The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1872-01-26
aS5(Gisrellanepns.
MY DIAMOND RING.

o MY DIAMOND RING.
0 When my uncle Als,on, WHO wa
an old bachelor, died, lie left hi
9 property pretty equally divided lie
. tween his five nephews and nieces
= My boquest, however, as being tn
eldest and his godson, was the mos
} considerable; it consisted OF & small
freehold estate in Kent, and Gia
} mond ring.
This ling, which was of such value
that it had been estimated for legacy
duty at five hundred pounds, had s
little history attached 10 it. 1t was
presented 10 my uncle by All Indian
rsjih-whose physician he had been
for mary years, for having, on one
occasion, brought the rajah's favorite
son successfully through severe at
tack OF the smallpox.
On the return of the latter 10 Eng
land, some years afterwards, he dis
continued wearing the ring, for the
size and brilliancy OF the stone were
so remarkable as invariably 10 attract
attention I; which, being a qniet. re-
served man, was distasteful to him.
Besides which, he very soon discOv-
cred that having On his person, ha-
bitually, sn article al such value,
was, in ibis country, not altogether
unattended with danger, IN attempt
having been made Oh one occasion
to way lay and rob him during one oi
the solitary evening walks he was in
the habit OF taking.
He therefore decided TO run no
more risks of this character, and for
safe keeping placed the ling in the
box containing his securities deposit
ell with his banker, where 1t remained
for several years prior to his decease.
With the exception, in fact, of my
self and the elder OF my two sisters,
not one Of the family now living had
ever seen the ring. and even our rec
ollectIon OF it had become vague and
lndistinct during the years which had
elapsed since the time when, as chill
dren, We had sazed with mingled
awe and admiration upon 'uncle's
big diamond" 1t was therefore with
some degree OF curiosity that / ex-
amined my precious tequest. 1t was
really magnificent stone, and OF the
purest wa;er-at last 50 a friend
who processes tC be connoisseur in
such matters assured me, for | do
not pretend 10 be judge mi self.
Sill i; was by no means useful leg
acy. All the objections which had
presented themselves To my uncle's
wearing the ring, applied with still
greater force to my doing so. For
me, city man, engaged in business
bringing me in some six or seven
Luadfed per annum, to display on
my hand a diamond worth neatly Il
whole years income would obviously
be absurd, and quite inconsistent with
my position IN society.
| could sell the ring. True, /
could sell it; and | admit that the
idea of doing so presented itself to
my mind more Than once. Five hun
dred pounds, / argued, at five per
csnt.-a rate of interest obtainsble
from many of the safes. investments,
gives twenty five pounds per annum
small sum, il is true, but not alto
gethe! to be despised ; while so long
Us the money Is licked up in the ring
it is absolutely unproductive. Why,
l thought, pursuing the subject, had
my uncle sold the stone when he first
returned TO England, sixteen years
ago, the sum he would have Isalized
from it would, at compound interest,
have more thsD doubled itself by this
time.
With this ides, yet uppermost in
mind, casually alluded, on one oc-
casion, in family conclave, to my in.
tention of parting with the ring but
only to find that, by proposing to do
so, | had raised hornets nest about
my ears. Indignant protests met me
on ali sides Ally sister Mary, in
deed, grew guile angry, saying, that
"If poor, dear uncle mad only known
how little ], his fayOrite nephew,
with a sarcastic emphasis on the
word favorite,) would have valued his
lagacy, he would have left it to some
member OF the family who could have
better appreciated his kindness"
yourself, par example," 1 said.
"Yes, to me,' she replied cor to
Fanny, (her younger sister), or
cousin James; or any one, rather
than to you who have shown 50 little
respect for his memory" "Well I"
| Irejoined, ''but what sin | to Il } with
it?"
why, keep 1t until you get mar
ried, to be sure" was the triumphant
reply. "You can have it made into
a brooch tor your wife, if you do not
care to wear It Yourself"
"Very tue" said rCsignedly, for
| felt that l was beaten.
Iplacel the ling in Il strong, iron
bound plate chest, which | kept in
my slet ping chamber and thought to
have no more trouble about it ; but
was mistaken. In less than a week
afterwards an attempt was made by
burglars to enter the house, which
was only rendered unsuccessful
through the accident of tue barking
of a dog next door attracting the at
tention of Il policeman to the spot,
just in time to slarm them and oblige
them to abandon the undertaking.
On investigating the matter the
following day, found that the gos-
sip of our servants had spread the
news ell over the neighborhood that
had recently become the poesessor
of a large diamond,-the value OF
which rumor hsd greatly exagger-
ated,-snd that to this Circumstance
/ might doubtless attribute the fact
that the gentlemen who, to use Mrs.
Norton's Phrase, ''devote themselves
to such irregular adventures" as
housebreEking, favored US with their
attention.
Thinking it not improbable that
another attempt to enter the house
might shortly made, l deened ed
visable at once to prepare for such
contingency. l therefore bought,
that very day, a fire and burglar
proof safe, OF the very bes, make,
and also purchased one CT the ugIlest
and most ferocioUs-looking bulldogs
ever saw in my life. That these
precautions would prove effectual |
had every confidence; and, few
weeks afterwards, / accepted, with
out hesitation, sn invitation TO 6