The Ely miner., 1895-09-04
JACKY'S DIAMOND RING.
BY MATTE w. BAKER.

LII WdS JuSt 1lhc d u1du, La wv.
son said, Ito give young girl such an
unsuitable present. Diamonds for a
girl of fifteen! Brother Jack ought to
have known better" But pretty
Jacqueline didn't think her new dia-
mond ring at all unsuitable, and called
Uncle Jack 1.-The darlingest man in the
world" to give her such lovely
birthday present. The fact is, she
was his namesake, as nearly as she
we'll could be, she being girl and he
man; and he said by way of excus-
ing the extravaganza of the gift, that
he had never given her anything for
her name before. He had not seen her
since she was baby, till he came back
from California with a pocket full Of
rocks to find her a lovely, grown-up
girl, for whom, he was sure, nothing
could be too good.
Jacky was so fond of her new ring
that she would have worn it all the
while, but her mother objected.
''Only on dress occasions" she wise.
1y said, until you are eighteen. A
schoolgirl in a flannel gown, only half
long at that, wearing ring that
never cost less than hundred dollars
is not in accordance with the eternal
fitness of things Besides, you might
lose it."
That danger was a real one to
Jacky's mind, since it was trifle loose
for the finger on which she wore it, the
finger the majority of her friends adj
vised, for, on SO important a matter as
that, of course, she had taken abun-
dant counsel.
But dress occasions were all too sell
dom now, Jacky thought So, for the
most part, the ring was shut into
its case of royal purple velvet, and
that was locked in Jacky's satin-ined
jewel case, which in turn, was kept in
a locked bureau drawer.
Mrs. Lawson herself advised all this
care, for, though she considered the
servants honest, she did not think it
wise to put too much temptation in
their way Mrs. Orth, the cook, had
lived with them many years, and they
knew her to be true as steel; but
Matte White, the sec ond girl, had come
to them a perfect stranger only few
weeks before. She was SO quiet and
refined that they were all favor
ably impressed with her, but there is
that old saying about summering and
wintering people before you can really
know them. She was but little older
than Jacky, and Mrs. Lawson had
often noticed Mates wistful, almost
envious glances at Jacky's tasteful
dress and ornaments, SO in contrast
with her own plain things.
Jacky was invited to grand New
Years party. ALI the boys and girls in
her set were going in large sleigh,
for it was fve-mile ride. The night
was clear and cold, SO sharp that Mrs.
Lawson bundled Jacky up very warm
ly, putting her own fur mittens over
Jackys fine wooden ones. OF course
the diamond ring must be worn on that
occasion, and very brightly it flashed
on Jacky's pretty white hand, in con-
trast with her crimson cashmere dress.
It was after midnight when the
sleigh drew up again at Judge Law
sons gate, and JaclSy came in from the
chorus of many good nights, tired
sleepy and cold and glad of the cheer
full coal fire in the dining-room. She
sat down on the lounge behind the big
warm stove while she took off hel
many wraps and warmed hersel1
through and through before going uI
to her room to bed.
The gayeties of the evening, the
music. the games and all the merry
chat were still ringing in her ears a.
she undressed, and not till her heae
was laid on her pillow did she miss hel
diamond ring!
left it In my mitten, probably" sh'
said to herself. Il could not have los
it, for / am almost sure / remember
feeling it on my finger on the way
home"