The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-01-31
WHEN GEMS WERE
PRECIOUS.
IorIglnnl.l


lost when you were young lady.
Wont you tell it to rhe?"
"If you'll promise not to repeat It."
The Countess of Blumensteln took
her little daughter on her lap and told
the story.
Twenty years ago" she said, when
Jewels were very expensive, they were
much valued by those who could af-
ford to own them. II was, | think, In
the year 1905 that a young lsdy of the
mobility wliom 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
was a young man at court whom we
| will call Macmillan. He was of roy
| al blood through his mother, but not
through his father.
"Now, Macmillan took very little in
terest in court matters. He was a
| student, always experimenting with
, liquids that lie poured into little glass
tubes and boiled and froze and did all
| sorts of queer things with. 1t was
about this time that new and funny
substance was discovered called ra-
dium. 1t had sort of glow that new
err died out Macmillan took great
| interest I'm radlum and was constantly
trying its glow on different other sub
stances.
zone day Bertha--it was about two
years after she Ind been appointed
lady in waiting-went to the vault
where the empress jewels were kept,
and, 10 and behold. they were gone
| that is. all except the diamonds, which
were in a safe within the vault. She
tainted. but soon recovered and went
out. locked the vault and sat down TO
think what she should do. 1t was
enough that the jewels had been taken
while under her care, but would she
Inot be held responsible as the thief?
While she was in agony as to what
in the world she should do Macmillan
was announced. In few minutes she
was pouring her troubles into his ear.
"Maximilan thought for Il 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-
fed I'm case of loss MaXimlian took
these photographs and told Bertha that
he was going to put the best detec-
tive in Berlin on the track of the jew.
els. What are detectives? There are
no such persons now. There used to
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.
>"Well Maximilian took two sets of
photographs away with him, telling
Bertha that If the gems were not called
for for n month all would be well
1t 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 Macmillan came TO see her
When they were alone he unrolled a
parcel, ana there were the gems.
"Of course she was wild to know how
he had recovered them, and TO her as.
constituent he told her that they were
not the original gems. but others he
had manufactured. | will try and eX'
plain to you how he did it. He had
noticed that that funny substapce call
ed radium impaired to the little glass
tubes he used beautiful blue. This
4, Ia
certain crystals of different hues, pu
= them away in the dark, and when, att
er several weeks. he looked ut them
what do you think? Why, the whit,
crystals had become yellow topazes
the blue crystals green emeralds. while
the violet crystals had turned into blu,
sapphires. He had made the discover.
that has since led to the manufactur,
OF what used to be called precious
stones To reproduce the gems showl
In the photographs he had crystals Gu
like the originals, then exposed then
To the influence OF radium.
ut wasn't week after this that on,
OF the multimilllonaires of Americ;
, came to Berlin. At the same time cam,
princelng. n cousin of the emperor.
state dinner was given, the empcro
pretending that it was for the prince
ling. but 1t was really for the big Amer
lean banker The empress called 70
all her jewels. Bertha brought them L
her, and neither she nor any one els
knew that they had been manufactured
The funny part of 1t was that the grea
banker. who was collector of all kind
of rare articles, through medium, OF
; fered the empress five times the cost o
her jewels. She sold them to him, am
he presented them To an American mu
scum. They are really curiosity
though he didn't know 1t, for they wer
the first manufactured real gems
though now there are millions of then
I And because they are cheap peopl
= don't wear them any more
4 meanwhile Bertha suspected one o
e the maids of honor of stealing the los
gems. The girl finally confessed I
| Rnrtbn and rat,1rna1 tham This Wn