telling liim of her deep abiding love, of lier patient
waitings and watchings, of her deeds by day and her
dreams by night, of the hopes and plans that await
his dear return ; telling of his children one by one,
how they have grown in goodness and loveliness, how
the little one, whom he has never seen, has learned to
lisp its father's name in its evening prayer — as he
reads the letter which thus so vividly recalls the swert
and hallowed past, you may mark the twitching of
the muscles in liis face, the tears trickling down his
cheeks, and the bosom swelling- with emotion. Goingf
to his room he reads and reads again the letter, vows
reformation ; but over this oasis of his desert life the
sands quickly blow, and he soon goes on the old licen-
tious way again.
Steamer-days, the day before the sailing of the steamer for the east, were the great tickings in social and commercial time. Bills were made to fall due on those days, letters must be written on that day, and collections and remittances made. Passeno-ers must get ready, and if not done before, they must secure their tickets. They were feverish, fidgety clays. From morning till night collection clerks with a pack- age of bills in one hand, and the mouth of a canvas coin-bao; sluno; over the shoulder in the other, were rushing^ about the streets, and seldom was the office lamp extinguished before twelve or two o'clock.
On the mornino; of the sailincy of the steamer, all work having been finished the day or evening previous, passengers go on board, attended by their friends to see them oflf. The idle and the curious of every caste and calibre likewise crowd the wharf and decks for an hour or two before the departure. Trunks are taken on board; the passengers, laden with packages of fruit, books, bottles, and boxes, find their respective places. In the cabin, the black bottle is frequently passed around, and champagne made to flow freely. The forward part of the ship is filled with miners, go- ing home with all the prestige of travel and adventure
