THE JEWELS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 187, 9 August 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE JEWELS.

There has been a decrease from £104,422 in 1927 to £54,000 in 1929 in the value of precious stones imported into New Zealand.

Yes, times are very hard indeed, And few of us have all we need, We hear the wails on every side, The groans are almost nation-wide; This year I'm going without things, I'm buying fewer diamond rings.

My wife's tiara (boom-de-ay!) Will have to wait till I can pay, That emerald tie-pin (very chaste) Is not; —and journalistic " paste " Becomes a substitute, by gad! The times are really rotten bad.

My ruby-studded watch, I fear Must be put off another year, My sapphire studs, my topaz links Must be postponed awhile methinks; My garnet and cornelian seals Must be adjourned, one almost feels.

Farewell to turquoise, cat's-eye, jade, I can't afford them, I'm afraid, And opals (very dear to me) Must wait witli lapis lazuli; Down comes the economic axe, And I must pay the State poll-tax.

It's hard to think, ah nevermore That I shall buy gems by the score, Smother my love with brilliants rare, Fair facets glancing in her hair; _ No more each birthday will the girls Receive from me long ropes of pearls.

But, gladsome thoughts will still persist, Hope springs eternally I wist, I have the jewels none ever bought, And here be they, these gems of thought; These pearls I scatter by the way, They're yours for picking up—no pay!