had done nothing since but cut and polish semi-precious stones. It seemed that everybody in his home town was engaged in the same kind of work, except the merchants; and even the merchants sold nothing but semi-precious stones and objects fashioned from them.
"Ja, ja," he said, "Idar an der Nahe is a small big town, small in size and population, but big because our products go to the farthest parts of the world and have done so for hundreds of years." It was true, for later I learned that Idar, which stands on a tributary of the Rhine not far from Cologne, has been famous for centuries as the seat of a unique industry, the cutting, carving and engraving of semi-precious stones.
There is always, of course, a definite reason why the population of a certain locality should concentrate upon a particular industry. In the case of Idar the reason was not far to seek, for the hills round about contained large agate deposits, the raw material from which the townsfolk could fashion a variety of objects dear to the heart of the novelty-buyer and the collector of bijouteries.
Herr Grahle had an enormous portmanteau full of wares. He spread its contents over the wide table, and when that failed, on the carpet at his feet. He spoke volubly, drawing mother's attention to some choice bit here and there. He sketched in glowing colours the opportunities awaiting anyone who took up the buying agency for his firm in Austria.
But mother shook her head. Pearls, yes, these she dealt in, had pleasure in handling them, understood them. Rubies, sapphires and emeralds, too—they might not be her first
