The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-01
OUEER DIAMOND STORY
ARTIST COWLEY AND HIS FAIR
CLIENT AND HER ULSTER.

Che Sent q Necklace to Have it
painted on Her Portrait, and it Was
e+olen from His Safe-Mystery
Foot Thick.
From, the Nelo York Sun.
Artist Samuel ]. Cowley assured himself
- nusv day yesterday by inserting the
tollowlng advertisement in a morning pa
per: ~, ,r-r,e,r,o,,-e, -, -,
nc OO0 AND NO QUESTIONS asked, will
40. UUU b. given for return of diamonds
tsLer from safe in my studio on the evening of
EeS ". s. j. COWLEY, "a West 14th st.
He had hardly got around to his studio
before he discovered the effects of it, His
room was full of reporters, and they never
left him until II o'clock last night. The
reason of their pertinacity was the remark
eble story which he told regarding the loss
of the gems.
81 have been painting portrait of a Phil
sdelphia lady," he said, ''and l completed it
on Saturday. She is the wife Of a wealthy
shoe manufacturer, and she owned the dia-
monds. She wanted them in the picture,
and as it would have prolonged her sittings
number of hours to paint them into the
ricture while she wore them, the jewels
" ere left with me- Her last sitting was on
Tuesday, and that day she gave me the jew
elrv. On Saturday the picture was finished
and | sent it to her by Adams express.
was intending to send the diamonds on
Monday. On Saturday night about $50 or
7 o'clock | went out to dinner. | returned
at $50 o'clock. The first thing that caught
nv eve after | unlocked my door and
stepped into my studio was that the door of
nv safe stood ajar. l knew did not leave
it So / drew the door open and saw that
the jewels were gone.
"Eyervthing else in the room was just as
Yhad left it. A gold chain and locket that
Law in the same compartment was un-
touched, the door of the room was locked,
and there was no sign that any one had
tempered with the windows. | could not
believe that the diamonds were gone. 4
must have put them somewhere else,'
thought, and began a hunt. L looked in
drawers and everywhere, even under the
safe but without avail. The next day
1elegraphed to the lady. She came yester-
day, and we decided to try the advertise
ment | had no idea it would be noticed in
this way"
The room where this remarkable robbery
was committed is on the fourth floor of one
of the houses over Collins dry good store.
Mr.. Cowleys sign, with two pictures of
actresses nnder it, is the most conspicuous
one at the door, but there are also signs of
two other artists there, and those of a num-
Der of dres makers and dentist. Mr.
Cowey's roomts a large one at the back of
the house. Around the walls are portraits
of William H. Vanderbilt, Gen. Grant, the
Rev Sam Small, number of &C tresses,
and of others. In one corner stood large,
unfinished drawing of a handsome, smooth
checked lad.
THAT is the lady's brother, j." he explained,
land here" he said, drawing photograph
from the drawer of a center table, lis the
lady herself"
It was the picture of a pretty woman of
%, perhaps, in an evening dress Of white
silk. The name, which had been penciled
on the back of the card, was rubbed out,
and the name of the photographer cut off
the bottom.
At the back of the room, between two
windows stood the little safe. gold
chain lay in the otherwise empty compart-
ment in its upper left hand corner. A
screen hid one window. Behind it was
litter of working material and the sill was
piled with stuff. mo one could have got
in there" said Mr.. Cowley, because none
of that stuff was disturbed" The other
window, however, opens on a fire escape.
The sill is trimmed with a scarf and
Iambrequin, and there was nothing to pre-
vent the opening of the inside blinds Even
the window, Mr.. CowIey admits, was
usually left unfastened, and was 80 when he
went out
planned, land | generally left it unturned
until late at night" There is but one other
opening to the room. 1t is a door into the
dentists room, but it is locked and bolted
on both sides. On the mantel piece are half
a dozen photographs of the artist himself.
He is in uniform. II belong to Company
A of the Twenty-second regiment" he
said.
"Who is the lady g' was what every one
wanted TO know.
81 have told you all / CAM MIR. Cowley
protested "She will not let me give her
name She hoped to get the jewelry back
without letting her husband know about its
loss, and that was why [ offered such a
large reward
Her habit in sitting to him was, he said
to come from Philadelphia in the morning
or afternoon and return at night She had
been coming two or three times week for
month Her husband did not want her
to leave the diamonds here,n he said.
A curious feature of the case is that
neither the police nor any one in the build
ing were told word about it.
Mr. Cowley described the jewelrv ac-
curately, and exhibited a drawing which
be said was made from it. According to
this there were two pieceS-a necklace and
brooch, made to match. the brooch was
III the form of horseshoe, with three big
diamonds and three little ones at the bend,
+HN IOuI bsE OuSS Oh each Slu6. ne ueCk-
lace had thirl cen stones in it, big one in
the center, with six on each side. Between
the diamonds there were links connecting
with little diamond. studded horseshoes, and
there was a gold paddock to fasten the ends
The Jewels" said Cowley, "were
mounted in novel manner, and were, she
SAID presented to her by her husband. She
sad they were worth s2S,000 but think
S2OOO or $4,000 is nearer their value"
Mr.. Cowley sent messenger boys and
went himself on numerous trips to various
parts Of the city during the afternoon aud
evening, in order he said, to meet the mys-
ferrous lady. Among these was a note to
mrs. ID. H. Preston, at Riccadonna's, but he
sad, that was MT the lady, but friend of
ners. Even she did not materialize
finally, at 9 o'clock, he went out with a
young man who bore striking likeness TO
que unfinished pastel picture, and went up
town. They stopped in at Palmer's the
a'er, and in tho neighborhood Of Thirtieth
street disappeared.
me- have seen her." Cowley said afterward.
one Is all broken up over the publicity of
sne case, and has telegraphed for her hus-
oand. de will be here in the morning, and
VIII take the case out of my hands"
4. dispatch from Philadelphia says that
tne wives Of thirteen shoemakers have been
inquired of, and declare that no shoemak-
81 witein Philadelphia has SIS, 900 worth of
diamonds. The lady, Mr.. Cowley said, was