Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1893 — PRECIOUS, BUT FATAL. [ARTICLE]

PRECIOUS, BUT FATAL.

A Spanish King, Studded with Gems,Which No Thief Would Steal. A costly ring, unguarded by police or other special protection, hangs suspended to a silken cord around the neck of a statue of the Maid of Almadena, patron saint of Madrid, in one of the much frequented parks of the Spanish capital, it Is set with valuable diamonds and pearls, but this notwithstanding, there is not the least danger of its being stolen; the greatest thief in Spain would sooner steal the pfate from his own mother’s coffin than to even so much as touch the uncanny relic. Its history is curious and Interesting, being equal to anything related in mediaeval folklore. It was made in accordance with a special order from the late Alfonso XII., who gave it to his cousin, the beautiful Mercedes, on the day of their betrothal. She Wore it constantly during her short married life. Upon her death the King presented it to his grandmother, Queen Christina. She died soon after accepting It, and the King then passed the deadly little jeweled band of gold to his sister, Infanta de Pilar, who died within a month after. Again the accursed circlet started on Its deadly rounds, next finding a place upon the finger of Christina, daughter of the Duke de Montpensler; in less than 100 days she, too, was dead. Alfonso then put the cursed jewel in his own casket of precious relies, and lived less than a year after so doing. Is It any wonder that such a harbinger of death can safely hang on a statue in an unguarded square? A Flea*® Lancet. A flea is provided with a genuine lancet, the knife Inclosed in a case in the head*of the insect, the case opening sideways, like that of a razor.