Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1921-03-13

- E'haHA, VA SdH TTcHCI6CQ, w no
ade the Unique Decision.
OF the Court, and the utmost Of.
forts to insure their safe return
must be exercised.
Dated. January 81, 1921.
"THOS. F. GRAHAM, Judge"
The curious petition which
Judge Graham. OF San Francisco,
had before him arose from a pro-
vision in the will Of the late Mrs /
Rosa Blum, very wealthy widow -
OF the same city. Mrs. Blum left 49,
the bulk of her fortune to her son 50
and many costly jewels TO his ieS5
bride She left. too, g. number OF Ssas
requests to charities. tf
Among the elder Mrs Blum's fI.s
possessions was 4 very wonderful / Ut
rope OF pearls. At q conservative -
estimate they were worth at least =
100000. There were many mem. ;a
cries about the necklace, associa
lions that set II apart from ell the ~
other things she owned And Tf y
when II came to the question of
disposing OF It. she did not quite
know what to do. She did not
like the idea of simply passing It \
on to her daughterin-law. That
seemed rather too commonplace
a way to treat 1t.
Was there not some way that
the sentimental value Of the gems
could BIO Preserved? Some way
OF making 1t still stand for the
romance. the unique value. that it
had for her?
Mother Blum decided that there
was. So she stipulated in her
will that II there was girl
baby born 10 her son and his bride
within four years that baby should
have the necklace. 1t would be grand
mothers pearls" to her, and the child.
knowing of the precious thing which was
hers, would wait eagerly for the timo
invest It with all the glamor that it de.
served. All through the years it would
stand for the girl child as tie symbol OF
her emergence from young girlhood into
young womanhood. That necklace, Mother
Blum figured shrewdly, would stand for
something in her granddaughter's heart
beyond its mere monetary value.
And il no girl baby came along in those
four years, then the necklace should bring
comforts to the poor and afflicted 1t
should be sold for the Federation OF Jew
ish Charities and many people would bless
IL and remember 1t for what it had done
for them.
So 1t was set down In her. will. And
after her death the pearls were taken and
placed in safe deposit vault to await the
decision Of the stork.
But while inspecting the necklace re-
Gently young Mr.. Blum noticed that the
gems had lost some Of their lustre. 4
faint bloom Of their beauty had been wiped
from them. There was a slight discolora.
tfon. They 1ooked-"sick."
And sick they literally were, so the
lapdarists that he called in to inspect
them told him. Born Of the tropics, i'm.
prisonment behind iron bars and steel
walls was killing them. They needed
light and air. But more than anything
else, they told him. the gems needed con.
tact with the soft. warm breast and neck
OF healthy womanhood.
1t was for this that they were starving.
and unless they had It, and soon. their
worth and beauty would steadily and swift.
~ decrease.
Why such thing should he so is one O:
the most curious things in nature-more
curious by far than young Mr. Blum's nett
ton to the Court when he was convinced
his mothers gems needed nursing The
pearl Is different from every other precious