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Volume 3 (1858-1859) (592 pages)
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Page: of 592
520 HUTCHINGS’ CALIFORNIA MAGAZINE.
out while leading such a life of inactivity. He had heard of the wondrous
yield of gold in the northern mines, and
felt that he could not be satisfied until he had taken a hand in such a game
of chance as mining was said to be. The
free and glorious life of a mountaineer,
the pure invigorating air of the snowcovered hills, all had their strange fascination for him. It was not George Somerville’s nature to wait for dead men’s
shoes, or sit quietly down for Plenty to
empty her horn of treasures into his Jap.
One night he went quietly into Ilda’s
room, which was situated in one of the
remotesit corners of their cloth house;
(even there, away from the riotous barroom, the bacchanal song and drunken
orgies disturbed the domestic quietude
of every inmate) and sat down, leaning
his forehead in the open palm of his
hand, to indulge in some golden fancy or
gloomy reverie, when Ilda glided like a
sprite into the room, and wound her dimpled arms about his neck; her golden
tinglets falling over his face and shoulders, while her warm red lips met his;
and she rallied him lovingly about “the
blues ;”” and administered a smart slap
on his shoulder, as she said, in a rich, gay
tone of voice:
“George! what on earth are you sitting here dreaming aboutin this hubbub?
Why these little witches have turned the
room upside down, and are making as
much noise as though they were the chief
mourners at a Digger’s funeral.”
Catching Kate, the eldest, she playfully threw her upon the bed, and then held
little Nina’s hands whileshe nearly smothered her with kisses; Nina struggled to
get away. Ilda in the exuberance of her
joy, clasped her two dainty hands and
laughed sucha young, girlish laugh, that
George thought her again his beautiful
Udain the cabin of the “‘ Highland Mary”
instead of the Ilda in the cloth house by
the way-side, and the mother of his two
romping girls. He half regretted that
he had made up his mind to be a gold
hunter; yet, on the morrow, he must start
for the mines; and how to trust himself
to break the truth to them he knew not;
but the sacrifice must be made; Ilda and
her fragile babes must never toil; he
loved them too well; he had rather his
hands were like horn than to see Ilda’s
soiled by helping old Maggie cook for a
dozen boarders ; who by this time had taken lodging in the cloth pavilion. He
bent his eyes searchingly upon Ida; he
had never seen her look so beautiful before, and how constant and loving she
had always been; not a cross word or
look had ever passed between them ; she
had been his only adviser ; and how pure
and innocent the dear little group looked
to him, now dearer than ever when about
to part; and what if Iida, when he became a miner, should forget him, and
with her girlish beauty love somebody
else? No! what a preposterous and unworthy idea; he was wronging himself
and his idol by athought sosacrilegious.
“Kate,” said George, “ to care for his
little darlings, shall papa go and be a miner and bring back gold for mamma and
little Kate and Nina? Nina can have
dolls, and picture books, and she will not
ery as she sometimes does now, because
papa is poor and cannot buy the little fairy candy, plenty of dolls, and nuts, and
raisins.” Ilda looked up and saw the
manly features of her husband. Nina
clung to him, and said, “oh! papa, dear
mamma would cry; nobody would love
her when you were gone away ; and who
would tell her pretty stories after she had
gone to bed.” He then soothingly told
Ilda that he intended to start early in the
morning for Downieville, and that he had
already engaged a pack train to carry his
blankets: she must try to reconcile herself for awhile to the separation, as it was
necessary ; and this was the first and last
separation they should ever know. Ilda