USA > California > A picture of pioneer times in California, illustrated with anecdotes and stores taken from real life > Part 25
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Katie, who met me on the deck, told me she had neither wept nor slept all night, nor had she tasted food, nor had she alluded, she said, to her troubles in any way, except to speak once or twice of her immediate return to Philadelphia as a settled thing.
" Oh!" said Katie, " if she would only cry and talk of her troubles; but not a tear has she shed since you came back last night without Mr. Harvey. Something must be done to bring her back, for I know she cannot go on in this way."
I was much of Katie's opinion, and felt greatly alarmed at this state of Ellen's mind. I had hardly taken my seat by her when she demanded what I came for, and if I had brought the funds she asked for with me. She sat near the table, with one arm resting on it, with which she supported her head, while her large eyes were fixed on my face with a half-vacant gaze. I evaded her question, and went on to talk of such things as I thought might touch her feelings. Finding that nothing I had said moved her in the least, I went on to try the effect of talking di- rectly of Frank. I told her of the deception used by the doctor who attended him in his sickness, in the matter of the nurse, while Frank was unable to act for himself, and began a state- ment of the case, as I understood it.
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While I spoke I could not see the least change in her ex- pression of countenance, but once I thought her lip slightly curled, as if in contempt, when I was speaking of the artfulness of the nurse; but, if this was so, it passed off in a moment. I then went on to conclude by saying:
" Now, Frank says if you cannot bring yourself to see him, all he asks is that you will go with me to the Union, and, when there, read over his written statement of all that has passed, and then if, at the end of the twelve days that are to in- tervene between this and the departure of the next steamer, you still wish to return, he will provide you with a good escort, a good female attendant, and, of course, all the funds you want or ask for. Do not refuse him, Ellen, I implore you, because Frank feels that if this separation does take place it will be for all this life, and he demands, as a right, that you hear his state- ment before you take the final step; and if you adopt this course, he is sure that, if you cannot overlook the past and stay, you will at least pity and forgive him."
From her countenance I could hardly judge whether she heard or understood a word I had said. But when I had stopped speaking, without moving her position, she said, in a con- temptuous tone, and with a bitter half-smile on her lip:
" Go back, Cousin Henry, and tell that person who sent you here that I do not even know who he is. He is not my husband, I know, for my husband never could have had an occasion to ask any one to forgive or pity him; and if that woman Gabit's story of my husband was true, he would despise me if it was possible for me to stay and overlook the past, as you talk about. No!" she continued, with high animation; " in that case, Frank Har- vey would know that there was a horrible gulf opened between us, at our very feet, that never could be passed in this world, and he would despise the wife of his that would attempt to pass it. No, Henry; you see you cannot deceive me. I want no favors from any one. I will make my own arrangements, and one is never to step on California soil. Good-by, Henry," she continued, rising from her seat. "If we meet again, let it be at our old home in Philadelphia."
As she said this and left the cabin, there was inexpressible sadness and woe in her face.
Sick at heart, I remained for a moment in my seat, at a loss how to manage or what to do. 17
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Katie just then came in, and it occurred to me to have her try what she could do. I told her the first great object was to get Mrs. Harvey to leave the steamer, and that she must put her wits to work to make her go to the Union Hotel. She promised to do her best; so I returned to my office, where I found waiting for Frank a friend of his from S-, a Mr. Leet, to whom he had confided his present troubles. He was Frank's sincere friend, and sympathized, I have no doubt, sincerely with him in all this matter. Mr. Leet was rich, and, as the world goes, a very good sort of a man. Nevertheless, his notions on morality were of that low cast so terribly universal nowadays. He saw no sense in Frank's ideas on the subject, and much less in Ellen's. He thought the " game," as he expressed it to me, was all in Frank's own hands.
" When he received that note from his wife," said he, " telling him to come to her if Mrs. Gabit's story was false, and that she would never say another word about it, he should have gone, and, after a week or so, told her the truth, for fear any busy-body would do so. She could not then back out on any such silly pretence as she is now setting up."
It was as much as I could do to restrain my indignation at hearing my loved cousin's conduct commented on or questioned by a man who could neither appreciate nor comprehend a char- acter like hers. However, I acted with Mr. Leet as I do with all men whose ideas on morality are squared by the same low standard that I knew his to be-I neither argued nor found fault with him. I knew, too, that it was not from any disrespect to his friend's wife that he spoke as he did. I therefore merely said that it would be well not to make such a remark as that to Frank.
"Oh, no," said he; " it is too late now. He held the four aces, but had not the courage to play them boldly, and lost his ad- vantage, so that the game is up, and I will not pain my friend Frank by finding any fault with him."
Just then Frank joined us, and I gave the result of my visit to Ellen; and then we began to discuss what had best be done, when I was called by one of my clerks to say that Katie was in my store and wished to speak to me. We at once admitted her to our council. She told us that, after I had left the steamer, Ellen had become very much excited, and would listen to nothing from her. That, after awhile, the Captain coming in, Ellen ap-
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pealed to him, that in case her cousin and husband refused her the necessary means of carrying out her design of at once re- turning home, if he would not accept her own draft on her uncle's house in Philadelphia for her passage, and permit her to remain where she was until the steamer was ready to receive passengers. Katie understood the Captain to consent, and thought it best to let me know.
As Katie made this announcement, Frank sprang to his feet, and, confronting her, said, almost fiercely: "Consented to have her stay on board the steamer, and accept her own draft, did you say ? Are you sure you heard this ?"
Katie became very pale, but said: " Yes, sir; I think that was what I heard."
" Great God! What does this mean ?" said Frank, as he turned from Katie, with increased agitation.
Since Katie's entrance, Leet was standing, smoking a cigar, with his back to the stove, one foot on his chair, his right elbow resting on his knee, while he supported his chin with his fore- finger and thumb. To Frank's impassioned question he slowly said:
" It explains matters to me, I think, so that I can understand them now ; which, I confess, I never did before. The Captain wants her to stay, and she is willing to stay. I see, I see."
Leet, in his bent-over position, did not see what I saw; that Frank was advancing towards him, with his eyes flashing and every feature of his face rigid and pale with sudden passion. Leet had hardly uttered the last words, " I see," when a well- directed blow from Frank's right arm felled him to the floor; Frank exclaiming, as he bounded on his fallen friend with the fury of a madman: " Die, villain! die! You have dared to in- sinuate a foul slander against an angel of purity, my injured wife."
The noise and Katie's screams brought all my astonished em- ployees to the office; so that Leet was soon rescued from Frank's maddened clutch. His rescuers took him away, while I de- tained Frank by force in the office. I could not find it in my heart to be sorry for what had befallen poor Leet, and if Frank had not been there, I would not have let the language pass; at the same time, I felt well assured that Lect meant no offence. For some minutes after we were alone again, Frank continued to stride up and down the office. At length, he asked me for
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pen and paper, sat down and wrote a note, which he addressed to the Captain. He told me that it was a challenge, and asked me if I would take it as his friend. I peremptorily refused, and did all I could to dissuade him from such a step: First, because I despised the whole code of dueling, and I knew Frank did also; and secondly, because I was sure the Captain, whom I knew to be a man of unblemished honor, could explain his conduct in the matter to our entire satisfaction.
Frank, however, was not himself. He was in a wild excite- ment, and would listen to no arguments on the subject. When he found he could not move me, he left the office, and soon found a business friend, who took the challenge for him.
The Captain was surprised and pained on receiving Frank's hostile note. He told the bearer to go back to Mr. Harvey, and tell him that he was always ready to defend his honor, and to give honorable satisfaction to all men to whom he had given just cause to demand it; but that, in this case, nothing on earth would induce him to meet Frank Harvey. "First," said he, " because I have given Mr. Harvey no cause of offence, as I can show by the explanation I will give of what has passed between Mrs. Harvey and myself; and secondly, because, if I meet Mr. Har- vey, it might, if that were possible, cast a shade on the unsul- lied purity of his wife. For these reasons I positively decline, let the results to me be what they may. Please say further that I shall at once call on my friend, Mr. Philips, as I ac- knowledge an explanation is necessary."
After sending this message to Frank, the Captain came di- rectly to my office. He explained that, upon returning to the steamer soon after I had left, he found Mrs. Harvey in a state of the wildest excitement. That she had made what, of course, he considered an absurd demand on him. It was the same Katie had told us of. He said he acquiesced, without question or ar- gument, in all she said, fearing that, in her excitement, she would do herself some harm if refused or denied anything; that he was on the point of coming to my office himself to tell us of what had passed, when he was unexpectedly detained by business until he got Frank's hostile note. If Frank and myself had been his brothers, and Ellen his daughter, he could not have shown more generous feeling and deep sympathy for us all than he did.
Soon afterwards, when I made the explanation to Frank, his
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generous nature heartily regretted his hasty action, and he took an opportunity of making an ample apology to the Captain. The Captain met him in a manly, frank spirit, and accepted the apol- ogy most graciously, telling him that he honored the feeling that led him into the mistake.
As soon as the Captain left my office, I made up my mind to see Katie, and get her to tell Ellen the whole scene with Mr. Leet, which she had witnessed in my office; also, that Frank had challenged the Captain; and to urge her to at once leave the steamer to save further disturbance, and, perhaps, bloodshed, and the scandalous talk of the idle and worthless.
CHAPTER VII.
ELLEN AND THE REV. FATHER.
Katie, comprehending my idea perfectly, without loss of time, sought Ellen, and found her in her state-room, seated near her berth, with both her arms thrown out before her on the pillow, and her head resting between them. Katie commenced:
" Oh, dear, dear, Mrs. Harvey, we must leave this steamer at once. Such terrible things as have happened to-day, all because we remain here."
Ellen did not speak or change her position, but, turning her head, looked at Katie, as a person does who is half awake, and trying to collect their thoughts so as to enable them to compre- hend what is said.
Katie continued, and told all that had happened, and con- cluded by saying: "And Mr. Harvey has challenged the Cap- tain to fight him."
" Who to fight?" exclaimed Ellen, starting from her reclining position, and from half lethargy to wild life. " Who did you say was to fight ?"
Katie repeated what she had told of the challenge.
" Frank to fight! No! no! he shall not fight. It is some plan to murder him. I say he shall not fight! Go, Katie, fly, fly to Cousin Henry, and tell him to prevent this terrible fight, and I will do anything he asks of me, but to meet him. Oh, God! I mean my husband; I cannot meet him. Henry must not ask me that. But go and say that anything else under heaven he asks, I will freely do."
Then, while she walked the state-room floor with excited, feverish steps, she exclaimed, aloud:
" Oh, father dear, I was your pet and darling! Oh, mother, sweet mother, I was your pride and comfort! You left me long, long ago, a little child, to loving friends, and, you thought, to happiness; but, oh! how much better for me had I been taken with you. I would now be lying in a quiet little grave, between
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you, safe from all this trouble and strife, hid away in the long Winters by the pure, white snow, and in the bright Summers by tall grass and wild flowers, through which every breeze from my own native hills would murmur sad songs for my rest. Oh! had it been so, I never would have known of the falsehood and de- ception of the world."
Then, turning to Katie, she continued: "Fly, Katie, fly, or my senses will leave mne."
Katie needed no urging to come with speed to me, nor I to return with her to poor Ellen. I put her mind to rest with re- gard to the duel, and she made no further objections to go with me to her rooms in the Union. I promised to find the escort, and have all in readiness for her return home, as she desired. I then communicated all that had taken place to Frank. The re- sult was a great consolation and relief to him. The next day, when I called at the Union, I found, from Katie's report, that Ellen remained in the same unnatural, listless state. She made no complaints; she took no notice of anything around her.
When asleep, she seemed half awake; when awake she ap- peared half asleep.
" But, worst of all," said Katie, " she will not now say any prayers, although all her life she has been so religious and de- vout. This morning I knelt near her to see if she would join me, and when I saw she took no notice of me as she walked by me, I began to cry; I could not help it; and then she stopped and took her handkerchief, and, stooping over me, wiped away my tears, and whispered to me in, oh, such a sad, lonesome voice: 'Poor Katie! you must not cry; there is nothing left in this world worth shedding tears for.' Then she resumed her constant walk up and down the room. Oh! Mr. Philips, it is terrible to see her so. If she would only cry, the tears would bring her to herself. I have been," Katie continued, " to the Catholic Church in Vallejo street this morning, where I went to confession and communion, and, after mass, I thought it no harm to talk with the Priest, Father L-, as all the Catholics here say he is a perfect saint, about Mrs. Harvey; but when I told him that she had a husband and a cousin here, he said they were the proper persons to speak to him of private family mat- ters, and that if they saw fit to do so, he would do all he could for them, but otherwise he could not interfere. So I thought I would tell you what he said." r
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I saw Katie's idea, and thought it a good one, so I went in search of Frank. When I met him he told me he had just re- turned from the Vallejo street church, where he had had a long talk with the good Priest, Father L-, and that he had prom- ised to be at my office in an hour, with a good old father who had just arrived from Oregon, and who was, he said, a man of fine judgment and great prudence. At the appointed time Father L- put in an appearance, accompanied by his friend from Oregon, Father D -. This Father D- was a tall, fine-looking man, well advanced in years. He was evidently a man of the highest education and refinement. His countenance beamed with benevolence, aud he was affable and courteous in manners. His conversation was fascinating, and while it had something of the gentleness of a woman in it, yet it had all the strength, clearness and vigor of expression we claim as charac- teristic of our own sex. He was a Belgian by birth, and of a high and wealthy family in that country, and had served, when a youth, in an honorable capacity, near the person of the first Napoleon. He had of late been an associate of the famous In- dian missionary, Father DeSmet, in the mountain districts of Oregon, and was, at this time, suffering from a wound he re- ceived there. He was on his way to join Father Nobli, at Santa Clara College, which has since become such a splendid educa- tional institution. After a short acquaintance, we both felt that he was one on whose judgment we could rely without fear or question, and that if any one could move poor Ellen it would be this good father. He did not give Frank much hope of any im- mediate reunion. He said he thought he comprehended her character from all we had told him, and if he did, nothing but time and a deep, religious humility of feeling could ever overcome the shock her unbounded faith in her husband's honor and truth, and her sentiments of purity and delicacy of thought, had re- ceived. That all things were possible to God, and that Frank must not despair, but look forward with hope, but with resigna- tion, to the result of our efforts. It was then agreed that Father D- and I should call to see Ellen that afternoon at four o'clock, and that all we should ask of her was to read a letter from Frank, giving a truthful statement of his life in California, and which should make no demand for a reunion, or even an in- terview, between her and Frank. This being settled, I then pre- pared Katie for the visit, and she, as far as she could, prepared
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Ellen. She found it, however, impossible to fix Ellen's ideas, or be sure that she even heard what she said. When we arrived Katie showed us at once into Ellen's private parlor. As we en- tered, Ellen looked up from her half-reclining position on the sofa, and I, without ceremony, introduced the Rev. Father to her. For a moment her look was bent keenly on him, and then, with a visible start, she turned to me saying, in a careless tone: " Henry, have you found the escort ?"
I told her not, but would in ample time. Then the Father made efforts to draw her into conversation on indifferent sub- jects, but she seemed to avoid it; at the same time, however, she appeared to grow somewhat excited. At last, she addressed the Father directly herself, and said, with a smile and a tone in which there was evidently half contempt:
"I suppose you are the pastor of this place, brought here by my good cousin to influence my conduct and get me to forgive my penitent husband. Yes, oh yes; a very good business for the Catholic pastor of San Francisco to come on, to see if he can get the wife to overlook the falsehood and dishonor of the husband, for his crime is not worth speaking of. I suppose," she continued, in a bitter, sarcastic tone, "it is only the breach of his marriage vows, made in the church, before the altar dedi- cated to the God he pretended to worship; that is all ; and it was not his fault, of course, if that wife did not know that those vows, and all the religious ceremonies attending them, were but a mocking show, intended to deceive the foolishly confiding and ignorant. No; of course it is not his fault if that foolish wife believed in God, believed in those vows as a truth, believed in all that that husband told her, with a faith that never thought or dreamed of a doubt. No; of course it was not his fault, and you have come to tell me so. I knew your errand before you came, and I intended not to utter a word in reply; but there is some mysterious connection between your voice and face-what it is I cannot imagine-with a terribly dark hour of my childhood, that I find compels me to speak; so I will spare you all the trouble of making an argument to me."
She now seemed to give way completely to her heretofore half-suppressed excitement, and, rising from her seat, advanced a step or two towards the priest, while she continued, with the same sarcastic tone of voice and bitter smile: "You wish to tell me what I know now-that the religion you have all your
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life been teaching is a lie. You want to say, also, that the idea that man is superior to the beasts of the field, is all nonsense; that, as I have made that discovery, I may as well conform my- self to this true state of things, and do as others do, and not be a foolish, obstinate woman. There; I have made your argu- ment; it is short, but it means all you wish to say to me, I am sure."
As she ceased speaking, she threw herself back impatiently into her seat, and looked apparently for a reply. During all the time she had been addressing him, the Father continued to re- gard her with a look of mingled fear, sorrow and admiration; and, when she had ceased to speak, he remained silent, and I saw that a tear stole down his cheek.
Ellen waited a moment, and then said: "You came to talk with me, I know, and now you have nothing to say."
"Dear lady," said the Father, " you have misconstrued my visit altogether. Neither am I the pastor of San Francisco. No; for the last thirty years of my life I have been on a mission with the red children of the mountains and the wilderness, and have only now left them through necessity of health, and in obedience to the call of my superior. I have nothing to give, nor favor to ask from living man. The morning of my life dawned as fair and bright as your own, my dear lady, could possibly have been. My fortune was ample. The greatest Captain and mon- arch on the earth, of his time, was my friend; I had a loving father, and a dotingly fond mother, sisters and brothers, whose love was as pure and sincere as love on earth could be, and whose society was exquisitely delightful to me. But God was pleased to convince me that this world was not my true home, and to give me the grace to yield up my earthly home, friends, fortune, ambition, and all that appeared to me at first so bright and dazzling in this life, that I might take up the cross and find all, and hundreds of times more than all, again, in that country where sin, disappointment and sorrow are unknown; and, dear lady, I tell you truly, that I would not now, as my weary jour- ney draws to a close here, far away from all the friends I ever knew or loved in my childhood and boyhood, retrace the step I took, to be made the monarch of the earth, in the flush of my manhood. No, dear lady; I would not yield up the recollection of one year's labor with my red children of the Rocky Mountains for all the earth could bestow. Excuse me for saying so much
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of myself, but I did so because you appeared to misunderstand my visit, and to regard me unkindly. I came at the request of the good and pious Vicar-General of San Francisco, who is an old acquaintance of mine, and also at the request of your cousin, to whom lie introduced me; but I assure you, dear lady, that I meant no intrusion that would pain you in your deep sorrow, but with a faint hope that I might do or say something that would soothe, relieve or console you. Again, excuse me," he concluded, as he arose and bowed his adieu.
In a moment, Ellen's whole manner changed. Her eyes and all her face lit up, as it were, with a light and glow. She clasped her hands in the attitude of supplication, and exclaimed:
" I did not mean to be unkind. Stay, oh, stay! A wild fancy, a dream it may be, comes to my mind." Laying her hand on the priest's arm, and pressing it so as to turn him directly towards her, and, looking earnestly in his face, she continued: " Oh! no; I cannot be mistaken. Tell me, oh! tell me, if, years and years ago, you were not in my native town of Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, to collect aid for your red men; and, if so, have you no recollection, while there, of a dark and stormy night, in which you were called to administer the last sacraments to a lady dying of cholera, whose husband had died the day pre- vious ?"
In astonishment, the priest replied:
" Perfectly; and the brave little girl, who, kneeling, held the hand of her dying parent, and joined in all the prayers for the departing soul. Where is she ?"
" Aye; and do you recollect that the dying mother placed your hand on that little girl's head, and asked you to add your bless- ings to hers, and to pray with her that the child might go through the world safely and reach Heaven in the end, and that you knelt and said that prayer, while you laid both your hands on her head ?"
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