Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1900-03-31

'I'Et II WIS 'l.'H tlat tAIt he SAID
the turQuc&r sI,rd him from some
thing that wouId Eayc been the great
est calamity of hi: life.
"IIc was very ,uuch in love with
cousin of his. II beautiful girl. he said,
who lived in the north of England.
She cared very little for him. as | un-
drrst0Od. except as Il cousin. though
her parents would have been glad to
see them marry. Well. he pressed his
advantages military reputation
.nd all that as much as he could for
:: long time. but there was another
SUitor whom the :sirl seemed to prefer,
aIl hr-AS this poor fellow tolI me
was ut least Il decent man'-hal held
tlr field all to himself before my man
appeared.
"iIowrvcr. he was beginning to
think that, with the help of the girls
parents ana one thing and another, he
would end 10y winning her. Then the
turquoise warned him again. 1t was
turning pale once more.
you see. he couldn't interpret it
that he was going to lose This girl
whom he loved. because he hadn't won
her yet. So he came to the conclusion
that the palrnoSs of the turquoise
must mean SO great Il calnnity that
he coulI net guess at. And that led
him to give w the girl and leave Ecr
10 his rival. He could not bear the
Thought. lie said, of taking her with
him into trouble. Don't you think it
was Il splrnlidly unSrliiSh thing to do?
"Wcll. his cousin married the other
man soon after, and my poor fellow
actually congratulated himself that his
cousin would hr happy, no matter
what became Of him. But | believe
that tie evil that threatened him waS
simply his Old cn"my-drink. Per
hapS. in the bottom of his heart, he
dreaded making her the wife of
drunkard
".\ftcr that he went back to India,
and. being. | suppose. hcArtbrollcn
really and dCSpandcnt. he was turned
on; of the army i'll spite of all his GOOD
service in tn" past Then he driftcd to
Singapore and from there to Hong
kong, where hr got a mercantile posi-
ton. When tie demon cf drink still
pursued him rclentlcSSly in the east.
he came to this country.
but the remarkable thing about it
to mc--outSidc Of the poor chaps con
graduating himself that he had been
saved from making his Cousins life
wrCtchcd-the remarkable thing was
that the turquoise always kept pale
never got back color after he ran away
to avoid marrying his cousin and then
got into troubl" in India. believe
that the paleucSS of that confoundcd
stone was what bounded him to ruin"
When my chance acquaintance told
me this. | could not help asking him
whether the turquoise had rrgaincd
its color since he got it. asked the
question iii mere jest. bH1 what was
my surprise when saw plainly by
his manner, though he tried to con
ccal the fact. Shat he. too. was touch
ed with the turquoise superstition.
'Wcll," he said, Iau@hing, at is odd
that TIE stone should have always
been Il fine deep blue ever since it
came into my possession. isn't it,
Still more odH." said If an Amer
iSH4' ''''~'4'''''' Ill''ti "il'ti'I P''ItNt III
such curious AS!;;tic fables"
John and | never lost sight of each
other after thar, and once 1t least Il
thing happened t!!at might have served
him AZ an argument for the ruth of
his fantastic Hc!icf.
We had met, partly by chance. ut
Baltimore :,Ml were 0ucp more occu-
pyiug til" same room in Il hotel. John
was to have taken train that morn
ing fer Ii!t$hurg, but while he was
drcS %.Il- remarked to him as still
lay in led: "HoIucthing's going to hap
pen to You, Your turquoise is getting
pale"
81 tell y"u wiat,' he said. Il won't
go 80 pilishHr@ 'oday."
He p"t eff the journey, and that
evening til" papers told Us of Il land
slide which had caused the wreck of
the train .Iohn hHl intended to take
Several Ewes lad been lost, and more
tlHn Il score Of passengers had been
seriously hurt.
II | had lCen on the train" said
John, Il Should nave been killed Nou
MAJ Egy w"at you like, bat The self
#ac:i!i"c of th:t l,ao! fellow has left
blessing on THIS turquoise. c."-Fittsburg
Press.