A GOLDEN SORROW.

Waikato Times, 17 January 1874, Page 3

A GOLDEN SORROW.

I iwear* *ti» hctttr to bt lowly born, A»d range with htimblu Htm in content, Thaoto b* pitkad up in' « grief, And » tar a golden aortovr. Shaksfkakz.

CHAITKR XXTin— 'TOR «NGI,A»D, BOSK, AND KJktTT.' Tim ri'iuU of Lawrence Daly't discovery on that he re-•olvi-d to preserve perfect siknce on fch» subject of the nugget, unless by some fortunate accident Walter should give an indication of returning memory. He immediately look the precaution of telling such of the minert a.s Wnfter »m likely to tee, that they must not talk te him 1 of Spoiled j ¥W, beenn** h-s fever hft>] weakened his nerves, smd he could not bear it. The roughest and most lies, less amun^ tnem would not hare refused compliance' with his request . Walter had tired himself out, on the day after he had read Florence' • letters, by writing to ner"at great length, :n order to avail hirntelf of an opportunity for despatching letters! which then occurred. When at length he threw down 1 his pen quite exhausted, it was with the remark that he mght to hare written to Mirmui, but he waa too tired j Miriam mu»t wait. ' Bhe will be disappointed,' said Dalj j ' lie down for a bit, and let me> write fro nyour dictation. I shall like it ; it is quite a new sensation for a lonclj fellow like me to write a letter, even though it's not mr own.' Walter gladly assented; and the Inter, % short but emphatic one, wa« written and folded, to be addressed to 'Mrs Clint, the Firs, Drinulon, Ham| t'lire.' I. was the rirtt time Walter had written to his wife under h«r real i.amr, and he looled qu to fondly at the superscription, before he held out the document to Daly to tako and seal. ' What shall I wnte on this?' asked Lawrence. ' Oh, just " Miriam V ' Lawrence complied. He, too, wrote the natn* very slowly, Very distinctly, and looked at it when it was done. While the friends were but>y with their preparations for ' departure, and Walter was taking it for granted', without the least »u«p cion or misgiving, that Daly wu to accompany him to Eug and, and share Ins home, always if he choie, but at It a,*t lor ait undefined period, Lawjvne»-J» •» much occupieq in debuting witb himself what he could do In rraliby, he entertained no purpose of going to England. Why should he? Walter had become independent, by an extraordinary and fortunate accident; but his own position «aa not Terr materially better titan it l'i»i betn when they came out to the Gulden State. The few hundreds of pound* which would be his share of their joint a-qinsi ions, exclusive of the nugget, which had but mocki-d him with illworj tuceen ' —a mil age of the mm« — could not do much for him. Should he induce Walter to intrust his share al-o to him, and try hu luck in the speculating world of New York, aUajs reserving a sufficient sum to enable him to resume the old work, in the same or tome other district ? It would' be hard for him *o part witli his friend, and Walter would feel it so too But Walter had an entirely new life to fwe, fresh ties to form, old association* to renew, of a date an* terior to their meeting, and would soon cease to miss the familiar companionship. Lawrence hai none of these thing-) in the Old Worl I ; to him the New wns as homelike, and it ottered 1 better elUnees. H"e would wait awhile, until the associations of their present life should be broken through, and novelty had had if s effects on Walter, before he would undeceive him ; and, besides, he had" something to do it San Francisco, winch was the first point they were to make in tin return journey. Deemig had said he wa« going to ' roll down New Mexico wajt,' a suffi-itntly fugue indication of hi* intention*, nnd one which would, hud it been earned out, have precluded Lawrence fiom any hope of finding him. Bnt he had heard from some new clrum« who hnd arnced at the gold fiel Is during Walter's illness, that D.-er nif hal been seen at Sacramento, where he had been pUiy'ni >>iih but unsuepe<sfully. and that he had told several of tie party that his I intention was to go to San Francisco, nnd take charge of a slup for New Vo k — being inclined to give civilisation and Wall Street another trial. Lawrer.ee determined to find Deering, if possible. He took it for granted that this man had W liter's pocket-book in hi* possession. If he 'ai miffed hia instrument ci«e, lie would have come, or sen* hack to the lone hot t> fetch it ; bur, finding the unsuspected »üb-til ute, lie would be content and go away withoul * notion of his los*. Chi the recovery of the pocket-book depended his sole chance of findine the nusfget, and removing, the cloud of oblivion from Walter's intellect If he should surceed in recovering the clue to the hidden goH, he thought of proposing to Walter that they should part at San Franeiico, when he would return to the •cene of their toil and secure it in their common interests. In many mi perceptible ways, Lawrence tried experiments ) on Walter's memory before they commenced their j >nrne», but they were all unsuccessful. In everything connected with the incident! which immediately preceded the fever, it wa-t a blank. When they were fairly on their why, when the life of the lone hut, tnd the busy, toiling mining settlement, shut Lr the great mounta.n ramparts within the beautiful, desecrated valley, bad been left far behind them, the mnatience for which Day had looked began to make itself evident in Walter. The tun- t eme \ endless to him, which at first he had ha d' 7 admitted to be tedious, iind miserinff crowded fnrt upon him. By the timethev reached" S<in Francisco, WaVter wa« almost ill with mipat'ence, and Liwrence began to feel doubtful about the propriety of leaving him. even if he should find out Deering, anJ dueover all h« wanted to know. To any one. not aware of the strange e«n in hit memory, there wou'd have been no reasonable cause for inquietude about Walter, bat Daly never forgot that fact, and he associated with it an irntab'e and impuNive manner which had come |unon Walter. He C3u!d concal fro-n Florence, if they should ever meet, and the evil be still dnmen^led 1 , the || whole of the circumstance 1 * connected with the nu 'get ; she ' need never be aware of her htt«btnd'a lost of raen.ory ; hut, 1 supposing he were te show other symptoms of a mental •hock or twist, owe of those serious disarrangements of the mystic meehani«m of the intelligence which baffle science — what then? That could not be hid len front her. and Lawrence dreaded to think of what she would suffer. In his { bodily health he wa-» very well, but the fever had considerably altered his appearance He look'd much ol<Vr tKsin he really was, and hi* once luxuriant oheitnut brown hair wn< thin, «nd thicklj •jnnkled with gray. Daly hart remarked upon this to him, won lerincr whether it wnt an ordinary result of the kind of ferer he had had \ but Walter Told 1 him it was hereditary ; at all ievent«, his mother's family all turne I gray in tlieirearlv man'iood And their womanhood, and he shnuM not be surprised to find Miriam white. He talked to Lawrence n good deal shout Miriam, speculating Agaily upon the surprise and di^comforturn which must have *u*tained by Mr 'it Quentm, and his probable feelings towards himself On their arrival at San UVanei'co, Daly set about inquiring for Peering w ithout lost of time. He had a auffictent inkling of that gentleman's chafracf er to enahle him to make, a very fair gue*s at the sort of pfaren in which he was most likely to be found, or to be 'heard of Hit intuition w»t not at fault, and in a few davt h* hivA discovered all that was necessary for his purpose to know. He murt travel farther, if lie would find Deerinc, who, after * fi»w weeks p)i«vd in all tie wildest and wiost (liisipttrJ ncents of 1 Frisco ' life, hod roiled, only six days nefrwe tht» trrival of Liwrence Duly and Water Clint, for New York. This Was unfortunate, but not such a contretemps as it appeared. Lawrence felt re uctant to part With Walter, while so great *n interval of time and space lay be! ween him nnd his home. ' What does it mntter about m»,' he would say to hinwlf, half-carelestly, half-bitterly j ' tb*re'«< no woman, ft thousand tiinet too good for me, or any man. waiting for me ; there* no one to nund whether Igo hncV to the Placers, or on to New York, exept Walter, nrrd I 9 will go with him 1 I will see him off to bit pretty wife and his good f>rtune, and then — *c shall see !' Deering had gone to Panama in charge of a pasv^n^ereMip u« surgeon, which did not look a* if the rolling »to> c had yet rlii| ro>e 1 the proverb ; and would be sure to be heard of at the agent*, and other places frequented by the tlrp's officers.