The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-06-03

prisoner to be detained? Is there any
thing respecting him that requires in
vestigation?"
mo, your Worship, answered the in
spector. only, in his shop we found
large emerald ring
Which, your Worship, is spuriousF
! interrupted the jeweler. We'll soor
! settle that question, L see Mr.. Habak
| luls of Hatton Garden in court. Per
haps, to save trouble, he will give an
| opinion upon IT,"
IT shall be pleased to be guided by a
gentleman of Mr.. Habakkuk's we'll
known experience as a lapidary," spoke
| the court suavely.
Mr.. Habaltkuk, who was waiting to
give evidence in a charge of an attempt
! ed diamond robbery, looked at the ring
for moment and observed: 1T is am
imitation, and very poor one, your
| Worship. Gold may be worth fifteen
| shillings, or whereabouts.
discharged also" said the magis-
trate to the tradesman.
When Clements and his sweetheart
| pretty understanding girl she was,
by the way--and l managed to elbow
our way out of the crowded court an
into the passage, we saw the General
and Lord Dashclffe shaking hands with
Sir Harry Beynell.
After General Wylkyns had profusely
expressed his regrets to the soldier,
Lord Dashcliffe added, ON hearing that
Clements intended leaving the service,
and that he had only been exchanging
an old ring for wedding-ring, as he
was getting married, Here is my pres
ent to you on this suspicious occasion; !"
and the peer placed five sovereigns in
Clements hand. This the General sup
plemented by similar sum.
When Clements and his betrothed.
pleased and happy had taken their de-
parture the General whispered to me:
Sergeant-Major, I didn't wish to say
1t in court, but the truth is had taken
too much wine that evening. did
break my hand when I fell in the pas
sage; and when I got to my bedroom 1
wrapped it in paper, placed it in a port
manteau, and got another out. What
stupid business 1t has been, to be sure"
"WyIkyns," interrupted Sir Harry
Beynell in a sneering tone, II have been
all but called thief over this lost ring
of yours; now I should like to know the
value Of the article"
What" said the General sharply
ut was valued at a thousand pounds
by a banker, who was introduced to me
as an authority on such matters at the
Anglo-Indian club"
At this moment Mr.. HabaklSuk was
passing out of court, and Sir Harry
Beynell, accosting him, said: Would
you be good enough, sir, to give your
verdict on this famous emerald ring?
Kindly let the gentleman see it, Wyl-
kyns."
Certainly" responded the General,
and he passed the historical bauble to
Mr.. Habakkuk.
The latter, putting magnifying
glass to his eye, lntently examined the
stone, Then he said with a smile:
Gentlemen, the value is about two
guineas, and that's mostly for the set
tingl'
Nonsense" anerily exclaimed the
General, reddening. Sir Harry Uttered, 1
and Lord Dashcliffe appeared very In
terested.
Mr.. Habakltuk quietly went on: "Sir,
In my business we see queen things and
possess queer secrets. If you knew as
much as do. you might be suspicious
of the genuine character Of the crown
jewels. l think, General, your mother
was a Wielden,- of Wielden Hall, Nor
folk?-Well your grandfather, Squire
Wielden, as you know, was a great pal
of the Prince Regents. and went it fast
and loose, and lost pots Of money card
playing"
Eyes, by Jovef' stammered the Cen
eral. I'm suffering for the squire's &C.
centricities now"
"Well. for five hundred pounds the
Squire sold the undiluted article to my
partner Mr. Joab's grand-uncle. Why, |
can trace the history of the stone ever |
since. Now, it is in the possession of a |
New York millionaire, who had it |
palmed off on him by an Amsterdam
firm as a gem presented to Anne Boleyn |
by Henry VIII, and worn by that lady |
when she had her head struck Off |
Whoever the Squire employed to get up |
that rubbishy make-believe thing / |
can't say. 1t certainly couldn't have
cost him much more than fiver?'
The General looked fairly crestfallen; |
and the highly gratified Sir Harry Bey- |
nell, after exclaiming, 80 this has been
a delicious case Of much ado about |
burst into a hooking peal of |
laughter.
When Clements got his discharge, |
Lord Dashcliffe procured him a situa-
ton in one of the government offices at !
General Wylkyns took independent
opinion respecting the emerald, but |
each authority applied to supported the |
statement of Mr.. Habakkuk. The sto
ry got into the papers, and in eonse-
luence, the poor General was prodi-
giously chaffed about the business
On one occasion, within the Anglo-In-
liam club, the fiery veteran got so an
1oyed at the banter he was being SUBJ
ected to, that he took from his pocket
.he degraded imposture of an heirloom,
erst supposed to have belonged to |
Prince Rupert, and tossed 1t into a roar
ng fire!-Chamber's Journal.