The record-union., 1898-01-02
SUNDAY. JANUARY 2. 1885,.

ITO get yourself into peoples houses
under false pretenses." I said rather
cruelty.
-Oh, you don't know" sobbed the
lady-and how pretty she looked even
now.-'you would pity me a little
Kind. good man as you are-if you only
knew ALL l was friendless orphan,
governess in a family'-"the ST. Ledg-
ers', of course" I mentally CALCULATED
and fell into the power of bad man,
when, afterwards, he married me, he
made me-
Assist him in his thefts, apparently,
l said, trying to harden my heart.
Now, see here, Mrs. ST. Clair, If con-
sent TO keep this matter quiet, it is
only upon two conditions: First, that
you give me back my wifes jewels;
then that you swear to leave England,
with your husband. before another
week is over
The lady readily agreed to the first
condition, assuring me that she had the
jewels in the house, but hesitated lit
tie about the last The latter condi-
ton, however, / was extremely resolute
in insisting upon. The woman had
been seen at our house, and it would
never do to allow her to trade upon
this circumstance, and perhaps. gain
admittance to other respectable abodes
in consequence; / did not want to ex-
pose my friends to the same experience
I had undergone.
However, under pressure, Mrs. ST.
Clair gave the required promise-which
assured her I should take measures to
discover was kept-and I left the fiat,
bearing with me the buckles into which
my diamonds We're now set.
/ may remark that, from certain eau
tious inquiries which / set on foot later
on, after / had ascertained that Mrs.
ST. Clair and her husband had sailed
for New York, 1 convinced myself that
the respectable elderly banker-husband
deceased was pure myth, that the
lady had for some years been the wife
of a very expert Jewel thief about
her own age; and that the pair had
successfully worked more than one
famous Jewel robbery How far the
woman had been originally the victim
of the man l never ascertained, but l
fancy-when we We're honored by Mrs.
ST. Clair's acquaintance-that the hus-
a par as regards honesty and respect
ability.
l carried my rescued diamonds to
Messrs. Carbuncles', and informed them
that Lady Seton had changed her
mind regarding the arrangement of the
stones; the tiara was duly returned
with the real stones in it this time
to it's rightful owner; and, when my
wife's famous tableaux came off, 1 ap-
peared resplendent in a pair of gor
geous shoe buckles, "but only made
Of paste" as 1 explained when Fanny
exclaimed at my extravaganza"
l kept the adventure to myself. 1t
was a half-implied condition of the
compromise that I should do so; and
Also if Fanny had heard what a fool
had been, though she was as much
gulled as myself / am rather a be-
liever in the maxim, silence is golden"
Now, misfortunes never come alone"
exclaimed my wife, as she opened her
letters the day after my journey to
town; you know, John, how 1 have
been absolutely wearing myself out
about these tableaux. Here is a letter
from Alice Gordon. who was to have
oCSh tlic OltSplLS btduly, 10 say IOdl
her brother-in-law is dead, and that
she and her mother are off at once to
her sister, in Paris; and then, Mrs.
st. Clair-just read her letter.
1t only contained a few brief lines,
expressing the inditer's regret that
some odious but important business
connected with her late husbands af-
fairs, of course" interjected Lady Sef-
ton-obliged Mrs ST. Clair to start i'm
mediately for New York, leaving so
suddenly that she could not even run
down to take leave of her dear kind
friends at the Grange. There was a
P. s.:
Please make my adieu to Sir John.
As a man of business, he will under
stand how impossible it is for me to
put off my journey even to join in your
sweet tableaux, as I had hoped to do.
But Sir John can quite understand the
matter"
Yes, Sir John thouht he could.
| often wonder if the little woman
has turned over new leaf in a new
country; anyway, I have never seen or
heard OF her again.-Household Words.