The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-10
WELL, BUT THECATSEARRINGS
MIR. ANDERSON'S POINT rs THAT
THEY OUGHT TO BE DIAMONDS,

NOt whether the Cat Is worth II Gents or
Ian he Redeemed for 80 Cents or
whether one ought TO ExpectDiamonds
for q Quarter Are. They Diamonds7
II you went to a charity rsfie and took q
twenty-five cent nance on a cat with dia-
mond earri =, and IL after you had drawn
the cat you found the earrings phoney-
diamonds paste and setting dross-would
you keep the prize for the sake OF the cat,
or sell the whole caboodle back to the house
for so cents. You would2 Which2 Well,
near Mr.. Anderson's story.
Mr.. Anderson-Mr. Charles Anderson OF
IS West Ninety-fifth street attended a fair
Of the Little Mothers Aid Association at the
Waldorf Friday night. He wandered
around among the booths a while. having
on the whole a rather dull time, until he
brought up at a table whereon the only
display was a cat. A Maltese cat. a large
and likely looking cat, but not particularly
a world beating cat in any way until your
a~ppraising eyes got around to his ears.
Then that Malty began to stir you and you
squinted at him with care and at the sign
above-just as Mr.. Anderson did-and you
read one sign: T be rafied. Twenty-Five
cents a chance"
THE earrings, they are"
Diamonds" replied the lady across the
counter.
And the setting''
Gold. His name is B~onci-you know
B onci, the tenor. Mrs. Oscar Hammer
stein was 30 pleased when I told her that
thatshe took two chances"
The Hammerstein name settled il, and
you paid your two bits, just as Mr.. Anderson
did. Except that you didn't hear anything
more about the cat. Mr.. Anderson did.
His number was the lucky one
The Little Mothers cash promptly. Mr..
Anderson was notified the ne xt day and went
around to the Waldorf TO get Bonci from the
porter. He found Bonci purring a fetching
aria, bullet Mr.. Anderson continue the
yarn.
would you believe it," said he. those
diamonds were fake. | tested them and
they are paste. The settings, l don't know
what the settings are, but its a cinch They're
not gold. Now, when l was fortunate
enough TO get in right on this rattle business
l thought the goods were going to be real.
That's what they told me at Bonci's booth.
Mrs. Amelia Brooks gave the cat, and |
understand that this afternoon she told
some one that the diamonds were really
real. Ii must be a mistake. Do you think
il was a mistake? Or did some one get
TO Bonci before l did and substitute these
g~imcracks?"
Mrs. Amelia A. Brooke was found at her
home in the st. James, on West Forty-ffth
street. She was proud to say that she did
give the cat.
But of all things!- she exclaimed. did
Mr.. Anderson expect would any one eK-
poet to get a Kohinoor with "A catr What
do you want for a quarter?'
Then Bonci's earrings weren't dla-
monds? We're they advertised as dis-
monds?'
All, unused Mrs. Brooks. but you know
there are all sorts Of diamonds, And as
for the setting, there is gold in IL. But.
anyway. remember that my Bonci was in
plain sight there at the fair. Everybody
could examine him. II MIR. Anderson
couldn't tell what those stones were IL looks
TO me az If it were Mr.. Anderson's fault.
Y ou don't suppose that when Mrs. Ham
merstein entered the raffe she thought she
was getting diamonds. do you?'
Here Mrs. Brooks swept into quite a his
tory Of her experience with cats and ear
rings. II appears that she started the
fashion. She first had cats ears pierced
twelve years ago. Other amateur tabby-
lists caught mp the idea and bejewelled
mousers got 10 be quite the thing.
A few years ago Mrs. Brooks went on,
" | had two Maltese kittens-Oh, nice kit
tens! Their names were Punch and Judy.
Judy had earrings, TOO. IL struck me one
day that il would be fine to b ave them
christened. Not simply named, you I'M
derstand, but really christened So ! had
two or three hundred friends come 10 my
house and we had a lovely ceremony. The
sprinkled them with q spoon.
YOU see-was one that was given me by
Gen. p. T. B~esuregard. He got il from
a blockade runner during the war. That
was the first cat baptism that | ever heard of
Maltese are my favorite cats, and every
year now for several years ! have given one
to the Little Mothers to help them in their
fair. I'm sure that our intentions were
good. and You can imagine how | feel when
/ hear a man complaining that he didn't
get a Regent diamond for five nickels. Why,
the cat alone is worth S.. I'll tell you what
I'll do-does Mr.. Anderson want TO keep
the cat?"
1t had to be confessed that Mr.. Anderson
hadn't seemed 10 warm TO Bone very much.
We'll, then, III tell what III do. If lie
wants to get rid of that fine, big, soft Bonci,
I'll pay him so cents for him, earrings and
all"
Which leaves it once more up TO Mr..
| Anderson