_The History of William Bucholz._--_An Abused Aunt who Disappoints
His Hopes._--_A Change of Fortune._--_The Soldier becomes a
Farmer._--_The Voyage to New York._
William Bucholz had been an inmate of the hotel for several weeks
prior to this time, having arrived from Germany in the latter part of
July. He was somewhat of a favorite with the people with whom he
associated, and being of a free and jovial disposition had made many
friends during his limited residence in the city. As he is to bear an
interesting part in the sequence of this narrative a few words may
not be out of place in regard to his antecedents.
The father of Bucholz, who was a veterinary surgeon of some
prominence in Schweigert, had reared his children in comparative
comfort, and had provided them with a liberal education.
The early years of young Bucholz had been spent with an uncle, who
was very fond of him, and delighted to have him near his person. This
uncle was a brother of his father, and very late in life had married
a lady of large fortune, but whose appearance was not at all
prepossessing. As William grew into manhood he entered the army and
became connected with the "Brunswick Hussars."
Here he distinguished himself principally by leading a life of
dissipation and extravagance, which made him an object of remark in
his regiment. There were many wild spirits among his comrades, but
none who displayed such an irrepressible and reckless disposition as
William Bucholz. His uncle, loving him as a son, and whose union had
been blessed with no children, forgave his follies and liquidated his
debts without a murmur, but shook his head frequently in a doubtful
manner, as rumors reached him of some new exploit in which William
had been a leading spirit, or some fresh scandal in which he was a
prominent participant.
The family of Bucholz, with that weakness which sometimes
characterizes the relative of the wealthy, soon began to display a
coolness and dislike toward the wife of the uncle, and as no children
were born to them, they looked forward with certainty to inheriting
the vast wealth of their childless relative, without seeming to
regard the rights or interests of the wife, who, in Germany as well
as in America, frequently exercises a potent influence in the
disposition of her husband's affairs.
That this conduct was displeasing to the woman who had brought so
much wealth into the family may readily be imagined, and being
possessed of sufficient spirit to resent the affronts put upon her,
she did not tamely submit to be thus ignored by the supercilious
relatives of her husband, but determined to be revenged upon them in
a manner which she knew would be complete and satisfactory to
herself.
Among her numerous friends was the widow of a captain of hussars, who
had been in the same regiment with Bucholz, but who had died a short
time before, leaving his sorrow-stricken wife without sufficient
income for her support, and with the care of an only son who had been
born to them in their brief married life. To this lady William's aunt
immediately offered her house as a home, and promised to take care of
her child's education and provide for its future. This offer was
gratefully accepted by the bereaved and impecunious widow, who, with
her child, soon became domiciled beneath the roof of the uncle and
the socially abused aunt.
As the boy grew into years he displayed so many traits of a noble,
manly character and of a fond and loving disposition, that the hearts
of the aged couple instinctively warmed towards him with an abiding
affection, and the mother dying soon after, he was formally adopted
by them.
The uncle continued, however, to supply the wants of his prodigal and
degenerate nephew, but they increased so enormously that he was
forced to remonstrate with the young man upon the recklessness of his
conduct. His remonstrances were met with a spirit of impertinence and
defiance that angered the old gentleman to such an extent that he
declined at once to pay any further debts of his nephew's
contracting, and limited his allowance to a sum which, while
sufficiently large to provide for his actual needs, afforded no
opportunities for lavish outlays or indiscreet dissipations.
This action excited the ire of William and his family, who did not
hesitate to ascribe it to the promptings of the wife, whom they had
so consistently ignored, and whose feelings they had so frequently
outraged.
The relations between the brothers ceased to be friendly, and an
estrangement took place which was increased by the family of Bucholz,
who spoke every where in the most disrespectful terms of the wife of
the brother.
While matters were in this position the uncle was suddenly attacked
with a malady which resulted in his death. After the funeral the will
was opened, and it was found, to the mortification and disappointment
of his relatives, that instead of leaving to them the bulk of his
large fortune, he had bequeathed the major portion to his adopted
son, and had only left the sum of twenty thousand dollars to be
divided equally among the six children of his brother.
If the widow had desired to be revenged, she had succeeded admirably
in her wishes, and the solemn countenances of the disappointed
Bucholzes, as they wended their way homeward after the reading of the
will, from which they had hoped so much, would have been full
satisfaction for the years of insult she had been compelled to endure
from them during the life of her husband.
This disposition of the estate of the uncle was a severe blow to
those who had so confidently expected to have been enriched by his
death, and produced a marked change in their manner of living. The
bright, airy castles which they had builded, faded away--their hopes
of prospective wealth were rudely dissipated, and the necessity for
facing the actual position of affairs stared them in the face.
William could no longer be permitted to lead the idle life of a
soldier, and one and all would be compelled to labor for themselves.
It was a bitter awakening from a bright dream, but the man of their
hopes was dead, and their regrets were unavailing.
Bucholz, therefore, obtained an extended leave of absence, and in a
short time entered into an engagement with an extensive farmer to
learn the science of agriculture, and became domiciled beneath the
roof of his employer and instructor. The dull routine of a farmer's
life was, however, illy suited to his impulsive disposition, and
although he had no manual labor to perform, he soon grew tired of the
monotony of his existence and longed for a change.
He had read of the wonderful success which attended the efforts of
some of his countrymen who had emigrated to Australia, that arcadia
of the agriculturist, and burning with a desire to seek his fortune
in the new land of promise, he began to make inquiries of the place,
its products, and of the possibilities of successful operations while
there.
All the information which he gleaned was of such a character as to
fill his mind with ambitious projects, and a desire to make his
fortune in that far-off country, and he resolved to undertake the
journey.
His preparations were soon made, and ere many days he was afloat upon
the heaving ocean, bound for New York, where he was informed he could
procure a sailing vessel direct to Australia, at a cost much less
than he could by any other process of travel.
Arriving without accident in New York, he had taken up his quarters
at "The Crescent Hotel," and proceeded to make inquiries concerning
the continuance of his journey.
To his disappointment, however, he discovered that no vessels were
likely to sail from New York directly to Australia, and the limited
means he had brought with him were insufficient for the expense
necessary to travel overland to a point of embarkation. He was
therefore compelled to delay his journey until he could receive
sufficient funds to enable him to continue farther. He immediately
wrote to his family for the money he required, and it was while
awaiting their reply that he met Frank Bruner, the servant of Henry
Schulte, whose acquaintance was destined to produce such a marked and
dramatic effect upon his future life.