The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-07-12
From Chamber Edinburgh Journal
THE JEwELLED WATCH.


THE JEWELLED WATCH.
Among the many officers who, NJ the close
Of the Peninsnlar wnr. retired on half pay.
WIS Grr'pfn p'ttion -sef tAa---th ragimant-z..
lie had lately married tho pretty, poriionless
daughter of decreased broihor-onicer and
filled with romantic visions Of rural bliss and
Glove in cot,ace," the pair who we're equal
ly unskillcd in tho rrAeii cal details of house
keeping, fancicd they could live in NIlucnce
aud enjoy all the hSnries oflifc. on the hale
paw wlEeh formed thoir sole income.
They took mp their abode near n pleasant
town in the south Of England. and for time
got on pretty well; but when At the end Of
the frst year sweet little hoy made his ap-
penrancc, and AZ the end &C the second nm e
qually sweet little girlthcy found that nurse
maids, haby.lincn, doctors, and oil the etccte-
ras appcrtaining TO the introduction and sup
port Of these baby.visitors, formed serious
item in their yearly expenditure.
| For while they struggled on without fall
iir itr, debt; t,it NJ leartlt tl,eir -ei,lly feet
slipped into that vortex which has engulph-
ed 20 many. and their affairs began to assume
a very rloomy aspect. About this time an
adyenurcr nnmcd smitsawith whom Captain
! Dutton became casually acquainted, and
whose plausable. manners aud appearance
completely imposed ON the frank nk,unsuspectng
soldier, proposed TO him plan for insurng,
as he represented it. n large and rapid for
tune. This was to bccfIccicd ty cmbaTKiuq
considerable capital in the manufacture Of
some new kind Of spirit lamps, which Smith
assured the captain would. when once known,
supcrscdo the candles and oil-lamps through
out the kingdom.
To hear him dcscant on the marvellous vir-
tues and money making qualities OF his lamp,
one would be inclined to iako him for the lin
cal descendant of Aladdin, and the inhoritor
ofthat scHmpish individuals precious heirloom.
Our modern magician, however, candidly
confessed that he still wanted the "slave of the
lamp" or,in other words, ready money, to
set the invention agoing, and he at length
succeeded in prcsuadinp the unlucky captain
to sell out of the army. and invest the price
oil his commission in this luminous ventura
If Captain Dutton had refused to pay the
money until he should bc able TO pronounce
correctly the name of the invention he would
have saved his cash, at the expense probably
of n -semi=dialncaiinn Of his Jaws; for the lamp
reioiced in an eight-syllabled title, of which
each vocable belonged to n different tongue-.-
the first being Greek, the fourth Syriac, aud
the last taken from the aboriginal language
of New Icaland the intervening sounds
beloved to be respectively akin 10 Latin
German, SanscriI, and M,lay. Notwithstand.
ing, however, this prestige of name, the
lamp was a decided failure; its light was bril-
liant enough; but the olor il oxhaled in burn.
ing was so ovcrpowering, suggestive OF an
evil origin, so every way abominable, that
those adventurous purchasers who tried il
once seldom submitted their olfactory nerves
to a second ordeal. The sale aud mAnufae.
turc of the lamp and its accompanying spirit
were varried on by Mr. Smith alone in one
of the chief commercial cities OF England, he
having kindly arranged TO take oil the trou-
bic off his partners hands, and only requir-
ing him TO furnish the necessary funds For
sometime the accounts Of the business trans
mtted to Captain Dutton were most flourish
ing, and he and his gentle wife foudly thought
they were about to realize splendid fortune
for their little ones; but at length they began
to feel anxious for the arrival OF the cent-per-
cent profits which had been promised, but
which never eame; and Mr. Smiths letters
suddenly eeasing his partner set or to in
spect the scene of operations. ,
Arrived at ht---, he repaired tu the street
where the manufactory was situated, and
found il shut up Mr. Smith had, gone or to
America, considerably in debt 70 those who
had been foolish enough to trust him; and
leaving more rent due on the premises than
the remaining stock in trade Of the unpro-
lnounceabie lamp would pay As to the poor
ex-eaptain, he returned to his family ruin
ed man.
But strength is often found in tho depths
ofadversity, courage in despair; and both our
hero and his wife Set resolutely to work 20
support thernselvSs and their children. Har-