Stories about Famous Stones by Goddard Orpen - House of Dubhros

. STORIES ABOUTFAMOUS PRECIOUS STONESBYMRS. GODDARD ORPENILLUSTRATEDDBOSTONLOTHROP COMPANYWASHINGTON STREET OPPOSITE BROMFIELD

COPYRIGHT, 1890,BYD. LOTHROP COMPANY.

CONTENTS.I.THE REGENT 9II.THE ORLOFF 37III.LA PELEGRINA ..... 59IV.THE KOH-I-NUR 79V.THE FRENCH BLUE . . . . IllVI.THE BRAGANZA ..... 131VII.THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY . . .1495

CONTENTS.VIII.THE SANCI 177IX.THE GREAT MOGUL . . . .198X.THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW . . . 218XI.A FAMOUS NECKLACE ....*238XII.THE TARA BROOCH AND THE SHRINE OFST. PATRICK'S BELL 262

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.Page.The Regent 14The Orloff 40The Koh-i-Nur 83Koh-i-Nur, as recut 95Tavernier's Blue Diamond 118The " Hope Blue " Diamond . . . .119"Brunswick" Blue Diamond .... 123"Hope Blue" Diamond, as mounted . . . 126The Crown of England 171The Sanci 183The Great Mogul 209The Austrian Yellow . . . . . . 220Diamond in the rough 229Diamond after cutting 232"The Necklace of History" .... 243The Tara Brooch 265St. Patrick's Bell 279

STORIES ABOUTFAMOUS PRECIOUS STONESi.OFall the gemsTHE REGENT.which have served toadorn a crown or deck a beauty theRegent has perhapshad the most remarkablecareer. Bought, sold, stolen and lost,it haspassed through many hands, always howeverleaving some mark of its passage,so that thehistorian can follow its devious course withsome certainty. From its extraordinarysize ithas been impossible to confound it with anyother diamond in the world ;hence the absenceof those conflicting statements with regard to itwhich puzzle one at every turn in the cases ofcertain other historical jewels.9

10 THE REGENT.The first authentic appearanceof this diamondin history was in December, 1701. Inthat month it was offered for sale by a diamondmerchant named Jamchund to the Governor ofFort St. George near Madras, Mr. Thomas Pitt,the grandfather of the great Earl of Chatham.Although, as we shall see later on,the diamondcame fairly into the hands of Mr. Pitt, ithad already a taint of blood uponit. I alludeto the nebulous and gloomy story that hasdrifted down to us along with this sparklinggem. How far the story is true it is now impossibleto ascertain. The Regentitself alonecould throw any light upon the subject, andthat, notwithstanding its myriad rays, it refusesto do.Tradition says the stone was found by a slaveat Partreal, a hundred and fifty miles south ofGolconda. The native princes who workedthese diamond mines were very particular tosee that all the large gems should be reservedto deck their own swarthy persons; hence there

THE REGENT.IIwere most stringent regulations for the detectionof theft. No person who was not abovesuspicionand who indeed was ever above thesuspicion of an absolute Asiatic prince?might leave the mines without being thoroughlyexamined, inside and out, by means of purgatives,emetics and the like. Notwithstandingall these precautions however, the Regent wasconcealed in a wound made in the calf of theleg of a slave. The inspectors, I suppose, didnot probe the wound deeply enough, for the slavegot away safely with his prizeand reachedMadras. Alas !poor wretch, it was an evil dayfor him when he found the great rough diamond.On seeking out a purchaserhe met with anEnglish skipper who offered him a considerablesum for it ;but on going to the ship, perhapsto get his money, he was slain and thrown overboard.The skipper then sold the stone toJamchund for one thousand pounds ($5000),took to drink and speedily succumbing to thecombined effects of an evil conscience and de-

12 THE REGENT.lirium tremens hangedhimself. Thus twicebaptized in blood the great diamond was fairlylaunched uponits lifeof adventure.And now we come to the authentic part ofitshistory.Mr. Pitt has left a solemn document underhis own hand and seal recountinghis mercantileencounter with the Eastern Jamchund. Itwould appear from this notable writing that Mr.Pitt himself had been accused of stealing thediamond, for he begins withlamentations overthe " most unparalleled villainy of WilliamFraser Thomas Frederickand Smapa, a blackmerchant," who it would seem had sent a paperto Governor Addison (Mr. Pitt's successor inMadras) intimatingthat Mr. Pitt had come unfairlybyhis treasure. The writer then callsdown God to witness to his truthfulness andinvokes His curse upon himself and his childrenshould he here tella lie.After this solemn preamble, Mr. Pitt goes onminutely to describe his transaction with the

THE REGENT. 13diamond merchant; how in the end of 1701Jarnchund, in company with one Vincaty Chittee,called upon himin order to effect the sale of avery large diamond. Mr. Pitt, who seems tohave been himself a very considerable trader inprecious stones, was appalled at the sum, twohundred thousand pagodas ($400,000), askedfor this diamond.He accordingly offered thirtythousand pagodas ;but Jamchund went awayunable to sacrifice his pebblefor such a sum.They haggled over the matter for two months,meeting several times in the interval. TheIndian merchant made use of the classical expressionsof his trade, as, for example,that itwas only to Mr. Pitt that he would sell it for soinsignificant a sum as a hundred thousandpagodas. But all this was of no avail andthey consequently partedagain without havingeffected a bargain.Finally Jamchund having resolved to go backinto his own country once more presented himself,always attended by the faithful Vincaty

14 THE REGENT.Chittee, before the Governor, and offered hisstone now for fiftythousand pagodas. Pittthen offered forty-five thousand, thinking that"if good it must prove a pennyworth." ThenJamchund fella thousand and Pitt rose a thousand.Now the bargain seemed pretty nearconclusion ;but it often happens that huckstersTHE REGENT :TOP AND SIDE VIEWS.who have risen or fallen by pounds come togrief at the last moment over the pence thatstillseparate them,so these two seemed unableto move further towards a settlement.went into his closet to a Mr. BenyonMr. Pittand hada chat over it with that gentleman who appearsto have advised him to the purchase, remarking

THE REGENT. 15that a stone which was worth forty-seven thousandpagodas was surely worth forty-eight.Convinced by this reasoning the Governor wentagain to Jamchundand at last closed the bargainat forty-eight thousand pagodas ($96,000).It was a lucky moment for him,since it wasuponthis minute but adamantine corner-stonethat the Governor of Fort St.George began tobuild up the fortunes of thegreat house of Pitt.The diamond, valued far below its price inorder not to attract attention, was sent home toEngland and lodgedwith bankers until Mr.Pitt's return from India, when he had it cutand polished. This process, the most criticalone in the life of a diamond, was performed inan eminently satisfactory manner. The roughstone, which had weighed four hundred and tencarats, came forth from the hands ofthe cuttera pure and flawless brilliant of unparalleledlustre weighing one hundred and thirty-sixandthree fourths carats. It took two years to cutit,and the cost of the operation was ten thou-

1 6 THE REGENT.sand dollars ;but its lucky owner had no reasonto complain, since he sold the dust and fragmentsfor no less than forty thousand dollarsand still had the largest diamond in the worldto dispose of.This, however, proved to be no easy matter,for though many coveted it few persons wereready to give Mr. Pitt's price for One it. privateindividual did indeed offer four hundredthousand dollars, but he was not listened to.The fame of this wonderful stone soon spreadover Europe. In 1710 an inquisitive Germantraveler, one Uffenbach, made " a wonderfuljourney" into England and tried to get a sightof it. But by this time Mr. Pitt and his diamondwere so renowned a couple that the formermust have been a most miserable person. TheGerman tells us how it was impossible to seethe stone, for Mr. Pitt never slept twice in thesame house and was constantly changing hisname when he came to town. Indeed his lifewas one of haunting terror lest he should be

THE REGENT. 1 7murdered for his jewel as the hapless slave hadbeen in the very outset ofits career.At last, in 1717, he was relieved from histroubles. He sold the stone to the King ofFrance, havingmonarchs of Europe.in vain offered it to the otherThe Duke of Saint Simonminutely chronicles the whole transaction. Themodel of the diamond, which was then knownas the **Pitt," was brought to him by the famousScotch financier, Law. At this time the Dukeof Orleans ruled in France as regent for theboy who was afterwards to be Louis xv. Thestate of the French finances was well-nigh desperate.The people were starving, the nationalcredit was nil,and the exchequer was almost ifnot quite empty. Nothing dismayed, however,by the dark outlook, that accomplished courtier,the Duke of Saint Simon, set himself to workupon the feelings of the Regent until he shouldbe persuaded to buy this unique gem. Whenthe Regent feebly urged the want of money theDuke was ready with a plan for borrowing and

1 8 THE REGENT.pledging other jewelsof the crown until thedebt should be paid.The Regent feared to be blamed for expendingso extravaganta sum as two millions ofmoney on a mere bauble but the Duke instantlypointed out to him that what was ;rightin an individual was inexpedient in a king, andwhat would be lavish extravagancein the onewould in the other be but due regard for thedignity of the crown and the glory of the nation.In short says the courtier in his entertainingMemoirs, "I never let Monsieur d'Orleans aloneuntil Ihad obtained that he would purchase thisstone." To such successful issue was his importunitybrought. The financier Law did notlet the great diamond pass through his handswithout leaving some very substantial token ofits passage. He seems to have received fortythousand dollars for his share in the negotiation.It is instructive to learn that the Regent'sfear of being blamed for the purchase was en-

THE REGENT. 19tirely groundless.On the contrary he receivedthe applause of the nation for his spirited acquisitionof a gem the priceof which had terrifiedall the other monarchs of Europe ; whereuponthe Duke of Saint Simon remarks with complacencythat much of the credit was due to himfor havingintroduced the diamond to court.The sum actually paid to Mr. Pitt appears tohave been one hundred and thirty-five thousandpounds sterling, equivalent to eight hundred andseventy-five thousand dollars, and the diamondreceived its name of Regent in compliment tothe Duke ofOrleans.The Regent now enters upon a long period oftranquillity, nothing conspicuous happening toit for many years.It pursued its way quietlyas a royal gem during the reign of Louis xv.,addingits lustre to the brilliant but dissolutecourt of that monarch. After a lapse of nearlysixty years the Regent again came forward upona stately occasion in order to fitlydecorate aking of France. Itwas on the eleventh of June,

2OTHE REGENT.1775, that the unfortunate youthLouis xvi. wascrowned king in the ancient cathedral town ofRheims.A new crown of especial splendor wasmade for the new king and in it were incorporatednearly all the royal jewels. The top ofthe diadem was ornamented by fleurs-de-lysmade of precious stones. In the centre of theprincipal one blazed the Regent, flanked rightand leftby the "Sanci" and the "Gros Mazarin,"while round about sparkled a thousand diamondsof lesser magnitude. Louis's gorgeoushead-gear was no less than nine inches high,and it is said that the King, made dizzy by theimmense weight of it, put uphis hand severaltimes to ease his poorhead. At last he saidpeevishly " It hurts me " ; simple, thoughtlesswords to which after-events have given a sadand most fateful significance.One ofthe actors in this magnificent pageantwas the King's youngest brother, the Countd'Artois, a handsome youth of such exquisitecourtliness of manner that he obtained and

THE REGENT. 21kept throughlife the title of the Vrai Chevalier.We shall meet him again in still closer proximityto the Regent, fifty long years hence.During the troubled reignof Louis xvi. thecrown jewels including the Regent were lodgedin the Garde Meuble where upon stated daysthey were exposed to public view. On thefamous tenth of August, 1792, when Louis wasdeprived of his crown he was also relieved fromthe burden of looking after the Regent. It hadat once become the National Diamond and assuch belonged to everybody, hence everybodyhad a right to see it. In compliance with thispopular notion the Regent was deposed from itsregal niche in the crown of France and wassecurely fastened in a steel clasp. A stoutchain was attached to the clasp and padlockedinside an iron window.Thus secured from thetoo affectionate grip of its million owners theRegent used to be passed out through the windowand submitted to the admiration of all whoasked to see it. As a further security police-

22 THE REGENT.men ami detectives were liberally scatteredabout the placein the interest of nationalprobity.After the bloody days of the second and thirdof September when the ferocious mob of Parisbroke into the prisons and massacred the unfortunateinmates, the Government imaginedthat the people should no longer be trusted withthe custody of the Regent. Accordingly theylocked up all the crown jewels as securely asthey could in the cupboards ofthe Garde Meubleand affixed the seals of the Commune mostvisibly thereto. Notwithstanding their precautions,however, the result does not seem to havejustifiedtheir conclusions.On the seventeenthof the same month it fell to M. Roland, thenMinister of the Interior, to make a grievousstatement to the Assembly. He informed thedeputies that in the course of the precedingnight some desperatethe Garde Meuble Nationaleruffians had broken intobetween two andthree o'clock in the morning and had stolen

THE REGENT. 2thence jewels to an enormous value. Two ofthese ruffians had been arrested, but unfortunatelynot those who had the large diamondand other national property secreted upon theirpersons.A patrol of ten men who were* postedat the Convent des Feuillantshad pursued themiscreants, but being less effectively armedthan the robbers they were unable to capturethem.The two thieves then in custody upon beingquestioned gave, of course, answers whicharoused the suspicions of these easily inflamedpatriots. It seemed certain so at least arguedRoland that the robbery had been plannedby persons belonging to the latedominant aristocraticparty in order to supply themselveswith money to be used in paying the foreigntroops who were to subdue France and againreduce her to slavery. He then proceeded todeliver an impassioned address uponthis fertiletheme. Patriot deputies freely accused eachother of being the authors of this crime. Dan-

24 THE REGENT.ton was pointed at by one party,while he retortedby naming Roland, minister as he was,as one who knew too much about it.It seems probable however that none exceptthe thieves themselves were concerned in thisastonishing robbery and that they were actuatedby greed alone. The patriots onlymade useof it for party purposes to obtain their own objects,just as they tried to utilize in the sameway anyuncommon natural phenomenon,suchas comets, earthquakes or hail stones.A few days later an anonymousletter wasreceived bythe officials at the Commune statingthat if they searched in a spotmost carefullydescribed in the AlMe des Veuves of theChamps Elysees, they would find somethingtotheir advantage. They accordinglyhunted atthe place indicated and found the Regent anda valuable agate vase.All the rest of the booty,however, the thieves made offwith after havingthus eased their consciences of the weight ofthe great diamond.

THE REGENT. 25We lose sight of the Regentin the blackgloom that hangs over the Reignof Terror.There is however a persistent tradition, impossiblenow either to prove or disprove,that onthe occasion of the marriage of Napoleon Bonapartewith Josephine Beauharnais in 1796 theformer wore a most superb diamond in hissword hilt. Could this perchancehave beenthe Regent? It is certainly difficult to imaginehow Napoleon could have become possessed ofthe Regentat this date. Yet it is also difficultto imagine how the young man who was thenan unknown and a poor generalwithout anarmy although full of high expectations, couldhave become the owner of any diamond of suchsplendor as to attract the attention of at leasttwo contemporary historians.It is just possibleitmay have been the peerless Regent alreadyshedding its rays upon the blade of that sworddestined to flash through Europe and to leavebehind it so bloody a trail.However this may be, it is certainly a fact

26 THE REGENT.that in 1800 Napoleon, then First Consal,pawned the Regentto the Berlin banker Trescow.With the moneythus obtained he setout on thatfamous campaign beyond the Alpswhich ended at Marengo and which began hiscareer of unexampled success. Thus oncemore theRegent may be said to have foundedthe fortune ofa great house, but more aspiringin its second attemptit succeeded less effectuallythan in the case of Pitt. However in1804 the house of Bonapartehad not fallenuponits ruin and it is some idea of this factthat gives color to the extraordinary revelationsof the man called " Baba."In 1805 several men were tried for havingforged notes on the Bank of France, and one ofthem who went by the nickname of "Baba"made a full confession of how the forgerieswere accomplished, and then, to the vast astonishmentof the court, he delivered this theatrical"speech This is not the first time that my:avowals have been useful to society, and if I

THE REGENT. 27am condemned I will implore the mercy of theEmperor. Without me Napoleon would nothave been on the throne;to me is due the successat Marengo.I was one of the robbers ofthe Garde Meuble. I assisted my confederatesto conceal the Regent diamond and other objectsin the Champs Elyse'es as keeping themwould have betrayed us. On a promise thatwas given to me of pardonI revealed thesecret ; the Regent was recovered and you areaware, gentlemen, that the magnificent diamondwas pledged by the First Consul to the Batavian* government to procurethe money whichhe so greatly needed."There must have been some truth in Baba'sstatement, or at least the Tribunal consideredthere was, for he was not sent with his companionsto the galleys, but was confined in theBicetre prison where he was known as "theman who stole the Regent."* Evidently a mistake on Baba's part, as the Regent was pawnedto a banker in Berlin.

28 THE REGENT.Napoleon did not set the Regentin his imperialcrown. Havingredeemed it from thehands of Trescow for three millions of livres hemounted it in the hilt of his state-sword. Therewas something very fittingin this bestowal ofthe diamond. That the great soldier who hadcarved out his way to the throne with his swordshould use the famous stone to ornament thatblade was eminently appropriate.The* Emperorseems to have considered that the Regent,whose name he most properly did not alter,belonged to him in an especially personal manner.In his confidences with Las Casas whenat St. Helena he particularly complains of themanner in which the Allies defrauded him ofthis diamond, sayingthat he had redeemed itout of the hands of the Jews for three millionsof livres and therefore that itbelonged to himin his private capacity.On the first of April, 1810, the Regent wascalled upon to add its glory to the gorgeousscene in the long gallery of the Louvre on the

THE REGENT. 29occasion of the official marriage of Napoleonwith Marie Louise. The Emperor who wasvery fond of splendid pageantswas attired inthe most magnificent apparel contained in theimperialwardrobes. But he seldom had thestoical patience demanded of those who poseas kings. He never could acquire the deliberatestateliness ofLouis xiv. who was born andbrought up within the narrow limits of regaletiquette.Indeed the Emperor was frequentlyknown to divest himself of his costly robes in 'avery expeditious manner going so far as actuallyto kick unholy sacrilege the imperial mantleout of his way. On the day of his marriage!with the Archduchess the Regent was used todecorate the cap of the bridegroom. MadameDurand, one of the ladies-in-waiting to the newEmpress, has left an account of the ceremonyin which occurs the following passage:" He (Napoleon) found his black velvet cap, adornedwith eight rows of diamonds and three white plumesfastened by a knot with the Regent blazing in the centre

30 THE REGENT.of it, particularly troublesome. This splendid headgearwas put on and taken off several times, and we triedmany different ways of placingit before we succeeded."Like poor Louis xvi. at his coronationNapoleonfound that his sparkling top-hamper hurthim.There was little opportunity for the Regentto appear fittingly after this event, although nodoubt it was present at that kingly gathering inDresden in the spring of 1812, when Napoleonin the plenitude ofhis power was starting uponthe Russian campaign. But in the crash of afalling throne the imperial diamond is lost toview.When Marie Louise escapedfrom Paris in1814, flying before the advancing allies she tookwith her all the crown jewels, and specie to theamount of four millions. These valuables thefugitive Empress kept with her until she reachedOrleans, where she was overtaken by M. Dudona messenger from the newly-returned Bourbonking.This gentleman demanded and obtained

THE REGENT. 3!the restoration of the money and the jewels.Thus the Regentwas forced to abandon thefallen dynasty and to return to Paris to embellishthe cap of the new king.In the scrambling restoration of Louis xvm.it was impossible to have a coronation. Indeedthe court of this returned Bourbon was of thequietest, being under the dominion of Madamed'Angouleme, an austere bigot, of a temper verydifferent from that of her gay and pleasurelovingmother, Marie Antoinette. It was notuntil May, 1818, that there was anything like afitting occasion for the Regent to appear. Itwas in that month the most delightful of all themonths of the year in France, that the youthfulbride of the Duke of Berri arrived from Naples.Louis xvm. resolved to have the young princessmet in the forest of Fontainebleau, and thitheraccordingly the whole court migratedon theprevious day. It was the king's wish that themeeting should take place in a tent pitched inthe stately forest. Perhaps he dreaded the im-

32 THE REGENT.perial memories that still haunted the chateau,Napoleon's favorite residence where he hadgiven his splendid hunting fetes. The kingarrayed himself sumptuously in a velvet coatof royal blue embroidered with seed pearls, andthe Regent was placed in the front of his kinglycap while his sword was decorated by the lessbrilliant Sanci diamond. Thus regally adornedthe king, too fat and gouty to stand in* a royalattitude, was majestically seated in his arm-chairwhere he was discovered by the youthful Carolinewhen she tripped lightly into the tent.Charles x. was destinedto enjoy the Regentbut for a few brief years. Having succeededto the throne on the death of his brother inSeptember, 1824, he made his state entry intohis capital in the firstdays of October. ThisCharles, now an old man, isthe youthful Countd'Artois who figured at the coronation ofLouisxvi. half a century before. Hardlywas thelate king laid to his rest in the sombre vaults ofSt. Denis when his successor laid his hands

THE REGENT. 33upon the Regent.The grand diamond sparkleduponthe hat of theelderly monarch when bowingand smiling he made his entry into Paris asKing of France. He was very fond of display,the Vrai Chevalier ofthe olden time, and spentmonths devising the most perfect and completeof coronations. Everything was to be conductedaccording to the strict old court etiquette even;the dresses of the ladies were designed fromfashion plates of the time of Marie de Medicis.This was the last kingof France crowned atRheims, none but the elder Bourbons havingdared to face the legitimate traditions of thesleepy old town. Acrown splendidly garnishedwith diamonds was made especially for Charleswho was duly anointed.But it all availed not tokeep him on his infirm throne. He abdicatedin 1830 when at St. Cloud and proceeded withroyalslowness to quit the kingdom.He retained however his hold over the crownjewels while relinquishing the crown itself, forhe carried the Regent and all the rest of the

34 THE UEGENT.diamonds off to Ratnbouillet. As soon as themunicipal governmentin Paris became awareof this fact they sent two agentsto receive theprecious objects from the hands of the ex-king.But his dethroned majesty would not give themup, whereupon a column of six thousand troopsmarched upon Rambouillet, and Charles wasconvinced by the irresistible logic of their flashingbayonets.He surrendered the Regent andother gems which were instantly appropriated byhis "goodcousin of Orleans,"Louis Philippe.He again inturn was obliged to flyand leavehis diamonds behind ;so that the Regent wasfound by Louis Napoleon amongstthe othertreasures of the country when he laid hold ofthe vacant crown of France.The late Emperorhad it set in the imperial diadem.*It is a thick,square-proportioned diamond about thesize ofa Claude plum with a very large top surface,technically the table, and itgivesforth even in* It was shown to the world at large in the two French exhibitions,where, in 1867, the present writer had the gratification of beholding it.

THE REGENT. 35daylight the most vivid rays.One authority onprecious stones observes that the Regent is notcut to rule, being too thick for its size, but hequaintly remarks that such a diamond is abovelaw. The Regent may do as it likes, but smallerstones should beware how they imitate peculiaritieswhich in them would be called defects.On the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian Warin 1870 the Regent and its glittering companionsin glory were safely lodged in a sea-girtfortress. But Napoleonnever returned to redeemthem.From the day when this peerless diamondfirst came to France it has always been a sovereigngemin the strictest sense of the term. Ithas never been used to adorn any one but thereigning monarch, and has never condescendedto deck the brow of a woman.During the present Republic the Regent hasdwelt somewhat in obscurity. It lies snuglyput away along with the other crown jewels inthe vaults of the Ministere des Finances. But

36 THE REGENT.when the Chamber some two years since decreedthat crown jewels should be sold by auction,they exempted the Regent.Republican Francewill not sell the Regent. This is a very remarkablefact, and would have eased the mindof the old Duke of Orleans could he have foreseenit.This sparkling gem, which he dreadedto buy fearing the censure of his people, hasnow sunk so deeplyinto their affections thateven after the final extinction of the race ofBourbons which it was bought to adorn, the samepeople, now being sovereign, cannot bring themselvesto part with it.

II.THE ORLOFF."Diamonds," says an old writer, "have ever beenhighly valued by princes. To a sovereign," he argues," who can command the lives and property of his subjectsby a word, the ordinary objects of human desire soonlose that stimulating interest which rarity of occurrenceand difficulty of acquisition can alone keep.The gratificationof the senses and of unrestricted sway soon pallsupon the appetite, and War .and Diamonds are the onlyobjects that engross the attention the former because it;is attended with some hazard and is the only kind ofgambling in which the stake is sufficiently exciting tobanish the ennui of an illiterate despot the latter becausethe excessive rarity of large and at the same time;perfect specimens of this gem supplies a perpetual objectof desire while each new acquisition feeds the complacentvanity of the possessor."\ CCORDING to this philosophywe should-*, expect to find that the most despoticprinces would be the most addicted to the vani-37

38 THE ORLOFF.ties of War and Diamonds. Whether this conclusionbe true as regards war may be open todoubt. Russia, without contention, is the mostdespotic monarchy of Europe, and yet the onewhich can show the shortest list of wars. Withregard to diamonds, however, the deductionholds in all its force. The Russian regalia isricher in precious stones than that of anyotherAsiatic country.Besides numberless samphires,rubies and pearlsitpossesses an immense quantityof diamonds.This passion for gems which characterizesthe Russians was early observable among them.It is no doubt an inherited Asiatic taste, broughtwith them from the steppesof Siberia and theplains of Thibet, just as they brought thencetheir high cheek-bones, their flat noses, theirdull skins, and the strong tendency to long hairand flowing beards.As early as the time of Peter the Great thediamonds were a notable feature of the Russiancrown. But it was in the reign of Catharine n.

THE ORLOFF.39that the most splendid gems which Russia nowpossesseswere added to her treasures. Firstand foremost stands the Orloff.With the exceptionof the very dubious Braganza of Portugalthe Orloff is the largest diamond in Europe. Itoutweighs the Regent by more than half ahundredcarats, reaching as it does the astonishingweight of one hundred and ninety-three carats.The origin of this gem is absolutelylost andits early history is involved in obscurity andcontradiction. It appearsa stone of ancientdate. It was known in India for generationsbefore it was transferred to Europe. ThreeFates a slave, a ship captain, and a Jewseem destined to presideover the advent ofeach great diamond into our Western world.Nor were they wanting in this instance exceptthat a soldier was substitute for the slave.The date, however, isnot so easy to discoveras the circumstances of its entrance into Europeanhistory. It was, at all events,at sometime prior to 1776 that a grenadier belonging to

THE ORLOFF.the French army which garrisonedthe Frenchpossessions of Pondicherry deserted from hisflag and became a Hindoo. This conversionwas not the result of deep inward conviction,but of far-sighted craft. The Frenchman hadheard of the great Sringerl-matha, the most holyspot in allMysore.This temple, situatedon an island at thejunction of the Caveryand the Coleroon, wasTHE ORLOFF.one of four especiallysanctified monasteriesfounded inthe eighth century by Sankaracarya.This man, a strict Brahmin, restored the gloriesof the old religion somewhat dimmed byBuddhism, and planted a monasteryin eachof the four extremities of India to keep alivethe faith of Brahma. The one at Srirangamwas noted, and the resort of pilgrims. It consistedof seven distinct inclosures, many loftytowers, and a gilded cupola, besides which it

THE ORLOFF. 4!was furnished with a perfect undergrowth ofdwellings for the manyBrahmins who served atthe altar.Now the object of the grenadier's metamorphosiswas that he might be received into thesesacred precincts and become a priest of Brahma.And why? Because Brahma had a diamondeye. As the French historian puts it," the soldierhad become enamored of the beautiful eyesof the deity." European heretics were notallowed to penetratefurther than the fourthinclosure. If the grenadier was to gazeat theeye of the itgod must be as a Hindoo.Being, then, externally a Hindoo, the Frenchmanproceeded to gain the confidence, andeven the admiration of the priests by the extraordinaryfervor of his devotion. The rusesucceeded, and he was eventually appointedguardian ofthe innermost shrine.One night, on the occasion of a great storm,the Hindoo-grenadier believed the moment propitiousfor his grand enterprise. Being alone

42 THE ORLOFF.with the god he threw off his disguise, climbedup thestatue, gouged out the Wonderful Eye,and made off with it to Trichinopoly.Here he was safe for the moment among theEnglish troops encamped at that place. Butsoon he journeyed on to Madras in search of apurchaser for the Eye. He of course met anEnglish sea-captain, the middle figureof theindispensable trio of Fates, and to "him thegrenadiersold the diamond for two thousandpounds ($10,000).After this the grenadier fallsback into obscurity.The sea-captain went to London and therespeedily fell in with the Jew,the third Fate.The name of this Fate was Khojeh Raphael,and his character was that of "a complete oldscoundrel." He seems to have traveled allover Europe in his character of Jew and merchantand to have left a not altogether immaculaterecord of himself. Khojeh Raphael paidtwelve thousand pounds ($60,000) for the stoneand then in his turn set about hunting up a pur-

THE ORLOFF. 43chaser. But this proved no easy matter. Thesplendid Catharine of Russia, it is said, rejecteditthoughfond of diamonds and not slow tospend money,because the priceasked was toohigh for her. It remained for a subject to buyit and presentit to her as a gift.This thenis the history of the Orloff diamond in Indiaaccording to the most trustworthy accounts.Having brought the diamond to Europe weno longer deal vaguely, but are instantly face toface with an exact date."We learn from Amsterdam that Prince Orloff madebut one day's stay in that city where he bought a verylarge brilliant for the Empress his sovereign, for whichhe paid to a Persian merchant the sum of 1,400,000 florinsDutch money."So says a gossipy letter dated January 2,1776;and as further we are informed of thevalue of the " florins Dutch money " in Englishpennies, we learn that the price paidto the"complete old scoundrel" of a Khojeh Raphaelwas one hundred thousand pounds ($500,000).

44 THE ORLOFF.The Prince Orloff mentioned in the letter is noother than Gregory, the favorite of Catharine n.,a man of such singular fortunes that a few wordsmay well be sparedto him.OrlofFs grandfather firstcame into notice inan extraordinary manner.In 1698, when Peterthe Great barely escaped assassination at thehands ofhis body-guard, the renowned Strelitz,he resolved to destroy the corps altogether.This he performed effectually by cutting offtheir heads by scores and hundreds. The Czaraided in this bloody work with his own handand decapitated many of his mutinous soldierson a big log of wood. One young fellow, Jannicknamed Orell (eagle), annoyed at findingthe severed head of a comrade exactly in thespot where he had decided to lay his own neck,kicked it aside with the remark, " If this ismyplace I want more room." The Czar, delightedwith the congenial brutality 'of the observation,pardoned the soldier and gave him a post in hisnew regiment of guards.

THE ORLOFF. 45Slightly alteringhis nickname "Orell" into" Orloff," the respited victim founded a familydestined to become renowned in Russian history.His son was taken into the ranks of thenobles, and his famous grandson Gregory, bornin 1734, became a soldier early in life.GregoryOrloff was a man of ability, but his fortune wasundoubtedly due to his personal beauty. Hewas tall and handsome with a well-earned reputationfor audacious courage, always alluring tothe mind of a woman. His firstappearance inthe world of fashion reflects tittle credit uponhim and still less upon the Russian society inwhich he lived. He was on the point of beingsent to Siberia to think over his misdeeds athis leisure, when a hand was extended to himwhich afterward raised him almost to the sum

46 THE ORLOFF.tion which he afterwards aided her in gratifying.At all events Gregory Orloff and his brotherswere the prime movers in that military insurrectionwhich overthrew Peter in., a feeble,drunken imbecile, and set up in his place hiswife Catharine, a handsome imperious strongwilledwoman. The revolt took place on July9, 1762, and the new Empress instantly orderedher vanquished husband into confinement. Letus trust that she ordered not his death.Catharineii., often called the Great, and sometimesthe Holy, has enough for which to answer withoutthe addition of the deliberate murder of herhusband to swell the account against her. Bethis as itmay, the fact remains that a fortnightlater Peter in. was strangled by Alexey Orloff,brother of Gregory the favorite of Catharine.Thus left in undisturbed possession of thethrone the Czarina loaded with riches and titlesthe brothers who had aided her. But nothingwas sufficient for the ambition of Gregory OrJoff.

THE ORLOFF. 47Not content with the position of First Subjecthe aspired to that of Master. Catharine, whoseemed unable to refuse him anything, wasseveral times on the point of recognizing him officiallyas her husband, and he had reason to supposehimself on the verge of grasping the greatprize of his ambition when it was snatched away.In 1772, being then absent upona mission tothe Turks,Orloff's credit with Catharine wasback in such desperate haste that he hadnot a coat for which to change his travelingcloak, in hopes of repairing his evil fortunes,Orloff was met by an order to travel abroad.It was thus that Catharine always relievedutterly destroyed by his rival Potemkin. Hurryingherselfof the presence of favorites whose companyhad become irksome.Orloff, maddened with rage, set out on histravels and wandered all over the north ofEurope.It was during his exile that he heardof the wonderful diamond that Khojeh Raphaelhad for sale. Knowing how fond Catharine

48 THE ORLOFF.was of all jewels and especially of diamonds, hehoped to propitiate her by a unique giftof thekind. Catharine took the gift, but refused toreceive the giver back into her favor. Herfickle affections were engaged by another handsomeface, and Gregory Orloff spent the remainingyears of his life in aimless journeyingsvaried by an occasional visit to St. Petersburg.He died mad in 1783. He used sometimes toaddress the Empress, calling upon her by thepet-name of " Katchen " or; again he wouldtaunt her with her unkindness.Such was the life and death of Gregory Orloff.The diamond to which his name was givenalthough accepted by Catharine seems not tohave been worn by her as a personal ornament.It was mounted in the Imperial Sceptre whereit has ever since remained undisturbed. In itslatter state of tranquil splendorit differs signallyfrom the Regent whose European career,as we have seen, has been a singularly stormyone.As the sceptre is used only at coronations

THE ORLOFF. 49the history of the Orloff becomes one of longrepose and seclusion, diversified by transientre-entrances into grandeur as successive Czarsappear upon the scene to be crowned.The most singular coronation which has everbeen performed was probably that which followedthe death of Catharine and precededthe consecration of her son and successor.Catharine died in 1797 after a reign of thirtyfiveyears. But before she could be buriedthere was a ceremony to be performed, thelikeof which had never been seen.Her son Paul,a taciturn individual whoseems never to have forgotten his father's miserabledeath, performed an*expiatory coronationin his honor, seeing that that ceremony hadbeen neglected in Peter's life. For this purposethe body ofthe long-deadCzar was disinterredand was dressed in the Imperial robes.The ornaments of the coronation which hadbeen fetched expressly from Moscow for thepurpose were then disposedabout the moulder-

50 THE ORLOFF.ing figure. It must have been a grisly sightthe crowned skeleton of the murdered Peterlying beside his wife's body with Orloff's diamondbanefully glittering on his bony hand.Nor was this all. With a genius for grimappropriatenessthe new Czar summoned thetwo surviving murderers of his father to attendas chief mourners. These were Prince Baratinskyand AlexeyOrloff. The former overcomeby the horror of his recollections faintedaway many times;but Orloff, with iron indifference,stood four hours bearing the pall of theman he had strangled with his own handsthirty-five years before. After performing thispublic penanceboth* men were banished fromRussia.The coronation of a sovereignisalways astately ceremony ; but the installation of theCzars of Russia is elaborate almost beyonddescription. The ceremonial invariably followedis that used at the coronation of Peter the Greatand his Empress.The ritual is largely religious,

THE ORLOFF. 51as the Czar is Head of the Church as well asEmperor. The sceptre of course plays an importantpart and is taken up and put down abewildering number of times. The followingextract from a work entirely devoted to theexplanation of the many comings and goingsand uprisings and downsittings will give a slightidea of what a performancethe coronation is :"The Metropolitan having received theSceptre fromthe hands of the noble bearer carries it to the Emperorwho takes it in his right hand. The Metropolitan says,'Most pious, most powerful, and very great Emperor ofall the Russias, whom God has crowned, upon whom Godhas shed His gifts and His Grace, receive the Sceptreand the Globe. They are the symbols of the supremepower which the Most High has given thee over thypeoples, that thou mayest govern them and obtain forthem all the happiness they desire.' And the Emperortakes the Sceptre and sits upon the throne."But this is not nearlyall. The sceptre, whichis graphically if somewhat grotesquely calledthe Triumph-stick, is held onlyfor a brief time.The Emperor at the end of the prayer, lays it

52 THE ORLOFF.upon a velvet cushion and upon another heplaces the globe or Empire-apple as it is termed.Then he calls to himself the Czarina and crownsher with his own imperial diadem. But theconsort is not invested with any imperial power,therefore she does not receive either the sceptreor the globe. After having crowned his wife,the Czar again seats himself uponhis throneholding his Stick and his Applein either*hand.Cannons roar, bells clang and multitudes shout" "Long live the Father ! while all present bowlow before the monarch in adoration. Thenthe new Czar and Czarina receive the communionwith more stately movings about from placeto place. Finally the Te Deum is sung, thecrowned Emperor, sceptre in hand, walks forth,and the intricate ceremonial is thus brought toa close, having been in continuance some fouror five hours.The Regalia, which includes seven or eightcrowns, is kept in the Kremlin in an upperroom " where," says a traveller,"they [the

THE ORLOFF. 53crowns, etc.] look veryfine on velvet cushionsunder glass cases." The Czars are alwayscrowned in Moscow, the ancient capital ofRussia.Paul, having performed the weird ceremonyalready described, then had himself duly andsolemnly "crowned. His reign was a short onehowever, and in 1801 he gave place to his successorAlexander, in the orthodox Russian mannerthat is to say he was strangled.In 1812 the Orloff and its magnificent companionshad to flyfrom Moscow. Inthe beginningof September in that terrible year, findingthat the mountains of slain on the bloody fieldof Borodino could not stop Napoleon, theRussianssullenly retired before him.On the thirdof the month the Regaliawas carried out ofMoscow and lodged in a place of safety in theinterior. This flightwas followed bythat ofeverybody and everything that was portable.When Napoleon entered on the fourteenth itwas to find, an absolute desert in Moscow, only

54 THE ORLOFF.a few stragglers, prisoners and beggars havingbeen left.Alexander i., strange to say, died peacefullyin 1826, leaving the throne to his brotherNicholas.Iron Czar."Nicholas has been aptly called " theHe was the third son of his father,but his elder brother, Constantine, having notaste for the perilous glory of a crown renouncedhis rights in favor of Nicholas. There wassome delay in crowning the new Czar owing,says the Court Circular with decorous gravity,to the illness and death of the late Emperor'swidow who survived her husband but fivemonths. In reality, however, the delay wascaused by events more serious to the peace ofmind of the new sovereign.A revolution, whichseems an indispensable accompaniment to achange of rulers in Russia, explodedafter theaccession of Nicholas and came near to costinghim his life.' This event seems to have furtherhardened a naturethat was .already sufficientlysevere, and when Nicholas went to Moscow in

THE ORLOFF. 55August, 1826, his coronation progress was notmeant to gladden the people but tomake themquake. When the Czar left the Cathedral ofthe Assumption, his crown uponhis head andhis sceptre in his hand, " his face looked ashard as Siberian ice."So wrote of him an eyewitness,who further says the peoplefrightened to cheer they droppedwere tooon theirknees with their faces in the dust. It was agloomy coronation notwithstandingall the diamondsand glitterof the pageant. There wasbut one redeeming incident that spoke of humankindliness and affection. When the Czar hadbeen crowned his mother,the widow of themurdered Paul, advanced to do homageto himas her sovereign, but the Czar knelt before hismother and implored her blessing. After theEmpress Mother came Constantine,the elderbrother, who had waived his rights to the crown,and he was in turn affectionately embraced byNicholas.This exhibition of fraternal affectionin Russia, where brothers had been known to

56 THE ORLOFF.strangle each other in order to grasp the muchcovetedsceptre, was considered as somethingquite unprecedented. The Court Chroniclerof the day speaks of it with emotion as a sightto move the hearts of gods and men.Nicholas died in the middle of the CrimeanWar and Alexander n. reignedin his stead.The extraordinary pompof his coronation hasnever been surpassed. He in his turn held inhis hand Orloff's great diamond as the symbolof absolute power. Yet he, who could deal ashe chose with the lives of all his subjects, hadnot power to save his own from the hand of theassassin. The murder of Alexander n. byNihilists in March, 1881, is fresh in memory asalso the succession of the present Czar. TheOrlorT was then once more taken from its reposein the sumptuous privacyof the Kremlin toenhance the splendors of an Imperial Coronation.Within a short time the Orloff hasserved to grace yet another splendid ceremony.On the occasion of the recent installation of

THE ORLOFF. 57the Czarevitch as Hetman of the Don Cossacks,the sceptre as well as the crown and globe, wereexhibited to the admiringmultitudes of NovoTcherkask.Such is the career of the imperial diamondgiven by Gregory Orloff to his Empress. Inappearance the gem differsmaterially from theRegent. It is essentially an Asiatic stone,presenting all the peculiaritiesof its Easternbirthplace. It is variously described as of aboutthe size of a pigeon's egg or of a walnut. Onewriter expresses disappointment at it, remarkingthat the sceptre resembles a gold poker,and the Mountain of Light (a name sometimesgiven to the Orloff) " which we had picturedtoourselves as big as a walnut was no larger than"a hazel-nut ! Never having seen this diamondthe present writer cannot speak of itsapparentsize ;but if the drawingsare reliable it is certainlya monstrous " hazel-nut " of a diamond.The cutting of the Orloff ispurelyin theEastern style, being what is known as an Indian

58 THE ORLOFF.rose.Asiatic amateurs have always prized sizeabove everything in their gems.The lapidariestherefore treat each stone confided to them withis object mainlyin view. A stone is accordglycovered with as manysmall facets as itsape will allow, and no attempt at a matheaticalfigure, such as that presented by oururopean diamonds, isever ventured upon bythem. Cardinal Mazarin was the first who intrustedhis Indian rose-diamonds to the handsof Europeancutters in order to have themshapedinto brilliants. Thefashion thus set byhim has been generally followed throughoutWestern Europe. Russia, however, true to herAsiatic traditions, keeps to Indian roses, mostof her imperial diamonds being of that cut.The Orloff is now back again safe in theKremlin, where let us hope it may long restundisturbed either by rumors of invasion or ademand for a new coronation with itsprobableattendant assassination, universal terror andjudiciary retribution.

III.LA PELEGRINA.FROM time immemorial pearls have competedwith diamonds for the first placeas objects of beauty.In some countries indeed,notably in Persia, the post of honor has beenawarded to them in spite ofof their more showy rivals.the brilliant flashesPearls differ in one essential respect fromother precious gems in that they requireto enhance their beauty.no aidThey need only to befound, and the less they are handled the moreperfect do they appear.Unlike diamonds, pearls were known toGreeks and Romans, whilethe area over whichthey are found comprises a large portion of theglobe, extendingfrom China to Mexico andfrom Scotland to Egypt. A certain pearl of59

60 LA PELEGRINA.astonishing magnitudeformed the chief treasureof ancient Persia, while every one is familiarwith the persistent myth of Cleopatra's ear-ringand the cup of vinegar. Peoplefor centurieshave wondered over the insane extravagance ofthe draught but they might have spared their;wonder, for no acid which the human stomachcan bear ispowerful enough to dissolve a pearl.The various notions relative to the origin ofpearls have done credit to the fertility ofman'simagination. Some writers have affirmed thatthey were the product of "ocean dew," whateverthat may be, and were accordingly affected byatmospheric conditions.Thus they were largeand muddy during the season of the monsoon,becoming clear and lustrous again in hot dryweather, while thunder and lightning had afatal effect upon them.These ideas were prevalentin the Ceylon fisheries, which atone timewere most prolific in their precious crop.Another idea was even still more quaint.Accordingto the it, oyster was looked upon as affecting

LA PELEGRINA.6lthe habits of the feathered tribe. The pearlwas an egg which the oyster laid after the mannerof hens.Modern science, more exact if less imaginative,has decided that the pearl is due to anaccident, and an inconvenient accident whichfrequently befalls the parent oyster. A grainof sand, or some such minute foreign substance,gets within the jealous valves of the mollusk andcauses great irritation to the soft bodyof thepulpy inhabitant. itAccordingly endeavors torender the presence of the intruder less irksomeby coatingit with exudations from its ownbody. In other words the grain of sand is"scratchy," so the oyster smooths it over. Why,then, after once coatingthe objectionable grainof sand and thus making it a comfortable lodger,the oyster should go on for years adding layerafter layer of pearl-substance remains is truly amystery. But such is its habitual practice, andto this apparently aimless perseverance we owethe existence of pearls.

62 LA PELEGRINA.Long before America was discovered byColumbus, pearl-fishing had been largely carriedon by the inhabitants of the islands in the Gulf.When the Spaniards arrived in the South Seathey were charmed to find the dark-red nativesdecorated with strings of pearls. Montezumawas at all times bedecked with these glimmeringlittle globules,and in Florida De Soto wasshown the tombs of the chiefs profusely ornamentedwith the same gems. The mortuaryshields were in some instances closely studdedwith thousands upon thousands of pearls and;many stories have come down to us of wearysoldiers flinging away bags of these gems whichthey had in vain tried to exchangefor food orwater.Pearls vary very much in size, ranging fromthe seed-pearl no bigger than a mustard grain,to the Pelegrina as large as a pigeon's egg ;and they vary also in shape. The most prizedare the round pearls which besides their extremerarity are supposed to have an especially deli-

LA PELEGRINA. 63te lustre; the pear-shaped pearl generally:tains the greatest size.The Pelegrinais a pear-shaped pearl weighingone hundred and thirty-four grains,and atthe date of its arrival in Europeand for a centuryafterwards was the largest known pearl.Itcame across the water in 1559, for the Pelegrinais an American prodigy. In that year, Philipii., King of Spain, was in a very festive mood.He had the year before lost his uncongenialalthough royal wife, Mary of England,and hewas looking out for another bride.His choicefellupon Elizabeth of France, a pretty girl ofsixteen who had been betrothed to his sonDonCarlos. She arrived in Spain earlyin the followingyear, and he expressed his delightat herbeauty. He lavished all sorts of presents uponher and amongst others a " jewel salad."In thisquaint conceit the role of lettuce was played byan enormous emerald, ably seconded by topazesfor oil, and rubies for vinegar, while the minorbut essential part of salt was assigned to pearls.

64 LA PELEGRINA.Philip, whose one redeeming characteristicwas a love for the fine arts, spent a considerablesum upon the purchase of jewels.He acquireda very large diamond just about this time, butthe Pelegrina pearl was given to him.Garcilaso de la Vega, that gossipy historianwho incorporated every possible subject and allsorts of anecdotes into his history of the Incas,saw the Pelegrina. Of course so interesting afact was immediately set forth at lengthin theRoyal Commentaries of Peru, where itbelongs atleast with as much reason as the account ofwriter's drunken fellow-lodger in Madrid.theHe says:" In order more particularly to know the riches of theKing of Spain one has but to read the works of PadreAcosta, but I will content myself with relating that whichI did myself see in Seville in 1579. It was a pearl whichDon Pedro de Temez brought from Panama, and whichhe did himself present to Philip n. This pearl, by naturepear-shaped, had a long neck and was moreover as largeas the largest pigeon's egg. It was valued at fourteenthousand four hundred ducats ($28,800) but Jacoba daTrezzo, a native of Milan, and a most excellent workman

LA PELEGRINA. 65and jeweller to hisCatholic Majesty, being present whenthus it was valued said aloud that it was worth thirtyfifty a hundred thousand ducats in order to showthereby that it was without parallel in the world. It wasconsequently called in Spanish La Peregrina which maybe translated, I think, into " incomparable." * Peopleused to go to Seville to see it as a curiosity." At that time there chanced to be in that city an Italianwho was buying the finest pearls for a greatnobleman inItaly, but the largest gems he had were to it as a grainof sand to a large pebble. In a word, lapidaries and allthose who understand the subject ofPearls said in orderto express its value that it outweighed by twenty-fourcarats every other pearl in the world. It was found bya littlenegro boy, so said his master. Theshell was verysmall and to all appearance ' there was nothing good inside,not even a hundred reals worth, sothat he was onthe point of throwingit back into the sea."Fortunately he thought better of it and keptthe insignificant shell. The lucky slave wasrewarded with his liberty, while his master wasgiven the post of alcalde of Panama, and theking kept the pearl.* The pearl was doubtless " incomparable " as de la Vega says, butat the same time it must not be supposed that such is the correct renderingof the word Peregrina or Pelegrina which means, originallystranger, hence our word "pilgrim."

66 LA PELEGRINA.The Pelegrina was found offthe small islandof Santa Margareta, about one hundred milesdistant from San Domingo. Pearl-fishing, asthen carried on by the natives, was a simpleaffair, although at the same time rather dangerous.The method was as follows :The negroes having proceeded in their fragilecanoes to the rocky beds inhabited by theoysters, the divers then attached heavy Atonesto their feet to expedite their sinking.Carryinga basket, a knife, and a sponge dipped in oil,they plunged inio the sea holdingfast to therope which was to bringthem to the surfaceagain. Their noses and ears were stuffed withwool, but the pressure of the water frequentlycaused apoplexy, while sharksabounded in thevicinity. However, if the diver escaped boththese perils, he proceeded as fast as possible toscrape off the shells with his knife and to putthem into his basket. Occasionally he put thespongeto his mouth and sucked a little airfrom it,while the oil prevented him from swal-

LA PELEGRINA. 67lowing anywater. When he could bear it nolonger he kicked the stones from off his feet,rattled at the rope, and was hauled up as rapidlyas possible. Sometimes the divers remain "aquarter of an hour, yea, even a half " underwater, placidly observes the padre in conclusion.Considering that he purports to have been aneye-witness,he should have been more carefulof his written statements. From three to fiveminutes is the limit assigned by more cautiouswriters, and probably even this is an over estimate,as two minutes is now considered a longtime for a gooddiver to remain under waterwithout a diving bell.Philip ii. appearsto have retained the Pelegrinafor his own personal adornment and tohave worn it as a hat-buckle. It looped up theside of his broad hat or cap accordingto theSpanishfashion. The black velvet and othersombre hues which he affected could hardlyhave given to the delicate gemthe soft backgroundwhich its beauty demanded. But if it

68 LA PELEGRINA.is true, as has been asserted by poets, thatpearls are emblematical of tears, then this greatpearl was the most fitting ornament for a kingwho put his son to death, poisoned his nephew,burnt his subjects and devastated the Netherlandsduring quarter of a*century.Philip's son and successor, likewisePhilip ofname, made little use of the Pelegrina ; but hiswife Margaretawore it on the occasion of agrand ball which was given in Madrid in 1605to celebrate the conclusion of peace betweenEngland and Spain.James i. was very eagerfor the alliance ofhis son with the royal house of Spain.To effectthis purposehe sent the Prince of Wa'les andhis favorite Buckingham on a romantic missionto Madrid to make love to the Infanta. Thiswas considered a very remarkable proceeding,and great was the astonishment of all thecrowned heads throughout Europe who wereinthe habit of doing their courting by means ofambassadors, envoys, and other plenipotentiaries.

LA PELEGRINA. 69The Prince of Wales was received with greatpomp.Balls, jousts and bull-fights in profusionwere ordered for his benefit, and the King,Queen and Infanta loaded their visitor with kindattention. At the same time it must have beenrather an irksome visit to all concerned.Charlesspoke to the Queen once in French, she beinga French princess, whereupon she advised himto do it no more as it was customary to killanyman who spoke to queens ofSpain in a foreigntongue !On the departure of the English prince giftsto a fabulous amount were exchanged amongstthe royalties.One pearl in particular was declaredby the court chronicler to be so fine thatitmight " supply the absence of the Pelegrina."The splendid pearl, thus highly rated by theSpanish courtier, was given by Charles to theCardinal-Infante along with a pectoral of topazesand diamonds.The Pelegrina appeared at most of the courtpageants of Madrid, servingto deck either theOF THEUNIVERSITY Iv

70 LA PELEGRINA,kings or the queens during severalgenerations.When, for example, in the summer of 1660,Philip iv. of Spain brought his daughter MariaTheresa to the frontier to be married to theyoung King ofFrance, Louis xiv., the beautifulpearl appeared on the scene to lend its splendorto the occasion.Mademoiselle de Montpensier,the fantastic ladywho was known in herday asla grande Mademoiselle, speaks thus of the Pelegrinaand its wearer :"The King (Philip iv.) had on a gray coat with silverembroidery a great table diamond fastened up his hat:from which hung a pearl. They are two crown jewels ofextreme beauty they call the diamond the Mirror ofPortugal, and the pearl the Pelegrina."On this occasion the two courts ofVersaillesand Madrid vied with each other in splendor,and their doings have rendered famous the littleboundary river of the Bidassoa with its Isle ofthe Pheasant. A modern traveler whiskingpast in the train sees but little to recall the oncefamous spot ;a half dried-up river and a marshy

LA P2LEGRINA. 71reed-covered swampare all that now remain.The island isgone, so also are the royalhouses whose meeting there was so great anevent.There is one occasion uponwhich the Pelegrinaserved to deck a bride so youngand fairthat it deserves more than a passing notice.The bride was Marie Louise d'Orle'ans, the firstwife of Charles n. This poor sickly King, thelast descendant of the mighty Charles v., was avery shy boy and extremely averse to the societyof women. When he. was about seventeen hismother and the royal council decided that hemust be married, and they casttheir eyes uponthe neighboring house of France,into whichSpanish monarchs were in thehabit of marryingwhen not engaged with it in war. The onlysuitable lady was " Mademoiselle " for suchwas in ancient France the distinctive titleof theeldest niece of the King.Mademoiselle, besidesbeing niece to Louis xiv., was furthermore pretty,vivacious, and only sixteen. Her portrait was

72 LA PELEGRINA.sent to Spain,and what was theamazement ofthe court to see the shy young king, who couldscarcelylook a woman in theface, fall violentlyin love with this portrait. He keptitalwaysbeside him and was observed frequently toaddress the tenderest expressions to it.Such being the satisfactory state of the King'sfeelings the match was rapidly concluded, andMarie Louise set out from Versailles to go toher unknown husband. On his side Chailes n.went forward to meet her as far as Burgos, andthere they first saw each other in 1679. Whenthe King was unexpectedly announced, Mademoisellewas observed to blush and look agitatedwhich made her all the prettier. As Charlesentered her apartmentshe advanced in orderto kneel at his feet, but the Boy-King caughther by both arms and gazing at her with delightcried, " My Queen, my Queen!Although she arrived in Madrid in the autumnof 1679, the young Queen did not make her"state-entry into her capital until the following

LA PELEGRINA. 73January.In the meantime she was kept in theclosest seclusion. Not all the powerof theKing ofSpain joined to the love which Charlesbore to his wife was sufficient to break down theadamantine walk of etiquette which long usagehad built around the queens of Spain. Like aMoorish slave in a harem, the gay young Frenchgirl was shut up alone with her Lady of the Bedchamberand was permitted to see no one exceptthe King.She was not allowed to write to herown family nor receive their letters. She waseven refused permission to read a letter fromParis whioh aorder that she mightwas acompassionatefriend sent her inhear a little news. Sheprisoner indeed, although the prison wasgilded. It needed something to atone for twomonths of such a life, and if a grand displaycould sweep away the recollection of itthat consolationwas not withheld.On January 13,1680, the Bride-Queenat lastentered Madrid. Madame la Mothe, whosekeen French eyes saw everything and whose

74 LA PELEGRINA.sharp French pen chronicled it, has left a minuteaccount of the ceremony. She says:" The Queen rode upona curious Andalusian horsewhich the Marquis de Villa Magna, her first gentlemanusher,led by the rein. Her clothes were so richly embroideredthat one could see no stuff ;she wore a hattrimmed with a plume of feathers and the pearl called thePelegrina which is as big as a small pear and of inestimablevalue, her hair hung loose upon her shoulders, andupon her forehead. Her neck was a little bare and shewore a small farthingale she had; upon her finger thelarge diamond of the king's, which ispretended to be thefinest in Europe. But the Queen's pretty looks showedbrighter than all her sparkling jewels."There is a picture still extant of this queenwhich proves her to have been pretty in spite ofthe disfigurement effected by some of her sparklingjewels. Madame la Mothe does not mentionwhat the picture shows, namely, that theQueen's ears were weighted down by a pairofornaments as large as saucers which theQueenmotherhad presented to her. Above the earringsmoreover were a pair of huge jewelled

UNIVERS/TYLA PELEGRINA. 75rosettes fastened to the hair in such a wayas tomake one almost fancy that the ears were beingdragged out by their enormous pendants andhad to be nailed up by the rosettes.Marie Louise lived but a few years to enjoythe love of her husband and the splendor ofher rank.It was said that she died of a brokenheart caused by the torments of court jealousiesand intrigues against which the King,her husband,in vain tried to shield her.Charles n. died in 1705, and being childlesshe bequeathed his crown to Philip of Anjou,grandsonof Louis xiv. and cousin to the wifeof his youth whose memory was still dear tohim. Of course other claimants arose to graspso splendid an inheritance, so that the funeraltorches of Charles maybe said to have set fireto Europe. At all events, a vast conflagrationsoon burst forth known as the War of the SpanishSuccession, which included ere long withinits fiery embrace Spain, France, England. Austria,Italy, Germany and Holland. After all

76 LA PELEGRINA.their fighting however Philip still remainedKing of Spain,and the house which he foundedis now, in the person of the Baby-King of Spain,the last reigning example of that mighty tribeof Bourbons which at one time ruled over solarge a portion of Europe.During the first years of his reign Philip v.had to fight for his throne, nor was he invariablysuccessful. At one time he was so hard-pressedby his rival, the Archduke Charles, that lie hadalmost to seek rufuge in France. By the urgententreaty of his ministers the King and Queendid not actually quit the soil of Spain, but thePelegrina did do so. The invaluable pearl,along with the rest of the crown jewels, was entrustedto a French valet named Susa, whocrossed over the frontier into France, kept histreasures safe until the danger was passed, andthen when the tide of success beganto flowfor Philip brought them back again to Madrid.This is the last authentic appearance of thePelegrina in Spanish history. After this date,

LA PELEGRINA. 771707, its story becomes confused and oftentimescontradictory. It is alleged to have been givenfirst to one favorite and then to another, whilefinally as a climax of confusionanother pearl inSpain, one in Sardinia, and one in Moscow, impudentlyassume its name and masquerade asthe true and veritable Pelegrina.Our own inquiries both in Madrid and St.Petersburg have failed to supply the links thatare missing in its history. We cannot say whenit finally passed away from the crown of Spain,for there have been manyclearances of theroyal jewels to meet the exigencies of variouskings. At all events, for the last thirty yearsit has been in the hands of a Russian family.The Oussoupoffs belong to the ancient nobilityand they are ;extremely wealthy but how andwhen the Princess Oussoupoff became possessedof the Pelegrina we do not pretend to say.Thefriend who made the inquiries for us said significantlythat it was impossible to ask manyquestions in Russia. Questions, however inno-

78 LA PELE(JRINA.cent, are looked upon with great suspicion andany questioner is liable to repent of his inquisitiveness.It is a pity that so historic a gem asthePelegrina should be practically lost to us ina Russian lady's jewel casket.Any other largepearl would have served her purpose equallywell for mere ornament, and had the Pelegrinaremained in Western Europe we should probablyknow somethingmore about it or at allevents we should be able to ask what questionswe like without incurring the suspicion of treasonand of bein;; desirous of hurling the Romanoffsfrom their throne.

IV.THE KOH-I-NUR.THE Koh-i-nur is the most ancient, the mostillustrious, and the most traveled of allour diamonds. It is what is called a white diamond,but its^jcolor would be of the deepestcrimson, if only one thousandth partof theblood which has been shed for it could havetinted its rays. It looms through the mist ofagesuntil the mind refuses to trace furtherbackwards itsnebulous career.It is to an emperor that we owe the first contemporaryaccount of the imperial gem. In1526 Baber, the Mogul conqueror, speaksas among the captured treasures of Delhi. Butof itthat was by no means the first time that itmingled in the affairs of men. It was already'UhejEamous diamond " in Baber's time^ and a79

8oTHE KOH-I-NUR.wild tradition would have us believe that it wasfound no less than five thousand years ago. Ifit were found then, and if it has been ever sincethe contested prize of adventurers,thieves andall sorts ofmarauders, we cannot be too thankfulthat forty-seven of those fifty centuries aremercifully hidden from us.Sultan Baber was a great man, amighty conquerorand a good writer.He has left full andminute journals of his long adventurous life,which take the panting reader through such aseries of battles, sieges, conquests, defeats, royalpageants and hair-breadth escapes, that at lastone cries out with wonder, " Can this man havebeen mortal to have lived throughall this?"Baber came from good old conquering stock.His father was sixth in descent from Tamerlanethe Tartar, and his mother stood somewhatnearer to Jenghis Khan. Following in the footstepsof his fierce ancestors,. Baber invaded^India, or as he himself complacently remarks :" he put his foot in the stirrup of resolution and

THE KOH-I-NUR. 8 1went against the Emperor Ibrahim." Rushingdown like a devastating whirlwind from hismountain fastnesses around Cabul, Baber fellupon the Punjaub, first strikingopposed him and then writingMemoirs.down all thatabout it in hisOn the twenty-first of April,1526, he encounteredthe army of Ibrahim on the field of Paniput." The sun was spear-high when the contestbegan, and at midday they were completelybeaten and my men were exulting in victory,"says Baber. The Indian emperorwas killedand his head was brought to the victoriousMogul. Immediately after the battle,the conquerorsent forward two flying squadrons toAgra and Delhi respectively to seize the treasuresof the fallen king. The troop which wentto Agra was commanded by Hum ayim^ thefavorite son of Baber.It is with this troop andits doingsthat we are concerned,but what wasfound in theHindoo treasury had best be toldby the conqueror himself :

82 THE KOH-I-NUR." Sultan Sekandar had made Agra his residence duringseveral years while he was endeavoring to reduce Gwalior.That stronghold was at length gained by capitulation inthe reign of Ibrahim : Shemsabad being given in exchangeto Bikermajet the Hindoo who was Rajah of Gwalior formore than a hundred years.*In the battle of Paniputhewas sent to Hell. [Incisive Mohammedan expressionwhich signifies the death of an unbeliever.] When Humayunarrived (at Agra) Bikermajet's people attempted toescape, but were taken by the parties which Humayun hadplaced upon the watch and put in custody.Humayun didnot permit them to be plundered.Of their own free willthey presented to Humayun a pesh kesh (tribute) consistingof a quantity of jewels and precious stones.Amongthese was one famous diamond which had been acquiredby the Sultan Ala-ed-din."We may reasonably doubt how much of freewill there was in the giftfrom a defeatedHindoo prince to his Afghan conqueror. Letus question this as we may, there is little doubtas to what diamond it was, although Baber givesit no name. The Sultan Ala-ed-din, to whomthe imperial memoir-writer here refers, flourisheda couple of centuries previously, and it is gener-* Baber's meaning is obscure; probably he should have said " wJtosefamily were rajahs, etc."

THE KOH-I-NUR. 83allybelieved that he obtained " the famous diamond" in 1304 when he conquered the Rajahof Malvva in whose familyit had been for ages.How iteventuallycame into the hands ofBikermajet is not explained.But in the wild whirlof revolution and insurrection, which form themain staple of Indian history, many things gethopelessly mixed, and adiamond might easilyturn up unexpectedly and be quite unable to accountfor itself.great diamondwe will antedateBabergoes on to relate that theitsname by twocenturiesandcall it henceforwardthe Koll- KOH-I-NUR, INDIAN CUT.i-nur(186 carats.)was valuedby a competent judge of diamonds "athalf the daily expenditure of the whole world "an expression which for grandiloquent vaguenesscan scarcely be surpassed. Fortunatelythe same competent judge had not the weighing

84 THE KOH-I-NUR.of the stone, or we should be befogged by somefurther Oriental hyperbole.The emperor however says distinctly that thediamond weighed about eight mishkals, whichbeing interpreted means about one hundred andeighty-six carats of our weight,or a little lessthan the Orloff and fifty carats more than theRegent. It ismainlyon the evidence of theweight thus carefully recorded by Baber, thatwe identify the Koh-i-nur, and can trace itssubsequent career. On its arrival in Englandits exact weight was found to be one hundredand eighty-six and one-sixteenth carats, whichagrees with the figure given byBaber as afterwardscomputed by dependable authorities.When we consider the extreme rarity of thesegreat diamonds, coupled with the fact that notwo stones are of exactly the same weight, wemay feel pretty safe in concluding that Baber's"famous diamond " and our Koh-i nur areoneand the same stone, especially ashenceforwardits history is tolerably consecutive.

THE KOH-I-NUR. 85This magnificent gem the emperor gave tohis beloved son Humayun, who had very dutifullyoffered it to his father as tribute. It issomewhat painful to learn that Humayun rewardedthis generosity by base ingratitude.The very next year we findBaber making thiscomplaint :" I received information that Humayun had repaired toDelhi and had there opened severalhouses which containedthe treasure and had taken possession by force ofthe contents. I certainly never expected such conductfrom him, and, being extremely hurt, I wrote and sent tohim some letters containing the severest reprehension."It was surely not a comely actionin the manwho had received the Koh-i-nur as a giftfromthe hands ofhis father, to plunder that father'streasure houses. Baber was at all events in fullpossession of his health and power and wasabundantly able to enforce the obedience of hisson. He again admitted Humayun into favor,and four years later, namely in 1530,we find thisfondly-cherished son languishing in mortal ill-

86 THE KOH-I-NUR.ness. The father was in despair,and sent himdown the Ganges one hundred miles to Agra inhopes of benefiting him, but apparently to noyf.rfpurpose. A man of great piety was appealedto for his opinion, and he declared that in suchcases the Almighty sometimes deigned to receivea man's most valuable possession as a ransomfor the life of his friend. Baber declared, thatnext to the life of Humayun,his own was whathe held most precious in the world, and that hewould offer itup as a sacrifice. His courtiers,aghast at the purport of such a vow, beggedhim to offer up instead " that great diamondtaken at Agra," and reputedto be the most valuablething on earth.But the Koh-i-nur, almost priceless as it was,Baber esteemed at a lower figure than his ownexistence. The self-devoted emperor walkedthrice around the bed of his son, saying aloud :"I have borne itaway, I have borne it away."Immediately thereafter he was observed to sinkinto illness, while Humayun as steadily regained

THE KOH-I-NUR. 87his health. So all Eastern historians of thetime declare, devoutly believing in the miracle.Perhaps we, more sceptical, may account for itby suggesting that both men, father and son,were suffering from Indian fever, and that theelder died, while the youngerwas able to livethrough it.Humayun must have retained possession ofthe Koh-i-nur during his adventurous life, for hisson, the celebrated Akbar, appears tohave bequeathedit in turn to his son and successor,Jehangir.This Jehangir was the most magnificentof all the Mogul emperors,or indeed itmight be safely added of all theemperors of theworld. He was a great admirer of diamonds ofwhich he possessed a vast quantity. He musthave inherited an immense number of jewelsfrom his father Akbar, for in his memoirs hedescribes his crown, which he valued at a sumequivalent to ten millions of dollars, and whichwas composed exclusively of the diamonds andother jewels which Akbar had purchased.

88 THE KOH-I-NUR.This seems to establish the fact that theKoh-i-nur was not incorporated in the imperialcrown.It may possibly have been one of thosemagnificent diamonds which he used so lavishlyin the adornment of his renowned peacockthrone, the value of which amounted, accordingto his own estimate, to theunheard-of figure offorty millions of dollars. Some writers indeedgo so far as to assert that the Koh-i-nur was oneof the eyes of that stupendous peacock, whichwas entirely composed of precious stones, andwhose out-spread tail overshadowed the throneof the Moguls. According to them, too, thePrloff diamond was the other eye. But this isclearly a mistake we have; already seen wherethe Orloff came from a thousand miles andmore from Delhi.It seems most probable that the peerless stonewas worn as a personal ornament. There is extantan interesting contemporary print, whichrepresents Jehangir decked out with a profusionof large pearls, in addition to which he wears

THE KOH-I-NUR. 89around his neck a long string ofvarious jewels.In the center of this chain hangsone stone ofsuch exceptional size that itmay well be theKoh-i-nur. This however isonly conjectural.Terry, the author of the print, chaplain to SirThomas Roe, who was sent on an embassy fromJames i. to the Grand Mogul, does not mentionthe Koh-i-nur by name. He merely observes thatthe Emperor was in the habit of wearing aroundhis neck " a string of all his best jewels," andsince the Koh-i-nur was undoubtedly the finestdiamond then known, and was apparently in hispossession, it is more than probable that itwould figure in the necklace.Jehangir's empress was the celebrated NurJehan (Light of the World), a princess famousalike for her beauty and her wisdom. The emperorsays in his autobiography that she had theentire management of his household and of histreasure, whether gold or jewels.He mighthave justly added that she had the entire managementof himself also, for he was completely

90 THE KOH-I-NUR.under her influence. This beautiful Light ofthe World must have been uncommonlyfond ofjewels, as the emperor says that he had to giveher thirty-five millions of dollars at their marriageto buy the needful jewels. Also NurJehanis said to have invented the now worldfamousperfume, attar of roses. Toward theend of Jehangir's life the Koh-i-nur and all hisother diamonds, we are told, ceased to charm,and he no longer desired to possess them.Even of diamonds, it appears, one may have asurfeit.Shah Jehan, son of Jehangir,ascended thethrone of India in 1627, and was if possiblemore addicted to jewels than his father. Hecaused basins of diamonds to be waved overhis head in order to avert evil.This sort of incantationseems to have failed of itspurpose inhis case for he was dethroned and imprisonedby his rebellious son, Aurung-zeb, who kept himin confinement during the last seven years ofhis life.His diamonds and his daughter, Jiha-

THE KOH-I-NUR. 91nira, were left with him to keep him companyand amuse him during these tedious years.Aurung-zeb, who, for an Eastern potentate,was rather short of jewels, sent one day to hisfather to get some of his diamonds in order toadorn his turban which could boast of but onegreat ruby. The imprisoned Shah Jehan exclaimedin his wrath that he would break all hisgems to atoms sooner than let his undutiful sontouch one of them. He further intimated thatthe hammers were kept in readiness for thispurpose.His daughter prevailed upon him tospare his glittering pebbles, and so the Koh-i-nurescaped an ignominious death.The same princess offered a basin full ofdiamonds to Aurung-zebwhen he came to seeher in her palace prison after the demise of theirfather, and thus the Koh-i-nur came to adornthe brow of another emperor. For nearly acentury after the Koh-i-nur dwelt tranquilly inDelhi, adding" the lustre of its rays to the turbansof the Mogul empress until the year 1739.

92 THE KOH-I-NUR.Mohammed Shah, a feeble irresolute man,was appointed by Fate to hold the sceptre ofIndia at the moment when she was to meether fiercest foe. Thamas Kouli Khan, betterknown as Nadir Shah, had raised himself to thethrone of Persia and, like all usurpers,felt theneed of strengthening himself at home by asuccessful foreign war.He accordingly invadedIndia, at the head of a small force of hardyfighters, who, in the words of Nadir's grandiloquentPersian biographer, " threw the shadowof their sabers across the existence of theirfoes." In short they killed all before them andentered the Punjaub early inthe year 1739, byprettymuch the same route asthat followed byBaber, the ancestors of the Moguls. But theMoguls were changed since the days of Baber.Mohammed Shah was completely defeated themoment he encountered Nadir Shah.However, booty, rather than territory, was theobject of the invader, so he did not dethroneMohammed, but only levied tribute from him.

THE KOH-I-NUR. 93The defeated Mogul gave an unheard-of quantityof jewels to Nadir Shah " who was at firstreluctant to receive them, but at length consentedto placethe seal of hisacceptance uponthe mirror of his request." Such reluctance isvery foreign to the generally rapacious andgrasping character of Nadir Shah, and probablyexisted only in the flowery imagination of thewriter ofhis life.Having become aware that the Koh-i-nur wasnot among the treasures he had already sealedwith his acceptance, Nadir Shah set about huntingfor it,and at last a traitor was found whobetrayed the secret of its hiding-place. Awoman from the harem told the Persian kingthat the coveted diamond lay hidden in the foldsof Mohammed's turban, which he never tookoff.Nadir accordingly one day invited his helplessfriend, Mohammed, to exchange turbanswith him in sign oftheir everlasting friendship.As in the time of the first free-will offering toBaber two centuries before, the Koh-i-nur was

94 THE KOH-I-NUR.once again to pass from the conqueredto theconqueror, from the weak to the strong.It is said that Nadir Shah, overjoyedat thebeauty of the gem he had thus cleverly filched" "from his ally, called it Koh-i-nur(i.e. theRock of Light) the first time that he laid eyesupon it. If this is really a fact it is very singular.It is indeed strange that Jehangir, whowas so fond of descriptive names compoundedwith Light, should have left it to the enemy ofhis race to endow one ofhis favorite diamondswith this poetical title. One would prefer tothink that he had called his diamond the Rockof Light just as he had called his wife the Lightofthe World.Upon the retreat of the conqueror the diamondwas carried off with other booty. TheKoh-i-nur therefore went from Delhi into Persia,and eventuallyitdescended to Shah Rokh, thehapless son of the mightyNadir Shah. But hewho would wear the great diamond in peacemust himself be strong, and Shah Rokh was

THE KOH-I-NUR. 97weak.The wretched prince was unable to holdthe throne, usurped by his father, against theusurpations of his own lieutenants. In 1751 hewas dethroned and his eyes put out by AgaMohammed, who endeavored by the most frightfultortures to force him to give up his diamondsand other treasures. J5hah Rokh however, inspite of all, still retained the Koh-i-nur and histormentor thereupon devised for him a diademof boiling pitch and oil which was placed on hisunhappy head. But even this expedient failedto make him give up his priceless gem.A powerful neighbor, the lord of Kandahar,an old friend of his father, now came to ShahRokh's assistance, put histormentor to death,and once more placed the forlorn prince uponhis tottering throne.In reward for this timelyservice, the Persian gaveto his deliver^/theKoh-i-nur in whose rays his sightless eyes couldno longer rejoice. Shortly afterwards he diedfrom the effects of his injuries.The Koh-i-nur was now in Afghanistan, the

98 THE KOH-I-NUR.birthplace of Baber,while Baber's descendantson the throne of Delhi helplessly mourned itsloss. It went from father to son safely enoughfor two generations in the land ofthe Afghans,and then its evil spell began to work once more.In 1793, just after its rival, the Regent, hadbeen lost and found in the midst ofthe FrenchRevolution, the Koh-i-nur passed by inheritanceinto the hands of Taimur Shah, the king ofCabul. He left italongwith his crown andhis kingdom to Raman Shah,his eldest son.Raman had enjoyed the triple inheritance foronly a few years when his brother rose in armsagainst him, and being successful, as most rebelsare in Afghanistan, followed the old establishedetiquette of the Cabul :royal family the messengersof Shah Shuja, the triumphant rebel,met their deposed sovereign on his wayto thecapital, and they put out his eyes by piercingthe eyeballs repeatedly with a lancet.This done, Shah Shuja sat himself down toenjoy the sweets of Asiatic power. The Koh-

THE KOH-I-NUR. 99i-nur was not immediately his, however,for itwas some time before it came to light, and thenby the merest accident. An officer, happeningto scratch his ringer against something that protrudedfrom the plaster in the walls of the prisonof poor blinded Shah Raman, turned to examinethe cause of the wound. To his amazement hediscovered it to be the corner of the great diamond,which the unlucky prisonerfancied hehad securely hidden away.Shah Shuja wore theKoh-i-nur in a bracelet during the brief splendorof his reign, and it was on his arm whenEnglish eyes firstsaw it.Mountstuart Elphinstone, the pioneerof theweary throng ofEnglishmen who have trod theroad to Cabul, thus speaks of the Koh-i-nur andits possessorto whom he was accreditedas ambassadorin 1812 :" At first we thought the Afghan was clad in an armourof jewels, but on closer inspection that appeared to be amistake His real dress consisted of a green tunic withlarge flowers in gold and precious stones over which were

TOOTHE KOH-I-NUR.a large breast-plate of diamonds shaped like two flattenedfleurs-de-lis, and an ornament of the same kind on eachthigh ; large emerald bracelets on the arms above theelbows and many other jewels in different places. In oneof the bracelets was the Koh-i-nur, known to be one ofthe largest diamonds in the world. There were alsosome strings of very large pearls put on like cross belts,only looser."Shah Shuja met with the fate he had metedout to his elder brother, and in his turn wasblinded and dethroned by his younger brotner,Shah Mahmud. The two blinded Shahs, unitedby a common misfortune, escaped together overthe border and were doubly welcome at thecourt of Runjeet Singh, the fierce ruler, whogoes by the name of the Lion of Lahore. Theunhappy brothers did not come empty handed.Shah Shuja had managed to bring away withhim an immense amount of jewels hence the;joy of Runjeet Singh, who had a passion fordiamonds.On the second day after his entrance intoLahore, Shah Shuja was waited upon by an

THE KOH-I-NUR.IOIemissary from Runjeet, who demanded the jewelin the name of his master. The fugitive monarchasked for time to consider the request, andhinted that after he had partaken of Runjeet'shospitality he might be disposed to listen to hisdemands.But the Lion of Lahore was in too great ahurry to lay his hands upon Shuja's diamondto think of hospitality. On the contrary hetreated the Shah as a prisoner, separated himfrom his wife, and acted with extreme harshnesstowards the latter. He even tried tostarve the poor Begum into giving upher diamonds.He fancied that he had succeeded, and,in great delight, spread out before some knowingpersons, the gems which his cruelty had extortedfrom the luckless queen, asking themwhich was the Koh-i-nur.Great was Runjeet'sdisgust when he was told that the famous diamondwas not among thelot.Shah Shuja speaking of the final transactionsays :

102 THE KOH-I-NUR." After a month passed in this manner confidential servantsof Runjeet at length waited on us and asked againfor the Koh-i-nur, which we promised todeliver as soonas the treaty was agreed upon between us."A couple of days after this interchange ofpreliminaries, Runjeet appeared in person, andwas full of friendship and promises. He sworeby allmanner of things to maintain inviolable atreaty to the following effect :" That he delivered over certain provinces to us and ourheirs forever, also offering assistance in troops and treasurefor the purpose of again recovering our throne. Hethen proposed himself that we should exchange turbans(ominous precedent!) which among the Sikhs is a pledgeof eternal friendship, and we then gave upto him theKoh-i-nur diamond."After which, let it be remarked, Runjeet brokeallhis promises.The actual ceremonial of the delivering up ofthe Koh-i-nur is graphically described by aneye-witness of the scene, who says that the behaviorof Shah Shuja throughout the entire proceedingwas dignified and impressive.

THE KOH-I-NUR. 103On the appointed day (namely, June i, 1813)the Rajah accompanied by several expertshewas determined there should be no mistake thistime proceeded to Shadera where Shuja wasresiding. The two potentates sat in profoundsilence for one whole hour, neither being disposedto speak first. Runjeet Singhwas consumedwith impatient desire to see the Koh-i-nur,so at length he hinted to an attendant, who inturn hinted to Shah Shuja the purpose for whichthey were all thus solemnly assembled. Shuja,silent still, nodded to a servant, who speedilyplaced upon the carpeta small casket. Thenagain a tremendous silenceensued which Runjeetbore as long as he could, and at last henodded to a servant to openthe casket. TheKoh-i-nur lay revealed, and was recognizedbythe experts as the true gem.Runjeet, for the first time speaking, asked,"At what price do you value it ? "Shuja, answeringfrom out of his woefulknowledge, said : " At good luck ;for it has

104 THE KOH-I-NUR.ever been the associate of him who has vanquishedhis foes."Shah Shuja seemed to imagine the diamondto be a bearer of blessings.This is the commonbelief in India with regard to large diamonds,which are supposed to possess magic virtues ;but Edwin Arnold, than whom there exists nobetter authority about Indian legends, distinctlystates that according to a Hindoo tradition " abaleful influence " was ascribed to the Koh-i-nur." The genii of the mines, as it declared, enviouslypersecutedwith misfortunes the successiveholders of this treasure." Rapidly glancingover the historywhich we know he drawsthe conclusion that the tradition sprang up afterthe event.To Runjeet Singh, at any rate,the Koh-i-nurbrought no misfortune. He wore it as a braceletand itglittered on the old king'sarm atmany a Sikh durbar.On his deathbed, the Brahmans who surroundedRunjeet tried to induce him to offer up

THE KOH-I-NUR. 105the great diamond to the image of Juggernaut.The covetous priests were willing to run therisk of any amount of baleful influences, providedthey could secure the Koh-i-nur as a foreheadjewel for their idol. Runjeetnodded hishead, so the Brahmans averred; and on thestrength of this dubious testamentary bequestthey claimed the stone. The royal treasurer,however, less fearful of the wrath of the godthan of that of the succeeding rajah,refused togive it up.Kurruck Singh wore this symbol of royaltyfor a brief space and then died of poison tomake way for a usurper, Shere Singh.This unluckymonarch was killed in a durbar as he saton his throne in Lahore, and the Koh-i-nur wasflashing in his turban at the verymoment whenthe assassin aimed the treacherous shot.And now, last of all the Indian owners ofthe wonderful gem, we come to Dhuleep Singh,the infant son of Runjeet the Lion.said that the Koh-i-nur belongedIt has beenever to the

IO6THE KOH-I-NUR.strong ;it was scarcely probable therefore thatit would remain for any lengthof time in thefeeble grasp of this child. Indeed,his elevationupon the throne of Lahore was a signalfor allsorts ofboth ofintrigues and machinations on the partthose who were in power and wished tokeep it,and of those who were out of powerbut wished to acquireit.In the midst of all this turmoil a new andhardier race appears uponthe scene. LordDalhousie annexes Lahore, and the English flagfloats for the first time over the Koh-i-nur.In March, 1849, tne kingof Lahore was formallydeposed.The scene was short and business-like,very different from the stately Orientalsilence between Runjeet Singh and Shah Shujaon the occasion of the last change of allegiancemade by the fickle diamond. A crowd ofnatives, without arms or jewels, a few Englishofficers, a man reading the proclamationin Hindustani,Persian and English, the boy-king affixinghis seal to the paper with careless haste

THE KOH-I-NUR.that was all. The ancient kingdomIO/of theFive Rivers ceased to exist, and its last kingbecame an English gentleman with a largeincome.As a token of his submission, the deposedprince was to send the Koh-i-nur to the Queenof England. This was accordingly done, andthe imperial gem of India passedto the crown ofEngland, thus once more vindicating its traditionarycharacter. Again it has passed fromthe weak to the strong, from the conquered tothe conqueror, but we may hopethat ithas leftbehind it in India all those baleful influenceswith which it has been credited.When it came to England in 1850the Koh-inurwas distinctly an Indian stone. It had alarge flat top, irregular sides, and a multitudeof tiny facets, besides which there were threedistinct flaws. It was, moreover, lacking inlight;being scarcely more brilliant than a pieceof gray crystal.Yet, notwithstanding all these defects, it was

108 THE KOH-I-NUR.a deplorable want of taste and of historic sympathywhich dictated the re-cutting of this uniquegem. Professor King, an unimpeachable authorityon diamonds and the proper mode oftreating them, says with reference to this stone :"As a specimen of a gigantic diamond whose nativeweight and form had been as little as possible interferedwith by art, it stood without rival, save the Orloff, inEurope. As it is, in the place of the most ancient gemin the history of the world, older even than the Tables ofthe Law, and the Breast Plate ofAaron, supposing themstill to exist, we get a bad shaped, because unavoidablytoo shallow, modern brilliant ;a mere lady's bauble of butsecond water, for it has a greyish tinge, and besides this,inferior in weight to several, being now reduced to onehundred and two and one half carats."The operation of re-cutting the Koh-i-nur wasa very delicate and dangerous one.A specialengineand mill had to be erected for it and aspecial workman, Mr. Woorsanger, was broughtfor it from Amsterdam. The work was executedin the atelier of the Crown Jewels and superintendedby the Garrard brothers.Much interest

THE KOH-I-NUR. 109was excited by the processand many people ofdistinction visited the workshop. One of thesevisitors asked Mr. Garrard what he would do,supposing that the Koh-i-nur should fly to piecesduring the cutting a contingency that somehad feared likely. Mr. Garrard answered :" Iwould take my name-plateoff the door andbolt."The Prince Consort placed the diamond onthe mill, and the Duke of Wellington gave a turnto the wheel. Thus launched, the work wenton steadily, and at the end of thirty-eight daysMr. Woorsanger handed the new brilliant to hissuperiors.The cutting ofthe Regent took two years bythe old handmill process, and it had no deepflaws to eradicate, as was the case with theKoh-i-nur. To grind out these flaws the wheelmade no less than three thousand revolutionsper minute.The Koh-i-nur still retains its Oriental name,though it has so unfortunately been forced to

110 THE KOH-I-NUR.abandon its Oriental shape. It is now set in abrooch which the Queen wears uponall stateoccasions. It iskept at Windsor, so as to be athand when wanted, and considerable interest inhigh quarters is required to get a sightof it.An exact model of itreposes in the jewel caseof the Tower, alongside of the Crown, in orderto gratify the curiosity of Her Majesty's subjects.

V.THE FRENCH BLUE.THE diamond variously known as the"French Blue," or the" TavernierBlue," has had a singular destiny.Smaller by nearly eightycarats than theOrloff, and younger by three centuries than theKoh-i-nur, it is in some waysas remarkable aseither of those famous stones. So far as isknown, it was never the worshipedorb of anidol, nor the hardly-less worshiped bauble ofan Eastern prince. Wars were not waged forit,nor were murders committed to obtain itspossession. Indeed, its quaint commercialdebut into history is somewhat tame, as is also itsuneventful life of a century and a half in thetreasure-chambers of the Crown of France. Infact, were it not for its strange color, its strangein

112 THE FRENCH BLUE.loss and its yet stranger recovery,the FrenchBlue would scarcely deserve a place amongthese " Stones about Famous Precious Stones."Jean Baptiste Tavernier isa name familiar toevery one who has studied the history of preciousstones. He was the son of an Antwerp geographersettled in Paris, and early in life heevinced an ardent love of travel. Born in 1605,he had at the age of twenty-twotraveled overmost of Europe, and was acquainted with mostEuropean languages. In his own account ofhis travels he speaks entertainingly ofthe variousreasons which at different times promptedhim to journey.Having entered the service ofthe Duke of Mantua as captain of a companyof soldiers, he attended that prince during thesiege of Mantua. He was struck by two bullets'which, though inflicting a troublesome wound,failed to kill him thanks to the excellent temperof his cuirass ; whereuponhe observes that" he found a longer stayat Mantua did notagreewith his desire to travel."He made his

THE FRENCH BLUE. 113way to the East carrying with him a vast quantityofcinque-cento* enamel work and jewelry,which he sold to the Asiatic sovereigns, andbringing back a number of precious stoneswhich he sold to the kings of Europe. JeanBaptiste Tavernier was, in fact, a sort of peddleramong princes.He made in all six journeys to India duringthe space of forty years, and amassed greatwealth. Although a Protestant,he was ennobledby Louis xiv. on account of the serviceshe had rendered to French commerce, and hethereupon bought the barony of Aubonne inSwitzerland which he afterwards sold to Duquesnethe great navigator.Louis xiv. was one of his best customers andbought from him jewels and rich stuffs to theenormous amount of three millions of francs ;* During the visit of the Prince of Wales to India a few years agoit was observed that some curious old jewels of Italian make appeared atthe gorgeous pageants which the native princes ordered for the benefitof their future Emperor. It is thought that these were heirloomsdating from Tavernier's time.

114 THE FRENCH BLUE.about six hundred thousand dollars.It was onhis return from his last voyage, namely in 1668,that Tavernier sold the Blue Diamond toLouisxiv.Unfortunately he does not give any particularsof the purchase of this stone, which issingular as he was a very chatty writer and filledhis book with a quantity of delightful littlepassages beginning " I remember once." Hedescribes at great length the Eastern manner ofbuying and sellingdiamonds. Their methodsseems greatly to have impressed him, accustomedas he was to the noisy bartering ofEuropeanmarkets.He says:" Tis very pleasant to see the young children of themerchants (at the diamond mines) from the age ofsixteen years, who seat themselves uponten toa tree that liesin an open space of the town (Raolconda, a diamondregion near Golconda). Every one of them has his diamondweightin a little bag hanging on one side and his pursewith five or six hundred pagods in it. There they sitwaiting for any one to come and sell them some diamonds.If any one brings them a stone itthey put into the handof the eldest boy among them who is, as it were, their

THE FRENCH BLUE. 115chief ;who looks upon it and after that gives it to himthat is next him, by which means it goes from hand tohand till it returns back to him again, none of the restspeaking a word. After that he demands the price so asto buy it if possible, but if he buy it too dear it is upon hisown account. In the evening the children compute whatthey have laid out then; they look upon the stones andseparate them according to their water, their weight andtheir clearness. Then they bring them to the large merchantswho have generally great parcels to match, andthe profit is divided among the children equally. Onlythe chief among them has four perrest."cent, more than theIt may have been from some such sedate childrenthat Tavernier bought theBlue Diamond.At the same time he mentions the Coleroon mineas the only one which produces colored diamonds,from which we may infer that " theBlue " hails from that locality.As Tavernierwas well-known as a diamond-buyer who gavegood prices, it is probable that he would getmany proffers of stones from private persons.With regard to another large diamond which hebought in India, he has given a minute account

Il6THE FRENCH BLUE.of the transaction which may be taken as a fairsample of Asiatic bartering :" One day towards evening a Banian badly dressed,who had nothing on but a cloth around his loins and anasty kerchief on his head, saluted me civilly andcame and sat down beside me. In that country (India)no heed is given to the clothes. A man with nothingbut a dirty piece of calico around his body may all thesame have a good lot of diamonds concealed. On myside, therefore, I was civil to the Banian and after he hadbeen some time seated he askedme through my interpreterif I would buy some rubies. The interpreter saidhe must show them to me, whereupon he pulleda littlerag from his waist-cloth in which were twenty rubyrings. I said they were too small a thing for me asI only sought for large stones. Nevertheless, rememberingthat I had a commission from a lady in Ispahan tobuy her a ruby ring for a hundred crowns, I boughtone for four hundred francs. I knew well that it wasworth only three hundred, but I chanced the other hundredin the belief that he had not come to me for that alone.Judging from his manner that he would gladly be alonewith me and my interpreterin order to show me somethingbetter, I sent away my four servants to fetch somebread from the fortress. Beingthus alone with theBanian, after much ado he took off his turban and untwistedhis hair which was coiled around his head. ThenI saw come from beneath his hair a scrap of linen in

THE FRENCH BLUE. 117which was wrapped up a diamond weighing forty-eightand a half carats, of beautiful water, in form of a carbuchon,*two thirds of the stone clear except a small patchon one side which seemed to penetrate the stone. Thefourth quarter was all cracks and red spots. As I wasexamining the stone the Banian, seeing my close atten-*tion, said : Don't amuse yourself with looking at it now.You will see it to-morrow alone at your leisure. Whena quarter of the day is passed,' 'tis thus they speak, ' youwill find me outside the town, and ifyou want the stoneyou will bring me the money.' And he told me the sumhe wanted for it. I did not fail to go to him and bringhim the required sum, with the exception of two hundredpagods which I put aside, but which after a dispute I hadto give him also. At my return to Surat I sold the stoneto a Dutch captain out of whom I had an honest profit."This last remark suggests the reason whyTavernier did not mention the sum demanded bythe Banian for his diamond. Possibly the longheadedpeddler feared that had he stated theamounts his readers might not have deemed hisprofit quiteso honest. Canthis be the reason,moreover, of his total silence regarding the*This is probably a misuse of the word, as " carbuchons," namelypolished globules, are never made of diamonds ;a rose is what wasmeant and one of Tavermer's editors made a mistake.

Il8THE FRENCH BLUE.purchase of the Blue Diamond ? It seems thefate of this stone to come from out of the Unknownin a mysterious fashion.We shall meetit,appearing suddenly and without a history.Tavernier gives three drawingsof this BlueDiamond, which was, he said, clear and of a lovelyviolet hue, and its weight in the rough was onehundred andtwelve and onequarter carats.There isno otherexample ofablue diamond ofthis deep tintTAVERNIER'S BLUE DIAMOND.known a factwhich went farto establish the identity of the Blue Diamond inaftertimes. Diamonds of all the colors whichbelong of right to other precious stones areoccasionally found. Thus they are red, green,yellow,and blue. The first and last namedtints being the rarest, while the yellow is de-

THE FRENCH BLUE. 119cidedly common. The true diamond, however,no matter what may be its hue, has aniridescentbrightness which no other gem cancounterfeit. This iridescence, coupled with itshardness, forms the test of the diamond ;andits absence never fails to reveal the natureof an impostor. If anything can scratch astone, that stone is not a diamond. Thewriter,in common withall her schoolmates, oncebestowed a great deal ofadmiration and no smallportion of envy upon ayoung companion on the THEstrength of that young" HOPE BLUE"DIAMOND.companion's diamond, a lustrous gemof mostremarkable size. Alas! our admiration wasundeserved and our- envy misplaced. Thatsplendid diamond had upon its upper surfacethree deep scratches !But to return.When Louis xiv. bought fromTavernier at, we will say, an " "honest profit to

120 THE FRENCH BLUE.the seller,that three millions' worth of preciousstuffs and stones, he became possessed of theBlue Diamond. This was in 1668 when theking was in the full tide of his glory,and alsoof his extravagance, conquering provinces, buildingpalaces and buying gems.There seems to be no record of the first cuttingof the Blue Diamond,if indeed it was cutat allduring the reign of the " Grand Monarque."And what is still more strange,itseems to have attracted very little attention, itsheaven-blue tint being perhaps somewhatdimmed by' the more striking splendor of theRegent which ere long was to attract all eyesand absorb allattention.In 1776, fourteen hundred and seventy-onediamonds belonging to the French crown weresold, and the money thus obtained was used inre-cutting the remainder besides adding sundryother jewels to the Regalia. In February, 1788,the Antwerp Gazette makes known to the worldthat there had just been completed in that city

THE FRENCH BLUE. 121a work of great magnitude.This was the re-cuttinginto brilliants of all the rose-diamondsbelonging to the King of France. The readerwill remember that " roses " are diamonds coveredover with facets, such as the Orloff, whilethe brilliant properly so-called is a double pyramid,a highly refracting figure,of which theRegent and the Koh-i-nur are examples.Diamond cutting was a lost art in France ;hence the reason of sending the gems to Antwerp.Cardinal Mazarin, a great diamondfancier, had endeavored to stimulate diamondcuttingin Paris. He had imported workmenand wheels and then had caused his own stonesand those of the kingto be cut. When thiswas done, and further diamonds not being forthcoming,in order to stillencourage his pet industryhe had the same stonesSuch expensive encouragement ofcut a second time Ithe diamondcuttingtrade has probablynever been heard ofbefore or since.The Antwerp artists having accomplished

122 THE FRENCH BLUE.their task to the satisfaction of Louis xvi., "herewarded with presents, magnificent and reallyworthy of a King of France,all those who hada hand in it." The Blue Diamond came forthfrom the hands of the cutter an irregularlyshapedbrilliant of adrop form weighing sixtysevenand one half carats.In 1791,it was entered in the inventory ofthe Crown Jewels, which was drawn up by orderof the ConstituentAssembly, at the high valuationof six hundred thousand dollars. It willbe thus seen that it had enormously increasedin value since its " rough " days, for then theBlue Diamond as well as all the other diamondsand precious stuffs were bought from Tavernierfor that precise amount.In the story of " the Regent " an account wasgiven of the robbery of the Garde Meuble inSeptember, 1792, when the French jewels werestolen. The Blue Diamond shared the fate ofall the rest. It was stolen, but unfortunatelyitwas not found in that mysteriousAllee des

THE FRENCH BLUE. 123Veuves where the Regent lay hidden. In fact,Tavernier's Blue Diamond, weighing sixty-sevencarats, never again re-appeared as such. Menhad something else to think of in France besidesdiamonds during the forty years which followedthe great robbery, so that the very existence ofa blue diamond was pretty nearlyforgotten. True that JohnMane, a fairly reliable authorityon diamonds, says that "There "BRUNSWICK''. . . / o \ BLUE DIAMOND.is at this time (1813) a superlativelyfine blue diamond of above forty-four caratsin the possessionof an individual in Londonwhich maybe considered as matchless and ofcourse of arbitrary value." This is a most importantstatement, and in the light of subsequentinvestigationsit would point almostconclusively to the fact that the French Blue,already metamorphosed, was in alien hands,exceptfor the fact that the same writer a littlefurther on makes the announcement of aBlue Diamond, weight sixty-seven carats, being

124 THE FRENCH BLUE.amongst the Crown Jewelssame moment.of France at theHowever thismay be, suddenly, in1830, thesmall world of diamond-worshipers was startledby the appearance in the market of a uniquestone. A deep blue diamond, forty-four and onefourthcarats, which Mr. Daniel Eliason had forsale and about which he could give no details.It sprang suddenly uponthe world without ahistory,unless indeed it be the same as thatmentioned by Mane some eighteen years beforeand yetit was a cut and polished brilliant.Its form was irregular, for it had one very flatside. Mr. Henry Philip Hope boughtit forninety thousand dollars; and it henceforwardbecame known as the " Hope Blue."As a notable gem in a famous private collectionthe Hope Blue enjoyed for years a quietdistinction. It was set round about with pearlsand white diamonds to enhance its azure andhad a beautiful pearl-drop for pendant. Altogetherit was a neat and delightful trinket ;price

THE FRENCH BLUE. 125one hundred and fiftythousand dollars.Little ornothing was thoughtabout it until the death ofthe Duke of Brunswick,the mad diamond-miserwho used tosleepsurrounded with mechanicalpistols which were warranted to gooff with suchfatal facility that it is a marvel they did notshoot his Grace in mistake for a burglar. In1874,the Brunswick diamonds came to thehammer and amongst them a blue stone of sixcarats weight. Mr. Streeter, than whom thereexists no better authority on diamonds, had thisstone and the Hope Blue putinto his handstogether.He found that they were identical incolor and quality, that the sides of cleavagematched as nearly as could be determined afterthe cutting, while the united weights plus thecalculatedless from re-cutting amounted to theweight of the French Blue. He immediatelydrew the very natural conclusion that both thesestones were once united and formed the BlueDiamond brought from India by Tavernier.He, it will be remembered, called it of a " lovely

126 THE FRENCH BLUE.violet "and as only very few other blue diamondsare known to be in existence, and they are allof a pale blue tint, we must admit that the weight"HOPE BLUE" DIAMOND, AS MOUNTED.of evidence hangs stronglyin favor of Mr.Streeter's reasoning.The collection of the late Mr. Hope was avery large and valuable one.Of course the blue

THE FRENCH BLUE. 127diamond was its chief glory, but it containedother gems of value. A portionof these wererecently offered for sale consisting of diamonds,sapphires, opals and pearls, set and unset, andof rings, crosses and bracelets, of all sorts ofshapes and patterns. The display remindedone of a jeweller's show-case except for thisremarkable difference. There were no twoobjects alike, and all showed the refined tasteof an amateur rather than the massive showinessof the mere commercial jewel.Mr. Hope engaged an eminent jeweller, Mr.Hertz, at an eminent fee (fivethousand dollars)to catalogue his jewels. This gentleman performedhis task with business-like succinctness,using no unnecessary words to describe thenumerous precious objects. But when hereached the Blue Diamond he launches outinto unbridled enthusiasm. He says:" This matchless gem combines the beautiful color of thesapphire with the prismatic fire and brilliancy of the diamond,and on account of its extraordinary color, great

128 THE FRENCH BLUE.size and other fine qualities it certainly may be calledunique, as we may presume there exists no cabinet norany collection of crown jewels in the world which canboast of the possession of so curious and fine a gem asthe one we are now describing, and we expect to beborne out in our opinion by our readers. There areextant historical records and treatises on the preciousgems which give us descriptions of all the extraordinarydiamonds in the possession of all the crowned heads ofEurope as well as of the princes of the Eastern countries.But in vain do we search for any record of a gem whichcan in point of curiosity, beauty and perfection be comparedwith this blue brilliant, etc."Mr. Hertz was no doubt a good jeweller anda clever expert, but he was not very learned inthe history of precious stones or he could neverhave made this astonishing statement.He hadonly to search in the records of France to findthe account of a wonderful blue diamond ofeven greater size.With regard to the value of the diamond, hedeclares his inability to fix any sum, saying :"There being no precedent the value cannot beestablished by comparison. The price which

THE FRENCH BLUE. 129was once asked for this diamond was thirtythousand pounds (one hundred and fifty thousanddollars) but we must confess for the above statedreason that itmighthave been estimated ateven a higher sum." There was a precedentfor estimating its value ;but of that Mr. Hertzwas ignorant.The French Blue was valued atthree millions of livres (six hundred thousanddollars) when it weighed sixty-seven carats.According tothis calculation one hundred andfifty thousand dollars was not an excessive priceto put upon the Hope Blue of forty-four carats.The Hope Blue still remains in the possessionof the family which has givenit that name,while the other fraction of the dissevered FrenchBlue is likewise in privatehands. This is muchto be regretted from the historian's point ofview, for famous diamonds acquire agreat dealof their value and alltheir interest from the personswho have owned them.For a gem whichhas graced the royalfestivities of Versailles asthe Blue Diamond has done, or enhanced the

130 THE FRENCH BLUE.stately ceremonials of the Escurial as was thecase with the Pelegrina, to sink into obscurityin the collection of a wealthyMr. Unknown orin the jewel casket of a Princess Nobody is asad decadence. Jewels,from their value andindestructibleness, are among the few objectsused by the illustrious dead which can and doremain unaltered in appearance,therefore it iscontrary to our sense of the fitness of things fora historical gem to cease to be such by belongingto a person without a history.

VI.THE BRAGANZA.IFthe stone which is known by the name ofthe " Braganza," or the " Regent ofPortugal,"is a diamond, it is undoubtedly the largestthat was ever found in either ancient or moderntimes. But then it isby no means certain thatit is a diamond at all. It would be quite easyto establish the fact by submittingthe stoneto the examination of experts, but apparentlythe Royal House of Portugalholds that theBraganza, like Caesar's wife, should be abovesuspicion. At all events the fact remains thatthis monster diamond has never been seen by anyindependent expert whose judgmentwould beaccepted without appeal. When the learnedare in doubt it would ill become us to decide ;therefore, without offering an opinion, we shall,

132 THE BRAGANZA.provisionally at least, class the Braganza amongthe diamonds of this series ;and when its truecharacter is established beyond dispute we shallknow whether to call it the Monarch of Diamondsor only a vulgar impostor.The stated weight of the Braganza reachesthe astounding figureof one thousand six hundredand eighty carats. Of course this is in itsrough state, for the giant gemhas refused totrust itself to the hands of any cutter howeverskillful.Yet this weight exceeds by more thandouble the weight, in the rough, of the nextlargest diamond known to history, namely, theGreat Mogul. When we think of the price ofthe Regentover six hundred thousand dollars,while weighing only four hundred and ten caratsin the rough and then turn to the Braganzawith its sixteen hundred carats, the mind staggersbefore the money-value thus suggested.All the other famous diamonds of which wehave treated have been Asiatic ;but the Braganza,like the Pelegrina Pearl, hails from the New

THE BRAGANZA. 133World. Consequently its history does not reachback into those misty past ages whither we wentgroping after the Orloff and the Koh-i-nur. TheBraganza is a diamond of yesterday,hence theaccount of its rinding is clear, minute and accurate.Here it is. The speaker isJoseph Mawe, ageologist, merchant and traveler who visitedBrazil in the first decade of this century andwhose book on the countries which he sawis our best authority on that part of SouthAmerica."A few leagues to the north of the Rio Prata is arivulet named Abaite, celebrated for having produced thelargest diamond in the Prince's possession, which wasfound about twelve years ago (namely 1797). Itmaybe allowed me in this place to relate the particulars asthey were detailed to me during my stay at Tejuco. Threeintelligent men having been found guilty of high crimeswere banished into the interior, and ordered not to approachany of the capital towns or to remain in civilizedsociety on pain of perpetual imprisonment. Driven bythis hard sentence into the most unfrequented part of thecountry, they endeavored to explore new mines or new

134 THE BRAGANZA.productions in the hope that sooner or later they mighthave the good fortune to make some important discovery,which would obtain a reversal of their sentence and enablethem to regain their station in society. They wanderedabout in this neighborhood, making frequent searches, inits various rivers, for more than six years, during whichtime they were exposed to a double risk, being continuallyliable to become the prey of the Anthropophagi, and inno less danger of being seized by the soldiers of theGovernment. At length by hazard they made some trialsin the river Abaite at a time when its waters were so low,in consequence of a long season of drought, that a partof its bed was left exposed. Here while searching andwashing for gold they had the gooddiamond nearly an ounce in weight.*fortune to find a" Elated by this providential discovery which at first theycould scarcely believe to be real, yet hesitating between adread of the rigorous laws relating to diamonds and a hopeof regaining their liberty, they consulted a clergyman, whoadvised them to trust to the mercy of the State, and accompaniedthem to Villa Rica where he procured them accessto the Governor.They threw themselves at his feet anddelivered to him the invaluable gem, on which their hopesrested, relatingall the circumstances connected with it.The Governor astonished at itsmagnitude could not trustthe evidence of his senses, but called the officers of the* " This is either a misprint or a gross mistake. For as there areone hundred and fifty carats to the ounce it would be more correct tosay ' nearly a pound in weight.' "

THE BRAGANZA. 135establishment to decide whether it was a diamond, whoset the matter beyond all doubt. Being thus by the moststrange and unforeseen accident put in possession ofthelargest diamond ever found in America, he thought properto suspendthe sentence ofthe men as a reward for theirhaving delivered it to him. The gem was sent to Rio deJaneiro, from whence a frigate was dispatched with it toLisbon, whither the holy father was also sent to makethe proper representations respecting The it. sovereignconfirmed the pardon of the delinquents and bestowedsome preferment on the worthy sacerdote."Such was thefinding of the Braganza aboutninety years ago.The Prince referred to in Mawe's account,was John vi., who, in1792, was declared Regentowing to the mental derangement of the QueenMaria Isabella, his mother. He was a greatdiamond-collector, not so much from love of theglittering gems themselves as for the wealth theyrepresented. As Brazil was rich in diamonds,and as all the proceedsfrom the mines weresubmitted to His Highness before being sentout of the country, he had ample opportunity offorming an extremely good collection.Accord-

136 THE BRAGANZA.ing to Mawe it was the Regent's practice toretain for himself all the large stones, with theresult that his treasure-chests contained themost splendid collection of diamonds known inmodern times.In 1809, Napoleon, by one of those pithyorders of the day which so delighted his armies,declared that "the house of Braganza had ceasedto reign," and the house ofBraganza forthwithproceeded to give truth to the declaration bywithdrawing itself from Portugal. On November9, John vi., the former regent, who hadbecome king upon his afflicted mother's death,sailed for Rio Janeiro.And he remained thereuntil 1821, when the clamors of his Europeansubjects compelled him very reluctantlyto comeback to them.It isprobablethat in this not over-valiantflight to safer climes King John carried theBraganza back to its native land. But whetherin Lisbon or Rio Janeiro the Braganza wasmore a wonderful legend than an actual stone,

THE BRAGANZA. 37for itwas always kept secluded in the strongestsafe of the Treasure Chamber. The Princeshowed some of his diamonds to Mawe, butthe latter in an emphatic foot-note says "I didnot see this diamond (the Braganza) when inBrazil."On gala days John wore the royal gemaround his neck, and for the purpose of suspensionit had a small hole drilled through the top.A large rough diamond nearly a pound in weight,hanging from the neck by a string of gold, wouldseem to our thinking to be rather a barbaricornament for a civilized monarch to wear.The diamond mines of Brazil, which werediscovered in 1727, yielded an extraordinarilyrich harvest during the first years of tillage.In1732,no less than eleven thousand ounces ofthese precious stones were shipped from Rioto Lisbon.But this influx of diamonds createdsomething like a panic among the merchants ofEurope, and to save their precious goods froma disastrous fall in price they formed a leagueof defamation. All kinds of reports were cir-

138 THE BRAGANZA.culated about the new comers that they weredefective, that they were ill-colored and finallythat they were not diamonds at all. Thesereports gained belief,and purchasers refused tobuy the Brazilian gems. The malicious libelsof the European merchants were cleverly defeatedby the crafty Portuguese.Since Europewould have none but Indian diamonds Brazilmust needs furnish none other.The diamondsfrom Sierrado Frio were secretly conveyed tothe Indo-Portuguese settlement of Goa then;they were sent inland, made up in the recognizedIndian style as parcels of Oriental gems,and thus doctored they appeared in Paris andLondon. There a credulous public eagerlybought them up at the high prices due to undoubtedIndian diamonds. Once the westerngems were fairly accepted, the Portuguese threwoff the mask, no doubt laughing heartily at thestupidity of the out-witted merchants, and Braziliansare now treated as fair and honorablediamonds.All that is to say except the tremen-

THE BRAGANZA. 139dous Braganza which is persistentlyand doubted by many writers.sneered atMawe describes atgreat lengththe diamonddiggings of his day, and as human nature varieslittle, it is probable that his picture would berecognizedeven now as a truthful likeness ofthose localities and their inhabitants.He saysthat, notwithstanding the rich produceof theground the inhabitants are mostly poor andwretched. Many of them dragout their livesin misery and idleness in the hope,which isnever realized, of one day finding a great diamondwhich shall make them rich and happyforever. The actual work is done by slavesunder the eye of overseers, who are supposedto be of unimpeachable integrity and sleeplessvigilance. The traveler gives some astonishingdetails bywhich the measure of theformer quality maythat as the producebe taken. He observesof the mines was all Governmentproperty and therebeingthe severestlaws against smuggling, he expected to see (at

140 THE BRAGANZA.the mining district) no gems exceptthose inthe official treasury.This expectation howeverwas quickly dispelled, for he found diamonds tobe the current coin of the place. Even themere word grimpiero (smuggler) seemed to throwthe inhabitants into a sort of fit ;they writhedabout, smote their breasts, called upon theVirginand all the Saints to bear witness to theirhorror of this the greatest sin possible to ahuman being.Yet they allsmuggled diamonds,from the slave at the washing-troughto thepriest officiating at the altar. Mawe, who hadconsiderable influence at court, was the firstmere traveler who ever visited the mines, andit is probable that he was the only person whoever went there without smuggling.He remarksthat he found it safer to see nothing of thatwhich passed under his very nose.In order to encourage honesty among the slaves,the finders of large diamonds were rewarded indifferent degrees accordingto the size of thestone. The finder of an octavo (seventeen and

THE BRAGANZA. 141one half carats) was crowned with a wreath offlowers and carried in procession to the administratorwho gave him his freedom and two newsuits of clothes. The fortunate negro, moreover,then received permission to work in the mines onhis own account.During Mawe's stay atTejuco a negro founda very large diamond, which with much eagernesshe took to be weighed." It was pleasing to see the anxious desire of the officersthat itmight prove heavy enough to entitle the poor negroto his freedom, and when on being delivered and weigheditproved only one carat short of the requisite weight allseemed to sympathize in his disappointment."Even now after all these years one cannothelp feeling regret for the high hopes of thathumble slave so sadly blighted. But those whobuild their fortunes on diamonds are sometimesbitterly disappointed. Harken to this anecdotefrom the pen of the same traveler in Brazil. Hewas waiting for an escort tothe mines and hadmeditated taking a couple of soldiery when

142 THE BRAGANZA.a singular occurrence furnished him with twominers who were appointed to attend him,and whose conduct he pleasantly says deservedevery commendation. A free negro from Villado Principe, some mine hundred miles fromRio Janeiro, wrote to the Prince Regent thathe had in his possession an amazingly largediamond which had been bequeathed to him bya friend.offeringThe negro was desirous of personallyit to the Prince whose fondness fordiamonds was pretty well known. The Princecommanded the negro to come to the capitalimmediately, and as the recognized owner of animmense diamond must not travel meanly, hehad a carnage and escort givento him. Aftertwenty-eight days of traveling, during whichtime he was the envied of all beholders, hearrived at Rio Janeiro and was straightwaybrought to the palace and speedily thereafterinto the presence of the Regent. His Highness,well accustomed to large gems,since heused to wear the Braganza around his neck,

THE BRAGANZA. 143was nevertheless astonished at the size of thisnew diamond. Everybodystood with batedbreath to hear what he would say, while a fewclever ones estimated its value in unheard-ofmillions. A round diamond was of itself analmost miraculous thing, nobody having everheard of the like before.However, it was sent under guardto thetreasury, and the next day Mawe was invitedto inspect the great novelty and to give hisopinion upon it as a geologist. Armed withletters and permits the distinguished strangerwent to the treasury and was solemnly introducedinto its innermost recesses. He was politelyreceived by the treasurer who explained everythingto him, showing him the jewel-chests eachfitted with threelocks, the three keysof whichwere held by three different officials." One of these chests being unlocked an elegant littlecabinet was taken outfrom which the treasurer took thegem and in great form presentedit to me. Its valuesunk at the first sight, for before I touched it I was con-

144 THE BRAGANZA.vinced that it was a rounded piece of crystal. It wasabout an inch and a half in diameter. On examiningit Itold the governor it was not a diamond, and to convincehim I took a diamond of five or six carats and with it cuta very deep nick in the stone. This was proof positive.A certificate was accordingly made out stating that it wasan inferior substance of little or no value, which I signed."Then the geologist went home and wrote aletter setting forth this unwelcome fact asdelicatelyas he could,for he knew that his letterwould be shown to His Highness, and itis at alltimes an uncomfortable task to telldisagreeablenews to a king. However the Prince Regentwas high-minded enough not tobe angry withhim. But great was the disappointmentof theunlucky negro. For years he had been buildinghopes upon that round diamond, and nowto see them vanish before the geologist's" deepnick" was trying indeed. Instead of beingfeted and feasted and loaded with rewards, hereturned home unescorted and empty-handedto be possibly laughed at by those very personswho had formerly envied him.

THE BRAGANZA. 145As a set-off to the deep disappointment sufferedon account of this supposed diamond we maymention the finding ofanother South Americanstone which was attended with far differentresults. A negress working at the mines ofMinas-Geraes in 1853 picked up in her trougha stone two hundred and fifty-four and onehalf carats in weight, which provingto be anundoubted diamond obtained freedom for thewoman, and afterwards a life-pension. Hermaster sold the diamond for fifteen thousanddollars, and the buyer immediately obtainedone hundred and fiftythousand dollars for it.After being cut by Voorsanger, thesame workmanwho manipulated the Koh-i-nur, itprovedto be a white stone of uncommon beauty andlustre.Under the name of the Estrella do Sud** The naming of diamonds is an art wherein there may lie fitness aswell as unfitness.Historic stones frequently bear the name of their firstwell-known owner, as for example the" Regent," the " Orloff," the" Braganza," and many others. Again they may bear names indicativeof their character as " Austrian Yellow," " Dresden Green," " FrenchBlue," or yet again their names may be purely fanciful.Of this latterclass there are numerous examples.The above " Estrella do Sud " is

146 THE BRAGANZA.(Star of the itSouth) attracted much attentionfrom amateurs and was eventually bought by anIndian rajah for one hundred and forty thousanddollars.Notwithstanding the lofty attitude of judicialimpartiality which we endeavored to assume atthe beginning of this article, a lurking suspicionremains in our mind that had the Braganza, likethe round stone before described, been subjectedto the keen scrutiny ofMawe's scientificeyes, it would no longer be classed among themost remarkable diamonds of Europe.Considerable difference of opinionexists asto the fate of the Braganza after King John'sdeath. Did he giveit to Don Miguel his secondson ? or was it a crown jewel and as such did itdevolve upon Don Pedro the eldest along withone, the " Koh-i-nur " is another. When fanciful names are given wehold emphatically that they should always be in the language of theperson who bestows it.As a historian we protest against needlesslyconfusing the already intricate annals of diamonds by giving to Americangems fine names fetched from Persia. Thelargest diamond found inthe United States weighed in the rough twenty-three and three fourthscarats and rejoices in the appellation of Oninoor (Sea of Light.)

THE BRAGANZA. 147the kingdom of Portugal ?Don Pedro preferredthe young empire of Brazil to the old kingdomof Portugal, which he gave to his little daughterDonna Maria da Gloria for whom he contractedthat unnatural marriage with his own brother.The house of Braganza was divided againstitself for many years during the first quarter ofthis century and very nearlycame to destructionthereby.The diamond which goes by thefamily name did not meddle in these politics,but lived in modest retirement, wherein it differsremarkably from the other diamonds with whichwe have already become acquainted.Indeed theBraganza stone leads so secludeda life that its very form is not distinctly known,but is said to be octahedral, a type of crystallizationfrequently met with indiamonds andtopazes. Its color is likewise subject to variation;some writers declare it to be white, andothers again aver that it is deep yellow. Asto its valuationthat is mere guess-work underthe circumstances of ignorance in which we all

148 THE BRAGANZA.flounder. Rome Delisle raises his estimate tothe enormous figure of fifteen hundreds of millionsof dollars, while Jeffries lowers his to themore modest sum of twenty-five millions.Eventhis latter amount is a gooddeal to be lockedupin so small an article as a stone elevenounces in weight.

VII.THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.TO give a full account of this precious stonewould almost involve the writing of thehistory of England from the reign of Edward in.down to the presenttime. We shall thereforelimit ourselves to a few of the most strikingscenes in which the Ruby figured.Though differing much in appearance theone being red and the other blue the rubyand the sapphire are, chemically speaking, thesame, viz. pure alumina. The perfect ruby isvery rare and more valuable,' sizefor size, thanthe diamond. It is tested in a curious manner.If itexactly agreesin tint with the fresh bloodof a pigeon dropped uponthe same sheet ofwhite paper on which it lies, it is pronouncedperfect.A stone of such beauty and rarity was149

150 THE BLACK PRINCES RUBY.ofcourse supposed to be endowed with miraculouspowers and affinities by the ancients ; as,for instance, "the Osculan," dedicated by theLady Hildegarde to St. Adelbert of Egmund.Of this stone, says a sixteenth-century writer :"In the night-timeit so lighted up the entire chapelon all sides that it served instead of lamps for the readingof the Hours late at night, and would have served thesame purpose to the present day, had not the hope ofgain caused it to be stolen by a runaway Benedictinemonk, the most greedy creature that ever went on twolegs."The Black Prince's Ruby is only by courtesycalled a ruby. It is in reality a " spinel," astone of inferior hardness and less intense colorand brilliancy than the true ruby.All the largehistoric stones which are called rubies are declaredby Mr. King to be undoubted spinels.There is yet another class of rubies of an inferiortype known as "balais," a name probably derivedfrom the place in India whence they came. Theinferior ruby is found in all parts of the world ;

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 151but Burmah is the home of the true ruby, a regionthat has just been added to the widely-spreadingempire of the British Queen.In the middle of the fourteenth century Spainwas ruled by a number of petty kings whosewars, assassinations and executions leave a generalimpression of bloodiness uponthe mindby which all distinct detail is engulfed. It isessential however to remember that Granadawas ruledby a Moorish prince, Mohammed byname, and Castile owned for Lord Don Pedro,the Cruel by title. The Moorish Mohammed,an easy-going personage, was dethroned by hisbrother-in-law Abu Said. Flying for his life,he escaped to Seville and threw himself uponthe mercy of this Pedro the Cruel.This monarchespoused the cause of his kingly neighbor, andafter several defeats the usurper thought it bestto come to Seville and arrange a peace with hisfoe.Abu Said accordingly repaired to the capitalof Don Pedro accompanied by a numerousand most magnificent suite. He was politely

152 THE BLACK PRINCES RUBY.received, but the next day, by Don Pedro'sorder, Abu Said and all his attendants were setupon and murdered. This was done for thesake of the Moorish prince's jewels which weremany and valuable. Amongevilly acquired was the Rubycrown of England.the treasures thusnow set in theThough enriched by this spoil, Don Pedrosoon felt the instability of human greatness,and in his turn had to fly for his life. Hisadversary was his own brother, Henry, the sonof the beautiful and unfortunate Leonora deGuzman. This Henry raised a goodly army forhimself composed for the most part of Gasconmercenaries, and he had for counselor andcaptain the famous French knight, BertrandDuguesclin. Against such a foe Don Pedrocould make no stand, so he hurried to Bordeaux,where the Black Prince along with hiswife Joan, called the Fair Maid of Kent, waskeeping his Christmas in right royal style.Thiswas in 1366. Don Pedro promised untold treas-

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 153ures to the Black Prince if he would come to hisaid. Tempted by such bait, the Black Princeled his troops intoSpain, fought for Don Pedroand conquered Henry for him at the battle ofNajera on April 3, 1367.This was the first,but unhappily not the last,battle-field on which English and French slaughteredeach other for the sake of a Spanish tyrant.Overjoyed at this success Don Pedro presentedto his deliverer then and there the splendidRuby in order to get which he had murderedAbu Said.Immediately afterwards he went offto Seville to collect the rest of the promisedtreasure.So he said at least, but the treasurenever came, and theBlack Prince, after losinghalf his army from sickness, was obliged to quitSpain without other payment than the Ruby.He wore the gem in his hat, as an original andcontemporaneous picture of him which Walpolesaw testifies.It is said that in the fever-strickenplains of the Peninsula the Black Prince inhaledthe germs of the disease which a few years after-

154 THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.wards carried him to the grave. The Ruby,large and splendid though it be, was dearlybought at such a price.Don Pedro was stabbedto the heart a few years afterwards by his victoriousbrother Henry,as he knelt before himpraying for mercy.Here the curtain falls uponthe firstscene in the drama of our Ruby.It rises again on the field of Agincourt, October25, 1415. Henry v. of England, with his armyreduced to fifteen thousand men, was falling backupon Calais from Harfleur when at Agincourthe encountered the French king and his nobilityfollowed by an army of nearly fifty thousandmen.The night before the battle Henry spentin disposing his forces to the best advantage,and on the morning he arrayedhimself with agorgeousness which has been commented uponby all contemporary writers.It was the fashionfor kings to go splendidly into battle, and for ahandsome young king oftwenty-five likeHenryit was only natural that he should follow sucha fashion to the fullest. His armor was gilt-

THE BLACK PRINCES RUBY. 155embossed, but his helmet was the theme ofespecial praise. The useful iron head-piecewas surmounted by a rich crown garnished withrubies, sapphires and pearls valued then at sixhundred and seventy-five pounds.* In thisglittering ornament the Black Prince's Rubywas a conspicuous feature. During the fightthe king and his shining crown were to be seenin all parts of the field where the battle ragedhottest.He fought like a lion for his life, unlikethe kings of modern times who, if present at all,sit afar off and view the battle-field safely throughtelescopes.Henry's crown and stout iron casque did himgood service on that eventful day, for it is relatedhow the French Prince, the Duke of Alen9on,struck it a heavy blow with his battle-axe, whichcame near finishing Henry's career on the spot.Again several Frenchmen, excited by the bloodredglitter ofthe Ruby perhaps,swore to strike* It must be remembered that the money value of the pound sterlingin Henry's time was three or four times what itis now.

156 THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.Henry's crown from his head or perish in theattempt. They accordingly rushed upon himin a body, and one of them knocked off a partof the crown, but the kingbravely until supported bydefended himselfsome of his ownknights.The sequel of this broken fragment of thecrown is not so picturesque or heroic. One ofthe prisoners taken in the a fight, person namedGaucourt, declared after he was brought toEngland that he knew where the jewels werewhich had been struck from the crown. Onpromise of his libertywithout ransom if herestored them, he went toFrance and got thelost gems, returningwith them to London. Itis a sorry thing to have to record ofthe hero ofAgincourt that he appearsto have taken therecovered jewels and then neglected to liberateGaucourt.The identical helmet worn by Henry, nowshorn of all its jewels and onlydecked withthe dust of four centuries, hangs high aloft in

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 157Westminster Abbey where it is never seen withoutcausing interest in the mind of even the mostunimaginative visitor.The two deep marks, onemade by the battle-axe of the Duke of Alenc.onand the other bythe sword of the namelessFrenchman, are plainly visible, enduring evidenceof the fierceness of the fighting on thestricken field of Agincourt.Henry vi. followed his father's example incarrying his crown to the battle-field, but furtherthan that the parallel cannot lie, for instead ofwinning a kingdomthe luckless Henrycrown at Hexam (1464) and only savedby the fleetness of his horse.probablymounted our Ruby,lost hishis lifeThe crown whichwas borne by apage who was killed, and the regal bauble wasinstantlycarried off to Edward iv. who hadhimself forthwith crowned with it at York.In thatlong and bloody strugglethe honorsof which are somewhat concealed in its gracefuland poetic name, the Wars of the Roses, theRuby adhered to the winning side.When Lan-

158 THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.caster was bowed in the dust, itgleamed onthe head of York, and so we bringit down tothe youthful days of bluff KingHal. At hiscoronation Henry vm. is thus described by acontemporary :" He wore a robe of crimson velvet furred with ermine,his jacket of raised gold, the placard (tabard ?) embroideredwith diamonds, rubies, emeralds and great pearls,and other rich stones, a great Bauderike (collar) abouthis neck of great Balasses, while as for his beautifulfeatures, amiable visage and princely countenance, withthe noble qualities of his royal state, they are too wellknown by everybody to need mention by me."From which comment we must perceive that theestimate entertained of Henry vm. has altereddecidedly for the worse. This Bauderike, orcollar of rubies, was a famous jewel and onewhich appeared at all the great pageants of thepleasure-loving king. It was entirely brokenup byCharles I. and sold to raise funds for hisarmy. We are disposed to conjecturethat itincluded our Ruby either as pendant or other

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 159portion of the collar. It was worn at the Fieldof the Cloth of Gold where Henry and Francis I.outdid each other in splendor. Notwithstandingallthis display of gold and jewels, they werebut half civilized at the court of Henry,as thefollowing quaint incident proves.At a certainsplendid pageant the Kingand some of hisnobles attired themselves in fanciful costumesuponwhich their chosen names such as"True-Love," "Good Cheer " and the like were writtenin largeletters of bullion. After the mask theKing intimated that the court-ladies might takefor keep-sakes those gold letters, and they, delighted,proceeded instantly to snatch them fromthe dress of the King and his courtiers. Thecrowd which was witnessing this show from afarrushed in to sharethe spoil, and in a twinklinghad stripped the King to his jerkin and hose ;they then attacked the Queen and her ladiesand " worse would have befallen " ifthe royalguards had not opportunelyarrived and drivenoff these grabbing subjects.

l6oTHE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.Henry's daughter, Elizabeth, was even moreextravagantly fond of jewels than he was himself.The numerous well-known pictures of the queenare more especially portraitures of Her Highness'sdresses and jewels than anything else.Elizabeth did not set the Ruby awayin herstate-crown but keptitby her, no doubt for thefrequent bedecking of her royal person.She showed itupon one occasion to the Scotchenvoy, Sir James Melville, under circumstancesof peculiar interest. It was in 1564 when Elizabethand Mary Stuart were both young women,the one comely, the other beautiful, and bothwere eagerly sought by every unmarried princein Europe.Elizabeth had rejected all her offers.Mary had done the same. The English queenwas lavishing honors upon her handsome Masterof the Horse, Robert Dudley, and was generallyunderstood to be preparing him for a seat onthe throne beside herself. At this juncture sheiastonished the world by announcing that shehad found a husband for MaryStuart. This

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. l6lhusband was Robert Dudley. The Scottishqueen was considerably amazed at this proposal,and not a little annoyed at being offeredfor her consort a subject ofsuch mean descentas the handsome Robert. However she didnot say nay, and Melville was sent to Londonto negotiate the marriage. He stayed ninedays at the court of Elizabeth and has givenmost vivid pictures of that great Queen. Hefound her intensely jealous of Mary's superiorpersonal attractions and pressed the envoy hardto say which had the most beautiful hair. Shealso resorted to a childish trick to show him howwell she could play on the virginals. She likewisedanced for him, detaininghim two wholedays for the purpose, and his comment uponthis performanceis historic : "I said, 'My queendanced not so high or "disposedly as she did.'All this and much more the canny Scotsmantells us about what he saw and said and didduring his nine days visit.One evening the Queen took him into her

l62 THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.bed-chamber to show him some of her mostprecious belongings.She firstopened a lettroun(cabinet)where he beheld a number of littlepictures wrapped up in paper, with itseach one written by her own royalfirst one was thus labelled :" Myname onhand. TheLord's Picture."It was Leicester's portrait, and Melville holdingthe candle begged to see it,but Elizabeth madedifficulties about it ;then the envoy pressed herto let him carryit back with him to show to hisown queen, thinking apparently that the sightof the handsome face would move her to themarriagemore than, all politicalconsiderations.Elizabeth declared that she could not giveitup asshe had but that one, upon which Melville retortedthat she had the original." She shewedme a fair ruby, great like a racket-ball. Idesiredshe would either send it to my queen or the Earl'of Leicester's picture. She replied IfQueenMary would follow her counsels she would getthem both in time and all she had, but shewould send a diamond as a token by me.' "It

i6 3was the Black Prince's Rubyfor which theenvoy begged, but the poor Queenfated never to get either the jewelof Scots wasor the earl.This ruby was pierced at the top with a smallhole to enable it to be worn suspended from theneck, a frequentoccurrence with oriental gemswhich are worn without setting. The hole isnow filled up by a small ruby,but this factproves it to have been among the jewels withwhich i.James adorned his state-crown. TheEarl of Dorset made a careful inventory of theroyal treasures, which issigned by the Kinghimself.The description of the imperial crown,after reciting a bewildering number of diamonds,pearls, rubies and sapphires, winds up thus :"and uppon the topp a very greate ballaceperced." This is manifestly the ruby in whosefate we are concerned.Charles i. seems to have used his father'scrown at his own coronation in 1626, a ceremonywhich was marked by two incidents afterwardsfound to have been ominous. There

164being no purplevelvet inLondon Charles wasrobed in white velvet, which isan unlucky coloritseems, and the Queen, Henrietta Maria, asilly and obstinate girl,refused to be crownedwith him, owing to their religious differences.Fortunately the great Rubywas not left in thejewel-house at the time of Charles' execution,for had it been there we should have heard nomore of it.Every thing which was found therewas either melted down or sold byorder of theCommonwealth. Amongst other things thustreated was the gold filigreecrown of Edwardthe Confessor, which was broken up and soldfor its weightof bullion. Such vandalism isalmost enough to make one a Jacobite.With the return of the Stuarts the Ruby cameback and ascended once more to itsproper placein the Crown of England.All the appliances ofa coronation had to be made anew for Charles n.,so that the ceremony was in consequence somewhatshorn of its impressiveness.Charles' crownwas, according to an old writer, "especially praise-

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 165worthy " for an enormous emerald seven inchesin circumference, a large pearl and a ruby set inthe middle of one of the crosses. This rubyalthough not particularizedis sure to be theone we have traced thus far. It is so verymuch larger than any other ruby belonging tothe Crown of England that whenever we find apre-eminently large one mentioned in Englishhistory we may safely take it to be the BlackPrince's Ruby. It could be mistaken for noother stone by anyone who had ever seen it.A shining ball of blood-red fire slightly irregularin shape, "great like a racket-ball," is not socommon an object that it could pass unnoticedby writers who take it upon them to describecrowns and other royal ornaments.During the reign of Charles n. the Crown ofEngland had a narrow escape of being stolen.This singular adventure happenedas follows:The Regalia then as now was kept in theTower and was shown to visitors as still isthe case. The person in charge was an old

1 66 THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.man named Edwards who was in the habitof lockinghimself in with his visitors whenshowing the treasure. One day a gentleman,apparently a parson, and a lady, apparently hiswife, called and saw the crown which they particularlyadmired, of course. The parson wasColonel Blood, a notorious Irish desperado.The lady became suddenly faint and was accommodatedwith a chairand other restorativesin the keeper's sitting-room where quite a friendshipwas struck up. The soi-disant parson cultivatedthe friendship assiduously, and finallyproposed to cement it by a marriage between hisnephew, apparently a soldier, and the daughterof the keeper. Blood came with the nephewwho it is needless to say was merely an accomplice,and another friend. Theythe regalia and the unsuspectingasked to seeold man ledthem into the strong room and locked himselfin as usual. The moment he had done so hewas set upon by the three ruffians, beaten, throwndown, gagged, stabbed in the body and left for

THE IJLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 167dead. Then they managed to force open thecase containing the Crown Jewels. Blood hidthe crown under his cloak, the other two tookthe scepter and the globe, and then they openedthe door intending to steal away. Just as theydid so, young Edwards, a soldier, who by asingularchance arrived at that moment fromFlanders, entered.rang with the cry"crown is stolen !In a moment after the Towerof "Treason! treason!' theThe young man gave chase, aided by the guardat the gate, and eventually they succeeded incapturing Blood after a " robustious struggle"during which some pearlsknocked out of the crown.and diamonds were"It was a gallant attempt for a crown," observedBlood, as they led him to prison. Hewas condemned, but Charles pardoned him, andeven admitted him to favor, thoughBlood wasa known ruffian who had nearly succeeded inhanging the Duke of Ormonde on the publichighway not long before. It is suggested that

1 68 THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.he terrified the king into liking him owing tothe boast that he had five hundred friends whowould do anything to avengehis death. Bloodwas constantly seen at courtand eventually heobtained a pension of five hundred pounds ayear, while poor oldEdwards was never recompensedand died in the greatest want and misery.Truly the ways of princes are inscrutable !James n. gave his whole soul to the glories ofhis coronation, reviving ancient ceremonies anddoing every thing with exactness, much in thesame way as did Charles x. of France, and theyboth succeeded in losing thecrowns thus elaboratelyset upon their heads. Jamesused thecrown made for his brother Charles whose headwas somewhat larger.have been expectedThe result was what mightthe crown did not fit, andwas with difficulty kept in its place.Indeed, itwabbled so much that Henry Sidney put forthhis hand to "steady it saying This is not the:first time, Your Majesty, that my family havesupported the crown."

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 169James fled and the Ruby remained to greetWilliam and Mary at their double coronation,^and then it descended peacefully to the Houseof Brunswick,in whose service ithas ever sinceremained.The coronation of George iv. on July 19, 1821,was probably one of the most gorgeous pageantsof this century. The King spent an immensesum upon hisadornment ($1,190,000), and notonly that, but he gave close attention to thefashion of his clothes, spending days and weeksin anxious consultation over the length, size,shape, and material of all the garmentsthat hewas to wear.At last, having got all ready to his perfectcontentment, the trappings were all brought tothe palace, and the King dressed upone of hisservants in his own royal clothes and then puthim through the paces oflooked critically on.a coronation while hePublic feeling was very much excited at the timeover the divorce proceeding between George iv.

170 THE BLACK PRINCES RUBY.and his Queen, Caroline of Brunswick. When,therefore, it became known that the Queen wasnot to be crowned along with him, her partisanswere very indignant.The King was in the Abbeyin the middle of the gorgeous ceremony whenamid the frantic cheers of the multitude QueenCaroline drove up to the entrance attended byLord Hood.The doorkeeper however refusedher admittance, and after a long parley theQueen was obliged to turn away. MeanwhileGeorge iv. was going through the fatiguing foolerieswhich he had insisted upon reviving forhis own glorification.Six long hours the ceremony lasted, and asthe day was very hot and the King very fat, hespent most of the time wiping his streamingface with dozens of pocket handkerchiefs whichwere constantly passed along to him for thatpurpose.The crown forthis occasion was large, costlyand very heavy. It weighed nearly sevenpounds and was made by Messrs. Rundell &

THE CROWN OF ENGLAND.(By kind permission of Messrs. Cassell & Co.)

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 173Bridge. It was a mass of precious stones. Atthe back of the lower band was a large sapphire,one of the Stuart relics, and in frontgleamedthe fire-red stone which had lookeddown in Agincourt from the helmet of Henry v.The last coronation althoughit occurred halfa century agois familiar to us owingrevivifying process of the Queen's Jubilee.to theThecrown, which was also made by Messrs. Rundell& Bridge, is less heavy than that of George iv.by three pounds and more. We will not enumerateits thousands of diamonds, its hundreds ofpearls, and its scores of rubies and sapphires.The ornaments consist of fleur-de-lys and Maltesecrosses done in diamonds.In the center of thelower band of the crown isplaced the largesapphire already mentioned and just above it,in the middle of a superb cross composed ofseventy-five diamonds, gleams the famous Ruby.It stands out in bold relief and the red flash ofits rays givesthe needful touch of color to thesparkling mass of diamonds. The French say

174 THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.that the crown isheavy and without elegance,being in short altogether in the English taste.The criticism may be just,for it is difficult tosee how $5, 638, ooo worth of precious stones, exclusiveof the Ruby, could be packed on to thegearfor the small head of a small woman withany great attempt at elegance.The Queen was crowned on June 25, 1838, andDean Stanley tells of a sudden ray of sunlightwhich streamed down upon the youthful sovereignas she sat in the Coronation Chair withthe crown upon her head, producingan effectwhich was beautiful in the extreme. A Queenhas always been popular with the English, andwe can well imaginethe enthusiasm which Victoria'sgirlish gracefulness must have arousedin people who contrasted her with the heavyuninteresting kings who had preceded her.This was the last great occasion upon whichthe Black Prince's Ruby appearedbefore thenation whose sovereignsit had so long adorned;and viewing the beneficent reign of the gracious

THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 175lady whose coronation it then attended we canonly say we hope it may longuneventful existence at the top ofcontinue itsthe glitteringpilein the Wakefield Tower.In October, 1841, the crown, and all thattherein is,had a narrow escape of perishingunromantically by fire.The Tower being thenused as a military storehouse the fire rapidlyspread, and it was thought advisable to removethe crown. The keys of the strong case wherethe regalia iskeptare in the hands of threedifferent officials, all at a distance. There wasno time to be lost,as the place was getting veryhot, so police inspector Pierse with a crowbarburst through the iron bars, forced himself inand handed out the precious articles whosevalue is estimated at five millions of dollars.Soldiers and policemen ran with the coronationbaubles to a place of safety, and everything waseventually saved, though not before InspectorPierse had been well-nigh roasted.This is the last adventure that the Black

176 THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.Prince's Ruby has met with, and when we lastlooked upon it peacefully glistening in the sunlightit seemed hard to imaginethat it hadpassed through so many dangers byfire andsword and had looked down on so many greatscenes of royal splendor.

VIII.THE SANCI.THEdiamond which is known as "theSanci," or, as it is sometimes written,"Sancy," has been not inaptly termed a Sphinxamong stones.Until recently writers have beenaccustomed to begin the story ofthis diamondwith Charles the Bold Duke of Burgundy and,with numerous variations of detail, to derive itfrom him.Now Charles the Bold had three diamondswhich were famous throughoutEurope as wellfor their size as for the fact that they were cutby a European lapidary. Louis de Berquen,who flourished in the fifteenth century, discoveredby chance the true principleof diamondcutting.He rubbed two diamonds together andfound that one would bite upon the other, and177

178 THE SANCI.that a high polish could thus be effected. TheDuke confided his three greatdiamonds to thehands of thiscutter and was so delighted withthe result thathe rewarded the clever lapidarywith three thousand ducats. Of the diamondsthus cut, one was presented to Popeand another to Louis xi. of France.Sixtus iv.This latterdiamond was set heart-shaped in a ring betweenclasped hands, a symbolof truth and faithfulness,and as such was a singularly inappropriategift to one of the most perfidious monarchs whoever sat on a throne.The third stone the Duke kept for himselfand wore it on his finger. This is the onewriters have been pleased to callthe Sanci, butthey agree in no other detail of its history.The description of the Sanci an almondshapedstone covered all over with facetsdoes not agree with the description of theDuke's diamond ;but this awkward fact hasbeen easily got over by not mentioning it.Stillon making the Sanci belong to Charles the

THE SANCI. 179Bold a history had to be furnished for it.Accordinglywe learn that it was lost at the battleof Morat in 1476 and also atNancyin thefollowing year ; that it was found by a Swisssoldier under a cart and that it was takenfrom the frozen finger of the corpse of Charles ;that it was sold for two francs to a priestandthat it was sold to a French nobleman;and soon through a maze ofabsurdity and contradiction.The diamond known as the Sanci and oncean ornament of the crown of France never belongedto Charles the Bold. It is an Indian-cutdiamond, and it was firstbrought to WesternEurope in the reign of Henry in. of France byhis ambassador at Constantinople, the Seigneurde Sanci.This person deserves a word or two.Nicholas Harlay de Sanci was born in 1546and filledmany posts of importance during thereigns of Henry in. and Henryiv. He was aHuguenot, but being immensely wealthy he washeld in favor even by the son of Catherine de

l8oTHE SANCI.Medici. His magnificence and his jewels werethe admiration and envy ofhis contemporaries.He changed his religion backward and forwardthree or four times and finally underHenryiv. settled into Catholicism. For thisreason, if for none other, he was hated mostcordially by Sullywho mentions him with dislikein his Memoirs. According to Sully he wasclever but arrogant ;not very clear-headed forbusiness, yet sometimes hit upon expedientswhich would escape more phlegmatic minds.We shall see further on how this estimate wasborne out.Henryin. in a state of chronic war andequally chronic poverty turned in his distress tohis wealthy subject, and de Sanci responded asa wealthy and loyal subject should.The Kingneeded troops to enable him to cope with theLeague. Theymust be faithful thereforethey must be Swiss, who would only come uponcertain payment of their wages. In order toraise the money for these troops de Sanci of-

THE SANCI.l8lfered to pledge a great diamond, worth twentythousand crowns, which he had bought from thePortuguese Pretender, Dom Antonio, who onflying from Lisbon had carried off the crownjewels.The King gratefully accepted the offerand the diamond was sent for. A trusty valetwas the person deputed to carry the preciousfreight, but the valet was waylaidand murdered.Dismayed at the probable consequences ofthis disaster, the King roundly abused de Sancifor having trusted his diamond to a servant, butthe latter persistently declared his belief thatthe diamond was not irretrievably lost. Aftermuch difficultyand a considerable lapse of timethe body of the murdered valet was found, uponwhich de Sanci ordered it to be dissected, whenthe missing diamond was discovered in the body.This must have been one of those happy expedientswhich de Sanci's ready wit enabled himto hit upon. Few " phlegmatic " people wouldhave thought oflooking for a diamond in such

182 THE SANCI.a concealment in the dayswhen de Sancilived.In our enlightened times diamond-swallowingis largely practised by the thieves who infestthe mining regions of South Africa. Thepolice accordingly are supplied with emetics andpurgatives as well as rifles and ball cartridges.Quite recently a notorious thief was capturedand put under medical treatment. The firstday's doctoring produced three diamonds, thesecond brought to light eight more, and thethird day gave fourteen ;and after all the debilitatedpatient triumphantly declared, "There'splenty more to come, Baas."It has been thought advisable to givein detailthe story of de Sanci's valet and the diamondbecause the adventure is usually attributed tothe diamond which forms the subject of thisarticle. Upon careful examination it has appearedto us probable that it really happened tothe diamond bought from Dom Antonio andthat this diamond was a distinct stone from the

THE SANCI. 183Sanci proper.Both gems however seem to havehad the same fortunesand their histories for acentury and a half runin parallel lines.De Sanci, whose extravagance was unbounded,graduallybecame embarrassed and from timeto time no doubt disposed of his gemsin orderTHE SANCI :TOP AND SIDE VIEWS.to raise money. The date of the purchase ofthe Sanci is fixed about 1595, when Elizabethwho was inordinately fond of jewels added ittothe Crown of England.In 1605, Sully receivedan order from Henry iv. to buy upall thejewels of Monsieur de Sanci, whose affairs hadcome to a crisis. Neither the Sanci nor the'Portuguese diamond were among these valuablesthus bought in for Henry.

184 THE SANCI.In the reign of James i. of England thereappears amongst his Majesty's personal jewelsone of particular note called the " Portugal "whose name does not appear inprevious inventoriesof the English jewels,and this we areinclined to believe was the diamond which deSanci purchased from Dom Antonio, and whichhad so manyadventures. In the absence ofdirect proofhowever this identification shouldbe accepted only provisionally. Shortly afterhis accession James caused a number of jewelsto be reset, and one ornament, known as the" Mirror of Great Britain," was considered tobe the master-piece.It is thus described in the official inventoryof 1605 :"A greate and riche Jewell of golde, called the Myrrorof Greate Brytagne, contayninge one verie fayre tablediamonde, one verie fayre table rubye, twoe other lardgedyamondes cut lozengewyse, the one of them called thestone of the letter H of Scotlande garnyshed vvyth smalldyamondes, twoe rounde perles fixed, and one fayre dyamondecutt in fawcettes bought of Sancey."

THE SANCI. 185That this was the diamond subsequentlyknown as the Sanci there can be no doubt." "The description cut in facets almost establishesthe fact without the mention of the nameof its recent owner.The diamond called the " Stone of the letterH " belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots, and wasgreatly valued by her. It was a present fromHenry vm. to his sister Margaret on her marriagewith Jamesiv. of Scotland. In her willthe Queen of Scots bequeaths it to the Crown,declaring that it should belong to the Queen'ssuccessors, but should not be alienated.When in 1623 Charles, the Prince of Wales,went on his love-trip to Madrid along withBuckingham to woo the Infanta, he had an enormousamount of jewels sent out to him in orderto make friends for himself at court. As wasalready mentioned in the paper about thePelegrina, these magnificent gifts were valuedat no less a figure than one and a half millionsof dollars. Buckingham, who did not lack for

l86THE SANCI.audacity, had the impudence to write to KingJames asking for the "Portugal" itself; butthe over-indulgent monarch, though he scarcelyever refused anything to his beloved favorite,did not comply with this request.The Spanishmarriage fell through,and Charles and Buckinghamreturned to England.A couple of years afterwards, Charles beingKing, the statelyDuke was sent to Paris tobring back the king's bride, Henrietta. Onthis occasion Buckinghamseems to have exceededhimself in splendor. He was provided,says Madame de Motteville,with all the diamondsof the Crown and used them to deckhimself. Possibly this may be merelyan expressionto indicate the profusion of Buckingham'sjewels, and diamonds should not be readliterally.Be this as itmay,it is a fact that theDuke appeared at a ball at the Louvre in a suitof uncut white velvet, sewn all over with diamonds.These diamonds moreover, were sewnon very loosely, so that whenever the wearer

THE SANCI. 187passed a group ofladies he particularly wishedto honor, he shook himself, and a few of thediamonds fell off.This senseless extravagancewas resorted to in rivalry of the Duke of Chevreuse,the most profuse of the French nobles,who at the ceremony of the betrothal had appearedin a suit embroidered with pearls anddiamonds, it being contrary to a sumptuary lawto embroider with gold or silver.Charles did not long enjoy the tranquil possessionof his diamonds. By the time he andHenrietta had ceased to quarrel he and his Parliamenthad begun to do so.large number of the crown jewelsThe Queen pledged ain Hollandin order to raise funds for her husband, butthese consisted mostly of pearlsand did notinclude either the Sanci or the Portugal whoseconnection with the Crown ofyet to be severed.England was notIn 1669 the court jeweler of France, Robertde Berquen, whose writings have already beenalluded to, says:

l88THE SANCI." The present Queen of England has the diamond whichthe late Monsieur de Sanci brought back from the Levant,It isalmond-shaped, cut in facets on both sides, perfectlywhite and clean, and itweighs fifty-four carats."Berquen was likely to be well-informed bothfrom his profession and from his position.Hisbook is highly interestingand contains somevery quaint passages. Thus, when writing ofdiamonds he assumes a critical attitude in surveyingpast writers and their deductions, andrejects with scorn and as utterly unworthy ofbelief the statement that a lady, having twolarge diamonds, put them awayin a box andfound, on again examining the box, that theyhad produced several young ones.The expression" the present Queen of England"has considerably puzzled many writers,since at that date there were two queens ofEngland, namely the dowagerHenrietta andthe consort of Charles IL, Catherine of Braganza.It seems most probable that the expressionrefers to the latter, for some years previous

THE SANCI. 189to the Restoration we find Henrietta disposingof the diamond to the Earl of Worcester. Thefollowing letter is in her hand :"We Henrietta Moria of Bourbon, Queenof GreatBritain, have by command of our much honored lord andmaster the King caused to be handed to our dear and wellbelovedcousin Edward Somerset, Count and Earl ofWorcester, a ruby necklace containing ten large rubies,and one hundred and sixty pearls set and strung togetherin gold. Among the said rubies are also two large diamondscalled the ' Sanci ' and the ' Portugal,' " etc.After the Restoration Charles IT. made strenuousendeavors to collect the scattered jewelsofhis Crown. How or when he recovered theSanci and the Portugalwe cannot now tell. Itwould be very like the devoted Worcester whoruined himself for the Stuarts to have giventhem back to Charles without stipulation, and itwould be very like a Stuart to have acceptedthem and never to have paid for them. Worcesterdied in 1677 and two years later,as wehave seen, the Sanci was in the hands of the" present Queen of England."

190 THE SANCI.Along with the Crown,the Sanci descendedto James ti., and no doubt figured at the extraordinarilyfine coronation which inaugurated hisdisastrous reign. The Queen had a million'sworth of jewels on her gown alone, and " shonelike an angel," says a contemporary, who was sodazzled by her splendor that he could scarcelylook at her. When James lost his crown hemanaged to keep hold of the Sanci and also,presumably, of the Portugal.Indeed the jewelsof England for a long time served to keep thefamished court of the Stuarts around Jamesand his son.Gradually theywere sold to meetthe exigencies of the various Pretenders tillnothing of value was left for the last Stuart,the Cardinal of York, to bequeath to the EnglishKing. Among the first to gowas theSanci which Jamesn. sold to Louis xiv. fortwenty-five thousand pounds about the year1695.From this date for one hundred years theSanci ranked third among the French jewels,

THE SANCI. 191being valued at one million of francs ($200,000).The first and second on the list were respectivelythe Regent, valued at twelve millions, andthe Blue, at three millions.At the coronation of Louis xv. in 1723, theSanci bore a distinguished part.The littleKing, aged thirteen years and ahalf, was crowned at Rheims with all the splendorand tediousness of ceremonial for whichthe French court had become renowned. Louis,previous to the imposition of the Crown, wasdressed in a long petticoat garment of silverbrocade which reached to his shoes,also ofsilver. On his head he. wore a black velvetcap surmounted on one side by a stately plumeof white ostrich feathers crested with blackheron's feathers. This nodding head-dress wasconfined at the base by an aigrette of diamonds,among which the Sanci was chief.At the coronation of Louis xvi. in 1775, tneSanci had the honor of surmounting the royalCrown in a fleur-de-lis, which was united to the

IQ2THE SANCI.rest of the diadem by eight gold branches. Justbeneath the Sanci blazed the royal Regent withthe Portugal, the Sanci's old companion andfellow diamond. Pity that a head once so gorgeouslybonneted should roll in the bloody sawdustof the guillotine!The Sanci shared the fate of the Regent inbeing stolen in 1792,but it did not share itsluck in being found again. As early as Februaryin that eventful year rumors beganto circulateof the intention of the royalists to layviolent hands upon the Crown Jewels,but thecommissioners ordered to make the inventoryfor the National Assembly declared such rumorsdevoid of truth. The fact remains howeverthat all the diamonds were stolen, and all, exceptthe Regent, disappeared completely formany years.In 1828 the Sanci comes to light once more.A respectable French merchant sold it in thatyear to Prince Demidoff, Grand Huntsman tothe Czar, for a large sum, apparently one hun-

THE SANCI. 193dred and eighty thousand dollars.One wouldlike to know where the above respectable merchantgot the diamond, but unfortunately heseems not to have furnished any history with itperhaps because it might have made himappear less respectable.Four years later the Sanci went to law. PrinceDemidoff, it seems, agreed to sell it to a MonsieurLevrat, director of Forges and Mines inthe Grisons, for one hundred and twenty thousanddollars, and Monsieur Levrat agreed topay the price. Afterwards he contended thatthe diamond had been spoiled by being re-cut,which was very likely, and that it was worthonly twenty-five thousand dollars. To this remarkablereduction in price Prince Demidoffseems to have assented, and hedelivered overthe stone to Monsieur Levrat who was to payby instalments. Instead of paying, he pawnedthe stone, and the defrauded Prince sued him,won his case, and got back the diamond.Thiswas all the more lucky for the Demidoffs, since

194 THE SANCI.in 1865 they were able to sell it for one hundredthousand dollars.While in the hands of Prince Demidoff theSanci is reported to have had some strange adventuresof which the following is an example :It was in the shawl of the Princess one day,when, rinding it hot, she handed the shawl to afriend to carry for her. Thefriend was a veryabsent-minded scientific personage ; he put theSanci pin into his waistcoat pocket for safety andforgot all about it when returningthe shawl tothe Princess. She forgot the pin also (a likelyincident this).Next day the Sanci was missing.Consternation! Scientific friend hurriedlyinterviewed. He remembered the incident.Where was the waistcoat ? Gone to the wash(of course). O, horror ! Washerwomanfranticallysought. Where was the waistcoat ?in the tub ? Was there anythingfound in thepocket? Yes; a glass pin. Where was it?Had givenit to her littleboy to play with (ofcourse). Where was the boy ? Playing in the

THE SANCI. 195gutter Despair The little fable ends ! ! nicely,as a little fable should, and there is joy allaround.The person who gave the Demidoffs one hundredthousand dollars for the Sanci was SirJamsetjee Jeejeebhoy the great Bombay merchantand millionaire. And thus after manywanderings the Sanci at length returned to theOrient whence, to judge from its cutting, it hadoriginally come. However its stayin Indiawas but brief. It came back to Paris for theExhibition of 1867, where it found itself oncemore beneath the same roof as the Regent.Itwas nevertheless not in the same show-caseas that imperial exhibit, for it belonged toMessrs. Bapst who were willing to sell it for thesum of one million of francs, the exact amountat which it had been valued previous to theRevolution.Some one rich enough to buyit and fondenough of diamonds to spend such a sum on ajewel was found again in India. This time it

196 THE SANCI.was a Prince. The Maharajah of Puttiala becameits owner. When on the first of January,1876, the Prince of Wales held a Grand Chapterof the Star of India at Calcutta, he beheld, inthe turban of one of the Rajahs, the diamondof his ancestors. The Maharajah, says theLondon Times correspondent, wore fivehundredthousand dollars worth of the Empress Eugenie'sdiamonds on his white turban, and the GreatSanci as pendant. These were supplementedby emeralds, pearls and rubies on his neck andbreast.Of all the diamonds whose history we havefollowed this one certainly carries off the palmfor the variety of its adventures. The Koh-i-Nur is an older stone and has belonged to manykings, but the different countries in Asia are,to our minds at least, much less clearly distinguishedfrom one another than our Europeanstates. For a diamond to pass from the handsof an Afghan chief to a Persian Shah seemsless of a change than for it to go from the

THE SANCI. 197treasure-room of the Tower of London to theGarde Meable of Paris.Now thatthe Sanci has been found and is sowidely known it is to be hopedthat it will bekept always in view.Diamonds and heads areoften unaccountably lost in the seraglios ofAsiatic princes, but we must only hope thatoriental potentates are now sufficiently enlightenedto understand that we,of the WesternWorld, wish to be informed of everything thathappens, whether it be the fall of a dynasty, orthe sale of a diamond.

IX.THE GREAT MOGUL.TF the Sanci be the Sphinxof diamonds the-- Great Mogul may not inaptlybe calledthe Meteor amongthem. Like those brilliantvisitants in the skies, it flashes suddenly uponus in allitssplendor and as suddenly disappearsin total darkness leaving not a trace behind. Soutterly has it vanished from our ken that somewriters deny its independent existence. Andthis they do in the face of the minute descriptionof the greatest diamond-merchant and expert ofhis century, who actually held the stone in hishand ! Thehard-headed practical Tavernierwas not likely tohave dreamed that he saw theGreat Mogul, nor is it likely that a diamondmerchantof his experience could have madeany gross mistake as to its weight or its charac-198

THE GREAT MOGUL. 199ter for some go so far as to suggest that theGreat Mogul was a white topaz!The fact thatwe now cannot find the diamond is no sufficientreason for denyingits former existence.In the account of Queen Victoria's diamond,the Koh-i-nur, we made acquaintance with thecourt of Delhi ;to itscomplicatedrecords wemust return for the Great Mogul.It is scarcelyneedful to state this name is a fanciful one bestowedon the lost gem by European writers Taverniergives;it no distinct name in his description.Shah Jehan (Lord of the World )who reignedin the middle of the seventeenth century was, aswe have already seen, the husband of the beautifulNur Jehan (Light of the World) who borehim four sons and two daughters.As the King grew older his sons grew stronger,and fearing that they would not be able to dwelltogether in amity at Delhi the old monarch gavedistant governments to three of his sons, inorder to keep the young men apartfrom oneanother, and at a safe distance from himself.In

200 THE GREAT MOGUL.this way he vainly hoped to escape the destinyof Indian emperors jealousiesand mutiniesduring his life and fratricides after his death.But his plan failed. Shah Jehan saw one sonput a brother to death and he himself lived forseven years as the captive of the murderer.A contemporary of Shah Jehan was EmirJemla, or Mirgimola,as Tavernier calls him.He was a man of great ability and singular fortunes,being, so to speak, the Cardinal Wolseyof his king Abdullah Kutb Shah,lord of Golconda.Proud, ambitious, skillful and rich, heat length aroused the suspicions of his sovereign,as was the case with regard to Wolsey. EmirJemla was not, however, a priest, but a soldier,and commanded the King's armies.A Persianby birth and of mean origin,he had raised himselfto be general-in-chief by means of his militarytalents and his vast wealth. Emir Jemlasent ships into many countries, says Tavernier,and worked diamond-mines under an assumedname, so that people discoursed of nothing but

THE GREAT MOGUL.2OIof the riches of Emir Jemla. His diamonds,moreover, he counted by the sackful.In the year 1656, being sent by the King tobring certain rebellious rajahs to reason, he leftas hostages in his master's hands his wife andchildren, according to the usual practiceamongthe suspicious and not over-faithful Asiatics.While he was absent upon thisexpedition theKing's mind was poisoned against the powerfulfavorite by the courtiers jealousof his success.Having only daughters, the King was made tobelieve that Emir Jemla intended to raise hisown son to the throne, and theunruly, ill-manneredbehavior of this son lent color to the tale.The King took fright at the idea and laid handsupon the hostages using them sharply.The sonsent word to his father, Emir Jemla, and the latterenraged at the indignity resolved to avenge himself.He invoked the aid of the imperial suzerain,Shah Jehan. Uncertain of his success atheadquarters, he applied in the meantime to twoof the Emperor's sons who were nearer at hand

202 THE GREAT MOGUL.than far-off Delhi, for they were then at the headof their respective governments to the north andwest of Golconda. One of them refused EmirJeinla's offer of addinghis master's dominionsto the empire of Shah Jehanin return for theloan of an army, but the other accepted theproposition. The name of him who acceptedwas Aurungzeb, third son of Shah Jehan, and themost perfidious prince within the four corners ofIndia.The allied chiefs did not waste time, but arrivedbefore Golconda so unexpectedly thatAbdullah had barely time to save himself byretiring to his not far-distant hill-fortress. Indeedthe King himself threw open his gates tothe enemy, for Aurungzeb gave out that he cameas ambassador from the emperor Shah Jehan,and the King was within a hair-breadth of fallinginto the hands of the treacherous ambassadorwhen he received timely warning and savedhimself by flight.With a courtesy which Tavernierfinds passing graceful the fugitive King

THE GREAT MOGUL. 203sent back to his rebel vassal the wife and childrenwhom he had held as hostages.Notwithstandingtheir war there remaineda good dealof kindly feelingbetween Emir Jemlaand theKing, his master. For :example oneday hisMajesty being straitly besieged in his fortresswas informed by his Dutch cannonier that EmirJemla was riding withinrange." Shall I takeoff his head for your Highness ? " asked theDutchman. The King, very wroth, replied:'No; learn that not so lightlyis esteemed thelife of a prince." The cannonier, not to bebalked of his artillery practice, cut in twainthe body of a general who was ridingnot farfrom Emir Jemla.On his side also Emir Jemla was anxious notto reduce the King to extremities and refused toprosecute the siege to the uttermost, which muchdisgusted his ally Aurungzeb.Rather he wouldtreat with his ancient master, who gladly acceptedthe chance of deliverance, appealingto ShahJehan himself against his son. The emperor

204 THE GREAT MOGUL.was easy on his former ally,and eventually afamily alliance was arranged between a daughterof King Abdullah and a son of Aurungzeb.Emir Jemla set off to Delhi to confer with ShahJehan upon the subject.It isan axiom of Asiatic etiquette that no oneever comes before a king without laying a giftat his feet. Emir Jemla, anxious to obtain thefavor of Shah Jehan, took care not to standbefore him empty-handed, but presented himwith "that celebrateddiamond which has beengenerally deemed unparalleled in size andbeauty." So says Franzois Bernier, a Frenchman,physician to Aurungzeb, who lived manyyears in Delhi and whose familiarity with thecourt enabled him to speak accurately of recentoccurrences.After Emir Jemla had presented his matchlessdiamond to Shah Jehan, who was a man of tastein gems, he gave the Emperorto understandthat the diamonds of Golconda were quite otherthings from " those rocks of Kandahar," which

THE GREAT MOGUL. 205he had seen hitherto. This was a rather contemptuousphrase to use to an emperor whoalready possessed the Koh-i-nur. However, thestone which Emir Jemla gave to Shah Jehan sofar exceeded everything thathad been hithertodreamed of in the way of diamonds that he mightbe excused if he exaggerated somewhat.It will be well here to quoteTavernier's accountof the Great Mogul diamond, even thoughsomething out of the chronological order. Theoccasion is Tavernier's departure from Delhion his sixth and last return from India toEurope." The first of November, 1665, I was at the Palace totake leave of the King ( Aurungzeb )but he said I mustnot go without seeing his jewelssince I had seen themagnificence of his fete. Next morning very early fiveor six officers came from the king and others from theNabob Jafer Khan, to say the king was waiting for me.As soon as I arrived the two courtiers who had charge ofthe jewels accompanied me to his Majesty, and after thecustomary salutations they took me into a small chambersituated at the end of the hall where the king was sittingon his throne, and whence he could see us. I found in

206 THE GREAT MOGUL.this chamber Akel Khan, the chief keeper of the jewels,who as soon as he saw me commanded the four eunuchsof the king to go and fetch the jewels which were broughton two wooden trays lacquered with gold-leaf, and coveredwith cloths made on purpose, one of red velvet and oneof green velvet embroidered. Afterthey were uncoveredand had been counted, each piece two or three times, alist was drawn up by the three scribes present. Indiansdo all things with much care and deliberation, and whenthey see any one acting with precipitation or getting angrythey look upon it as a thing to laugh at."The first piece which Akel Khan put into my handswas the great diamond which is a round rose, cut veryhigh on one side. On the lower edge there is a slightcrack and a little flaw in it. Its water is beautiful and itweighs 319 1-2 ratis which make 280 of our carats, the ratisbeing 7-8 of our carat. When Mergimola (/'. e. EmirJemla )who betrayed the king of Golconda, his master,made present of this stone to Shah Jehan to whose courthe retired, it was rough, and weighed then 900 ratis whichmake 787 1-2 carats, and there were several flaws in it.If this stone had been in Europeit would have been differentlytreated, for severalgood slices would have beentaken off, and it would have remained heavier instead ofwhich it has been entirely ground down. It was HortenzioBorgis, a Venetian, who cut it, for which he wassufficiently badly recompensed, for when it was seen, hewas reproached with having ruined the stone, whichshould have remained heavier, and instead of paying him

THE GREAT MOGUL. 207for his work, the king fined him ten thousand rupees andwould have taken more if he had possessedit. If SieurHortenzio had understood his business well he wouldhave been able to get several good pieces from this stonewithout doing any wrong to the King, and without havingthe trouble of grinding it down, but he was an unskillfuldiamond-cutter."Tavernier held this greatstone in his handfor some time and contemplatedit at his leisure.It must have been a great day for him, the connoisseur,to see and examine the finest diamondin existence. It is well he looked long andkeenly at it, for it was never again to be seenby European eyes. On this second of November,1665, the Great Mogul was seen for thefirst, last and only time by one able to tell usanything about it. This was its meteor-flashinto history and fame. It was seen by the manbest able to appreciateit and then never seenagain.The accompanying illustration is takenfrom Tavernier's drawing of the Great Mogul.Incidentally we learn somethingmore of themonster diamond from the pen of the same

208 THE GREAT MOGUL.writer. Speakingof the Coulour or Gani diamond-mine,Tavernier says:" There are still found there large stones, larger thanelsewhere, from ten to forty carats and sometimes larger,among them the great diamond which weighed nine hundredcarats (an evident slip for ratis )before being cut,which Mirgimola presented to Aurungzeb (another slipfor Shah Jehan )as I have said before."To explain these slips of Tavernier's pen itwill be well to state that the great Frenchman,though speaking allEuropean and many Asiaticlanguages, was yet unable to write in any, noteven in his own. He therefore borrowed thepen of two different persons to write his delightfultravels which give us such a living picture ofIndian life two centuries ago. The Coulourmine, here spoken of, was discovered about acentury before Tavernier's time, in a very singularmanner. A peasant when preparing theground to sow millet, unearthed a sparklingpebble which excited his attention. Golcondawas near enoughfor him tohave heard of dia-

UNIVERSITYTHE GREAT MOGUL. 209monds, so he brought his prize to a merchant atthe latter place.The merchant was amazed tosee in the peasant's pebble a very large diamond.The fame of Coulour quickly spread, and it soonbecame a great mining center, employing thousandsof workmen. Tavernier objects that themine yielded stones of impure water. Thegems, he declares,seemed to partakeof the nature ofthe soil and tendedto a greenish, areddish, or a yellowishhue as the THE GREAT MOGUL.case might be.This defect was not apparentin the GreatMogul which was, he distinctly says, perfect, ofgood water and of good form, having but onelittle flaw on the lowest edge. Taking this flawinto consideration, the value of the diamond,according to Tavernier's scale of estimation,was 11,723,278 livres which being reduced to

210 THE GREAT MOGUL.present coinage yields the goodly sum of$2,344,655. Being permitted to weigh it,hefound the exact weight to be 279 9-16 carats.Then after looking at the diamond as longas he wanted,for Akel Khan did in no wisehurry him, Tavernier was shown a multitudeof other gems of lesser note, and among thema pearl perfectly round, weighing thirty-six andone half ratis of beautiful luster, white, andperfect in every way." This is the only jewel which Aurungzeb who reignsnow has bought on account of its beauty, for all the otherscame to him in part from Dara, his eldest brother, towhose belongings he succeeded after having cut off hishead, and in part from presents from his nobles."This slight remark opens to our view one ofthe saddest chapters of the gloomy family historyof Shah Jehan'ssons. And as Dara wasonce the possessor of the Great Mogul, we maybeallowed to give his pitiful storyin a few words.Prince Dara (David) the eldest son of ShahJehan and the Light of the World, was destined

THE GREAT MOGUL. 211man of restless ambition.Not content with hisappointed province of the Deccan, Aurungzebpretended to the imperial crown itself. In 1657Shah Jehan fellsick, and Aurungzeb, attendedby a large army, which included a contingentunder Emir Jemla's command, hastened towardDelhi.The aged emperor, dreading the filialsolicitude which arrayed itself in so formidablea manner, sent orders to his son to return to hisprovince. Aurungzeb not only did not return,but persuaded another brother to come up fromhis province, likewise attended by an army, andtogether they marched upon their father's capi-by his father to succeed him on the throne ofJelhi. Having, as we have already seen, disposedof his other three sons in the furthestcorners of India, the old king thought he wassafe. But one of those sons, Aurungzeb, was atal. The course of Asiatic intrigue is too complicatedand subtle for anybut the merestantiquary to track it. Suffice it to say that aftermuch lying and many protestations of obedience,

212 THE GREAT MOGUL.matters came to a crisis,and Dara was sent byShah Jehan to oppose Aurungzeb by force.Dara was overthrown and returned humiliatedto his father's palace. Recollectingthat hisown path to the throne lay through the blood ofhis nearest relatives, Shah Jehan, no longer ableto defend his eldest son against the undutifulAurungzeb, gave him two elephant-loads of goldand jewels, and bade him escape.The GreatMogul diamond was apparently among thejewels thus despairingly bestowed upon his sonby the enfeebled old king. At all events Daraescaped and fled from friend to friend for thespace of one year, and it was duringthis timethat he was seen by Bernier, the famous Frenchsurgeon, who was afterwards attached to theservice of Aurungzeb.Meantime that successful traitor dethronedand then imprisoned his father, whose grandiloquenttitle of Shah Jehan ( Lord of the World )became a bittermockery when designating theprisoner of Agra, and then he awaited the treach-

THE GREAT MOGUL. 213ery of some of Dara's so-called friends.course of a twelvemonth, his patienceIn thewas rewarded.The chief of Jun,who had reason tobe grateful for many favors from Dara, gainedan infamous notoriety by delivering the fugitiveprince over to his usurping brother.Aurungzeb caused Prince Dara to be publiclyparaded throughthe streets of Delhi with hislittleseven-year-old grandson by his side, whilethe executioner stood ominouslybehind him.This pitiful spectacle was witnessed by allDelhi, and many tears were shed over the fallof Dara, but "no one raised a hand to aid him,"remarks Bernier, who was one of the spectators.After a mock trialthe unhappy prince was sentencedto death, and a slave with several satelliteswas sent to the prison of Gevalior to dispatchhim. Dara was engaged in cookingsome lentils for himself and his littlegrandson,for this was the only food he would touch, lestthey should be secretly poisoned. The momentthe slaves entered, he cried out, "Behold, my

214 THE GREAT MOGUL."son, those who are come to slay us !andsnatching up a small knife he tried to defendhimself and the child.It was an unequal fightwhich could but end in one way.The boy wasquickly made an end of, and Dara being throwndown was held by the legs while one of theslaves cut off his head. The head was thenimmediately brought toAurungzeb, as a certificatethat his orders had been duly executed.The king desired the face to be washed andwiped in his presence and then, when he sawthat it was the veritable head of Dara, hisbrother, he fell a-weeping and cried aloud : "O,Dara !O, unhappy man ! TakeBury it in the tomb of Humaiyun."Such was the fate of Dara, theof the Great Mogul.itaway !second ownerIn conclusion Tavernier says of the treasuresbelonging to Aurungzeb :" These then are the jewels of the Grand Mogul whichhe showed to me by a particular grace granted to no otherforeigner, and I held them all in my hand and considered

THE GREAT MOGUL. 215them with so much attention and leisure that I can assurethe reader that the description which I have given is veryexact and faithful, as also of the stones which I had timeenough to contemplate."Here absolutely ends the history of this magnificentgem. What became of it no one knows.Whether it was lost in the sack of Delhi,or carriedoff by Nadir Shah along with the Koh-i-nur,it isimpossible to say, or even to conjecturewith any degree of plausibility.No account ofthis grand diamond, however, would be completewithout some reference to the extraordinarymyths which have gatheredaround it. Thereis scarcely another largediamond of no matterwhat size, or what color, or what shape, that hasnot sometime, or by somebody,been declaredto be the Great Mogul. Its subsequent historyseems to be the happy hunting-groundof thefoolish theories of writers on precious stones.Men who write carefully enough about otherdiamonds, launch out into the wildest conjecturesabout the Great Mogul.They apparently

2l6THE GREAT MOGUL.cannot bear the thought of losing so precious agem and therefore they find it somewhere, nomatter to what inconsistency and absurdity theymay be reduced in the process of identification.Take a few examples.It has been maintained that the Great Mogulis the Orloff ;that it is the Koh-i-nur ;that it isboth together ;that it is the Orloff, the Koh-inurand a third beside, now lost, which HortenzioBorgis obtained by cleavagethe precisething which Tavernier distinctly says he did notdo, preferring to grind down it that it was;nota diamond at all, but a white topaz as if Tavernier,the greatest expert of his times, wouldnot have detected that fact.Even Mr. Streeter,in general a most reliable authority on diamonds,is dazzled intoinconsistency when he comes totreat of the Great Mogul.In his work, PreciousStones and Gems, published in 1877, he saysunder the head of celebrateddiamonds: "Thediamond known as the Great Mogul has receivedan amount of attention beyond any other.Un-

THE GREAT MOGUL. 217der the name of the Koh-i-nur (Mountain of Light*)itplayed an important partin the Exhibitionof 185 1," etc., etc.Now harken to Mr. Streeterwriting in 1882 : " If this description (Tavernier's) be comparedwith the models both oftheKoh-i-nur and of the Great Mogulitself inour possession, all doubts will be at once removedas to the essentially different characterof the two crystals." Again:" The two differabsolutely in their origin, history,size andform!" The Mr. Streeter of 1882 is wiselyignorant of the lucubrations of the Mr. Streeterof 1877.Unable to offer the slightest hint as to thefate of the Great Mogul we can only hope thatsome future day may reveal it,and until thenwe must put up with our ignoranceas best wemay.It came and went in a flash of glory, theMeteor of Diamonds.

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.THE subject of this article is,as its namesets forth, a diamond of a yellow hue.After the Orloff it is the largest cut diamond inEurope, weighing one hundred and thirty-nineand a half carats. Tavernier, who first mentionsit, says " it has a tinge of yellow which isa pity." King declares, " on the highest authority,"which he doesnot further particularize,that this tinge is a very strong one, almostdestroying its brilliancy.Yellow diamonds are not necessarily devoidof brilliancy, as we can bear witness from personalknowledge. There was recently offeredfor sale at a public auction in London a verylarge specimen known as the Orange Diamond,of one hundred and ten carats weight, which we218

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW. 219carefully examined.The circumstances were decidedlyadverse to the beauty of a diamond, for itwas in the half-light of a London fog that we sawit,yet the stone seemed literally to shoot tonguesof yellow fire from its facets. It was a roundbrilliant, and being set in a circle of about ascore of white diamonds itstawny complexionwas shown to admirable advantage.The jewelwas supported on a delicate spring which vibratedwith each step upon the floor, so that therewas a constant coruscation oflight around it.It is difficult to establish the early history ofthe Austrian Yellow". Tavernier saw it in Florencesomewhere about 1642, but he does notsay whence it came. Its appearance proves itto be an Indian-cut rose, but that does not helpus much with regard to its private wanderingsin Europe.A good authority on diamonds, deLaet, who flourished shortly before Tavernier'stime, declared that the largest diamond thenknown weighed seventy carats, which wouldclearly indicate that he knew nothing about the

220 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.much larger yellow diamond.Tradition relatesthat it was bought for a few pence in the marketat Florence, under the impressionthat it was apiece of glass If this is ! so, one would be gladof some particulars of the moment when thehappy possessor found out his mistake.Tavernier says that " the Grand Duke (ofTuscany)did him the honor to show him theTHE AUSTRIAN YELLOWTOP AND SIDE.diamond several times." He made a drawingof it,as he did of nearly all the large diamonds hesaw, and his estimation of its value is two millionsof livres (about four hundred thousand dollars)a low price considering the size of the stone ;but no doubt its yellow tinge had something to

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.22 Esayto it.The Grand Duke of Tavernier's timewas Ferdinand ii.,who reigned from 1621 to 1670a man of considerable enlightenment, a protectorof Galileo and an encourager of literature.If there isany truth in the popularbelief towhich we shall presently allude, that diamondspromote the mutual affection of husband andwife, then indeed the great yellow stone hadneed of its charm in the case of Ferdinand'sson and successor, Cosimo in. This lucklessprince was married to MargueriteLouise d'Orleans,niece of Louis xiv., a young lady offlighty fancies and obstinate willfulness. Beingdeeply attached to her cousin of Lorraine, shewas only induced to give her hand to the heirof Tuscany on the threat of imprisonment in aconvent. She was married in 1660 and madeher state entry into Florence amid unparalleledsplendor. Immediatelyafterwards the courtsof Europe rang with the quarrels of the newlyweddedpair. The Pope of Rome, the King ofFrance, mother, sisters, aunts, ambassadors,

222 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.bishops, cardinals, lady'smaids, each in turninterfered with the object of restoring harmony,and each in turn ignominiouslyfailed. Heresurely was work for the diamond had it beenpossessed of its reputed power.During this time and for many years afterwards,the diamond about which we write wasknown as the " Florentine " or " Grand Tuscan."It was the chief jewel in the treasure-house ofthe Medici, and no doubt rilleda conspicuousplace in the pageants ofthe grand-ducal court.The Florentine sovereigns were not wealthy, butupon state occasions they made extraordinarydisplays which sometimes deceived foreignersvisiting amongthem into a false idea of theiraffluence. A wedding was always a favoriteoccasion upon which to show off their finery.For example, at the marriageof Violante deBaviere with the son of Cosimo in., a magnificencewas displayed such as was never beforeseen even in Florence.The bride sat on a carstudded with gems.Her father-in-law with his

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW. 223crown, no doubt containing the great diamond,upon his head, met her at the gate of San Galloand escorted her to the palace.This princess dying childless, the throne wasoccupied by Giovan-Gaston, another son ofCosimo in. and the flighty Marguerite. Helikewise left no heirs, so with his death in 1737terminated the great house of Medici.Giovan-Gaston was succeeded on the grand-ducal throneby Francis Stephen of Lorraine, who was forcedmuch against his inclination to change his paternalduchy of Lorraine for that of Tuscany.He was married to Maria Theresa, archduchessof Austria, afterwards so famous as the Empressqueenwho fought valiantly against Frederickthe Great. Bythe will of Giovan-Gaston delMedici all the statues, books, pictures and jewelsof his palace were " to remain forever at Florenceas public property for the benefit of thepeople and the attraction of foreign visitors,"and none were to be removed from out of theGrand Duchy.

224 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.Francis Stephen andMaria Theresa enteredtheir new capital, remained there four months,and then departing carriedaway with them thegreat Tuscan diamond. So much for the respectpaid to the wills of dead princes Henceforwardthe yellow diamond became known!as the Austrian Yellow in recognition, we suppose,of the royalthief who carried it off fromFlorence.At the coronation ofFrancis Stephenas emperorof Germany at Frankfort-on-the-Main, onthe fourth of October, 1745, the pilfered diamondwas used to decorate his Majesty's imperialdiadem.Maria Theresa had been extremelyanxious for her husband to be emperor, bothbecause she was fondly attached to him, andbecause she wanted him to hold a title equal atleast to her own as Queen of Hungary. Shestood on a balcony at the ceremony and was thefirst to salute him with the cry of "Long livethe Emperor " when the crown had been !placedupon his head. Our readers will of course be

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW. 22$aware that the imperial dignity was an electiveone. It remained, it is true, in the Hapsburgstill itfamily, did not descend from father to sonlike the other crowns of Europe, and the ceremonyof a fresh election was gone through atthe death of each emperor.Napoleon, who upset most things in Europe,failed not to upset the throne of Charlemagne.The Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist in1806, and Francis i.,the elected emperor, abdicatedthe old German throne to mount thebrand-new one of Austria.We return to our diamond.Francis Stephen, although emperorand reputedowner of the yellow diamond, was quiteovershadowed by the fame and splendor ofhiswife Maria Theresa. It is on record that oneday being present atsome high ceremony, heleft the circle around the throne and went tosit in a corner beside a coupleof ladies. Theyrose respectfully at his approach."Oh! don't mind me," he" said, I am only

226 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.going to sit here and watch the crowd until thecourt is gone."" As long as your Imperial Majesty is presentthe court will be here," replied the ladies."Not at all," said Francis Stephen. "Thecourt is my wife and children. I'm nobody."And such indubitably was the fact The Empressadored him, but he was nobody and hasleft but little trace in history, He was veryfond of money and sometimes resorted to singularmeans in order to turn an honest penny.When his wife was engaged in that long strugglewith the King ofPrussia which goes in historyby the name of the Seven Years' War, hemade a good sum by supplying the enemy's cavalrywith forage. Another strange thoughsomewhat less crooked means of augmentinghis riches is related concerninghis diamonds.He employed himself for a considerable timein a series of experiments which had for theirobject the melting down of small diamonds withthe view of making a large one. No doubt

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW. 227Francis Stephen would have been very pleasedto smelt up a goodnumber of diamonds if hecould thereby have produceda match for hisgreat yellow gem but it is easier to burn dia-;monds than to fuse them.The storms and revolutions which nearlyshook the house of Austria to the ground haveleft its diamond untouched. It was carefullypreserved in the hasty flightsfrom Vienna whichoccurred during the effervescing period of 1848when allEurope was in an uproar. And nowitreposes peacefullyas a hat-button for theEmperor Francis n. In appearancethe diamondis a nine-rayed star, and is all coveredwith facets, according to the true Indian fashion.It may possibly interest the reader to hear whatthe Austrians themselves think of their diamond.The following extract is made from the officialaccount furnished to Mr. Streeter :" This jewel was once the propertyof Charles theBold, Duke of Burgundy, who according to the custom ofthe day carried all his valuables inthe battlefield, first to

228 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.have them always in sight, and secondly on account ofthe mysterious power then attributed to precious stones.Charles lost this diamond at the battle of Morat, oh thetwenty-second of June, 1476. Tradition relates that itwas picked up by a peasant who took it for a piece ofglass and sold it for a florin. The new owner, BartholomewMay, a citizen of Berne, sold it to the Genoese, whosold it in turn to Ludovico Moro Sforza. Bythe intercessionof the Fuggers it came into the Medici treasuryat Florence. When Francis Stephenof Lorraine exchangedthis duchy against the grand-duchy of Tuscanyhe became owner of the Florentine diamond."Of this extraordinary tale the concluding sentencealone is the only one worthy of the slightestattention ;all the rest is mere legend. Contemporaryaccounts show that Charles the Boldhad no diamond at all similar to the AustrianYellow either in size or shape ;two very importantfactors in establishing the identity of adiamond.We have now reached the last great diamondwhich it is our purpose to chronicle, and it ishoped that the reader has become sufficiently

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW. 229interested in these sparkling pebbles to bearwith equanimity a few technical details concerningtheir nature and the processes which theyundergo before becomingornaments for thecrowns ofkings or the brooches of queens.That the diamond depends for itsbeauty almostentirely upon the labor of man is suffi-DIAMOND INTHE ROUGH.ciently known. The rough diamond is seldoma beautiful object, being usually coated with agreenish film which givesit the look of an ordinarypebble. It requires the eye of an adeptto recognize any potentiality of sparklein sodull a lump. The ordinary rock-crystal is in-

230 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.finitely more beautiful until the royal gem hasbeen transformed by human skill.But after thetouch of the magic wheel there is no substancewhich can compare with the diamond for luster,brilliancy and iridescence.Certain Indian diamonds finished by the handof Nature and known as " Naifes,"are an exceptionto the rule that rough diamonds are dulllooking. They are seldom or never found now,but were greatly prized by the natives in oldentimes and considered superior to the artificiallypolished stone.They were octahedral in form,with polished facets. The primary crystallineform of the diamond is the octahedron, or afigure of eight sides but it; by no means confinesitself to this form alone. It sometimes assumestwelve-sided shapes, or ismerely a cube, oryet again variations of these figures.The atoms composing thediamond tend toplace themselves in layers, and the discoveryof this fact facilitated the cutting of the stone,as by finding the grain a skillful manipulator

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW. 231was able to cleave off protuberances at ablow.The accompanying diagrams represent a certainlarge diamond both inthe rough and afterit was cut into a brilliant, and they will help toexplain the process of diamond-cutting, which isbriefly as follows : The first processis to makelead models of the stone in its actual state andalso in the ideal, namely, after it is cut. Bythis means is found out the most economicalway to shape it. The next stepis to cleave ittoward that shape as far as possible. Cleavingis performed in two ways ; by a steel sawstrungon a whalebone and coated with diamonddust which saws off the required amount ;or by scratching a nick with a diamond pointin the direction of the grain and splitting it offwith one blow.This latter process, observes anold writer, requires great strength of mind aswell as dexterity of hand, for by an unluckyblow a valuable stone may be utterly ruined.Supposing however that the cleavage has been

232 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.safely performed,the diamond is next fixedinto a handle and is so imbedded in a soft cementas to leave exposed only that portion whichis to be ground.By means of another diamondDIAMOND AFTER CUT-TING ; TOP, BOTTOMAND SIDE.similarlyimbedded in a handle it is workeddown to the requisite shape.The dust from thetwo grinding diamonds is carefully saved and isused for polishing them. This processis effectedby means of a disk of soft iron about afoot in diameter, coated with the diamond dust

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW. 233mixed with olive oil, and made to revolve veryrapidly in a horizontal position. The portionof the diamond to be polished is then pressedagainst therevolving wheel and a highstate ofpolish is thus attained. The grindingof thefacets is entirely governed by eye, and such isthe dexterity and accuracy attained by goodmanipulators that perfect roses are cut so smallthat fifteen hundred of them go to the carat;and when we remember thatfifty carats go toone hundred andan ounce we shall have somefaint idea of the minuteness of the work.*In Europethe brilliant is the usual form togive to the diamond, and the one most admired.The invention of this particular method of cuttingis due to Vincenzo Peruzzi, a Venetian, whoseems to have introduced the fashion in thelatter half of the eighteenth century. He discoveredthat the utmost light and fire couldbe* The carat is the seed of a kind of vetch common in India, and isof such uniform weight that it naturally suggested itself as a standardmeasure, just as in our country the barley grain was taken as the unit.

234 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.obtained by reducing the diamond to the shapeof a pair of truncated cones, united at the basewith thirty-two facets above and twenty-fourbelow the girdle or largest circumference.Reference to the illustrations will explain thefollowing technical terms : a, the upper surface,is called the table; b, its sloping edge, the beasil;the c, girdle the lower ; //, pointed portion, iscalled the pavilion, and the bottom plane, thecollet. Of the thirty-two top facets only thoseare called star-facets which touch the table ,allthe rest, as well as those below the girdle, arecalled skill-facets.The old " table diamonds," once so highlyprized, may be described as havingthe tableand collet greatly enlarged at the expense of thebeasil and pavilion. The rose diamond is coveredwith equal facets, either twelve or twentyfourin number, the base of the stone being flat.This rule holds only for European roses the;Orientals covered their diamonds with irregularfacets following exactly the shape of the stone,

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW. 235as with them the one object was to preserve theweight of the stone as far as possible.Chemically speaking,the diamond is almostpure carbon, and may be saidto be first cousinto ordinary coal and half-brother to the smokeof an oil lamp.If the lordly gem should refuseto acknowledge such mean relations it can alwaysbe confronted with the "black diamond," whichthough an undoubted diamond, looks so verylike a piece of coal that the kinshipis evident.The present writer once saw a very cosilyparurebelonging to the Countess of Dudley, composedentirely of black diamonds set heavily in gold.Being a very little girl she considered it a greatwaste of the precious metal to employit to setsuch ugly stones.She is of the same opinionstill.In ancient times the diamond was creditedwith a vast number of occult virtues. Thus itwas said by the Romans to baffle poison, keepoff insanity and dispel vain fears.The Italiansbelieved that it maintained love between manand wife, but we have already seen one notable

236 THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.instance in which it signallyfailed to renderthis useful service. One is at a loss to imaginehow such a belief became common, seeing thenumber of diamonds which belonged to royalpersonages, and the state of affairs prevalent intheir domestic life. In England, at the sameperiod, diamonds were looked upon asdeadlypoisons. The murder of Sir Thomas Overburyin the Tower of London during the reign ofJames i. was said to have been attempted bymeans of these gems ground to powder.Overburycertainly died, and presumably by foulmeans, but modern science has acquitted diamondsof having any share in the crime.There is a certain rule for estimating theprice of a diamond, and singular to say itis theold Indian rule by which Tavernier was guidedinhis purchases,and which modern commercehas been content to let stand. The currentmarket price of a good cutdiamond, one caratin weight being ascertained, the squareof theweight of the diamond to be valued is multiplied

THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW. 237by that figure.The present selling price inLondon of a clear and faultless cut diamondone carat in weight is one hundred dollars,one of three carats therefore would be worthWere our advice asked with regard to thepurchase of these valuable pebbles whose historyhas so long occupied our attention, we shouldrefer our interlocutor to that Chinese philosopherwho on being asked why he kept bowingand " saying, Thank you, thank you," to thegem-bedecked mandarin, replied:" I am thanking him for buyingall those diamondsand undertaking the trouble and anxietyof keeping them safe that I, undisturbed, maylook at them and admire them at my leisure."

XLA FAMOUS NECKLACE.THAT the human neck is a suitable pillarto hang ornaments uponis so obvious afact that it must have presented itself to themost rudimentary savage ;and that it did thusoccur to the early human mind we have abundantevidence. The prehistoric graves ofEurope give up a greater quantity ofnecklacesto the antiquarian searcher than almost anyother article, with the exception of implementsof war. These necklaces are differently composedof beads of glass and of amber, coloredpebbles and small gold plaques, while the whiteteeth ofvarious animals and sea-shells seem tohave been as general favorites with the prehistoricas with the contemporary savage.It is not our intention to givean account of238

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 239the many typesof necklaces which have foundfavor in the eyes of humanity. To do so wouldbe quite beyond the scope of these stories. Wepropose on the contraryto select but oneone especially notable amid the necklaces ofthe past. We may mention that the first diamondnecklace ever known in Europewas onecomposed of rough stones which was given byCharles vn. of France to Agnes Sorel. Thefair lady's soft neck was so irritated by thesharp corners of the necklace that she said itwas her pillory (carcaii),hence the term carcanetwhich means a diamond necklace. The termfellinto disuse about the time of the Revolution,and the proper name in France for a string ofdiamonds at that period was riviere.Nowadaysthey have restored the carcanet and kept theriviere as well, both terms being in commonuse.Of all the necklaces in all countries and alltimes, incomparablythe most famous was thatone with which Marie Antoinette's name was

240 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.so unhappilyassociated. This trinket is stilldisputedabout even in our own times. It hasa literature of its own and it is emphaticallyThe Necklace of History.We will endeavor tomake clear itssingular career and ultimate fate.In 1772, Louis xv. in the full tide of his infatuationfor the worthless Madame Dubarrydetermined to make her a present that shouldbe unique. It was to be a diamond necklacethe like of which had never been seen beforeand which was to cost two millions of livres.Accordingly in the November of the same yearhe gave the order to his jewelers, Messrs.Bohmer & Bassenge, who set about the job withglee. But it took both time and money to gettogether such a lot of diamonds.seemed enough, for theOf time thereking was healthy andnot old, and as for money friends were ready tosupply it in ample store upon such fair securityas the beauty and influence of Madame Dubarry.But Fate in the guise of small-pox intervenedand upset all these calculations. In May, 1774,

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 241Louis xv. died and Louis xvi. reignedin hisstead.By this time the necklace was complete,and what it was in itscompleteness let the penof Carlyle tell us :"A row of seventeen glorious diamonds as large almostas filberts encircle not too tightly the neck a first time.Looser gracefully fastened thrice to these a three-wreathedfestoon and pendants enough (simple pear-shaped multiplestar-shaped or clustering amorphous) encirle it,en wreathe it a second time. Loosest of all, softly flowinground from behind in priceless catenary rush down twobroad threefold rows, seem to knot themselves round avery queen of diamonds on the bosom, then rush onagain separated as if there were length in plenty. Thevery tassels of them were a fortune for some men. Andnow lastly two other inexpressible threefold rows alsowith their tassels will when the necklace is on andclasped unite themselves behind into a doubly inexpressiblesixfold row, and so stream down together or asunderover the hind neck we may fancy like a lambentzodiacal or Aurora Borealis fire."Such being the doubly inexpressible descriptionof this marvelous jewel we are not surprisedthat an awful difficultyshould now ariseto confound the luckless jewelers.

242 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.Who would buyit ?Not the young queen Marie Antoinette, whowhen offered it answered that being on the eveof war with England they needed frigates morethan diamonds. Besides she had just bought,and not yet been able to pay for, two expensivediamond ear-rings.This disappointed jeweler traveled all throughEurope offering his trinket to the different queensand princesses, but none were rich enough totie four hundred thousand dollars in a glitteringstring around their necks,so he returned toParis with bankruptcy staring him in the face.In 1781, when Marie Antoinette's first sonwas born, the jeweler very nearly succeeded inselling it to Louis xvi., who wanted to make hiswife a fine present upon so auspicious an occasion.The Queen, however, refused to touchthe jewel when the king handed it to her as shelay in bed, and being very weak and ill,so thatthe least thing excited her dangerously, thedoctor forbade mention to be made of this truly

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 243fatal necklace. The little dauphin, happily forHimself, died while still a royal baby in his"THE NECKLACE OF HISTORY."(Less than one fourth the natural size. By permission ofMr. Henry Vizetelly.)father's palace, and was succeeded by anotherboy less fortunate in his destiny.The luckless

244 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.jeweler, who became almost amonomaniac onthe subject of selling his necklace to MarieAntoinette, used always toattend with the glitteringjewel at each happy event, so that thewitty courtiers used to say whenever he appearedat Versailles :" Oh !here's Bohmer. There must be anotherbaby born "!One day after about ten years of fruitlesssolicitation he threw himself at the Queen's feetand declared that utter ruin was come upon himthrough the necklace, that he would drown himselfif she did not buy it,and that his deathwould be uponher head. HerMajesty, muchincensed, repliedthat she had not ordered thenecklace and was therefore not bound to buy it,and ended by commanding him to leave herpresenceand never more let her hear about thejewel again. She thought the matter was finallyended. Poor Marie Antoinette ! She wasdestined to be haunted throughlifeby thoseterrible diamonds and to be asked about them

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 245at her trial and to be taunted with the theft ofthem by the mocking crowds who surroundedher scaffold. Such being the state of the casein 1784, we shall leave the Queen and the jewelerto follow the fortunes oftwo other persons whowere made famous and infamous by the necklace.The first was Louis de Rohan, cardinal grandalmonerof France and a prince in his ownright. This person had been ambassador atVienna where he had ridiculedMaria Theresa,Marie Antoinette's mother, and afterward acourtier at Versailles where he had criticisedthe Dauphiness,Marie Antoinette herself. Bythese double deeds he was cordially detested bythe Queen who, like young people generally, wasextreme in her likes and dislikes and Vehementin the expressionof her sentiments. Since theaccession of Louis xvi. the cardinal had been indisgrace, and as royalfavor is as the breath oflifeto the nostrils of a courtier, he was morbidlyanxious to re-establish himself in the Queen'sgood graces.So much for the cardinal.

246 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.The fourth and by far the most importantcharacter is yet to appear on the stage. Thisis the Countess de la Motte. This individualwas of the vampire type of idle good-for-nothings,who lived at the French court, and whoserapacity eventually caused such havoc in themost exalted circles. Madame de la Mottepretended to royal descent through a naturalson of Henry n. Accordingly she added deValois to her name, that being the family nameof the reigning house which immediately precededthe Bourbons.She had been a roadsidebeggar when achild, but her great plausibilityof manner, which later on became so fatal, hadwon for her the good graces of a lady aboutcourt who befriended her and had her educated.She grew up, was married to the Count de laMotte, and henceforward used allher talents topush the fortunes of her family. A small pensiononly excited her appetitefor more. Shemade the acquaintanceof the Cardinal deRohan. The cardinal, a man of about fifty

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 247years of age, seems to have been perfectly infatuatedwith the countess who, though notbeautiful, was witty and very taking in hermanners.At length Madame de la Motte began tothrow out hints about her acquaintance with theQueen and to suggest that she mightbe themeans of restoring the cardinal to the royalfavor. The cardinal believed implicitlyin herintimacy with Marie Antoinette andbuilt highhopes upon it,and not only the cardinal but manyothers likewise believed in it,and besought theadventuress's favor at the hands of Her Majesty.This may appear strange, seeing that the Queenand countess never exchangedlives;a word in theirbut at court where nothingis ever knownexactly, but all things are possible, it is not easyto learn the precise facts about anything. Anadventuress in the days of Madame de Maintenonis said to have made her fortune by walkingthrough that lady's open door into the emptydrawing-room and appearing for a few moments

248 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.at the balcony. The courtiers saw her there,immediately concluded that she must be in favorwith the unacknowledged wife of Louis xiv.,and flocked about her with presents and flattery,hoping in return to profit by her influence. /By an equally simpledevice Madame de laMotte obtained the reputation of intimacy andinfluence with Marie Antoinette.She made theacquaintance ofthe gate-keeper of the Trianonand was frequently seen stealing away withostentatious secrecy from the favorite haunt ofthe Queen. It was enough. People believedin her favor, and she was a great woman.Then she took another step.She confided tothe Cardinal de Rohan that the Queen longedfor the diamond necklace, but had not themoney to buy it,and feared to ask the Kingfor it.Here was a chance for a courtier in disgrace.The cardinal, acting upon the hint,offered to conduct the negotiation about thenecklace and to lend the Queen some of themoney for its purchase.The Queen apparently

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 249accepted his offer, and wrote to him little giltedgedmissives mysteriouslyworded and ofloving import. The cardinal was exalted withjoy. To be not only redeemed from disgrace,but to be in possession ofthe haughty Queen'saffections was beyond his wildest hopes oraspirations.Still acting upon the suggestionsof thecountess the cardinal bought the necklace,and, for the satisfaction of the jewelers, drewup a promissory note, which was intended tobe submitted to Her Majesty and was in factreturned, approved and signed, Marie Antoinettede France.This letter came through the handsof Madame de la Motte in the same mysteriousfashion in which the correspondence hadhitherto been conducted. The cardinal thereuponbroughtthe necklace to Madame de laMotte's house at Versailles,delivered itover tothe supposed lackeys of the Queen, and wentaway rejoicing. Madame herself was feastedsumptuously by the grateful jewelers, who were

250 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.profuse in their thanks for her aid. They evenpressed her to accept a diamond ornament as aslight token of their gratitude!Madamede laMotte dining with her dupes,. graciously receivingtheir thanks and magnanimously decliningtheir presents, was certainly a spectacle for godsand men.The cardinal, not content with his billets-deanxfrom the Queen, was to be further gratified bya midnight interview with Her Majestyin thegardens of the Trianon. A ladydressed inthe simple shepherdess costume affected byMarie Antoinette did indeed meet him in adark-shadowed alley of the garden,and as hewas ecstatically pressing the hem of her garmentto his lips she did present to him a rosewhich he clasped to his breast in speechlessrapture.The lady of this scene and the Queenof the cardinal's fancy was a common girl offthe streets, who bore a strikingresemblance toMarie Antoinette.She was dressed up by theclever countess and was told to act according

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 251to certain instructions, but strange as itmayseem she did not in the least suspect who itwas she was representingso skillfullywas itall arranged bythe astute Madame de la Mottewho never let one toolknow what another wasdoing for fear of spoiling her web of iniquity.The cardinal was totally ignorant ofthe imposture,and this although he knew the Queenwell; but the nightwas dark and Madame dela Motte executed a sudden surprise by meansof her husband, so that the pair were separatedbefore the superstitious Queenhad occasionto use her voice, the sound of which mighthave aroused the suspicions of even the blindedcardinal.In possession of four hundred thousand dollarsworth of diamonds, Madame de laMotte's nextdifficulty was to sell them. This appeared tobe impossible in Paris, for when she commissionedher friend Villette to sell a dozen or so,he was at once arrested as a suspicious person,and anxious inquiries were made as to whether

252 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.there had been any diamond robbery of late.But no there had been nothing of the kind.Nobody complained of having been robbed ;court jewelers and cardinal were still in thehappy anticipation of coming favors.Villette was the writer ofThe manthe Queen's letters tothe cardinal, he was also the lackeywho hadtaken charge of the necklace for the writer ofthose letters. He was a very useful friend toMadame de la Motte until at last he turnedking's evidence and explained the whole fraud.The Count de la Motte next proceeded toLondon and there sold several hundreds ofdiamonds. Some stones he disposed of to Mr.Eliason the dealer who in after ityears will beremembered had the Blue diamond in his possession.Upon the proceeds of these sales thela Mottes lived in Oriental splendorboth inPans and at their country seat at Bar-sur-Aube.This was in the spring of 1785, and until thefirst installment, due in July, became payablethey seemed to live on absolutely oblivious of

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 253the danger ahead." Those whom the gods wishto destroy they first make mad," is the classicproverb which must be resorted toin this case.On no other supposition can their remaining inParis be explained. Madame used diamondsfor her pocket money and tendered them foreverything she wanted, exchangingone for acouple of pots of pomade.The firstpayment not having been made, andthe Queen having never addressed the cardinalin public nor ever worn the necklace, both prelateand jeweler began to be surprised. Thelatter wrote to the Queen an humble but mysteriousletter expressive of his willingness to awaitHer Majesty's convenience if she could notpay up punctually.Marie Antoinette read theletter, but not understanding it, twisted itupinto a taper and lightedit at her candle. Shethen bade Madame Campan find out what " madmanBonnier " wanted.Madame Campan sawthe jeweler, heard his explanation,told himthe Queen never had had the necklace at all,

254 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.and that it was some dreadful mistake, and"then in the greatestdistress besought her royalmistress to inquire carefully into the story, as shegreatly feared some scandal was being effectedin the Queen's name.Hearing a rumor of trouble Madame de laMotte visited the jewelers, warned them to beon their guard (as she feared they were beingimposed upon and then !)inexplicably remainedin Paris, instead of escaping beyond the reachof the Bastile. The cardinal heard the rumoralso ;he was disturbed, but relied though withdawning doubt uponthese letters from theQueen signed Marie Antoinette de France.The fifteenth of August was and is a greatday in all Catholic countries. It is the feast ofthe Assumption, an occasion upon which prelatesdon their most splendid robes and appearin all their dignity. During the reign of Louisxvi. it was an especially honored day, beingbesides a religious festival also the name dayof the Queen. On this day in 1785at Ver-

2 S5sallies, Cardinal de Rohan in his purple andscarlet vestments was suddenly placed underarrest, and thus humiliated was conducted fromthe King's cabinet through the crowd of amazedcourtiers who thronged the CEil de Bceuf into theguard-room. The scene in the King's cabinethad been brief.The cardinal, summoned to theroyalpresence, found Louis, Marie Antoinette,and the first Minister of State awaiting him,all in evident agitation."You have lately bought a diamond necklace,"said the King abruptly." What haveyou done with "it ?The cardinal glanced imploringly at the Queenwho turned upon him eyes blazing with anger."Sire, Ihave been deceived,"cried the cardinal,becoming suddenly pale,the necklace myself.""I will payforMore angry questions from the King, morefaltering confused answers from the cardinal,and meanwhile the stern implacable face of theincensed Queen turned towards him.The door

256 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.opens, a captain of the guard enters : " In theKing's name follow me "!says the officer, andgrand-almoner ofFrance, the cardinal-prince ofRohan is led off under arrest.Thus far the action of everyone concernedis comprehensible enough,but after this itbecomes so extraordinary that it is no wonderif the enemies of the Queen pretended therewas a dark mystery behind which had yet tobe revealed. The unrelenting hatred of MarieAntoinette, which made her demand the cardinal'shead invengeance for his audacity inaiming at her affections, seems tohave blindedher to everyother consideration but that ofruining her enemy.Madame de la Motte was,it is true, arrested and thrown into the Bastile,but so bent were the royal party upon destroyingthe cardinal that they held out hopes ofacquittal to the adventuress herself if she wouldaccuse the cardinal.Nay, more, they offered topay for the hateful jewel if Bohmer would givedamaging evidence against the cardinal. Hav-

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 257ing thus completely put themselves in the wrongthe case came on for trial before a bench ofjudges, who seem to have acted with perfectuprightness and impartiality. And this, too,when public feeling was running very high inParis and the Reign of Terror only five yearsoff.All the perpetrators of the crime, exceptMadame de laMotte, confessed to their sharein it ;so the whole series of gigantic cheatsand trickeries was exposed. The forger confessedto his forgery, and the girl confessed tothe scene she had acted in the gardens of theTrianon. At length the cardinal had to admitto himself that the woman la Motte, who hadbewitched his senses to the detriment of hisfair fame, had also cheated his purseto analmost fabulous extent and had involved him inthe crime of high treason which in days of moreabsolute power would undoubtedlyhave costhim his head. The cardinal was acquitted ofthe capital crime, but was condemned to lose.

.him258 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.his post of grand-almoner,to retire into thecountry during the King's pleasure, and to begtheir Majesties' most humble pardon a sufficientlyseveresentence one would suppose forhaving been made a fool of by a designingwoman. Marie Antoinette heard of the cardinal's"acquittal," as she called it, with a burstof tearful rage which transpires through herletters to her sisters at the time. She lamentsin them the passto which the world had comewhen she could do nothing but weepover herwrongs and was powerless to avenge them.The rest of those concerned were variouslydealt with. The Count de la Motte was condemnedto the galleys for life, but he hadalready escaped to London,so the sentencedid not much matter in his case. The forgerVillette was banished. In his case the decreeof the court was carried out in the old-fashionedway :he was led to the prison gate with a halterround his neck, where the executioner gavea loaf of bread and a kick and bade him

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 259begone forever.The sentence on Madame dela Motte was sufficiently rigorous. She was tobe whipped at the cart's tail, branded, andthen imprisoned for life. The whipping wasbut slightly administered, but a large V (voleusethief)was marked with a red-hot iron on hershoulder :a fact which caused the jocose to saythat she was marked with her own royal initial,V standing for Valois as well as for voleuse.After a couple ofyears in prisonthe authoritiesconnived at her escape, in pursuance itwas believed of orders from Versailles.MarieAntoinette's unpopularity was, if possible, increasedby the affair of the necklace, and thecardinal became a hero for a short time untilothers more conspicuous arose to overshadowhim. Even yet, however, the unhappy necklacecontinued to work for evil towards theQueen. Safe in England Madame de la Mottewrote her Memoirs, which are nothing but amass of libels and a tissue of falsehood alldirected against the Queen.For private politi-

260 A FAMOUS NECKLACE.cal itpurposes suited the Duke of Orleans tospread them as much as possible, for the greataim of his life was to discredit the Queen.Madame de la Motte died miserably in Londonfrom the effects ofa jump from a second storywindow which she took to escapefrom bailiffswho were arresting her for debt.All the moneyshe obtained from the diamond necklace wasnot able to save her from want and misery.She was only thirty-four years old at the limeof her death. The Count de la Motte lived oninto the reign of Charles x. and begging to thelast also died in want. The Cardinal de Rohanbecame an emigre after his brief hour of Parisianpopularity and died in exile. The jewelers becamebankrupt and the firm sank into oblivion.And Marie Antoinette ?Ah well, she had nothing to say to the direfulnecklace. She never probably so much astouched it with a finger-tip during the wholecourse of her life, but she was taxed with itstheft on her way to the scaffold, and a genera-

A FAMOUS NECKLACE. 261tion ago her memory was againloaded with thecrime byM. Louis Blanc. Marie Antoinettehas had every possible and impossible crime castupon her by writers who sought inher personto degrade the idea of a monarchy, but slowlyhistory is removing this dirt from the garmentof her reputation.She was sillyand headstrongin her youth and didharm by her thoughtless'ness, but she was neither so silly nor so headstrongas many of the queens, her predecessors,nor did she do one tithe of the mischief thatsome of them attempted. She chanced, however,upon troublous times, and therefore everythingshe did was reckoned a crime, as alsomany things which she did not do, such as thestealing of the Diamond Necklace.

XII.THE TARA BROOCH AND THE SHRINE OF ST.PATRICK'S BELL.THE two jewels which it is now our intentionto describe differ essentially fromall those with which we have made acquaintance.They are not enriched with stones of any greatvalue, but the setting of such pebbles as havebeen used is of a kind to render them unique.The most careful illustration conveys but a pooridea of the splendor and delicacy of the metalworkwhich literally covers these masterpiecesof the goldsmith's art. We have nowadays afirm and in the main a well-foundedconvictionof our superiority in all thingsover the men ofprimitive ages. But in the presence of the TaraBrooch the most skillful jeweler of moderntimes is obliged to admit his inferiority. With262

THE TARA BROOCH. 263all our skill it is impossibleto imitate the delicacyof the workmanshipand the wonderfulgrace and variety of the design displayed uponthis truly royal gem.Its history is of the meagerest. It was foundin the month of August, 1850, on the strand atDrogheda, washed up from the deep by someespecially generous tide, and left there for twolittleboys to pick up. The mother of the childrencarried their find to a dealer in old iron,but he refused to buy so small and insignificantan object.She then tried a watchmaker, whogave her eighteen pence (thirty six cents) forthe brooch. The watchmaker cleaned itup andthen beheld what he conceived to be a jewel ofsilver covered with gold filagree.He thereuponproceededto Dublin and sold it to Messrs.Waterhouse, the jewelers, for twelve pounds(sixty dollars), which itmust be admitted was avery fair profit upon his original outlay.Messrs. Waterhouse exhibited farand widethis jewel which was by them called the Royal

264 THE TARA BROOCH.Tara Broocha name which serves well enoughto distinguish it from other brooches,but whichcannot be said to have any historical appropriateness.Whatever truth there may be in thelegendary magnificence of " Tara's Halls," thereis no reason to suppose that this brooch wasever displayed within its walls. These walls,whatever their nature, were represented bygreen mounds and grassy rath-circles, such asmay be seen to-day,when the so-called TaraBrooch left the hands of the craftsman whomade it.After a time the Tara Brooch was sold to theRoyal Irish Academy for two hundred pounds(one thousand dollars) which, though by nomeans an exorbitant price, was again a veryfair profit for Messrs. Waterhouse.The form and workmanship of the Broochare of an early Celtic type, and it is believedby competent authorities to be extremelyancient, dating probably from before the eighthcentury. At any rate, itmay with confidence

THE TAKA BROOCH.

THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 267be placed before the eleventh century, for a certaindesign known as the divergent-spiral ortrumpet-pattern, which thoughcommon beforedisappeared from Irish art about that period, isto be seen amongits intricate ornamentation.The groundwork of the jewelis not silver, aswas at first supposed, but white metal, a compoundof tin and copper. It is however thebeautiful gold tracery laid upon this white metalwhich renders it so famous. No descriptioncan give an idea of what it is. The TaraBrooch must be seen to be understood.If the Tara Brooch appeals to our imaginationby reason of the mystery of its past, SaintPatrick's Bell has a contrary but even strongerhold upon us.It seems really to be an authenticrelic ofthe Saint to whom it is ascribed, andat any rate it can be shown to have undergonea longand varied career. In the course ofthese narratives we have met withmany kingsand queens ;it is now our intention to introducethe reader to a saint.As it seems to be decreed

268 THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL.by inscrutable destinyIreland shall ever be made without itsbeing at once contradicted, we shall endeavor toshelter ourselves behind the wisdom ofthat no statement concerningcompetentauthorities.As Saint Patrick was an Irishsaint it would be in the usual course of thingsfor his very existence to bevehemently denied.It is thus denied bysome writers who have beenat pains to indite learned books upon thesubject.The following details concerninghim aretaken in the main from Dr. Todd's Life of SaintPatrick, and from the Saint's own works asedited and translated by theReverend GeorgeStokes, Professor of Ecclesiastical History inDublin. Not being learned in Irish nor yetin Latin, we accept the translations of these ablescholars.As in the case ofmany great men the honorof being the birthplaceof Saint Patrick isclaimed on behalf of several places in England,Ireland,Scotland and France. The reader

THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 269may choose which country he likesand he willfind clever and ingenious arguments tosupporthis theory. The Saint himself says that hisfather's name was Calpornius and that he dweltin the village of Bannaven Tabernia, and thelearned, if agreed upon no other point, are atleast at one upon this that they don't knowwhere that village was. Saint Patrick's fatherhad a small farm and seems to have been ofnoble birth, but the Saint invariably speaks ofhimself as the rudest of men, and deplores his"want of learning. I, Patrick a sinner, therudest and the least of all the faithful and mostcontemptible to very many," is the beginning ofhis Confession, a work written by himself andcontaining most of the few facts known abouthis life.At the age of sixteen he was taken captive,whether from Armorica in Brittany,or fromDumbarton on the Clyde,it is impossible to say,and carried " along with manyothers " into barbarous Ireland.thousands ofThis evidently

270 THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL.occurred in one of those predatory expeditionsof the Irish, or Scots as they were then called,which under the chieftainship of Niall of the NineHostages extended to all the neighboring coasts.Dumbarton suffered repeatedly in this manner,a fact evidenced by the numbers of Roman coinsfound all along the coast of Antrim in Ireland.Dumbarton, an important military position, wasthe western limit of the Roman Wall constructedby Agricola, A. D. 80, to cut off the ravaging Pictsfrom the rest of Britain, but the Romans, althoughso near, never set foot in Ireland.Having been thus carried off to Ireland SaintPatrick became the slave of Milchu who dweltin Dalaradia in a placenow identified with thevalley of the Braid, in the verycounty Antrim.heart of theAs a slave the Saint's duty wasto tend sheep, and six years he spentin thishumble occupation. The fervent zeal andburning piety which were destined toamong men began toexalt himshow themselves even inhis youth.He used to pray both day and night,

THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICKS BELL. 271he tells us, even in the frost and snow neverfeeling any laziness.At the end ofsix years he escaped, made hisway to the seacoast, and finding a vessel ready tostart was at length suffered to embark. Theysailed for three days and then wandered twentydays in a desert. Thisitem does not help us asto the locality, for the coasts either of Brittanyor Scotland, suffering as they did from the frequentvisits of the Irish, were likely enough tobe deserts. Patrick's first converts seem to havebeen the crew of this ship, for being on the pointof starvation they appealedto the Christian tohelp them, and theSaint prayed, whereupon adrove of swine appeared, the grateful sailors"gave great thanks to God, and I" [Patrickwrites] " was honored in their eyes."After a brief stay with his parents the youngman impelled by his zeal set out again for Ireland,determined to bring its pagan inhabitantsinto the light of Christianity. There is somevariety of opinion as to the date of the Saint's ar-

272 THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL.rival in the home of his choice, but 432is the datecommonly received, at which time he appears tohave been something under twenty-five years ofage. He first went to the north with the intentionof seeking out Milchu his master.But thisindividual burnt up both himself and his houseon the approach of the Saint in order not to beconverted. So at least ancient annals declare.It must be confessed that thispaganism was ofthe most robust type.Having failed in this quarter he then proceededto the Boyne. This is one of the mostpicturesque of rivers winding about among itswooded banks. Both sides of the river are nowdotted with handsome and carefully-keptparkswhere ornamental trees and cows stand inpleasing and picturesque groups,while thesmoothly-mown grass rolls like green velvetdown to the water's edge. The water itself islimpid and clear as crystal, and in the deeppools the silvery salmon leap highinto the airafter heedless flies who come within reach.It

THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 273looks very different from the days when SaintPatrick paddled up in his wicker and bull's-hidecanoe. Probably the holy man himself wouldnot recognizeit; nothing is the same exceptthe salmon, the flies,the limpid,clear water.At Slane, a hill on the riverside about eightmiles from its mouth,Saint Patrick built a beacon-fire.He was in consequenceof this immediatelysummoned to appear before KingLaoghaire who held his court on the neighboringheight of Tara to answer how he dared light afire, when according to ancient custom as wellas by royalmandate all fires were to be extinguished.The interview between the Saint andthe King ended ifnot in the latter's conversionat least in his tolerating the new comer, andeventually this occasioned the changein thereligion ofthe whole tribe.Thus began the apostleship ofSaint Patrick,who in the course of his long ministry traversedmost parts of Ireland undeterred by the dreadof starvation or the fear of murder. He bap-

274 THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL.tized many thousands of the natives, plantedchurches in numerous places, founded schoolsand established monasteries.His most famous foundation isundoubtedlythat of Armagh, the legend about which is preservedin a celebrated old Irish manuscriptknown as the Book of Armagh. The Saintbegged of a certain rich man some high landupon which to build him a church, but the richman refused him the hill, offering in its stead alower piece of ground near Ardd-Machae, and" there Saint Patrick dwelt with his followers."Uponall the churches which he founded SaintPatrick is said tohave bestowed bells, severalof which under distinctive names have becomefamous in history. One of these venerablerelics, a small hand-bell made of two iron plates,something over seven inches highand threepounds ten ounces in weight, is known especiallyas the Bell of the Will of Saint Patrick. It iswith this small rude object, not unlike thesheep-bell of to-day, that we have to deal.

275Sixty years after the death of Saint Patrickanother Irish saint, Columkill, obtained thisbell from the tomb of the former where it hadever since lain on the Saint's breast, and byColumkill it was bestowed on Armagh as amost precious relic. This bell is mentionedunder the date 552 by the compilerof theAnnals of Ulster. A poem of a later date,though still far back in the Dark Ages, speaksfondly of the bell, saying "there shall be redgold round its borders," and many shall be thekings who will treasure it,while woe is to bethe portion of the person or house or tribe thathides itaway.Armagh suffered much and frequently fromfires, as was indeed natural in a village builtentirely of wood as seems to have been thecase during the first centuries of its existence.In 1020 it was burnt to the ground, all exceptthe library alone. The steeple or round towerwas burned with its bells. And again in 1074,on the Tuesday after itMay Day, \vas burnt

276 THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL.with all its churches and all its bells. Butamong these bells was not the Clog-Phadriug(the Bell of Saint Patrick). That was confidedto the custody of a maer (keeper)whose honorand emolument depended upon the safety ofthe trust reposed in him. The keeper of theBell was the head of the O'Maelchallans. Theancient poem already quotedrefers thus to theelected keepers :** I command for the safe keeping of my bellEight who shall be noble illustrious :A priest and a deacon among them,That my bell maynot deteriorate."The Bell of Saint Patrick was regarded asmore and more holy as the centuries rolled on,and by the middle of the eleventh century anyprofanation of its sanctity was visited with theseverest penalties.Under the date 1044 therestands this emphatic entryin the Annals ofUlster :"A predatory expedition of Niull son of Maelsechlainn,king of Ailech, against Ui-Meith and against

THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 277Cuailgnein which he carried off twelve hundred cowsand a multitude of captives in revengefor the violationof the Bell of the Will."Besides the extraordinary high price set uponthe bell as evidenced by the number of cattletaken in revenge for the slight offered it, therecord is interesting as showingthe relativevalues of cows and men. It will be remarkedthat the horned cattle are carefully numberedas being precious,while the human cattle areroughly lumped together as a "multitude."This raid was followed later on by another inwhich " cattle-spoil and prisoners " were carriedoffin revenge for another violation.During the episcopacy of Donell MacAulaywho occupied the see of Armagh from 1091 to1105, the sacred bell was inclosed in the gorgeousshrine which, though mutilated,still excitesour admiration and envy.An inscriptionruns around the shrine ;it has been managedwith such skillthat the letters seem to form anornamentation rather than a break in the gen-

278 THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL.eral design. The illustration which \ve offerour readers is that of the front of the shrine,showing also a portionof the side. The frameworkis of bronze fastened at the corners withcopper fluting, and the gold and silver work isfixed to this foundation by means of rivets. Thefront is divided into thirty-one compartments,several of which have lost their ornamentations.A central decorationcomprises an oval crystalwhile a little lower down appears another and alarger crystal. This latter objecthas been unaccountablyintroduced by some ignorant person,for it is manifestly out of place. Itoccurred to thepresent writer when inspectingthe shrine last summer that itbelongedto thecenter of a neighboringshrine with which itssetting agrees, and where its shape wouldenable it to fit exactly. On the side, below theknot and ring by which it issuspended, thereare eight of those quaint Irish serpents, whoseelegant tails curve and infold each other so intricatelythat it is almost as difficult to make

ST. PATRICK'S BELL.

THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 281out each particular snake as iftheywere invery truth alive and wriggling. Their eyes areof blue glass. The stones which still remainin their setting are of little or no value ; glass,crystal and amber appear to have been the onlyobjects used.But the beauty of the gold tracery is beyondexpression. The photograph but poorly representsit,and the engravingfalls still furtherbelow the original. It must be seen to be understood,and as the shrine may be examined inits case at the Royal Irish Academy any day,we can only hope that no visitor will ever leaveDublin without seeing it,no matter what elsehe may leave unseen.We return now to the history ofthe shrine.The inscription according to the generalusage of Irish inscriptions begs a prayer firstfor Domhnall O'Lachlainn, lord of Ailech (Kingof Ulster), secondly, for Domhnall the Bishop ofArmagh, and thirdly for Chathalan O'Maelchallanthe keeper of the shrine, and finally a

282 THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL.prayer is also asked for Cudulig O'Inmauienthe artificer who did the work.As long as theshrine lasts and as human beings possess a loveof the beautiful the request of Cudulig will beanswered in the admiration which allbeholderswill freely give to the work ofhis hands.Domhnall the Kingis famous in the Annalsas being " the most distinguished of the Irishfor personal form, family, sense, prowess, prosperityand happiness, for bestowing of jewelsand food upon the mighty and the needy." Hedied after a reign of twenty-seven years asplendid personage evidently, and one who mighthave caused the beautiful shrine to be made.The O'Maelchallans appear to have kepttheir trust for generations but from some reason;now undiscoverable in 1356the Bell of SaintPatrick was kept by Solomon O'Mellan afterwhose death itagainreverted to the formerkeepers.These enjoyed certain lands by rightof their charge which were situate in the countyof Tyrone near Stewartstown and were called

Ballyelog, /. ^., the town of the Bell. In 1365the O'Mulchallans were exempted from an interdictlaid upon their diocese by the Primate, andthis was done out of veneration for the sacredbell of which they were the custodians. Oncemore the bell migrated into the family of theO'Mellans and once again came back to theO'Mulchallans, whose name was undergoing asoftening process, itwill be observed.In 1455 the keepers having become powerfuland wealthy began naturally to be arrogant.They usurped the "firstlings of flocks," andgot into trouble with the Primate in consequence.And now there comes a great gap in the historyof the bell. From 1466 to 1758there are noannals in Ireland which deal with it.Perhapsthe inhabitants were too busy with their newlyarrivedEnglish neighborsand alltheir advententailed to remember the bell. It continued,however, during all those generationsin thesame family of keepers whose name had becomefurther toned down and was now Mulhollan.

284 THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL.In 1758 Bernard Mulhollan died and Edmondhis son kept the bell in his stead. His sonHenry was destined for the priesthoodbut becamea schoolmaster instead. His school atEdenduffcarrick wasattended by Adam Mac-Clean, a boy for whom he felt a great tenderness,and who returned his affection with gratitude.In the disastrous rebellion of1798 Henry Mulhollanbecame implicated, and when thatrisingwas put down he would have suffered for hisrashness -had it not been for the interference ofhis former pupil now become a wealthy Belfastmerchant. All throughlife Mr. MacCleanshowed kindness and gave assistance to his oldschoolmaster. When the latter came to die heaccordingly left to his benefactor what he heldmost precious in the world. We give Mr. Mac-Clean's own account of what Henry Mulhollansaid to him on his death-bed :"My dear friend, you were an old and valued scholarof mine : on one occasion you were the means of saving mylife, and on many subsequent occasions of providing for

THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 285its comforts. I am now going to die. I have no childto whom Imight leave the little I possess, nor have I anynear of kin who might prefer any claim to it ;in eithercase the treasure I possess and which Ihold dear as lifeshould not have left the family of Mulholland, in whichit has been for ages and generations handed down.I am the last of my race and youButare the best friend Ihave. I therefore give it to you, and when I am gone,dig in the garden at a certain spot, and you will find a boxthere: take itup and treasure its contents for my sake."Mr. MacClean dug in the place indicated andfound an oak box within which lay the belland its shrine and beside them a worn copy ofBedell's quarto Irish Bible.Mr. MacClean hadthe precious relic in his possession for a numberof years, but unhappily he did not at firstkeepit under lock and key. The result was whatmight have been foretold by any one acquaintedwith the depredations committed by the enlightenedvermin known as " relic-hunters."Pricelessbitsof gold tracery were stolen by the servantsand visitors until the cruelly denuded panelsaroused Mr. MacClean to a sense of his danger.He then locked up the shrine.

286 THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL.Mr. MacClean willed the bell and its shrineto Dr. Todd, the great Irish authority on SaintPatrick, and by him in turn it was bequeathedback to the nation at large, who leave it to thecare of the Royal Irish Academy as its keepers.We have now traced the history of this bellback through the long vista of fourteen centuries.During most of that time it was venerated as arelic of great sanctity and the humanizing influenceof this feeling must have helped thesepoor benighted savages ofIreland whom SaintPatrick came to teach and save.The religioussanctity of the bell is gone, but its mission isnot thereby ended. The worship of the beautifulhas also its humanizing and elevatinginfluence.