Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/377

 him?

Less and  less  become  the  contents,  until  at  last  the result is  known — two  ounces  they  think  it  is,  but  call it an  ounce,  and  their  fortunes  are  made. Yet for every one  who  wins,  let  it  be  remembered,  ten  fail. And wliat  means  failure  such  as  this  ? It means  a slice  of  life  thrown  to  the  dogs,  a  measure  of  capabili- ties emptied upon  a  dunghill,  capabilities  of  enjoying, of improving ;  it  means  grayer  hairs,  deeper  furrowed lineaments, and  stifler  limbs,  with  no  results  in  acqui- sition worth living  for. And besides  this  loss  of time,  of  hope,  of  energy,  it  means  bankruptcy,  a  long unpaid and  unpayable  score  at  the  butcher's  and  a dozen  other  like  places ;  it  means  in  the  man  and  all his affairs  demoralization,  if  not  indeed  dissipation  and death.

The absence  of  cant  and  fanaticism,  and  the  liberalized views of  the  people  on  all  subjects  saved  California from most  of  those  festering  disputations  and  argu- ments to which  the  question  of  slavery  gave  birth  in other  states  of  the  confederacy. Here all  the  world met as  on  neutral  ground,  ignoring  bootless  argument on topics  foreign  to  their  immediate  purpose. Ques- tions of social  policy  were  based  for  the  most  part  on utilitarian  principles ;  doctrines  and  dogmas  were  left to those  who  had  more  leisure  to  discuss  them. While many were  in  favor  of  the  admission  of  California  as  a slave  state,  the  majority  were  decidedly  opposed  to  it; yet northerners  were  not  disposed  to  quarrel  with slaveholders for  bringing  with  them  their  servants, and permitting  them  to  work  for  their  masters  as  long as they  pleased. In the  mining  districts  and  in  the towns tnere  were  many  slaves,  who  of  course  could leave their  masters  at  any  moment,  and  did  in  the  end leave them,  yet  for  the  time  and  midst  the  hubbub  of contending  events  they  preferred  bondage  to  a  sever- ance of old  ties.

In this  pandemonium  plunge,  ten  centuries  of  cul- ture and superstition  were  flung  to  the  winds. There were  new    thoughts,    new   hearts,    new   dress