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THE DIAMOND ROBBERY.
Device at Two Clever Swindlers.
In March, 1850, there arrived at Con
stantinople, by the Austrian Lloyd’s
steamer Vorwarts, a nobleman styling
himself Count Steffano Perregi.
He took a suit of rooms at Mesirie’s
fashionable hotel in Pera, and by his
lavish style of living soon became the
centre of attraction. He said that he
was a colonel of the Austrian Imperial
Guards and a member of the Diet. Ho
had wimi> *rs Turkey on private eovem-
mciit attiii'3, ana was xurnieheu with
numerous introductions to tbe different
foreign ambassadors and merchant
princes.
A month after liis arrival, he headed
a subscription list with the sum of
£5,000, piasteres, in aid "of Madame
Sophie Cartonagg, the widow of the late
M- Cartenagg, formerly banker of Ber
lin, who, by the sudden death of her
linsband, found herself, in a strange
land, with her three young children,
destitute of support.” In some such
manner ran the heading of the subscrip
tion list.
Count I'errngi humanely took upon
himself the task of soliciting the sab-
scriptions, and, incredible as it may
seem, collected the sum of £5,000 in
about twenty days !
One morning Perragi suddenly disap
peared. Suspicions having arisen, the
n “ce authorities were instructed to
out M’me Cartenagg. Bat, alas
for human credulity I the police swore,
by the beard of Mohammed, that Ma
dame was a myth, and the Crescent
City knew her not! Done, by Jove I
Done to the tune of £5,0001 Thus ends
the first act in this strange drama.
Now for the second act. Not far from
the Cafe de Paris stands the shop of
MM. Degrant Brothers, diamond brok
ers to his imperial majesty the snitan.
Opposite to this extensive depot of pre
cious stones stood the pharmacy of Dr.
Jacob ValpSBs. Five minutes’ walk
from these two establishments stands
the Hotel de l’Europe.
In the latter place, M’me Estelle
Deorest and her sickly Bon, Albert,
had hired a magnificent suite of rooms
for the winter. She was a quite
melancholy sort of a lady, and about
thirty. All her thoughts seemed cen
tered in her boy. But oh ! how sur
passingly lovely she was I They say
that the waiters of the Europe made
qaite a handsome thing out of her by
allowing sundry "sparks” to peep at
madame through the key-hole, as she
sat in her elegant morning costume at
breakfust. She paid her bills regularly,
saw no visitors, and received no letters.
'So much for madame.
M. Degranti junior (the jeweler),
was a rather fast young fellow, very
rich, and very fond of horses. The
elder brother, at this time, was absent
in Paris.
Dr. Jacob Valpass was a man of
thirty-two, and considered very clever.
His fathor had left him some consider
able property, but, a? he was passion
ately devoted to his profession, he still
continued in practice. We have now
sufficiently described the four principal
actors in the drama.
It was after ten o’clock one night,
and Dr. Valpass sat in his study. A
S erson requested to see him. A tall,
eeply veiled lady entered. Dr. Yal-
pass politely offered her a chair, and
asked her the natare of her business.
With a deep sigh, she threw back her
veil, and the doctor’s weaker human
half surveyed that dazzling beauty in
bewilderment. She told her story in
a quiet, brief manner. She had an only
son on whom she doted passionately.
He was subject to fits of monomania.
And, most extraordinary os it might
seem, his desires to lay in the fact that
nothing bnt diamonds placed about
him would satisfy his oravings. She
had consulted the best medical men in
jbiurope, aud they prescribed change of
OCClltJ. SuC had traveled a great deni.
January, 1852. Dr. Valpass was put
ting on his gloves preparatory to enter
ing his carriage, when he saw his affi
anced bride rushing madly toward him.
He ran out and met her.
“ What is tae matter, Estelle 1 ”
"Oh, he is worse I Ob, come to him!
come to him!” cried the frantic
mother.
" One moment; step into the cariage;
I will be with yon immediately.”
He crossed over to the establishment
of Messrs. Digranti.
" Let me havo that diamond nock
iaco, tkctiC uraeeiecs, ihia broach and
these rings. Qaick, Dogiunti ’ I am
in a hnrry. I only want them for an
honr.’
"But doctor, these arc worth mil
lions, and ” returned the jeweler,
rather at a loss what to do.
“ Give me pen, ink and paper. Here
is my note of hand for the articles.
How much aro they worth ? ”
" At a rough calculation, five mil
lions of. francs.”
" Verv well; here you are. Now,
quiok, the articles.”
Ten minutes after the doctor and the
madame reached the hotel, and found
Albert in the arms of two domestics.
The medioal man took charge of the
yelling boy and dismissed the servants.
He drew forth his treasures and placed
them about the boy. It was wonderful!
The boy danced with glee, clapped his
hands, and gradually became pacified.
He then slowly left the room with down
cast head. The enraptured mother
flung herself into the arms of her savior,
and, with tears in her beautiful eyes,
thanked him from her haart. Then fol
lowed one long, delicious kiss, and the
doctor was in the seventh heaven of
happiness! Madame exoused herself
for a moment and left Valpass.
Half an hour elapsed; an hour; then
the doctor beoame fidge t y. He ap-
proaohed the door; it was locked. For
another-hour did the dootor remain
quietly in the room; then a suspicion
flashed like lightning across his brain.
He thundered at the door, the servants
came running up, the door was forced
open, madame’s sleeping room visited;
bnt lo I the birds had flown!
Two years after Valpass reoeived the
following note:
"I tlrmk you for all your kindness.
And more so beoanse you were the vio-
tim! Kisses are dear, yet the only one
I ever Bold brought a fair price. It
took us nearly two years to mature our
plans. How well we had calculated on
all things is manifest by onr ultimate
success. My husband, Count Steffano
Perragi, desjre9 to ba remembered to
all his dear friends at Constantinople,
and hopes that this second surprise may
be of some value to them. Your dia
monds brought me five million franc?.
Adieu!”
There was no signature or date.
And this was the last of the "Dia
mond Robbery.” The thieves were
never captured.
A DEVIL TREE.
Bismarck and Emigration.
but without any H»iiiUi» eGfe
her boy. She had been advised to con
sult Dr. Valpass, and, as her eon had
just recovered from one of those pe
riodical fits, she earnestly requested
him to visit her at the Hotel de l’En-
r °?)r. Valpass took charge of this curi
ous case, and soon became very inti
mate with Madame Deorest. To be
brief, poor Valpass fell deeply in love,
and a month after their acquaintance he
proposed to her, and was accepted.
Thus stood matters in December, 1851,
and so closes the second aot.
The last scene opens on the 4th day of
The Philadelphia Times remarks:
It has been stated in the leading papers
of Europe that in order to arrest em
igration from Germany, Prince Bis
marck has been offering imperial lands
for sale in small lots at low prices.
This, it was hoped, would stop the tide
by showing the working classes of Ger
many they could live as well there as in
the United States. Bat the plan did
not succeed. The lands were not taken.
Even the agricultural hands that re
main at home are not disposed to till
the earth when they can find more
remunerative employment. A letter
was lately received in New York upon
this subject from a highly intelligent
gentleman in Prussia, in which the
writer says that field hands jnst now
oan make more by working upon forts
and railroads than in using the plow
and scythe, and, therefore, the sale of
upon I ,an(i is extremely dull and languid.
The Horrible Australian Plant that Bata
Human Beings—A Frightful Scene.
If yon can imagine, says the Sonth
Australian Register, a pine apple, eight
feet high and thick in proportion-, rest
ing upon its base, and denuded of leave
you will have a good idea of the trunk
nf the tree which, however, was not the
color of an anana, bnt was a dark, dingy
brown, and appatcntly as hard as iron.
From the apex of this fustigated eone
(at least two feet in diameter) eight
Luge leaves sheer to the ground,
like door* swinging back on their
hinges. These leaves, which are joined
at the top of the trees at regular inter
val, were about eleven or twelve feet
long, and shaped very much like the
leaves of an American agave or century
plant. They are two feet through in
their thiokest part and three feet wide,
tapering to a sharp point that looked
very much like a cow’s horn, very con
vex on the outer (but not under) surface
and on the under (not upper) surfaoe
slightly concave. This concave surface
was thickly set with strong thorn-
hooks like those upon the head of a
teazle. These leaves, hanging thus
limp and lifeless, dead green in color,
had in appearance the massive strength
of an oak fiber. The apex of the cone
was a round concave fignre like a sma ler
plate set within a larger one. This was
not a flower but a receptacle, and there
exudes into it a clear, treacly liquid
honey, sweet and posse seed of violent
intoxicating soporific properties. From
underneath the rim (so to speak) of the
undermost plate, a series of long, hairy,
green tendrils stretched out in every
direction toward the horizon. These
were seven or eight feet long and tapered
from four inches to half an inoh in di
ameter, yet they stretched out stiffly as
iron rods. Above these (from between
the upper and under cups) six white
almost transparent palpi reared them
selves toward the sky, twirling and
twisting with marvelons incessant mo
tion, yet constantly reaching upward.
Thin as reeds and frail as quills, appar
ently, they were yet five or six feet tall,
and were so constantly and vigorously
in motion, with such a snbtle, sinuous,
silent throbbing against the air, with
their suggestions of serpents flayed,
yet danoing on their tails.
My observations on this occasion
were suddenly interrupted by the na
tives who had been shrieking aronnd
the tree with their shrill voices, and
chanting what Hendriok told me
were propitiatory hymns to the great
tree devil. With still wilder shrieks
and ohaBts they now surrounded one of
the women, and nrged her with the
points of their javelins, until slowly, and
with despairing face, she climbed up
the stalk of the tree, and stood on the
summit of the eone, the palpi swirling
all about her. " Tsik! Tsik ! ” (Drink !
drink!) cried the men. Stooping, she
drank of the viscid fluid in the cup,
rising instantly again, with wild frenzy
in her face, and convulsive cords in her
limbs. Bat she did not jump down, as
she seemed to intend to. Oh, no 1 The
atrooioua cannibal tree, that had been
so inert and dead, came to sudden sav
age life. The delicate palpi, with the
fury of starved serpents, quivered a
moment over her head, then as if in
stinct with demoniac intelligence,
fastened upon her in sadden coils
round and round her neck and
arms, and while her awfnl screams
and yet more awful laughter rose
wildly to be instantly strangled
down again into a gurgling moan, tne
tendrils, one after another, like great
green serpents, with brntal energy and
infernal rapidity, rose, protracted them
selves, and (Trapped her about in fold
after fold, ever tightning with cruel
swiftness and savage tenacity of ana-
and tongues, each one obtained enough of
the liquid to send him mad and frantic.
Making No Money.
While the eastern cotton manufactur
ers are suffering seriously from the gen
eral depression of business, the mills
here and at Augusta, Columbus and
other southern points are also feeling
its effects to a very noticeable degree.
The Augusta factory, which has been
paying regularly since the war dividends
of “twenty per cent., and whose stook
has sold for more than $200 per share,
1 has been compelled to rcuuuc He divi
dend first to sixteen per cent., then to
twelve per cent., and on Wednesday of
last week the board could only authorize
a dividend of eight per cent. Its gross
earnings for the past six months are
stated in the report at $56,000, while its
expense account, taxes, interests, re
pairs, and dividends amount to $67,000.
It is trne the company has a surplus of
$234,000 invested in a new mill, which
really represents the profits made by
the corporation since it has been doing
business, in addition to the enormous
dividends directly paid to the stockhold
ers, and it is equally as true that, with
a capital stock of $600,000, the company
has a property which is valued at $838,-
000. These figures show that the cor
poration is in a prosperous condition,
but they also show that it has not found
much profit in manufacturing during
the past twelve months. Graniteville
factory, which has been paying quar
terly dividends of four per cent., has
reduced them to two per cent. This
factory is also in a flourishing condition,
as its recent reports have shown, but it
cannot pay dividends which it does not
earn. The Langley factory, the young
est of three, but one which has been
most skillfully and successfully managed
since it commenced operations, takes
tie ball by the horns and laconically
announces that " No dividend has been
declared by the Langley Manufacturing
company for the past quarter as cotton
manufacturing has been unprofitable,”
—Nashville Union and American.
Not nniil ail theso improvements aro
completed can it be seen whether the
men of Germany prefer government
lots od the Bismarck plan to the ad
vantages obtained under the homestead
law of the United States. One thing is
certain, that at the present time the
sale of imperial lots in Germany is not
brisk.
—There is nothing like ’em. A
worthy Athol lady fed a tramp, the
other day, after winch be asked if he
might go to bed long enough for her
to wash and iron his shirt.
oondas fastening upon their prey.
It was the barbarity of the Laocoon
without its b :auty- -this strange horri
ble murder. And now the great leaves
rose slowly aud stiffly, like the arms of
a derrick, erected themselves in the air,
approached one another, and closed
about the dead and hampered victim
with silent foree of a hydraulic press
and the ruthless purpose of a thumb
screw. A moment more, and while I
could see the basis of these great levers
pressing more tightly toward each other
from their interstices, there trickled
down the stalk of the tree great streams
of vicid honey-like fluid, mingled hor
ribly with the blood and oozing vicera
of the victim. At sight of this the
hordes oroand me, yelling madly,
bounded forward, crowded to the tree,
clasped it, and with cups, leaves, hands,
Making Camphor Gum.
Vice-Consul Allen, in his report of
the trade of Tamsny and Kelnng,
quoted in Nature, describes the distill
ation of the champhor of commerce
from Cinnamonum camphora, Fr.,
Nees et Eb., as a most hazardous trade,
the distillers having to be constantly on
the alert for fear of attack by the abo
rigines, who are naturally opposed to
the continual encroachments into their
territory for the purpose of cutting
down the trees for extraotiDg the cam
phor. No young trees are planted to
replace those ont down, nor do the offi
cials take any cognizance of the diminu
tion which is being surely effected in
the supply of a valuable commercial
article. The stills are described as
being of a very simple construction,
and are bnilt up in a shed in such a
manner that they can be moved as the
Chinese advance into the interior. A
long wooden trongb, coated with clay
and half filled with water, is placed
over eight or ten furnaces; on the
trough boards pierced with holes aie
fitted, and on these boards are placed
jars containing the camphor-wood
chips, the whole being surmounted by
inverted earthenware pots, and the
joints made air-tight by filling them njp
with temp. W hen the furnaces ore lit
the steam passes through the pierced
boards, and saturating tbe ohips, causes
the sublimated camphor to settle in
crystals on the inside of the pots, from
which it is scraped off and afterwards
refined. Daring the summer months
the camphor often loses as much as
twenty per cent, on its way from the
producing districts to the port of ship
ment.
Boston Brown Bread.—Scald thor
oughly three pints of corn meal, add a
half pint of molasses and water or milk
enough to make a thin batter; into this
stir a quail of sifted rye meal (not rye
flour) in which two tuaRnnnnfnls of
yeast powder have been mixed, add salt,
and do not have the dough very stiff.
Put in a pudding pan with a tight cover;
set into a kettle of boiling water and
boil three hours, renewing the water
as fast as it wastes and keeping it
constantly at 212 deg. If yeast is used to
raise the bread instead of yeast powder
or soda and oream' tartar, the dough
must set till it begins to rise. Sour
milk or buttermilk and soda may be
used instead of yeast. Thus boiled or
steamed, it has no crust, and is a most
delicious dish for a hungry man.