The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1883-03-08
A COSTLY BRACELET.

Mr.. Maurice carried on a snug bust
ness as a silversmith and dealer in an.
tique silver in little triangular shaped
shop not much larger than cupboard,
situated in turning out of Bond street
Oddly enough, his chief occupation
seemed to be buying rather than selling;
for the majority of his customers came
to him to dispose of family plate or to
raise money on the security of iewelry
and other valuables. This branch of his
business Mr.. Maurice found so highly
remunerative that he was occasionally
tempted to be rather reckless in his deal
ings with strangers. The fact was, that
when he saw a good prospect of making
good bargain he never had the heart to
ask disagreeable questions, and, conse-
quently, i. sometimes happened that Mr..
Maurice had in the recesses of his strong
room valuable articles which were being
anxiously sought after by their rightful
owners. \ dubic us transaction of this
nature, however, was by no means an
every day occurrence; for Maurice had
large and aristocratic collection,
chiefly among fashionable ladies' with a
mania for extravaganza, and he was gen
orally regarded as most respectable
tradesman. He was little elderly man,
with bald hesd, strongly marked
features of Jewish type. sleek in per-
son, affable and assuming in manner and
so susceptible by disposition that it was
notorious that ppretty womon could
obtain much better terms from him than
plain one.
This was certainly the case regarding
little Mrs. Briscoe, the wife of an impe-
of V.nrl Acta
Mrs. Briscoe was an American, and when
she ran away with handsome Bob
Briscoe she was a considerable heiress.
Unfortunately her property had not
been protected by a marriage settlement,
and, consequently she and her husband
between them contrived to run through
it in remarkably short space of time.
To do the lady justice, she made no pre-
tense of blaming her husband for his
imprudence and extravaganza, having
congenial tastes in the same direction.
In fact, she had squandered quite as
much of her fortune as he had, without
the excuse of having large accumula-
ton of debts to clear off. Being
possessed of handsome iewelry and
profuslon of wedding gifts of a costly
nature, Mrs. Briscoe had frequent tran
sactions with Mr.. Maurice, with whose
assistance, and by the aid of very toler-
able luck and skill at ecarte, the little
lady contrived to maintain an appear
ance of prosperity.
Mr. Maurice found it no easy task to
hold his own with Mrs. Briscoe, who,
besides being piquant and pretty, was
past mistress in the dangerous arts of
eoaxing and caiolery. She was as clever
and shrewd as she was facinating, and
Mr.. Maurice's admiration for her was by
no means addicted to conscientious
scruples. She could romance with
charming effrontery, and would have
cheated him without the slightest COM
Function if he had ever given her a
chance. He felt sort of professional
pride in getting the better of Mrs.
Briscoe, which added a singular zest to
their numerous transactions, and
rendered her an honored customer in his
eyes.
One Of the hardest fought battles with
The lady in question related to an old
fashioned tiara OF diamonds set in silver,
which had been presented to her by her
husbands grandmother, the dowager
countess of Asterisk. Mrs. Briscoe,
being driven by adverse circumstances
10 part with this treasure, naturally
brought it to Mr. Maurice. and
demanded price which took
the worthy mans breath away.
He perceived however, that the stones
we're Of excellent quality, and was as
eager TO acquire them at his own price
as his customer was to sell 1t hers. A
long wrangling discussion ensued, which
resulted in Mr.. Maurice naming price
eonsidersbly nearer the sum demanded
than that which he bad originally offered.