The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-08-03
BERTHA's uNLrcKY oPAL.

,elVed by an uptown young lady was
beautiful opal ring of exquisite de- |
sign. The opal setting was as large as |
bean, and in its depths shimmered |
the combined, subdued and refined sun
and moon beams, like the reflection of |
rainbow upon the crystal surface of |
a secluded mountain pool.
The ring was the gift of the young
lady's lover, and the gift carried with |
1t the evidence of q true heart and a
depleted pocketbOok. She raised it to
her lips and kissed it feryently; then;
running into her mothers room, ex-
claimed: Hello, moon, wake up there
and get some life into you. It's
Christmas morning. and I've got one
of the sweetest rings you ever dreamed
Of. 1t came from dear old precious
Tom Bless his loving soul. See, here
It is; now gaze upon the treasure
rare
The mother sprang out of bed, lit
the kerosene lamp, and taking the ring
from her daughters thumb held it
{. ose to the light. After examining it
she dropped the jewell upon the bureau
and exclaimed:
Bad luck, as sure as you're alive
OSAih II l15IAI UdCh 70 lllS B1N6FE NO,
throw it out of the window as quick
as you can No! no! That would not
do, for some poor creature might pick
1t UP. Pitch it into the fire. for you'll
have bad luck as long as you keep it.
Tom is an ignorant dolt to spend his
hard-earned money on such trash. Ill
give him piece of my mind the first
time he comes here, see if don't. Now
Bertha, I want you to do just what I've
told you and burn up that omen of ILL
luck
Bertha left the room in far more
detected mood than she had entered it.
She went to the kitchen, threw open
the window, and loked out upon the
spotless snow that lay untrodden in the
backyard.
She raised the lid from the stove,
threw the ring in upon the Goals and
sat down upon chair and wept bitter
ly for the space of half, an hour, when
1t occurred u her that the room was
cold. There she sat wrapped in a thin
gown and her own thoughts of regret
and rebellion. She had always been a
dutiful and ebedient daughter and even
7~now had not hesitated to throw away
an evidence of her lovers affection in
obedience to her mothers command.
Her frame shook with emotion and
cold, her teeth chartered and she be-
came most miserable Arising, she
walked to the stove, placed her dainty
hand upon it and upon it and found
that it, too, was cold. She raised the
lid. and there half buried in the cold
ashes. lay the ring. Gazing upon it of
a moment she picked it up and replace
ing it upon her thumb ran down into
the cellar for wood to kindle the fire.
The ring was saved and onfnforming
her mother how she had obeyed her
command. the old lady replied: "Oh,
well. Bertha, you can keep it, and Wen
trust to luck" EVERYTHING went along
all right till near dinner time when,
just as Mrs Murtha was carrying the
roasted turkey from the kitchen to the
dining room, a luckless mouse ran out
from its hiding place across the floor.
Prince, the bulldog, saw the mouse and
springing from the lap of Mrs. Isbella
Lukens, Mrs. Murtha's aged aunt went
for the mouse; which ran toward the
kitchen. ...
The dog ran right in front of Mrs.
Murtha, and she, tripping over the pet,
fell forward, and threw the plate con-
tanning the turkey forward towards the
table, where it landed among the dish
es, breaking several and sending the
coffee urn and cream pitcher on the
floor. Ill.,
Poor old Mrs. Lukens was frightened
that she jumped up so quick and SO
high that her head struck the bird cage
that was hanging near the window and
knocked it down, the bird escaping just
as, old Kit, the turtle-shell cat, came
rushing into the room. In an instant
the bird was a corpse, for the cat had
caught it,
The mess was cleared up and the din,
ner proceeded Things had not gone
far, however when Jacob Murtha, Ber-
tha's father, broke the horn handle and
carving knife in two as he was trying,
to unjoint one of the turkeys wings.
The end of the knife flew in one direc-
ton, while the dismembered wing flew
in another, and landed with such force
against a framed picture OF Columbus
discovering America as to smash the
glass and smear the old navigator all
over with turkey grease
No forther mistaps occurred until
late In the afternoon, when Bertha I'M
dertook to anluse the company by play
ing upon the piano. She requested
Tom Fletcher, her beau, who had called
early in the afternoon, to raise the pi-
- ano lid.
He was so eager to oblige her that
he never took time to notice that
large vase of wax fruit which Aunt
Belle" I.ukens had bought as
Christmas present for her sister, was
on the plano. Tom threww the lid up
with a vim, and crash went the frail
glass covering, while the fruit, which
Looked as a natural as If it had grown,
was smashed into atoms of different