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FART TWO.
JEWELS AND SEWING.!
"dEWING CIRCLES” AND THE OOS
SIP RETAILED THEREIN.
Bab's Jewelry Talk Opals De
clared Unlucky Turquoises Are
Warranted to Keep Tour Sweet
heart—The Sky-blue Sapphire—Are
There Diamonds Dug in Far-famed
Golconda After All?—Human Souled
Rubles Emeralds Represent Her
mony and Health—Priceless Astor,
Belmont, Stanford and Vanderbilt
Brilliants— Weddine Ring In History.
Apostolic Gems Precious Stones
and Birth Month Appropriateness
ICovt/ritlUt.)
New York, March 18, —You don’t
amount to anything nowadays unless you
belong to a sewing circle where you prick
your finger in the cause -of oharity and
huve your mind improved. Some ciroles
have people to read to theln, others have
questions for discussion, others just gossip,
but X think I belong to the very best. This
is the way it is run: After everybody has
threaded her needle end is ready for work,
the first sentence spoken in which there is
any chance for a topic is the one disoussed.
Last week an awfully pretty girl said to
her neighbor: “What a beautiful turquoise
you are wearing!” That was quite enough,
and every woman who knew anything
about gems talked about them.
SKWINO 18 AT A STANDSTILL NOW.
One woman said; “It is a little queer
why the opal is considered unlucky, be
cause in the days gone by a man gave it to
the woman he loved because it was called
Cupid’s stone, and was supposed to hold love
forever. But nowadays everybody thinks
it unlucky. Certainly it is beautiful, for it
is the only stone that shows every color of
the rainbow, and, unlike the turquoise, it
doesn’t change with the wearer’s health.
Still, there is no doubt about it that it does
seem to have a queer eSeot on people. 1
know a man who paid $5,000 for au opal
who threw it in a well a year after he got
it, for be said no one else should suffer as he
had. He wore it for the first time on New
Years Day, and for the first time in his life
he got drunk; then the next day his sweet
heart threw him aside, and from
that day on he had business and
lamilv troubles. We barbarians—for we
are barbarians as oompared with the people
of the far east —don’t oomprehend the mar
velous beauty of an opal. Why, I remem
ber reading a description of a wonderful
stone, and the writer said: ‘lt penetrated
the soul and dazzled the eyes of all who saw
it Majesty shot forth from its almost
divine splendor. It set forth suoh bright,
piercing beams that it struck terror into all
beholders. In a word, it filled with
trembling the bodies of the bystanders and
forced them by a predefined impulse to
love, honor and worship it.’ Fancy a stone
that would have such an impression on the
lookers-on. I tell you, we have no appre
ciation of the absolutely beautiful.”
CHARMING GIRLS HAVE THEIR INNINGS.
“Well, I don’t know,” said a pretty
blonde, “1 ooufess that the opal Is the love
liest stone I have ever seen; but I wouldn’t
wear one for all the diamonds that ever
came from Uolconda.”
A girl who knows an awful lot, laughed
at this, and she said: “My dear girl, dia
monds don’t oome from Uolconda; I don’t
think there is such a thing as a precious
stone there. Golconda is a fortress some
place where they were In the habit of briug
iug the diamonds, and no mines are near
there.”
The other girl said: “I don’t care. I
want to wear a torquois all the time.
When Charlie told me how muoh he loved
me, and l said I didn’t mind if he loved me
U it gave him any pleasure, and he brought
me this turquois ring, then T took the
trouble to study up about the turquois,
and I found that it was the one stone war
ranted to keep your sweetheart. Indeed, to
do more than that; it would keep your
friends. For way back in an old book it
says: ‘He who hath a turquois hath a
friend.’ And certainly it shows when you
are ill. A couple of months ago, when I
was down with the grip, I watched the
ring on ray finger absolutely pale and look
siok, so I got my sister, who is the very per
fection of health, to wear it for me, and
from the very day she put It on it began to
go hack to its original color, and by the
time I was well it was as blue as the heav
ens.” At
THE TIME THAT MRS. LANGTRY BEGAN
to collect turquoises, pretty nearly every
actress in the couutrv started to do the
same. They never seemed to think that it
was a question of size, but they would se
lect off-color gems that were perfectly huge
and correspondingly undesirable. Noted
jewelers were three years collecting the
stones for Langtry’s necklace and they
matched, not only in color but in size. They
wore mounted on a thin gold chain, and
each one framed in diamonds, and they
are probably the finest oolleotion belonging
to any but the royalties. Occasionally one
sees a turquois with something engraved
upon it. I remembar one in a gallery in
Florence that was as large as a small bill
iard bail, and which had the head of
Caesar upon it; and in the Orleans collection
Is one that has cut in it a head of Faustina.
“O,” spoke up an industrious girl, "1
must tell you something about engraved
stones. Just before Christinas I met Fanny
Davenport and heard about the Christmas
fcift she bad for her husband, Mr. Mc-
Dowell. Bhe said he wa3 very curious
about it, and so she desoribed it to him; it
was spuare, it was blue, was ourlv and it
was over 1,000 years old; he couldn’t im
agine what it oould be. Now, this is what
it was, a superb blue sapphire, square, with
the curly bead of Cassar out in it. Of
course it was blue; of course it was square;
Cmsar’s hair was curly; and, or course, it
has been over 1,000 years since ho lived,
rhe jewelers who got this spent nearly
two years searching for it.
by-the-by, speaking of Fanny Davon
port, although one never hears any
thing about her diamonds; although she
*" quite above using them for an advertise
ment, the fact remains that she has one of
thu finest oolleotions in this country. They
are not great big bull’s-eyes, but they are
♦tqulsitely fine old mine stone. 5 , and it Is
said that her jewels compare very well with
those possessed by Mrs. Astor. How many
you like off color stones? They are con
sidered very swell nowadays, though their
is in their beauty. Elizabeth Mar
fury, a true woman, who never said a bad
Play was good in her life, wears a blue, a
yellow and a white diamond as shirt but
tons, and the contrast is marvelous. A yel
, diamond is supposed to bring good
tortune in the way of money, and for that
eason it ought to be popular among
women, for every one of you know that we
ig.. 1 •* greedy for gold as ever we can
rich women’s valuable stones .
Said a very quiet little girl: “I prefer a
"pphire to everything else. You know its
,s purely moral: I gave my Tommy
, lß, t Christmas, and told him he would
® *° wear it wherever he went, and if ho
,„_ nc w,lare h e shouldn’t the power of the,
PP irew. uiq tell me all about it. Oer
•mniy they are beautiful in odor and they
fp)£ ißflfniitfl
make one’s hands look whiter. Did you
girl’s know that Mrs. William Astor was
supposed to possess the finest single sapphire
known ? Mrs. Belmont had some vary fine
ones, too. A sapphire to be perfeot must
be a dark blue, and the lighter ones, al
though they are pretty, really have no
value; that is, no groat value.”
‘ ‘Give me a ruby,” said au imaginative
girl; “It Is so beautiful to think, as do the
people of India, that the ruby Is a human
soul in condition that it is just about to
enter the sacred land ot Buddha. Then,
too, it is supposed to symbolize the most
passionate love. It will tell you if poison
is near you; and every time it glitters on
your finger your own true love will be in
spired to deeds of great valor, suoh as buy
ing you another ruby, or something of that
sort. O, yes, 1 want a ruby!”
A girl who didn’t wear any ring at all
said: ‘ ‘lf I bad my choice I would take an
emerald. In the first place, they bring good
health; next, they blind serpents, or any of
your euemies if they dare to look at you;
and then they bring harmony into your
married life, and keep your husband as
true as a man can be.”
“Isn’t it funny,” asked somebody, “that
nobody has said anything aboilt diamonds?
To my way of thinking, a perfect diamond
is the most beautiful ot all stones; and it
seems so me the strongest, because your
health or your unhappiness do not affect it.
Of course, huge diamonds, with imperfec
tions in them, are worn by vulgar people;
but that doesn't make a perfect diamond
any the less beautiful. I can quite under
stand the enjoyment the people have in
looking at unset diamonds, for they oba ge
with every cloud that moves. You know
it baa only been within the last few years
that diamonds have been perforated like
pearls, and strings of them worn. Home
body told me that Mrs. ‘Willie’ Vander
bilt bad the finest string of diamonds in
this country. I remember seeing Mrs.
Iceland .Stanford at a ball in Washington,
and l shall never forget her diamonds.
They were set in the most marvelous man
ner, and although there were so many
stones, each one, because of its perfection,
had an individuality of its own, and above
all these marvelous gems was Mrs. Stan
ford's kind, womanly face, and it seemed to
me as if she might be wearing her beautiful
gems as muoh for the pleasure of other peo
ple as for her own. And, curiously enough,
for this very reason, the diamonds had an
added brilliancy.”
THE FINGER RING FAD.
The really Industrious girl, who had been
listening all this time, suddenly spoke up,
and said: “You can set stones any way you
want, but my fad is for rings. My favorite
historical character is that dignified lady
who had rings on her fingers and bells on
her toes, and i have always thought it made
even the Egyptian mummies,tho lady mum
mies,seem quite near and dear, because every
one of them wore rings, and some of them
on every finger. People are always asking
about the marriage finger, and seem to have
au idea that the story that there is a vein
leading from that finger to the heart, must
be true. Now, that Is all uonsense. I
think in the Greek eburob to-day the priest
first puts the ring on the thumb, saying:
'ln the name of the Father,’ then ou the
first finger, ‘in the name of the Son,’ on the
second finger, ‘in the name of the Holy
Ghost,’ and on the third finger it is pressed
down as he says, ‘Amen.’ The
thumb used to be the weddiug
finger among the Romans, because It was
supposed to be the brain finger, while
among the Jens it was very common for
the forefinger to be honored. During the
time of the crusaders the lady whose lover
was off fighting the heathens used to take
off her wedding ring and put it under her
pillow, that shp might dream of the gallant
knight who was battling with the infidels.
Poor Marie Stuart had four wedding rings
put on her finger when she married Darn
ley, but even they didn’t keep her faithful
to him. If you will think up some of the
old pictures of the blessed virgin you will
remember that she has a wedding ring on
her forefinger, a ring that is not unlike a
signet ring. Very few weddiug rings are
set with precious stones, but in Germany,
even to-day, the turquoise is frequently set
in the wedding ring, it being believed that
if the wife is unfaithful the ring will lose its
color. You girls dream on a bit of wed
diug cake sometimes and wonder that yoar
dream is so ordinary, but it is because you
haven’t carried out the ceremony; for the
oake, to have any effect, must be passed
through the ring, and then its properties in
the way of giving real dreams are marvel
ous.
JEWEL-IMMORTALIZED APOSTLES.
“Just because it is Lent I took the trouble
to look up the stones of the walls of the
New Jerusalem and to see what apostle
eaob represented. They come this way:
Jasper is Peter; Sapphire is Audrew; Chal
cedony is James; Emerald is John; Sar
donyx is Philip; Sardius is Bartholomew:
Chrysolite is Matthew; Beryl is Thomas;
Tops?, is James, the lesser; Chrysoprasus is
Thaddeus; Hya inthus is Simon: and Ame
thyst is Matthias.”
bhe had suoh a lot of knowledge that we
all applauded her, but I really think, so
much is womankind given to thoughts of
love, that they were a great deal more in
terested in what I Baid. Probably it is
folly, but in my own oase I am sure It is
true.
THE GIRL BORN IN
January should wear a garnet, for that will
win friends for her wherever she goes.
The girl born in February must have an
amethyst, because that will make her sin
cere, protect her from poison, and from
slanderous tongues.
The girl born in March must havo a
blood stone, because that will make her
wise, and give her patience to bear all
trouble.
The girl born in April must have a dia
mond, because that will keep her innocent
and pure, happy and generous.
The girl born In May must havo an emer
ald, for that *lll make her a happy and
healthy wife.
The girl born in June must have a topaz,
for that will make her truthful and protect
her from fairies and ghosts,
The girl born in July must have a ruby,
because they will make her have great love
and keep her free from jealousy.
The girl born in August must have a sar
donyx, because that will, make her a happy
mother.
The girl born in September must have a
sapphire, for then she will never quarrel
with her sweetheart.
The girl born in October must have a car
buncle, for that will make her love her
home.
The girl born in November murt havo an
opal, for that will bring her luck in money
matters and love.
The girl born in December must have a
turquois, for that will bring her friends,
health, happiness and riobes.
Every word of it is true, every word of
it; and my belief in it is proved from the
fact that, haviug been born in September,
a band of sapphires enoiroles the hand of
Bab.
I.v full mourning among the Chinese the
black strands of tho queue are replaced by
white ones and in second mourning by light
blue or green. It is an unpardonable breach of
etiquette for an Inferior to enter the presence
of a superior with his pigtail wound round bis
neck or head, and the greatest insult one man
can offer another is to pull his pigtail. It seems
very odd to see sailors on the ship or in bar
racks combing each other's long tresses, or
coolies at fbo street corners performing the
same friendly office. Custom forbids a man to
wear a beard and mustache until he becomes a
grandfather.
SAVANNAH, GA., SUNDAY, MARCH lit. 1893.
THE CHALDEAN’S BALL.
*
FYom the Ntw York Times.
“But, O, toy son! O, light of mine
eyes,” exolalmed my friend. Eli Effeudi, as
we sat smokiug together on the balcony
outside my bachelor quarters at Aberdeen
one autumn evening, "there is a cloud over
your spirit. You neither smile nor jest.
W here is thy blithe heart, thy winsome
way ? Some evil besets tbee. Tell thy serv
ant that he may fend it from tbee. A
thousand leagues distant; I knew that thou
wert unhappy. I knew, and lo! lam here."
Yes, ne was present and very much at
home, too; though I would have as soou
expected to see the Sphinx in a front pew
at St. Simon's as Eii Effendi pulling his
narghile among my scant cenates. During
my 6!ficial connection with the interna
tional court of Egypt I had met him in sin
gular fashion and rendered service to him.
It happened in this wise:
One evening I was sailing on the Red sea
in a clumsy sort of lugger, with two useless
Datives as orew. The waters were tumultu
ous, a thickening haze obscured vision; we
were making land at utmost speed. FraDtio
cries and gesticulations from my men
called my attention to an object bobbing up
and dowu off our port bow. For ail the
world it resembled a great Chinese idol in
its cross-legged serenity. As it grew more
distinguishable and uncanny my supersti
tious helpers would have chauged course and
lied before the wind over the waste into the
approaching night, but I would not. So
they cast themselves into the bottom of the
boat, drawing their garments over their
heads, groaning and chanting and shouting
“Bißmallab.”
On we bowled bravely. A whiff of most
fragrant Latakia floated by rue. As we
gained the idol 1 saw that it was a man
dressed in an eastern robe, whioh outspread
about him and seemingly sustained him, for
he rode like a cork, puffing the while on a
narghile and exhaling vast volumes of
smoke from his mouth and nostrils. As we
swept by I reached out and just caught the
tassel of the stranger’s fez. The cap dung
like the bell of an air-pump. With infinite
difficulty I managed 1 o drag its owuer
aboard and to keep my careening oraft from
capsizing.
I aroused my crew from dormant salaams
into action by a few vigorous kicks, and
when we were favorably nearing shore and
they were actually doing something, 1
turned to my peouliar flotsam. He was
seated very comfortably on the thwart, not
half as wet as it seemed he should have
been, and still burning incense to the god of
meditation.
“I thank Ralph Baine for assisting me.”
ha said in excellent English. “Not but that
I would have gotten along ail right, but it
was slow and quite damp and my narghile
needed refilling. By the way, do you
smoke.” And from the folds of his robe ho
drew a oigar whose aroma might have
thrilled the souls of the faithful in Calaya,
“How do you know my name?" I gasped.
“And where were you going! And what
happened to you!”
"I know your name,” he replied,“because
I have knowledge. I was going wither we
are bound. Nothing happened to me be
cause nothing ever happens. Question not}
be conteut that you have befriended one
who will repay a thousandfold."
During my stay at Alexandria I often
saw Eli Effendi, who was supposed to be a
secret agent of the Sublime Forte; and in
many ways 1 received benefits and priv
ileges whtch I traced to his influence. He
was a mystery to me, and, as 1 found on in
quiry, to all others. Foreigners simply
knew, as I did, that be was wealthy and
powerful. Natives avoided questioning.
The most I oould gleam was a whisper ac
companied by shrugs that Eli Effendi was
one of the initiated. When we became bet
ter acquainted I even made bold to show
my curiosity to him. He did not repulse
me. for a reason wfiioh he doubtless com
prehended, and tal >ed as volubly about
mahatma as a young girl about hers. |X.
B.—The foregoing is a joke—my hat. ma.
See ?) But from the mass of unintelligible
jargon I could make nothing more definite
than chaos.
In appearance, als.', was Eli Effendi mys
terious. He wore the garb of a Turk of
high rack, but whether he was Copt. Mos
lem, Jew, or Hindu no one seeme 1 to know.
He spoke all languages with a like perfec
tion. He seemed a man of 50, and, of course
was pale and somber of face, with a black
curly beard and unfathomable eyes in
whioh glowed sparks of greenish fire.
Such had been my meeting, and such was
the man who now sat beside mu, whom,
since my return to Aberdeen, I had well
nigh forgotton until, a week previous, to
my amazement I had (Mine upon him, the
center ot attraction at Mrs. Bullion’s rs
cop ion. as calm and imperturbable as he
had floated on the raging waters over Fha
raoh’s discomfiture. Aberdeen society had
claimed him as her very own on his arrival.
The Van Ettens had seen him at Fans
among the high nobility of St. Germain.
The Bullions had known him at Constanti
nople during old Foter Bullion's service
there as minister. Already the bishop had
had him to dine, and was reported to be
iuteut on his conversion—the dear bishop
who was so fervent sometimes be forgot bis
gaiters. That this stranger iusisted on
| spending much of his time, despite such
, fascinations, with one of as little oouse
queuoe as myself showed his friendly in
terest, os now did his inquiries as to my
melancholy.
“O, I don’t know,” I replied.
“A people most peouliar are you west
terners," he continued. "You don’t know
when you do know; and when you think
you know, you don’t. You are uninformed
and childish. You make puppets of your
ideas end beliefs; some you wheel iu
trundles, others you tuck carefully away in
bed. Now I comprehend the cause of your
sighing, never fear.
“It’s that pretty little Fatty Van Etten
whom you love, and who returns the senti
ment ; as if, indeed, that made any differ
ence. Were we in my own country I would
buy her for you gladly, but hero the pur
chaser in the matrimonial market must be
the taker and have a well-settled reputation
for wealth, and that you lack, my poor fel
low. But wbat then? You are young, gal
lant, talented; a lawyer with a fine prac
tice. Why should you not marry this fair
creature since suoh you imagine is your
whim of a moment?”
* 'Her parents object. They have other
views. Theirs is an old, proud family run
ning back to the first days of Aberdeen.
They do not consider me her equal by birth.
Besides, it was long sinoe arranged between
the Van Ettens and the Stuynee that young
Rudolph Stuvne shall marry Fatty.”
“Wbat! That lmbeolle who grins alike
at feast and funeral, and holds his walking
staff between bis teeth as if for nourish
ment?”*
I nodded assent.
“Why, we would keep him without the
gates of the city. How your children imi
tate your elders! The first days of Aber
deen! Why, bat yesterday it was sand
plain, not worth a string of beads. Frida
of race is at bsst ridioaioua; for wbat is the
history of man but a record of mistake# and
erimes? But when that pride is based on
the founding of a provincial town by as
sisted emigrants, and so indefinite that each
year must pos ess the obscurity of an age
to preserve ** tenuity, why then it becomes
pitiable. There is nothing more ignorant
or rasigmficaot than the child who cries for
the moon, except the one who believes that
in a bit ot glittering paper be holds it.”
“That’s sll very well.” I retorted. "But
the fact remains that there are distinctions
here that favor Rudolph and prejudice me.
One may deplore the habit of oannibals, but
that may not deter them from erecting
one’s i ones."
"And thine own people?”
“They have been humble farmers for
many generations, tilling a small farm in
tnls oountry; thrifty, honest, but never
prosperous. I have beard my father say
that the first Ralph Baine who settled here
was the younger son of a great English
family, and had served under Marlborough
with honor. But that was nearly 300 years
ago.”
“Two hundred years! 'Tis but a single
wink of the eyelids of the eiephaut that up
holds the world; aud yet here it serves not
only to aggrandize, but to diminish. And
there are no fogs in this Boeotia either. The
air is clear; the nights are resplendent with
stars under which these pygmies dare strut.
Look at me. Am I not courteous and con
siderate to ail men? And yet I can trace
my ancestry back over 0,000 years to the
Chaldean dynasty. But my kindred adored
the heavens, and studied the Sands of the
sea. and far below those atoms, which, in
deed, may once have been worlds, they
ranked themselves. The Van Ettens and
the Htuynes! If tney could only see them
selves as I do see them they would net be so
anxious to join their lofty Hues. Ho! ho!
and they shall, too; he! be! Never despair.
O, friend of my later years. You relieved
me from an embarrassment, and Eli is not
ungrateful. You are sure ot this maiden’s
worth?"
“Sba is an angel!”
“Hum! Angels who possess the universe
are not lingering in Aberdeen. But she lias
the e?e of goodness and a hourl's smile.
Tell her to trust and wait. And so, good
night. Go tnou to tranquil slumber, and I
to meditation." And my friend Eli Effeudi
lett me perplexed by his words and aston
ished at his mirth, for he was a grave man
and dignified.
Alter this I saw Ell Effendi dally, in
deed. for everybody must need see every
one iu Aberdeen; still he seemed to shun me.
I heard of him as undergoing the round of
excursions, dinners, receptions, whioh con
stitute that hospitality for whioh our people
are so famous. I say “our people.” Alas!
then I was one of them. ’ Mine was the
eleventh hour and the crumbs that were
swept up. Now I may honor instead of
being honored, but let us accept our merits
without boastfulness.
Gradually a pleasurable, tantalizing, exas
perating rumor spread through Aberdeen
until exploited in flaring headlines by the
press aud in exaggerations by tho gossips.
That guest whose presence bad stirred oivic
pride, appreciating the unexampled courte
sies shown him —than whioh the salons of
Europe Enow none more chaste—was about
to reciprocate by au entertainment uuique.
It was to be a rooeption, banquet, ball,
cotillon, what net, indeed, concluding with
au exhibition ot eastern magic wonderful to
behold.
The wealth of Ormuz and of Ind was
to be strained to fulfill the magnificence be
fitting such an occasion. Tears and heart
burnings followed the issuance of the iuvi
tations, for many were not called aud but
few were chosen. Despite Eli Effendi's ex
pansive regard for me 1 was therefore sur
prised to receive a severe and simple card
from him requesting my presence on the
evening of the 18th inst., at St. Gillian's
hall—as surprised, doubtless, as a camp fol
lower at being summoned into the oouncil
of commanders.
It was a few days before this entrancing
evont i hat I ventured to call at the Van
Ettens, and for a brief blissful moment I
saw iny Fatty aloue; I found her distraught
and melancholy.
“O, Ralph!” she cried. “You need never
come. There is no hope for us. Fapa in
sists on a speedy mairiage between Rudolph
aud me. He has become quite daft on the
subject, and pretends to have discovered
that cur Gold Moidore came from toe
Htuynus. That old Muidore, I wish it were
in the bottom of tho sea, that I do.” Heie
Mistress Fatty bad recourse to tears w hich
1 strove to allay, though aghast at tho
enormity of her words. For tho Gold
Moidore of the Van Ettons was tho Fa [ln
dium of that family. It had descended from
generation to geuerutiou as a must precious
heirloom, aud was piously believed to he
the source and maintenance of their great
ness. Where it originally came from, why
it hadn't been spent, and what had caused
tho tradition, no one of them knew; for
owing to educational limitations there were
no records of their early days.
When Fatty grew calm she further ex
plained that her father had rocentlv met an
old woman who had told him that she had
often heard her father say that bis lather
had said that the luck of the golden
Moidore had come to the Van Ettens from
the iStuynes, Tins bad sufficed to render
him gratefully eager for the matrimonial
alliance, which, as the other high parties
were also agreeable, really seemed immi
nent. I begau to explain to Fatty Ell
Effendi’s interest and assurances, and bad
already brought the roses to her cheeks and
the sruile to her line, when there was a
stately tread and her mother entered the
room—• hospitable habit which, as to poor
me, that lady never neglected.
Mr*. Van Eiteu was a tall, meagre
woman of obtrusive port, very proud of
her blood, though her bone was more in
evideuos. Incidentally, it may be men
tioned that she was also a member of the
“ would-bave-wenf family, but of this dis
tinction she was unconscious. She greeted
me with a frigid mieu and a flaccid hand.
“You call, of course, so seldom, Mr.
Baine,” she said, "that I feel that I should
always see you.”
1 tr.auked her for her fidelity to this con
viction.
“I don’t suppose you are interested in the
approaching festivities.” she continued,
“although ail folks do like to read of them,
which must be a comfort, too, seeing that
they can’t naturally be there. Wo are go
ing, J. 8., Patty and all. (J. 8., John
Brutus, was her husband.) I would have
went without him, too, but he perked up,
said the Btuynes were going, and we all
lriu-t go with them, it was right, under the
circumstances, for the two families to be
seen together. You understand, of course.”
I said that I hoped to have tha honor of
paying my respects to such an aggregation
of worth on the evening in question.
“What, are you invited?"
“Yes, ma’am.”
“O, indeed!” And in the lull that fol
lowed this pregnant in :erjectiou I humbly
withdrew.
The evening of the 18th came and great
was the roll of oarrlazes throughout Ater
deen. Rt. Gillian’s hall was a glitter of
lights and a bloom of flowers. The floor
was a plain of glass meet for tile tripping
of fairy feet wbiob soft music voluptuously
invited. Every appointment was worthy
of a nabob. I noticed, however, one oddity.
The stage was oerefully veiled by a curtain
ot spotless white. On reference to the order
ot danoing, I found at its oonoluslou the
announcement: “A Reminiaoence of Olden
Days.” Perhaps, after all, there was truth
in the rumor about an exhibition of ori
ental magic.
Ell Effendi, arrayed in a robe gorgeous
with gold thread and jewels, and for the
first time in my acquaintance separate from
his narghile, received hia guests with an
aplomb whioh spoke volumes east-rn
fatalism. For all Aberdeen was present, be
, tides tag little seU that properly could uul
be included in so exalted a classification,
the Bullions, the Schenks, tha Van Diemens,
the Htuyues and the Van Ettens Even the
bishop, with his shovel-crowned hat in
hand, stood in a corner and baatned as if
such a gathering of suoh people mutt be
both goodlv and godly. I strove several
times to gain my poor Fatty, but she was
well guarded by lbe female grenadiers of
the alliance, so shn could only smile wanly
and turn toward Rudolph, who clung to her
as persistently as his lips did to the oaue to
which he was subsidiary.
The evening passed tamely for me. Eli
Effendi was engrossed with hospital duties.
Onoe he winked signifloautly, but how
significantly 1 could not imagiue. It is de
pressing to watoh a whirl iu which one has
no part, to bebold gayety from the tower of
isolation and to hear laughter but not Its
provoking jest. Truly, I was alone in ray
melancholy—l and my little Fatty, I think,
for those who paused to comment pro
nounced It the most enjoyable ooeaeiou of
their lives. And suoh lives! so rife with
the highest delights! How oould praise be
more extravagant?
And this exuberance increased when the
banquet was served. Verily, Vitellius, who
consumed an empire, knew no like luxury.
The rarest viands, tho richest wines. Those
who oared to discuss the subject afterward,
and they were few, blamed these celestial
beverages for the unnatural glamor of the
concluding event. For when thestralnsof toe
last waltz had died away and one looked ot
another in wonder os to what would follow,
the lights grew dim, ret iridesc rat.
Servants placed divans facing the stage,
on which the guesis instinctively arranged
themselves with graces not their own. A
delicious incense permeated the air, bring
ing dreamy sloth and coutsntment. Re
ality yielded to idealty; yet the mind ac
quired new perceptions, and each one i eol
iz.ed that “A Reminiscence of Olden Days”
would reveal affairs as they were, not as
tbey might havo boon.
Softly floated the simple rhythms of
“Auld Lang Sytio," and then slowly the
spotless ourtain faded away. What a scene
of desolation! A broad, sullen, swiftly l
flowing river, a sandy shore lined by a few
huts; beyond these, sparsely cleared fields
more duu than green, and still beyond the
endless sweep of gloomy forest. But the
people, the gaunt, haggard wretches, who
were watching on that shore full of longing
and regret and hate, sighing for the land
from whioh they had been banished for its
good, despising one another and begrudging
each his share of tho expected supplies!
Was this tbs founding of a Utopian state?
Were these the forerunners of an exalted
civilization?
Scene succeeded scene: but always the
one dull, oheerleea hue. Gradually the set
tlement grew; but, ah! how mean, how
meagre, bow petty! Hovels, not homes;
ne e-sitles, not comforts. The sun glared
upon the clay; the rain fell upon nure.
Swine wallowed in the public places, and
through the lanes dogs worried drunken
natives who had bartaied tlioir possessions
for baubles. Nothing noble, nothing as
piring; a stupid folk accepting the inevit
able with a growl, and finding in selfish
ness and envy the only amelioration of
their misery.
Gradually, too, the spectators began to
recognize their ancestors, and thou what
downcast glances, wbat burning cheeks,
what fierce hopes that worse might come to
others. A tSchenok toiled by with a pack of
| furs on his back, savagely chewing on the
• baud preyed against bis chin. A Staats
hastened on with a tinker’s tirnsier. The
stragglers uround the tavern, on whose post
was scrawled the name of Bullion, slunk
away as the bishop’s forefather hustled
through the narrow entrance with great
boots and clanki. g sidearms. for he was a
buccaneer iu whose very glance there was
violence. But who is he who plods doggedly
along, looking neither to the right nor to
the lett, as if appreciating hia disgrace aud
meaning to endure it? Eveu the little chil
dren point at him and cry, “Stuyu,”
* ‘Btuyu," for his name has become a
synonym for his degrading office—that of
hangman.
Mrs. Van Etten gasps and shudders and
I looks with scorn at oer late grenadier com
panion, while she draws Fatty closer to her.
! Rudolph, in his consternation, tastes the
ferrule of his cone. O. brief triumph! O,
scorn, soon to yearn for sympathy! At the
very next change in tha pbanlnsma
i goria a Van Etten is seen bound to the
whipping post, oil whose hared I aok tiie
".Stum" lustily plies his eat. And all the
! people cry "Thief!” and joer as the pour
wretch is bundled into his rags and set free.
Free, but homeless, penniiess, and famished
among a heartless folk. Yet, no. A
stranger advances toward him, a gallant
young stranger, with cocked bat nun silken
cose, with rapier and splendid baldric. ’Tis
my aucostor, tha soldier, the first Ralph
Baine. He disdains not the outstretched
hand, but into its clutch drops a goldeu
Moidore.
I lo jked at Fatty and Fatty locked at me,
(slid though the spectacle continued until
each one for once at least was taught the
worth of his descent, we saw naught but
eyes resplendent with love and happiness.
There came a transient darkness and then
the normal brilliancy, and there stood Eli
■ Effendi near the euiraoce with nods and
smiles speeding the departing guns:. The
I old guard faltered not. Though lips wore
; pa:e and eyes Hashed ominously, there wore
J courteous words and salutations. “How
delightful!” “How unique!" “How comine
| il fact!” “Surely you must possess Alad
din’s lamp!” “How charmed, l‘m sure! ’
! “How recherche!” “Gould anything have
boon more au fait?” “Wo are so much in
-1 debted to you!" were its valediotorv. But
j the two grenadiers glared as they passed,
and one whispered “Thief,” and the other
hissed “Hangman.”
"Gome home with us, my boy," said old
Mr. Van Etten, taking my arm. “I want
to show you the golden Moidore.”
As 1 bade our host farewell, he winked
again, and this time I comprehended its
loudly significance.
Truth Stranger Than Fiction.
Mnj. Sucrow, a Russian, who has just
been set at liberty from the New York iu
sane asylum, says that be got there for tell
ing the trutn about himself, aud got out by
telling a 11s. He has been a man of means,
but some time ago fouud it necessary to do
something to make a living, and became
interested in a hair tonic, warranted to
produce a luxuriant growth on the baldest
bead. Thinking that a crop grown on the
baid summit of Cbauncey Depew would be
the best advertisement iu America for his
tonic, he made up a neat package and went
to see Mr, Depew. It was just after Mr.
Sage’s dynamite adventure, and Mr. De*
pew, seeing the package and bearing bis
foreign aocent, excused himself, prom
ising to see him later, aud had
him arrested. Sucrow’s story as to his
life and the wonderful virtues of his hair
tonlo teemed to the police aud physicians so
wild that he was adjudged Insane and sent
to the asylum, and there he was kept as long
as he Insisted on the truth of his story.
Finally Sucrow changed his tactics; he
went to the asylum authorities and said
that his belonging to a wealthy Russian
family was an hallucination that be had
been laboring under, aud that his idea of a
hair tonlo was an illusion; that as a matter
of fact be was an ordinary Russian me
chanic, and wanted to get out aud go to
work. The doctors were sent for; he told
them the same story, and was at once con
sidered sene and discharged. But, says be,
the story which I told to secure ray dis
charge was the only tie I had told in the
whale matter.
11RV HOODS.
ECKSTEIN’S
THIS WEEK
GREAT SALEJF SMS!
BARGAINS BLACK SILKS.
BAR6AINS FANCY SILKS.
BARGAINS CHINA SILKS.
BARGAINS WASH SILKS.
Bargains Bengaline Silks.
Bargains Changeable Silks.
BARGAINS FAILLE SILKS.
BARGAINS SURAH SILKS.
Bargains Brocade Silks.
Bargains Striped Silks.
Bargains Plaid Silks.
Prices Lower Than Ever.
GUSTAVE ECKSTEIN & CO.
—■ ■■■■■——
MILLIXKET WOOD*.
ST KROUSKOFFS
MAMMOTH
Millinery House
—THE-
I Inly Exclusive Millinery
In tin; Sooth.
The season is now open, with stock complete in every depart
ment. The HAT DEPARTMENT shows hats of every desirable
style in all novel combinations of colors and braids in the best
makes and grades. In the RIBBON DEPARTMENT will be
found the most complete and beautiful designs in rich patterns
from Switzerland, France and Germany. The FLOWER DE
PARTMENT, with designs and patterns representing every desir
able flower from Paris. Tfie TRIMMED HAT DEPARTMENT,
in charge of designers well known in New York and able assist
ants, show the most correct and elegant styles in all kinds of pat
tern hats. No other store like it in the south ; none excel it in
New York, and we sell at STRICTLY WHOLESALE PRICES,
giving every one the opportunity to buy FINE MILLINERY at
LOW PRICES.
We Coaliia Oar Great Glu Sale.
S. KROUSKOFFS
Mammoth Millinery House.
Children Cry for Pitcher's Castorla*
PAGES 9 TO ltf.