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The old doctor, when I saw him again, begged me to give up all thought of the matter, and, as I felt how completely I was the slave of one despotic idea, I tried to take the good advice thus given me.
Unhappily, I found, soon after, between the leaves of my uncle’s Bible, a numbered list of the stones with their cost and much beside. It was dated two years before my uncle’s death. Many of the stones were well known, and their enormous value amazed me.
Several of the rubies were described with care, and curious histories of them were given in detail. One was said to be the famous “Sunset ruby,” which had belonged to the Empress-Queen Maria Theresa. One was called the “Blood ruby,” not, as was explained, because of the color, but on account of the murders it had occasioned. Now, as I read, it seemed again to threaten death.
The pearls were described with care as an unequalled collection. Concerning two of them my uncle had written what I might call biographies—for, indeed, they seemed to have done much evil and some good. One, a black pearl, was mentioned in an old bill of sale as—She—which seemed queer to me.
Explanation:
When the narrator revisited Dr Schaff, he advised him not to worry about opening the iron box. After hearing it, the narrator realised how stupid he had been for so long, holding to the same viewpoint. He even thought he was too obsessed with those ideas. He then considered following the doctor's advice for his benefit.
Soon after thinking about taking the doctor's advice, the narrator finds a paper between his uncle's Bible pages. A list of the stones with their price is mentioned in the paper. The letter was written two years before his uncle's death. Many of the stones were well-known, and the narrator was astounded by their huge worth.
Soon after thinking about taking the doctor's advice, the narrator finds a paper between his uncle's Bible pages. A list of the stones with their price is mentioned in the paper. The letter was written two years before his uncle's death. Many of the stones were well-known, and the narrator was astounded by their huge worth.
Several of the rubies were described with love, and his uncle had described the history of each gem in great length. One of the rubies was the well-known 'Sunset ruby'. The next one was the "Blood ruby". The blood ruby was not denoted by its colour, but it was connected with many murders it had occasioned. Also, it showed that it was linked to several murders. While reading it, the narrator became much more terrified than before, and it appeared to threaten death once more.
The pearls were characterised as an unrivalled collection with care. Nothing could compare to the value of the pearls. Also, the narrator's uncle mentioned two pearls in particular. While reading it, the narrator had the impression that it contained biographies of two pearls. The pearls appeared to have done both ill and good things. Among the two, one was a black pearl. It was referred to as "She". While reading it, the narrator felt strange. It might be because he was not aware why his uncle had mentioned the black pearl as 'She'.
Meanings of the difficult words:
| S.No | Words | Meanings |
1 | Threaten | To be likely to cause harm or damage to something or someone |
2 | Advice | An opinion that someone offers you about what you should do or how you should act in a particular situation |
3 | Enormous | Extremely large |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2018). Term-1 English Standard-10. A Dilemma - Silas Weir Mitchell (pp. 205-211). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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