Connecticut western news., 1908-02-20
WHEN GEMS WERE
 PRECIOUS.
TOriginal.1

pretty story about some jewels you lost when you were a young lady. | Won't you tell it to me?"
 1 "If you'll promise not to repeat It."
 The Countess of Blumenstein took her little daughter cn her lap and told ! he story.
 Twenty years ago." she said, when 1 jewels were very expensive. they were much valued by those who could af- ford to own them. 1t was, 1 think, in the year 1905 that young lady of the nobility whom we will call Bertha was appointed one of the ladies In waiting to the empress. Her majesty possessed one of the rarest collections Of gems in Europe, and Bertha was made responsible for them. There WIS young man at court whom we will call AIaxiu.!iGn. He was of roy ar blood through his mother, but not through his fat!!ec.
 Vow, a,G xirniI!2n took very little in terest in court matters. He was a student, always experimenting with | liquids that he poured into little glass tubes and boiled and froze and did all sorts of queer things with. It was about this time that new and funny substance was discovered called ra- dium. It had sort of glow that nev- CT died out. Maximilian took great interest in radium and was constantly trying it's glow on different other sub stances.
 "One day Bertha-it was about two years after she had/ been appointed lady in waiting-went to the vault where the empress jewels were kept. and, To and behold. they were gone that is, all except the dia ronds, which were in safe within the vault. She l tainted. but soon recovered and went out. locked the vault and sat down to think what she should do. It was enough tEat the jewels had been taken while under her care, but would she not be held responsible as the thief? While she was in agony as to what in the world she should do Maximilian was announced. Tn q few minutes she was pouring her troubles into his ear.
 "SIaximiiian thought for long while then told her to say nothing about the theft. All would depend upon the en- | press not calling for her lost gems for some time. Photographs of them were kept that they might be identi- l fed in case of loss. MaIimilian took these photographs and told Bertha that he was going to put the best detec- 1 tive in Berlin on the track of the jew els. What are detectives? There are no such persons now. There used to i be, but there were so many ingenious detective story tellers that they reveal ed to the thieves all possible ways of | tracing them, and the detectives ceased to be of use. ..-s
 Well, Maximilian took two sets of photographs away with him, telling Bertha that if the gems were not called for for a month all would be well. It happened that the empress was in disposed about that time and attended no state occasions, so she did not need her jewels. Bertha was in an agony of suspense for the thirty days; then one day Maximilian came to see her. When they were alone he unrolled parcel, and there were the gems.
 Of course she was wild to know how i he had recovered them, and to her as- tonishment he told her that they were not the original gems, but others he had manufactured. I will try and ex- plain to you how he did it. He had noticed that that funny substance call ed radium imparted to the little glass tubes he used a beautiful blue This | led him to new experiment. He took certain crystals of different hues, put them away in the dark, and when, aft CT several weeks, he looked at them, what do you think? Why, the white crystals had become yellow topazes. the blue crystals green emeralds, while the violet crystals had turned into blue sapphires. He had made the discovery that has since led to the L:"nufacture of what used to be called precious stones. To reproduce the gems shown in the photographs he had crystals cut like the originals, then exposed them to tho influence of radium.
 Tt wasn't a week after this that one Of the multimillionaires of America came to Berlin. At the same time came a princeling, cousin of the emperor. A state dinner was given, the emperor pretending that it was for the prince l ling, but 1t was really for the big Amer ican banker. The empress called for all her jewels. Bertha brought them to her. and neither she nor my one else knew that they had been manufactured. l The funny part of it was that the great banker, who was collector of all kinds of rare articles, through medium, of fered the empress five times the cost of her jewels. She sold them to him. and he presented them to an American mu- scum. They are really a curiosity, though he didn't know it, for they were the first manufactured real gems. though now there are millions of them. And because they are cheap people | don't wear them any more.
 Meanwhile Bertha suspected one of the maids of honor of stealing the lost gems.~ The girl finally confessed to Bertha and returned them. This was after the manufactured ones had gone | to America. Bertha consulted with | +o oho q