Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/350



ness, when  he  would  be  struck  dumb  with  astonish- ment at the  reckiess  whirlpool  of  business  that  sur- rounded him. He would  see  the  shop-keeper  sweep with his  arm  into  a  bag  silver  coin  stacked  upon  his counter in  payment  for  goods,  as  not  worth  the  count- ing ; he  would  see  screaming  auctioneers  crying  off goods to  whittling,  tobacco-juice-spirting  bidders, who between  jokes  would  buy  whole  cargoes,  ship and all  with  terrible  sano-  froid.

Thus the  city-builders  carried  their  work  forward in wild  irregular  spasms  but  ever  onward,  unceasingly unhesitatingly. Often the  arrival  of  a  vessel,  the completion of  a  wharf,  or  some  such  excuse  would double the  price  of  property  within  a  few  days.

Again and  again  one  wonders  how  it  is  that  so many  of  the  shrewd  and  enterprising  so  soon  became bankrupt. With such  foresight,  such  practical  com- mon sense, uniting  energy,  and  golden  opportunities, all as  it  would  seem  wisely  applied  and  earnestly  em- braced, it was  pitiful  to  see  them  later,  all  there  were left of  them,  or  well-nigh  all,  wandering  the  streets that they  had  made,  by  houses  they  had  built  but now no  longer  theirs,  moving  silently  and  sadly  over long-familiar ground,  yet  amidst  scenes  strange  to them  though  fruits  of  their  own  untiring  energy — wanderino; thus  alone  unrecognized  skeletons  of  their former selves,  while  a  new  generation  of  millionaires flaunted its  wealth  in  their  faces. It was  sad  to  see their wrecked  hopes  reconstructed  by  men  of  lesser worth, whose  proud  argosies  bore  heavily  upon  their slender craft ;  to  see  the  commerce  of  a  great  metropo- lis, once their  own,  ruled  by  upstart  speculators ;  to see  their  sand-hill  home,  with  its  acres  of  garden  and barn-yard, become  thick  with  magnificent  mansions, whose lords  were  lucky  gamblers,  whose  parvenu  mis- tresses flouted and  overshadowed  their  humble  wives, while they  themselves  plodded  quietly  through  their declining years,  happy  indeed  if  wife,  and  children, and food,  and  shelter,  might  be  left  to  them.