Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-12-31
Especial CORRESPONDENCE,

a VI r ARSAW. Dee. 19,-All Poland
Nv is waiting with keen interest
WV for n criminal trial which is
due 10 come off early in the
new year, when Il monk from the ia
nous monastery OF Czcnstockowa, the
Mecca OF Poland. will be called on to
answer to the charge Of murder and a
number of his associates Will be charg-
ed with being his accomplices and with
the theft of some of the wonderful
jewels. the gifts OF pious pilgrims to
the famous Virgin OF Czcnstockowa."
Millions Of pious pilgrims journey
yearly from all parts of eastern Europe
to C%cnstockowa where the monks
are the guardians OF the oldest and
richest sacred picture in the world.
This picture was taken from By2an-
tine church in the fourteenth century
and is. the legend says, the work of
st. Luke It is painted on cypress
wood, which has become black with
age. The face is maried by scars
which were made by the Tartars dur
ing an invasion Of Poland Besides the
many gems which were stolen. tho pic
iurc still possesses three dresses. one
worked in diamonds, ono in pearls and
the other in rubics. They are kept in
the treasury of the monastery. which
was inaccessible to the younger monks.
This holy place has been the scene
Of two terrible crimcS-sacrilegc and
murder-both committed by members
of the community Of Pauline monks
who have possessed the monastery for
centuries, One crime was committed
year ago when jewels worth SS,000,OOO
were stolen from the picture. The
mystery of the murder has only just
been cleared up. though it took place
last July. and only then did the police
discover what had become of the jewell;
from the picture. The whole story
reads more like some sensational de.
tcctivc novel than a page from real
life.
Last July two hackney carriages
were standing outside the monastery,
waiting for fares. AT about o'clock,
when. by the rules, all lights should be
out and each monk in his cell. a SER
want emerged from tho monastery ana
told the cabmen to drive up to the in
ner gateway Thence came three men,
carrying a large sofa, wrapped up In
mating ana bound with ropes, which
they placed in one cab. a monk. whose
White habit could easily be seen under
his black cape, ana the servant who
had hired the cabs. got into the second,
and gave orders to drive into the coun-
try. After going some miles the driver
OF the second cab said his horse was
too tired to go any further, got lib
cral fare, ana turned back. The monk
and his servant then got into the cab
with the sofa and drove on. After i
long drive they came to Il river. The
monk told the cabman to stop and help
throw the sofa into the river ana when
the cabman asked what al! this meant,
he received the reply, do ms you are
told by a servant OF God" When the
sofa was in the river the monk took
the crucinx which hung by rope at
his eidc and made the Cabman SWeai
on it that he would never uiNN'S' "hhl
he had seen. ana added. What you
have witnessed tonight has been done
for the benefit of Christlanity.'
PEASANTS Make DISCOVERY.
Three days later some peasants tishcd
ont the sofa opened It and saw that
II contained the body OF Il man whose
throat had been cut, The police failed
to identify the corpse and although the
cobman heard the story he kept ms
word and said nothing, Nobody sus-
nected that the sofa had anything to
do with C2enstockown.
For nearly four months the police
vainly searched Tor II clue At last they
found out that the wrappnSs on the
sofa had come from Caenstockowa and
the man to whom they We're traced said
he had sold them to monk. Then
another clue was found, The cabman
got drunk in the presence of detec-