R. M. Ballantyne
Digging for Gold: Adventures in California
Chapter One.
Adventures in California.
Begins with Differences of Opinion
If ever there was a man in this world who was passionately fond of painting and cut out for a painter, that man was Frank Allfrey; but fate, in the form of an old uncle, had decided that Frank should not follow the bent of his inclinations.
We introduce our hero to the reader at the interesting age of eighteen, but, long before that period of life, he had shown the powerful leaning of his spirit. All his school-books were covered with heads of dogs, horses, and portraits of his companions. Most of his story-books were illustrated with coloured engravings, the colouring of which had been the work of his busy hand, and the walls of his nursery were decorated with cartoons, done in charcoal, which partial friends of the family sometimes declared were worthy of Raphael.
At the age of thirteen, his unclefor the poor fellow was an orphanasked him one day what he would like to be. This was an extraordinary condescension on the part of Mr Allfrey, senior, who was a grim, hard-featured man, with little or no soul to speak of, and with an enormously large ill-favoured body. The boy, although taken by surprisefor his uncle seldom addressed him on any subject,answered promptly, Id like to be an artist, sir.
A what?
An artist.
Get along, you goose!
This was all that was said at the time, and as it is the only conversation which is certainly known to have taken place between the uncle and nephew during the early youth of the latter, we have ventured, at the risk of being tedious, to give the whole of it.
Frank was one of those unfortunates who are styled neglected boys. He was naturally sharp-witted, active in mind and body, good-tempered, and well disposed, but disinclined to study, and fond of physical exertion. He might have been a great man had he been looked after in youth, but no one looked after him. He was an infant when his father and mother died and left him to the care of his uncle, who cared not for him but left him to care for himself, having, as he conceived, done his duty towards him when he had supplied him with food, clothing, and lodging, and paid his school fees. No blame, therefore, to poor Frank that he grew up a half-educated youth, without fixed habits of study or thought, and with little capacity for close or prolonged mental exertion.
Mr Allfrey entertained the ridiculous idea that there were only three grand objects of ambition in life, namely, to work, to eat and drink, and to sleep. At least, if he did not say in definite terms that such was his belief, he undoubtedly acted as though it were. His mind appeared to revolve in a sort of small circle. He worked in order that he might eat and drink; he ate and drank that he might be strengthened for work, and he slept in order to recruit his energies that he might be enabled to work for the purposes of eating and drinking. He was a species of self-blinded human-horse that walked the everlasting round of a business-mill of his own creating. It is almost unnecessary to add that he was selfish to the back-bone, and that the only individual who did not see the fact was himself.
When Frank reached the age of eighteen, Mr Allfrey called him into his private study,so called because he was in the habit of retiring regularly at fixed periods every day to study nothing there,and, having bidden him sit down, accosted him thus:
Well, boy, have you thought over what I said to you yesterday about fixing upon some profession? You are aware that you cannot expect to lead a life of idleness in this world. I know that you are fit for nothing, but fit or not fit, you must take to something without delay.
Frank felt a sensation of indignation at being spoken to thus rudely, and in his heart he believed that if he was indeed fit for nothing, his sad condition was due much more to his uncles neglect than to his own perversity. He did not, however, give utterance to the thought, because he was of a respectful nature; he merely flushed and said,Really, uncle, you do me injustice. I may not be fit for much, and every day I live I feel bitterly the evil of a neglected education, but
Its well, at all events, interrupted Mr Allfrey, that you admit the fact of your having neglected it. That gives you some chance of amendment.
Frank flushed again and drew his breath shortly; after a moments silence he went on:
But if I am not fit for much, I am certainly fit for something. I have only a smattering of Latin and Greek, it is true, and a very slight knowledge of French, but, if I am to believe my teachers reports, I am not a bad arithmetician, and I know a good deal of mathematics, besides being a pretty fair penman.
Humph! well, but you know you have said that you dont want to enter a mercantile or engineers office, and a smattering of Latin and Greek will not do for the learned professions. What, therefore, do you propose to yourself, the army, eh? it is the only opening left, because you are now too old for the navy.
I wish to be an artist, said Frank with some firmness.
I thought so; the old story. No, sir, you shall never be an artistat least not with my consent. Why, do you suppose that because you can scribble caricatures on the fly-leaves of your books you have necessarily the genius of Rubens or Titian?
Not quite, replied Frank, smiling in spite of himself at the irascibility of the old gentleman, and yet I presume that Rubens and Titian began to paint before either themselves or others were aware of the fact that they possessed any genius at all.
Tut, tut, cried Mr Allfrey impatiently, but what have you ever done, boy, to show your ability to paint?
I have studied much, uncle, said Frank eagerly, although I have said little to you about the matter, knowing your objection to it; but if you would condescend to look at a few of my drawings from nature, I think
Drawing from nature, cried Mr Allfrey with a look of supreme contempt, what do I care for nature? What have you to do with nature in this nineteenth century? Nature, sir, is only fit for savages. There is nothing natural now-a-days. Why, what do you suppose would become of my ledger and cash-book, my office and business, if I and my clerks raved about nature as you do? A fig for nature!the less you study it the better. I never do.
Excuse me, sir, said Frank respectfully, if I refuse to believe you, because I have heard you frequently express to friends your admiration of the view from your own drawing-room window
Of course you have, you goose, and you ought to have known that that was a mere bit of conventional humbug, because, since one is constrained unavoidably to live in a world full of monstrous contradictions, it is necessary to fall in with its habits. You ought to know that it is customary to express admiration for a fine view.
You spoke as if you felt what you said, replied Frank, and I am certain that there are thousands of men in the position of yourself and your clerks who delight in nature in all her varied aspects; who, because they unfortunately see so little of her in town, make it their ambition to have cottages in the country when they can afford it, and many of whom decorate their walls with representations of nature.
Frank, said Mr Allfrey, somewhat solemnly, as he turned his gaze full on the animated face of his nephew, if I could get you put into a lunatic asylum without a doctors certificate I would do so without delay, but, that being impossible just nowalthough I think it will be not only possible but necessary ere longI have to make you a final proposal. It is this: that, as you express such a powerful objection to enter an office in this country, you should go abroad and see whether a three-legged stool is more attractive in foreign parts than it is in England. Now, I happen to have a friend in California. If your geography has not been neglected as much as your Latin, you will remember that this country lies on the western seaboard of North America, not far from those gold-fields which have been recently turning the world upside-down. Will you go?
I shall be delighted to go, said Frank with enthusiasm.
Eh! exclaimed Mr Allfrey, with a look of surprise, as if he could not understand the readiness with which his nephew agreed to the proposal, why, hows this? I had fully expected you to refuse. Remember, boy, it is not to be a romantic gold-digger, which is another name for a born idiot, that I would send you out to California. It is to be a clerk, a quill-driver. Dyou understand?
I understand, uncle, perfectly, replied Frank with a smile. The fact is that I had made up my mind, lately, not to oppose your wishes any longer, but to agree to go into an office at home. Of course it is more agreeable to me to think of going into one abroad.
Im glad you take such a sensible view of the matter, Frank, said Mr Allfrey, much mollified.
Besides, continued Frank, I have read a good deal about that country of late, and the descriptions of the magnificence of the scenery have made me long to have an opportunity of painting it and
He paused abruptly and started up, for his uncle had seized a book, which usually lay open on his desk, and was in fact a sort of dummy intended to indicate the study that was supposed to go on there. Next moment Frank sprang laughing into the passage, and the book flew with a crash against the panels of the door as he shut it behind him, leaving Mr Allfrey to solace himself with a large meerschaum, almost the only unfailing friend that he possessed.
Thus it came to pass that Frank Allfrey went out to the gold regions of California.
Chapter Two.
Frank discusses his Prospects with a Friend
We pass over our heros long voyage round the Horn, and introduce him in a totally new scene and under widely different circumstancesseated near a magnificent tree of which he is making a study, and clad in a white linen coat and pantaloons and a broad-brimmed straw hat.
Just the day before, the House to which he had been sent had failed. Two years had he spent in grinding at its account books, perched on a three-legged stool, and now he found himself suddenly cast loose on the world. Of course when the stool was knocked from under him his salary was stopped, and he was told by his employers that it would be necessary for him to go elsewhere to earn a subsistence.
This was rather a startling piece of advice, and for a time Frank felt much depressed, but on returning to his lodgings the day he received his dismissal, his eye fell on his palette and brushes, which he at once seized, and, hastening out to his favourite tree, was soon so thoroughly absorbed in the study of nature that his sorrows vanished like morning mist.
After three hours steady work he arose refreshed in soul and comforted.
Thereafter he returned to his lodgings and sat down to think over his prospects. His cogitations were temporarily interrupted, and afterwards materially assisted, by a short thick-set man of about thirty years of age who entered with a deferential air, and pulled his forelock.
Come in, Joe. I was just thinking over my future plans, and I daresay you can assist me, being, I suppose, in the same fix with myself.
Joe Graddy had been a porter in the House which had failed, and was indeed in the same fix, as Frank said, with himself.
Ive comed, sir, said Joe, to ax yer advice, an to offer ye my sarvice, it its of any use, said the porter, who was a shrewd straightforward man, and had originally been a sailor.
If you had come to offer me advice and ask my services, said Frank, I would have been better pleased to see you. However, sit down and let me hear what you have to say.
Well, sir, said Joe; this is wot Ive got for to say, that we are in what the Yankees call a pretty considerable fix.
I know it, Joe; but how do you think we are to get out of the fix?
Thats just wot I comed for to ax, said the man; and when youve told me how, Ill lend a hand to weigh anchor an set sail. The fact is, Im in want of a place, and Im willing to engage with you, sir.
Frank Allfrey experienced a strange mingling of feelings when he heard this. Of course he felt much gratified by the fact that a man so grave and sensible as Joe Graddy should come and deferentially offer to become his servant at a time when he possessed nothing but the remnant of a months salary; and when he considered his own youth, he felt amazed that one so old and manly should volunteer to place himself under his orders. The fact is that Frank was not aware that his straightforward earnest manner had commended him very strongly to those with whom he had lately come in contact. He was one of those attractive men whose countenances express exactly what they feel, who usually walk with a quick earnest step, if we may say so, and with a somewhat downcast contemplative look. Frank knew well enough that he was strong and tall, unusually so for his age, and therefore did not continually assert the fact by walking as if he was afraid to fall forward, which is a common practice among men who wish to look bigger than they are. Besides, being an ardent student of nature, Frank was himself natural, as well as amiable, and these qualities had endeared him to many people without his being aware of it.
Why, Joe! he exclaimed, what do you mean?
I mean wot I says, sir.
Are you aware, said Frank, smiling, that I do not possess a shilling beyond the few dollars that I saved off my last months salary?
I sposed as much, sir.
Then if you engage with me, as you express it, how do you expect to be paid?
I dont expect to be paid, sir.
Come, Joe, explain your meaning, for I dont pretend to be a diviner of mens thoughts.
Well, sir, this is how it is. Wen we got the sack the other day, says I to myself, says I, now youre afloat on the world without rudder, compass, or charts, but youve got a tight craft of your own,somewhat scrubbed, no doubt, with rough usage, but sound,so its time for you to look out for rudder, compass, and charts, and it seems to me that thems to be found with young Mister Allfrey, so youd better go an git him to become skipper o your ship without delay. You see, sir, havin said that to myself, Ive took my own advice, so if youll take command of me, sir, you may steer me where you please, for Im ready to be your sarvant for love, seein that you hant got no money.
Most obliging of you, said Frank, laughing, and by this offer I understand that you wish to become my companion.
Of coorse, in a country o this kind, replied Graddy, its difficult,I might amost say unpossible,to be a mans sarvant without bein his companion likewise.
But here is a great difficulty at the outset, Joe. I have not yet made up my mind what course to pursue.
Just so, sir, said the ex-seaman, with a look of satisfaction, I knowd you wouldnt be doin that in a hurry, so Ive comed to have a talk with e about it.
Very good, sit down, said Frank, and let us consider it. In the first place, I regret to say that I have not been taught any trade, so that I cannot become a blacksmith or a carpenter or anything of that sort. A clerks duties I can undertake, but it seems to me that clerks are not much wanted here just now. Porterage is heavy work and rather slow. I may be reduced to that if nothing better turns up, but it has occurred to me that I might try painting with success. What would you say to that, Joe?