The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-26

FROM the CtEtul MH-aLLIlD-
It was a duh spring morning when the
great steamship Nelson. which FOR the
past four weeks had been making its
wa from Calcutta. came within sight of
Southampton. The man at the lookout
had seen the land long before the unac-
cushioned eye could discern it.. even
through a glass. But. as the morning
mists cleared awav suddenly. a long belt
OF coast appeared. and very soon the
harbor and its surroundings were plain
~ visible. Many OF the passengers had
gathered on deck. eager TO catch the first
glimpse Of land. There were sunburnt
soldiers. some Of whom had not been
in their native land for years. and who
thought wistfuny of the changes time
had made in the homes to which they
were returning. There were delicate. fair
haired children. watched over by anxious
mothers, whose hearts were torn with the
conflicting thoughts OF the husbands they
had left behind them. and of the
little ones they were so soon 10 abandon
10 strangers care
As l stood among the little group and
watched the eager faces all turned in
one direction. / told myself that. perhaps.
none Of them would be quite so glad TO
reach their journeys end as /. one Is apt
TO reason in this fashion, for TO each his
own concerns seem of so much more con-
sequence than those that engross his
neighbor Still, my egotistcal reflection
was, i'm a measure, true, for TO me the
landing at Southampton meant more than
that "A safe passage from India had been
accomplished. II meant that the goal had
been reached on which every thought and
hope had been Centered for months past.
II meant that a mission upon which my
future career depended had been triumph
Rntly carried through. II meant to ME,
in fact, the difference between success
and failure
During my five-and-thirty years of life.
] had gone through many varied expert
ences, but none that had caused me so
much anxiety Of mind as this voyage
home from Calcutta. Ny fellow passen-
gers on board the steamship little knew
the responsibility with which I was weigh
ed-that If ! had found a watery grave,
$4,000 would have gone TO the bottom with
me, and Brassington, the well-known firm
OF London jewelers., would have been I'M
BILE to fulhH royal commission Tor
wedding present for princess. For more
than ten years / had been in the employ
ment of Messrs. RrassingtOn, and, al
though they had always treated me with
confidence, sending me out TO India to
complete the purchase Of a historical dia-
mond, belonging to an eastern Rajah was
the highest mark of distinction they had
ever paid me. / can recall the thrill of
delight that passed through me when the
elder Brassington, the chief of the firm,
called me into his room, and, after speak
ing Of the negotiations that had been go
ing on concerning the diamond, said:
MIR. Fenton, we have decided to in
trust you with the responsible task OF
fetching il from India"
Ny fellow clerks. if a trine envious Of
my preferment, were loud in their con-
CALCULATIONS, declaring that "old Dick"
was in luck's way-that his fortune was
made Indeed, ! was somewhat Of that
way of thinking myself, for / reflected
that If carried out my mission success
fully, should never again be ranked with
the other clerks, but should in all proba-
biites be given junior partnership IN
the flourishing firm of Brassington q Co.
With these sanguine and ambitious
thoughts in my head, / went out to the
cast, where I executed my instructions to
the letter, and secured the costly bauble
which was magnificent stone the size of
a large hazel nut Under my coat and
Waistcoat. / wore a strong leather belt in
which was a small pouch or pocket, and in
this l was to carry the diamond home.
j was resolved that the belt should never
leave me day or night until l had deliv-
cred my precious charge to my employers
After the diamond came into my pos
session / had an anxious time of It, be-
fore embarking at Calcutta For the sale
~ the stone was soon noiSed about, and
the natives there are a crafty, cunning
Get, Jewery having an attraction for
them such as magnet has for a needle
However l managed to elude all would
be plunderers. and went on board the
steamship feeling that. If only the ele-
ments were propitous. had nothing more
10 fear. On the whole the voyage home
was fair one, and once in sight of South
ampton I felt elated. as one who knows
that victory is secured.
on landing | had to make my way to
O 1eweler IN the town, who was an agent
OF our firm, and to whom MIR. Brassng-
ton had promised "A sight of the diamond
en- route. After ] had interviewed this
man / had only to choose a convenient
train and make the best of my way 10
London, where I hoped to arrive before
our business establishment closed for the
night, and so rid myself of all further re-
sponsibility
AS l passed from the steamship with
the other passengers / noticed a tall
black man, who, strangely enough. I never
remembered to have encountered dur
ing the voyage. He was dressed in a
Shabby suit of European clothes. but he
had a striking resemblance to a native
servant of the rajah from whom l had
bought the diamond. The man had an
evil-looking face, and I had a strong sus-
picion that he had designs for robbing
me Of the stone. for he had logged my
Footsteps as 1 made my way from his
masters palace to Calcutta. However
on reflection. l felt that the rajah's ser
want and the man who disembarked with
me at southampton could hardly be the
same For while the first had lost no
opportunity of following me with his cum
ming, watchful eyes, the latter passed me
without CLEAN of recognition and was
soon lost in the crowd upon the harbor
1 made my way at once to Mr. French
the first jeweler in Southampton. and
was annoyed to find that he was from
home. / was only instructed to show the
diamond to him, so that l was forced to
await his return, and this prevented me
from catching the early train l had fixed
upon, and l found that 1 should be I'M
able to leave for London until the even
ing express.
1 wandered about Southampton. had
some refreshments, and went back to
the jewelers., early in the afternoon,
where 1 found Mr.. French expecting me,
He was a melancholy little man, one of
those odd creatures, who dissatisfied
with life themselves, try to make Others
see things from their gloomy point of
view. He admired the diamond, as in
duty bound but when l was expressing
my pleasure at having brought it over
IN safety, he said. with q sinister smile.
"Ah! my dear sir, don't exult before
you are out of the wood You have some
miles further yet to carry your tras-
ure and there is time for many things
to happen on the foadr'
Having made me feel depressed, to say
the least of it, by these remarks, he fol-
lowed them by a cheering anecdote
'Ah! he said. shaking his head "how
well | remember poor Foley bringing the
Countess of Blanks rubies from New
York 1t is true he was a garrulous
1rishman, and unable to keep his business
70, himself. Any way, he was followed.
j believe all the way from America, and
was found in a ditch few miles out of
London, with his throat cut and every
vestige of the jewels gomez
In my position this was not a COM
Portable tale to hear. Mr.. French watched
me critically for few moments. and then