A story is told of a French prince, who, while travelling, was attacked by robbers. He had intrusted a valuable diamond to a faithful servant. The servant was slain, but the master escaped. He returned subsequently to the scene of the fight, and sought for the diamond, but could nowhere find it. At last he bethought himself to examine the body of his attendant, when he found that the latter had swallowed the diamond to preserve it.
A FORTUNATE ACTOR.
Some years ago an actor, looking through an old clothes shop in London, found a pair of slippers decorated with glass beads, and suited to a character he was about to play. He bought them for a trifle, paying two or three shillings for them. He wore them on the evening of his performance, and used to leave them lying carelessly about the theatre. He had them a year or more before discovering, as he did, by accident, that the supposed beads were diamonds, and that the shoes which had cost him a few shillings were worth thousands of pounds. He sold them soon after making the discovery, and retired upon the fortune so easily obtained. He never took the trouble to ascertain their previous character or history.
About twenty years ago, in a gaming-house in New York, a gambler, who may be called Smith, put up a ring as a stake, against an outside player for a hundred dollars. The player—I call him Jones for sake of convenience,—won the ring and went away with it. Smith had received the ring a short time before as a present, and was told at the time that it was false, or, as it is generally called, “paste.” Jones took the ring next day to a jeweller, and asked what it was.
The jeweller said, “It is paste—worth about two dollars.”
“Have you a genuine stone like it?” Jones asked of the jeweller.
“Yes,” was the reply, “I have one exactly resembling it, worth five hundred dollars.”
“Will you take out the paste and set the genuine stone in its place,” asked Jones, “provided I leave you its value as security, and pay you for the use of it?”
“Certainly,” was the reply; and the bargain was quickly settled. The change was made, and Jones walked away with the ring.
HOW A GAMBLER WAS CAUGHT.