There was, indeed, a short suspension to this cruel distrust. An old
friend coming to see me one day, and admiring a beautiful crystal which
I had brought from the Moon, insisted on showing it to a jeweller, who
said that it was an unusually hard stone, and that if it were a diamond,
it would be worth upwards of 150,000 dollars. I know not whether the
mistake that ensued proceeded from my friend, who is something of a wag,
or from one of the lads in the jeweller's shop, who, hearing a part of
what his master had said, misapprehended the rest; but so it was, that
the next day I had more visiters than ever, and among them my kinsman,
who was kind enough to stay with me, as if he enjoyed my good fortune,
until both the Exchange and the Banks were closed. On the same day,
the following paragraph appeared in one of the morning prints:
"We understand that our enterprising and intelligent traveller,
JOSEPH ATTERLEY, Esquire, has brought from his Lunar Expedition,
a diamond of extraordinary size and lustre. Several of the most
experienced jewellers of this city have estimated it at from
250,000 to 300,000 dollars; and some have gone so far as to say
it would be cheap at half a million. We have the authority of a
near relative of that gentleman for asserting, that the satisfactory
testimonials which he possesses of the correctness of his narrative,
are sufficient to satisfy the most incredulous, and to silence
malignity itself.
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