Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1858-10-30
in sleep silent prayer for her dar-

He reused himself with an effort, and tax
ing segar case from his pocket offered me
segar. placed the bottle and the glasses OF
the table, and proceeded to twist paper
lighter, but he anticipated me with the blanl
side of letter, which, noticed was edged
with black AS he bent forward to light i
at the leader which hung between us, | saw
a large seal-ring, with q curious setting.
" That is strange ring of yours, Mr.. Cur
ney," | observed, after we had lighted ON
segars; "may look at it ~
Certainly" and he handed to me.
1t was Jasper signet of large size. Th'
stone was remarkably fine, and apparently
was flecked with red spots. They were smal
and dim, except where the stone had been en-
graved; there they were larger and brighter
1t was if the stone had been inserted in {
bloody foil, which had been pierced by the
cutting | could not make out the cutting
whether it was crest or merely an initial let
ter. Itwas probably cipher The work
manship ofthe setting, which was of red gold
betokened an early state of the art. 1t was
fantastic and rude, but quite in keeping witt
stone, the cipher of which it repeated amid
variety of cabalistic characters. Had
met with it in the cabinet Of collection,
should have said it was tie seal of some ma
gician of the middle ages.
Mr. Gurney had moved the bottle toward
him, and was filling his glass when made &
motion as if | would slip the ring on my fin
ger. ''Stopr he said suddenly; what are you
about 2"
His tone was so abrupt and fierce that
started at him in surprise. "YOu object to my
trying it on ~ asked.
Indeed | do it is unlucky"
| handed him back the ring, little piqued
by his manner
"Fill your glass, and will satisfy your Gu
riosity concerning it. You must not be an
nOyed with me because prevented you from
trying it on. 1t was on your account, not
my own"
We touched our glasses, and he then be-
gan.
"This ring has been in our family fol
generations. | know not when, or by whom
the curse was entitled upon us, but as far
back as our records reach-and we have au-
thentic documents reaching back five or six
hundred years-we find it mentioned as one
of the heirlooms of the race. 1t has come
down from father to son with all our broad
lands and possessions, being frequently speci-
fled in our ancient wills. Our lands and pos
sessions have passed away, as such things
will, but the ring remains, as you see. 1t has
belonged at times to various branches of the
tamily-men of widely different minds and
temperaments. Some lived in peaceful days,
and died at ripe old age others perished
young, slain III battles or broils. Many fell
by their own hands. But it mattered not
what was the fortune of the possessor, he was
the slave of the ring
But in what sense ?" inquired. What
you have related may be plain to you, but
must confess it is vague to me. In what
manner, and to whom, has the ring been a
curse ~
''To all who have worn it, myself among
the rest. As to the manner of the curse, it
has taken Il thousand shapes. Some of us
have been hustled from the pinnacle of wealth
and power, others have been raised to almost
regal dignities. This was in the old time when
we ranked among the nobility In these lat
er years OF buying and selling, our fortunes
have been more stable The majority of tia
Gurney's arc rich"
Then you have one thing" | said ste
counterbalancc The curse of the ring would
| had your wealth; | lack nothing but that
| have health and strength, a light heart, and
a clear head. | have no nOrdinate desires, nc
impossible lOngings. | possess myself thor
Oughly, my heart, my brain, my will"
And yet you sigh for wealth. You mus,
be mistaken in yourself; you are not so strong
as you think. What could money give you
that you do not already possess -
Many things, sir, said bitterly, think
ing of past privatiOns and present sOrrOws-
at would give me the books that need, the
pictures that love- | could build myself a
cottage in the country or, if were fool enough
to desire it, palace in Parvenu Square
could go to Europe, to London, to Paris or tC
Rome
Anything else -
"Yes," answered sharply provoked by
his coolness, 81 could probably save the life Of
my child.'
:" had forgotten that you were married
Mr.. Tracy. Tell me Of your wife and
child"
lie spoke kindly, tenderly even, but
save that my child is very sick, perhaps dy
ing"
Poor fellow" He fell into brown study
twirling the jasper signet in his fingers.
gather from what you say" | resumed
lucky one, but you have not told me what the
ring has to do with it. lam not disposed tc
admit in human affairs either the capricious
interference of Fortune, or the iron despotisn
of Fate still less can admit the influence O
so trivial a thing as jasper sgnet. can i'm
agine that your ancestors were fooled or terri
fled into such superstition in the age of as
trology, but it is unworthy of you, and this
age of enlightenment. fyour family has beer
unfortunate, Mr.. Gurney, it is because some
member of it has transmitted some weakness
| to his descendants.
'The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that We are underGngs."
I" AS you please; | did not expect you tt
believe me. But the facts are the same never
theless None of our family have ever beer
happy or ever will be- retchedness is oul
doom. Our motto should be "Miseyrinus,'
our crest bleeding heart. We are rich, bu
we take no pleasure in our riches. We ar,
loving, but we are seldom loved, or what W,
love dies. In short, we are miserable, thanks
to the jasper signet.''
In the name of common-sense, then,"
exclaimed, "why, keep it among you? Why
not destroy it, or give it away? You car
powder it in the fire, suppose, or throw il
into the sea? 1t will burn or sink''
L" 1t will do neither, sagacious port. Fo
one of my ancestors who dabbled in alchemy
a century or two ago. baffled in his search fo
the Philosophers stone, the. impossible Auru0
Potable, wreaked his vengeance on the rim,
which he conceived to be the cause of his dis
appointment, and threw it into his crucible a
white heat. 1t would have melted: granite
but it failed to consume the jasper signet, fo
when the fire died out it was found uninjured
the setting was moi even tarnished. Anothe
member of the family my Uncle Bernard
dropped it into the Tiber, but it came bacl
to him, like the ring of Polycrates."
" But you could give itaway," l persis
ted.
" 1t has been given away many times, bu
it has brought SO much misery On its nev
owner that he had always returned it to tn
giver."
Suppose you should give it to me, hoy
would it affect me ~
" You would not believe me if should tel