The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-02-06
IMPERIhL MILLIONS
By JULIAN HAWTHORNE
fCcpyright, lsol, by American Press AssociA.
tion.1

"Well, perhaps we will," said Keppel
musingly. ITO have wealth beyond
certain point is only to undertake the
labor of living the lives of ten or thou
sand men, as we'll as your own. You
may, if you are wise and good enough,
produce more concentrated and visibly
beneficial effects than promiscuous
crowd would, but in the long run private
mountains of money do more harm than
good. You can give away as much as
you like, only must keep million OF
two to buy your bonnets with"
"Where did you get so much money.
KeppelY' inquired Olympia. "Where
did it come from? Itseemed natural that
the Count de Lisle should have it, but
that you should have it is different; it is
like having it myself"
s'It came from the treasure houses OF
European kings, and from the strong
boxes of misers and the breasts of fail
women and the savings of poor peasants:
from robbery and murder and crime and
cruelty of every sort; it has been gradu-
ally accommodating for hundreds of years.
it is even said that Charlemagne began
it; certainly Francis added to it, and
Henry of Navarro and Louis the Great.
Napoleon doubled it, suspect, but nc
one knows or ever will know certainly
by whom or how it was contributed to.
The singular thing about it is that ii
should have been passed along as asecret
heirloom from ruler to ruler of France;
it was always regarded as a private
treasure, though of course it should
have belonged to the nation-if treasure
got as this was could be said to belong
to anybody except the original owners.
When the French Revolution occurred
the queen hid the treasure, and when
she was condemned to the guillotine she
told the secret to some one whom she be-
lieved she could trust, in order that it
might be available for bringing back
their dynasty to power after the revolu-
ton had ended. This confidant must
have betrayed his trust. At any rate
Bonaparte got hold of the treasure not
long after. Louis Philippe never could
get trace of it, and Louis Napoleon, to
whom the secret was impaired, entered
into possession as the rightful heir after
the coup d'etat. He looked upon it, as
probably all his predecessors had, as a
power in reserve, not to be used except
in case of need. But he knew from ex-
perience how uncertain things are in
France, and when he saw a war with
Germany ahead, leading possibly to a
grand upheaval of all Europe, he re-
solved to send the treasure for safe keep
ing to America. Then, if France came
out ahead, he could send for it back;
but if he were worsted he could him
self come here, and either plot for re-
turn to power or settle down permanent
ly, as circumstances might determine.
And this is where appear in the story"
"Well, I am glad of that" remarked
Olympia. ''I was afraid you had for
gotten yourself"
Keppel related the story of his escape
from the railway wreck and subsequent
adventures, to all of which Olympia
listened with wide open eyes and dill
gent ears. He went on to tell her how
he had made the journey to France, and
had there purchased the estate of M. de
Lisle, an aged monarchist, who was the
last of his family, and who had died
within a couple of weeks of the making
of the bargain. Keppel had adopted the
name of his new possessions, and had
gone to Paris and found means to get
presented to Napoleon. Circumstances
enabled him to see a great deal of the
emperor; the latter conceived singular
confidence in him, and even, toward the
end, an affection for him. At length.
when all was lost at Sedan, Keppel told
the emperor the story of the treasure
and offered to restore it to him, and aid
him in his escape to America. Napoleon
had hesitated for moment, but then
shook his head. "That treasure" be
said, "has been the curse of France for
near a thousand years. Disaster fol-
lowed every French ruler who had to do
with it-disaster personal, if not also
public. My uncle died in st. Helena; I
am broken man. dying of an incurable
disease. I will not transmit the curse to
my son, who as yet knows nothing of
the secret. Keep the jewels yourself,
and I hope that in your ownership they
may begin to do good instead of harm.
am glad that ! can die with that load
off my hearth"
''Poor old man, said Olympia sympa-
thetically. "And, after all, how unreal
such treasure is! If it had been in houses
or lands or industries, or even in bonds
or gold, it would have been something
real and reasonable; but jewels are only
beautiful; their value is an imagination.
If they were to be thrown into the sea
no one would lose anything. It is wrong
that beauty should have money value.
Diamonds and pearls should be given for
love, not bought and sold. Perhaps that
is the explanation of the curser'
81 dare say it is-if a curse there be, !"
said Keppel.
After pause she said, "You love me
more than anything, don't your
"More than anything and everything" :"
eff we find that the money keeps us
apart we will get rid of it, for it will not
be worth keeping on such condition; but
if Ahv
She broke off with shudder and q
contraction of the nerves; she caught
Keppers arm in her hands and moved
closer to him.
"What is the matter, love?" he ex-
claimed. "What frightened your
"That man-Garciar' she whispered
"Garcia! He is not here. Besides
what can he"-
"He is snear-somewhere-in the street
perhaps. I feel him. Ahr' She shud.
dered again.
Keppel drew aside the window sh ade
and looked in the street. On the corner,
about thirty yards distant, he recog.
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