The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-10-08
BY Byron e. Cooney

1 my VOAO IoAh1A6 oOOoS 4NOOA
stunts of insane persons a few days
ago. In the group we're several doc
tors and lawyers. Sometimes" said
Andy Mcconnell OF Helena, ut isn't
such an easy job to prove that crazy
man is crazy. recall. one time in
Helena when a fellow whom we all
knew was mad as March hare, came
very near to convincing the court
attorneys were crazy, instead of the
man to be committed to the asylum.
This fellow had been acting
queer, going around with reading
glass, looking over prominent resi-
dents whom he met on the street. He
also scanned jewelry through plate
glass windows with his ever present
reading glass. Added to this, he put
an ad in the daily papers which read:
I will be at the Brandon Hotel, room
| %. Let me look over and reset your
jewels before social season opens
"He gave as references Tiffany
and other leading eastern jewellers.
Added to these oddities he confided
to several persons that he was in
timate1y acquainted with the queen
of Spain. Without doubt he was
insane, but on the stand he was not
only model of intelligence, but also
showed that he possessed education,
Fhad Travelled extensively and that he
was better informed on certain sub
jects than either the court or his &C
cusers.
t"He explained to the court that it
vas customary in large cities just
before the opening of the autumn So
cial season to have the settings of
their diamonds and other jewels
frightened up-the gems cleaned and
often reset. He produced letters to
show that he was a professional jew
eler and had worked both in Europe
and America. He explained away the
'ad' so clearly and brilliantly that /
found the judge looking at me from
time to time as much as to say: This
man is no more insane than am
"His stunts with the reading glass
he also explained like this: Your
jewelers. put trays of jewels in the
windows. About the only way I
could size them up is through the
windows. Being a stranger, no jew
eler would turn over a tray of dia-
monds for me to look at. They don't
do it with the people they know. AS
for sizing up prominent persons
through my reading glass, why, that
is just little stunt I adopt for free
advertising. 1t makes people talk
about me and say, Who is that?'
Then someone will reply, Why,
that's Quinn, the diamond expert II
do this only to persons who wear
gems
Now the Queen
'sNow this bird was certainly going
good. From the time he got on the
stand he was absolutely RATIONAL
not only that, but he was convinc-
ing. Suddenly I broke in with the
question: How about your intimate
acquaintance with the queen of
Spain?'
"tI have met the queen of Spain,'
he said, easily, and if the court will
permit me, / will give the details of
our meeting
"The court bowed assent, saying:
Go right ahead, Mr.. Quinn
"I lived for many years in Eng
land, where I attained national repu-
tation as a professional cricketer.'
Here he launched into very inter
esting talk on cricket-named the
teams on which he had played, the
scores he had made and much about j
the ethics of the game. His talk was
so lucid and so interesting that he
was not interrupted. So he proceed
ed.
% 1T is not uncommon for the roy
atty to witness these contests. On
fer, King Alfonso of Spain was there |
with him was his affianced sweet |
heart, then Ena of Battenberg-l
whose mother, Beatrice of Bruins
wick, married Henry of Battenberg, |
killed in the African wars.
From Burke's Peerage
'Ena of Battenberg is now the
present queen of Spain and grand
daughter of the late Edward Seventh. |
Here he entered into a reference to
English aristocracy which was far
beyond our knowledge and which we
could not disprove without a copy of |
Burke's Peerage. The thing was as
good as lecture and very we'll de-
ivered lecture at that. He made us
all feel our deep ignorance of such
matters.
Now he went on, as said, the
royalty, or part of it, was there.
They had advantageous viewpoints
under a succession of little tents or
,anopies. I was playing an excep-
.ionally good game, in fact / was the
star. AS a result, after an excep-
.ionally brilliant play, I was notified
Or rather commanded to appear be-
lore the tent of Princess Ena and the
King of Spain. This is not so I'M
usual. 1t is the same as when Roose-
yelt used to call star baseball play
srs to come up and shake hands with
him.
81 am quite sure Roosevelt, Taft
md Wilson have met all the diamond
stars, though not so formally as the
heads do in Europe. Crick-
It is England's national game, as la
,rosse is Canada's, curling Scotland's
md bull-fighting Spain's. The her-1
lid who summoned me led me to the
'oyal box or tent, where was turn
ID over to several esquires and vari-
JUS attaches before was finally pre-
ented.
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