Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1914-09-01
|AMystery
/ OF Jewels
; 1t Remained a Mystery For
5 Many Years
By F. A. Mitchell

career before me and must be con
sidering how to meet 1t the fact thai
neither Lucy nor had any capital
seemed to render a marriage between
us undesirable.
don't remember that stated this tc
her in 80 many words. Indeed. there
was no need to do so. for she spoke OF
It herself. She was practical girl and
booked at things as they were rather
than rs she would have them. II would
only be n drag on you," she said. "You
are capable of taking q good stand IN
the world provided you don't handicap
yourself In the start with a wife who
must throw the whole burden upon
you"
Would you have me-that Is. con
sidering yourself out Of the question
marry Il girl with fortune"
NO" she replied; II would not"
What are your reasonsT
First, it would deprive you Of the
stimulus Of necessity, which is the
foundation Of all or nearly all success
Second, l do not believe that any
poor man of proper pride can ever fee
comfortable II his wife possesses q
fortune and he has nothing"
"The deduction being that poor mar
| had best not marry 30 long as he Is
poor"
Rather that If he marries woman
who supplies comforts and luxuries he
| is In an unpleasant position, and II he
marries one as poor as himself he Is
very badly handicapped"
In all this l agreed with Lucy. but
neither admitted nor denied its truth
| We being practical! young persons. there
was never q proposal on my part or III
| acceptance or refusal on hers. we
conferred upon the matter of 0ul
marrying much as two persons will
talk over the practicability Of forming
| q business partnership. Whatever OF
love there was underneath this com
mon sense deliberation was unex
pressed.
This condition lasted about year
when Lucy's mother died. 1t seemed
to me then that Lucy might bes'
marry me. for she must live alone. But
the conditions were otherwise un
changed. and since her mother hat
been nonproductive pecuniarily Eucy
could provide for her wants more
easily than before. was then strug
Cling to get start in my profession
| and 1t did not seem wise for me t
urge her.
Then followed period in which Lucy
and saw very little Of each other.
| was away from home great deal, and
heard Of her being away. too, though
where she had gone l did not learn.
wrote her respondent letter, in which
| said that at the rate we were pro
gressing-or. rather, not progressing
financially she would soon be an ole
maid. I advised her. II she found
suitable opportunity. to marry. sh'
replied that If she found the op
portunity she would let me know be
| fore engaging herself.
Such was the very practical situation
when one morning l received package
by express. Not expecting anything
in that way, looked long ut the type
written address before opening 1t
There seemed to be a box under th'
wrapper. and had 1t not been very
light l might have feared an inferna
machine. Untying the string ant
taking off the cover. there. true enough
was u box. Its lid was on hinges ant
was held shut by IL spring. which
pressed and raised the lid
| recall with the freshness OF thu
moment the dazzling splendor Of villa
lay before me. The box was linet
with purple satin. ON which rested
heap Of diamonds. For moment wa
lost In contemplation Of their beauty
then began to wonder how they could
have come into my possession. AgaiI
1 took up the wrapper and scrutinizet
the address. There were my name
street and number. plain rs the stones
in the box. Turning again from tn
printing to the jewels, made rougl
estimate Of their value. Several large
stones 1 believed. II genuine, to 81
worth between $4,000 and $12,OU
each. There were many smaller ones
and when l figured up the value o.
each l concluded the lot was wortl
not much less and not much more thar
$4,000.
After many theories as to why thi'
treasure had been sent me l came Il
the conclusion that 1t had been stolen
the thief had feared being caught Will
It In his possession and had shipped i
by express to get 1t into the hands o.
some one else. But In doing so h'
must have given up all claim to th'
property. for he must have expected
that the receiver would report the mat
ker to the police. But why had h
chosen me for his purpose? My onl!
theory on this point was that he hat
taken up a directory to find n name
and address and his hitting on min'
was a mere coincidence.
| Being a methodical sort Of person.
thought out what I would do befor'
doing It. I made a list Of the stones
giving description Of each. then start
I'd for a safety deposit company. On
the way I submitted athe jewels to
diamond expert, who pronounced then
genuine, Of excellent quality and
offered me 100000 for the lot. At the
deposit company rented a box, lock
ed the stones in 1t, then reported the
matter to tfe police.
There had been several jewel rob
berries reported, but none very lately
I looked over the description IN eacf
case. but none Of them Tailed will
the case In hand. Mine were all unset
but this made no difference, for they
might easily have been removed from
the setting. Mine were all diamonds
while In the other cases the stones
consisted Of various jewels.
BY arrangement with the police
had each stone weighed and described
by q diamond expert, and they wer'
authorized If any one described any o.
the jewels correctly to put him II
communication with me, that he nigh
prove property. A number Of descrip
tions of stones or lots Of stones cam'