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In the years that followed, John would marry his childhood sweetheart, Grace, and they called their firstborn son Elzevir. |
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Fortune smiled on them, for on his deathbed, the jewel merchant, Aldobrand begged forgiveness for having stolen the diamond, and in his will, left great wealth to one John Trenchard of Moonfleet Village, Dorset, whom he had so grievously wronged. |
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It is said that in his final hours, Aldobrand would cry out in terror, speaking of a large man with a coppery face and a huge black beard, who stood at the window - mocking. |
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John and Grace touched not one penny of the money, but laid it out in good works, renewing the church, creating a hospital and building a lighthouse - a welcome beacon to generations of sailors. |
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From time to time, John would return to the seashore, where the final words of the friends who had saved him echoed in his heart. |
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And he loved it best when the waves were lashed to madness in an Autumn gale, thanking God he was not fighting for his life in the roar of the surf. |
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For no other man before or since was taken alive from Moonfleet Bay. |
