Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-12-23

beside her. The girl edged away
slightly, as If with an involuntary
movement, but then, thinking better
of it, went no further.
.'Your birth month is October" said
the Duke "and / was looking up the
proper jewel for it the other day. 1t
turned out to be an opal. Do you re-
member the old distich:
"a 2 .October's child by woes opprest,
But wear an opal in thy breast,
And all these woes shall sink to rest?"
You haven't any opals, have your
Mo Anne answered. 81 haven't.
! have SO few jewels, you know. Yet
1 always loved opals. They seem to
me like pearls with soul"
Look here, dearest" said the Duke.
He took from an inner breast pocket a
small old-fashioned ease of gold and
silver brocade, the bright intermingling
Of its threads dimmed by time. Open
ing 1t he displayed-lying on back
ground OF white velvet, an extraordin-
airy large and scintillating opal, of an
oval shape, and surrounded in such
curious manner by closely set bril-
Nants as to resemble lustrous IRIS
floating on am eyeball Of diamonds.
The effect was so odd as to be some
what startling, especially as the gem
caught the rays Of the sunset, and sent
forth spark of green light which seem
ed to Anne indescribably sentiment
even vicious.
She exclaimed involuntary. 1t was
as though the eye Of some unhuman,
supernatural intelligence had met and
Ieered into hers, or so it appeared to
her sensitive imagination, fed from
childhood on the romantic folklore of
her country
But the Duke mistook her cry for I'M
mixed admiration.
"It is for you," he said. Though the
thing is family heirloom I may give
it to the girl who is to be my wife.
If you were superstitious, l shouldn't
dare tell you the name it goes by
among the Blandons, but you are too
clever and wise to mind nursery stor-
ies, and SO you shall hear it. With me
It only adds to the charm. The thing
IS called The Evil Eye You see, it's
intended to represent an eye Of some
sort, but don't quite know why evil
unless because it's been mixed up with
some family tragedies as well as joys.
The story goes, that when worn by the
women of our house it changes colour
In conveniently prophetic manner,
II any fatality overtakes the husband,
father brother or lover. Of course,
that's all childish nonsense; though
they do say 1t was because of the red
lock on this very opal that my moth
or felt convinced something had hap
pened to my father, and running
downstairs found them carrying him
into the house, stone dead-thrown by
a beast of horse while hunting. But
I hope 4 haven't put you off it, have
l? I want you to let me hang 1t
round your neck, you know
Rarely beautiful as the stone was,
with it's strange, eye-shaped setting
of diamonds, Anne felt curious re-
pugnance toward it, and a reluctance
to accept it or wear it. But seeing
that the duke was grieved at her lack
of appreciation of his splendid Offer
ing, she relented, and submitted her
white uncovered throat to the delicate
chain.
A slight shuddering seized her as
he fastened it, partly at the contact
of his hands (for she never let him
touch her, if without absolute
rudeness she could avoid it, and part
" with the thought of the many fair
women whose fair bodies had crumb-
led into dust long ago, who had worn
it before her.
The duke fingered over the task,
and paused finally, with his hands "