Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-11-22
neutrality-suspicious.
4----------
! When Gems
|; Were Precious
Observation-Disclosures.

lost when you were a young lady.
Won't you tell It TO meY
III you'll promise not TO repeat IT."
The Countess az Blumenstein 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, Ia
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
will call Macmillan. He was or roy
al blood through his mother, but not
through his father.
Now, Macmillan took very little In
terest in court matters. He was q
student always experimenting with
LIQUIDS that he 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-
dunn. 1t had a sort Of glow that new
err 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
wears after she had been appointed
lady in walting-went to the vault
where the empress jewels were kept,
and, 10 AMI behold, they were gone
that is, all except the diamonds, which
were In a safe within the vault 6he
tainted. but soon recovered ana 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
not be held responsible as the THIEF:
While she was in agony as TO what
in the world she should do Ma ximilian
was announced. In few minutes she
was pouring her troubles into bis ear.
"Maximilian thought for a 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 IN case Of loss. Macmillan 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. Macmillan 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.
| II 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. and there were the gems.
"Of course she was wild to know how
he had recovered them, aud 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 be did 1t. He had
4 noticed that that funny substance call
ed radium impaired to the little glass
tubes he used a beautiful blue. This
led him TO q new experiment. He took
certain crystals Of different hues, put
them away In the dark. and when aft
er 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 manufacture
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 the influence OF rsdium.
at wasn't q week after this that one
OF the multimillionaires OF America
came to Berlin. At the same time came
a princeling, a cousin Of the emperor. A
state dinner was given, the emperor
pretending that it was for the prince
ling, but 1t was really for the big Amer
lean banker The empress called for
all her jewels. Bertha brought them TO
her, and neither she nor any one else
knew that they had been manufactured.
The funny part OF 1t was that the great
banker, who was collector Of all kinds
Of rare articles, through a medium, Of
fered the empress FIVE times the cost Of
her jewels. She sold them 10 him. and
be presented them to an American mu-
scum. They are really a curiosity,
though he didn't know 1t. 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
J gems. The girl finally confessNf to
Bertha and returned them. This
after the manufactured ones had gone
to America. Bertha consulted with
Macmillan as to what they should do
He said their return would make g
dreadful scandal and might create a
bad feeling between Germany and
| America, so they said nothing about
them, but buried them"
And what became OF Macmillan
and Bertha?" asked the child.
They are now the Count and Count