£100,000 WORTH OF JEWELS.

Observer, Volume 3, Issue 68, 31 December 1881, Page 246

£100,000 WORTH OF JEWELS.

It is said that travelling enlarges tlie mind. It may do that, but it may also concentrate all the mind's views upon a particular thing, like a focus. Orpheus U. Prigger, a United States politician out of work and somewhat out of pocket, had been making a tour of Europe io console himself for a defeat he had experienced as Ecpublican candidate at a Senatorial election in Utah. Stopping in Paris for a few days on his way home, he reflected that he had seen a great number of beautiful things in continental cathedrals and churches. He was not thinking of statues or groined arches, but of solid " fixings " hi gold and silver. Diamonds likewise in great profusion, with pearls and rubies. " Now I call that darned silly waste," mused O. U. Prigger, as he sucked up a sherrycobbler on the terrace of the Hotel dv Louvre. "Pictures and all that's very well for a church, but what's the tarnation use of putting a gold crown on to the head of a Madonna, or covering her gown all over with jewels she cannot enjoy ? . It's fooling away valuables, I call it, and no mistake, dang it !" Mr Prigger finished his drink, lit a cigar a foot long, and strolled out for a walk in the streets before going up to bed. But lie could not banish from his mind the richly-equipped saints, the highly-chased shrines, and the marvel-lously-attired Madonnas of which he had been , thinking for days. Presently lie returned to his hotel, and took up Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad" to wile away half an-hour. In this entertaining book of travel he came upon the following passage, summing up the author's impressions of the wonders in Milan Cathedral : — There were virgins and bishops there above their natural size made of solid silver, each worth by weight from 800,000 to 2,000,000 francs, and bearing gemmed books in their bauds worth 80,000 francs. . . . It was an Aladdin's palace. . . . The treasures here, by simple weight, not counting workmanship, were valued at 50,000,000 francs. If I could get the custody of them for a while, I fear me the market xjrice of silver bishops would advance shortly, on account of their exceeding scarcity iv the Cathedral of Milan. " Now I call that a darned smart chap, who knows what he's saying," muttered O.U. Prigger, excitedly, and quite delighted to find a passage so much in harmony with his own train of thought. " He's quite right to say • he'd bone those bishops in silver, though I'd prefer myself to take sometliing more portable. Why, I'd guess it's the biggest sin going, and darned idolatrous to keep such a heap of precious things on graven images, while so many poor devils are wanting a dollar. A chap would only be doing his duty if he took some of those diamonds and put them in circulation." When a man has made up his mind that it is his duty to steal, he generally sets about the pleasing task pretty expeditiously. O. U. Prigger's stock of money was running r ither short, and as there was no chance of his being enabled to plunder the taxpayer as a placeman for a few years to come, lie was wondering v\ hat he should do for a living when he returned to the country which had had the honour of giving him birth. Trade with O. U. Prigger was an elastic expression, signifying the purchase of a stock very cheap and the reselling it at a very high figure. He had not many scruples, either, as to whether he paid for his stock at all, so long as he sold it. Was he not the citizen of a Republic, where to bo esteemed a smart man is to reach the acme of honour ? The only thing was to avoid the penitentiary, and, of course, Mr Prigger did not mean to let himself be thrust into that asylum for unsuccessful knaves. By way of commencing the scheme which he intended to carry out, he went to the American Legation and obtained a passport under the shnm name of Thomas White. His next step was to take train for Italy. For obvious reasons, our friend did not purpose to carry off one of the heavy bishops of Milan Cathedral; but lie had laid in his mind's eye a certain Madonna which he had seen in the church of the little village of Orioli, near Florence, and whose trinkets, valued at £100,000, would decidedly be worth having. A belief having arisen among the ladies of Tuscany that a pilgrimage to Orioli was the best means of securing success in one's love affairs, personsofthehiglie.it rank were constantly flocking to the church in the little village, and propitiatory offerings of considerable value were laid at the Madonna's feet. Her fingei'3 were literally gloved with rings, which had erst glistened on the hands of Princesses and Marchionesses. Her diadem was of pure gold encrusted with diamonds of the first water ; in her hands she held an orb and sceptre likewise of gold, and her dress was one blazing mass of jewels, to which new gems were added every day. Now Mr Prigger had often had occasion to notice how ill-guarded were the treasures of European Cathedrals. Most of them seemed to be in the care of old vergers, but at Orioli there was no verger, only a decrepit old beadle, who used to slumber near the door, whining for gratuities whenever he saw a strange face. And by night the church was not guarded tall. Mr Prigger, on his way to Italy, stopped for a day at Lyons, and there purchased a white muslin dress such as a little girl of twelve might wear for her first communion, and a crown of artificial lilies. "Exchange is no robbery," muttered the Yankee, as he packed \ip these goods, " and I guess this is much the best costume for a wooden statue in a hot climate. Three days later he had reached Orioli, alighted at the inn nuclei* the name of White, and on the morning after his arrival put in an appearance at early mass, where his outlandish attire and curious devotional posturing at once attracted the notice of the parish priest, Padre Coccoli. This excellent man had nothing in common •with some of those shockingly poor priests one meets with in some parts of Italy. His face was plump ; his cassock and shovel hat were glossy ; he had a lovely presbytery, standing on the eunny slope of a hill covered with vines ; and a very pretty woman, whom he called his niece, ruled his household in the pleasantest fashion possible. It was said that Father Coccoli had been offered a bishopric, but had refused it, and no wonder, for he could not have lived in any episcopal palace so joyous a life as he sped at Oaloli. Fond of good cheer and of good stories, particular about his coffee being always of the best, and his cigars of the choicest brand, Father Coccoli was waddling

towards a better world at an easy jog pace, and with a happy smile on his lips. His salary tvas £20 a year ; but then he was a holy of the noble family dei Coccoli, whose chief was a marquis, so that he was reputed to have a snug fortune of his own ; besides, he made a good thing out of the pecuniary offerings of the pilgrims who came to his church. Mr Prigger ascertained some of these facts by conversation with the landlord of the " Albergo della Eosa d'Oro," who spoke a smattering of French and some words of English, and -who called his guest "Signor Bianco," the name White being utterly unpronounceable to his Tuscan mouth. Thomas White had given himself out as a fervent American Catholic who had come all the way from New York on purpose to perform the pilgrimage to OOriolei — c declaration which flattered the landlord and all of his fellowA'illagers to whom he repeated it. In the course of the afternoon it came to the ears of Father Coccoli, who, with laudable courtesy, at once made his way, to the inn to pay his respects to the stranger. Unfortunately the pseudo-Thomas White could not speak twenty words of Italian, and Father Coecoli not ten of English. The Yankee offered a cigar to the priest, who accepted it and the landlord stood beside them to act as interpreter. " Guess this is a fine church of yours, minister," began the Yankee. "The most noble stranger says that zeal for our Holy religion has inflamed him !" translated the innkeeper. " Bcneclicato — let him be blessed," said the priest kindly. | "I calculate it has taken a good many years to enrich that Madonna." of yours with all that gold and silver," proceeded O. U. Prigger. '■ The American signor desires to give of his gold and silver to our Madonna," repeated the publican, who had understood three words this time. " Benedicato — he shall receive a hundred-fold." answered the- priest, with a civil bow, whilst a gleam of pious satisfaction passed through his eyes. " De Signor Padre he zays he vill be ver' glad to have your sterlings, bank-notes, et cfctcra" was the innkeepers'^ interpretation. " Bank notes !" echoed the Yankees ; " I guess they're mighty smart at begging in this country !" but he saw that lie must act up to the character he had assumed, and so, with a twinge in his pocket, he drew out two notes of a hundred francs each. " I reckon, Minister, you'll never die of hunger from being shy to make your wants j known," muttered lie ironically to the Padre, who smiled and nodded. Father Coccoli had, perhaps, expeetod more than ten napoleons from a Signor who had come all the way from America, but he was satisfied with the gift, and purred his thanks with a number of complimentary superlatives, which the innkeeper translated as best he could. The conversation languished a little after that, and the Padre presently took his leave with much gracious ceremony and a benediction. The American happened to catch his eye as lie went out, and was struck by the great 'eutencss of its expression. " I reckon that's a smart coon," he soliloquised, " and bad to beat on his own ground, I'll bet." The shades of night were now falling; a soft autumnal haze enveloped the Italian landscape; and the cheery singing of peasants was heard along the roads, as boys and men returned from their labours in the fields. The " Signor Bianco" betook himself to the dining-room and disposed of a good dinner of vermicelli soup, roast capon, macenroni, and pastry, washed down by a bottle of the best wine of the country. After this he lvtired to his room to take coffee, smoke, and peruse a bundle of papers he had brought from America, until he heard the whole house hushed. This was towards ten o'clock. These Italian villagers kept early hours, and by ten o'clock there was not a sound to be heard in the inn or in the hamlet. The O. U. Prigger softly opened his door, and with his boots in one hand and a carpetbag containing the white muslin dress and crown of lillies in the other, stole noiselessly downstairs. He had resolved to commit his burglary that very night, and afterwards make tracks for ten miles oil J foot to catch a train which passed at a station called Berquetti at one o'clock on the way to Turin. There was no station at Orioli and no telegraph office. By the time the beadle arrived at the church, probably at S o'clock, when the Padre said his mass, O. L T . Prigger would be hundreds of miles away. He had left most of his luggage in Paris, and abandoned but few things in his hotel-room. All his valuables were in his pockets, including a revolver, which could shoot straigth, as it's owner had assured himself in more than one election riot, in the civilised country of which he was an ornament. O. U. Prigger drew the bolt of the inn door quietly, and issued into the village street, keeping well under the shadow of the houses as he slunk along. There was a full moon shining, which made the street clear as in broad day ; but not a soul was about, and not even a dog barked. The Yankee was not long in reaching the church, and it was then that he put on his boots. He tried the western church door, and of course found it locked ; then two other side doors, closed also. But during the day, whilst he had reconnoitered the "location," as he called it, he had noticed a railing and buttress by which a man could easily climb to a window of the vestry. The Yankee accordingly performed this ascent, and a vigorous push on the window frame proved enough to break the rusty latch inside, and send the window flying open. In another minute O. U. Prigger had got comfortably into the church. Everything seemed to favour him. The bright moon pouring its silver rays through the Avindow gave him plenty of light to work by, whilst it illumined with a glorious coruscation the bejewelled Madonna, in front of whom a little night light in a lamp of red glass was burning. The Yankee, sedulous to do no more mischief than was necessary, displaced this lamp, but did not distinguish it. He then removed his coat in a business-like fashion, took a pair of scissors and some tweezers from his carpet-bag, and next piled up a number of chairs so that he might mount to the level of the stone bracket on which the statue stood. Unfortunately, the pyramid was ill-inacle ; the chairs parted as soon as the thief

had reached the top, and was about to step on to the altar 5 and O. U. Prigger rolled head foremost on to the marble pavement. A monosyllable -which, rhymed audibly with. " lamb" exploded in the silence of the church, but the Yankee was not badly hurt. When he had rubbed himself, he reconstructed his pyramid on more scientific principles, and this time reached the altar safely. He was nuich assisted in his next operations by finding that the statue of the Madonna was clamped to the wall, so that he was enabled to obtain a purchase, and, by clinging to it, ascend to the bracket itself. When lie had done this he laid his irreverent hands on the statue's crown and lifted it. Oh, how heavy it was ! Next he removed the sceptre and orb from the Madonna's hands, and their weight too made his heart bound ecstatically. Having dropped the royal emblems on the altar, he went diligently to work on the rings, which he stuffed into his pockets as fast as lie could pull them off. There were about eighty in all. After this twenty-five bracelets, twelve necklaces, six brooches, and a pair of long diamond earrings were successfully lifted giving the thief only the more appetite for the magnificently gemmed robes which were finally cut off with the scissors. The statue having now been stripped of its ornaments to the last one, looked like a wooden doll with a white enamel face. O. U. Prigger turned his back upon it, and lost no time in packing all his foully-got plunder into his carpet bag. His first intention had been to dress up the despoiled Madonna in the white muslin robe and the crown of lilies lie had bought for her at Lyons, so that the good folks at Orioli might perhaps be thrown off the scent for an hour or two by thinking that a miracle had happened. But the fitting of the new costume would have required too much time ; besides which, O. U. Prigger felt sore and angry at the tumble he had gotten on his first ascent. He had the grace, however, to restore the lantern to its place, and to lay out the white dress and wreath neatly on the altar. Moreover, lie put back the chairs into their appointed places, so Unit no signs of untidiness lingered when his fell work was ended. At last the Yankee stooped to lift up his carpet bag, and truly he found it no small weight. With all his might and much wriggling he contrived to sling it on his shoulder, but it became evident that lie could never Avalk ten miles with such a load. "Tarnation! I shall have to steal a horse and cart," grumbled the Yankee, divided between delight at the extent of his loot, and dismay at the importable character of it, " I don't like such work either. I call it darned mean to steal a man's hoss." For all this O. IT. Prigger did steal a horse, or at least a nude, and a cart. His luck befriending him to the end, he found a labourer's cart, with harness, under a shod adjoining a corn field, and a mulo tethered hard by. Sot a grand looking animal, certainly ; he might have been worth five pounds at the hands of a liberal buyer, but lie was a tractable boast, and this answered our Yankee's purpose better. One lias only to add that having got so far, O. IT. Prigger was* enabled to carry out his programme point for point. He reached Berquctti in plenty of time to catch the Turin train ; and a few hours after was- safe across the French frontier. Then he made his way to Paris, having in the meanwhile destroyed his passport as Thomas White and discarded" all papers that might identify him with that personage. As for his " loot," he did not mean to dispose of any part of it till he had reached the United States, when he would sell the stones removed from their settings, and put all the gold and silver into the smelling-pot. lie was somewhat exorcised in contriving how he might pass all his booty through the New York Customhouse without paying onerous duty on it ; but he trusted to his good genius to advise him touching that matter during his passage out. But, meanwhile — (hat is, while the O. 17. Prigger made his way witli impunity from one country to the other, till lie reached Liverpool and took his berth on board a Cunard — meanwhile, what is happening at Oriolo ? What was happening to Father Coceoli ? Well, of course, on discovering that their Madonna's wardrobe was gone, the Oriolians raised a great Avail ; and shot such maledictions after the " Signor Bianco " as must have pulverised that individual had there been any material dynamics in them. Father Coceoli also cried and sci-oamed in a manner that was most touching to sec while it lasted. But it did not last long. That was the fortunate part of it. The worthy priest soon drew an immense draught of consolation from the sight of the white dress and wreath which he espied on the altar ; for, was it not evident that these garments must have been sent down from heaven ? " Ecco, un miraculo," he shouted, in a fervent transport, somewhat sudden. " Behold, a miracle ! It is certainly not that rascal of an American — whom may St. Peter remember to hand over to the devil when his time comes — it is certainly not that impenitent thief who has had the delicacy to place this spotless robe here. It is a miracle, my friends ; let us fall on our knees." They all went on their knees, but presently a man in the assemblage who had been peering at the gown too closely, had the impiety to remark that it looked like the dress of human agency — machine-made, too. He was not a popular person though, and Ins remarks met witli no success. They led to his being silenced and bullied. The people all nocked out, repeating, "A miracle! a miracle!" the church bells were set ringing ; and from that day the village of Orioli became more honoured than ever as a place of resort for pilgrims. In the course of a single week 20,000 persons flocked thither to pay their adorations to the white muslin dress and the crown of lillies ; and of course abundant offerings were made to repair the losses which the Madonna had suffered in the way of jewels. Under the circumstances it was only natural that the good Father Coccoli should have so quickly recovered his good spirits. But why did this worthy man occasionally chuckle so hilariously when alone ? Why did he sometimes when at a table burst into a sudden fit of laughter, to the wonder of his pretty housekeeper, who would scold him for spluttering his maccaroni over his cassock ? Well, the truth is that the thief, O. U. Prigger, had by; his outrage on the Madonna, unwittingly annihilated a very awkward skeleton,

that had been long existent in the family cupboard of the Coccoli.

The jewels tliat ho had stolen were all false. The heavy crown, the orb, the sceptre, were of lend coated over with gilt brass ; for the noble and pious family Dei Coccoli had, after founding the church at Orioli (about fifty years ago), converted its popularity as a place of pilgrimage to the increasing of their revenues. Once every three months or so the jewels offered to the Madonna were sent to Paris, where fac-similes of them were made in base metal and sham stones, after which the originals were sold. Father Coccoli, however, having become rich by this game, had got to feel somewhat nervous * about continuing to play it in these awkward new times, when Governments, police, and press thrust their noses everywhere. Signor Bianeo's robbery consequently gave him an opportunity of telling his cousin the Marohesa di Coccoli that he wished to retire now into the peace of episcopal life. He soon afterwards became Bishop of Yilastiletti, in Sicily, and is much revered by his flock there, mostly composed of reformed brigands — that is, brigands reformed by the gendarmerie. As for Orpheus 17. Prigger, lie was last heard of as holding some public ofllce in his country. But he is "death " on priests and jewellers — "A mean, shabby lot, sir ; equal to playing you any trick, I guess ! And plaguy dishonest. Darn the lot ! I know 'em right through, for I've been robbed by 'em."

That is how lie describes the objects of his aversion.