Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1875-09-16

ly one carriage was left on the stand, but
had it brought up to the door at once !;
though 1t was not nice one. it was at least
a shelter. | helped Nanon up to the step,
but the moment her head entered the ye-
hicle she shrank back, and jumped down on
to the pavement.
Il can't 20 in that dreadful thing, Jack.
1t smells of something dreadful
Don't be absurd, Nanny" said |. keep
your handkerchief to your face and get in.
George will be late."
Il can't Jack; can't. Please don't get
in there, George. | know you will have
something II you do; we all shall. Oh.
don't DON'T"
| must say | was vexed. The driver
swore by all the saints, and the devil be-
sides. that no sick man or anything out of
the way had ever been in his carriage
"sence the world was made" But nothing
convinced Nan. She became painfully ex-
cited, and was fairly forced to give up
the matter or be downright cruel. But
George would not be persuaded. lie looked
at me with sort OF contemptuous COM
| passion; but forgave him, for he never
had been married. So Nan and | walked
home, and George drove OIL TO the station
was sulky and Nan was sweet. She knew
| had made a great effort TO please her,
| and she knew George had suecrcd inward
were keen and quick, so she made herself
/ unusually lovely to reward me, and, better
| sttil, when George was seized with small
poN fortnight after and brought to the
edge Of death, and by police investigation
found out that the Indignantly virtuous
! hack driver had that very evening of the
/ concert taken two small pox patients to
( the hospital, all Nan said was, "Oh, Jack,
4 how good YOU were 10 let me walk home"
Is. III. 4
/ nose"
! But was doomed TO be still further in
| debted and recouciled to that wonderful
/ organ. year or two after the small pox
/ AFFAIR, Mans old grandmother. n dccrepit
frenchwoman of ninety, died in Paris. aud
/ IN III Of pque left all her money aud jew
( els to Nan mother, whom she had utterly
/ ignored since her marriage, to Mrs. Glenn
\ cnts creat distress. But her son had turn
/ ed out dissipated, worthless fellow, and
at length was shot IN n disrcputabe duel,
/ and in the last year OF her lite Madame
| Dnpare quarrelled with the niece She had
/ adoptr'. aui cat her OIL with a mourning
J ring. The inheritance amounted only 10
a few thousand dollars in money, but the
4 most valuable part was the jewelry, for be-
/ sides sundry quaint old rings of enamel,
/ cArhuncic aud sapphire, pair or two of
I cameo and garnet bracelets were comb
/ and necklace OF diamonds an HEIRLOOM IN
I the family, of great value. Now MaGame
I Duparc had had the iorcthought To leave
/ these tn Mrs. Clement in such a way tnat
they could not be a,ieuated or sold, adding
Z a lew cutting remarks a. to her probable
need OF money since she had married that
"vanricn American" Poor Mrs. Glenn
ent. she was past sneers this long time,
and the Inheritance came to Nan. aud IN
due time reached her, after dangers by
1 land, sea and the custom house.
oi course some ubiquitous reporter for
the papers heard this item OF news some
where, aud made feeling little paragraph.
The diamonds, tn reality worth about III
teen thousand dollars. figured a, Il "scvcn-
ty-nve thousand beqaest uf jewell" la big
capitals. All the circumstances were ar
rayrd before the pubI,. copied into city
papers, repeated in weeklycs; and from
that moment our lives became burden.
What should be done with those dia-
monds TIL we could take them to New
YORK and sell them:
Nan ala once pat them on, having first
sent our gifl of on an erraud looked und-
er every sofa and chair behind the doors,
into the closets. She even closed the rev
ister, lest a man should lurk ia the cellar.
ana shut all the blinds, for fear Of opera
glasses across the way. Then Size iii an
diamonds, and enjoyed herself
| must own she looked "A, lovely as a
goddess; the comb sparhled Ike a Coronct
OF stars lfor Il was set starwise. in a quaint
old fashion, in her coiled dark hair. and
the brllllants made river Of light about
her delicate round throat. Diamond, ey-
Identity were the proper gem, iur her. They
hindlcd the deep sparkle of her ewes; they /
Illuminated the naughty little head with a !
sort Of fitness not desirable. Her rich /
son gown of creamy silk. with its tails and Z
folds of rare old lace. delicate a. frost (
work the 1.-The, graceful iigurc and piquant, /
hl4hbred face evidently were meant for /
diamonds, or diamonds for them.
Nan" said |. DON'T sell the things. /
We don't need too; and they are lovely on |
you"
Nan turned slowly round aud looked at I
me with curious smile.
ION, Jack! is that your iica Of the eter-
nal fitness Of things: Shall wear these .
sparks 10 church, or to tea parties: Ouce .
a year. perhaps, there is wedding here /
that might be blined with my finery, unless .
everybody looked at the bride, as they 4.
ought And besides" She added with I
sudden energy, 40 you want our lives
made a nuisance with these things: How
have we spent the last ten davs?"
| looked back with dismay: not "A dav
had passed that we had not racked our
brains for place to hide those diamonds. |
They had been respectively. dwellers in
the pipe in pickle jar full of bran, deep
among piles of sheets in the linen chest
lost in the cedar closet, in the crown of
Mans Sunday bonnet, and the pocket of
my wedding coat. laid away in a drawer.
Once they were twenty-four hours in a loaf
of bread. all night in an old fashioned foot
stove. We neither slept quietly nor took
needful exercise; and when people came
to the house and asked to see them. the
very frieads of our bosoms even, they were
treated with base subterfuges. and went
away disappointed.
cannot say we told any right angled
and respectable lies; we descended to |.
meaner depths. Our invariable answer to
friendly requests was. "Did you think we
were so silly as To keep them in the house,
wincing retributiyely under the commen-
dations of our sense sure to follow, and
the appalling tales of other people who had
been so idiotic as to do such thing and
been robbed, or murdered or frightened to
death in consequence. We went to the ex-
pense OF two Tevolvers and borrowed a
dog, who barked at every mouse in the
wall, and awoke US to horrid suspicious
and tremOrs.
But at last the business which detained
me in Was finished, and | could
make arrangements for our journey. And
then came the important question. How
should we carry our precious charge to
New York? 1t would never do TO mack
them in trunk. proposed to Nan to
wear them.
And be murdered, of course" she in
dignantly answered.
thought they could be hidden under
L...- 4 a
hear to; she was afraid her very conscious
ness would betray her. SO at last we put
them in an ordinary morocco handbag.
which she never let go of enc moment in
all the days journey. This was enough to
attract attention in itself, but we got safe
ly to the hotel where we were TO stay. and
draw freer breath.
1t was six O'Clock at night. We were
too tired to go down town, ard having or
dered some dinner. Nan proceeded TO ar
ray herself for that ceremony.
But what shOud we do with the dia