The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-10-15

around her sisters waist, and nestled her
head, with its pale golden ringlets, upon
her loving sisters shoulder.
Lila and Violet, restored to each
other, wept for joy. After long en-
brace, and many kisses, they ran away
toward the meadow, with its buttercups
and lambkins-oh. so very happy!
The Science OF Diamond Smuggling.
tFrom the Boston Commercial Bulletin.l
There is very important traffic car
ried on in diamodns over the various
European lines to this country, and as
the duty upon them is ten per cent. ad
palorem the sharpest watch is kept upon
those suspected to be engaged in it. BY
means of agents abroad the Collectors
Office has information by cable of the
departure from the various ports of sns-
pected diamond smugglers, and is pre-
pared to intercept them. In nine cases
out OF ten the stones are concealed upon
the persons of the passengers. When
this becomes certainty, or what is sup
posed to be certainty, the passenger is
arrested and taken to the Searchers
Bureau in the Custom-hOuse. Here, ii
found necessary, the party is stripped to
the skin, and his clothes examined inch
by inch and seam by seam; the heels
are taken off his boots, his hair and beard
are combed, and every means taken to
discover the hiding place of the secreted
treasures. Once this mode of search
used to be tolerably successful, but now
it rarely serves any purpose except in
the case of raw recruits to the smuggling
ranks. An old bird is caught with chat
but once.
A New York Jew, who was reputed to
be in the business of smuggling diamonds,
used to cross the water on the Cunard
line from three TO four times season.
Two years ago, in the early part of the
season, he was seized upon on his arrival,
and taken to the searcher's room.
Nearly q thousand dollars worth of pre-
cious stones were found secretcd in the
lining of his boots. He returned to
Liverpool by the same steamer, and four
weeks afterward again landed upon the
company's wharf on North river. He was
again seized and subjected to the same
rigorous search, but with no success.
The Jew took it smilingly and philo-
sophically. When he took his leave he
said "Better luck next time, gentle
men. shall go back by the same steam
er, on business, and when l return you
can try it again." if
The officers mentally determi ned if he
did they would try it again. Upon in
quiry it was found that he really had en-
gagged return passage, having held his
stateroom for that purpose. Two hours
before the sailing of the steamer he
was driven down to the pier in his car
riage, his wife and daughter with him to
see him off. When they returned they
carried with them over ten thousand
dollars worth of diamonds, which had
lain secreted in his stateroom during the
whole time the steamer had remained in
port. Before his return to New York,
the collector was notified by one of the
revenue agents abroad that "Max
Fischer would return by the -,
which would leave Liverpool on Octo-
Der 25, with several thousand dollars
worth of diamonds" In due time the
Jew arrived, and for the third time was
escorted before the searcher. He was
evidently otprepared for such persis
tent attention. He seemed nervous and
agitated, and finally attempted to com.
promise. He was politely informed that
that was out Of the question. He wa:
again put through the searching process
His pocket-book, which was first investiga
ted, revealed memorandum showing the
purchase of eighteen diamonds ofvariou.
sizes and prices, amounting in all t.
about $4,000. When this came t.
light the Jew begged with tears to bt
allowed to compromise. A deaf ear wa'
turned to his entreaties. His coat was
removed and the lining examined
Nothing there. Then the waistcoat. A:
the searcher passed his practical fingers
along the lining his heart gave a ire
mendous thump as he recognized the
"feel" of something pebbly, like little
rows of buttons The garment was hast
lily ripped, strip of chamois skin with
drawn and unrolled, and there they lay
one, two, three, four-eighteen! AL
there.
"You can put on your coat and waist
coat again, Mr.. Fischer" said the search
err, blandly. "Good day."
| Without word the Jew departed
took horse-car home, kissed his family
ate a rousing dinner, repaired to the
bathroom, and after soaking a rather
capacious plaster across the small of his
back fora few minutes in warm water
peeled it off, and with it "eighteer
diamonds, of various costs and prices.
What the searcher and collectors may
have said or thought when they found
their seizure to be nothing but clever
glass limitations, worth from ten to thirty
cents each, nobody knows; for although
the seizure was loudly heraldcd, the
finale was never made public. A lady
in this city, moving in fashionable cir
Giles, wears valuable diamond which
was imported in the cavity of double
tooth, said tooth being in the mouth o.
an Israelitish gentleman, of New York
1t was placed in its rather unromantit
hiding-place in London, and safely GOV
cred with bone filling, which was dis
placed after the arrival in New York.
New Kind Of q Man-Trap.
VI = n . n