Coulson_The_Lacy_Diamonds.txt topic ['13', '324', '378', '393']
dinner.''
speedily overtook the rector and .
" is your cigar, ?" said . .
" out, ."
" 't you have another?"
" now, thank you. truth is, , am reluctant to
smoke stolen cigars at second hand. don't mind stealing yours,
when know you got them honestly."
" lame, !" said the rector. " listen, you old
humbug 1 charming ladies were hidden behind the lemon
trees while you were discoursing so eloquently about lordship.
silently retired and concocted their little plot. demure
little wife called me out, and obeyed. angelic wife collared
you and brought you out. next time you wish to enlarge
upon the domination of the husband, you had better get in the
open fields, or like that other old humbug, , upon the
margin of the sea at him, girls !"
" dear ," said , his voice falling into the sweet
tones that indicated earnest sincerity, " my experience has been
large enough to teach me this much: is so delicious to dis-
crown one's self, and to lay one's diadem at the feet of one's wife,
that domination culminates in the very act of yielding the
sceptre. but a king can relinquish dominion. who
resist that gentle sway, and tear away those silken chains, are not
husbands they are bluebeards ; and the clearest records of the
world's long history teaches the same lesson. race has ever
been dominant where women did not reign. , lord of
the earth, growing corrupt in success, reversed this beneficent
law of the race, and was exterminated by the rude tribes,
whose distinguishing characteristic was deference to the gentle sex.
now that the domination has passed into -
humanity, let us be grateful that deference to the woman, the
queen of love and beauty, still distinguishes that race from all
others on the surface of the planet. reign of the distaff is the
hope of the world !"
'. 281
.
'.
" threads dropped here and there in the foregoing
history remain to be gathered up. author intended the
concluding words of the previous chapter to be the conchiding
words of the story, but some critics who have patiently read thus
far, profess great interest in the minor characters and demand a
more minute account of their sayings and doings. also com-
plain of vagueness in portions of the story, where it was supposed
the imagination of the reader would supply deficiencies, and fill
up all lapses. of the aforesaid critics that object to weird
and inexplicable touches here and there, now demand a matter of
fact solution of those portions of the legend that refer
to the unexpected appearance of the , at the crisis
of 's history ; and also an explanation of a prophecy
spoken by a lady who was supposed to be comfortably defunct at
the date of its utterance.
ruins of still stand, the walls now overgrown
with ivy. that part of the inner wall, where 's room
was supposed to be, there is a fragment of a stone stairway, built
in the thickness of the wall, connecting this room with the cham-
ber above, l^o doubt this communication was hidden by wains-
coting, which had been destroyed by the lightning-kindled con-
flagration, when died. sight-seers who visit the
locality, and listen to . 's miraculous stories, point to this
crumbling ruin, and assert, with great complacency, that the
had traversed this hidden passage, and after filling her
auditors with terror at her dismal rhyme, had returned to her
chamber, and died outright. old dame rejects the hypothesis
with high scorn, and holds to her original theory, as hinted in the
body of this narrative. modem portion of the is
uninjured, and occupied by whose life is spent
in the practice of unobtrusive charities, that perpetually contra-
dict her cold, impassive exterior. rare occasions when this
coldness gives place to tokens of pleasure, are those in which .
and pay brief visits to the . . -
ton has never revisited the place, since the day wben the stately
was transformed into a ruin.
282 .
is steward of . 's estate. he
finds willing listeners, to whom he recounts certain portions of his
adventures, in which . figures once and again.
cultivates the soil at . his
wounds are healed, except the portentous gash in his face, which
his wife daily fills with dumplings. still talks of his version
of the descent of man, comprised in a short chapter that only tells
of his rapid journey from the cliff to the beach below.
favourite item in this account is the " sawing of a 'ole in his 'ead"
by . ; and describes his emotions under the
"hoperatiou'' with grisly minuteness, which is the more remark-
able as he was in a comatose state when the sawing was done.
. , the dowager, is the ultimate authority at ,
and is the most dutiful of daughters, and a prime favourite
with the old dame, whose chief solace (after curd-making) is to
coddle the later generation of , with flaxen heads, and
inouths constructed with due reference to dumplings. . and
. take frequent equestrian trips to , accom-
panied by , who is the sole owner of a pony, that is
a natural pacer and docile as little 's lamb.
. one knows the fate of the
but and his wife. shrunk from telling the story, and if
it were not that no secrets are withheld from each other, both
would have refrained from the subject, even between themselves.
the day of their marriage, . presented his bride
with the box he had picked up on the deck of the steamer.
opened it, and discovered a necklace of sparkling gems.
" diamonds '- she exclaimed.
said nothing.
took out the jewels, held them up to the light, kissed them,
and dropped a joyful tear or two, and clasped them round her
neck. she took them off and examined them narrowly.
" did you get them she said.
" you recognize them,
" . are not the same diamonds that lost."
" any one else detect the difference said .
" think not. necklace is a little tighter on my neck and
the gold is brighter. are almost exactly like the others.
me about them.'^
" persuaded to steal your brooch, and your de-
scribed the original necklace to me. jeweler did the
288
" yoii have spent ^
" . ^Vhen you drove me away, three years ago, went
to . left bought a blockade runner and her
cargo of cotton. e8cai)ed, and reached )ool in safety.
week before was stolen away from you, sold vessel and
cargo. necklace represents the difference between my outlay
and the proceeds. former owner was a young ,
who had invested all his fortune in this venture. blockade was
rigid, and the escape of the ship seemed impossible. applied
to me for advice, bringing his young wife with him. , , she
reminded me of you sweet, so gentle, so good ! were
subjects, and could get througli the lines, if they had the
money that was locked up in the " " and her cargo.
advice was to sell the ship to me, to take what money had to
spare, and a cheque on my bankers in for the rest.
was irresolutely considering the matter, he happened to mention
the name of his vessel, the " ,'' and was then compelled to
buy her. the next night there was an easterly storm, and
sent the ship out in the teeth of the gale. blockading
squadron was obliged to stand out to sea, and the " ," cross-
ing the bar, ran down the coast and escaped. was my first and
last commercial exploit, and dedicated the proceeds to you.
" darling ! if you and can thus bury the story of the real
, as deeply as they were buried, *full forty fathoms
down ' under the sea, know of nothing except the joy of calling
you my wife that could so much comfort me. it be so ^^
answer was audible, but inarticulate.
" you know, ," said , blushing like a girl, " that
cannot help rejoicing at the loss of those horrible diamonds
has told me the story of the a hundred times,
and have always thought of the jewels as the messengers of
had never seen them, until that night, when cast
them into the sea, and knew instinctively that they were the
same accursed baubles that had been bloodstained a dozen times.
said the necklace alone belonged to the .
earrings and brooch were added by . two or
three generations ago. now, my beloved, you have the full
set, wi^out the curse ^for the curse is under the ocean.
were some lines that my used to repeat, but they have
escaped me ^
was interrupted by , who took the jewel case, and
284 .
removed the false bottom, small piece of parchment fell out.
was yellow with age, and when unfolded it, the antique
characters traced on it were almost invisible. some difficulty
he read as follows :
"^^Ijc tijat ) tl)c jQall anb fee
21 score anb a l)alf score l)e never sl)all see,
%\X{ tl)e fetoel from kin-bloob be toasl)eb in tlje sea,
3nb tempest anb flame
0mite tl)e last ortl)e name
lOitl) tl)e l)all of l)is fathers, tjjis tueirb shall tljeQ bree !'*
sat in silence a few minutes.
" " said , with a puzzled air, " what do you think
of these lines f "
'^ don't think much of them," she answered indifferently.
'^ ! these lines were written hundreds of years ago.'^
^* don't believe it."
were certainly written three or four years ago "
."
their accurate fulfilment is overwhelming to me !"
coincidences are a little remarkable," she answered.
" . told me the old story before was married.
made a deep impression upon me, probably because of .
's dramatic manner, forgot thie lines she repeated, but
retained the idea, and candour compels me to confess that wrot
the doggerel you have just read."
" the old parchment the faded ink "
" , that was nothing in comparison with a hundred tricks of
yours, you old deceiver ! got some parchment from ,
smoked it, diluted some ink, and made the rhyme. spent half a
clay over it !"
" next generation," said , " will swear that those lines
were written after the events. is in this way that fellows who
don't believe in ghosts or legends get rid of testimony ! , my
dear," he continued, with tremulous anxiety, " do you intend to
grind out any more poetry ? know a poetess in who
puts things in the magazines. has a bald place on the top of
her head, and wears green spectacles, and looks like the demented
old idiot she is!"
" more poetry, ficirtiUjy[l. and last effort is this
short requiem over."