"It hain't 'cause I'm good, my lad; but if I didn't help that poor fellow in some way, I'd see them big eyes an' that pale face of hisn every night I rode on this box alone; so you see I only do it for the sake of havin' peace," said Ben, with a forced laugh; and then he stopped the horses at the rear of Mr. Treat's tent. "Now you jump down, Toby, so's to see the skeleton don't break himself all to pieces gettin' out, for I'm kinder 'fraid he will some day. I'd rather drive a hundred monkeys than one sich slim man as him."
Then Ben had a fit of internal laughter, caused by his own remark, and Uncle Daniel's guests were ready to resume their duties at the circus.
[to be continued.]
[SOME DIAMOND STORIES.]
BY ELLA RODMAN CHURCH.
Every one knows that the diamond is the hardest and most valuable of all precious stones; but every one does not know why it is always said to weigh so many carats. The kirut is a small Indian seed, used in India for weighing diamonds, and it weighs itself about four grains, so that six carats are equal to a pennyweight.
The diamond mines of Golconda have been known all over the world for hundreds of years; and the largest stone ever found in them is the famous Koh-i-noor, or Mountain of Light, so called from its great size and brilliancy, for it weighed nine hundred carats. A Venetian diamond-cutter chipped away at it as though he had been sharpening a pencil, because it was not even in shape—the idiot!—until he left only two hundred and eighty carats of it. After being worn, it is said, for thousands of years, by the monarchs of India, it came into the possession of Queen Victoria; and it was again cut and polished, at an expense of about forty thousand dollars. There are only one hundred and twenty-three carats left of it now, but it is said to be worth seven hundred thousand dollars.
A great many stories are told about this wonderful diamond; and if it could only write its own history, the account would certainly be worth reading. It belonged to many different princes of India, one of whom would often take it by cheating, and even murder, from another; and this happened among the rest:
"The King of Lahore having heard that the King of Cabool possessed a diamond that had belonged to the Great Mogul, the largest and purest known, he invited the fortunate owner to his court; and there, having him in his power, demanded the diamond. The guest, however, had provided himself against such a contingency with a perfect imitation of the coveted jewel. After some show of resistance, he reluctantly acceded to the wishes of his powerful host. The delight of Runjeet was extreme, but of short duration, the lapidary to whom he gave orders to mount his new acquisition pronouncing it to be merely a bit of crystal. The mortification and rage of the despot were unbounded. He immediately caused the palace of the King of Cabool to be invested and ransacked from top to bottom. But for a long while all search was vain; at last a slave betrayed the secret—the diamond was found concealed beneath a heap of ashes."