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<v Speaker 1>The Diamond Maker. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox

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<v Speaker 1>recordings are in the public domain. For more information or

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<v Speaker 1>to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Jerome Lawson,

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<v Speaker 1>April two thousand eight. The Diamond Maker by H. G. Wells.

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<v Speaker 1>Some business had detained me in Chancery Lane nine in

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<v Speaker 1>the evening, and thereafter, having some inkling of a headache,

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<v Speaker 1>I was disinclined either for entertainment or further work. So

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<v Speaker 1>much of the sky, as the high cliffs of that

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<v Speaker 1>narrow cannon of traffic left visible, spoke of a serene night,

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<v Speaker 1>and I determined to make my way down to the

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<v Speaker 1>embankment and rest my eyes and cool my head by

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<v Speaker 1>watching the variegated lights upon the river. Beyond comparison, the

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<v Speaker 1>night is the best time for this place. A merciful

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<v Speaker 1>darkness hides the dirt of the waters, and the lights

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<v Speaker 1>of this transitional age, red, glaring, orange, gas, yellow, and

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<v Speaker 1>electric white are set in shadowy outlines of every possible

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<v Speaker 1>shade between gray and deep purple. Through the arches of

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<v Speaker 1>Waterloo Bridge. A hundred points of light marked the sweep

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<v Speaker 1>of the embankment and above its parapets rised the towers

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<v Speaker 1>of Westminster, warm gray against the starlight. The Black River

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<v Speaker 1>goes by with only a rare ripple, breaking its silence

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<v Speaker 1>and disturbing the reflections of the lights that swim upon

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<v Speaker 1>its surface. A one night, said a voice at my side.

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<v Speaker 1>I turned my head and saw the profile of a

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<v Speaker 1>man who was leaning over the parapet beside me. It

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<v Speaker 1>was a refined face, not unhandsome, though pinched and pale enough,

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<v Speaker 1>and the coat collar turned up and pinned round the

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<v Speaker 1>throat marked his status in life as sharply as a uniform.

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<v Speaker 1>I felt I was committed to the price of a

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<v Speaker 1>bed and breakfast if I answered him. I looked at

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<v Speaker 1>him curiously. Would he have anything to tell me worth

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<v Speaker 1>the money? Or was he the common incapable, incapable even

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<v Speaker 1>of telling his own story. There was a quality of

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<v Speaker 1>intelligence in his forehead and eyes, and a certain tremulousness

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<v Speaker 1>in his nether lip that decided me very warm, said I,

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<v Speaker 1>But not too warm for us here, No, he said,

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<v Speaker 1>still looking across the water. It is pleasant enough here,

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<v Speaker 1>just now. It is good, he continued, after a pause,

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<v Speaker 1>to find anything so RESTful as this in London. After

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<v Speaker 1>one has been fretting about business all day, about getting on,

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<v Speaker 1>meeting obligations and parrying dangers. I do not know what

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<v Speaker 1>one would do if it were not for such pacific corners.

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<v Speaker 1>He spoke, with long pauses between the sentences. You must

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<v Speaker 1>know a little of the irksome labor of the world. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>you would not be here. But I doubt if you

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<v Speaker 1>can be so brain weary and footsore as I am. Bah.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes I doubt if the game is worth the candle.

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<v Speaker 1>I feel inclined to throw the whole thing over, name,

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<v Speaker 1>wealth and position, and take to some more modest trade.

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<v Speaker 1>But I know if I abandon my ambition had as

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<v Speaker 1>she uses me, I should have nothing but remose left

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<v Speaker 1>for the rest of my days. He became silent. I

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<v Speaker 1>looked at him in astonishment. If ever I saw a

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<v Speaker 1>man hopelessly hard up, it was the man in front

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<v Speaker 1>of me. He was ragged, and he was dirty, unshaven,

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<v Speaker 1>and unkempt. He looked as though he had been left

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<v Speaker 1>in a dustmin for a week. And he was talking

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<v Speaker 1>to me of the irksome worries of a large business.

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<v Speaker 1>I almost laughed outright. Either he was mad or playing

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<v Speaker 1>a sorry jest on his own poverty. If high aims

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<v Speaker 1>in high positions, said, I have their drawbacks of hard

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<v Speaker 1>work and anxiety. They have their compensations influence, the power

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<v Speaker 1>of doing good, of assisting those weaker and poorer than ourselves.

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<v Speaker 1>And there is even a certain gratification in display. My

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<v Speaker 1>banter under the circumstances, was in very vile taste. I

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<v Speaker 1>spoke on the spur of the contrast of his appearance

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<v Speaker 1>and speech. I was sorry even while I was speaking.

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<v Speaker 1>He turned to haggard, but very composed faith upon me,

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<v Speaker 1>said he I forgot myself. Of course you would not understand,

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<v Speaker 1>he measured me for a moment. No doubt, it is

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<v Speaker 1>very absurd. You will not believe me even when I

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<v Speaker 1>tell you. So that it is fairly safe to tell you,

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<v Speaker 1>and it will be a comfort to tell some one.

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<v Speaker 1>I really have a big business in hand, a very

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<v Speaker 1>big business. But there are troubles just now. The fact

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<v Speaker 1>is I make diamonds. I suppose, said I. You are

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<v Speaker 1>out of work. Just a present. I'm sick of being disbelieved,

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<v Speaker 1>he said impatiently, and suddenly, unbuttoning his wretched coat, he

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<v Speaker 1>pulled out a little canvas bag that was hanging by

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<v Speaker 1>a cord round his neck. From this he produced a

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<v Speaker 1>brown pebble. I wonder if you know enough to know

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<v Speaker 1>what that is? He handed it to me. Now, a

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<v Speaker 1>year or so ago, I had occupied my leisure in

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<v Speaker 1>taking a London science degree, so that I have a

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<v Speaker 1>smattering physics and mineralogy. The thing was not unlike an

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<v Speaker 1>uncut diamond of the darker sort, though far too large,

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<v Speaker 1>being almost as big as the top of my thumb.

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<v Speaker 1>I took it and saw it had the form of

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<v Speaker 1>a regular octahedron, with the curved faces peculiar to the

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<v Speaker 1>most precious of minerals. I took out my penknife and

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<v Speaker 1>tried to scratch it, vainly, leaning forward towards the gas lamp.

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<v Speaker 1>I tried the thing on my watch glass and scored

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<v Speaker 1>a white line across that with the greatest ease. I

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<v Speaker 1>looked at my interlocutor with rising curiosity. It certainly is

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<v Speaker 1>rather like a diamond. But if so, it's a behemoth

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<v Speaker 1>of diamonds. Where did you get it? I tell you

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<v Speaker 1>I made it, he said, give it back to me.

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<v Speaker 1>He replaced it hastily and buttoned his jacket. I will

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<v Speaker 1>sell it to you for a hundred pounds, he suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>whispered eagerly. With that, my suspicions returned. The thing might,

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<v Speaker 1>after all, be merely a lump of that almost equally

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<v Speaker 1>hard substance corundum, with an accidental resemblance in shape to

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<v Speaker 1>the diamond. Or if it was diamond, how came he

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<v Speaker 1>by it? And why should he offer it at a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred pounds? We looked into one another's eyes. He seemed eager,

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<v Speaker 1>but honestly eager. At that moment, I believed it was

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<v Speaker 1>a diamond he was trying to sell. Yet I am

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<v Speaker 1>a poor man. A hundred pounds would leave a visible

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<v Speaker 1>gap in my fortunes, and no sane man would buy

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<v Speaker 1>a diamond by gas light from a ragged tramp on

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<v Speaker 1>his personal warranty. Only Still, a diamond that size conjured

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<v Speaker 1>up a vision of many thousands of pounds, then, thought I.

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<v Speaker 1>Such a stone could scarcely exist without being mentioned in

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<v Speaker 1>every book on gems. And again I called to mind

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<v Speaker 1>the stories of contraband and light fingered kaffirs. At the cape.

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<v Speaker 1>I put the question of purchase on one side. How

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<v Speaker 1>did you get it? Said I? I made it. I

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<v Speaker 1>had heard something of my son, But I knew his

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<v Speaker 1>artificial diamonds were very small. I shook my head. You

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<v Speaker 1>seem to know something of this kind of thing. I

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<v Speaker 1>will tell you a little about myself. Perhaps then you

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<v Speaker 1>may think better of the purchase. He turned round with

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<v Speaker 1>his back to the river, and put his hands in

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<v Speaker 1>his pockets. He sighed, I know you will not believe me. Diamonds,

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<v Speaker 1>he began, and as he spoke his voice lost its

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<v Speaker 1>faint flavor of the tramp and assumed something of the

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<v Speaker 1>easy tone of an educated man. Are to be made

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<v Speaker 1>by throwing carbon out of combination in a suitable flux

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<v Speaker 1>and under a suitable pressure. The carbon crystallizes out, not

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<v Speaker 1>as black lead or charcoal powder, but as small diamonds.

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<v Speaker 1>So much has been known to chemists for years, but

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<v Speaker 1>no one yet it hit upon exactly the right flux

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<v Speaker 1>in which to melt up the carbon, or exactly the

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<v Speaker 1>right pressure for the best results. Consequently, the diamonds made

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<v Speaker 1>by chemists are small and dark, and worthless as jewels. Now, I,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, have given up my life to this problem,

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<v Speaker 1>given my life to it. I began to work on

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<v Speaker 1>the conditions of diamond making when I was seventeen, and

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<v Speaker 1>now I am thirty two. It seemed to me that

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<v Speaker 1>it might take all the thoughts and energies of a

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<v Speaker 1>man for ten years or twenty years. But even if

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<v Speaker 1>it did, the game was still worth the candle. Suppose

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<v Speaker 1>one to have at last just hit the right trick

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<v Speaker 1>before the secret got out, and diamonds became as common

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<v Speaker 1>as co one might realize millions, millions. He paused and

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<v Speaker 1>looked for my sympathy. His eyes shone hungrily to think,

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<v Speaker 1>said he, that I am on the verge of it all,

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<v Speaker 1>And here I had He proceeded about a thousand pounds

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<v Speaker 1>when I was twenty one, And this, I thought, eked

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<v Speaker 1>out by a little teaching, will keep my researches going.

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<v Speaker 1>A year or two was spent in study at Berlin, chiefly,

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<v Speaker 1>and then I continued on my own account. The trouble

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<v Speaker 1>was the secrecy. You see, if once I had let

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<v Speaker 1>out what I was doing, other men might have been

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<v Speaker 1>spurred on by my belief in the practicability of the idea.

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<v Speaker 1>And I do not pretend to be such a genius

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<v Speaker 1>as to have been sure of coming in first in

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<v Speaker 1>the case of a race for the discovery. And you see,

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<v Speaker 1>it was important that if I really meant to make

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<v Speaker 1>a pile. People should not know. It was an artificial

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<v Speaker 1>process and capable of turning out diamonds by the ton.

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<v Speaker 1>So I had to work all alone. At first I

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<v Speaker 1>had a little laboratory, but as my resources began to

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<v Speaker 1>run out, I had to conduct my experiments in a wretched,

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<v Speaker 1>unfurnished Roman candish town, where I slept at last on

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<v Speaker 1>a straw mattress on the floor. Among all my apparatus.

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<v Speaker 1>The money simply flowed away. I grudged myself everything except

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<v Speaker 1>scientific appliances. I tried to keep things going by a

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<v Speaker 1>little teaching, but I am not a very good teacher,

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<v Speaker 1>and I have no university degree, nor very much education

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<v Speaker 1>except in chemistry. And I found I had to give

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of time and labor for precious little money.

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<v Speaker 1>But I got nearer and nearer the thing. Three years

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<v Speaker 1>ago I settled the problem of the composition of the

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<v Speaker 1>flux and got near the pressure by putting this flux

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<v Speaker 1>of mine, and I said, carbon composition into a closed

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<v Speaker 1>up gun barrel, filling up with water, sealing tightly and heating.

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<v Speaker 1>He paused, rather risky, said I yes, it burst and

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<v Speaker 1>smashed all my windows and a lot of my apparatus,

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<v Speaker 1>but I got a kind of diamond powder none the less.

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<v Speaker 1>Following out the problem of getting a big pressure upon

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<v Speaker 1>the molten mixture from which the things were to crystallize,

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<v Speaker 1>I hit upon some researches of dowbris at the Paris

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<v Speaker 1>laboratory de Powdre a Salpeitrae. He exploded dynamite in a

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<v Speaker 1>tightly screwed steel cylinder too strong to burst, and I

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<v Speaker 1>found he could crush rocks into a muck, not unlike

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<v Speaker 1>the South African bed in which diamonds are found. It

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<v Speaker 1>was a tremendous strain on my resources, but I got

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<v Speaker 1>a steel cylinder made for my purpose after his pattern.

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<v Speaker 1>I put all my stuff in my explosives, built up

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<v Speaker 1>a fire in my furnace, but the whole concern in

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<v Speaker 1>and went out for a walk. I could not help

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<v Speaker 1>laughing in his manner of fact manner, did you not

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<v Speaker 1>think it would blow up the house? Were there other

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<v Speaker 1>people in the place? It was in the interest of science,

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<v Speaker 1>he said. Ultimately, there was a cost among a family

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<v Speaker 1>on the floor below, a begging letter writer in the

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<v Speaker 1>room behind mine, and two flower women were upstairs. Perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>it was a bit thoughtless, but possibly some of them

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<v Speaker 1>were out. When I came back, the thing was just

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<v Speaker 1>where I left it, among the white hot coals. The

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<v Speaker 1>explosive hadn't burst the case, and then I had a

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<v Speaker 1>problem to face. You. No, time is an important element

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<v Speaker 1>in crystallization. If you hurry the process, the crystals are small.

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<v Speaker 1>It is only by prolonged standing that they grow to

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<v Speaker 1>any size. I resolved to let this apparatus call for

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<v Speaker 1>two years, letting the temperature go down slowly during the time,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was now quite out of money, and with

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<v Speaker 1>a big fire in the rent of my room, as

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<v Speaker 1>well as my hunger to satisfy, I had scarcely a

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<v Speaker 1>penny in the world. I can hardly tell you all

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<v Speaker 1>the shifts I was put to while I was making

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<v Speaker 1>the diamonds. I've sold newspapers, held horses, opened cab doors

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<v Speaker 1>for many weeks. I had dressed envelopes. I had a

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<v Speaker 1>place as assistant to a man who owned a barrow

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<v Speaker 1>and used to call down one side of the road

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<v Speaker 1>while he called down the other. Once for a week,

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<v Speaker 1>I had absolutely nothing to do, so I begged what

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<v Speaker 1>a week that was. One day, the fire was going

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<v Speaker 1>out and I had eaten nothing all day, and a

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<v Speaker 1>little chap taking his girl out, gave me sixpence to

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<v Speaker 1>show off. Thank Heaven for vanity. How the fish shops smelt.

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<v Speaker 1>But I went and spent it all on coals and

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<v Speaker 1>had the furnace bright red again. And then, well, hunger

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<v Speaker 1>makes a fool of a man. At last three weeks ago,

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<v Speaker 1>I let the fire out. I took my cylinder and

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<v Speaker 1>unscrewed it while it was still so hot that it

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<v Speaker 1>punished my hands. And I scraped out the crumbling lava

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<v Speaker 1>like mass with a chisel and hammered it into a

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<v Speaker 1>powder upon an iron plate. And I found three big

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<v Speaker 1>diamonds and five small ones. As I sat on the

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<v Speaker 1>floor hammering, my door opened and my neighbor, the begging

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<v Speaker 1>letter writer, came in. He was drunk, as he usually is.

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<v Speaker 1>Nurkist said he you're drunk, said I, structive scoundrel said

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<v Speaker 1>he go to your father, said I, meaning the father

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<v Speaker 1>of lies. Never you mind, said he, and gave me

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<v Speaker 1>a cunning wink, and hiccoughed, and, leaning up against the

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<v Speaker 1>door with his other eye against the door post, began

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<v Speaker 1>to babble of how he had been prying in my

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<v Speaker 1>room and how he had gone to the police that morning,

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<v Speaker 1>and how they had taken on everything he had to say.

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<v Speaker 1>Say if I was a gentleman, said he. Then I

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly realized I was in a hole. Either I should

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<v Speaker 1>have to tell these police my little secret and get

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<v Speaker 1>the whole thing blown upon, or be lagged as an anarchist.

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<v Speaker 1>So I went up to my neighbor and took him

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<v Speaker 1>by the collar and rolled him about a bit, and

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<v Speaker 1>then I gathered up my diamonds and cleared out. The

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<v Speaker 1>evening newspapers called my den the kentish Ton bomb factory.

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<v Speaker 1>And now I cannot part with the things for love

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<v Speaker 1>or money if I go into respectable jewelers. They asked

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<v Speaker 1>me to wait and go and whisper to a clerk

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<v Speaker 1>to fetch a policeman. And then I say I cannot wait.

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<v Speaker 1>And I found out a receiver of stolen goods, and

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<v Speaker 1>he simply stuck to the one I gave him and

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<v Speaker 1>told me to prosecute if I wanted it back. I

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<v Speaker 1>am going about now with several hundred thousand pounds worth

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<v Speaker 1>of diamonds round my neck, and without either food or shelter.

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<v Speaker 1>You were the first person I have taken into my confidence.

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<v Speaker 1>But I like your face, and I am hard driven.

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<v Speaker 1>He looked into my eyes. It would be madness, said

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<v Speaker 1>I for me to buy a diamond under the circumstances. Besides,

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<v Speaker 1>I do not carry hundreds of pounds about of my pocket.

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<v Speaker 1>Yet I more than half believe your story. I will,

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<v Speaker 1>if you like, do this come to my office to morrow.

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<v Speaker 1>You think I am a thief, said he, keenly, you

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<v Speaker 1>will tell the police. I'm not coming into a trap. Somehow,

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<v Speaker 1>I am assured you are no thief. Here is my card.

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<v Speaker 1>Take that. Anyhow, you need not come to any appointment.

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<v Speaker 1>Come when you will. He took the card, and, in

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<v Speaker 1>earnest of my good will, think better of it, and come,

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<v Speaker 1>said I. He shook his head doubtfully. I will pay

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<v Speaker 1>back your half crown with interest some day, such interest

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<v Speaker 1>as will amaze you, said he. Anyhow, you will keep

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<v Speaker 1>the secret. Don't follow me. He crossed the road and

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<v Speaker 1>went into the darkness, toward the little steps under the

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<v Speaker 1>archway leading into Essex Street. Then I let him go,

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<v Speaker 1>and that was the last I ever saw of him. Afterwards,

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<v Speaker 1>I had two letters from him asking me to send

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<v Speaker 1>bank notes, not checks to certain addresses. I weighed the

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<v Speaker 1>matter over and took what I conceived to be the

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<v Speaker 1>wisest course. Once he called upon me when I was out,

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<v Speaker 1>My urchin described him as a very thin, dirty and

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<v Speaker 1>ragged man with a dreadful cough. He left no message.

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<v Speaker 1>That was the finish of him. So far as my

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<v Speaker 1>story goes, I wonder sometimes what has become of him.

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<v Speaker 1>Was he an ingenious monomaniac or a fraudulent dealer in pebbles?

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<v Speaker 1>Or has he really made diamonds as he asserted? The

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<v Speaker 1>latter is just sufficiently incredible to make me think at

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<v Speaker 1>times that I have missed the most brilliant opportunity of

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<v Speaker 1>my life. He may, of course be dead, and as

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<v Speaker 1>diamonds carelessly thrown aside, one I repeat, was almost as

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<v Speaker 1>big as my thumb. Or he may be still wandering

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<v Speaker 1>about trying to sell the things. It is just possible

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<v Speaker 1>he may yet emerge upon society and, passing athwart my heavens,

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<v Speaker 1>in the serene altitude sacred to the wealthy, and the

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<v Speaker 1>well advertised reproached me silently for my want of enterprise.

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<v Speaker 1>I sometimes think I might have at least risked five

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<v Speaker 1>pounds end of the diamond maker by H. G. Wells

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<v Speaker 1>recording by Jerome Last April two thousand eight,