once a number of boys .and girls were picked out of my schools to help at the pantomimes. I called on the parents, and placing the case before them, said, ' Your children go at eight o'clock at night, and do not get home till twelve or half-past ; they are hung up with wires, and fly through the theatre as angels with wings ; then they put on their dirty clotbes and go home. Do you think this is for their their good ?' The answer was 'No ; but we are starving, and get a shilling a night and we can't afford to give it iip " This is an argument not easily refuted. The re"verend doctor does not show to advantage as a critic. He ■aid he had once been preaching against the theatre, and got a remonstrance from an actress, who was sure, if he would come aud see " Maufred " acted he would alter his opinion, He declined to go, but said he would read it carefully, and comment on it next Sunday. He had a great crowd of actors, actresses, and scene-shifters. He toW them that in the play there was one suicide, one murder, two or three lies, and two or three equivocal proceedings, and that he wws quite disgusted with it, The poetry in it he had, of course, overlooked. As " Othello " has also a suicide, a murder, lies, and equivocal proceedings, no doubt the doctor would be as much disgusted with Shakespeare as with Byron.