Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1894-12-26

| moment later lie was hHkeu 10 step ln-
to the drawing room,
"Fraulein w., | have come on n
very pleasant errand-to ask you to
choose one of three diamond neck
laces which is destined to vie, and
vie in vain, with the charms bestowed
upon yon by nature"
"What do You mean?" asked the
lady, whose countenance had assumed
the form of note of Interrogation.
81 mean that Count 0. has been
choosing necklace for you; that he
has carefully scrutinized all we have
in stock, and, having selected these
three, asks yon to say which of them
you prefer"
Count o., did you say?"
"Yes, Count Ferdinand O. You
know him, of course y
"Not /; never saw or spoke to him
in my life. d"
"Strange-very strange! Here is
his card, ] dare say he is an admircr
of your delightful singing and in
tends to give n tangible shape to his
appreciation; and, if may say so, he
has made proof of admirable judg-
ment in selecting diamond necklace
| expected to see him here, but this
is, perhaps, the harbinger Of his visit. "
'Nes, that may be, answered the
lady, looking admiringly at the gilt
tering diamonds. 81 have often
heard of him. He is always in the
opera, and does, ! know, take a great
interest in music of all kinds.
The jeweler then invited a careful
inspection of the three necklaces,
pointed ont the beauties of each, and
laid special stress on the best of the
three, which, of course, was the most
expensive of the lot. Hall an hour
passed in this way, but the Young
count failed to put in an appearance.
"What do you intend to do?' asked
Fraulein W. at length.
"Well, [ suppose it is useless to
wait any longer. / confide the three
necklaces to your safe keeping, Frau-
lein; / know they will be rs well look
ed after here rs at our shop. And
when Count o. does call and you have
selected one of them, he will come TO
rs and settle mp. 1t will not last
longer than tomorrow, for he has
promised to come in the morning in
any case
And Herr y. took his leave, rejoic-
ing. It never once occurred to him
that he had left any loophole in the
arrangement through which II mouse,
not to say a swindler, could squeeze
himself,
Herr Y. had not left the salon
quarter of an hour when the young
man who called at the store rushed in
great excitement into the room, and
vehemently demanded the three dia-
mond necklaces.
"The jeweer. Herr ~" he said,
''hqs sent me this moment to say that
they were left here by mistake-a
mistake which he deeply regrets and
apologies for"
In reply to the lady's questions he
further explained that the Counts in
structions had been misunderstood.
He wanted the necklace for Miss b.,
who lived in the same house as Miss
W. only one story higher, and a mis-
take had been made in the names. The
lady was not in the least surprised.
$50 this is the solution of the mys-
terry? Yes; | was thinking myself
that there must be some mistake, else
the Count would have called here long
ago" And she handed him the pre-.
cious parcel. He expressed his pro-
| found thanks and hurried away, and
| the lady thought no more of her dis
appointment that evening.
Next morning the jewcler was an
nOunced, and she ordered the servant
to show him. He had come, no
doubt, to apologize for the mistake,
and she received him with smile that
told him very plainly how she appre-
ciated the fun of it. But he looked
more serious and businesslike than
the evening before, and opened the
conversation with the poser:
"Well, Fraulein, hope you have
followed my advice and chosen the"
necklace I recommended. 1t is by
far the best of the three, and as for
the stones, can assure you that Prin-
cess p, when she saw them few
weeks ago"
"But you seem to be in very jocu-
mood this morning, Herr Y. ] don't
quite see, though, where the joke
comes in. I thought from the begin
ming that the necklaces we're not
meant for me, and it was you who
suggested that they should remain in
my keeping. But the matter has gone
far enough. don't wish to hear any
more about it. y
"What do you mean, Fraulein?
Has the Count not yet called?"
"Oh, please stop that You know
as we'll as the necklace was for Frau
lein B. up stairs, and yonr shopman
took it to her last nigt.
"What in heavens name do you
mean? Where are my diamond neck.
laces?,' And Herr X. was as pale a'
ghost as he asked the question.
Fraulein W., equally astonished at hi'
, cnnntnnnnce. told him all tint hnl