The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1892-06-30
THE VALDEZ SAPPHIRE

excepted. can give its whole history.
from the Cingalese who found II, the
Spanish adventurer who stole 1t, the car
dinal who bought 1t, the pope who gra-
ciously accepted u, the favored son Of
the church who received 1t, the gAy and
giddy duchess who pawued 1t, down to
the eminent prelate who now holds It In
trust rs family heirloom. ~
twill occupy . chapter toitself 10 my
forthcoming work on Historic Stones"
where full details Of Its weight, size,
color and value may be found. At pres
ent | am going TO relate an incident In
its history which, for obvious reasons,
will not be published-which, in fact, !
trust the reader will consider related in
strict confidence.
had never seen the stone itself when
began to write about 1t, and 1t was not
until one evening last spring, while stay
ing with my nephew, Sir Thomas Acton,
that came within measurable distance
Of It. A dinner party was impending,
and ut my instigatiou the bishop OF
Northchurch and Miss Panton, his
daughter and heiresS, were among the
invited guests
The dinner was q particularly good
one, remember that distinctly. In fact,
! felt myself partly responsible for It,
having engaged the new cook-a talented
young italian pupil Of the admirable old
chef ut my club. We had gone over the
menu carefully together. with 4 result
refreshing In Its novelty, but not 81 dar-
ing Us to disturb the minds Of the limo
cent country guests who were hidden
thereto.
The first spoonful Of soup was reassur-
ing. and looked to the end Of the table
to exchange u congratulatory glance
with Leta. What was amiss? No re-
Spouse. Her pretty face was flushed,
her smile constrained: she was talking
with quite unnecessary empreaSement to
her neighbor, Sir Harry Lander. though
Leta is one Of those few women who un-
derstand the importanceo Of letting man
settle down TRANQUILITY and with m I'M
disturbed mind to the business Of dining,
allowing no topic Of serious interest to
come on before the relieves, and reserv.
ing mere conversational brilliancy for
the entremets-
Guests all right No Disappointment
had gona through the list with her, Sc
Letting just the right people to be asked
to meet the Land0rs, our new neighbors.
Not mere cumbrOuI county gathering,
nor yet snowy, imported party from
town, but a skillful blending Of both.
Had anything happened already? had
been late for dinner and missed the AZ
rivals In the drawing room. It was
Leta's fault. She had got into way Of
coming into my room and putting the
last touches 10 my toilet. | let her. for
am doubtful Of myself nowadays after
many years dependence on the best Of
Wallets. Her taste Is generally beyond
dispute, but today she had INDUCED In
feminine vagary that provoked me and
made me late for dinner.
"Are you going to wear your sapphire,
Uncle PaulT' she cried In tone Of dis
may. ''0h, why not the ruby
"You would have your way about the
table decoration" gently reminded her.
"With that service Of Crown Derby
repousse and orchids the ruby would
look absolutely barbaric. Now. II you
would have had the Limoges set, white
candles and yellow silk CENTER
'sOh, but-rm so disappointed-l
wanted the bishop to see your ruby-Or
one Of your engraved gems
"My dear, 1t Is gu the bishops account
Iput this on. You know his daughter
Is heiress Of the great Valdez sap.
phire"-
''Of course she Is, and when he has
the charge Of stone three times ~ big
as yours what's the use Of wearing III
The ruby, dear Uncle Paul, pleasei''
She was desperately in earnest | could
see, and considering the obligations
which am supposed to be under to her
and Tom, Il WINS but u little matter to
yield, but Il involved good deal Of ex-
ira trouble. Studs, sleeve links. watch
guard. all carefully selected to 60 with
the sapphire had to he changed, the EN-.
erslld which chose a. q compromise re-
quiring more horid accompaniment Of
q deeper tone Of gold, and the dinner
hour struck as replaced my jewel case,
the one relic left me OF once handsome
fortune. In my fireprOOf safe.
The emerald loOked very well that
evening however. kept my eyes upon
It for comfort when Miss PantOn proved
trying.
She was . lean, yellow, dictatorial
young person, with no conversation.
spoke Of her fathers eelebrAtsd sapphires.
'My sapphires." she amended sourly;
'sthough I am legally debarred from
making any profitable use Of them"
She furthermore Informed me that she
viewed them useless gauds, which ought
TO be disposed Of for the benefit Of the
heather gave the subject up. and
while she discoursed Of the work Of the
Blue Ribbon Army among the Bojes-
man, tried to understand . certain dis
location In the arrangement Of the table.
Surely we were more or less in number
than We should be. Opposite side all
right. Who was extra on ours leaned
forward. Lady Lander on one side Of
Tom; on tina other whoe lcaught
glimpses Of plumes pink and green nod.
ding over y dinner plate. and beneath
them o pink nose In = green visAge. with
. hutcracker chin altogether unknown
10 me.
A sharp, gray eye Shot . GideWay
Glance down the table and caught me
peeping, and I retreated, having only
marked IN addition two clawlike hands,
with point lace rufIles and . mass Of
brilliant ringl, making good play witha
knife and fork. Who was shel At in
tsrTals . high, aeid voice could be heard
addreasing Tom. and . laugh that made