WHO OWNED THE JEWELS ? OR, THE Heiress of the Sandal-Wood Chest

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 214, 9 September 1891, Page 7

WHO OWNED THE JEWELS? OR, THE Heiress of the SandalWood Chest.

j By Mrs M. V. VICTOR, itriHOß OF " BORN TO BeTBAT," " BACK TO \ Life," " The Enemy of the House," lv: ; : ° A Father's Sin," Etc

CHAPTER XV. TH2 LOST lETTER. She document discovered by John Duleth ,nder the leather lining of the old writing-aesk-where it had lain a greet number of -are, though anxiously sought for by sue. essive generations of Dulethe-wae one ffh ich naturally would excite in the finder teen hopes of a magnificent change in his cw n dull fortunes. Sβ bad heard much talk of this paper in W-boyhood; indeed, i 6 was the favourite t nic of conversation with his father and nncles, and the children were wonb to listen to it as they listened to the wonderful storios told them in earlier years by nurse ; llone with Cinderella and the legends of Al Easchid, they mingled the romantic tradition of a certain ancestor of theirs, the Baron Charles Duleth. just as some people are always saying they wish that some rich relative would die and flill them his fortune, so the Dulefchs, one and all, when in pecuniary difficulties, _ or ivhen. a fit of covetousnoss took possession of them, were in the habit of wishing for jomocharm to work by which they mighb be able to discover 'the baron's jewels.' Occasionally one of them would be stricken with a pnssion for seeking the losb letter, and would spend weeks in fruitless, beuause aimless, search after it. However, the family had at last settled into bhe assurance that some thief had possessed himself of the document at the time of its first Appearance, and had taken advantage o f the knowledge thus acquired to handsomely feather his own nest. The paper was in the form of a letter, and was written in French, and dated, Paris, 1819. A translation of it, made by Duleth and his son, ran something in this wise: • 'To the nearest of kin of the Baron Charles Duleth, of the Province of Caux, France: 'I, Baron L'Esbaigne, have long been disposed to make the following communication, which I have delayed from time to time in the hope of crossing the Atlantic end conferring personally with some of you. Increasing years and other disabilities no longer permit me to hope for tbis. I may add that the unsettled state of your own family was another reason for my delay; although I attended to your interests so far as to leave a full statement in case of my sudden death. Understanding that you are now permanently established In America, I confide to you the secreb with which you have the beat right to be acquainted. ■ 1 You are aware that ab the time of the American Revolution, in or about the year 1780, France sent over a large body of men in supporb of the cause of the United States —not the firsb she had sent—-under the command of Count de Rochambeau, and that Baron Duleth was one of his officers. •I"'will, remind you, although you are doubtless.-aware.. of ...a11.,. the facts, that the baron a'b the time was in trouble, nob ( to cay danger, having killed his man in a duel aboub a silly love affair. His victim being of a family more powerful than his own, and having threatened to compass his political ruin, if nob fco assassinate him, my friend Charles thought it prudent to enlisb with De Rochambeau, and quit the province for a time. He was of a romantic temperamenb, and his mind was fired with accounts of tshe new world. He left instructions with his steward to dispose of his large estates as soon as he should hear from him, that he had determined to remain in America, get the proceeds into the smallest and safest compass, and bring them to him as speedily as possible. 1 Shortly after arriving ab Newport, he received a letter from his steward, stating his belief thafe his enemies were taking steps to secure the confiscation of his estates.. He, therefore, should not wait for orders, but should sell ab once all the property for which be could find a purchaser, take the money secretly to Paris, buy diamonds with it, which he should conceal aboufc his person, and seb off in disguise to join.his master. All this he executed faithfully, arriving ab Newport within a few, weeks, vrith two hundred thousand napoleons melted down into a handful of precious stones, besides a purse of twenty thousand francs for present expenses. One estate, as you are aware, as it afterward passed bo you, the steward did nob dare take time to dispose of. 'Baron Charles was glad to secure as fine a portion of his property as hedid ; and, the country in V/hich he was, being in so unsettled" a state, wifch no demand for costly gems in the market, he concluded to securely sew into a certain velvet suit which be wore"that winter, when not in uniform, these diamonds and other gems, to secure himself from robbery. I, being of his own lank and age, and his bosom friend, was made his confidant, in order, if anything happened to him, that I might know where to find his property and restore it bo his relations. I assisted with my own hands to stitch them between the velvet and silk lining of his coat. There were six diamonds of immense value; five very superior emeralds, and a ruby, the like of which I tad , never eeen, even among the crown jewels; besides dozens of smaller stones of various sizes. The ruby the steward said he had come upon by chance, happening to be in a certain jeweller's, making purchases, when the stone was offered by .& seedy and travel-worn Jew, just from the ■ Orient. The jeweller, haggling aboub the value, the Jew Went away, with the understanding that he was to return" the next oay : ; when the steward followed him be &B quarters, and made an offer, which was accepted. It was a splendid jewel, weighfog 750 carats, without a flaw, a pale crimson, almost rose colour. The Baron Chailep, who was a great dandy, would fcave liked to get it; mounted and wear it; hut I advised lain against the imprudence of such a display. ' Well, we had a gay winter, for we did fiot fieht; and there were plenty of Tory families who would come to our balls. .Amort er T.hese was a Mr Ingham, who had 8 beautiful daughter—a lovely creature— *li I think I see her still—so brighb, so *fc!), such serial grace in dancing, such a Bunny smile 1 Mγ friend, the baron, fell taadly in love with her ; nob that he had Sot bcon in love before, but this was a *eai, ss.riou3 affair —and no wonder. I was enamoured myself,bat 1 had the misfortune to be small and insignificant, though with filiou'a heart—whereas, my friend Charles *"as the nnest.lookina , man in the French army— tall, distinguished-looking, noble features, and raven hair—just such attrac"oll3 in form and feature as would touch ' a "y susceptible hearfe. ' I grow garrulous when I recall these " a Ja; but bhey were brief, and they had »tragio ending for my poor friend. You have li. ;i rd that be was killed. Doubtless you. era never able to learn the particular* : for they were known to but few. 'iir Itsgham took his daughter to New iork, which was then in possesaicm of the

British ; but as he was an excellent Tory, he had the liberty to enter and leave as he pleased. Baron Charles was so unhappy after she went away, that he resolved to run all risks and visit her in the city held by the enemy. It" was * ne madness of a lover, for which he paid with his life. ' I was his friend, and would not permit him to go alone on so dangerous an expedition. Ws dressed in our civilians' clothes, Charles wearing the velvet suit which held his treasures —over these we wore the garb of fishermen, putting off out of Newport Bay one morning, in a small vessel, sailed by two or three trusty men, intending to land at New York after dark of the following day, and trust to our wits to work our way into the town. Miss Ingham had written to Baron Doleth, to whom she was secretly betrothed, giving him every possible information, so that he might be ready to answer any questions put to him, should he become an object of suspicion, and enclosing a pass from the British commander, which she had forged, being familiar with his handwriting. So well provided, we were nois without hopes of a successful visit, and wedid, indeed, reach the lady's house, where we discarded, for the nonce, in the dressing-room to which we were shown, the coarse garments which we wore over our own apparel, and sat down in tbe dining-room to a sumptuous dinner which awaited us, afterward spending a pleasant evening, which reached far into the night, for ib did seem impossible to persuade Charles to part from the lovely girl who so enthralled him. . • I was not in such raptures as Charles. I played whist with the mademoiselle's father and mother and a young gentleman, a cousin of Miss Ingbam, whom I afterward had reason to know was himself infatuated with her charms, and deadly jealous of the baron. To this traitor it was owing that all came to so fatal a termination. He turned away with a scowl when he saw the tsars on his cousin's cheeks, as she clasped her arms about the baron's neck and sobbed farewell. However, ho offered to accompany us, and answer for us should we be challenged on our perilous way back to our little vessel. We had nearly reached the water, and could see her lying near the shore, when we encountered a guard, who demanded the countersign. The Inghams had given it to us, so that we answered readily enough. At that moment, I have always thought it was the fiend of darkness entered into our escort's heart, in the shapo of jealousy, and overpowered his better nature. He muttered something to the guard, which caused him to give the alarm, and to refuse to let us pass. ' Conscious of our danger, we drew our swords and rushed past him, hoping that our boat was close to the landing, and that we could reach the vessel before assistance arrived to the sentinel. Here it was that this Ingham struck the traitorous blow at my noble friend. ' But I had my revenge. I thrust my rapier through his heart), and still fighting off the guard, I shouted to the two sailors in the boat, who rushed to the rescue, dragging away the fallen body of my comI rade, and placing it in the ekiff, while 1 covered their retreat. ' By this, a half-dozen sleepy soldiers had run to the spot; shouts and cries filled the air ; small boats were puehing off in pursuit; we sprang on board our little vessel, lifted my comrade on to the deck, sot sail, and hoped to clear the harbour—but in vain. Enemies sprang up in advance as well as in our rear, and I saw that we should be quickly compelled to surrender. 'As for me, I was indifferent to my own fate. Charles lay dead at my feet, with a sabre-cut in the temple. In my grief and despair I was almost glad to find myself in such danger. In fact, I desired death—for he was my chosen comrade, and I was driven distracted by the swiftness of the disaster. ' At that moment I recalled the fact of the jewels stitched into Charles' coat. They would be certain to fall into the hands of the enemy or be buried in some unmarked grave, where their loea would be equally sure. • I resolved that the British—whom I had always abhorred—should not profit by these gems; neither should the corpse of my friend fall into their hands if I could prevent it. ITor a moment's brief time I was tempted to fling that beloved body overboard, for, were I taken prisoner, the jewels would be discovered, did I attempt to rescue them from their hiding-place; but presently resolved to do what I could to prevent their loss. I Have you a chest aboard ?" I asked of my trusty sailor. "'Ay, ay, sir. The captain's chest is standing empty in the cabin." ' " Lower it into the boat as speedily as possible, first helping me to place therein tbe body of my friend." 'But the corpse would riot be forced into its receptacle, and in view of the emergency, I ordered the unwilling men to cut off the feet. All this time we were sailing, not up the Sound but over toward Staten Island, pursued by a dozen vessels, and headed off by others. Shots came whizzing over our beads and splintering our masts. The night was very dark, however, which was in our favour, and no sooner did we lower the chest into the small boat than we deserted the vessel, and rowed as softly and silently as possible away from her. 'Almost by a miracle we escaped our many enemies, twice passing ships who hailed us, to whom we gave the countersign and pretended to be in search of the Americans, thus pursuing our course unmolested. ' I knew that with daylight we should be certain to fall into their hands. My great anxiety was to go ashore at some quiet poinfc and bury my friend, with some marks of the locality as would enable me to identify the spot should I escape with my own life, and ever be able to revisit it. It was already growing light in the east, and we had to be speedy in our choice. We coasted along the Jersey shore, silent and watchful. I told, the men that I desired, above all fihinga, *o bury my friend, so that I could recover the body and convey it to France, should peace be restored. I took the baron's purse from his pocket and divided the contents between them; and gave them permission to cut the silver eagles of France from his coat and waistcoat. This I did, that there might remain no temptation for them to return to the grave and rob it. One of the sailorc, a grizzly fisherman, then said thiat we were near a hole in a certain sandbank, which was full of water at high tide, but easily entered at low, which it now was ; that if we could gain it before daylight we could not only dig a grave for the baron in the sand, but would ourselves be safe from pursuit. We could remain there through the day, and attempt to reach our friends on the foilowing night. 'As the light Increased, our strained sight made out a black spot in a low sandy cliff, which the fiuherman declared to be the Hole ; and in a, very short time we had pushed under tbe cliff and found ourselves in a small cave, completely protected, for the time being, from the vigilance of anyone on the island or' in the bay. We made a calculation as to the probable height of the tide at its fullest flow, to find ifwej should be drowned out, provided we re-, mained through th<> day. As the sun rose, his horizontal rays illuminated the gloomy cavern, so that for an hour or so it was tolerably cheerful, and we explored it thoroughly. ' We found a of sand, a ridge, where we should be safe at high tide, and here we set to work to acoop out a grave. We dug it so deep as to come to perfectly dry sand ; for I could not endure to think of the salt water washing about the precious freight of that si range coffin ; then we lowered the chest, and speedily filled up the hollow, hiding in Mat lonely and hideous spot all that was mortal of my gay, hopeful, noble friend, Charles, Baron Dulefch.

'That was a wretched day for me. I spenb it thinking of my dead comrade, and the beautiful girl widowed of her prospects by this harsh blow of fate. Aβ for the sailors, they were in good spirits, consoling themselves by counting over and over again the rich present I had made them of the poor baron's purse. ' Before night 1 had arranged a plan by which we were fco go ashore under the cover of darkness, and making our way through Jersey, attempt to reach Washington at White Plains. This plan was eventually successful. ' You will be interested in my future career. I will only say that the varying fortunes of war prevented my returning for my comrade's body. Taken prisoner, and finally sent home, I never had the smallest opportunity of reclaiming the wealth concealed with the corpse, and restoring it to his relatives. * Arriving in France, I found the Duleths had emigrated to America afc the first prospect of peace. Long discontented with politics in your own country, you followed to the country which had filled Lafayette with such enthusiasm. Thither ib was, for many years, my intention to follow you, and surprise you with tidings of the fate of Charles Duleth's fortune, a large part of which you know he had brought to the United States, without any inkling of what had become of ib. 1 1 preferred personal communication in a matter of so much importance. This prospect I have now abandoned, and write to his heirs,, to inform them where the property can bo found. 'As I remember ib, the cliff bears southerly from Staten Island, and was marked, in my mind, by three pines, all leaning in one direction, bowed over the edge of the cliff, as if looking at the waves underneath. The cavern was bo small and so «wepb by the waves, it may be quite filled up in all these years ; if so, an enterprising spirit will doubtless prompt to such search, as will reveal the buried treasure sleeping on the bosom of the friend of my youth, Charles, Baron Duleth. God rest his soul. ' (Signed) Lotus Baron L'Estaigne. , The reception of this epistle awakened intense excitement among the members of the Duleth family ; but lately established in a new country, with the wreck of their once handsome fortunes, they would gladly have added this hidden wealth to thoir stores. A secret investigation was made of the shore indicated ; such a digging and grubbing took place as was finally noticed by others. A report went abroad that Captain Kidd had secreted immense treasures somewhere on Staten Island, or along the sandbanks of New Jersey, and that the Duleths, haying been informed of it by a relative of theirs, who was one of the band, were engaged in unearthing it. The populace insisted on their right to share in the search, until, from sheer mortification, the family abandoned the quest. Nob entirely, however; from year to year ib was pursued, as opportunity offered, secretly ; and the probabilities are that the very hole from which John Duleth finally dug the braas-bound chest had been examined many times. The family may have been ' warm' —as the children say in their game of hide-and-seek—reany times in the course of their explorations, and still never have stumbled on the exact spot. Destiny had left ib for a wandering artist to be arrested by the glimmering of its bands, beaten slowly by wind and wave bare of concealing sand—if this, indeed, were the Duleth treasure-trove of which the artiab had gob possession. If Oliver Grey had actually seen the Dulebli document, there would still have remained in his mind two points which would have inclined him to dispute their claim. However, he was in utter ignorance of their possibilities and probabilities. Was it strange, when poor Dulefch—with his business at stagnation point, his wife bed-ridden, his son longing to complete his education by a course of the law, and his daughter playing a sad and menial part in the tragedy of life—found the long-lost lebter in his desk, all the old fanaticism of hope should revive—that he should build an air-castle of expectation, brighb, splendid, peopled with the glad faces of those he loved ? Can the most; sympathetic imagination picture his disappointment when—having discovered the very chest itself, as he supposed, and had reason to suppose— he opened the lid which shut in all his dreams, and found—nothing ? (To be, Continued.)

The 1892 edition of " Brett's Auckland Almanac, Provincial Handbook and Diary " is now in the press, and the attention of advertisers is drawn by the publisher to a valuable new feature which ha 3 been introduced. It is intended to extend the diary* sections of the book to fifty-six pages, and to print these upon a good writing paper. This addition will make the book serve all the purposes of a business diary, containing almanac, diary and commercial textbook in one. The Customs, statistical, official and general information will, as heretofore, be complete and carefully revised. The tide tables have been calculated upon the system employed at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in compiling the British Nautical Almanac, and their accuracy has secuied the general adoption of these tables on the Now Zealand coast. The additione to the Diary will not circumscribe in any respect the other features of the book. The descriptive account of the Provincial District of Auckland is being re-vwitten by competent writers, who are travelling throughout the districts described and noting the advances made in settlement in every direction. This account of the products, trade and resources of the Auckland Provincial District—its climate, scenery, mountains, harbours, rivers, and lakes ; its forests and its plains; its cultivated and its waste lands—especially adapt the book for sending to friends and business clients abroad. Aa the book has now become a work of daily reference in the home of every settler throughout the province, and is in use in all public offices j throughout the colony, and in many leading places abroad, it may with confidence be described as the best permanent medium of advertising offered to business men. The work will be issued at the old price—one shilling.