The Lock and Key Library: The most interesting stories of all nations: American
General
The Lock and Key Library: The most interesting stories of all nations: American
Detective and mystery stories; Short stories, American
The chest had been full to the brim, and we spent the whole day,
and the greater part of the next night, in a scrutiny of its
contents. There had been nothing like order or arrangement.
Everything had been heaped in promiscuously. Having assorted all
with care, we found ourselves possessed of even vaster wealth than
we had at first supposed. In coin there was rather more than four
hundred and fifty thousand dollars—estimating the value of the
pieces, as accurately as we could, by the tables of the period.
There was not a particle of silver. All was gold of antique date
and of great variety—French, Spanish, and German money, with a few
English guineas, and some counters, of which we had never seen
specimens before. There were several very large and heavy coins,
so worn that we could make nothing of their inscriptions. There
was no American money. The value of the jewels we found more
difficulty in estimating. There were diamonds—some of them
exceedingly large and fine—a hundred and ten in all, and not one
of them small; eighteen rubies of remarkable brilliancy;—three
hundred and ten emeralds, all very beautiful; and twenty-one
sapphires, with an opal. These stones had all been broken from
their settings and thrown loose in the chest. The settings
themselves, which we picked out from among the other gold, appeared
to have been beaten up with hammers, as if to prevent
identification. Besides all this, there was a vast quantity of
solid gold ornaments; nearly two hundred massive finger and ears
rings; rich chains—thirty of these, if I remember; eighty-three
very large and heavy crucifixes; five gold censers of great value;
a prodigious golden punch bowl, ornamented with richly chased vine
leaves and Bacchanalian figures; with two sword handles exquisitely
embossed, and many other smaller articles which I cannot recollect.
The weight of these valuables exceeded three hundred and fifty
pounds avoirdupois; and in this estimate I have not included one
hundred and ninety-seven superb gold watches; three of the number
being worth each five hundred dollars, if one. Many of them were
very old, and as timekeepers valueless; the works having suffered,
more or less, from corrosion—but all were richly jeweled and in
cases of great worth. We estimated the entire contents of the
chest, that night, at a million and a half of dollars; and upon the
subsequent disposal of the trinkets and jewels (a few being
retained for our own use), it was found that we had greatly
undervalued the treasure.
When, at length, we had concluded our examination, and the intense
excitement of the time had, in some measure, subsided, Legrand, who
saw that I was dying with impatience for a solution of this most
extraordinary riddle, entered into a full detail of all the
circumstances connected with it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account