Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1892-10-22

ltrlight for the grand staircase, when
;he youthful functionary ;nterposed and
lsked her who it was she wished to see.
~ am an old friend; have been here
BEFORE" the lady added, as the boy
ooked dubious.
Her sweet smile was diaarming; not
less so her handsome apparel; the boy
said, every well, ma am, and the VS.
tor passed on.
Half all hour afterward the lady passed
across the hall on her way out, almost
nnnoticed-there are so many people go
in and out of big hotel-and the Royal
was the hote' AZ St. NJ. Almost I'm
noticed, not quite; commissioning
asked waiter standing near him who
shat lady was.
"She isn't staying here, " he remarked.
"No--a visitor, l suppose" replied
the waiter, and lie walked off.
The lady was by this time out of sight,
and the commissonaire, for the time,
forgot all about her but he had, hall
consciously, photographed her face in
his mind. Those who are in the habit
Of constantly seeing new faces acquire
either habit of quick and keen obser-
gation, OF lose almost all power of in
dividualizIng. The commissionaire was
of the former class. He was an Irish man,
too, and the Irish are proverbially keen
observers of the human face.
Mr.. and Mrs. Camplon were a young
couple on their honeymoon, landed peo-
pie. Mr.. Campion having an estate in
Devonshire; Mrs. Campion presumably
Of the same class as her husband.
They occupied handsome suite OF
apartments on the second floor of the
hotel, aud had already made several
agreeable acquaintances in the hotel and
in the town.
Between half-past one aud two they
returned, after a drive, to luncheon,
which was served privately in their own
apartments.
Mrs. Campion was remarkably pretty
woman Of about twenty-four, petite in
figure, and with small regular features.
Her husband was quite ten years her
senior, ana had a good deal of the coun-
try squire in his air and manners-the
sort of man to ride straight to hounds,
and know the points OF horse better
than the insides of books.
"Any one caled2n he asked of the
waiter, as he sat down to luncheon.
"No, sir; believe not, sir. III in
quire."
In the afternoon the pair strolled out
for awhile, and at five came in to tea.
At six o'clock Mrs. Campion's bell
tingled with as much violence as an
electric bell is capable of betraying, aud
when the page responded to the sum.
mons he saw Mr.. Campion looking a
whole thunderstorm, and Mrs. Campion
very pale, reclining on fanteuil.
"Tell Mr.. Wilson (the proprietor)
must see him at once, said Mr.. Cam
pion.
Mr.. Wilson was speedily on the spot,
to learn that Mrs. Campion's cmeralds,
valued by their owner at $4,000, had
been stolen. They were, it appeared,
secured in a large trunk or chest in Mr..
Campions dressing room. She herself
kept the key of this trunk. The other
jewels were in tue same place, but none
of them had been touched, probably be-
cause of their inferior value. The
thief had, by some means, opened the
trunk, and the casket containing the
emeralds-a necklace. bracelets and
ear rings-had been removed.
Mr.. Campion did not rave or storm;
he simply said that he should hold Mr..
Wilson responsible for the loss. The
host, on his side, replied that the guests
had not taken reasonable care of the
jewels, and refused to make good the
loss.
Inquiries resulted in disclosing the
fact that lady had called tina. morning
and had been allowed by the page to 90
up to Mr.. Campion's rooms.
"We don't know any such person,
said Mrs. Campiou. at was inexcuable
to allow her to come up to our rooms.
l dare say one of these hotel thieves
heard of the emerslds-I have twice
worn them at parties since | have been
here---and laid plot to obtain them.
Information was at once given to the
local police, and description of the
LADY" who called wired up to Scotland
Yard.
The next day Mr.. and Mrs. Campion
left St. NJ for London, aud at once
commenced en- action against Mr.. Will
son foT the value of the stolen jewels
$1,000.
The case came on in due course, but
as the crime was not of specially SEN
sational order, and the parties were not
known to the general public, it excited
no particular interest.
The plaintiff, described as of Walden
Hall, Devonshire, deposed to the facts.
The emeralds had been in the possession
OF his family for many years; they had
been valued by experts at $4,000.
A witness, who had seen Mrs. Cam
pion wearing them at ST. M, aud was
well acquainted with the value of
jewels stated in evidence that G200J
was rather under than over the marx for
gems so rare and so fine as those emer-
aids. Mrs. Campion swore that the jewels
were locked up in trunk of which she
alone had the key. 1t was patent
lock. She had put the casket away af-
ter attending party at which she had
worn them. On the day of the theft