The Washington times., 1903-11-15
Copyright. Ieoa. BY lawrence J. Anhalt.l


uaI perfectlOns, yet take col
lective pride in some special
attribute or possession Of their race. The
O'Gradys. for instance. latter them
selves on owning a genuine banshee;
the Macsniffs think highly OF the hOary
tower built by Noah Macsnin TO escape
a second food: and the FftztudOrs are
proud OF their royal descent from
frail ancestress and a dissolute king.
Such-lke trihes give satisfaction TO the
most aristocratic families. and raise
them On their own estimation) above
the commonalty. These do not recog-
nfze Adamic relationship. otherwise than
that they belong to the human race.
The DreuxheIds having made money
by army contracting during the PENN
sular war. cast round for some fetch
TO boast of, to expatiate on. and to bore
their friends with They had no ances-
tors worth talking about; their baronial
halls were a recent purchase, and the
family ghost OF tho former prOprietors.
not being fixture. had passed away
With the ancient stock. Ultimately they
hit on Jewels D the most respectable
things to be proud of and, in pursuance
of the idea, they acquired twenty-four
diamonds. the Ike of which had never
been seen since Aladdin looted the cave
Of the lamp.
These were not all bought at once.
or by one person. Such wholesale buy
ing would have reduced the whole af-
fair TO the level of a Bond Street pur-
chase The collecting of these gems
took time and money. and Cpossibly) the
loss of immortal souls. For the last
fifty years. every member Of the family
who could beg. Borrow, buy, or steal a
particularly fino diamond forthwith
contributed the same to the DreuXfeld
fetch. Each jewel. worth no end Of
money, had a history. reputable or
otherwise, and. finally. four-and-twenty
gems Of the first water were brought to-
gether to constitute the heirloom Of the
Dreuxhelds.
TIE fetch ever consisted OF these
twenty-four diamonds. but the stones
varied in the setting according to the
taste of the Mrs. Dreuxfield then in pos
session They g!ittered tiara for dis
play at st. James. or famed a jeweled
belt for a waist. Sometimes they separ-
sted into bracelets OF Twelve gems
each, or again collected into a neck
lace shooting twenty-four sparks Of fire.
In this latter form they were now, as
the present Mrs. Dreuxfield's fine neck
and shoulders formed an admirable
background for the display Of their
splendOr.
Experts valued the necklace at $4,000.
and It fully usdied in worth and ap-
pearance the pride Of its possessors-
All the thieves in London had seen
those diamonds going TO court on the
fair neck Of Mrs. Dreuxfield. and had
calculated the chances Of getting them
into their clutches. They never found
an opportunity Of stealing them. how
ever, as when not in use they reposed
in the strong-roCm of Dreuxfeld Hall.
Malvern. the key Of which was attached
10 the squire's wateh-chain. Yet, not
withstanding the impossibflity Of a sue
cessful raid. one famous cracksman
swore loudly that he would yet steal
the Jewels So far he had not sue
ceeded. His name was Cracky Bill.
OF Whiteehapel. and he was wanted by
the police. Cecil Dreuxfeld who had
lately succeeded TO the property. was
a young man OF thirty. whose parents
dying within a year Of each other had
left him and his wife in possession Of
the Hall and the diamonds. With them
lived CeciTs sister Kate and Mrs.
Dreuxfeld's unc,o, Josiah Onslow. The
young couple were handsome and agree
able. the sister was a pretty girl. fond
OF the curafs. and the uncle a bad
tempered ancient who owned an ivory
leg This latter curiosity deserves
special mention.
It Is not every man who possesses
an astihcial limb made Of ivory, and
the major Che had retired from the
service OF the H z. I. with that ranl)
was as proud OF It as was Pelops Of
his ivory shoulder. Not born Dreux-
field. he took no especial interest in the
necklace. but bestowed all superfuous
pride on his ivory leg Onslow hao
Imagination. and should have been a
novelist. As 1t was. he told stories
about that leg which outvied the
Arabian Nights" There were fifty dis
tinct narratives as to how he had lost
his limb and gained the artificial under
standing. He never repeated himself.
and He'd like a journalist short OF news.
The leg was turned like that OF a
pianoforte. and carved out Of all
smoothness. II anyone asked him il
il was vegetable ivory. he threw every
thing handy at the head Of the in
quirer.
Vegetable ivory, you qualified fool!"
he would roar. NO, Genuine ivory
elephants tpsks. bless mel The RaJah
OF Dum-Dum gave me the leg for los
ing my own In killing a heavenly ele-
phant that blessed nearly killed him"
The adjectives in this speech must be
read contrariwise.
Onslow was not nice man. and no