and betake himself either to some other avocation in Colorado, or to the nearest railway station where he can catch the Eastern express. But, perhaps, wisely counting the cost, he remains until he has thoroughly learned the business, then leases before he buys, and then launches boldly out as a full-fledged shepherd. It will not be necessary to recall to him or his kind the old, old truth, the cardinal axiom, that there is no royal road to business success of any sort; and that in Colorado, just as in New York, or London, or Calcutta, or Constantinople, there is no hope for him without economy and industry and strict personal attention, and that, even with them, the fates may be sometimes against him.

To such a one, then, are these figures respectfully submitted, showing returns of something like twenty-five per centum per annum. Comparing them with those previously given in these pages about cattle, he sees that the latter promise him larger but more tardy returns, while the former show smaller requirements in the way of adequate capital, and his wool is a yearly cash asset. As regards variety and attractiveness, and in any æsthetic sense, the poor sheep must clearly go to the wall in the comparison, and the steer be elected to the place of honor "by a large majority."

It may here be properly remarked that good men can almost always find employment as subordinates, and ought to learn the business quickly, and perhaps do well for themselves.

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"I wanted a man to herd sheep," said, for instance, an old-timer in the hearing of the writer, and I met one coming out of Pueblo. He said that he would like to work for me. 'Look here,' said I, 'I won't pay you any wages, but I'll give you 250 lambs, which you must herd as part of mine.' He agreed to that, and worked for me three years and a half, and until he had to go away and be married, and then I bought him out. The wool had paid all expenses, and he had $2250 coming to him in cash."

Nor would it be impossible for a hardworking man, with a very much smaller sum at his command than that assumed in the figures, to purchase a few sheep and make a beginning for himself; but, with the gradual absorption of the streams and springs, this is becoming daily more difficult.

For the Colonel and the Commodore there was small need to conjure up ideal shepherds, for they found them in El Paso County in every conceivable variety, and heard most entertaining and veracious narratives of their manners and experiences. Successful old-timers, enjoying the results of their past labors, and clad in the sober garb of civilization, laid down the law over social cigars, while youthful beginners, with doubtful prospects, sported hats with an enormous breadth of brim, and seemed to delight in garments of dubious cut and texture and extreme antiquity. In this connection, indeed, there is room for a homily, for it may surely be said that in a new country the incomers who have enjoyed the blessings of an advanced civilization in their former homes owe it to themselves to do all in their power to translate said blessings to their adopted residence.

And so, when water has come, and gas is coming to the county town of El Paso, it would be well for youthful rancheros to cease emulating the attire of Buffalo Bill, and make the acquaintance, when they come thither, of a tailor and a boot-black. One of two gentlemen from the Eastern States, visiting Colorado Springs, and calling upon a lady to whom the convenances of life were traditionally dear, apologized for the absence of his companion, whose clothes suitable for such an occasion had been delayed by the expressman.

"Only hear that!" she delightedly cried. "Why, I have been meeting the sons of dukes and earls, with their pantaloons tucked in their boots." To which the very natural reply was: "So much the worse for the sons of dukes and earls. They would not presume on such liberties in their own country, and it is high time that they were effectually taught that they shall not take them here." Indeed, there are features of the curious irruption into Colorado of scions of the nobility and aristocracy of Great Britain which are extremely interesting and amusing, and which may justly claim future attention; but at present it may simply be remarked that sheep have no regard for noble birth, and that Piccadilly seems to furnish an inadequate preparation for a successful ranchman.

Then before our observant eyes there passed other figures and faces-two gentlemen from New England, in from a distant ranch; one, after some months' hard

work, to desipere in loco at Manitou, another to drive sheep to Las Vegas, in New Mexico, at the rate of ten miles per day, through the sage-brush! Next came an Englishman bearing the name of a noble family-a university man of remarkable culture, and manners befitting his birth and education, but in garb and general appearance a veritable figure of fun. Learning that after abandoning a sheep ranch of special squalor, where he had toiled to little purpose, he had been engaged for four months in driving, horses up from Texas in company with some Mexican herders, a gentleman engaged him in friendly converse, and finally asked point-blank what possessed him to lead such a life. With great gentleness and courtesy he replied that he was one of Matthew Arnold's "Philistines." And thus the procession went on.

We were indebted at the last to a very lively and outspoken resident for some illustrations, given us "in dialect," of the unfavorable side of the shepherd's existence. His experience of men had not been an agreeable one, and an officer of the law appeared with unpleasant frequency at the end of the vistas of ranch life which he portrayed; but the shepherd of Colorado is not the only man who finds fatal enemies in whiskey and cards, extravagance, inattention and laziness, and stupidity.

"Didn't you never hear of?" asked our friend. "He was the worst pill you ever see. High-toned Englishman; always blasting this bloody country, you know.' Come here with $50,000; went away owing $20,000. How is that for high? Blamed if he cared what he paid for anything! Offer him a horse worth $40, and charge him $150, and he'd give you a check. You bet he lived high; always set up the drinks. Didn't take long to bust him. He didn't care what he paid for his sheep. Had 2500 of them, and you used to see thirty or forty Englishmen loafing on him. You bet he didn't have the trouble of selling them sheep. Sheriff did that for him."

Vol. LX.-No. 356.-14

He just

"Then there was put on heaps of style. Flew high, you know-regular tony. He started in with 600 sheep-just think of that; wouldn't pay for his cigars. He used to come into town in great style-four horses to his buggy. Then he come down to three; then two; then one. Then he had none, and had to stay on the ranch. Sheriff sold him up sharp. Then he kept a billiard saloon. You bet he busted on that, because, you see, he used to play with the boys, and always got beat. Then he was

MILOR IN FLUSH TIMES.

a-going about the streets, just everlastingly played out; and the last I see of him he was a kind of rostabout, or dish-washer, to a camping outfit. Wouldn't that just get some of his high-toned relations up on their ear?"

We thought that it undoubtedly would, and we thought, too, with a certain wonder, of the habit of some parents and friends of sending young men to this country who are either mauvais sujets, and better out of their sight, or incapacitated for competition with the keen souls whom they must meet, and then letting them shift for themselves.

But, like the recent writer on Colorado

"She is certainly a little cracked." "Perhaps she is only eccentric." "Who knows anything about her here in Naples?"

"Nobody. She pays her bills with punctuality, I am told, receives no letters, and speaks only English."

cations in perfumed leather of our day that the owner did to a fashionable lady of the Boulevards, or the Fifth Avenue. The behavior of this quaint little creature was no less odd than her appearance. She roamed through the most crowded streets of the cities she visited, peering intently into the faces of those she met en route; she searched the features of the hurrying throngs, sometimes pausing to gaze after a person who had attracted her interest, or accosting a young man, de

"She must be a great traveller," pursued the Swiss lady, dropping another piece of sugar into her coffee. "Herr Wolff says he has met her on the quay at Trieste, and the Promenade at Nice."

"Yes, and Captain Thornton has seen her on Regent Street, in London, as well as on the Champs Élysées, at Paris," added the English governess, sipping her tea. "She appears to be always seeking somebody," mused the American, nibbling her buttered roll.

"Good-morning, ladies," said a sharp, thin voice.

The object of speculative curiosity stood behind them. Had she overheard their comments? The ladies blushed, bent over their plates, and began to discuss with nervous volubility a plan for making an excursion to Pompeii on that day.

An old woman had entered the salle à manger, and taken her seat at the table. She was small, and bent in figure, but active in movement. She resembled an antiquated doll laid aside many years after the death of a child to whom it had once been precious. A wintry red tint still bloomed in her cheek, like the permanent hue of all doll ladies; her eyes were blue and round; a flaxen curl depended on either side of her face, beneath a frilled cap and black bonnet of serviceable size and shape. Her costume never varied. It consisted of a gown of changeable silk, faded to the hue of autumn leaves, guiltless of modern draping, while indicating the presence of crinoline and bustle, and a quaint little mantle bordered with English lace. She carried on her arm a bag curiously wrought with threads of tarnished silver, which bore the same relationship to the dainty Viennese fabri

She

tain weird soleninity of manner. The small bent form in the faded silk gown and mantle, the black poke-bonnet, and bag on the arm, flitted everywhere. had haunted the choir of St. Peter's at Rome, and the galleries of the Vatican; she might have also been seen occupying a box at the most popular theatre, or at a mask ball. The music, the lights, the revelry, did not touch her, since her face was turned invariably toward the audience, seeking something or somebody with that restless gaze. At times she inspired sympathy. In a multitude other eyes turned to the right and left with vague disquiet, seeking what she sought. Now she had reached Naples. She had vouchsafed the explanation of her conduct to a chosen few in the pension, but her recital was marred by discrepancies, abrupt pauses, and secretiveness of actual purpose, which persuaded the listeners of an unsound intellect. She was a native of Wales, and sought a missing friend. usual formula of speech was this: "Iheard a voice from the sea bidding me go forth and search: I have obeyed.”

Her

Such eccentric figures occasionally flit along the highway of European travel, emanating from secluded German homes, from remote Russian provinces, from rural England and America, with a certain resemblance, if only in an aspect of habitual surprise at having emerged from tranquillity into the bright, noisy world.

A constrained silence followed the advent of the old lady at the breakfast table. Had she heard anything? She regarded her companions with a quick glance, and a certain bird-like motion of the head habitual with her. Suddenly she said, “I should like to visit Pompeii also."

The other pensioners exchanged a glance of dismay, and murmured that they should be glad of her company.

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Many strangers go there daily?" she