The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-03

lowest drawer of my strong room, shin
ing from couple of dozen Of prim
leather cases, with a light which is
full OF strange memories. / call them
accuTscd because | cannot sell them;
vet there arc those with other histories,
stones about which the fancy Of TO.
nance has sported, and the strong hand
of tragedy has touched with an lndell-
BILE brand II may be that the impulse
Of sentiment. working deep down in the
heart of the ostensibly commercial char
acter. forbids me to cry some of these
wares in the market-psce with any
vigor; it may be that the play OF chance
moves the mind Of the jcwel-buyer to
prejudice against them. In any case,
they lie III my safe unbonorcd and m.
sung-and, lacking that which Sewell
called the ''precious balsam" OF rePu"
tation. arc merely so much carbon or
mineral matter giving light TO iron
walls which give no light again.
For the stones which have no his
tory | am not an apologist. Some day,
those excellent people who now decry
they in every saloon where jewels are
discussed, viii give up the hope of at,
tempting 10 buy them cheaply; and
shall make my profit. Everything
comes TO him who can wait. and ] am
not in a hurry. As to the others,
which have been the pivots of romance
or serious story, they may well lie as
they are awhile they serve my mem-
urv in the jotting down of some OF
these mysteries
And that they do serve il / have no
measure of doubt. Here, for instance,
is little bag of pearls and diamonds
1t contains a black pearl from Zoe
panp. so rich in silvery luster, and so
perfect in shape. that ii should be
worth eight hundred pounds IN any
market in Europe, couple OF PINK
pearls from the Bahamas. OF fine orr
cnt vet pear.shaped and therefore less
valuable as fashion dictates: five old
Brazilian diamonds averaging two car
ats each; a number of smaller dia-
monds for finish: and two great white
pearls. which ! find at the very bot
tom of the bag. Those stones were
bought by the late Lord Maclaren
month before the date announced for
his marriage with the Hon. Christine
King. He had intended them as hls
gift to her. handsome and sufficient
;rift. il must he admitted, vet so did
sickle fortune work that his very gen
commotion in the week of the wed,
ding. and Of as pretty social scandal
as society has known for q decade
The matter was hushed up Of course.
For SIX weeks, as a wae said. II was |
nine days wonder. Aged ladies dis
russed il from every point of view,
but could make nothing Of IT. The |
society papers lacked enough infor. |
nation TO lie about it. The principal
actors held their tongues, and in due |
time the west forgot for new scan
aal arose, and the courts supplied the |
craving for the doubtful which Is
par, of polite education nowadays. Yet
! do not think that made a boastiul
claim, In asserting that / alone, be-
Il .,.1x- cd hn.
came possessed Of full knowledge of
the occurrence. 1t was to me first
of all that Lord Maclaren related the
history of it. and, despite my advice
TO the contrary, laid it upon me that
should tell none in his lifetime. He
is dead now, and the publication of
the story will throw n light upon much
that is well worth investigating. IL
may also help me 10 sell the pearls.
which is infinitely more important as
any uppreludiced person will admit.
Here then is the story. I had
visit from the chief actor in 1t to-
wards the end of June in the year
1890 He came TO tell me that he was
married quietly in the middle of the
following month 10 the Hon. Christine
King the very beautiful sister of Lord
Cantiliffe. She was then staying at
the old family place at ST, Peters. IN
I,
wedding in view of the recent death
of her sister, whose beauty was no less
remarkable than her own. MacLaren s
visit was but the prelude TO the pur
chase of present. and the business
was made the easier since he had the
simplest notions as to his requirements.
He had recently come from America
without wife mirable dictu-and
there had seen a curious anchor brace
nd pf NJ |
formed of plain bold cable, the anchor
itself of pearls and diamonds; the
shackle consisted of q small circle of
brlliants; the shaft had pink pearl
al either end: the shank had a black
pearl at the foot Of il. and the flukes
were Of white pearls with small dIa-
monds round them. | found it to be
was set on having it. and it CHANGED
thatJ had the very pearls necessary.
told him that / would make him a
model. and send it down to his hotel
at Ramsgate within a week; and that,
il he then thought the Jewel to be over
snowy. we could refashion it. He left
much pleased, returning by the Gran
vile express TO Kent, and within the
week he had the model; and | received
his instructions to proceed with the
work.
II is necessary, | think to say a
word here about this curious character.
At the time I knew him. Macaren
was man in his fortieth year. though
he looked older, He was once vulgarly
described Ia a club smoking room as
being Hall hair and teeth, " like buZ
zard; and his best friend could not
have ranked him with the handsome.
Yet the women liked him-perhaps be-
cause it was tradition that he made
love to every pretty girl in town: and it
was surprising beyond belief that he
reached his fortieth year. and remained
single. When he went TO America in
1883 the whole of the prophets gave
him six months of celibacy; but he
cheated them, and returned without a
wife. True. a copy OF an American
society paper was passed around the
club where the men learned with sur
prise that New York had believed this
elderly Don Juan TO be engaged TO Eve
lyn Lenox, "the lady Of the unlimited
dollars as young Barisbrolse of the
Bachelors called her; and had been
very indignant when he took passage
hy the Tent ouic and left hcr uoon1e to