Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-11-07
THE GARNET RING.
4 MAIDsN'S Loss AND GAM.

MAIDSN'S LOSS AND Gam.
The h:tle fishing village which has grown Up
under the lea OF Mount SaJut Michael rOuses 70
Its most intense life when IL pIeases the dog
tsh that the pilChaIds shall enter the bag,
Whether the Ptlchatds move in certain fixed
line OF travel, which the dOg-dsh have disCov-
cred and follow, / do not know; or whether. on
the other hand, the piCh ards would stay in
some blest spot, unprovOked by fishermen, I'M
dried and Unsalted, blushing unseen, indeed,
and hidden in remote caves OF ocean, were there
no dog -tsh-this know not. What / know Is
this; that, to the blessing Of fishermen tie
Cornish coast, shoals Of piichaTdS, uncOuBtsd
and accountable, appear OF a sudden, their
silV5ry ms just flashing above the water IN
places, IN tokens OF wealth tn which no saEksn
argOsy OF Spanish plate comp know that
the g-Es6, who is a sort Of shark, follows
them, apparently to and for their destruc ion.
When tLey appear, the Cornish fishermen, with
their long seiRes, 81 ready for their arrival put
out into the bay, and haul IN untold thousands,
the food for the half Of England, and the wealth
OF half Cornwall. And If they did not cOms
thus, this story would EeTer have happened,
nor would II ever have bean written.
For IN haul OF pilchards, which -, peril 4qs,
stli me mora, le in the traditions Of Mount SAlat
Michael, so eDOrmOus was the yield thatit gave,
II happened that Mark Trevor, as honest aud
bold 4 fisherman a. ever role his boat ont OF
the Bay Of st. Miet ael, g. he stood up 10 hail
the next boat, and direct the lay of the heavy
seine, stumbled, or hsd a nt-nO man knsw or
knOwE-tell heavily over the s1n~ale, aud must
have been entan2Isd in the seine The other
bOaf men saw him tall; and though they Tisked
the whole catch, long John Trevor, and ire
gall, the lame man, and young frslaWney,
pulled 70 the rescus at OHrr; and, as soon as
bat length Of the seine cOu!d be parted from
tbe ueSI length. IL was parted, ana with the
Whole force Of the three boats they hauled il in.
But 1t vas too late, and they bJoux ht poor
Marx TrevOr's body home stark aud dead. He
would never draw seine agsiu.
Every body liked Mark ECc7or, and every
before this, the Pet OF the village; and, b.
cause she has No other ulotIer, she was male 10
feel that every woman alCng tLs shore lOYel
her as her own, and that she wss pet ia every
hut OF them eli. And 80 il l2ppenei, that after
funeral service Of more sOlsmaity than these
rough children of OgrSss ami of giant killers
were won't 70 lavish on the dead, il was some
how agreed that Peg should be owned as q sort
OF child Of the regiment, that che should be
cared Tor as well a. the very best OF them, aud
II came - be 3 custom, that, at the end OF every
drawing OF the long seiaes, every mau, accord
Ing 10 the success OF the lraught Dishes, should
bring twenty, or ufty,or even a hundred, Of the
best Of the pilchards which fell TO his share, 10
whichever hut had the charge Of their pet child,
Peg Trevor, and these we're called "Pey's
catch" The fishing lasts on the Cornish shore
from July 10 October. The COrnishme1 saw
that though the p.lchArd is the sn AIlesr of Hsh
he feeds the most OF men, This is sure. that AZ
Pegs home, before she knew what the value OF
the freewIll Off6rlng was, the Ve~y best of the
catch Of 81. MichseI's Bay always came to-
getber By 1Te law OF selection. Before Peg
was twenty years old, The superstition OF these
Cornishmen led them AL to believe that the m an
Who put one mean Pilchard into Pegs catch
OF the year By this Law OF the selection OF love.
made Peg an independent little woman in her
Wa; all the more so when Peg herself grew big
enough IL take oversight and watch Of her eaten
Besides the goodwill or bis neighbors, Mark
Trevor had had but little % leave 10 the orphan
sirl EXCEPT good blood, and good friends his
pretty hut, his boat, ana his length Of seine.
On bis little finger, the day his body WAS
brought home dead was an Oid-fashioned ring
Which, ON bis wedding day, he had given 20 :
wife. IL was not her wedding ring, but she
wore ~ Aeoye her wedding ring, as a guard,
after fashion of those dAys-a queer, old. fash
Toned ring, with great garnet in the middle,
and around this ring this pilChsTd story grows
The ring Was previously saved among Pegs be-
lOngings, and as the girl grew up, and knew IL
was her mothers ring, Sd was fond OF looking
on 10, and at last took u wearing il hersslf
when she became q woman; not, fOT fairness
sake, De II SAID, rom any love OF hnery, but be-
cause they sald there was a spell in garnsss.
"AnyWise, there would be luck in what her
mother TOre," and 50 for ''iuck she would wear
IT. 80 sait the merry .gcGf he arted fear eSs girl
The ring Was lost and nobody remembered 70
nave seen the ring since breakfast, poor Peg
Was Little dashed. She went TO bed CRYING,
indeed. But the next morning all was right
again She said 90, and belle ye it was so. ssNo
need 70 make salt when your boats at sea-
said she. mo need to cry for added egg"
saic che. eli the hand IL clean, the ring MAKES
II DO cleaner" saidsb For Peg had a worIt OF
COrni proverbs, which she could bring TO bear
on her ride or whatever argument, aud her side
was always the CHEEKY and Jolly and hopeful
and brave side; for the giFl was as hearty a. her
father IVES before her, and she male the bs-t
therefore Of what was 10 her indeed a very hap
~ world
II the reader really cares 20 know what be-
came OF this ring, II will be easy enough 70 tell
him. II would not be hard 70 tell him it's his
tory nom that day TO this day, nor whose finger
the garnet IL on st this moment, unless, indeed,
t have Just now gone 70 Starr & MOrtimer's, or
70 Mr. kutby's, or to Guilds to be set anew
The ring turned up in Anthony Skene's cham
bers In the New Inn in London.
Anthony Skene had been at work all that
WINTER day In the most important cause that
had ever been eonhded to him Something al
turned the attention or one Of the great Iorts Of
the law 70 this young fellow. As he sat on ths
back seat among the young LAWYERS with a
very fresh wig and q very fresh gown. and tbis
something hsd made the great lord direc. m =
man Of AL work in this very important mate
OF A in appeal W. to call in Mr. Anthonv
SkeDe when the great lord had been told th Al
they should need more force before that work
was done. No, Am not going TO tell you OF
the great case Of A vs.. THAT Is q trick OF the
novelists. am only going 70 tell what hap
pened 10 Anthony Skene when he came home
to his chambers after that great day OF work,
the great lord OF the Law, and then had gone TO
work as hidden, ell day long, well into the
evening, examining witnesses In advance, and
seeing what they could say, and what they
would say, from what they would be frightened
arc on wnat points they would be sure. An
thony Skene came home to his chambers mot
dkpleased with himself. But never mad ma
cnknbers seemed % foriorn. Thev wera v.rr,
SRTF- Gocktn had the IRE all right Nav thev
were light. She was hidden 20 light tina eandI -
- seYsni and she lad bghsed tasm. Bat they