Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-05-01
Written for THE EVENING SrAR
MY WIFE'S DIAMOND.
BY CONRAD MORE.
Copyrighted 1867

copyrighted 1867
MY wife's assortment of precious stones is not
very great; and of diamonds she has but q
single one. How she came by that one will be
shown in the present story.
Some years ago, while i was still a bachelor,
II fell in my path to befriend to a considerable
extent an aged Hungarian Jew whom had I'M
earthed In extreme poverty In a wretched tene-
ment house in one of the most unsavory dis
tricts of New York. He q wonderfully
handsome old man, according to the Jewish
type, and wonderfully learned in those sciences
which the Rabbins principally affect If he un-
derstOod little of the nebular hypothesis, he
could at least repeat the entire Pentateuch
from memory and eXpOund the mystical sig
nificance of It's separate hair-lines and accent
marks with comprehensive vagueness.
On the morning he sailed away-for part Of
my service had been to procure him ticket-oi-
leave from American soil, / drove down to the
dock to bid him god-speed. Tears chung to his
eyelids, and he was voluble in protestations, of
gratitude, interspersed with mutterings in
Hebrew AS the vessel was finally on the point
of casting off he exhibited signs of a violent in
ternal struggle, as though there was something
he very much wanted, and yet heSitated to say
do. i assumed as encouraging an aspect as
could manage: but it availed nothing until the
plank was actually being manned by the sail
ors. Then my Israelite gulped down a prodigi-
Gus sigh and exclaimed, There, take Ii. 1t Is
ali have 10 give YOU. Thrusting something
Into my hands, he vanished beneath the COM
paniOnway.
What he had thrust upon me proved, when
Investigated, to be q morsel of ebony, of the
shape and dimensions of q hens egg, carved
with multitude of mythic beasts. 1t was
really a very clever bit of workmanship and
would have figured to excellent advantage in
The cabinet of bric-a~brac amateur. / con-
signed it TO the pocket of my overcoat and pro-
ceeded about my business
When reached home that evening and was
seated by my fireside thinking over the hap
penings of the day, the old Jews parting gift re-
CURED to me; and producing Ii, subjected it to
more careful scrutiny than the previous one
had been. Then, deep seam around its longer
circumference prompted the notion that per-
haps it was not a mere solid piece or lump of
ebony after all, but might on the contrary be q
box or casket. in which case was anxious to
view its contents. So wasted much time in
Intellectual efforts to pry it open. 1t resisted
heroically; and had about determined to try
no further, when, as my finger-nail accident
ally pressed upon the stomach of particularly
sinister-looking griffin, it yielded; and the egg
flying asunder down the middle, as If by means
oil a hidden spring. its interior lay revealed
As singular an object as ever had beheld
greeted my sight. 1t appeared to be q perfectly
modelled oriental idol, not larger than the tip of
your lady's thumb, with legs drawn up, so that
the chin rested upon the knees, it sat in its
ebony shrine like a Sultan on his throne.
Every feature was complete Its forehead was
amesh of Sapient wrinkles; Its eyes peered from
their sockets with a sophisticated leer; and the
corners of its mouth We're twisted into a COM
placent smirk. There was q grOteSque attrac-
ton, an uncanny charm, about the thing, that
i don't know how long / remained stupidity
staring at il, before thought of carrying the
inspection farther into detail.
At any rate, by-and-by / put forth my hand
and picked 1T up. II was with increasing curl
osify that pursued the examination.
So tar as weight and texture were concerned,
Judged that this extraordinary specimen was
of wood; yet on the other hand the greenish
luster of its surface, and the sound it emitted
as i tapped ii, pointed to metal. Its head was
covered with a suit of what would have wa
gered was genuine, neecy hair, in hue the most
unmitigated red; but on testing it, ii proved to
be as substantial as the rest. A voluminous
garment enclosed the body, descending In
countless folds in front, and wrought on the
back with tortuous intertwinings of gold thread;
the very grain of the cloth and f1uffiness of the
embroidery having been initiated by the con-
scientious artist. Below the hem of the skirt
protruded ten diminutive toes, fashioned with
Il realism that was painful Ugly excrescences
afflicted them, and they terminated in un-
trimmed ragged nails. a girdle of GOLD .ncir.
cled the waist and was knotted at the hip,
whence its ends fell downward Topped together.
This was n serpent, holding his tail in his
mouth. Not scale was omitted. Indeed,
had to fetch magnifying glass to appreciate it
queer perfume. halt like sandal wood, and hall
like something else, pungent and penetrating,
that had never smelled before and therefore
cannot name.
Will ask the reader to guess the legion OF
strange fancies with which this tiny mon
strosity filed my brain. 1 thought of the
sculptor who had designed il in an epoch whic h
perhaps antedated Christianity. / thought of
the history it might have witnessed Of the
dynastieS it had seen flourish and decay I
took for granted that it very ancient I
thought OF the prayers it had heard, of the des-
TIMES ii had swerved-was 1t not fetch? Had
II not therefore been worshipped as a Gode All
the mystery and magic OF the east seemed to be
compressed into this minute compass.
worked myself into quite a state over it. 1t
acted upon my imagination spur. 1t
affected me as opium affects its devotees. My
pulse was accelerated; the arteries throbbed
perceptibly in my temples. Then gradually as
i held II in my palm, began TO enjoy the
opium eaters peculiar privilege. The walls of
nv q nj Tha MI
teenth century crumbled away. was in India
in "A sanctuary of the Brahmins. The place was
Illuminated hy moonlight, flooding through an
aperture in the dome above our heads 4 cir
Gle OF women chanted q minor rhythmic
melody sWaylng their bodies with the accent.
In the center OF the circle stood the priests
clad in magnificent vestments. They were
performing some fantastic rite over this identi.
cal efligy of "a god. They passed 1t from one 10
another and back again, ever keeping it within
the range OF the moon. The song of the women
grew more sonorous, their motions more ami
mated; al the summit OF its cresendo the song
snapped short oil, their motion ceased; there
was breathless silence. Then, at that instant,
vertically down from the moon which had at.
aimed Us zenith snoi "a spark or globule OF
distilled light, buried itself like arrow in the
half rose from my chair. The old Jews me-
mento slipped from my grasp and rolled upon
the noor. The vision collapsed. was in my
room again i laughed at my experience, con-
Guided That had been dreaming and reasoned
correspondingly that ii was high time io- me to
get to- bed.
but when i had turned off the gas and was
comfortably established among my pillows
remembered that / had forgotten to shut the
idol up in its egg shaped prison. Why this cir.
cumstance struck me as of importance / can't
say; but the fact is that immediately climbed
out OF bed and approached the table whereon
had lett the Idol lying. There indeed il still
lay w nat, however, was my surprise upon
reInarking that, like the brilliant In the Arab
iau Nights, IL betrayed itself by its own light,
There indeed il lay, shedding a phosphorescent
glare for distance OF several inches round
about IL 30 my heather god had his halo, or
course the most natural explanation was the
simplest Doubtless the substance of which il
was moulded did in truth contain phosphorus:
ami that explanation / at one accepted. So
without more ado, as the breeze from an open
window was playing with my night-dress.
picked tie Idol up To replace Ii in It's case But
dropped IL the second alter a sharp ouict,
tlngle ddrted up my arm to my elbow as
though had touched an electric sponge Puz-
zlcd more than ever, mustered INV COURAGE
an picked IL up again. Whatever its Quasi.
electric property had been, IL refused to mani.
rest 10 second time. The tingle was nor re-.
peated- got back into bed with renewed ma.
terial for wOader.
~ last 1 sank into a restless sleep and was
beset all night by myriad of weird oriental
spectTeS
The next morning of course the first thing
die was 10 pinch the Griffin's belly aud resume
acquaintance with my ietich. Daylight made
hO 3ppTec!Ihlc difference in its appearance
cOlld handle II, also, with entire impunitv In
seemed To have forfeited its electric qualify for
gu+u- Before starting for my Office. attached