The Diamond Mine

The Diamond Mine Summary | Part 1 Summary

As this story begins, there is a flurry of activity among some assembled photographers, as Cressida Garnet, a famed singer, boards a cruise ship in New York City. The ship is headed to London, where Cressida has several appearances scheduled. As she makes her way onto the ship, she gladly stops to have her picture taken, and takes her time to pose for the photographers. The narrator, an old friend of Cressida's named Carrie, thinks that given Cressida's advancing age and the fact that she has recently announced her intentions to marry for the fourth time, it is wise that she oblige the photographers in this manner.

Soon, Carrie's gaze turns from Cressida and the photographers to Cressida's traveling party. With her are her ever-present sister, Miss Julia, and twenty-two year old Horace, Cressida's only son. Only too familiar with the expectations placed upon them as members of Cressida's inner circle, they obligingly wait for her to finish with the photographers before making their way to their staterooms. Looking around further, Carrie spots Miletus Poppas, Cressida's long-time accompanist, and thinks to herself that everyone except Jerome Brown, Cressida's current fiancy, is present for the journey.

After the ship has left port and has been at sea for a few hours, Carrie comes upon Poppas on deck. She asks the musician if Cressida has any performances planned during her stay in London, to which Poppas replies that indeed, she has. Soon the conversation turns to Poppas' suffering of facial neuralgia, a condition that apparently still plagues him. Poppas indicates that the trip to London will only exacerbate his condition and that it is his intention to eventually retire to a remote city in the middle of Asia, if and when Cressida decides she no longer needs his services.

As they talk, they make their way toward the area where Cressida is sitting. Upon seeing her friend, Cressida rises from her lounge chair to greet her. While Cressida seems genuinely happy to see Carrie, Horace and Miss Julia only offer perfunctory greetings. After exchanging minor pleasantries, Carrie and Cressida walk away so that they can talk privately.

As they begin talking, Cressida tells Carrie that she expected she would see her at some point during this trip, since she always manages to turn up at critical periods in her life. When Carrie indicates that she has heard news of Cressida's engagement, Cressida replies that, with the exception of Horace, those around her have not received the news very well. Carrie thinks that Horace's support can usually be easily bought, but wisely chooses not to share this thought with her friend.

Apparently hoping to change the subject, Cressida asks Carrie if she has been to Columbus lately, but then quickly asks her not to tell her about it. Growing melancholy, Cressida wonders why there are few events in her life that she would choose to revisit and why a certain aura of bleakness and sadness seems to have followed her as she has journeyed through her life. Then, realizing she is beginning to sound depressing, she brightens up, explaining that the sea air always briefly makes her melancholy. In an effort to make her feel better, Carrie indicates that she thinks Miss Julia's presence has a sobering effect on Cressida, to which Cressida agrees, saying that unfortunately, her sister has come to expect to be able to accompany her on these types of trips.

The deck steward who, hands Cressida an envelope containing a wireless message interrupts the women's conversation. Cressida eagerly opens the envelope and then, somewhat flustered, explains to Carrie that the message is from Jerome and that it contains some information he had forgotten to tell her before she departed. She asks Carrie how long she expects to be in London and expresses her wish that she will meet Jerome, adding that she believes they will be married as soon as her appearances there are finished. Cressida then excuses herself, saying she has some letters to write and tells Carrie that they will have to dine together at some point during the trip.

As they walk toward Cressida's stateroom, they see Horace, Miss Julia, and Poppas reclining in deck chairs. Poppas begins to get up so that he can be of assistance to Cressida, but she motions for him to remain seated. As she watches the trio, Carrie realizes how intricately attached each of them is to Cressida and wonders what they would do if Cressida were no longer able to provide for them in the manner that she has. While she can't be entirely sure, Carrie is almost certain that Horace and Julia would abandon her, but that Poppas would remain a faithful servant.

As the seas grow rougher and the weather colder, Julia rises from her lounge chair and returns to her stateroom. Carrie is relieved to be temporarily freed from her presence but is also grateful that it was Julia and not Cressida's other sister, Georgie, who accompanied her on this trip. It is no secret that Julia and Georgie are quite jealous of Cressida's success, and despite the generosity and extravagance Cressida displays toward her siblings, both women harbor a certain amount of bitterness at not being invited to come live with their famous sister in New York City. Both women recognize the struggle Cressida endured to achieve her fame and fortune, and as a result, they not only covet their sister's wealth, but also the perseverance that enabled her to get to this point in her life.

The next several days bring rough weather and force Julia to remain close to the cabin. With Horace engaged in the ship's cardroom and Poppas likewise distracted by women, Carrie is able to spend a great deal of time with Cressida. Eventually, the conversation turns to Cressida's impending wedding, and she explains that this is not a decision that has been made in haste, but rather one that has been grounded in years of building mutual trust. As Cressida speaks, Carrie recalls her friend's first marriage, one that unfortunately lasted only three years. Tragically, Cressida's first husband had contracted tuberculosis shortly after Horace was born, forcing the young woman to care for her husband as well as to be the family's provider. Carrie recalls thinking that anyone who has had to endure an ordeal like that deserves every possible chance at achieving marital happiness.

As the two women continue to talk, Cressida says she believes that her siblings view her as a greedy woman who has amassed a fortune, while leaving nothing for the rest of them. She thinks that they seem to forget that there was a time in her life when she needed to worry about having enough money to bury her dying husband. Recalling those dark days, she says she often wonders why she didn't kill herself and end the pain. Then, referring to her subsequent failed marriages, she says that perhaps it would have been better if she had taken lovers instead.

Horace, who asks the women if they would like to go for a walk before retiring for the evening, soon interrupts their conversation. Carrie declines the offer, and so Cressida joins her son alone. Carrie realizes that in the quiet of the night, she can clearly hear their conversation as they walk along the deck. After hearing of Horace's losses in the cardroom, she suggests to her son that he find other ways to entertain himself for the duration of the trip, a suggestion that he does not take well. Rather than argue with her son, Cressida walks away and disappears into her stateroom.