Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1894-01-30
NEW SERIES, VOL. xxx, NO. 5.

England, wed your ladylove and live in
peace and luxury for the balance of
your days. Seer
She was seated upon the soft sod
beneath the high leafed palms, through
which the moonlight streamed In her
lap she unfolded parcel. and as she
opened it | heheld the most magnificent
Rmethysts had ever seen. They were,
l should say, thousand in number,
both large and small.
= .Seei' she repeated. These are
yours, pasha, if you Will but give me
the papers you have to deliver to the
pasha of Mcldon-the papers outlining
| your campaign. You can say you lost
them. They viii not precipitate any
dangers to your forces, and want them.
These gems represent the dover of a
princess. Give me those papers, and
the jewels are yours!'
- cannot attempt description of
the sweet caresses she bestowed upon
me, OF the ease with which she Initiated
the woman dearer to me than all else in
life, nor of the hurried, reckless review
l made of my chances of rise in the
army of the sultan, of my long life of
| drudgery in battles harness, with the
small income it afforded. But these
thoughts all went through my mind like
flash, and beside myself with fascina-
tion and with the erring ambition to ac-
quire riches delivered into her jew
eled hand the papers was to convey to
Meldon Pasha and received in exchange
the bag of amethysts.
A moment later the Arabian charger
dashed onto the plain, and she was gone.
No sooner was she out of sight than
realized my blunder and repented it
sorely, but | clutched the bag of pre-
cious stones and hurried back to my tent.
placed them under my pillow and lay
sleeping upon them until morning.
| when it was light, arose and se-
cured the dap,of my tent so the sentry
could not peer in, and eagerly opened
the bag of amethysts-the price of my
honor.
Imagine my CONSERVATION! They
were as white as glass and as lusterless!
Quickly 1 called my body servant,
who CHANGED to be Moor, and show
ing him the bag of gems watched for
his chocolate face to distort with amaze
ment. But he looked at the pebbles
and then at me.
Wcll, pasha?' he said solemnly.
Well, replied, are they not gor-
geous2' For l believed my sight had
failed me or that had become color
blind.
90 Where did the pasha get theseP'
he inquired, looking as Indifferent as a
man could.
Never mind. What are they
worth?' asked. almost holding my
breath in expectancy. ~
Nothing, was his laconic reply.
'Nothingl' exclaimed, rising to
| chastise him.
Nothing, pasha. They are jebbels,
as we call them, and are collected by
our children to use as play money. In
the night under light they take ON the
color and brilliancy of the amethyst. l
can take you over miles of road in MGR
occo where they are so abundant that
in the night you would believe yourself
riding over path of precious gems.
Somebody has fooled tho great pasha, >
he concluded, with grin.
"Fooledl In so minutes had my
ourtriders in pursuit of a woman on u
white Arabian. In an hour l had all
my troops moving. By night had an
engagement with the Moors, routed
them and took my fair enchahtress
prisoner. My papers secured, pushed
on and relieved Meldon Pasha. That
is the story of my gems. " M
And what became of the pretty wo-
man, general?'' asked yerna.
She was killed by a sword thrust
while trying TO escape. !"
And what's the moral, general?"
asked another.
Yield not to persuasive temptation
and judge of all things by daylight. -
And as the ladies sighed over the epi-
sode one toyed with the decorations on
the scarlet coat, one dallied with the
empty sleeve, another lighted ciga-
rette for the aged pasha and all listened
to the plaintive cong of the gondoliers,
as the mellow moon-the maker of gems
from jebbels-rose higher and higher
into the studded belfry of the night
Exchange.