The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-11-23
CHAPTER xxxv.-CoSr1NuEp.
Copyright. 1904 by Emsrson Housh.,

The hand of Cont smote hard upon
the table. by heaven! it were strange
thing" said he, 'if this foreign trav-
eler should prove the same mysterious
beauty Philippe is reported to have
kept in hiding. My faith, is it indeed
true that we are come upon a time
OF miracles?"
''Listen!" broke in varenne, his ar
dor overcoming his obsequiousness.
These are some of the tales brought
back-and reported privately, can as
sure you, gentlemen, now for the first
time and to yourselves. The people
Of this country are said to be clad in
beauteous raiment, made OF skins, of
grasses, and of the barks of trees.
Their ornaments are made of pure, yell
low gold, and Of precious gems which
they pick up from the banks of the
streams, as common as pebbles here in
France. The climate is such that all
things grow in the most unrivaled
fruitfulness. There is neither too
much sun nor too much rain. The
lakes and rivers are vast and beautiful,
of strange and sweet-voiced birds. IT'S
said that the dream of Ponce de Leon
hath been realized, and that not only
one, but score of fountains of youth
have been discovered in this great val
ley. The people are said never to grow
0ld. Their personal beauty is of sur
passing nature, and their disposition
easy and complaisant to the last de-
gree
MY faith, say on!" broke in De Ia
Chaise. Tis surely story of para
disc which you recount"
But, listen, gentlemen! The story
goes yet farther. AS to mines of gold
and silver, twas matter of report that
such mines are common in all the val
ley of the Messasebe. Indeed the
whole surface of the earth, in some
parts, is covered with Jumps of gold,
so that the natives care nothing for it.
The bottoms of the streams, the
beaches of the lakes, carry as many
particles of gold as they have pebbles
and little stones. AS for silver, none
take note of it. Ills used as building
stone,
''In the name of Jehovah, is there
support for these wonders you have
spoken?" broke in Fraslin the Jew,
his eyes shining with suppressed ex-
citement.
"Assuredly. Yet l am telling not
half of the news which came to my
knowledge this very morning-tne
story is said to have emanated from
the Palais Royal itself, and therefore,
no doubt, is to be traced to this same
unknown queen of the Messasebe. She
reports, SO it is said, that beyond the
country where L'Huillier secured his
cargo of blue earth, there is land
The meadows and fields are covered
with it, and it is said the dews of night,
which gather within the petals Of these
flowers, become, in the course OF a
single day, nothing less than solid
diamond stone! From this in time the
leaves drop down, leaving the diamond
exposed there, shining and radiant"
"Ah, bah!" broke in Fraslin the Jew.
why believe such babblings? We all
know that the diamond is product
not of the vegetable but of the mineral
world"
$50 have we known many things"
stoutly replied Varenne, "only to find
ourselves frequently mistaken. Now
DIR my part, diamond is a diamond,
be It born in a flower or broken from
rock. And as for the excellence of
these stones, It's rumored that the
lady hath abundant proof. IT'S no
wonder that the natives of the valley
OF the Messasebe robe themselves in
silks, and that they deck themselves
carelessly with precious stones, as
would peasant of ours with chain
OF daisy blossoms. Now, II there be
such wealth as this, is 1t not easy to
see the profit Of bank which controls.
tho trade with such a province? True.
there have been some discoveries in
tbs valley. put nothing thorough. It's