Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-02-17
THE DIAMOND CRESCENT.

and the comforts of the fireside
was sitting in my office on the ground
floor, watching the restless people and phil
osophiZing, as have habit of doing, upon
the differences i'll human condition, when my
attention was suddenly arrested by child
wearing upon her breast a superb diamond
crescent of purest water and brilliancy. Be
fore had time to formulate any opinion as
to how SO magnificent jewel could have
come into the possession of child, or to Won
der why its parents or guardians permitted it
to wear such a valuable trinket upon the pub
lie streets, an officer had the little one in his
grasp.
Looking at it nationally, nothing would
have seemed more probable than that the
child was thief, for I did not fail to notice
in my first glance that her garments, although
scrupulously neat, were far from expensive,
nevertheless an unaccountable excitement
took possession of me, and l rushed to her as
sistance, demanding of the officer authori-
tatively, upon what charge do you make
this arrest!'
Instinctively recognizing friend, the ter
riied child besought me not to allow the
officer to take her to jail
''Look at that pin, the little thief!' the
officer said roughly, making a movement to
drag the child away
''Stop" [ commanded, Indignantly now,
for had made up my mind that the child
should at least have a hearing ''Who says
she is a thief!'
Il say SO" returned the officer sharply. 81
know 'em, these street ganins, and pre-
cious lot they are! She's regular one this
one is
''Indeed, sir, I am not thief! Oh, I am
not, l am not! didn't mean to do wrong.
wanted to find my own papa, that Miss
Adele says the crescent will surely find'
The officer laughed coarsely s'That is fine,
isn't it, Highly dramatic for one SO young.
You see l know em; they come in all ages
from'-
.''Oficer,nI interrupted him, for crowd
was gathering now, despite the biting cold,
and did not much enjoy my position as one
of the central figures, ''step with me into my
office while we hear the little ones story. I
am convinced that you have no more right
to arrest this child because she wears a costly
ornament when walking quietly along the
public street, than you would have to arrest
the wife or daughter of millionaire under
like circumstances. You know who l am.
and if the facts do not corroborate the story
this child tells promise to deliver her over
to you in the next few hours
"All right" said the officer, stake her;
You'll be wiser in the next twenty-four hours,
I'll wager"
And so [ was, but not just as the officer an
ticipated. The child told me a singular story
between her sobs and facts proved it strictly
true Indeed, as had tie little one in my
Office before the fire. warm and comfortable
except for the effects of her fright / had
time to see that her features and expression
were those of a young princess of the blood,
clear cut, exquisite and truthful. She was as
far removed from the youthful unfortunates
brought up i'll vice and crime as is heaven
from earth.
The gist of her story was that she was a
great mans daughter, and the only way she
would ever find her papa was by the crescent,
which he would recognize. She lived with
Miss Adele, music teacher, and they had
very little money Miss Adele had cried
that morning because their coal was nearly
gone and she had no money to buy more.
''When Adele had gone out put the ores
cent on, and came to find papa, for knew
that if he saw that he would buy us some
more wood and COAL" the child confided to
me earnestly.
hailed cab at the conclusion of the tale
and took the child to the street and number
given me- A tall, graceful woman of 25 or
thereabout welcomed us with emotion.
.sWhy, my dear Eva" she cried, clasping
the child to her, "where have you beens |
have been almost crazy with anxiety about
you"
But Just at this moment Miss Adele caught
sight of me, and, drawing herself up with
dignity, she waited for an explanation of
nv presence there Stating the case briefly,
asked her to tell me something about the
child.
II will. SIR" she said, motioning me to be
seated with grace l have rarely seen equaled.
''The sole guardianship of little Eva fell to
me strangely" she began, 81 am the daugh-
ter of a clergyman. and while teaching mu-
sic in my native village in the west it hap
pened that one winters night some eight
years since-a night not unlike what this
promises to benny father and I We're star
tied by means at our windows. Investiga.
ton showed a woman and child Both were
nearly frozen, and the woman, once in the
heated room, swooned we summoned q
physician, but she recovered consciousness
only to lose it again, until we found that she
was diving Toward the last the poor crea-
ture muttered wildly and incoherently. and
seemed to be in mortal terror of punishment
for some great crime. Just at the last how
ever, she became entirely rational and made
frantic efforts with her dying breath to tell
us all about the child; but the most we
could understand was that Eva belonged to
wealthy parents, and that something would
prove her identity. Sewed up in the rags
wrapped about the baby girl we discovered
the diamond crescent, which is strangely en-
eraved in ciphers, unintelligible to stran-
ger, but no doubt significant enough to the
owners, whom we naturally supposed to be
little Eva's parents, for this was evidently
what the poor woman meant TO convey.
envy father and accepted the trust thrown
upon us by that mysterious death as a COM
mission from heaven" said Eva's guardian
ANGEL. with a soulful smile which disclosed a
rich. beautiful nature, land we set about to
find the parents. For a long time we adver-
tised, but to no purpose. Many replies came,
but to none of these people did our little Eva
belong. At last, after my fathers death,
which occurred three years ago, certain that
Eva's parents were not to be found in the
west, sold my property there, coming to
New York in the hope of obtaining pupils
here. and at the same time good legal talent
to push the work of establishing my darling's
identity. we have not been very successful
SO far.
felt myself in dilemma, Here was a
beautiful young woman who had evidently
sacrificed all her worldly goods to what she
believed divinely appointed mission, and
for all l knew had at this moment neither
money nor food, certainly not fuel for the
morrow's bitter weather, for little Eva had
innocently given that fact away, and yet she