Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-08-27

as an Englishman always does, to talk about
the weather, and other agreeable things OF
that sort. This was evidently not the topic
upon which the countess wished to converse.
She therefore stopped me short, and said,
"'Excuse me, monsieur but come to
consult you ON subject of the utmost i'm
portance, which. with your permission, Il will
at once explain
81 said should be happy to hear whatever
she had to communicate. She then proceeded.
"'one ofmy ancestors was distinguished
knight who, having fought in the Holy Land,
and amased great treasures by pnndering the
inadels, proceeded afterwards to Constantine
pie, and there, in certain church. now be-
come a mosque, buried beneath particular
stone an immense treasure in gold and jew
els. have here in my hand a manuscript,
in which all the particulars of the transaction
are related but, unfortunately, it is imper-
feet, the name of the church and the mosque
being no longer to be found in it,
"She then handed the manuscript to me,
written in Arabic, and accompanied by a
French translation. It.was evidently very
old, and probably dated as far back as the
period of the Crusades. Iglanced through it,
and then inquired in what way could be OF
service to her in this matter. 1t struck me
that she desired should make pilgrimage
to Constantinople, to recover this wealth for
her. was mistaken her wish was very
different She only desired that, through my
knowledge of the language of the stars,
should reveal to her the name of the mosque
in which the treasure lay buried upon
which, old as she was, she would herselfpro-
ceed to Constantinople, and there take the
necessary steps for recovering possession oft.
=" 1t was with much difficulty that pre-
served my gravity; but l assured her that
my intimacy with the stars was by no means
so great as she imagined, and that it
would be difficult, or, perhaps, impossible
for me to discover the name of the mosque in
question. was resolved, however, to humor
her, because convinced she must be mad.
"'Well, said she after short pause, we
will discuss that matter another time. At
present, l have different favor to ask. In
one of the vaults of this castle, l have achest
filled with gold and silver and when l am
absent, two small white serpents usually take
their station on the lid to protect the treasure.
Lately, however, these faithful guardians OF
my property have disappeared and I am
now desirous that, during visit which
I must pay to Paris, you should take charge OF
the chest
"HInstead of the serpents p inquired, in
voluntarily.
"'Yes she replied, gravely. Come mon
sieur, follow me-.
$50 saying, she arose, and taking up a
candle from the table, proceeded towards the
door; upon which also arose, and followed
her fully persuaded that she required a
straight-waistcoat Immediately. Proceeding
from room to room, traversing long corridors,
ascending and descending stair-cases, moving
beneath turrets and arehways, we at length
reached the vault, the door of which she
opened with large key previously concealed
beneath her apron. When we entered, she
turned round and locked the door carefully
behind us; then taking from her girdle three
other keys, she inserted them in the chest,
and turning them one after another, the lid
flew open; and sure enough, it was full of
silver and gold.
"'This said she, is what wish you to
take charge of for me-
But, dear madame, said |, 1t is danger
GUS to entrust all this property with
stranger. Have you no relative with whom
you could more safely deposit the money!
"'I have nephew, she replied, with a
smile but il is to see him that am going
to Paris-and for the rest, can put vntire
confidence in you, if you will permit me-
"well, madame replied, if it affords
you any pleasure, shall be most happy to
become the successor of the serpents. Tell
me, however, before do So what amount of
money the chest contains p
"' Just fifteen thousand pounds sterling
neither more nor less
81 felt uneasy. 1t was impossible should
count the money; and, as there was clearly
flaw in her understanding, l could not be
sure she would not, on her return, imagine
she had left sixteen thousand, and call me to
account for the difference. However, 1t was
impossible, without rudeness, to escape from
the difficulty so determined, at all hazards,
to become the guardian of her treasure-and,
having expressed myself to that effect, We
quilted the vault.
"In two or three days the countess quilted
the chateau. Whether or not she ever went
to Paris is more than can say. Weeks and
months passed over, and received no letter
from her. began to feel uneasy. She had
disappeared in mysterious manner; and
should she in any way have come by her
death, l might, for aught know, have lain
under the suspicion of having hastened her
departure across the Styx.
"'Spring came, and summer followed and
still no news Of the countess. As was sit
ting one fine evening in the park, on camp
stool, at the foot of huge linden tree, smok-
ing cigar, and putting its fragrant clouds
over the head of huge St. Bernard dog that
lay at my feet, was made sensible Of the ap-
proach of stranger by Carlos giving a sud
den growl
"' Be quiet, old fellow" said I and then
looking up, saw dark sinister-looking man
at the distance of about ten PAGES. He did
not wait to be questioned respecting his bust
ness.