New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-08-03

guess I'll take the pool At this they
kinder sniggered, and asked to look at my
ring let them look as long as they liked.
b1s kept the ring on my finger. At last one
of them said, That stone mist have come
pretty high, l Judge Yes, SIR said l; ten
thousand dollars. cash. At these words
they sniggered agin. So l, putting on that
was yiled, rounded on EN- sharp; 4 don't
know. gentlemen. what you see to laugh
at Then the grace.ulest and politics: cuss
in the party says, quite solemn-like, Il fear
it i, no laughing matter for you. Sir.
guess you air a stranger, and l suspect
some rascas in the city here have
stuck you with Az imitation stone At this
pretended to rila right up, and swore that
had bought the ring OF perfect ger .Ieman.
and had no end of trouble to buy it at ali.
The polite man stifened up his back at
that, made some remarks on gentilty in
general, ana wound up by offering to bet a
thousand dollar. that my diamond was
bogus. 70 put up the money right away and
leave the matter to be decided By any Jew
eler named by tina proprietor of the hotel.
Then fel, that had struck lode. and
turning round sharply says, .Lookee here,
Sir; bets of a thousand dollars is good
enough for a small game, but when nv
word $ questioned, and my property is run
down. put down my Whole pile, and will
hacX my diamond with my bottom dollar
They kept their faces very well, but could
see their eyes glisten, and knew that had
EN- safe. One said he couldn't put I'D much
just then but he could fad $3.50 in half an
hour. and would stake it with pleasure agin
mine Then another struck in, and thought
al : l didn't look satisfied with such a little
bet. he would back his friends opinion for
five thousand and a. still kept on sayin
! was not goin' to show my diamond except
for a bet OF twenty thousand dollars, they
scraped UP about eighteen thousand among
them. | covered the money and handed it
over. with the ring and written memo
randum, 70 the proprietor. A lapidary was
named. called in and decided at once that
the diamond was genuine. Quite a consid-
cradle scene took place, and the swindlarA
insisted on calm in another witness. and
nearly busted myself with laughin' when
tnev named tha very man l bought the
stone OF. When he saw the stone his face
wa. a study: bu. he never LEI OH that he
had seen it before, and said only that i. was
perhaps the finest diamond he had ever
seen in a ring. bowed to the company and
walked Off. To do my rascais justice, they
showed grit. drank the champagne treated
them 70, and walked off coolly enough
The story o. my big bet somehow got |
around, and all sorts of versions got into |
the papers. I was interviewed pretty |
heavily by reporters, and Colonel Nathaniel |
J. Cooling. OF San joaquin, was credited |
with owning the biggest diamond ring in |
New York. when who should walk into the |
hotel but my orr ginal friend and his friend. |
The cusses evidently believed that by some |
lnheard of chance they had purchased a
real instead OF bogus diamond, and they |
were 10 doubt raging in their innards to |
think that they hadn't sold me in the first |
instance. and had put the gang in the hole |
ror $4,000. But the stone was now cele- |
Drated, and they began tryin to work on
ne TO let 'em have it back for $4,000, as l |
lad made such a good speculation IN bets
The original proprietor said he was in funds
agin, and couldn't sleep for thinkin' of his
mothers ring. OF course he wanted it back |
% sell at a big profit. and recoup the gang
! biz. | declined to sell, and kept him Oft
and on till l was ready to start, and told
lin l must wear the ring till l was aboard
hip, when. if he would pay down the
money in gold, he could have his ring
lgain. You guess what did. No, Why
he day before we sailed had the real dia-
nond set in the ring you see on my hand.
md Colonel Bogus put back into the old
citing. My friends came On board, paid
he money in gold, stranger-nary shin
lasters-examined the ring and the same
I'D sham diamond they sold me, and went
II as happy a. coyotes round dead mule.
wonder how they like the deal now. As
ar as can figure it, take about eighteen
thousand by the spec.-two-thirds in dia
nond and the rest in gold. Our glorious
iolden State il. guess, the place to cut
7our eye-teeth in. and l guess the dead
'eat. OF New York city will not soon for
'et Nat Cooling, of San joaquin"