Litchfield enquirer., 1874-06-04

I saw that he was intensely preoccupied, and was becoming daily better convinced that 1t was a rare one. He went about whistling and humming odd scraps oi song, like a dover freshly accepted When ever | heard him had sudden vision of
 our friend Angelo staring blankly after us5 as we rode away like pair of ravish- CTS m German ballad Scrope and l lodged in the same house. and one even ing, at the end of a week, after I had gone to bed. he made his way into my room, and shook me out of my slumbers as if the house were on fire. I guessed his errand before he had told 1t, shufied on my dressing gown, and hurried to his own apartment. ''I couldn't wait till last touch; there it lies ill its imperial beautyl'
 There it lay, indeed, under the lamp, flashing back the light from it's glowing heart-a splendid golden topaz on cush- ion of white velvet. He,thrust magn1- flying glass into my hand, and pushed me into chair by the table. I saw the sur face of the stone was worked in elaborate lntagllo, but l was not prepared for the pOrtentous character of image and legend In the center was full-length naked fig ure, which supposed at first to be pa gan deity. Then l saw the orb of sov- ereignty i'll one outstretched hand, the chlselled imperial scepter in the other, and the laurel-crown on the low-browed head. All round the face of the stone, near the edges, ran a chain of caryen fig ures-warriors, and horses, and chariots, | and young men and women interlaced in elaborate confusion. Over the head of l the image, within this concave frieze, stood the inscription'
 l DTvUs TIBERIUS CESAR ToTIUs oRBIs IM- PERAToR.
 The workmanship was extraordinarily delicate; beneath the powerful glass I held In my hand, the figures revealed the perfection and finish of the most renown- ed of antique marbles. The color of the stone was superb, and now that it's purity had been restored. it's size seemed pro- dlglous. It was in every way gem among gems, a priceless treasure
 Don't you think it was worth while getting mp to shake hands with the Elm peror Tiberius ?" cried Scrope, after ob- serving my surprise. Shabby Nine teenth Century Yankees, as we are, we are having our audience. Down on your knees, barbarian, we're in tremendous presence Haven't worked all these days and nights, with my little rags and files, to some purpose? I've annulled the centuries resuscitated totius Or6as inoperGtor. Do you conceive, do you apprehend, does your heart thump against your ribs? Not as it should, evil dently. This is where Caesar wore it, dull modern times-here, on his breast, near the shoulder, framed in chiselled gold, circled about with pearls as big as plums, clasping together the two sides of his gold-stifened mantle. It was the agraffe of the imperial purple. -Tremble, sir p and he took up the splendid jewel, and held it against my breast. ''No doubts no objection-no refections-or we're mortal enemies. How do I know it. where's my warrant? It simply must be l! It's too precious to have been anything else. It's the finest intaglo in the world. It has told me its secret; it has lain whis- pering classic Latin to me by the hour all
 tsAnd has it told you how it came to be buried in it's iron box ?''
 Ut has told me everything than I can tell you now. Content yourself for the present with admiring it..
 Admire it did for long time. Certain lly. if Scrope's hypothesis was not sound, It ought to have been, and if the Emper- or Tiberius had never worn the topaz in his mantle, he was by so much the less imperial. But the design, the legend, the shape of the stone, were all very cogent evidence that the gem had played great part "Yes, surely" said, ''it's the finest of known intaglios. |"
 Scrope was silent while 'Say of un- known" he answered at last. s'No one shall ever know it. You I hereby hold pledged to secresy. I shall show it to no one else-except to my mistress; if I ever have one. paid for the chance of it's turning out something great. I couldn't pay for the renown of possessing it. That only prlncely fortune could have pur. chased. To be known as the owner of the finest intagio in the world would make great man of me, and that would hardly be fair to our friend Angelo. I shal! sink the glory, and cherish my treas ure for its simple artistic worth. y
 "And how would you express that sim pie artistic worth in Roman scldi.'
 Its impossible. Fix upon any sum
 looked again at the golden topaz, cleaning Tn it's velvet nest; and felt that there could be no successful effort to con- ceal such magnificent negation of ob- scurity. "I recommend you,' said at last, ''to think twice before showing it to your mistress
 had no idea, when I spoke, that my words were timely; for had vaguely talk en 1t for granted that my friend was fore doomed to dispense with this graceful ap- bondage, very much as Peter Schlemihl, ln the tale, was condemned to have no shadow. Nevertheless, before a month had passed, he was in fair way to be- come engaged to 8 charming girl. "Jux- taposition is much," says Clough; espe- clally juxtaposition, he implies, in foreign countries; and in Scrope's case it had been particularly close His cousin, Mrs. Washington, arrived in Rome, and with her young girl who, though really no relative, offered him all the opportunities of cousinship. added to the remoter charm of young lady to whom had to be intro duced. Adina Washington was her com panion's stepdaughter, the elderlady hay Ing, some eight years before. married a wldower with little girl. Mir. Wadding- ton had recently died, and the two ladies were just emerging from their deep mourning. These dusky emblems of ComAoA SIIcl uelpeO them to seem unl- ted, as indeed they really were, although Mrs. Washington was but ten years older than her stepdaughter. She was an ex- cellent woman, without a fault that I know of, but that of thinking all the world as good as herself and keeping din ner waiting sometimes while she sketched the sunset. She was stout and fresh-col- pred, she laughed and talked rather loud, and generally, ia galleries and temples, caused good many stiff British necks to turn round.
 She had mania for excursions, and at Frascati and Tivoi she inflicted her good humored ponderosity on diminutive don- keys with relish which seemed to prove that a passion for scenary, like ali our passions, is capable of making the best of us pitiless. I had often heard Scrope say that he detested boisterous women. but he forgave his cousin her fine spirits and stepped into his place as her natural escort and adviser. In the vulgar sense he was not selfish: he had a very definite