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 e sportive

oath, light  airy  and  graceful  as  the  limbs  of  the  youth- ful dandy ; the  earnest  oath ;  the  angry  oath ;  the frank and  hearty  oath,  indicative  of  honesty  and  good humor; the  oath  of  success,  in  which  the  chcncest gems of  irreverence  are  thrown  off  like  soap-bubbles ; oaths of  time,  place,  and  occupation;  the  oath  of  com- mon conversation, the  murderous  cut-throat  oath,  the business oath,  the  oath  of  greeting,  swearing  when  not knowing what  else  to  say;  the  midnight  guttural drunken oath,  the  clear  ringing  gladsome  oath  of morning,  the  orthodox  oath,  oaths  that  are  not  oaths, reluctantly coming  from  bashful  inexperienced  lips ; the scientific  doubly-refined  oath  of  the  gambler ; oaths of  nations,  the  i>:ood  old  round  Enplish  oath, racy and  mouth-filling  as  even  Hotspur  should  wish, the rolling  sacre  of  the  Frenchman,  the  infernal  melody of the  Spaniard,  the  whining  Yankee  cussings,  the spluttering Dutchman's  swearings,  and  the  imitative intonations of  the  Celestial. The muleteer  relieved his burdened  bosom  in  outpourings  that  seldom  failed to convict  the  most  impenitent  animal. Approaching the unfortunate  nmle  that  had  fallen  under  a  heavy load, or  had  mired  in  the  mud,  its  driver  would  pour forth such  a  stream  of  profanity  int  its  ear  as  would make the  dumb  beast  tremble  in  every  fibre,  and glance around  with  terrified  eye  as  if  expecting  the earth to  open,  or  the  invoked  deity  to  smite  to  dust the author  of  such  fiendish  imprecations. Under such exhortations, native  stubbornness  gave  way,  and  the virtue of  pn^fanity  was  clearly  vindicated  in  the  eyes of the  driver.

Indeed, notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  re- garding vice and  crime,  I  am  not  so  sure  that  Califor- nia in her  wickedest  days  was  worse  than  the  pseudo righteous states  of  the  east  and  Europe. In the shameful pleasantries  of  the  times  there  were  counter- balancing virtues, which  went  far  toward  preserving the moral  equilibrium. If iniquity  here  was  more unblushing, there  was  less  of  cant  and  hypocrisy,  less