Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-04-11
A BAG OF DIAMONDS.
The Tragedy Thet Was Enacted
in the Old Miser'e Bedroom.

!
in the Old Misere Bedroom.
Many times he had thought Of it, and
finally had screwed his courage to the
sticking point.
After all, what good to the old man
was that bag of gems? What good cx-
cept to count over, mark their twink
ling facets, gloat over their value. and
laugh at those who might covet them.
Palsied fingers would shake as the |
strings Of the chamois-s1in treasury |
were rapturously united, and mo-
,nents lifo and energy flash into |
pinchcd cheek and faded eye, as every |
evening the revelation of untold wealth
woke in a withcrcd heart its only sur
viving passion. But what good to the
world or to the man was that brief
minute of ecstasy? Was it not paid for
hun,lredfold by nights of fear and
forbodings of robbery that made life
perpetual horror? How often had Paul
heard his uncle wake from his noontide
nap with dreaming cry: My dia-
monds, my diamonds! Is that you,
Paul? l thought it was robber."
His thoughts were to come true to-
| night Paul tried to persuade himself
! that the treasure he had set his heart
| on belonged to him as much as ii they
| had been lying in q mine, tho prize OF
| the first finder.
| Then came another thought. His own
| poverty and his great love. His uncle's
| ward was as poor as himself-poor,
proud and beautiful Such flowers only
grow in hard and solitary places, in the
nipping air, and uncrowded even by the
| unobtrusiveness of love. Straight,
slender and full-hued as o rose, with a
| T., l., f,n a,,I
with meek, silent ways, and bearing
unflinchingly the blows of an old mans
brutal tongue, this girl had presented
to the poets mind the image OF power,
of profound passion, of untiring con-
stancy such as had enchanted him and
transformed his life. She had been
first to shy him, then wistfully tender
as she piticd him. 1t was in the arbor
at the foot Of the garden where he was
seated now, behind the hedge of clipped
yew, that she nestled close in his arms.
and they had known the first moment
Of happiness in their deserted lives.
1--WE must be patient, Paul"
Patient did she say? They had been
SO long enough. His plans werc ripe
now, and he was watching the light in
his unclc's window. The old man
would sleep well-hc had taken care OF
| INaC-IO-nlHht.
that was provided for. Old men arc
not hard to smother. The night, dark
and damp, suited dark thoughts. And
the sting Of long oppression, the blind
feeling after revenge for years OF cruel
sights and insults, had long engendercd
such thoughts. And now came vision
Of an earthly heaven, the hope OF new
life beyond the seas.
"Yes, I will fly with you at any time
you ask the girl had said, rcsolutely
"We shall be happy, rich or poor"
No, not poor. He would provid;
against that.
The lights in the windows of ths
mansion had gone out Even the win
tlows on the ground floor, which ope1
on the piazza, are dark. This is hi
unclc's room. Paul rises from his seat
The dripping jasmine spray that strike
D his check us he leaves the little summer
house makes his heart stop for Z mo
ment. He fears even the faint cruncl
; of his footsteps on the gravel. Their
is dog baying in the distance, as
conscious that thieves are about.
He steals past the big pear tree at tn
corner of the piazza, and trampling il
the soft mold of the flower garden, 'wher
her ionquils and tulips grew, he creep
breathlessly to the back porch. Th
outer door is quickly opened. II
j. thrusts out his hand to find the knob @
the house door, and, taking n latch kc
from his vest pocket, he opens it toe
At the end of the hall Is his uncle
room. The house is silent. But hark
7, did he hear football? 1t must be
heavy football that is heard on tn
thick carpet and steady floor of oal
He had never before explored this oil
rambling dwelling in darkness. 1t wa
always to him q sad and dreary place
place Of faded hangings, old-fashione
Ia and tasteless bric-a-brac, paintings l!
~ sipid in their tarnishcd frames, an
books that echoed the fancy and opil
ion of a dead Observation-Disclosures G
yesterdays news.
He has reached his uncle's doc
. There he produces dark lantern fro1
8. under his cloak. Drawing up the slic
- for a moment he flashes the cone
light ever the hall and up the staircas
- 1t lights up for moment oaken vain
cotirsr, crowded hat-rack, the antle
ove-head. and the statue of Cupid, pail
as a ghost, md then falls on the stai
N c:.Ac. AS it does so he snaps down I'll
IN slide, and all is darkness again.
Yes, all is dark and quiet. There
no witness to his crime.
What would she say or think il 81
MI saw him covering and crouching at