University of Santa Clara - Redwood Yearbook (Santa Clara, CA)

Page 12 text:

THE REDWOOD fie with an old soldado in matters of such import. II One afternoon, about a week after the foregoing incident had taken place, a lone caballero halted his fiery horse in the center of the roadway, leading to the Mission, and for a few moments rested easily in the saddle. A few rods ahead lay the Mission. Far beyond the little building, Rancho Agradable twinkled down into the Valley, and sent the rider, Don Gaspar, into a series of contemplations and reflections upon the hacienda and its inmates. The dominant object of his meditation, of course, was the comely daughter of Se- nor Castello, and the carrying on of his suit in such a manner as to win her coquettish heart, or better, perha ps, the manner in which to win her obsti- nate padre. It was with an indescrib- able thrill that he recalled that sleepy afternoon, when she had waved to him, and afterwards whisked off into the casa . It would be but a short time, thought he, before he could claim the fair Senorita as his own, and already he saw the chapel bedecked with lilies and golden poppies for the wedding; and out of the very doors of the Mis- sion upon which he had come, himself triumphantly leading his bride away to the marriage festival at the haci- enda . As he thus silently meditated by the old Mission Cross, he was startled by a song bursting in upon the peaceful air. It came like the trill of a lark in the quiet of a summer ' s day, but sweet- er than the song of the lark, in rich mellow tones, which were like the laughing brook flowing swiftly over the shining pebbles of its bed. Don Gas- par was at first surprised by the wav- ering notes of the Spanish love ditty, and awakened so suddenly from his reveries, leaned forward, to catch, if possible, the voice of the singer. The rhythmic wavers seemed to come forth from the sacristy door. Suddenly it dawned upon him that the voice was that of Dona Maria, probably prepar- ing the altar for the Sunday services — and alone ! Gladly he put the spurs to his horse, and rounding the corner of the chapel in a great cloud of dust, sprang lightly from the saddle, sombrero in hand, awaiting to greet the Senorita. But apparently she had not heard him gal- loping up, so he sprang lightly through the doorway into the darkness of the sacristy. (To be Continued)

Page 11 text:

THE REDWOOD the owner of the extensive quinta , Avithout having afterwards to bother about its everlasting cares ; and at that time, it is certain, he hardly gave thought or heed to anything outside his immediate sphere and household. It is doubtful whether, even during the bounteous harvest season of the haci- enda , he did more than indolently sit beneath some shading oak tree, and watch the fertile meadows yielding up their sumptuous, mellow bounty, all under the capable direction of his many sons. But his dashing young progenies soon tired of the drudgery of the ha- cienda , and really caring not the end of a fig for Don Juan or his pleasant dreams, left him to manage the Rancho as best he was able, and departed for the great, wide world. Likewise had his daughters gone off with their re- spective husbands, and now the unfor- tunate old soldado was left entirely alone upon his sunny hacienda in the hills, except for his wife, and that solitary, blooming Eose o ' the Rancho, Dona Maria, his daughter. It may have been from the experi- ence he had with his other two daugh- ters, that he was loath to trust to the fickleness of the human race, in regard to his remaining offspring, and know- ing only too well the lure and attrac- tion that was held by Dona Maria for the stronger sex, he jealously guarded against ambitious young lovers and suitors for her hand, determining to have at least one daughter to brighten his ripe, old age. And thus it was, that though every caballero or young senor in the valley had at one time or other made her the goal of his affectionate designs, not one of them had had the courage to face the old soldado . And so it happened that at the pre- cise moment when a certain lieutenant of the army of the King at Monterey was honorably discharged from his Ma- jesty ' s service and had come to live in the fertile Valley of Santa Clara, the path toward the affections of the blushing Rose o ' the Rancho was clear of all rivals. This young lieutenant was descended from one of those proud old families, famous in certain parts of Granada and Castile for their early conquests and daring exploits, with seemingly all the names and titles, if not all the vir- tues of the better of his ancestors in- serted between Gaspar and his musical cognomen, Espinosa. And so it was, too, that old Don Juan, who really supp osed that he had at last exterminated all the army of suitors, which had at first besieged his stronghold, became aware of a new and determined competitor for the hand and heart of his daughter. Realizing that the handsome features and manly ways of young Espinosa would shortly captivate the foolish creature, he swore great oaths, and invoked every demo- nio and diablo in Hades to bring down curses upon the head of the rash young man who should presume to tri-

Page 13 text:

A Fact or Two James B. O ' Connor. HE principles of national self-determination may paradoxically styled both simple and complex — simple in themselves and prescinding from particular instances ; complex if viewed to- gether with the many circumstances which inevitably complicate the affairs of nations. To the citizen of our mod- ern world, no principle is truer than that there can be no just government save with the consent of the governed. Yet that very principle, in its concrete applications, is the stumbling-block in the path of those whose desire seems to be to move forward toward the goal of lasting peace. Why? Simply because the minds of men — of the foremost men — are so often clouded by hate, cupid- ity, love or fear. The conclusions which, with the necessity of cold logic, follow so sternly from accepted princi- ples are befogged by the miasma that rises from the pool of human passion. For man, as we know, is composed of body and soul, and of these, the body plays not the lesser part. With this fact in mind, it should not surprise us if the ideals held so steadily before us during the days of sacrifice which the great war entailed, fail now of their realization. Then, it was a matter of abstract principle; now comes the con- flict of that principle with the greed and avarice of mankind. The grosser element, as usual, seems at first to con- quer,but truth is truth, and sometime or other, by some means or other, it must take its rightful place within the scheme of things. To many, I know, the justice of Ire- land ' s claim to recognition beneath the principle of self-determination is indis- putable. However, the enemies of Dark Rosaleen still cling to the old falsehoods in their attempt to deceive their fellow-men and so a reiteration of a few ethical truths may not be alto- gether out of place. Beyond all sane argument is the fact that there is no legitimate authority to govern except from Almighty God. For He, as the Creator of the world and of man, cannot for a moment cease to be the Master, sovereign and supreme, of them both. Hence, the cardinal issue in any dispute which concerns the validity of one country ' s claim to rule another is, whether or not the rule of that country is in accordance with the will of the Almighty. Granted this fact — and it is incontrovertible — it follows