The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1882-12-16

thC isNtN SOIlSHIlut. MeUnWnllc,
the opening of the casket acted like
magic upon the Countess. No sooner
had she caught sight of its contents
then she overwhelmed the jeweller with
n heap of questions. "Where-when
-how-did you come by these pearls,
Mr.? How much did you give
Il mean from whom did you buy
them?" II did not buy them, at
ALL" replied the astonished jeweller;
"neither do they belong to me. They
were merely entrusted to me by
lady, to sell on commission. 1
should have hesitated long time
before buying such pearls as these,
for which one cannot find customer
every day in the year, Madame /; no,
indeed, they might have lain upon
my hands for months-for years.
At the urgent request of the Coun-
tess footman was ut once dispatch
ed to bring the lady who had deposit
ted tho pearls with Mr.--to the
palace of the Countess of l.. After
brief delay the lady arrived, young
handsome, and elegantly dressed in
the height of the reigning fashion.
She listened with subdued smile to
the series of questions which the
Countess of l.. addressed to her.
Nettled, but still retaining the COM
mand of her temper, the Countess
wound up by touching secret
spring in the fastening of the neck
lace. "There," she exclaimed,
pointing to her arms aud motto
engraved on the side of the fasten-
ing; ''however you came into the
possession of these pearls, you will
hardly venture to dispute that they
belong to me. -Four years ago they
suddenly disappeared from my jewel
case, and now, after all inquiry had
proved fruitless, they are found with
you! l am under great obligations
to the lady who has restored to me
that which is my own" The Coun-
tess accompanied these words with
bow and smile of profound irony.
In answer to this TRADE the lady
uttered not word, but opening
3 small reticule which she carried in
, her hand, produced highly scented
biliet.dou1 and handed it to the
Countess, who started us if serpent
had stung her, and swooned upon
the spot. On recovering conscious
ness she went straight to her writing
table, wrote cheque for the amount
demanded by the lady, and gave it
to her without uttering a single word.
The 6liet-dour was in the handwrit-
ing of the Countess's only son.
The tradition that the treasure
belonging to the abbey of st Denis
mt the time of the French Revolution
was burned in the Cathedral instead
of being seized by the Convention
and melted down, has always had
such q. firm hold ON the popular
imagination that the French minister of
Fine arts has, upon the advice OF
NJ. du Montcel, the well-known
electrician, given permission to
lady named Cavailha to search for it
by the aid of a wand which, she
asserts, has the mysterious power
of being attracted by precious
metals as the needle by the magnet.
Madame Cavailha has made con-
tract with the Minister of Fine Arts,
according to which she is to receive
sum of 100000 in the event of
her discovering the lare manuscripts
and pictures, the communion plate,
chaeices, incense burners, &C., of
which the treasure in part consisted,
while she will be entitled to third
of all the gold and other monies.
Several workmen have been making
excavations in the cathedral of st.
Denis under her superintendent,
but hitherto the only discoveries
made have been of bones, which,
not improbably, were taken out of
the tombs of the French kings when
they were rihed at the Revolution
but the explorers have now reached
the royal vault, which has not been
opened since the Prince dc Condo
was buried there in 1880, and the
diocesan architect will not allow
them to open it without a fresh
authorization from the Minister, as
he states that the building may be