The Princess And The Jewel Doctor: 1905

In Short

This intriguing Gothic-tinged story follows a young Russian noblewoman who travels to North Africa to escape a terrifying family curse: total blindness before the age of forty. In the labyrinthine bazaars of Tunis, she encounters a strange, squinting jewel doctor who claims to preserve eyesight using an emerald ring. Driven to desperation by her persistent symptoms and mounting anxiety, she makes a reckless decision that binds her to the healer and the city forever. It endures as a vivid, dark tale of superstition, moral compromise, and the indelible consequences of theft.

The Story

In St. Petersburg society, a beautiful Russian princess conceals a deeply buried terror. Both her mother and grandfather lost their sight completely by age forty, and as she begins to experience sharp pains in her own eyes, she fears the same dark fate awaits her. Her anxious husband and doctor send her abroad to recover her health. Arriving in Tunis alongside an elderly companion, Countess de Rosnikoff, the Princess ventures into the local bazaars, desperate for relief from her burning eyes.

Guided through the bustling alleys by a young local named Abdul, she learns of Safti, an enigmatic figure known as the jewel doctor. Safti cures illnesses with gemstones, and Abdul claims he possesses an emerald ring capable of preserving the sight of anyone going blind. Intrigued and desperate, the Princess meets Safti in his dark, scented home in the Rue Ben-Ziad. The unsettling, squinting healer examines her face and confirms that she may indeed need his remedy. However, he refuses to sell the ring, explaining that his medicines can only be used by those who reside near him in Tunis; when cured, patients must return the gems. He allows her only to lease the ugly, antique ring for two days at a time.

The moment she wears the ring, the pain in her eyes vanishes, and her panic subsides. Realizing Safti will never part with the jewel and knowing she must soon return to her husband in Russia, she yields to temptation. She books passage on a midnight steamer to Sicily, intending to flee Africa with the ring and later send Safti financial compensation from Russia.

As the ship sets sail, she leans over the bulwark, torn between guilt over her crime and relief at her escape. But when the vessel pauses off the coast to take on cargo, a shadowy figure creeps up behind her. A blade flashes in the darkness, striking the bulwark where her hand rests. A woman's agonizing scream pierces the night, followed immediately by a splash as a tall figure dives into the sea.

The ship continues its journey, but the Princess is forever changed. The jewel doctor reclaims his emerald—still attached to the stolen forefinger he severed in the dark. From that year forward, the Princess spends three months of every year in Tunis, dutifully accompanied by Safti, who acts as her silent African shadow.

How It Unfolds

The shadow of heredity A rich Russian princess travels to foreign lands to soothe her frayed nerves, secretly terrified that she is inheriting the incurable blindness that struck her mother and grandfather before they turned forty.

The jewel doctor of Tunis While exploring the crowded markets of Tunis, her guide introduces her to Safti, an unsettling Arab healer with distorted eyes who uses precious stones to cure bodily ailments.

A desperate bargain The Princess visits Safti's dark dwelling, where he tests her eyes and leases her a small, dull emerald ring, flatly refusing to sell it outright because his remedies require patients to remain local.

The temptation of safety Relieved of her eye pain while wearing the gem, the Princess panics at the thought of leaving Tunis without it and covertly books a midnight ship to escape with the jewel.

A violent reclamation As the vessel halts near the coast, an unseen pursuer strikes the Princess's hand with steel, severing her forefinger to retrieve the ring and leaping into the water below.

An enduring bondage Though she lives in Petersburg society, the Princess must return to Tunis for three months every year, trailed everywhere by Safti, the mysterious attendant who now acts as her perpetual shadow.

The People

• Princess Danischeff: A wealthy, attractive Russian noblewoman driven by intense dread of inherited blindness. Her panic leads her to commit theft, resulting in the loss of her finger and a permanent tie to North Africa.
• Safti: A tall, menacing jewel doctor in Tunis with a pointed head and severely squinting eyes. He operates by his own strict rules, guarding his magical remedies with ruthless vigilance and unwavering commitment.
• Madame de Rosnikoff: The Princess's elderly, complaining travel companion. She spends her days in hotel rooms drinking tea, reading French novels, and fussing over bad drains, entirely oblivious to her friend's inner turmoil.
• Abdul: A talkative Tunisian guide who introduces the Princess to the local markets, reveals Safti's miraculous cures, and inadvertently facilitates her fateful meeting with the healer.

In Its Own Voice

"Yet her life was clouded by a great fear that sometimes made the darkness of night almost intolerable to her."

The Princess arrives in North Africa carrying a terrifying secret burden that drives her to seek extraordinary remedies.

"Holding her soft cheeks with his brown fingers, Safti remained motionless for a long time, during which it seemed to the Princess that he was looking away from her at some distant object."

Inside his dimly lit room, the mysterious jewel doctor performs a silent, unnerving examination on his desperate caller.

"She did not hear a soft step drawing near upon the deck behind her. She did not see the flash of steel descending to the bulwark on which her hand was laid."

Her attempt to flee across the sea is violently cut short in the darkness off the Tunisian coast.

What It's Really About

Underneath its exotic setting and melodramatic horror, the narrative examines the destructive power of fear and the consequences of self-deception. Driven by anxiety over her health, the Princess convinces herself that theft can be morally justified if she later pays for what she stole. The story argues that short-sighted self-preservation often invites a far worse form of captivity. The loss of her finger serves as a permanent, physical mark of her moral failure, transforming a temporary escape into a lifelong, inescapable obligation. It also explores the contrast between European privilege and regional mysticism, showing how money fails to master ancient, uncompromising rules.

Why Read It Today

This story appeals to fans of classic gothic thrillers, atmospheric travel fiction, and cautionary tales of fateful missteps. Hichens crafts an oppressive mood through sensory details: the blinding sun, crowded bazaars, scented dark rooms, and the rhythmic throb of a steamship engine in the night. The swift narrative pace keeps the tension high, moving smoothly from psychological dread to an unexpected, gruesome climax.

Modern readers should note that the work reflects turn-of-the-century European perspectives, framing North Africa as an exotic, sinister backdrop populated by mysterious figures. The prose leans into dramatic coincidences and stark moral ironies typical of early 1900s magazine fiction. Despite these period conventions, the story's core exploration of guilt, panic, and irrevocable choices remains sharply effective, delivering a memorable shock that lingers long after the final line.