The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-02-11
WHEN GEMS WERE
PRECIOUS.
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loriginaLl
Mother, Carl says you told him
pretty story about some jewels yor
host when you Were a young lady
Won't you tell it to mey'
IL you'n promise not to repeat it."
The Countess of Blumenstein tool
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. It was, 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
was a young man at court whom We
viii call Macmillan. He was Of roy
al blood through his mother, but not
through his father.
Now, Maximilian took very little in
terest In court matters. He was
student always experimenting with
liquids that he poured into little glass
tnbes 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-
dunn. 1t had a sort of glow that new
er died out. Macmillan took great
interest In radium and was constantly
trying its 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. 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. It was
enough that 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 Macmillan
was announced. In few minutes she
was pouring her troubles into his ear.
Macmillan 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
we're kept that they might be identi-
fied in case Of loss. Macmillan took
fhese photographs and told Bertha that
he was going to put the best detec-
live In Berlin on the track Of the Jew
lis. 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
ID to the thieves all possible ways of
racing them, and the detectives ceased
o be Of use.
well, Macmillan took two sets of
photographs away with him, telling
Bertha that II the gems were not called
or for q month all would be well
t happened that the empress was in
fsposed about that time and attended
o state occasions, so she did not need
er jewels. Bertha was In an agony
{ suspense for the thirty days; then +,
ne day Maximilian came to see her.
Then they were alone he unrolled a
arcel, and there were the gems. $
'0f course she was wild to know how
e had recovered them. and to her as
onishment he told her that they were
OF the original gems. but others he
ad manufactured. I will try and ex-
lain to you how he did it. He had
oticed that that funny substance call
d radium impaired to the little glass T
1bes he used beautiful blue. This
ID him to new experiment. He took
ertain crystals of different hues, put
lem away in the dark, and when, aft
several weeks, he looked at them,
hat do you think? Why, the white
rystals had become yellow topazes,
le blue crystals green emeralds, while
le violet crystals had turned into blue
lpphires. He had made the discovery
lat has since led to the manufacture
what used to be called precious n