The Voyage

"The Diamond Mine" begins when the narrator, Caroline, an old friend of the famous opera singer, Cressida Garnet, recounts the voyage where Cressida announced her fourth marriage, to Jerome Brown. When Cressida makes her first appearance, she displays the characteristic energy and attention to detail that have made her one of the most soughtafter opera stars.

Caroline notes the presence of Miss Julia Garnet, Cressida's fifty-year-old sister, and Cressida's son, Horace, a bored young man of twenty-two. Caroline sees Miletus Poppas, Cressida's Greek accompanist, and strikes up a conversation with him. Caroline and Poppas walk over to the deck chairs where Cressida is lounging, and she jumps up to greet Caroline. The two women walk to a different part of the ship, where they talk about her recent engagement to Jerome Brown. Cressida says that with the exception of her son—who Caroline secretly notes...