The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-12

since it came into Spain. 1t is a ring
with a wonderful history. and today
| it hangs about the neck of the patron
saint of Madrid, the Holy Virgin of
Almadeno, suspended by a thin gold
thread
1t is an opal of very large size and
of the most brilliant coloring, with a
spark of living fire in its center. 1t
is set in filigree gold and has no other
jewels about it,
The ring belonged to that famous
beauty and adventures, the Comtesse
de Castiglione, who was the most beau
tiful woman Europe ever knew, and
who was in the glory of her loneliness
and power during the reign of Napo-
| leon LII, the emperor being her abject
slave and arousing the most violent
jealousy on the part of Eugene.
This dazzling woman always was
present at all great functions at the
Tulleries, and displayed her superb
shoulders and bust in bewildering re-
I lief by the loneliness of her corsages,
/ Every diplomat and statesman in
( France was at her feet, and among
the most ardent admirers was AL
phonso XII, then an outcast, a pre-
4 tender
THE BEWITCHING COMTESSE
did not spend much of her time on
him at first, but when she found his
| chances for becoming king of Spain
were good, she smiled on him, and his
head was completely turned. When
he went to his throne the comtesse
was to follow later, according to
agreement, and the king promised her
nigh position at court and his ex-
elusive royal favor.
In the meantime the king had fallen
sincerely and deeply in love with one
OF his own royal blood and his mar
rlage took place amid much pomp and
circumstance, and the beautiful COM
Jesse in Paris was forgotten.
1t does not pay to pique a woman like
TINS beauty of Castiglione, and her ha-
tired was terrible.
few months after the kings mar
riase he received a package from the
comtesse, containing a beautiful opal
ring of rare coloring. 1t was called a
wedding gift and a memento of the
friendship the king had held for the
comtesse.
The king showed it to his wife, Queen
Mercedes, who was charmed with its
beauty and begged to keep it. Alphonso
gave 1t to her readily and she Slipped
it on her finger. From that moment
she pined away, and in a few months
died.
The ring fell from her dead hand. and
the king, who could not bear to see it.
gave it to his grandmother. Queen
Christina, who died a few months later.
Next the ring was given to Alphon-
SOS sister, the Infanta Maria del Pillar.
who wore it but a few days before she
died of mysterious illness. The king
then gave the fatal jewel to his sister
in-law, the youngest daughter of the
Duke and Duchesse de Montpenser. and
in three months the young princess
died.
AFTER THESE SERIOUS FATALI-
TIES
the king determined to keep the ring
himself, and he slipped it on his little
finger. From that moment his health
commenced to fail, and in "a hours he
was dead, and the doctors pronounced
his case one of the strangest on rec
ord, his whole physical system seeming
to have crumbled away, every vital
organ Of his body having suddenly sue
cumbed to the most marked senile de-
cay. Physicians could never quite ac-
count for it, and the matter was hushed
up.
Queen Christina, who is not in any
wise superstitious. took possession of
the ring after her husbands death, but
the Ouher members Of the family. with
dark Spanish superstition, begged her
to destroy it. This she refused to do.
but, to prevent it doing other damage,
she hung it about the neck of the pat
ron saint, where it is today
The Spaniards, however. are not sat
isfied yet, for they declare that the fatal
ring influences the saint to evil things,
and nothing but a. series of misfortunes
has come to the lot of Spain since the
ring was hung on the statue. They
credit this war trouble with Cuba, the |
and the United States all to |
the ring, and the queen regent has been
begged to destroy it or send it out of |
the country