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Boston  University 


College  of  Liberal  Arts 
Library 


Graduate  School 


THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 


THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS 
OF  THE  WORLD. 

THEIR     HISTORY    AND     ROMANCE. 


COLLECTED     FROM     OFFICIAL,     PRIVATE     AND     OTHER     SOURCES, 
DURING    MANY    YEARS    OF    CORRESPONDENCE    AND    INQUIRY. 


BY 

EDWIN    W.   STREETHR, 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society ;  Author  of  "  Precious  Stones 

and  Gems  ;"   Gold  Medallist  of  the  Royal  Order  of  Frederic  ; 

Holder  of  a  Special  Gold  Medal  from  H.M.  the  King  of  the  Belgians. 


THF.   MS.  OF  THE  "  KOH-I-NUr"  GRACIOUSLV  READ  &  APPROVED    BY 

HER  MAJESTY  THE  QUEEN. 


THE  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  "  PITT  "  AND  THE  "  EUGENIE"  REVISED  BY 

HER  MAJESTY  THE  EMPRESS  EUGENIE., 


EDITED     AND     ANNOTATED     BY 

JOSEPH  HATTON    and  A.   H.   KEANE. 


LONDON  : 

PUBLISHED  BY  GEORGE  BELL  &  SONS, 

YORK    STREET,    COVENT    GARDEN. 


HowLETT  &  Son,  Printers,  io.  Frith  Street,  Soho,  London,  W 


PREFACE. 


->x«. 


HIS  book  is  a  romance  of  truth.  The  trite 
proverb  that  "  fact  is  stranger  than  fiction,' 
was  never  better  illustrated  than  it  is  in  the 
following  chapters.  Some  of  the  incidents 
in  the  imaginary  career  of  Sinbad  the  Sailor  may  be  accepted 
as  modest  facts  compared  with  the  histories  of  several  of  the 
great  diamonds  of  the  world. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  narratives  of  such  stones  as  the 
"  Koh-i-Nur,"  the  "  Great  Mogul,"  the  "  Taj-e-Mah,"  the 
"  Pitt,"  and  other  famous  gems,  fable  has  crept  in,  as  if  to 
try  a  bout,  in  romantic  revelation,  with  fact.  Oriental 
fancy  has  strewn  the  lurid  history  of  the  diamond  with 
much  traditionary  gloom  ;  but  human  invention  is  outdone 
by  the  reality  of  human  depravity  and  human  woes. 

A  symbol  of  power,  the  diamond  has  been  a  talisman 
of  not  less  influence  in  the  East  than  the  very  gods  whose 
temples  it  has  adorned.  It  has  been  a  factor  in  tragedies 
innumerable,  supplying  the  motives  of  war  and  rapine, 
setting  father  against  son,  blurring  the  fair  image  of  virtue, 
making  life  a  curse  where  it  had  been  a  blessing,  and  adding 
new  terrors  to  death.  There  is  no  intrigue  however  deep, 
no  crime  however  shameful,  which  you  cannot  parallel  in 


X  PREFACE. 

the  history  of  famous  gems,  and  no  butchery  of  the  brave, 
no  sacrifices  of  the  innocent,  have  marked  the  red  footsteps 
of  miUtary  conquerors  with  deeper  Hnes  of  infamy  than  are 
to  be  found  in  Eastern  wars,  that  have  been  undertaken  for 
the  sake  of  precious  stones  and  gems. 

At  the  same  time  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  pleasant 
contrasts  of  a  slave  winning  his  freedom,  the  monarch  accept- 
ing stern  reverses  of  fate  with  dignity,  the  patient  explorer 
rewarded,  and  glimpses  of  a  womanhood  that  is  "far  above 
rubies  "  now  and  then  break  in  upon  the  gloom  of  cruel 
intrigue  and  sanguinary  wars  which  belong  to  the  records 
of  so  many  famous  gems.     We  can  only  regret  that  these 
"  rays  of  sunshine  "  are  not  many.     It  is  as  if  the  diamond 
needed,  even  in  history,  a  dark  background  to  show  up  its 
strangely  fascinating  hues.     It  has  been  a  labour  of  love  in 
the  present  instance  to  investigate  that  dark  background,  to 
hunt  out  its  secrets,  and  to  bring  them  to  the  light  of  day. 
If  the  result  of  our  researches  is  half  as  full  of  surprises 
for  the  reader  as  it  has  been  for  those  engaged  in  the  pro- 
duction of  this  present  history  of  The  Great  Diajnonds  of  the 
Worlds  then,  indeed,  have  the  undersigned  and  his  distin- 
guished collaborators  provided  some  new  sensations  for  the 
students  of  the  romance  of  history.     In  saying  this  we  are  not 
only  referrmg  to  the  two  gentlemen  whose  literary  alliance 
gives   additional    importance   to   our   labours,   but   to    the 
kindly  aid  which  has  been  graciously  vouchsafed  to  us  by 
royal  and  ministerial  pens.     During  several  years  past  there 
is  hardly  a  Court  in  Europe  and  the  East  with  which  we 
have  not  been  in  communication,  through  Imperial  ambas- 
sadors, and   even  directly,   for  the  purpose    of  procuring 
trustworthy  records  of  the  world's  historic  diamonds.     We 
have  to  acknowledge  the  unvarying  courtesy  with  which  our 
intjuiries,   some  by  letter,  some   by   personal    application, 
some  through  special  commissioners  sent  on  long  journeys 


PREFACE.  XI 

for  the  purpose,  have  been  received  and  answered.*  To  Her 
Majesty  the  Queen  for  reading  our  manuscript  notes  on  the 
"  Koh-i-Niir  "  we  owe  our  special  and  humble  thanks.  Her 
Imperial  Majesty  the  Empress  of  the  French  has  been 
most  gracious  in  revising  and  correcting  several  material 
points  in  connection  with  certain  gems  that  belong  to  the 
history  of  the  illustrious  house  that  is  adorned  by  her  virtues, 
and  made  doubly  memorable  by  her  sorrows.  It  was  said 
of  the  cerulean  throne  of  Koolburga  that  every  prince  of  the 
house  of  Bhamenee  made  a  point  of  adding  to  it  some 
rich  gems.  In  these  modern  days  it  is  considered  a  greater 
honour  to  decorate  the  history  of  a  blameless  life  with  the 
jewels  of  self-sacrifice  and  duty  well  performed,  than  to  sit 
on  thrones  built  up  of  priceless  treasures.  It  is  not  in  the 
stories  of  jewels  that  the  names  of  Victoria  and  Eugenie 
will  go  down  to  posterity,  but  in  the  record  of  a  great  Queen 
whose  heart  went  out  to  the  widowed  and  childless  guest, 
and  made  her  sorrows  her  own. 

Respect  for  the  illustrious  personages  whom  we  have 
had  occasion  to  mention,  does  not  permit  us  to  say  more 
in  regard  to  the  honour  they  have  conferred  upon  us ;  nor 
would  our  loyal  duty  to  her  Majesty  the  Queen,  as  it  seems 
to  us,  be  fairly  represented  without  this  acknowledgment, 
however  inadequately  expressed,  of  her  gracious  condescen- 
sion. It  has  been'  one  of  the  great  objects  of  the  life  of 
the  undersigned  to  publish  a  history  of  the  world's  famous 
diamonds.  He  owes  it  to  the  object  he  has  in  view,  and 
not  to  any  personal  merit,  that  he  has  met  with  so  much 
courteous  encouragement  on  all  hands. 


*  Mr.  G.  Skelton  Streeter.  travelling  in  India  for  the  purposes  of 
this  work,  has  been  able  to  furnish  some  valuable  information.  He  is  now 
t'ngraged  in  exploring  the  archives  of  native  courts  for  authoritative  drawings 
and  details  of  the  Peacock  Throne  which  was  destroyed  at  Delhi  by  Nadir 
Shah  in  1702, 


Xll  PREFACE. 

In  conclusion  he  earnestly  invites  corrections  of,  and 
additions  to,  the  following  chapters.  Being  properly 
authenticated,  they  shall  find  a  place  in  future  editions  of 
a  work,  which  is  now  earnestly  commended  to  the  friendly 
consideration  of  critics,  who  understand  the  difficulties  of  such 
an  enterprise  ;  and  to  the  great  Reading  Public,  which  is 
always  generous  to  those  who  have  something  to  say  that  is 
not  unworthy  of  its  attention. 

EDWIN  W.    STREETER. 

iS,  Nbw  Bokd  Street,  London 
May,  1882. 


CONTENTS 


PAGES 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  Diamond  in  History— How  the  Ancients  described 
it — The  "Adamas"and  the  Sapphire — The  Rarity 
of  Large  Gems — The  number  of  Existing  known 
Diamonds  over  30  carats — The  Buyers  of  Precious 
Stones  —  Popularity  of  Diamonds  in  America — 
Romantic  Stories— Famous  Mines — The  "  Great 
Mogul,"  "Koh-i-Nur,"  and  "  Pitt  "—Popular  Errors 
Corrected— The  Standard  of  Weight  and  its  Origin       25—  36 

I. 

THE    BRAGANZA. 

The  Largest  Reported  Diamond  extant— The  Romantic 
Story  of  its  Discovery — Guarded  as  a  Treasure  of 
Portugal — Another  Version  of  its  Strange  History- 
Errors  of  the  Scribes—"  Rule  of  Thumb  "  in  the  Old 
Days  —  Enormous  Value  of  the  "  Braganza  "  if 
genuine — Diamond  or  Topaz  ? — The  Negro  and  his 
Supposed  Treasure — A  Terrible  Disappointment    ...       37 —  48 

IL 

THE    MATAN. 

The  Exploration  of  the  Land  of  the  Matan— Traditional 
Wealth  of  Borneo — The  "  Reputed  Largest-known 
Diamond  in  the  World  "—Exportation  of  Diamonds 
by  the  Dutch— The  Ladies  of  Batavia— Sir  Stamford 
Raffle's  Account  of  the  "  Matan  " — Found  by  a 
Labourer,  claimed  by  the  Rajah — Regarded  as  a 
Talisman  —  Appearance  of  the  Gem — Offers  of 
Purchase  in  Gold  and  Warships         49 33 

HI, 
THE    NIZAM. 

History,  Past  and  Present— Suggestive  Contrasts— Whai 
a  Jewel  might  have  seen — Supposed  Value  of  the 
"  Nizam  "  Diamond — Its  Shape  and  Appearance — 
The  Stone  is  Broken  during  the  Indian  Mutiny — 
Strange  Powers  Supposed  to  Belong  to  the  Gem — 
Possibilities  in  the  History  of  the  "  Nizam," 56 60 


PAGES 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

IV. 

THE   STEWART. 

"^  The  two  Largest  Diamonds  of  South  Africa — Finding  the 
"  Stewart  " — An  Accidental  Discovery — "  Joy  is 
Dangerous" — The  Anxiety  of  Possession — Taking 
the  Treasure  Home 6i —  62 

V. 
THE    GREAT    MOGUL. 

A  Stormy  Birth  and  a  Tragic  End — Two  Centuries  of 
History — Intrigue  and  Murder — The  Afflictions  of 
Shah  Jehan  —  An  Honest  Cutter  —  The  "Great 
Mogul"  and  the  "  Koh-i-Nur  "  —  Eastern  Magni- 
ficence— A  King  showing  his  Jewels  to  a  Visitor — 
Shape  of  the  "  Great  Mogul  "  and  its  General  Appear- 
ance— Its  Identity  Established— A  Usurper's  Subter- 
fuge— Shah  Jehan's  desire  to  destroy  all  his  Gems — 
The  Peacock  Throne — Mysterious  Disappearance  of 
the  Gem  at  the  Fall  of  Delhi 63—78 

VI. 
THE    STAR   OF   THE   SOUTH. 

Found  by  a  Negress — A  stone  of  singular  Beauty — Sold 
for  ;^3,ooo,  ultimately  to  realise  ;^8o,ooo — A  lovely 
Tint — The  Lion  of  two  International  Exhibitions,  it 
is  afterwards  sent  to  India — Purchased  by  the  Ruler 
of  Baroda — The  Prince's  other  Treasures — Diamond 
Dust  Poisoning — Nemesis 79 — 84 

VII. 
DU    TOIT    I. 

v^  Beautiful,  but  a  little  "Off-Colour" — South  African 
Diamonds — Their  Origin  and  Character — Enormous 
Increase  of — Estimated  Value  of  "Claims"  in  the 
Mining  Districts — l^eculiar  Delicacies  of  the  Straw 
Tint — Stones  that  Rival  those  of  Brazil  and  India — 
"Bort."      85—  87 

VIII. 
THE    GREAT   TABLE. 

Tavernier's  account  of  the  "  Table  "  Diamond — Its  Size, 
Shape,  and  Value — Shah  Jehan's  Invasion  of  the 
Deccan — Fire  and  Sword — Raising  Money  to  pay 
Tribute  to  the  Victor — The  Parsees  and  the  English 
— Where  is  the  Great  Gem  to-day  ? 88 —  92 


CONTENTS.  XV 


PAGES 
IX. 

THE   REGENT   OF    PORTUGAL. 

The  Slave  and  the  Diamond — Punishments  and  Rewards 
in  Mining — How  Bahia  became  Famous — Discovery 
of  the  Regent  by  a  Negro — He  is  Pensioned  and 
obtains  his  Freedom       ...         ...         93—  94 

X. 

THE   JAGERSFONTEIN. 

Diamond  Robberies  at  the  Cape — Receivers  and  Illicit 
Dealers — A  Serious  Question  for  Companies — A  209 
Carat  Stone  Stolen — Chase  of  the  Thieves — Singular 
Capture  and  Discovery  of  the  Stone — Life  at  the 
Diamond  Fields — Singular  Shopkeepers — Kafirs  and 
their  Masters — The  Great  Stone  sold  for  ;f  15— Con- 
fession of  the  Thieves     ...         95 —  102 

Xa. 

THE    ORLOFF. 

A  Royal  Lover's  Gift— Prince  Orloff  and  the  Czarina 
Catharine — An  Imperial  Gem — Fable  of  the  Temple 
of  Brama— A  French  Grenadier's  Plot— The  Costly 
Eye  of  an  Idol  Stolen — A  Great  Diamond  on  its 
Travels— The  Adventurer,  Khojeh  Raphael — Prince 
Orloff  Purchases  the  Gem  to  restore  his  favour  at 
Court — ^90,000  and  ^4,000  a  year  is  paid  for  the 
Stone — Another  Grenadier — The  Peacock  Throne — 
Shah  Jehan  again — A  Merchant  Adventurer  and 
Warrior — The  Desolating  War  of  the  Deccan — 
Royal  Preebooters-A  Tragic  End— The  "Koh-i-Nur" 
and  "  Koh-i-Tfir  "—The  "  Moon  of  Mountains  "     ...     103— 115 

XI. 

A 

THE    KOH-I-NUR. 

"The  Great  Diamond  of  History  and  Romance"— 
Strange  but  True — Fact  and  Fable— An  Extravagant 
Tradition — "  One  Long  Romance  of  Five  Centuries  " 
— Tricks  of  Eastern  Friendship-Exchanging  Turbans 
—The  Pitiful  Story  of  Shah  Rokh— A  Factor  of  War 
and  Murder,  the  Stone  Carries  a  Curse — Built  up  in 
a  Prison  Wall — A  Pathetic  Incident — Eastern  Rever- 
ence for  Gems — The  Supposed  Talisman  of  Victory 
brings  Defeat — Annexation  of  the  Punjaub  to  the 
British  Empire — Confiscation  of  the  Crown  Jewels  of 
Lahore  to  the  East  India  Company — The  Greatest 
Gem  of  all  Presented  to  the  Queen — Its  Character 
and  Appearance — It  is  Re-Cut  on  the  Advice  of  the 
Prince  Consort— The  "  Koh-i-Nur  "  at  last  a  Token 
of  Liberty  and  Peace 116—135 


XVi  CONTENTS. 


PAGES 

XII. 

A 

DARYA-I-NUR. 

A  City  of  Gems  and  Jewels — Nadir  Shah's  Descent  on 
Delhi — Indiscriminate  Slaughter  and  Plunder — The 
Shah  of  Persia's  Largest  Diamond,  "  Sea  of  Light  " 
— Its  Shape  and  Character — Is  the  "  Darya-i-Nur  " 
the  Missing  "  Mogul  ?" — "  Opinions  Differ  " — A 
Reliable  Judgment  136 — 139 

XIII. 

THE    AHMEDABAD. 

A  Name  that  excites  Unpleasant  Reflections — Incidents 
of  British  Warfare  in  India — The  Assault  and 
Capture  of  Ahmedabad  —  The  Opportunities  of 
Collectors 140 — 143 

XIV. 

THE    PORTER-RHODES. 

The  Kimberley  Mine — A  Surprise — "Test  Diamonds" 
Mr.  Porter-Rhodes  at  Osborne — Presented  to  the 
Queen — Her  Majesty's  Opinion  of  the  Famous  Cape 
Stone — At  Osborne  Cottage — The  Empress  Eugenie 
an  Authority  on  Gems — Handling  the  "  Koh-i-Nur  " 
at  Windsor  ...         144 — 149 

XV. 

THE    TURKEY    I.    AND  II. 

Gems  in  the  Turkish  Regalia — Abdul  Aziz  and  his 
Creditor  —  An  Incident  of  Turkish  Trouble  —  A 
Reign  of  Terror 150 — 152 

XVI. 

THE    TAJ-E-MAH. 

The  Diamond  Works  of  Sumbhulpore — Mining  Under 
Difficulties — Diamond  Seekers  at  Work — A  Famous 
Region — Robbed  and  E.xiled — A  Monarch  on  the 
Rack  —  The  Royal  Torturer  Assassinated  —  A 
Georgeous  Bracelet  —  Royal  Gems  —  Uncivilized 
Persia — A  Strange  Story — The  Philosophic  Content 
of  a  Blinded  King  153 — i6o 

XVII. 

THE    AUSTRIAN    YELLOW. 

Official  History — A  Romantic  Story — A  Great  Diamond 
Mistaken  for  a  Piece  of  Glass — Fact  and  Fiction — 
Charles  the  Bold  and  the  "Florentine" — A  Splendid 
"  Cap  of  Maintenance  "...  ...  ...  ...  ...     iQi ^58 


CONTENTS.  XVli 


PAGES 
XVIII. 

THE    PITT    OR    REGENT. 

Found  by  a  Slave — Stolen  by  an  English  Skipper — 
Treachery  and  Murder — Sold  for  /i.ooo — Bought 
for  ^'24,000 — Re-sold  to  the  Regent  of  France  for 
;f  135, 000 — Stolen  and  Restored  to  the  Garde-Meuble 
— Pawned  to  the  Dutch — Redeemed  and  Worn  by 
Napoleon  the  Great — Captured  after  Waterloo,  and 
taken  to  Berlin — On  View  at  the  Paris  Exhibition — 
Among  the  Crown  Jewels  of  France  and  Valued  at 
/48o,ooo 169 — 183 

XIX. 
THE    MOUNTAIN    OF    SPLENDOUR. 

Persia  in  Poetry  and  Romance — The  Shah  in  England 
— A  Precious  Gem,  the  History  of  which  is  at  present 
unknown    ...  ...         184 — 185 

XX. 

THE    ABBAS    MIR2A. 

Pieces  of  the  "  Great  Mogul " — Dr.  Beke  and  the 
"  Koh-i-Nur  " — Evidence  against  his  Theory,  and 
that  of  Professor  Tennant — Complete  Identification 
of  the  "  Abbas  Mirza  " 186 — 189 

XXI. 
DU  TOIT   II. 

The  Pan  Diggings,  South  Africa — Active  Mining  Opera- 
tions in  1871 — The  first  important  "  Find  " igo 

XXII. 

THE    MOON    OF    MOUNTAINS. 

"  Diamond  cut  Diamond  "—Nadir  Shah  Murdered  by 
his  own  Troops — Shaffrass  and  the  Afghan  Soldier — 
The  Curse  of  Wealth— A  Terrible  Tragedy— Three 
Brothers  Murder  a  Jew  and  an  Afghan  for  the 
"Moon  of  Mountains" — Two  Brothers  Murdered 
by  the  Third — Adventures  of  the  Assassin — The  Law 
of  Russia — The  Story  as  told  by  Pallas— Shaffrass 
the  Murderer  Retires  and  Marries,  and  is  eventually 
Killed  by  his  Son-in-Law  igi 201 

XXIII. 
THE   PATROCINHO. 

One  of  Brazil's  Largest  Diamonds — "Picked  up"  in 
1851 — The  Thieves  of  Minas-Geraes — A  Gem  without 
a  Pedigree  202 


PAGES 


XVlll  CONTENTS 

XXIV. 

THE    ENGLISH    DRESDEN. 

A  Faultless  Stone — Remarkable  Success  of  Cutting — A 
Fortune  made  in  Cotton  and  Spent  on  a  Diamond — 
Crafty  Agents — Singular  Coincidence  of  Ill-Luck — 
A  Ruined  Merchant  and  a  Deposed  Prince 203 — 208 

XXV. 

THE  AKBAR  SHAH,  OR  JEHAN  GHIR  SHAH. 

Lost  and  Found — Known  in  Turkey  as  the  "  Shepherd's 
Stone"  —  Sold  to  the  late  Gaikwar  of  Baroda  — 
Another  Disappearance — Royal  Egotism      209 — 210 

XXVI. 

THE    TAVERNIER    BLUE. 

A  Precious  Colour  in  Diamonds — "  D'un  Beau  Violet  " — 
Famous  Mines  in  History  and  Tradition — Misfortune 
follows  Tavernier — The  Old  Idea  of  Great  Diamonds 
being  Unlucky — One  Stone  with  a  Treble  History  ...     211 — 214 

XXVII. 

THE    TENNANT. 

Another  South  African  Gem  —  "Off  Colour,"  but  free 

from  Flaw  or  Speck — Offered  for  Sale  by  Auction  ...  215 

XXVIII. 

THE    STAR    OF    DIAMONDS. 

A  Brilliant  Gem — "  All  the  Colours  of  the  Rainbow  "   ...  216 

XXIX. 

THE    RIO    DAS    VELHAS. 

A  Treasure  of  Brazil — Found  in  the  Famous  Diamond 

Province  of  Minas-Geraes         ...         ...         ...         ...  217 

XXX. 
THE    BAZU. 

A  Product  of  the  KoUur  Mine — Cleavage  and  Flaws  — 

A  Risky  and  Unprofitable  Speculation  218 

XXXI. 

THE    RAULCONDA. 
Cutters  at  Work  in  a  Mine — A  Notable  Operation         ...  219 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

PAGES 
XXXll. 

THE    HASTINGS. 

In  the  Early  Days  of  our  Eastern  Empire — National 
Ingratitude  —A  Georgian  Scandal — Cruel  Caricature 
— The  Power  of  Diamonds       ...         ...         ...         ...     220 — 224 


XXXIII. 
THE    STAR    OF    BEAUFORT. 

The  Comparatively  Unknown  Diamond  Fields  of  South 
Africa — The  Progress  and  Wealth  of  Griqualand 
West — One  of  many  Great  Diamonds  225 — 226 

XXXIV. 

THE    CHAPADA. 

Peculiarities  of  Brazilian  Stones — A  Diamond-Bearing 
Rock — A  Notable  Gem,  Named  after  the  District 
where  it  was  Found        227 

XXXV. 

THE   NASSAK. 

Under  the  Mahratta  Power— "  Gifts  of  the  gods  "—A 
Present  to  the  East  India  Company — Reminiscences 
of  a  Royal  Birthday  —  Re-cut  by  Order  of  the 
Marquis  of  Westminster  228 — 231 

XXXVI. 
THE   SHAH. 

Engraved  Diamonds— A  Barbarous  Subterfuge— Sadek 
Khan  Bricked  Up  in  a  Dungeon— An  Incident  of  the 
Desert  —  "A  Blaze  of  Jewels"  —  Oriental  Extra- 
vagance           232 — 236 

XXXVII. 

THE    DUDLEY,    OR    STAR   OF   SOUTH    AFRICA. 

A  Strange  History — The  Vicissitudes  of  a  Diamond — A 
Child's  Toy  worth  a  King's  Ransom — The  Discovery 
of  Diamonds  at  the  Cape — \  Great  Stone  Thrown 
Away  in  Africa  to  be  afterwards  Sold  for  over  /^i  1,000 
in  London  237—241 

XXXVIII. 
THE    THRONE. 

The  Peacock  Throne— Strange  Picture  of  Magnificence 
—An  Error  Corrected— The  Sanguinary  Adventures 
of  Tamerlane        242 — 244 


PAGES 


XX  CONTENTS. 

XXXIX. 

THE    ROUGH. 

Roughs  in  the  East  and  West — A  Text  for  the  Educa- 
tionist -  A  Lost  Diamond  —  A  Reminiscence  of 
Golconda 245 

XL. 

THE   STAR   OF   SARAWAK. 

Bornean  Gems — Exploration  of  North  Borneo— Difficul- 
ties to  be  Overcome  —  Indications  of  Success — A 
Genuine  Bornean  Stone — The  Treasures  of  Sarawak     246 — 248 

XLI. 

THE    RUSSIAN    TABLE. 

A  Russian  Secret        249 

XLII. 

THE    MASCARENHAS  I.    &  II. 

A  Rich  Viceroy,  who  was  also  a  Toxicologist — "  Hung 

in  Effigy  "  and  possibly  Poisoned  as  well      ...         ...     250 — 251 

XLIII, 

THE     FRENCH     BLUE. 

The  Crown  Jewels  of  France — Breaking  Up  of  a  Great 

Stone — Fragments  that  are  Afterwards  Traced       ...     252 — 253 

XLIV. 

THE   SEA   OF   GLORY. 

A    Reminiscence  of   Persian   Splendour  —  A    Splendid 

Crown  Jewel  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  254 

XLV. 

THE    KOLLUR. 

The  Kollur  Mine— The  Kistna  Valley— A  Beautiful  Stone 

Cut  in  the  Mine  itself     ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  255 

XLVI. 

THE    PEAR    AND    SAVOY. 

Set  in  Pearls — A  Popular  Fiction  Dispelled— The  "  Pear 
and  Savoy  "  not  One  Stone — The  Shadows  of  Nadir 
Shah — Loss  of  the  "  Pear  "  in  Persia 256 — 258 


CONTENTS.  xxi 


PAGES 

XLVII. 
THE    GREAT   SANCY 

The  Sphinx  of  Diamonds — Looking  Back  Over  Three 
Hundred  Years — In  the  Days  of  the  "  Holy  League  " 
— A  Royal  Debauchee — A  Faithful  Valet — Important 
Revelations — Under  a  Cloud — A  "  Cause  Celebre  " 
Once  More  on  its  Travels  —  An  Incident  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  Indian  Tour 259 — 268 

XLVIII. 

THE  TA VERNIER  A,   B,  C. 

The  Diamond  Bought  by  Louis  XIV — Stolen  with  the 
French  Regalia  in  1792 — A  Present  to  the  Empress 
Eugenie  by  Her  Husband — "The  Golden  Fleece  "...     269 — 271 

XLIX. 

LA    REINE    DES    BELGES. 

A  New  Stone  in  the  History  of  Diamonds — A  Gift  from 
the  Archduchess  of  Hungary  to  her  Daughter  the 
Queen  of  Belgium  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  272 


EUGENIE. 

A  Splendid  Hair-Pin — Catharine  II.  of  Russia  and  Her 
Favourites  —  Royal  Presents  —  How  the  Hair-Pin 
was  Bought  by  Napoleon  III.  —  Its  Sale  to  the 
Notorious  Gaikwar  of  Baroda ...     273 — 274 

LII. 
THE    PIGOTT. 

The  Early  Days  of  the  Indian  Empire — The  Black  Hole 
of  Calcutta  —  The  Successes  of  Clive  —  "Trifling 
Gifts  " — A  Lottery  Prize — Sold  to  Ali  Pasha  for 
/3o,ooo,  and  by  him  Destroyed — Only  the  Model  of 
the  "  Pigott  "  remains     ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     275 — 282 

LII. 
THE    THREE   TABLES. 

An  Ancient  Form  of  Diamond  Cutting — Famous  Gems 

that  have  Disappeared 283 — 284 

LIII. 

THE    DRESDEN   GREEN. 

One  of  the  Rarest  Diamonds  in  the  World — A  Com- 
paratively Small  Gem  Valued  at /30,ooo      285 


PAGES 


xxn  CONTENTS. 

LIV. 
THE    BANIAN. 

Astute  Dealers — The  "Banian  Removes  his  Turban  " — 

Rapid  Business    ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...     286 — 288 

LV. 

THE    ANTWERP. 

A  Bridal  Gift— History  at  Fault      289—290 

LVI. 

THE    HOPE    BLUE. 

Models  of  Historic  Gems  in  London — The  Romance  of 
Facts — Identification  of  the  "  Hope  Blue"  and  the 
Famous  French  Stone — A  Lovely  Gem  and  a  Notable 
Jewel  ...     291 — 295 

LVII. 

THE    FERDINAND. 

The  Raulconda  Mines — Tinted  Stones — A  Diamond  that 
Broke  into  Fragments  on  the  Cutter's  Wheel  ... 
"  Bort  " — A  Curious  Freak  of  Nature  296 — 297 

LVIII. 

THE    POLAR    STAR. 

One  of  the  Gems  in  the  Russian  Crown  Purchased  in 

England — A  Stone  of  Rare  Purity  and  Lustre         ...  298 

LIX. 

THE    PASHA    OF    EGYPT. 

Forty  Carats  and  Valued  at  /28,ooo — The  Finest  Gem 

in  the  Egyptian  Treasury  ...         ...         ...         ...  299 

LX. 

THE    GREEN    BRILLIANT. 

A  Relic  of  the  Dresden  Vaults — Worn  as  a  Button  by  the 

King  of  Saxony     ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ..:  300 

LXI. 

THE    BANTAM. 

One  of  Tavernier's  Royal  Customers — "  The  Queen  of 
Borneo  "■ — The  Dutch  Regalia — A  Fanatical  Pilgrim 
at  Mecca — Fighting  and  Feasting       ...         ...         ...     301 — 303 

LXII. 

THF    HORNBY. 

Another    Gem    Unknown    to    History  —  Possibly    to    be 

Found  at  Teheran  ,, 304 


CONTENTS.  XXlll 

PAGES 

LXIII. 

THE   HOLLAND. 

A  Crown  Jewel — Its  Origin  and  Character  Unrecorded 

— Conical  in  Shape,  and  Valued  at  ^^10,368 305 

LXIV. 
THE   HEART. 

A   Splendid  Trinket — The   Royal  Turban  of    Baber — 

Eastern  Monarchs  in  Full  Dress         ...         306 — 308 

LXV. 

THE    LITTLE    SANCY. 

A  Mystery  Cleared  Ui>— Official  History — The  Crown 
Necklace  Worn  by  the  Princess  Mary  of  Sachsen- 
Altenburg  on  her  Marriage  with  Prince  Albert  of 
of  Prussia— Origin  of  the  Title  "  Little  Sancy  "       ...     309 — 310 

LXVl. 
THE    NAPOLEON. 

The  Vague  History  of  a  Brilliant  Gem... An  Ornament 

of  Napoleon's  Sword  Hilt  ...         ...         ...         ...     311 — 312 

LXVII. 

THE    CUMBERLAND. 

Days  of  Trouble  in  England — The  Battle  of  Culloden — 
The  City  of  London  Presents  a  Great  Diamond  to 
the  Conqueror — The  "  Cumberland  "  restored  to 
Hanover  on  a  Claim  sent  in  to  the  English  Court  ...     313 — 315 

LXVIIl. 
THE    BRAZILIAN. 

An  Unauthorized  Title — The  Rough  Diamond  mentioned 

by  Mawe 316 

LXIX. 

THE    DRESDEN    WHITE. 

A    White    Stone  among   the  Dresden  Green — Set  in  a 

Piece  of  Jewelry   ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  317 

LXX. 

THE    DRESDEN    YELLOW. 
One  of  Four  Famous  Yellow  Gems...         ...         ...         ,..  318 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  Diamond  in  History — How  the  Ancients  described  it — 
The  '*  Adamas  "  and  the  Sapphire — The  Rarity  of 
Large  Gems — The  number  of  Existing  known  Dia- 
monds over  30  Carats — The  Buyers  of  Precious  Stones 
— Popularity  of  Diamonds  in  Amei-ica — Romantic 
Stories — Famous  Mines — "  The  Great  Mogul,"  "  Koh-i- 
Nur,"  and  "  Pitt  "—Popular  Errors  Corrected— The 
Standard  of  Weight  and  its  Origin. 


HE  mystery  which  surrounds  the  Dia- 
mond is  accentuated  even  in  the 
etymology  of  the  word  itself.  Acknow- 
ledged on  all  hands  to  be  supreme 
in  beauty  over  all  gems,  the  manner  of  its  pro- 
duction remains  to  this  day,  one  of  the  secrets  of 
Nature's  Laboratory.  Diamond  in  the  English,  and 
Diamant  in  the  French,  are  both  synonymous  with 
Adamant,  which  comes  directly  from  the  Greek  dSa/ias% 
meaning  literally  the  "untamable,"*  the  "unconquer- 
able." Theancients  properly  estimated  the  character  of 
the  stone;  and  modern  savants,  who,  standing  upon  the 


♦  In  the  word  untamable  we  have  the  exact  etymological  equivalent 
of  the  Greek,  tm,  answering  to  o,  originally,  and  tame,  to  5a;uaco.  with 
which  compare  the  Latin  done ^  whence  "  dominus,  domina  "  and  the  French 
dame.  Few  would,  at  first  sight  suspect  that  both  "Madame''  and  her 
"Diamants"  derive  by  many  devious  paths  from  a  common  original  Aryan 
root,  dam  to  tame.  The  French  form  soon  became  dirferentiated  into 
aymant,  aimaiit,  in  the  sense  oi  magnet  or  loadstone,  traditionally  associated 
in  many  ways  with  the  Diamond.  It  was  also  Latinized  dAdiamas  instead 
of  adamas,  by  medieval  writers,  whence  Vincent  de  Beauvais'  remark  that 
''  Hie  a  quibusdam  dtamas  dicitur,"  (In  Speculum  Natural,  VIII.  c.  40.) 
From  these  writers  it  passed,  no  doubt,  into  the  vernacular  German,  whence 
Walter  von  der  Vogelwiede's  diemant  and  Luther's  deniant.  This  explains 
the  two  forms  Diamant  and  Demant  current  in  modem  German. 

B 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

mountain  tops  of  Science,  have  explored  the  sun  itself, 
can  tell  us  but  little  more  of  this  splendid  production 
of  its  creative  rays,  than  is  indicated  in  the  Greek.  It 
is  to  the  cutter  that  we  owe  the  revelation  of  its  love- 
liness, the  development  of  that  radiance  which  trans- 
cends all  other  gems,  as  the  graces  of  Venus  transcend 
those  of  all  the  other  goddesses  of  Olympus.  Although 
the  word  is  found  in  the  oldest  Greek  records,  the 
substance  itself  was  unknown  in  Europe  until  com- 
paratively recent  times.  In  Homer,  Adamas  occurs 
only  as  a  personal  name ;  in  Hesiod,  Pindar  and 
the  Trajics  it  is  used  as  signifying  either  any  hard 
weapon,  or  a  metal,  such  as  steel  or  an  alloy  of 
gold  and  steel.  Even  Theophrastus,  successor  of 
Aristotle,  and  author  of  a  short  treatise,  still  extant, 
on  Precious  Stones,  makes  only  one  casual  allusion 
to  the  Adamas,  which,  however,  cannot  have  meant 
the  true  Diamond,*  as  he  does  not  include  it  in  his  list 
of  gems.  His  treatise  was  composed  300  B c,  after 
which  no  further  distinct  allusion  to  the  Diamond 
occurs  until  we  come  to  the  Latin  poet  and  astronomer, 
Manilius,  who  flourished  in  the  first  century  of  the 
new  era.  In  the  fourth  book  of  the  poem  entitled 
Astronamicon,  by  this  writer,  occurs  the  line  "  Sic 
Adamas  punctum  lapidis  pretiosior  auro,"  which  is 
supposed  to  contain  the  earliest  indubitable  reference 
to  the  true  Diamond,  which  is  here  spoken  of  as 
"  more    precious    than    gold."      Some    writers   have 

*  C.  W.  King  thinks  it  may  have  been  the  Emery-stone  (The 
Natural  History  of  Precious  Stones,  p.  41).  Yet  Plato  had  already  been 
using  the  same  word  apparently  to  indicate  the  Sapphire:  Xpvcrov  Si  tj^os 
Sia  irvxviTrira  crxArj/x^TaTor  o;'  x"^  n-iXavQev,  'A5d/j.as  ex^V^V-  "But  the 
germ  of  gold,  extremely  hard,  through  its  density,  and  of  a  dark  tint,  has 
been  called  Adamos,"  Timxus,  59. 


INTRODUCTION.  2/ 

doubted  whether  this  Adamas  of  the  Romans  was 
anything  more  than  a  Sapphire  ;  but  the  question  is 
set  at  rest  by  the  accurate  description  of  Pliny,  who 
was  probably  a  contemporary  of  Manilius,  and  who 
speaks  of  the  Indian  gem  as  colorless  and  transparent, 
with  polished  facets  and  six  angles,  ending  either 
as  a  pyramid  with  a  sharp  point,  or  with  two 
points,  like  two  whipping-tops  joined  together  at 
their  base.  The  colourless  nature  of  the  stone  shows 
that  it  was  not  a  sapphire,  while  the  "  six  angles " 
necessarily  imply  the  octahedron,  which  is  the  primary 
form  of  the  perfectly  crystallized  Diamond,  and  sug- 
gests no  resemblance  to  the  sapphire. 

None  of  the  stones  known  to  the  ancients  seem  to 
have  been  of  any  importance  as  regards  size.  In  the 
above  quoted  passage  from  Manilius,  the  adamas  is 
a  mere  "  punctum  lapidis,"  or  stone's  point,  and  the 
Indian  stones,  the  largest  of  which  the  Romans  had 
any  knowledge,  are  compared  by  Pliny  to  the  "  kernel 
of  a  hazel-nut,"  which  would  make  them  about  lo 
carats  in  weight.  Large  gems  may,  no  doubt,  have 
existed  in  India,  even  at  that  time,  and  a  vague  tradi- 
tion assigns  a  great  antiquity  to  the  Koh-i-Nur,  and 
some  other  famous  historical  diamonds.  Only  small 
specimens  could,  however,  have  reached  the  west, 
because  the  Indian  princes  seem  in  all  ages  to  have 
either  reserved  to  themselves,  or  at  least  prohibited 
the  exportation  of  stones  beyond  a  certain  weight. 
The  Portuguese  writer,  Garcias  ab  Horto,  writing  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  states  that  the  sovereigns 
claimed  all  gems  above  30  mangelis,  or  ^/^  carats, 
and   De  Laet,  a  century  later,  says  that  stones  even 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

of  10  carats  and  upwards  had  been  reserved  in  the 
old  Golconda  mines,  then  exhausted  or  stopped. 

Diamonds  of  large  size  have  always  been  ex- 
tremely rare,  even  in  India  itself  Tavernier  asserts 
that  before  the  opening  of  the  Coulour  mine,  about 
the  year  1550,  the  largest  ever  found  weighed  only 
from  10  to  12  carats.  This  statement  cannot,  how- 
ever, be  accepted  in  the  face  of  distinct  evidence  to 
the  contrary.  De  Laet  informs  us  that,  "  in  the 
mines  some,  but  extremely  rarely,  are  found  of  100, 
130,  and  even  200  carats  ;  more  numerous  are  those 
of  8,  9,  10,  and  15,  while  those  of  lesser  weight  are 
far  more  abundant."*  So  also  Adrian  Toll,  editor  of 
De  Bool,  says,  "  In  Bisnagar,  diamonds  are  found 
weighing  140  carats,  such  as  Monard  says  he  himself 
had  seen."  He  also  declares  that  he  heard  from 
trustworthy  authorities  of  one  weighing  250  carats, 
and  that  it  was  the  size  of  a  small  hen's  ^^^.  The 
recently-discovered  South  African  diamond  fields  are 
no  doubt  remarkable  for  the  relatively  large  number 
of  good  sized  stones  which  they  have  yielded.  But 
even  here  the  absolute  number  of  such  specimens  is 
small,  so  that  the  statement  of  Mawe,t  writing  early 
in  the  present  century,  still  holds  good  that  although 
small  stones  are  sufficiently  abundant  to  be  within 
the  reach  of  a  moderate  expenditure  ;  yet  those  of 
larger  size  are,  and  ever  have  been,  rare.     He  adds 


*  "  Inveniuntur  in  Bisnagar  adamantes  pendentes  140  ceratia,  qualem 
se  Monardes  vidisse  scribit.  A  fide  dignis  narrat  etiam  se  audivisse  extare 
unum  qui  250  ceratia  ponderat,  eumque  esse  exigui  ovi  galiinacei  magni- 
tudine." — Gemmarum  et  Latidarian  Historia. 

•j-  A  Treatise  on  Diamonds  and  Precious  Stones,"  2nd  edition,  1823, 
pp.  16  and  17 — Introduction. 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

that  of  the  most  celebrated  for  magnitude  and  beauty 
the  whole  number  in  Europe  scarcely  amounts  to 
half  a  dozen,  all  of  which  are  in  possession  of  sovereign 
princes.*  This  statement  must  be  considered  from  a 
Koh-i-Nur  stand-point,  and  is,  no  doubt,  true,  if  those 
gems  only  be  taken  into  account  which  weigh  100 
carats  and  upwards.  But  the  number  must  be  in- 
creased 10  times  if  we  include  all  weighing  30  carats 
and  upwards.  John  Murray,  writing  in  1838,  remarks 
that  the  number  of  diamonds  of  the  weight  of  36 
carats  and  above,  known  to  exist  in  Europe  at  that 
time,  "do  not  really  amount  to  more  than  19." 
Since  then  the  number  has  been  considerably  in- 
creased, especially  by  the  yield  from  the  South 
African  fields.  How  many  of  this  size  there  may  be 
in  the  Portuguese  treasury,!  the  richest  in  Europe,  is 
not  fully  known.  But  it  is  in  evidence  that  at  the 
sale  of  the  late  Duke  of  Brunswick's  effects  in  Geneva, 
the  list  of  diamonds  included  no  less  than  seven 
weighing  from  37  to  81  carats.|  As  little  was  known 
of  these  stones  till  attention  was  called  to  them  on 
this  occasion  they  should  probably  be  added  to  the 
19  referred  to  by  Murray  in  1838. 

All   things    considered,   the   actual    number    of 
diamonds  over  30  carats  in  weight  now  existing  in 

*  "A  Memoir  on  the  Diamond''' — London,  1839,  p.  53. 

f  Supplied  exclusively  from  Brazil,  whence  for  many  years  past 
scarcely  any  stones  have  been  received  weighing  over  20  carats.  "  Partien 
von  2  =  3=  oder  4,000  Karat  welche  von  Brasilien  oder  andern  Orten 
heriibergeschickt  werden,  enthalten  bisweilen  einzelne  Steine  von  dem 
aussergewohnlichen  Gewicht  von  12-20  karat."  Karl  Emil  Kluge — 
"■  Handbiich  der  Edelsteinkunde,"  Leipzig,  i860,  p    282. 

X  See  the  "  Catalogue,  et  noms  des  Acquereurs,"  published  at  the 
time  by  Messrs.  Rossel  et  Fils,  Joailliers,  Bijoutiers,  12,  Rue  de  Rh6ne, 
Geneva,  1874. 


30  INTRODUCTION, 

every  part  of  the  world  cannot  safely  be  estimated 
at  much  more  than  lOo,  of  which  probably  about 
50  are  in  Europe,  and  the  remainder  in  Persia,  India, 
and  Borneo.  This  number  may  no  doubt  be  sub- 
sequently increased  by  fresh  discoveries  in  Brazil, 
South  Africa,  India,  Borneo,  Australia,  and  elsewhere. 
But  the  supply  of  such  large  specimens  from  these 
sources  must  always  be  extremely  limited  ;  while  the 
experiments  recently  conducted  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Hannay, 
in  Glasgow  may  be  taken  as  clearly  proving  that 
none  such  will  ever  be  made  by  artificial  means. 
Those  said  to  have  been  produced  in  Mr.  Hannay's 
laboratory  by  a  process  doubtless  analogous  to  that 
followed  by  nature  herself  are  excessively  minute, 
with  a  marketable  value  of  scarcely  five  shillings,  the 
production  of  which  probably  cost  the  speculative 
experimenter  about  five  pounds  each.  While  the 
number  of  small-sized  gems  will  go  on  accumulating, 
those  of  very  large  magnitude  will  probably  remain, 
to  a  great  extent,  stationary  ;  their  intrinsic  value 
will  tend  to  grow  rather  than  diminish,  and  apart 
from  the  romance  of  their  history,  the  interest  felt  in 
the  world's  most  famous  gems  will  be  enhanced  as  the 
development  of  national  wealth  adds  to  the  ranks  of 
those  who  are  rich  enough  to  compete  for  their  posses- 
sion. Hitherto  our  Transatlantic  kinsmen  have 
scarcely  appeared  in  the  market  as  serious  bidders 
for  their  possession.  They  are  great  buyers  of  stones 
of  medium  size.  American  gentlemen  wear  diamonds 
in  the  States  almost  as  generally  as  the  ladies  do. 
It  is  quite  a  common  thing  to  see  pins  and  studs  of 
10  to  15  carats  worn  in  all  classes  of  society  ;  and  in 


INTRODUCTION.  3 1 

the  streets  of  the  great  cities  the  majority  of  well- 
dressed  women  wear  diamond  earrings.  But  in  spite 
of  the  American  love  of  diamonds,  the  notable  and 
historic  stones  are  still  found  outside  the  pale  of  the 
Great  Republic.  It  is  only  natural  to  conclude,  how- 
ever, that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  peerless 
gem— 

"Fair  as  the  star  that  ushers  in  the  morn." 

will  attract  the  attention  of  the  princes  of  Wall-street 
and  the  Bonanza  mine-owners  of  California.  Then 
the  present  quotations  for  exceptionally  fine  and  large 
stones,  usually  regarded  as  somewhat  fanciful  in  price, 
will,  no  doubt,  be  readily  commanded  by  such  princely 
houses  as  may  be  willing  to  replenish  their  exhausted 
coffers  at  the  sacrifice  of  a  few  brilliant  but  non-pro- 
ductive heirlooms. 

A  full  account  of  the  origin,  nature,  properties,  and 
habitat  of  the  diamond  will  be  found  in  Precious 
Stones  and  Gems.  In  the  present  treatise  which  may 
be  regarded  as  a  sequel  to  that  work,  it  is  proposed 
to  embody,  in  a  succinct  form,  the  information 
scattered  over  many  volumes,  in  diverse  languages, 
and  from  private  family  and  official  manuscripts  kindly 
placed  at  our  disposal  for  the  purposes  of  this  work, 
regarding  all  the  known  specimens  weighing  from 
30  carats  and  upwards.  The  extraordinary  interest 
felt  in  these  rarer  gems,  many  of  which  are  associated 
with  strange  intrigues  and  disastrous  wars,  induces 
constant  inquiry  to  be  made  regarding  them,  their 
history,  their  owners,  and  their  whereabouts.  Kluge 
truly  remarks  that,  "of  the  few  large  diamonds 
hitherto  extracted  from  the  earth  each  has,  so  to  say, 


32  INTRODUCTION. 

its  own  story,  in  many  instances  made  up  of  crimes 
and  outrages."     The  romantic  element  plays  a  large 
part  in  these  records,  which  in  some  cases  date  back 
to  remote  times.     Unfortunately  the  extant  accounts 
are  often  of  the  most  contradictory  character.     The 
incidents  associated  with  some  particular  stone  are 
constantly  transferred  to  another  object.     The  very 
identity  even  of  the  most  famous  historical  gems  is 
often  an  open  question.     To  this  day  it  has  remained 
somewhat  uncertain  whether,  for  instance,  the  "  Great 
Mogul"  and  the  "Koh-i-Nur"  are  one  stone  under 
two  names,  or  really  two  distinct  diamonds,  as  they 
certainly  appear  to  be.     Errors  in  the  various  accounts 
have  often  crept  in  through  the  ignorance  or  careless- 
ness of  writers,  copying   from  each   other,  without 
taking   the   pains   to   verify   references.     A   curious 
instance  of  this  is  afforded  by  Murray,  otherwise  a 
good  authority,  who,  in  speaking  of  the  "  Pitt  "  or 
"  Regent,"   says   that,    "  this   diamond,   it   has   been 
stated,  was  found  in  Malacca,  in  the  famous  mine  of 
Porteal,    in  the    Kingdom   of  Golconda."      In    this 
short   sentence  there  are  no  less  than   three   gross 
blunders,  for  Golconda  is  not  a  kingdom,  but  only  a 
fortified  station  in  the  Nizam's  territory,  formerly  a 
noted  depot  for  the  gems  found  in  the  surrounding 
districts.     Nor  is  the  Porteal,  or  rather  Parteal,  mine 
anywhere  near  Golconda.     It  lies  many  miles  further 
south  on  the  lower  Kistna  river.     And  lastly,  neither 
Golconda  nor  Parteal  are  in  Malacca,  but  in  Cisgan- 
getic    India.     As    Malacca   is   not    known    to   be   a 
diamond  field,  its  mention  in  this  connection  can  be 
explained  only  by  supposing    that    Murray  is  here 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

blindly  copying  from  Mawe,  who  makes  the  remark- 
able statement  at  page  42  of  his  already  quoted  work, 
that,  "  the  '  Pitt '  or  '  Regent'  diamond  is  said  to  have 
been  found  in  Malacca.  It  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Pitt, 
then  Governor  of  Bencoolen,  for  less  than  ;[^20,ooo." 
Here  is  another  rich  crop  of  errors,  for  Mr.  Pitt,  that 
is  Thomas  Pitt,  founder  of  the  illustrious  house  of  that 
name,  was  Governor,  not  of  Bencoolen,  which  lies  in 
the  south  of  Sumatra,  but  of  Madras,  on  the  Coro- 
mandel  or  east  coast  of  India.  By  following  up  the 
scent  from  Mawe  backwards  to  earlier  accounts,  each 
embellished  in  the  copying,  it  is  ultimately  found  that 
Malacca  gets  mixed  up  in  the  story  by  some  incidental 
reference  to  Malachite,  confounded  by  some  ignorant 
amanuensis  with  the  geographical  region  in  question, 
which  reminds  one  of  the  story  of  the  Parliamentary 
reporter  who  contrived  to  convert  an  interrogation 
about  Cowes  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  into  an  agricultural 
question.  Take  again  the  "  Gani  "  mine,  of  which  we 
read  so  much  in  connection  with  the  "  Great  Mogul," 
but  which  has  really  no  existence  at  all.  Tavernier 
tells  us  that  this  mine  was  called  "  Gani  "  by  the 
natives,  and  Colare  or  Coulour  by  the  Persians,  and, 
of  course,  the  statement  has  been  scrupulously  re- 
ported by  all  subsequent  writers  on  the  subject.  But 
nobody  has  ever  yet  succeeded  in  identifying  such  a 
place  as  "  Gani,"  and  the  word  would  appear  to  be 
simply  a  corruption,  or  possibly  a  collateral  form  of 
the  Dravidian  Kan,  which  means  not  any  particular 
mine,  but  a  mine  in  general.  On  the  ether  hand 
Coulour  seems  undoubtedly  to  be,  not  the  Gan-i- 
Parteal,  that  is,  the  Parteal  mine  on  the  Kistna,  as  is 


34  INTRODUCTION. 

usually  supposed,  but  Kollur,  still  known  by  that 
name,  also  on  the  Kistna,  but  some  25  miles  further 
Avest,  in  lat.  16°  42'  N.,  and  long.  80°  5  '  10"  E.*  There- 
fore in  Gani-Kollur,  and  not  in  Parteal,  was  found  the 
"  Great  Mogul  "  of  Tavernier.  In  the  following 
account  of  all  the  great  historical  diamonds,  every 
effort  will  be  made  to  rectify  these  and  other  current 
errors  regarding  them,t  and,  where  possible  to  recon- 
cile the  numerous  conflicting  statements  met  with  in 
popular  treatises  on  their  origin,  history,  and  identity. 
Many  of  the  great  diamonds  are  known  to  Mr.  Streeter, 


*  See  an  interesting  paper  by  Mr.  V.  Ball,  in  '■'■Nature"  for  March 
24th,  1 88 1,  "  On  the  Identity  of  some  Ancient  Diamond  Mines  in  India, 
especially  those  mentioned  by  Tavernier."  From  the  writer's  remarlvs  it 
seems  obvious  that  Gani  should  be  written  Gan-i  or  Kani,  ?>.,  "  the  mine 
of,"  to  be  followed  by  the  proper  name  of  each  particular  mine.  Thus 
Gan-i- Partial^  Gan-i-KoUur,  &c.  Here  the  particle  i  is,  of  course,  the 
same  as  that  which  occurs  in  such  well-known  compound  expressions  as 
Koli-i-Nur,  Kaisar-i-Hind,  &c.,  and  which  in  Persian  has  the  force  of  our 
preposition  of,  though  originally  a  relative  pronoun.  It  may  here  be 
added  that  amongst  other  famous  mines,  now^  for  the  first  time  identified 
by  Mr.  Ball,  are  Raw/co7ida,  which  appears  to  be  the  old  town  of  Rawdu 
Konda  in  lat.  15°  50'  N.,  long.  76°  50'  E.  ;  Soiiinelpour,  which  he  thinks 
is  not  the  Sambalpuy  on  the  Mahanadi  River,  in  the  Central  Provinces,  as 
is  generally  supposed,  but  Sema/i,  which  word  is  identical  with  Semou/, 
the  native  name  of  a  species  of  cotton  tree.  Semulpour,  or  the  town  ot 
Semnl,  is  therefore,  probably,  Tavernier's  Soumelpour,  La-^tly  Beei-agurh, 
mentioned  in  the  Aiii-i-Akhbari,  is  unquestionably  identical  with  the 
modern  Mairagurh.,  in  the  Chanda  District  of  the  Central  Provinces, 
where  excavations,  locally  known  to  have  been  diamantiferous,  are  still  to 
be  seen. 

t  A  fruitful  source  of  error  is  the  ignorance  of  transcribers  from 
foreign  sources,  and  especially  from  German  works.  A  very  curious 
instance  of  this  is  the  version  current  in  popular  English  treatises 
of  the  list  of  French  Crown  Jewels  as  taken  in  1791.  Here  occur  the 
mysterious  entries,  ''Golden  Blies,  51  carats,  300,000  francs,"  "The 
Ebenda,  26  carats,  150,000  franco,"  and  another,  *' Ebenda,  20  carats, 
48,000  francs."  By  reference  to  the  German  accounts,  from  which  these 
are  obviously  copied,  the  ••  Golden  Blies"  is  found  to  be  '•  Am  goldenen- 
Vlies,"  that  is,  in  the,  ''Golden  Fleece,"  where  the  transcriber  mistook  the 
German  V  for  B,  whence  the  "Golden  Blies."  In  the  same  way,  the 
German  "  Ebenda,"  meaning  simply  "ditto,"  is  twice  raised  to  the  dignity 
gf  a  crown  jewel,  worth  many  thousands  of  francs 


INTRODUCTION.  35 

who  possesses  models  of  them.  In  the  course  of  a 
short  time  he  will  complete  his  collection  of  crystals, 
cut  for  the  purpose  from  the  gems  themselves,  or 
from  models  designed  on  the  lines  of  the  best  possible 
descriptions  of  them  that  can  be  obtained. 

The  carat  being  the  universal  standard  of 
weight  and  size  for  the  diamond,  a  few  remarks 
on  this  unit  of  the  measure  may  here  be  found 
useful.  The  original  meaning  of  this  term  has 
afforded  subject  for  much  controversy.  Mawe  cuts 
the  matter  short  by  asserting  that  the  carat  is  an 
Indian  denomination  of  weight.  One  hundred  and 
fifty  carats  and  a  quarter  are  equal  to  an  ounce  troy 
(Op.  cit.  p.  2).  But  the  carat,  which  is  a  Greek  word,* 
could  not  have  been  originally  used  as  a  denomination 
of  weight  in  India,  where  the  rati  seems  to  have  been 
the  most  general,  though  by  no  means  a  uniform 
standard.  It  fluctuated  in  different  times  and  places 
between  1.86  &  2.25  grains,*!-  whereas  the  carat  has 
the  great  advantage  of  being  very  nearly  a  constant 
factor  everywhere.  It  is  equivalent  to  4  grains  avoir- 
dupois, five  of  which  are  equal  to  4  grains  troy,  so  that 
one  carat  is  equal  to  3. 174  grains  troy,  and  15  i|-  carats 


*  From  xepaTfoj',  the  fruit  of  the  locust  tree,  and  of  a  species  of  vetch, 
the  seeds  of  which,  running  very  uniform,  furnished  natural  weights  for 
estimating  the  value  ot  small  and  precious  articles  to  the  Orientals  just  as 
barley  grains  afforded  the  unite  of  weight  and  of  measure  to  the  Europeans, 
King,  Op.  cit.  p.  113.  Kluge.  (Op.  cit.  p.  230,),  derives  the  word  from 
'•  Kuara,"  the  name  of  an  African  pod-bearing  plant,  the  seed  of  which 
was  used  in  Galla-i:uul,  south  of  Abyssinia,  for  weighing  gold,  but  the 
medieval  spelling  Kenitia  shews  that  tliis  derivation  is  inadmissable. 

t  In  Sambhulphur  one  rati  =  2  grains,  and  7  rati  =  i  mesta.  The 
rati  of  which  40  =  i  mishkal  (Sultan  Baber),  is  the  Absus  precatorius  or 
rutka.  a  small  red-pointed  seed.  The  mishkal  was  a  Persian  measure  '=::■ 
half  distrem  or  74.5  grains, 


36  INTRODUCTION. 

to  one  English  oz.     The  actual  value  of  the  carat  in 
different  countries,  in  milligrams,  is  as  under  : — 


England 

...     205.4090 

France... 

...     205.500 

Berlin  ... 

...     205.4400 

Vienna 

...     206.1300 

Holland 

.  .     205.044 

Spain   ... 

...     205.3930 

Portugal 

...     205.7500 

Brazil  ... 

...     205.7500 

THE     BRAGANZA, 

The  Largest  Reported  Diamond  extant — The  Romantic 
Story  of  its  Discovery — Guarded  as  a  Treasure  of 
Portugal — Another  Version  of  its  Strange  History — 
Errors  of  the  Scribes—"  Rule  of  Thumb  "  in  the  Old 
Days — Enormous  Value  of  the  Braganza  if  genuine — 
Diamond  or  Topaz  ? — The  Negro  and  his  Supposed 
Treasure — A  Terrible  Disappointment. 


F  genuine,  the  Braganza  is  by  far  the 
largest  diamond,  not  only  now  in 
existence,  but  of  which  there  is  any 
record.  But  its  very  size,  weighing  no 
less  than  i,68o  carats  in  the  rough,  has  caused  it  to 
be  suspected,  and  no  opportunity  has  hitherto  been 
afforded  of  examining  it  with  sufficient  care  to 
warrant  anything  like  a  conclusive  judgment  as  to 
its  true  character.  It  is  also  to  be  noticed  that  even 
were  it  ascertained  to  be  a  diamond,  it  might  have  to 
be  greatly  reduced  in  size,  if  not  cleaved  into  two  or 
more  stones,  in  the  cutter's  hands.  As  a  rule  the 
larger  the  stone  the  more  it  proportionately  loses  in 
size  in  the  process  necessary  for  the  full  develop- 
ment of  its  beauty.  The  loss  is  usually  reckoned  at 
about  one  half  for  moderately  large  gems.  But  for 
one  of  such  large  dimensions  as  the  Braganza  it  could 
not  safely  be  estimated  at  perhaps  less  than  two- 
thirds.     This  would  reduce  the  finished  jewel  to  about 


38  THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

560  carats ;  but  even  so  it  would  still  remain  exactly 
twice  as  large  as  the  Great  Mogul,  the  next  largest 
cut  stone  of  which  we  have  any  record.  Conse- 
quently, pending  the  decision  of  the  question  regard- 
ing its  real  nature,  it  must  stand  at  the  head  of  our 
list  of  great  diamonds. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  best  accounts  we  have  of 
this  stone  is  that  given  by  Mawe  at  p.  242  of  his 
Travels  in  Brazil.  "  A  few  leagues,"  he  writes,  "  to 
the  north  of  the  Rio  Plata  is  the  rivulet  named 
Abaite,  celebrated  for  having  produced  the  largest 
diamond  in  the  Prince's  possession,  which  was  found 
about  twelve  years  ago.  Though  this  circumstance 
has  been  already  briefly  stated,*  it  may  be  allowed 
me  in  this  place  to  relate  the  particulars  as  they 
were  detailed  to  me  during  my  stay  at  Tejuco. 
Three  men  [elsewhere  named  Antonio  de  Sousa,  Jose 
Feliz  Gomez,  and  Thomas  de  Sousa],  having  been 
found  guilty  of  high  crimes,  were  banished  into  the 
interior,  and  ordered  not  to  approach  any  of  the 
capital  towns,  or  to  remain  in  civilized  society  on  pain 
of  perpetual  imprisoiiment.  Driven  by  this  hard 
sentence  into  the  most  unfrequented  part  of  the 
country,  they  endeavoured  to  explore  new  mines  or 
new  productions,  in  the  hope  that,  sooner  or  later,  they 
might  have  the  good  fortune  to  make  some  important 
discovery,  which  would  obtain  a  reversal  of  their 
sentence,  and  enable  them  to  regain  their  station  in 


*  At  p.  140,  where  the  stone  is  said  to  be  of  an  octahedral  form 
Weighing  seven-eighths  of  an  ounce,  and,  "  perhaps  the  largest  diamond  in 
world,"  Mawe  adds  that,  "  It  is  now  in  the  private  possession  of  the  Prince 
Regent." 


THE   BRAGANZA.  39 

society.  They  wandered  about  in  this  neighbour- 
hood, making  frequent  searches  in  its  various  mines, 
for  more  than  six  years,  during  which  time  they  were 
exposed  to  a  double  risk,  being  continually  liable  to 
become  the  prey  of  the  anthropophagi,  and  in  no  less 
danger  of  being  seized  by  the  soldiers  of  Government. 
At  length  they,  by  hazard,  made  some  trials  in  the 
river  Abaite,  at  a  time  when  its  waters  were  so  low, 
in  consequence  of  a  long  season  of  drought,  that  a 
part  of  its  bed  was  left  exposed.  Here,  while  search- 
ing and  washing  for  gold,  they  had  the  good  fortune 
to  find  a  diamond  nearly  an  ounce  in  weight.  Elated 
by  this  providential  discovery,  which  at  first  they 
could  scarcely  believe  to  be  real,  yet  hesitating 
between  a  dread  of  the  rigorous  laws  relating  to  the 
diamonds,  and  a  hope  of  regaining  their  liberty,  they 
consulted  a  clergyman,  who  advised  them  to  trust  to 
the  mercy  of  the  State,  and  accompanied  them  to 
Villa  Rica,  where  he  procured  them  access  to  the 
governor.  They  threw  themselves  at  his  feet,  and 
delivered  to  him  the  invaluable  gem  on  which  their 
hopes  rested,  relating  all  the  circumstances  connected 
with  it.  The  governor,  astonished  at  its  magnitude, 
could  not  trust  the  evidence  of  his  senses,  but  called 
the  officers  of  the  establishment  to  decide  whether  it 
was  a  diamond,  who  set  the  matter  beyond  all  doubt. 
Being  thus  by  the  most  strange  and  unforseen  acci- 
dent put  in  possession  of  the  largest  diamond  ever 
found  in  America,  he  thought  proper  to  suspend  the 
sentence  of  the  men  as  a  reward  for  their  having  de- 
livered it  to  him.  The  gem  was  sent  to  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  from  whence  a  frigate  was  dispatched  with  it 


40        THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

to  Lisbon,  whither  the  clergyman  was  also  sent  to 
make  the  proper  representations  respecting  it.  The 
sovereign  confirmed  the  pardon  of  the  delinquents, 
and  bestowed  some  preferment  on  the  holy  father." 

This  famous  stone,  which  has  been  valued  by 
Rome  Delisle  at  no  less  than  300  millions  sterling,  is 
said  to  be  about  the  size  of  a  goose's  egg,  and  its 
weight  is  usually  estimated  at  1,680  carats,  which  at 
the  rate  of  150  carats  to  the  ounce,  would  make  rather 
over  II  oz.  M,  Ferry  makes  it  weigh  1,730  carats  ; 
and  Emanuel  as  much  as  1,880,  though  this  figure 
may  probably  be  a  misprint  for  1,680.  Still,  the 
lowest  of  these  estimates  is  immensely  in  excess 
of  Mawe's  calculation  that  it  weighs  only  "  seven- 
eighths  of  an  ounce."  Mawe  is  here,  however,  incon- 
sistent with  himself,  for  a  stone  of  this  size  could  not 
be  described  as  "  perhaps  the  largest  diamond  in  the 
world." 

In  his  "  Memoir  on  the  Diamond,"  Murray  sup- 
plies some  further  interesting  particulars.  He  tells 
us  that  "  it  remains  still  uncut,  but  Don  John  VI.  had 
a  hole  drilled  through  it,  and  it  was  suspended  to  his 
neck  on  gala  days."  Murray  was  not  aware  whether 
it  was  still  among  the  crovv^n  jewels  given  up  by 
Miguel,  or  had  been  previously  pledged  to  carry  on 
the  war  against  the  French.  For  this  latter  report, 
current  in  Murray's  time,  there  seems  to  be  no 
foundation,  and  according  to  all  recent  authorities  the 
stone  would  appear  never  to  have  been  removed  from 
the  Portuguese  treasury,  where  it  is  jealously  guarded 
against  all  inquisitive  sight-seers.  For  obvious  finan- 
cial motives,  the  Government  is  naturally  anxious  that, 


THE    BRAGANZA.  4 1 

whatever  be  its  true  character,  it  should  continue  to 
be  regarded  as  a  genuine  diamond.  On  this  point 
the  strongest  doubts  have  always  been  entertained, 
and  Murray  tells  us  that.  "  Mr.  Mawe.  who  had  atten- 
tively examined  it,  informed  me  that  he  considered  it 
to  be  a  '  Nova  Mina,'  or  \vhite  topaz,  and  not  a 
diamond." 

This  passage  presents  considerable  difficulty,  for 
Mawe  nowhere  savs  he  had  ever  even  seen,  much  less 
examined,  the  stone  ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  understand 
how  he  could  have  had  the  opportunity  of  doing  so. 
Indeed  his  description  of  it  as  a  ''ivhite  topaz"  would 
seem  to  imply  that  he  never  set  eyes  on  this  gem,  at 
least  if  Barbot  is  correct  in  describing  it  as  "  d"une 
couleur  jaune  fonce."' 

This  is  ver}^  far  from  being  the  only  discrepancy  in 
the  current  accounts  of  the  Braganza.  Barbot  himself 
tells  us  that  it  was  found,  not  b}'  three  banished  crimi- 
nals, but  by  a  slave,  who,  therefore,  received  his  liberty, 
and,  "  une  pension  viagere  pour  lui  et  la  famille." 
He  adds  that  it  is  the  shape  of  a  pea,  and,  "might  be 
about  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg  ;"  while  Liebig  reduces 
its  weight  to  95   carats.*     Authorities  are  equally  at 

variance  as  to  the  date  of  its  discovery,  Av-hich  Kluge 
says  was  in  1 741,  Murray  about  1764,  and  others,  with 
Mawe,  more  correctly,  about  I797.i"  In  the  same 
way,   the  locality   where   it   was   found  is  stated  by 


*  In  "  HandivorUrhuch  der  reinen  imd  angeu-audten  Chemie''  quoted 
liy  Kluge. 

t  Tliis  seems  evident  from  Mawe's  statement  tliat.  "  it  wa«  found 
about  twelve  years  ago,"  that  is,  twelve  years  before  the  year  1809,  wlien 
he  was  in  'I'ejuco  takinpf  notes  for  his  work  on  Brazil,  the  ist  edition  of 
which  appeared  in  i8ii. 

c 


42  THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF   THE  WORLD. 

Mawe  to  have  been  the  bed  of  the  river  Abaite,  when 
it  had  run  partly  dry  ;  whereas  Jones,*  says  that  it 
was  extracted  from  the  mine  of  Caetha  Mirim  in 
1741.  Lastly  Jones  himself  splits  this  very  stone 
into  two,  one  of  which  he  calls  the  "  Braganza,"  the 
other  the  "  Abaite,"  and  finds  a  history  for  each.  Of 
the  former  he  says  that  it  was  extracted  from  the 
mine  of  Caetha  Mirim  in  1741,  and  that  it  was  worn 
by  Don  Joao  VI.,  who  had  a  passion  for  precious 
stones,  of  which  he  owned  about  ^3,000,000  worth. 
Of  the  latter  he  writes  that  it  "was  found  in  1791, 
and  the  circumstances  of  its  discovery  was  related  by 
Mawe  and  others.  Three  men,  convicted  of  capital 
offences,  Antonio  de  Sousa,  Jose  Feliz  Gomez,  and 
Thomas  de  Sousa,  were  exiled  to  the  far  west  of 
Minas,  and  forbidden,  under  pain  of  death,  to  enter  a 
city,  wandered  about  for  some  six  years,  braving 
cannibals  and  wild  beasts,  in  search  of  treasure. 
Whilst  washing  for  gold  in  the  Abaite  river,  which 
was  then  exceptionally  dry,  they  discovered  this 
diamond  weighing  nearly  an  ounce  (576  grains=i44 
carats).  They  trusted  to  a  priest  who,  despite  the 
severe  laws  against  diamond  washers,  led  them  to 
Villa  Rica,  and  submitted  the  stone  to  the  governor 
of  Minas,  whose  doubts  were  dissipated  by  a  special 
commission.  The  priest  obtained  several  privileges, 
and  the  malefactors  their  pardon,  no  other  reward 
being  mentioned." 

It  will  be  noticed  at  once  that  this  story  relates 
not,  as  here  stated,  to  a  diamond  weighing  144  carats, 
but  to  the  stone  Jones  has  already  spoken  of  under  the 

In  '■^History  and  Mystery  of  Precious  Stones,"  l88o,  p  254, 


TIIK    ISRAGANZA.  43 

name  of  Braganza,  weighing  i,68o  carats.  It  is 
obvious  that  two  stories,  relating  to  two  distinct  gems 
have  got  mixed  up  together  by  careless  writers, 
copying  from  each  other,  each  repeating  or  adding 
to  the  errors  made  by  his  predecessors,  and  all  care- 
fully avoiding  the  trouble  involved  in  the  consultation 
of  the  original  authorities.  The  subjoined  passage 
from  Milliet  de  Saint  Adolphe*  makes  it  perfectly 
clear  that  the  Braganza  and  the  Aba'ite  are  one  and 
the  same  stone,  and  identical  with  what  the  writer 
calls  the  "  Regent,"  because  brought  to  Lisbon  during 
the  regency  of  John  VI.  This  circumstance  also 
fixes  the  date  of  its  discovery  at  about  the  year  1798  ; 
for  John  was  appointed  Regent  in  1799,  when  his 
mother  Maria  I.  lost  her  reason.  Speaking  of  the 
river  Abaite,  which  rises  in  the  Mata  da  Corda  moun- 
tains, and  flows  through  the  province  of  Minas-Geraes, 
for  40  leagues  north-east  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Sao- 
Francisco,  12  leagues  below  the  mouth  of  the  Andaia. 
the  writer  observes  :  "  It  was  in  this  river  that  was 
found  by  three  convicts,  condemned  to  perpetual  exile, 
the  diamond  of  the  Portuguese  crown  called  the 
'  Regent.'  The  parish  priest  of  the  place  to  whom  the 
criminals  showed  it,  took  it  in  person  to  the  Governor 
of  Minas-Geraes  in    1800,  and  interceded  for  those 


*  ''  Dktionario  Geogyaphico  Historico  e  Descriptivo  do  Imperio  do 
Brazil,"  por  J.  C.  R.  Milliet  de  Saint  Adolphe,  Paris,  1863.  This  work 
was  translated  from  the  unpublished  French  manuscript  into  Portuguc-e 
by  Dr.  Cantano  Lopes  de  Moura.  and  in  this  version  the  passage  runs 
thus  :  ''  Neste  rio  e'  que  foi  achado  por  tres  malfeitores  condemnados  a 
desterro  perpetuo  o  diamante  da  Coroa  Portugueza  chamado  o  Regente. 
O  parocho  do  lugor,  a  quern  os  degradados  o  mostrarao,  o  levou  em  pessoa 
ao  governador  de  Minas  Oeraes  em  tSoQ,  e  intercedes  por  aquelles  infelizes 
O  Governador  enviou  a  diamante  a  Lisboa,  e  o  principe  regente,  depoi'< 
Don  Joao  Vi.  fez  gra(,-a  aos  condemnados." 


44  THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

unhappy  persons.  The  governor  sent  the  diamond 
to  Lisbon,  and  the  Prince  Regent,  afterwards  Don 
Joao  VI.,  pardoned  the  condemned  criminals."  The 
circumstances  here  briefly  recapitulated  show  con- 
clusively that  the  writer  is  speaking  of  the  same 
diamond  that  Mawe  describes  as  weighing  i,6So 
carats.  Consequently  to  this  and  to  no  other  belongs 
the  story  of  the  three  convicts.  It  also  appears  from 
this  statement  that  the  "Braganza"  and  "Regent  of 
Portugal,"  usually  regarded  as  two  distinct  gems,  are 
really  one  and  the  same  stone.  Else  we  shall  have 
to  believe  that  two  exceptionally  large  stones  were 
found  in  Brazil  under  exactly  similar  circumstances, 
that  is  by  three  criminals,  banished  to  perpetual  exile, 
and  who  thereupon  received  their  pardon. 

Murray  tells  us  on  the  authority  of  a  Mr.  Magellan, 
that  "  a  fragment  was  broken  off  from  it  by  the 
ignorance  of  the  person  who  found  it,  having  struck  it 
a  blow  with  a  hammer."  This  was  the  old  rough-and- 
ready  method  of  testing  stones,  the  nature  of  M^hich  was 
not  obvious  at  first  sight.  It  was  supposed  that  true 
diamonds  resisted  the  heaviest  blows  of  the  hammer, 
whereas  it  is  now  well-ascertained  that  they  are  easily 
split  by  cleavage.  Hence  the  circumstance  here 
mentioned  would  not  of  itself  imply  that  this  stone 
was  not  a  real  diamond.  At  the  same  time  it  is  not 
at  all  certain  that  Magellan  referred  to  the  Aba'ite 
stone,  which  was  found  not  by  a  person,  as  here  stated, 
but  by  three  criminals,  as  in  M awe's  account. 

With  regard  to  its  value,  Murray,  rejecting  Rome 
Delisle's  preposterous  estimate  of  300  millions  sterling, 
considers  that  "according  to  the  method  of  calculation 


THE   BRAGANZA.  45 

by  Jeffries,"  its  value  will  be,  in  its  present  form, 
;i^5,644,8oo.  But  no  price  at  all  can  be  set  upon  a 
stone  which  is  still  in  the  rough  state,  and  regarding 
the  true  character  of  which  the  greatest  uncertainty 
prevails. 

Referring  to  Mawe's  statement  that  the  stone  may- 
be a  white  topaz,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the 
tooaz,  which  consists  of  a  fluo-silicate  mixed  with 
silicate  of  aluminium,  is  often  very  apt  to  be  mistaken 
for  the  diamond  by  unpractised  eyes.  This  is  es 
pecially  the  case  with  the  colourless  stone  known  as 
the  Goutte  d'Eau,  and  even  with  the  yellow  Brazilian 
variety,  which,  when  skilfully  cut,  forms  a  verj^  hand 
some  gem.  The  German  Aulic-councillor,  Beireis  of 
Helmstadt,  who  died  in  1809,  possessed  a  stone  of  this 
sort,  which  to  the  last  he  believed  to  be  a  diamond, 
although  it  was  said  to  be  as  large  as  an  ostrich's  Q%^, 
and  to  weight  6.400  carats.  He  kept  it  carefully 
locked  up  in  his  cabinet,  producing  it  only  on  rare 
occasions,  and  gave  out  that  he  had  received  it  in 
pledge  from  the  Emperor  of  China.  Nobody,  of 
course,  believed  this  story,  but  the  strange  part  of  it 
was,  that  at  hi.^^;  death,  the  stone  was  found  to  have 
mysteriously  disappeared.  Its  existence  is  vouched 
for  by  the  testimony  of  Gothe  himself,  who  was  one 
of  the  privileged  few  to  whom  Beireis  showed  it.  The 
owner  may  have  possibly,  towards  the  end,  discovered 
his  mistake,  and  destroyed  the  stone,  either  for  a  lo\  e 
of  mystery,  to  which  some  minds  are  so  prone,  or  else 
to  save  his  reputation,  by  preventing  the  true  charac- 
ter of  the  gem  from  becoming  known.  Some  have 
supposed  that  this  stone  was  not  even  a  topaz,  but 


46  THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THK   WORLD. 

mereh'  a  piece  of  rock  crystal,  like  that  concerning 
which  Alawe  tells  the  following  story  : — 

"  A  free  negro  of  Villa  do  Principe,  about  900 
miles  distant,  had  the  assurance  to  write  a  letter  to 
the  Prince  Regent,  announcing  that  he  possessed  an 
amazingly  large  diamond,  which  he  had  received  from 
a    deceased   friend    some  years    ago,    and   which   he 
begged    he  might    have  the  honour    to    present   his 
royal  highness  in  person.     As  the  magnitude  which 
this  poor  fellow  ascribed  to  his  diamond,  was  such  as 
to  raise  imagination  to  its  highest  pitch,  an  order  was 
immediately  dispatched  to  the  commander  of  Villa 
do  Principe,  to  send  him  forthwith  to  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
he  was  accommodated  with  a  conveyance,   and  es- 
corted by  two  soldiers.     As  he  passed  along  the  road, 
all  who  had  heard  the  report  hailed  him  as  already 
honoured  with  a  cross  of  the  Order  of  St.  Bento,  and 
as  sure  of  being  rewarded  with  the  pay  of  a  general 
of  brigade.     The  soldiers  also  anticipated  great  pro- 
motion, and  all  persons  envied  the  fortunate  negro. 
At    length,    after   a  journey    which    occupied    about 
twenty-eight  days,  he  arrived  at  the  capital,  and  was 
straightway  convej-ed  to  the  palace.     His  happiness 
was  now  about  to  be  consummated  ;  in  a  few  moments 
the  hopes  which  he  had  for  so  many  years  indulged 
would  be  realized,  and  he  should  be  exalted  from  a 
low  and  obscure  condition,  to  a  state  of  affluence  and 
distinction.     Such,  no  doubt,  were  the  thoughts  which 
agitated  him  during  the  moments  of  suspense.     At 
length  he  was  admitted  into  the  presence  ;  he  threw 
himself  at  the  prince's  feet,  and  delivered  his  wonderful 
gem.      His  highness  was  astonished  at  its  magnitude, 


THE    ERAGANZA.  47 

a    pause  ensued,   the  attendants  waited  to  hear  the 
prince's  opinion,   and   what   he    said   they  seconded. 
A  round   diamond,  nearly  a  pound  in  weight  filled 
them  allwith wonder  ;  some  ready  calculators  reckoned 
the  millions  it  was  worth  ;  others  found  it  difficult  to 
enumerate  the  sum  at  which  it  would  be  valued  ;  but 
the  general  opinion  of    his  highness's  servants  was, 
that  the  treasury  was  many  millions  of  crowns  the 
richer.     The  noise  which  the  occurence  created  among 
the    higher    circles    may    be    easily   conceived  ;    the 
general  topic  of  remark  and  wonder  was  the  negro's 
offering.     It  was  shewn  to  the  ministers,  among  whom 
an  apprehension,  and  even   a  doubt,  was  expressed 
that  a  substance  so  large  and  round  might  not  prove 
a  real  diamond.    They,  however,  sent  it  to  the  treasury 
under  a  guard,  and  it  was  lodged  in  the  deposit  of  the 
jewel  room.     On  the  next  day  the  Conde  de  Linhares, 
sent  for  me,and  related  all  the  circumstances  which  had 
come  to  his  knowledge  respecting  the  famous  jewel, 
adding  in  a  low  tone  of  voice  that  he  had  his  doubts 
about  its  proving  a  genuine  diamond.     His  excellenc}- 
directed   me  to   attend  at  his  office  in  a  few  hours, 
when  letters  from   himself  and  the  other  ministers  to 
the  treasury   should  be  given  me  for  permission  to 
see  this  invaluable  gem,  in  order  to  determine  what  it 
really  was.     Readily  accepting  a  charge  of  so  interest- 
ing a  nature,  I  prepared  myself,  and  attended  at  the 
hour  appointed,  when  I  received  the  letters,  which  I 
presented  at  the  treasury  to  an  officer  in  waiting.     I 
was  led  through  several  apartments,  in  which  much 
business    seemed    to    be    transacting,    to    the    grand 
chamber,  where  presided   the  treasurer,  attended  by 


4S  THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORT.D. 

his  secretaries.  Having  my  letters  in  his  hand,  h-t 
entered  into  some  conversation  with  me  relative  to 
the  subject.  I  was  then  shown  through  other  grand 
apartments  hung  v/ith  scarlet  and  gold,  and  orna- 
mented with  figures  as  large  as  life  representing 
justice  holding  the  balance.  In  the  inner  room,  to 
which  we  were  conducted,  there  were  several  strong 
chests  with  three  locks  each,  the  keys  of  which  were 
kept  by  thi-ee  different  officers,  who  were  all  required 
to  be  present  at  the  opening.  One  of  these  chests 
being  unlocked,  an  elegant  little  cabinet  aas  taken 
out,  from  which  the  treasurer  took  the  gem,  and  in 
great  form  presented  it  to  me.  Its  value  sunk  at  the 
first  sight,  for  before  I  touched  it  I  was  convinced 
that  it  was  a  rounded  piece  of  crystal.  It  was  about 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter.  On  examining  it,  I 
told  the  governor  it  was  not  a  diamond,  and  to  con- 
vince him  I  took  a  diamond  of  five  or  six  carats,  and 
with  it  cut  a  very  deep  nick  in  the  stone.  This  was 
proof  positive.  A  certificate  wa.s  accordingly  made 
out,  stating  that  it  was  an  inferior  substance,  of  little 

or    no  value,  which    I  signed The  poor 

negro,  who  had  presented  it,  was,  of  course,  deeply 
afflicted  by  this  unwelcome  news.  Instead  of  being 
accompanied  home  by  an  escort,  he  had  to  find  his 
way  thither  as  he  could,  and  would,  no  doubt,  have 
to  encounter  the  ridicule  and  contempt  of  those,  who 
had  of  late  congratulated  him  on  his  good  fortune." 


II. 


THE    MATAN. 


Exploration  of  the  Land  of  the  Matan — Traditional  Wealth 
of  Borneo — The  "  Reputed  largest-known  Diamond  in 
the  World  " — Exportation  of  Diamonds  by  the  Dutch — 
The  Ladies  of  Batavia — Sir  Stamford  Raffle's  Account 
of  the  Matan — Found  by  a  Labourer,  claimed  by  the 
Rajah — Regarded  as  a  Talisman — Appearance  of  the 
Gem — Offers  of  Purchase  in  Gold  and  War-ships 


ORNEO  is  no  longer  a  terra  incognita. 
The  Dutch  at  one  point  and  Rajah 
Brook  at  another  have  already  dissi- 
pated for  us  some  of  the  legendary 
terrors  that  have  induced  travellers  and  traders  to 
give  the  coasts  of  Brunei  and  Sabah  a  wide  berth. 
Recently  two  important  works  on  Borneo  have  been 
published,  the  first  by  Carl  Bock,  who  has  explored 
most  of  the  Dutch  territor)',  the  second  b}^  Joseph 
Hatton,  who,  in  possession  of  the  private  letters  and 
explorers'  reports  of  the  British  North  Borneo  has 
given  us  some  interesting  revelations  about  Sabah, 
and  the  mysterious  regions  of  Kina  Balu.  These 
current  volumes,  written  upon  authoritative  data 
maintain  to  some  extent  the  traditional  character  of 
Borneo  as  "a  treasure  house  of  gems,"  though  it  is  plain 
that  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  country  has  been  over- 
rated. The  habit  of  one  writer  copying  from  another 
previously  referred  to.  has  been  peculiarly  in  vogue  as 


50  THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

touchincT  the  history  of  Borneo,  the  truth  being-  that 
until  within  the  past  year  no  white  man  has  ever 
crossed  the  island  from  shore  to  shore.  Even  now 
this  work  of  exploration  has  not  been  carried  out  at 
the  widest  point.  The  company  which,  chartered  by 
the  Queen,  revives  memories  of  the  association  which 
gave  us  our  Eastern  Empire,  is  now  exploring  the 
most  interesting  part  of  Borneo,  the  mountainous 
regions  of  the  north.  Expectations  of  mineral  dis- 
coveries are  justified,  and  whether  they  are  realised  or 
not  all  who  are  interested  in  the  history  of  the  world's 
famous  gems  will  watch  with  curiosity  the  new 
developments  promised  in  the  land  which  is  known 
to  have  produced  many  splendid  stones,  but  which  is 
more  particularly  associated  with  the  history  of  the 
Matan  diamond.* 

Since  the  reduction  of  the  Great  Mogul 
by  Borgio,  the  Matan  (commonly,  but  incorrectly, 
written     Mattaifi),     takes     rank     as     "  the     largest 

*  "When  Mr.  Hunt  was  in  Borneo,  there  were  gold  mines  in  the 
vicinity  of  Sambas  and  also  at  Matan.  Mention  of  this  latter  dis- 
trict recalls  the  subject  of  •  the  largest  known  diamond  in  the  world,' 
the  reality  ot  which  is  doubted  by  several  writers  and  travellers. 
Mr.  Edwin  W.  Streeter,  in  his  recent  work,  on  '  Precious  Stones  and 
Gems,  '  however,  considers  the  history  of  this  diamond  to  be  sufficiently 
established  for  record  as  a  genuine  stone.  Models  of  it  exist,  and  many 
travellers  have  seen  it.  Recently  a  traveller  shipped  to  England  a  stone 
which  was  to  eclipse  in  splendour  some  of  the  most  notable  of  known 
diamonds.  It  was  pronounced  by  several  amateur  mineralogists  to  be  a 
srenuine  diamond.  The  tinder  entered  into  a  bargain  with  a  certain  traveller 
for  its  sale.  Having  insured  it  for  ^4,000,  they  committed  it  to  the  care 
of  the  Peninsular  and  Orienal  Company,  who  delivered  it  safely  to  a 
trusted  friend  in  London.  Submitted  to  an  expert,  the  verdict  was,  'A 
pebble  of  no  value."  The  doubt  which  rests  upon  the  Rajih  stone  lies 
chiefiy  in  the  fact  that  the  owner  will  not  have  it  cut  ;  and  there  is  much 
reason  to  fear  tiiat  it  must  be  relegated  to  companionship  with  '  the 
Braganza  '  of  the  Portuguese  State  jewels  ^yhich  rtmains  in  the  rough,  a 
reputed  diamond  of  i,68q  carats,  the  value  of  which,  if  genuine,  might  be 
set  down  at  over  j^58, 000,000  sterling." — "  77/c  A^ew  Cevlon^"  by  Joseph 
Hatton. 


THE    MATAN.  5 1  ' 

genuine  diamond  of  which  there  is  any  record."  We 
are  not  in  a  position  to  express  a  definite  opinion 
upon  the  genuineness  of  the  stone.  There  are  travel- 
lers who  are  as  emphatic  in  their  belief  as  to  its  reality, 
as  others  are  in  denouncing  it.  The  question  is  who 
among  them  have  seen  the  original  stone,  and  who  only 
a  model  of  it  ;  for  it  is  alleged  that  the  Sultan  only 
exhibits  the  latter  under  very  special  circumstances. 
It  was  found  apparently  in  the  }'ear  1787  in  the 
Landak  mines  near  the  west  coast  of  Borneo.  The 
town  of  Landak,  the  centre  of  this  rich  mining  district, 
which  is  said  to  abound  in  gold,  diamonds,  and  iron, 
lies  to  the  north-east  of  Pontianak,  a  little  north  of 
the  equator,  and  in  109''  53'  E.  long.  The  district  is 
comprised  within  the  territory  of  the  Rajah  of  Matan, 
which  stretches  along  the  west  coast,  between  Pon- 
tianak and  Sarawak,  and  which  has  long  been  subject 
to  the  Dutch.  The  diamond  takes  its  name  from  the 
Rajah  of  the  territory,  in  whose  family  it  has  remained 
ever  since  its  discovery. 

Very  little  being  known  regarding  these  Borneo 
diamantiferous  regions,  the  subjoined  particulars  may 
be  found  interesting.  Those  of  Landak  are  amongst 
the  oldest  and  most  productive  in  the  world,  and  have 
been  worked, though  not  very  systematically,  ever  since 
the  establishment  of  ALala\'  settlements  on  the  coast. 
Here  diamonds  are  found  not  onh-  in  the  river  beds 
when  dry,  but  also  in  their  original  sites  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains.  The  diggings  are  usuallv  carried  to  a 
depth  of  from  ten  to  thirty  feet,  and  constant  experi- 
ence has  shown  that  the  deeper  they  are  dug  the 
gems  are  both  more  plentiful,  and  of  larger  size  and 


52        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

finer  quality.  At  Landak  there  are  ten  parits  or  mines, 
each  employing  from  twenty  to  thirty  labourers.  So 
far  back  as  1738,  the  Dutch  annually  exported  from 
this  district  diamonds  to  the  value  of  from  200,000  to 
300,000  dollars,  and  Sir  Stamford  Raffles  tells  us  that 
"  few  courts  of  Europe  could  boast  of  a  more  brilliant 
display  of  diamonds  than,  in  the  prosperous  times  of 
the  Dutch,  was  exhibited  by  the  ladies  of  Batavia,  the 
principal  and  only  mart  yet  opened  for  the  Bornean 
diamond  mines,  and  whence  those  known  in  the 
European  world  have  been  procured.  With  the  de- 
cline of  the  Dutch  Government,  however,  the  demand 
has  decreased,  and  the  mines  are  now  much  neglected, 
the  numerous  diamond-cutters  not  being  able  to  obtain 
a  livelihood.  Formerly,  when  more  Chinese  were  em- 
ployed in  the  mines  of  Landak,  diamonds  from  10  to 
13  carats  were  common  in  the  public  markets.  The 
Pangeran  (Rajah)  of  Landak  now  wears  one  of  18, 
and  another  of  14J  carats."* 

The  mines  in  this  part  of  the  island  have  been 
worked  for  over  a  century  chiefly  by  the  Chinese. 
But  in  1842  the  "Celestials"  were  set  upon,  and 
either  massacred  or  driven  out  of  the  country  by 
the  Dyaks,  as  the  aborigines  are  called.  The  cause 
of  this  outbreak  was  the  intolerable  tyranny  of 
the  Chinese,  who  appear  to  have  treated  the 
Dyak  labourers  employed  by  them  with  the  most 
atrocious  cruelty  and  oppression.  It  was  one  oi 
these  Dyaks  who  found  the  large  diamond  under 
consideration,  as  fully  related  by  Sir  Stamford 
Raffles.     "  Among  the  larger  diamonds  which  these 


»  >' 


HUtory  of  Java,''  I.,  p.  i66,  md  edition,  London,  1830. 


THE   MATAN.  53 

mines  have  produced,  it  may  not  be  uninterest- 
ing to  mention  that  the  great  diamond  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  Sultan  of  Matan,  which  has  been 
seen  and  examined  by  Europeans,  weighs  367  carats  ; 
it  is  of  the  shape  of  an  egg,  indented  on  one  side.  It 
is,  however,  uncut ;  and  on  this  account  it  may  be 
difficult  to  say  whether  it  will  become  the  largest  cut 
diamond  ever  known  ;  for  the  famous  diamond  of 
Aurung-zeb,  called  the  Mogul,  in  its  rough  state, 
weighed  795  carats,  and  was  then  valued  at  ^^ 600,000  ; 
but  when  cut  was  reduced  to  279  carats.  This  cele- 
brated diamond,  known  by  the  name  of  the  '  Matan ' 
diamond,  was  discovered  by  a  Dyak,  and  claimed  as 
a  droit  of  royalty  by  the  Sultan  of  the  country,  Gurn- 
Laya,  but  was  handed  over  to  the  Pangeran  of 
Landak,  whose  brother,  having  got  possession  of  it, 
gave  it  as  a  bribe  to  the  Sultan  of  Sukadana,  in  order 
that  he  might  be  placed  on  tiie  throne  of  Landak. 
The  lawful  prince,  however,  having  fled  to  Bantam, 
by  the  aid  of  the  prince  of  that  country  and  the 
Dutch,  succeeded  in  regaining  possession  of  his  dis- 
trict, and  nearly  destroyed  Sukadana.  It  has  re- 
mained as  an  heir-loom  in  the  family  for  four 
descents,  and  is  almost  the  only  appendage  of 
royalty  now  remaining." 

Although  it  has  brought  little  but  trouble  to  its 
owners,  this  gem  is  looked  upon  by  them  as  a  sprt  of 
tutelar  deity,  and  held  in  the  very  highest  esteem  on 
account  of  the  astonishing  healing  virtues  with  which 
the  popular  imagination  has  endowed  it.  That  such 
superstitious  ideas  should  still  be  prevalent  amongst 
the  semi-civilized  races  of  the  East,  need  not  surprise 


54  THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

US,  when  we  remember  that  the  great  luminary  of  the 
Church,  St.  Jerome,  author  of  the  Latin  Vulgate, 
attributed  all  kinds  of  wonderful  virtues  to  the 
sapphire,  solemnly  declaring  that  it  secured  to  its 
owner  the  favour  of  princes,  disarmed  his  enemies, 
baffled  the  wizard's  arts,  liberated  captives,  and  even 
appeased  the  wrath  of  the  Deity  himself.  The 
Malays  of  Landak  are  firmly  persuaded  that  the 
water  in  which  the  Matan  has  been  dipped  is  a 
specific  for  all  disorders  ;  and,  no  doubt,  this  very 
belief  has  occasionally  produced  good  results, 
especially  in  cases  of  nervous  complaints.  Similar 
effects  are  constantly  witnessed  amongst  the  devout 
pilgrims  to  the  various  shrines  and  holy  wells,  such 
as  those  of  Loretto,  La  Salette,  Lough  Derg,  and 
others  in  Roman  Catholic  countries. 

Hugh  Low  tells  us  that  the  Matan  "  is  as  yet 
uncut,  and  weighs  376  carats,  so  that  if  cut  and 
polished,  it  would  be  reduced  to  183^  carats.  Its 
value  is  estimated  by  Mr.  Craw^furd  to  be  ^^269,378, 
being  less  by  X'34,822  than  that  of  the  Russian 
diamond,  and  ^119,730  more  than  that  of  the  Pitt 

diamond I    have    been    informed    by  a 

person  who  supposed  himself  to  be  a  good  judge  of 
diamonds  that  the  Sultan  possesses  the  real  stone, 
which  he  had  seen  ;  but  that  a  crystal  is  shown  to 
strangers,  as  the  Sultan,  who  has  been  already  robbed 
of  his  territory,  fears  that  this  last  emblem  of  royalty 
will  be  also  taken  from  him  by  his  powerful  and 
avaricious   neighbours   at   Fontianak."*      Mawe   also 

*  "Sarawak,"  London,  i  848,  p.  Z'j-%. 


THE   MATAN  55 

mentions  that  a  friend  of  his,  "  Captain  of  an 
Indiaman,  was  permitted  to  see  it,  but  was  requested 
not  to  touch  it.  This  gem  was  brought  in  on  a  gold 
salver,  and  was  about  the  size  of  a  common  walnut  ; 
it  had  a  bluish  mctaliic  lustre."  It  is  remarkable 
that  the  author  of  a  paper  on  "  Precious  Stones  "  in 
the  Edinburgh  Review  for  July,  1866,  describes  the 
Hope  as  also  "  of  a  decided,  but  rather  slee/-\ike  blue." 
So  highly  prized  is  "  the  Matan  Diamond  "  that 
its  owner  has  ahvays  refused  to  part  with  it,  declining 
the  most  tempting  offers  of  the  Dutch  Government, 
which  has  shown  a  great  desire  to  get  possession  of 
a  talisman  associated  in  the  eastern  mind  with  empire, 
and  with  the  fortunes  of  the  dynasty  guarding  it. 
Early  in  the  century,  the  governor  of  Batavia  sent 
Mr.  Stewart  to  the  Rajah  to  negotiate  its  purchase. 
He  offered  150,000  dollars,  two  large  war  brigs,  with 
their  full  completement  of  guns  and  ammunition, 
besides  a  considerable  quantity  of  other  warlike 
material,  but  the  tempting  bait  was  rejected. 


III. 

THE    NIZAM. 


History,  Past  and  Present — Suggestive  Contrasts — What  a 
Jewel  might  have  Seen — Supposed  Value  of  the  Nizam 
Diamond — Its  Sliape  and  Appearance — The  Stone  is 
r>roken  during  the  Indian  Mutiny — Strange  Powers 
Supposed  to  Belong  to  the  Gem — Possibilities  in  the 
History  of  the   Nizam. 


HERE  are  few  great  secrets  kept  from 
the  ken  of  the  modern  historian,  who 
writes  down  the  events  of  the  time  for 
the  newspaper  Press.  A  precious  stone 
of  more  than  usual  importance  sees  the  light  to-day, 
and  to-morrow  its  advent  is  proclaimed  to  all  the 
world.  Thereafter  due  chronicles  are  kept  of  its 
travels  and  adventures.  Its  comings  and  goings  are 
noted  as  matter  of  universal  interest.  We  may  not 
be  informed  of  the  varied  intrigues  in  which  it  is  a 
factor,  but  it  is  on  record,  it  is  catalogued  in  the 
world's  museum  of  treasures  ;  the  "  bull's-eye  of  the 
Press"  has  been  turned  upon  it;  the  opinions  of 
Queens  and  Emperors  in  regard  to  it  are  registered, 
as  well  as  the  judgment  of  experts  and  scientists  ; 
in  short  it  belongs  to  history. 

In  singularcontrast  to  all  this  are thehazy  accounts 
which  have  come  down  to  us  concerning  the  first  ap- 
pearance, and  the  subsequent  vicissitudes  of  the  great 


THE   NIZAM.  57 

gems  of  old.  Created  amidst  commotions  of  nature, 
of  an  intensity  beyond  imagination,  they  have  in 
historic  ages  often  burst  upon  the  knowledge  of  Euro- 
peans in  the  lesser  commotions  of  human  life.  War 
and  famine,  civil  strife,  and  pestilence  have  alike  con- 
tributed to  rescue  from  comparative  oblivion  some 
precious  stone.  It  has  been  eloquently  remarked, 
"  A  jewel  may  rest  on  an  English  lady's  arm  that  saw 
Alaric  sack  Rome,  and  beheld  before — what  not  ?  The 
treasures  of  the  palaces  of  the  Pharaohs  and  of  Darius, 
or  the  camp  of  the  Ptolomies,  come  into  Europe  on 
the  neck  of  a  vulgar  pro-consul's  wife,  to  glitter  at 
every  gladiator's  butchery  in  the  amphitheatre  ;  then 
pass  in  a  Gothic  ox  waggon  to  an  Arab  seraglio  at 
Seville  ;  and  so  back  to  its  native  India,  to  figure  in 
the  peacock  throne  of  the  Great  Mogul  ;  to  be  bought 
by  an  Armenian  for  a  few  rupees  from  an  English 
soldier  ;  and  so  at  last  come  hither."  The  romancist 
or  the  poet  may  seek  in  vain  for  the  inspiration  of 
more  startling  events  than  the  possible  adventures 
and  the  known  incidents  that  belong  to  the  history 
of  precious  stones  and  gems. 

What  might  not  an  inventive  fancy  build  upon 
the  vague  traditions  which  hang  about  the  story  of 
the  Nizam  diamond  ?  Although  one  of  the  very 
largest  stones  in  the  world,  little  or  nothing  reliable 
is  known  about  it,  except  as  to  its  size,  estimated 
value,  and  its  fortunate  owner. 

Barbot  says  that,  "  the  King  of  Golconda  pos- 
sesses a  magnificent  stone  in  the  rough  state.  It  is 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Nizam,  weighs  340  carats, 
and  is  valued  at  5,000,000  francs  "  (;^200,ooo).     For 

D 


58         THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF   THE  WORLD. 

"  the  King  of  Golconda,"  a  title  which  has  long  been 
obsolete,  though  still  flourishing  in  French  literature, 
we  should  here  read,  "  the  Nizam  of  Hyderabad." 
This  prince,  who  is  the  most  powerful  semi-indepen- 
dant  ruler  in  the  Deccan,  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the 
former  Mogul  Viceroy  of  Golconda,  and  in  his  terri- 
tory are  situated  the  famous  diamond-fields  popularly 
known  as  the  Golconda  mines.  Of  these  mines,  the 
Kollur,  on  the  river  Kistna,  was  the  most  productive, 
and  was  especially  noted  for  the  unusually  large 
crystals  yielded  by  it.  Here  was  undoubtedly  found 
the  Great  Mogul,  and  here  also,  in  all  probability, 
was  discovered  that  stone  now  known  as  the  Nizam, 
from  the  official  title  of  its  princely  owner. 

Little  importance  can  be  attached  to  the  state- 
ment  that    this    remarkable    crystal    is    valued    at 
^200,000  ;  for  it  is    still    in    the    rough    state.     The 
necessary  process  of  reduction  is  well-known  to  be 
always  attended  with  more  or  less  risk,  so  that  the 
most  skilled  expert  would  scarcely  hazard  his  repu- 
tation by  venturing  an  opinion  on  the  intrinsic  cha- 
racter of  a  rough  diamond  before  it  has  been  mani- 
pulated by  the  cutter  and  polisher.     In  the  hands  of 
the    cutter    many    unsuspected    blemishes    are  often 
revealed,  which  require  the  diamond  to  be  greatly 
reduced  in  size,  or  even  cleaved  into  several  pieces. 
But  the  Nizam  has  a  good  reputation,  and  it  is  pro- 
bable thar  it  might  be  advantageously  cut  without 
sacrificing  more  than  one  half  of  its  present  weight, 
viz.,  340  carats.     In  that  case  it  would  still  rank  with 
the  very  largest  gems  on  record. 

King  describes  it  as,  "  somewhat  almond-shaped, 


THE   NIZAM.  59 

almost  in  its  native  condition,  although  it  seems  to 
exhibit  some  traces  of  an  attempt  to  shape  it  into  the 
mystic  Yoni,  probably  with  the  intention  of  it  being 
placed,  as  her  usual  attribute,  in  the  land  of  Parvati, 
the  goddess  of  generation.     In  the  cast  from  it,  which 
I    have  examined,   the   ineffectual    attempts    of   the 
Hindu  lapidary  to  work  the  obdurate  material  to  his 
fancy  are  extremely  curious."     Then  he  adds,  "  This 
stone  was   by  some  very  ominous   accident  broken 
asunder    in    the   year   of    the    great    Indian    revolt. 
Weight  340  carats."    But  he  does  not  say  whether  this 
weight  refers  to  its  size  before  or  after  its  breakage. 

Dieulafait  gives  its  estimated  value  at  ^200,000, 
and  it  has  been  stated  that  its  original  weight,  before 
being  fractured,  was  no  less  than  440  carats.     If  so  it 
was    the    largest    genuine    diamond   ever  discovered 
except  the  Great  Mogul,  and  it  is  remarkable  that 
both  of  these  enormous  specimens  came  apparently 
from  the  same  rich  diamantiferous  district  of  Kollur 
in  the  Kistna  Valley.     It  is  quite  possible  that  the 
breaking  of  the   stone,   accidental  or   otherwise,  re- 
garded  as   an   omen   of  trouble,    may   have   had   its 
influence    on    historical    events  ;    for    not    only    un- 
civilized and  Oriental  potentates,  but  Christian  kings 
and    learned    men    have    given    to    precious    stones 
wonderful    powers.      In    mcdiaival    days    carbuncles 
were  credited  with  an   influence  on   poisons  ;  jasper 
was    believed    to    cure    fevers ;  agate    ministered    to 
defective  eye-sight  ;  and  carnelian  stopped   haemor- 
rhage.    Juvenal  records  of  a  ring,  belonging  to  Cicero 
that  it  endowed  him  with  eloquence  ;  and  Edward 
the  Confessor  had  a  ring  which  was  believed  to  cure 


f:p         THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

epilepsy.  It  seems,  however,  to  be  the  especial 
privilege  of  the  diamond  in  affairs  of  love  to  have  an 
influence  only  second  to  that  of  the  fabled  Cupid  him- 
self What  part  the  Nizam  may  have  played  in  the 
intrigues  and  passions  of  Courts  and  peoples  the 
present  historian  knoweth  not ;  and  as  it  is  his  pur- 
pose to  adhere  as  far  as  possible  to  mere  facts,  with- 
out, however,  setting  aside  tradition,  he  must  leave  to 
the  imagination  of  the  reader  the  possibilities  of 
adventure  which  are  suggested  by  the  blanks  that 
are  left,  wide  and  deep,  in  the  history  of  the  Nizam. 


IV. 

THE     STEWART. 


The  two  Largest  Diamonds  of  South  Africa— Finding 
the  Stewart  — An  Accidental  Discovery  —  "Joy  is 
Dangerous  "—The  Anxiety  of  Possession— Taking  the 
Treasure  Home. 


NTIL  quite  recently  the  fame  of  South 
Africa  as  a  diamond-field  was  repre- 
sented by  the  Stewart,  which  has 
liowever,  now  a  competitor  in  "the 
Porter-Rhode?,"  which  was  exhibited  last  year  in 
Bond  Street.  Prior  to  this  recent  reward  of  mining 
enterprise  at  the  Cape,  the  Stewart  was  not  only  the 
largest  diamond  hitherto  found  in  South  Africa,  but 
was  exceeded  in  size  in  the  whole  world  by  three  others 
only — the  Matan,  Nizam,  and  Great  Mogul.  The 
subjoined  account  of  its  discovery  appeared  in  the  Port 
Elizabeth  Telegraph  of  November  22,  1872: — "The 
claim  from  which  this  gem  was  taken  was  originally 
owned  by  a  Mr.  F. Pepper,  by  him  sold  to  a  Mr.Spalding 
for  £10,  and  handed  over  by  the  latter  to  one  Antoine, 
to  work  on  shares.  The  claim  was  quite  an  outside 
one,  and  not  thought  much  of  by  the  owner  ;  but  as 
others  were  finding  near  him,  he  thought  it  was  just 
possible  he  might  also  find  a  gem.  He  persevered 
until  first,  the  '  July  Diamond,'  and  next,  after  further 
toil,  this  prize  rewarded  his  labour.  Antoine's  feel- 
ings when  he  first  obtained  a  glimpse  of  the  treasure 


62         THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

may  be  better  imagined  than  described.  He  says 
that  he  was  working  in  the  claim,  when  he  told 
his  boy  to  leave  off  picking  in  the  centre,  and  com- 
mence at  the  side.  Not  being  understood,  he  took  a 
pick  and  began  himself,  when  he  was  suddenly  spell- 
bound by  the  sight  of  a  large  stone,  with  the  primary 
aspect  of  a  diamond.  For  some  minutes  he  could 
neither  speak  nor  move  for  fear  of  dispelling  the  ap- 
parent illusion,  but  collecting  his  energies,  he  made  a 
dart  forward  and  clutched  the  prize.  Even  then,  how- 
ever, he  did  not  feel  quite  safe,  and  it  required  a  grand 
effort  to  reach  Mr.  Spalding's  cart,  which  had  to  be 
called  into  requisition.  For  two  whole  days  he  was 
unable  to  eat  anything  from  the  intensity  of  his 
excitement." 

The  Stewart,  like  the  majority  of  African  stones, 
is  of  a  light  yellow  tinge,  and  perfectly  crystallised. 
It  was  consigned  to  Messrs.  Pittar,  Leverson  &  Co., 
who  found  that  it  weighed  in  the  rough  288|  carats, 
or  nearly  two  ounces  troy. 


V. 
THE     GREAT    MOGUL. 


A  Stormy  Birth  and  a  Tragic  End  —  Two  Centuries  of 
History — Intrigue  and  Murder — The  Afflictions  of 
Shah  jehan — An  Honest  Cutter — The  Great  Mogul 
and  the  Koh-i-Nur — Eastern  Magnificence — A  King 
showing  his  Jewels  to  a  Visitor — Shape  of  the  Great 
Mogul  and  its  General  Appearance  —  Its  Identity 
Established — A  Usurper's  Subterfuge — Shah  Jehan's 
Desire  to  Destroy  all  his  Gems — The  Peacock  Throne 
— Mysterious  Disappearance  of  the  Gem  at  the  Fall  of 
Delhi. 


jROUGHT  to  light  in  the  midst  of 
tumults  and  wars,  the  Great  Mogul 
Diamond  went  out  with  the  expiring 
flames  of  a  mighty  rebellion.  Its  exist- 
ence covers  a  remarkable  and  eventful  period  of  the 
world's  history.  At  the  time  of  its  discovery,  Round- 
heads and  Royalists  were  fighting  for  supremacy  in 
England  ;  and  after  many  tragic  incidents  of  pesti- 
lence and  battle,  the  Deccan  had  just  got  its  first 
independent  sovereign.  Ben  Johnson  and  Phillip 
Massenger  were  writing  plays,  and  their  country- 
men, who  carried  the  commercial  flag  of  the  land  into 
strange  seas,  had  just  obtained  authority  to  trade  with 
the  Portuguese  ports  in  India.  The  Great  Powers  were 
busy  with  their  first  important  explorations  ;  and  the 
East  India  Company  had  newly  received  the  charter 
of  Queen  Elizabeth.  A  meteor  among  gems,  the 
Great  Mogul  challenged  the  wonder  and  admiration 


64         THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF  THE  WORLD. 

of    the   world    from    this    period    for    two    hundred 
years,  to  go  to  pieces  in  the  last  days  of  the  Indian 
Mutiny.     There  is  a  little  uncertainty  as  to  the  date 
when  the  Gani  Mine  gave  up  its  precious  freight  ;  but 
only  in  the  matter  of  a  few  years,  and  we  are  inclined 
to  fix  it  somewhere  between  1630  and  1650,     It  is  im- 
possible to  ticket  and  number  a  gem  such  as  the  Great 
Mogul  as  if  it  were  a  piece  of  antiquity,  the  relic  of 
an  ancient  palace,  the  capital  of  a  column,  the  statue 
of  some  classic  sculptor.     The  births  of  the  famous 
diamonds    which    scintillate    the    dark   traditions    of 
Eastern  Courts  are  all,  as  we  have  said  before,  more 
or  less  shrouded  in  mystery  ;  but  few  gems  have  had 
a  more  striking  career  or  a  more  dramatic  dc'iiouement 
than  the  Great  Mogul. 

It  was  at  a  strange  and  sanguinary  period  when 
the  first  li^uropean  saw  this  remarkable  stone,  under 
circumstances  which  we  shall  presently  quote  in  the 
narrator's  own  words.  The  year  was,  November, 
1665,  a  few  years  before  the  decease  of  "  the  Grand 
Monarque,"'  Shah  Jehan.  The  scene  was  the  Palace 
of  Agra,  formerly  the  Metropolis  of  the  Empire,  but 
then  the  prison  of  the  dethroned  and  stricken  Great 
Mogul.  For  seven  years  he  had  been  kept  in  close 
durance  ;  Murad,  his  youngest  son,  had  just  been 
murdered  by  the  usurper,  Aurung-zcb,  his  brother, 
who  had  stimulated  the  lad's  ambition,  in  order  to 
accomplish  his  own  designs  on  the  life  of  both  father 
and  son  ;  Dara,  the  eldest  son  of  the  captive  Monarch, 
a  man  of  great  parts,  brave,  handsome,  and  gifted, 
had  been  betrayed  by  his  brother's  contrivance. 
Hurried    ignominiously   to   Delhi,   he    was   led  as   a 


THE  GREAT  MOGUL.  65 

captive  through  that  city,  cast  into  prison,  and 
treacherously  murdered.  His  son  SoHman  had 
suffered  a  similar  fate.  Sujah,  the  Monarch's  second 
son,  whose  intellectual  and  bodily  gifts  were  certainly 
not  inferior  to  Dara's  (and  whose  beautiful  daughter 
had  been  passionately  wooed  by  Mohammed,  Aurung- 
zeb's  son  and  heir,  but  had  been  rejected  by  her 
father),  had  but  recently  been  murdered  ;  and  the 
bridegroom's  father,  after  contriving  to  alienate  for  a 
time  the  confidence  of  the  bride  in  her  husband  by  a 
groundless  invention,  actually  contrived  to  kill  his  own 
son,  and  onl}'  stopped  his  murderous  course  when  the 
bride's  untimelydeath  rendered  herassassination  need- 
less. It  is  hard  to  believe  that  Shah  Jehan,  whose  one 
redeeming  quality  was  his  love  for  the  children  of  his 
wife,  whom  he  had  named  the  "  Light  of  the  World," 
and  who  had  been  kept  informed  of  the  calamities 
which  had  befallen  his  house,  should,  under  the  de- 
pression oi  these  afflictions  have  shown  a  French 
jeweller  his  treasures.  "These  are  my  jewels,"  said 
the  classic  mother  pointing  to  her  children  in  response 
to  the  Princess's  exhibition  of  her  gems  ;  and  we 
would  like  to  credit  "the  Grand  Monarque "  with 
equal  feelings  of  affection.  But  Tavernier,  as  will  be 
seen,  is  explicit  in  his  statement,  and  though  it  may 
be  that  he  had  some  purpose  to  serve  in  his  elabora- 
tion of  the  scene,  there  is  no  reason  whatever  to  doubt 
his  description  of  the  famous  stone. 

Without  further  preface,  let  us  now  discuss  the 
data  upon  which  rests  the  "strange  eventful  history" 
of  the  Great  Mogul.  Excluding  tlic  doubtful  Braganza, 
this  splendid  stone  was  unquestionably  the    largest 


66         THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF  THE   WORLD. 

diamond  of  which  there  is  any  distinct  record.  It 
takes  its  name  from  its  owner,  Shah  Jehan,  fifth  in 
succession  from  Baber,  founder  of  the  so-called 
"Mogul"  dynasty  in  Hindustan.  As  to  its  early 
history,  there  was  never  any  serious  doubt  until  the 
Koh-i-Nur  was  brought  to  Europe  in  1850.  Since 
that  time  its  very  identity  has  been  called  in  question, 
and,  while  some  authorities  continue  to  regard  the 
two  famous  stones  as  distinct,  others  now  hold  that 
they  are  really  one  under  two  different  names.  There 
is,  however,  no  real  foundation  for  doubting  the  in- 
dividual existence  of  the  two.  Evidence  to  the  con- 
trary is  as  weak  as  the  facts  on  the  other  side  are 
strong.  The  histories  of  the  stones  differ  in  this 
remarkable  respect,  that  the  story  of  the  Koh-i-Nur 
may  be  said  to  have  no  beginning,  while  that  of  the 
Great  Mogul  seems,  on  the  other  hand,  to  have  no 
end.  The  available  data,  if  duly  considered,  must 
satisfy  all  candid  inquirers  that  they  are  undoubtedly 
two  distinct  gems,  having  little  in  common  beyond 
their  unusual  size,  and  their  simultaneous  presence 
for  nearly  a  hundred  years  in  the  Khazana  or  treasure- 
house  of  the  Mogul  emperors. 

At  p.  251  of  his  translation  of  Frangois  Bernier's 
Travels  in  the  Mogul  Empire,  Irving  Brock  observes 
that  "  the  largest  diamond  probably  ever  heard  of  is 
one  mentioned  by  Tavernier,  who  saw  it  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Aurung-zeb.  It  was  about  as  big  as  a  hen's 
^%%,  and  weighed  900  carats  in  the  rough.  This  was 
perhaps  the  '  unparalleled  '  diamond  which  Bernier 
informs  us  Emir  Jemla  presented  to  Shah  Jehan." 

The    Emir    Jemla,    here    referred    to,    is    the 


THE   GREAT   MOGUL.  67 

Mirgimolaof  Tavernier,  a  well-known  Persian  adven- 
turer, who  rose  to  great  power  in  the  Court  of  the  Rajah 
of  Golconda,  and  whose  history  is  inseparably  asso- 
ciated with  that  of  the  "  Great  Mogul."*  This  stone  had 
been  found  apparently  about  the  year  1650  in  the 
Kollur  mine  on  the  Kistna.  Soon  afterwards  it  fell 
into  the  possession  of  Jemla,  who  dealt  largely  in 
precious  stones,  and  acquired  vast  wealth,  "by  means 
of  his  extensive  commerce  with  various  parts  of  the 
world,  as  well  as  by  the  diamond  mines,  which  he 
farmed  under  feigned  names.  These  mines  were 
worked  with  indefatigable  industry,  and  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  count  his  diamonds  by  the  sack."  When 
Aurung-zeb  began  about  the  year  1655  to  intrigue 
both  against  his  father,  Shah  Jehan,  and  his  three 
brothers,  Dara,  Murad,  and  Sultan  Sujah,  he  was 
joined  by  Emir  Jemla,  who  had  become  suspected  by 
the  King  of  Golconda,  and  who  consequently  sought 
the  first  opportunity  to  withdraw  from  his  power. 
After  dwelling  on  the  important  results  that  flowed 


•  Dow  tells  us  that  Jemla  was  born  in  Ardistan,  a  small  place  near 
Ispahan.  Though  of  good  family,  his  parents  were  very  poor,  and  after 
actjuiring  a  slight  knowledge  of  letters,  he  was  glad  to  accept  employment 
from  a  diamond  merchant,  who  had  frequent  relations  with  Golconda,  the 
great  emporium  of  the  diamond  trade  in  the  17th  century.  He  thus  found 
his  way  to  the  Deccan,  where  he  took  to  trading  on  his  own  account.  The 
wealth  thus  acquired  gave  him  access  to  the  Court  of  Kuttiib.  King  of 
Teliingana,  and  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Golconda  territory.  Here  he 
displayed  such  talent  and  ability  in  the  administration  of  affairs  that  he  was 
ultimately  appointed  Vizier,  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  forces  of 
Teliingana.  It  was  in  this  capacity  that  he  awakened  to  suspicion  of  his 
sovereign,  or,  as  would  appear  from  Tavernier's  account  to  be  more  pro- 
bable, the  jealousy  of  tiie  other  courtiers,  and  was  thus  induced  to  transfer 
his  fortunes  to  the  rising  star  of  the  House  of  Timur.  In  Aurung-zeb's 
service  he  showed  so  much  loyalty,  often  under  very  trying  circumstances, 
that  there  is  reason  to  believe  tiiat  the  charge  of  treason  and  duplicity 
brought  against  him  at  the  Court  of  Golconda  was  altogether  unfounded, 


68  THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

from  the  alliance  of  Aurung-zeb  and  Jemla,  Bernier 
tells  us  in  the  passage  above  referred  to  by  Brock 
that,  "Jemla,  who  had  by  his  address,  contrived  to 
obtain  frequent  invitations  to  the  Court  of  Shah 
Jehan,  -repaired  at  length  to  Agra,  and  carried  the 
most  magnificent  presents,  in  the  hope  of  inducing 
the  Mogul  to  declare  war  against  the  Kings  of  Gol- 
conda  and  Viziapur,  and  against  the  Portuguese.  On 
this  occasion  it  was  that  he  presented  Shah  Jehan 
with  that  celebrated  diamond  which  has  been  gene- 
rally deemed  unparalleled  in  size  and  beauty."  The 
diamond  in  question,  to  which  this  passage  contains 
the  earliest  known  allusion,  all  are  agreed  in  identify- 
ing with  the  "  Great  Mogul,"  and  it  is  impossible  that 
it  could  have  been  the  Koh-i-NCir  ;  for  that  gem,  as 
will  be  seen  further  on,  had  already  been  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Mogul  emperors  ever  since  the  time  of 
Baber  himself. 

The  next  and  last  distinct  reference  to  the  Great 
Mogul  is  by  Tavernier,  who  saw  it  at  the  Court  of 
Aurung-zeb  in  1665,  apparently  about  ten  years  after 
it  had  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  Emir  Jemla,  and 
just  one  year  before  the  death  of  Shah  Jehan,  at  that 
time  a  prisoner  in  the  fortress  of  Agra.  ,  In  his  Six 
Voyages*  Tavernier  refers  in  three  places  to  this  gem, 
and  as  his  statements  are  often  incorrectly  repeated 
by  writers  who  have  not  taken  the  trouble  to  consult 
the  original  work,  it  will  not  be  amiss  here  to  quote 


*  ''  Lcs  Six  Voyages  df  Jean-Baptiste  Tavei  nier  (ju'ii  a  fails  en 
Ttirqme,  en  Perse,  et  aux  Indes,  pendant  I'espace  de  qnarante  ans,  &'c., 
Paris,  1676  and  1682. 


THE  GREAT  MOGUL.  69 

the  passages  //;  cxtenso.  At  p.  226,  Vol.  II.,  he  thus 
describes  the  occasion  on  which  he  saw  and  examined 
the  stone  : — 

"On  November  ist,  1665,  I  was  at  the  palace  to 
take  leave  of  the  King.  But  he  sent  word  to  say  that 
he  did  not  wish  me  to  leave  without  seeing  his  jewels, 
since  I  had  seen  the  splendour  of  his  fete.  Early 
next  day  there  came  five  or  six  officers  from  the 
Nabob  Jafer  Khan  to  summon  me  to  the  King's  pre- 
sence. On  my  arrival  at  the  Court  the  two  keepers 
of  the  royal  jewels,  of  whom  I  have  elsewhere  spoken, 
accompanied  me  to  his  Majesty,  and  after  the  custo- 
mary salutations  they  brought  me  to  a  small  room  at 
one  end  of  the  hall  where  the  King  was  seated  on  his 
throne,  and  whence  he  could  see  us.  In  this  room  I 
found  Akel  Khan,  chief  keeper  of  the  State  jewels,  who 
on  seeing  us  ordered  four  of  the  King's  eunuchs  to 
fetch  the  jewels  which  were  brought  on  two  large 
trays,  lacquered  with  gold  leaf,  and  covered  with 
small  cloths,  made  on  purpose,  one  of  red  velvet,  the 
other  of  embroidered  green  velvet.  After  uncovering 
and  counting  over  the  pieces  three  several  times,  an 
inventory  of  the  same  was  drawn  up  by  three  scribes 
present  on  the  occasion.  For  the  Indians  do  every- 
thing with  great  care  and  composure,  and  when  they 
see  anyone  acting  in  a  hurry  or  irritated  they  stare  at 
him  in  silence  and  laugh  at  him  for  a  fool. 

"  The  first  piece  that  Akcl  Khan  placed  in  my 
hands  was  the  great  diamond,  which  is  rose  cut,  round 
and  very  high  on  one  side.  On  the  lower  edge  there  is 
a  slight  crack,  and  a  little  flaw  in  it.  Its  water  is  fine, 
and  weighs  319^  ratis,  which  make  280  of  our  carats, 


70         THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE    WORLD. 

the  rati  being  J  of  a  carat.  When  Mirgimola,  who 
betrayed  his  master,  the  King  of  Golconda,  presented 
this  stone  to  Shah  Jehan,  to  whom  he  withdrew,  it  was 
in  the  rough  state  {brut),  and  at  that  time  weighed 
900  ratis,  which  make  787^  carats,  and  there  were 
several  flaws  in  it.  Had  this  stone  been  in  Europe  it 
would  have  been  treated  differently  ;  for  some  fine 
pieces  would  have  been  taken  from  it,  and  it  would 
have  remained  heavier  [than  it  now  is],  instead  of 
which  it  has  been  quiteground  down.  It  was  Hortensio 
Borgis*  who  cut  it,  for  which  he  was  also  badly 
paid.  When  it  was  cut  he  was  reproached  for  having 
spoilt  the  stone  which  might  have  remained  heavier, 
and,  instead  of  rewarding  him  for  his  work,  the  King 
fined  him  10,000  rupees,  and  would  have  taken  more 
if  he  had  possessed  more.  If  Hortensio  knew  his 
business  well,  he  would  have  taken  from  this  large 
stone  some  fine  pieces  without  wronging  the  King, 
aud  without  having  so  much  trouble  to  grind  it  down. 
But  he  was  not  a  very  skilful  diamond  cutter." 

The  second  passage  occurs  at  p.  277,  wr.ere  he  is 
describing  the  diamond  mine,  "called  Gani  in  the 
language  of  the  country,  and  Coiilour'va  Persian, f  and 
where  he  tells  us  that  the  Great  Mogul  was  found  : — 

"  A  number  of  stones  are  now  found  here  from 
10  to  40  carats,  and  even  occasionally  of  much  larger 
size.  But  amongst  others,  the  great  diamond  which 
weighed    900    carats    before    being   cut,    and    which 

*  Borgis  is  obviously  a  misprint  for  Borgio,  a  common  Italian  name  ; 
but  King  (p.  81)  and  others  write  Borgliis,  an  impossible  form.  Hence 
tlie  three  current  varieties,  Borgis,  Borghis,  and  Borgio,  all  referring  to  the 
same  person. 

f  On  this  point  see  Introduction,  p.  34. 


THE  GREAT   MOGUL.  7 1 

Mirgimola  presented  to  Aurung-zeb,  as  I  have  else- 
where said,  had  been  taken  from  this  mine." 

Lastly,  the  third  passage  occurs  in  his  account 
at  p.  305  of  all  the  large  gems  he  had  anywhere  seen. 
At  the  head  of  the  list  he  places  the  diamond  under 
consideration  as  "  the  heaviest  of  which  I  have  had 
any  knowledge.  This  diamond  belongs  to  the  Great 
Mogul,  who  did  me  the  honour  of  showing  it  to  me 
with  all  his  other  jewels.  The  form  is  shown  in 
which  it  remained  after  being  cut,  and  having  been 
permitted  to  weigh  it,  I  found  that  it  weighs 
319I  ratis,  which  make  279^%  of  our  carats.  In  the 
rough  state  it  weighed,  as  I  elsewhere  said,  907  ratis, 
which  make  793f  carats.  This  stone  presents  the 
form  of  an  egg  cut  in  half."* 

The  last  passage  in  this  paragraph  explains  the 
statement  made  by  Brock,  and  frequently  repeated 
by  others,  that  this  stone  "  was  about  as  big  as  a  hen's 
Ggg."  But  Tavernier  does  not  compare  its  size  to  that 
of  a  hen's  egg,  but  only  says  that  in  form  it  resembled 


*  Tavernier  also  refers  incidentally  to  the  same  stone  at  p.  zyo  ot 
Vol.  II.,  where  he  remarks  that,  '"le  diamant  du  Grand  Mogul  pese 
279;-^  carat-:,  est  parfait.  de  bonne  eau,  de  bonne  forme,  et  n'a  qu'une 
petite  glace  qui  est  dans  I'arrest  du  trenchant  d'eii  bas  du  tour  de  la  pierre. 
Sans  cette  petite  glice  il  faudroit  mettre  le  premier  carat  a  160  livres,  mais 
a  cause  de  cela  je  ne  le  mets  qu  a  150.  Et  sur  ce  pied  la  et  selon  la  regie 
cy-dessus  ii  revient  a  la  somme  de  11,713,278  livres  14  sols  et  3  liards. 
C'est  a  dire  a  onze  millions  sept  cent  vingt-trois  mille  deux  cent  soixante 
liards.  Si  ce  diamant  ne  pesoit  que  279  carats,  il  ne  vaudroit  que 
11,676,150  livres,  et  ainsi  ces  iL  reviennent  a  47,128  livres  14  sols  3  liards." 
These  minute  calculations  show  how  carefully  Tavernier  examined  this 
stone.  Yet  there  are  writers  wlio  suggest  that  the  greatest  expert  of  the 
17th  century  was  mistaken  in  his  estimate  of  its  size,  because  that  estimate 
does  not  harmonise  with  their  preconceived  notions  of  what  that  size  ought 
to  be  in  order  to  fit  in  with  their  theories.  To  us  it  seems  safe  to  reject 
the  theories,  and  accept  the  facts,  based  as  they  are  on  such  unimpeachable 
authority. 


72         THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

an  egg,  cut  in  half."*  This  is  fully  borne  out  by  the 
illustration  which  accompanies  his  description  of 
the  stone  in   the  first  edition  of  his  work,  Vol.  II, 

P-  334. 

But  there  are  a  few  discrepancies  in  Tavernier's 

own  account,  which,  however,  admit  of  easy  explana- 
tion. The  Am'img-zeb  of  the  second  passage  is 
obviously  a  slip  for  ShaJi  Jchan,  for  we  know  from 
Bernier  that  it  was  to  the  latter  prince,  and  not  to 
his  son,  that  Emir  Jemla  presented  the  stone,  as  is  in 
fact  stated  by  Tavernier  himself  in  the  first  passage. 
The  900  carats  of  the  same  passage  is  also  evidently 
an  error  for  the  900  ratis  of  No.  i.  But  the 
907  ratis  =  793^  carats,  of  No.  3  is  not  so  readily 
reconciled  with  the  900  ratis  =  787 1  carats,  of  No.  I. 
But  as  these  figures  refer  to  the  stone  in  the  rough, 
they  are  really  of  little  consequence,  and  the  dis- 
crepancy is  easily  accounted  for  when  we  remember 
that  Tavernier  saw  the  stone  only  after  its  reduction 
by  Borgio.  Hence  he  knew  nothing  of  it  in  the 
rough  state,  except  on  hearsay,  and  he  may  at 
different  times  have  heard  two  different  statements 
regarding  its  original  size. 

In  any  case  all  these  measurements  differ  enor- 
mously from  that  of  Baber's  gem,  which  everybody 
identifies  with  the  Koh-i-Nur,  and  which  Baber  him- 
self tells  us  weighed  only  "  eight  mishkels,"  or  about 
186  or  187  carats.  Yet  Kluge,  with  others,  argues 
for  the  identity  of  both  stones,  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  represented  as  about  the  same  size,  and 


*  His  words  are  :   "  Cette  pierre  est  de  la  mesme  forme  comme  si 
Ton  avait  coupe  un  oeuf  par  !e  milieu," 


THE   GREAT   MOGUL.  73 

that  consequently  it  was  highly  improbable  that  there 
were   two  diamonds  in  the  Delhi  treasury,  each   of 
which   weighed  about    186  carats.     But  in  order  to 
create  this  difficulty,  Kluge  represents  Tavernier  as 
reducing  his   319I   ratis   to    186    carats,   whereas    in 
point  of  fact  he  reduces  them  to  2/()jq,  or  in  round 
numbers  to  280  carats.     And  lest  there  should  be  any 
doubt  at  all  about  it,  he  writes  the   numbers  out  in 
full,  thus  :  "  II  pese  trois  cent  dix-neuf  ratis  et  demi, 
qui    font    deux    cent    quatre-vingts    de    nos    carats." 
Why,  then,   except  to  fabricate  an   argument,  does 
Kluge    write :     "  He    (Tavernier)   describes    it    as    a 
rosette,  in  the  form  of  an  egg  cut  in  half,  and  weigh- 
ing 319^  ratis  =  186  carats."*     It  is  not  that  Tavernier 
employs  one  and  Kluge  another  kind  of  rati  ;  but  in 
order   to    get    at    the    recjuired     186   carats    of    the 
Koh-i-Nur,  Kluge  suppresses  Tavernier's  rati  (§  to 
the    carat),    together   with    their   equivalent    of   280 
carats,  and  substitutes  his  own  figures,  without  in- 
forming the  reader  of  the  liberty  he  is  taking  with 
the    text    of   the    original.     And    thus  vanishes  the 
manipulated   difficulty  based  on  the  assumed  simul- 
taneous presence  of  two  such  diamonds  of  the  same 
unusual    size    amongst    the     Great    Mogul's    crown 
jewels.    The  history  of  these  historical  gems  is  in  any 
case  often  involved  in   so   much  obscurity  that  the 
gratuitous  invention  of  needless  difficulties  might  well 
be  dispensed  with. 

It  is  also  asserted  by  Maskelyne  that  Tavernier's 


*  '  Er  beschreil)t  ihn  als  rosette  von  der  form  eines  halb  durchjrt.- 
schnittenen  eies  und  einem  Gewichte  von  319^  ratii-=i  86  karat." — Op. 
Cit.,  p    241. 

£ 


74        THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

description  of  the  Great  Mogul  does  not  correspond 
with  its  accompanying  illustration,  which  would  seem 
to  answer  tolerably  well  to  the  form  of  the  Koh-i-Nur 
before  it  was  re-cut  in  London.  But  there  must  surely 
be  some  strange  mistake  here.  The  fact  that  the 
proper  illustrations  do  not  accompany  the  text  in 
subsequent  editions  of  Tavernier's  work  may  no  doubt 
have  caused  some  mystification.  But  there  can  be 
no  possible  mistake  about  the  figure  of  the  Great 
Mogul  as  given  in  the  first  edition  of  1776, 
which  answers  exactly  to  the  words,  "  rose-cut, 
round,  and  very  high  on  one  side."  If  this  descrip- 
tion be  compared  with  the  models  both  of  the 
Koh-i-Nur  and  of  the  Great  Mogul  itself  in  our 
possession,  all  doubts  will  be  at  once  removed  as  to 
the  essentially  different  character  of  the  two  crystals 
The  above  quoted  passages  from  Bernier  and 
Tavernier  really  embody  all  the  authentic  in- 
formation extant  regarding  the  Great  Mogul.  Such 
as  it  is,  it  amply  sufficies  to  show  that  this 
stone  is  not  the  Koh-i-Nur.  The  two  differ  abso- 
lutely in  their  origin,  history,  size,  and  form.  Thus, 
while  the  Great  Mogul  is  traced  directly  to  the 
Coulour  mine,  the  Koh-i-Nur  has  a  legendary  history 
dating  back  to  the  remotest  times.  The  former,  when 
found,  weighed  at  least  787  carats,  which  was  reduced 
by  cutting  to  280  carats,  whereas  the  latter  when  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Baber  was  only  about  187 
carats.*      One   was    round-shaped,    rose-cut,    of  the 


*  To  get  over  this  dilliculty  Maskelyne  suggests  that  Tavernier  may 
have  confounded  the  pearl  rati  with  the  jewellers'  rati,  thereby  nearly 
doubling  the  value  of  the  319^  ratis,  which  was  the  weight  of  the  stone 


THE   GREAT   MOGUI,.  75 

purest  water,  with  but  one  little  crack  and  flaw  ;  the 
other  was  an  irrcg^ular  ellipse,  very  flat,  dull  and  full 
of  flaws."  t 

Shah  Jehan  virtually  ceased  to  reign  from  about 
1657  till  his  death  in  1666.  But  Aurung-zeb  allowed 
him  to  retain  possession  of  the  greater  part  of  his 
jewellery  throughout  his  imprisonment  in  Agra. 
Tavernier  tells  us  that  a  few  days  before  his  coro- 
nation the  usurper  begged  his  father  to  lend  him 
some  of  these  treasures  for  the  occasion.  At  this 
request,  which  he  took  for  an  insult,  and  which,  under 
the  circumstances,  was  certainly  somewhat  cool,  Shah 
Jehan  fell  into  a  paroxysm  of  rage  which  nearly 
brought  him  to  his  end.  "  In  the  excess  of  his  anger 
he  asked  several  times  for  a  mortar  and  pestle,  saying 
that  he  wanted  to  pound  all  his  gems  and  pearls,  so 
that  Aurung-zeb  might  never  have  any  of  them. 
But  his  eldest  daughter  Begum  Saheb,  who  never 
forsook  him,  throwing  herself  at  his  feet,  prevented 
him  from  coming  to  this  extremity  and  .  .  .  ap- 
peased  Shah  Jehan    more  in  order  to  preserve  the 

examined  and  by  him,  making  it  weigh  280  instead  of  186  carats,  which 
was  the  weight  of  the  Koh-i-Niir  before  its  reduction  in  London.  But 
it  is  inconceivable  that  such  an  error  could  have  been  committed  by 
'J'avernier,  who  was  probably  the  most  practised  jeweller  of  the  age,  and 
who  was  constantly  using  the  rati  during  the  forty  years  which  he  spent  in 
the  East,  as  a  dealer  in  precious  stones.  Besides  his  estimate  of  the 
jewellers'  rati,  which  he  makes  equal  to  |  of  a  carat,  nearly  corresponds 
with  tiiat  of  Garcics  ab  Horto.  wiio  was  extremely  well  informed  on  this 
point,  and  who  makes  the  Indian  rati  equal  to  3,  and  the  Portuguese  carat 
equal  to  4,  grains  of  wheat, 

f  Another  wild  tlieoi-)*  is  that  Borgio  by  cleavage  obtained  three 
stones  from  the  one  entrusted  to  him — the  Mogul,  the  Koii-i-Nur,  and  a 
third  whicii  afterwards  disappeared  On  thi--  it  is  sufficient  lo  remark 
that  the  Koh-i-Kur,  though  not  then  known  iiy  this  name,  came  into  the 
hands  of  the  Mogul  emperors  in  1526,  or  over  130  years  beiore  Borgiu 
reached  India.  Owing  possibly  to  its  intense  brilliancy,  the  diamond 
seems  to  have  the  effect  of  dazzling  or  obfuscating  the  intellect  of  most 
writers  on  the  subject. 


76         THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

jewels  for  herself  than  to  please  her  brother."*  It 
has  accordingly  been  asked  how  the  Great  Mogul  came 
into  Aurung-zeb's  hands  before  his  father's  death  ; 
for  we  have  seen  that  he  exhibited  it  to  Tavernier  in 
November,  1665.  But  Tavernier  nowhere  says  that 
Shah  Jehan  retained  all  his  gems,  and  he  even  adds 
that  although  when  mounting  the  throne  Aurung-zeb 
had  only  one  jewel  in  his  diadem,  had  he  wished 
to  have   others  placed   in    it,  there  was    no  lack   of 

them having    asked    his    father    for    his 

gems  only  for  the  purpose  of  never  returning  them 
to  him.  Besides  there  was  a  good  reason  why  the 
Great  Mogul  should  have  fallen  into  Aurung-zeb's 
hands  at  the  time  of  his  father's  imprisonment.  It 
was  presented  by  Emirjemlato  Shah  Jehan  certainly 
not  earlier  than  1655,  or  about  two  years  before  his 

♦  Bernier  (p.  141)  relates  the  circumstances  somewhat  differently: 
''  Aurung-zeb  was  equally  unsuccessful  in  his  demand  to  Shah  Jehan  for 
certain  jewels,  with  which  he  was  desirous  of  completing  a  piece  of  work- 
manship   that    he   was   adding    to    the    celebrated    throne,  so    universally 
admired.     The    captive   monarch   indignantly  answered  that   Aurung-zeb 
should   be   careful   only  to  govern  the    kingdom   with  more  wisdom  and 
equity.     He  commended  him  not  to  meddle  with  the  throne,  and  declared 
that  he  would  be  no  more  plagued  about  these  jewels,  for  that  hammers 
were  provided  to  beat  them  into  powder  the  next  time  he  should  be  im- 
portuned  upon  the  subject."     The  "  celebrated   throne  "  here  referred   to 
was  no  doubt  the  famous   "peacock   throne"  begun  by  Shah  Jehan  and 
added  to  by  Aurung-zeb,  and  elsewhere    (p.    306)   described  by  Bernier  as 
"  supported  by  six  massive  feet  said  to  be  of  solid  gold,  sprinkled  over  with 
rubies,    emeralds,  and    diamonds.     I  cannot    tell    you  with    accuracy    the 
number  or  value  of   this  vast   collection  of  precious   stones,   because   no 
person  may  approach  sufficiently  near  to  them,  to  judge  of  their  water  and 
clearness      But  I  can  assure  you  that  there  is  a  profusion  of  diamonds,  as 
well  as  other  jewels,  and  that  the  throne,  to  the  best  of  my  recollection, 

is  valued  at  four  crores  of  rupees  (j^4,ooo,ooo) The  con- 

stiuction  and  workmanship  of  the  throne  are  not  correspondent  with  the 
materials ;  but  two  peacocks,  covered  with  jewels  and  pearls  are  well  con- 
ceived and  executed.  The  were  made  by  a  workman  of  astonishing 
powers,  a  Frenchman  by  birth,  who,  alter  defrauding  several  of  the 
princes  of  Europe  by  means  of  false  gems,  which  he  fabricated  with 
pecuhar  skill,  sought  refuge  in  the  Great  Mogul's  Court,  were  he  made  his 
fortune. 


THE  GREAT   MOGUL.  77 

deposition,  and  during  those  two  years  it  was  pro- 
bably in  the  hands  of  Borgio,  for  by  the  old  processes 
such  a  large  diamond  would  take  fully  that  time,  if  not 
longer,  to  cut.  "  Thus,"  continues  King,  from  whom 
we  are  quoting,  "  almost  immediately  upon  the  great 
stone  being  put  into  Borgio's  hands,  its  rightful 
owner  had  lost  all  control  over  it.  In  fact  had  he 
been  able  or  permitted  to  superintend  the  operation, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  his  experience  and  taste  in 
such  matters  would  have  brought  about  a  widely 
different  result." 

The  subsequent  history  of  the  Great  Mogul  from 
the  time  it  was  seen  by  Tavernier  in  1665,  remains  a 
blank.  Henceforth  no  distinct  reference  anywhere 
occurs  to  it,  and  although  we  may  presume  that  it 
continued  in  the  possession  of  Aurung-zeb's  suc- 
cessors down  to  the  sack  of  Delhi  by  Nadir  Shah, 
we  have  no  knowledge  of  what  became  of  it  on  that 
memorable  occasion.  The  authorities  are  almost 
unanimous*  in  assuming  that  the  big  stone  carried 
off  by  the  Persian  invader,  under  circumstances  to 
be  described  further  on,  was  the  Koh-i-Nur.  But 
amongst  the  spoils  may  of  course  have  also  been  the 
Great  Mogul,  though  no  distinct  mention  is  made  of 
the  fact.  Hence  some  have  thought  that  it  is  now 
amongst  the  treasures  of  the  Shah  of  Persia  under 


*  King  (p.  79)  says  that  "  all  the  circumstances  warrant  tha 
belief  that  the  Great  Mogul  was  the  grand  diamond  that  Nadir  Shah 
acquired  by  the  ingenious  device  above  related,  just  before  the  sack  ol 
Delhi  in  1739."  But  here  he  flatly  contradicts  himself,  for  at  p.  72,  where 
the  "  ingenious  device"  is  described,  he  states  that  the  diamond  thus  pro- 
cured by  Nadir  Shah  was  the  Koh-i-Nur  and  not  the  Great  Mogul  :  "The 
proud  diamond^of  the  Mogul  was  in  the  cap  of  his  vassal,  and  was  saluted 
with  the  title  of  ••  Koh-i-Nur,"  Mmmd  of  Ugh/,  by  his  Suzerain." 


yS        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

the  name  of  "  Darya-i-Nur,"  or  "  Sea  of  Light."  But 
it  will  be  seen  further  on  that  the  Darya-i-Nur  is  cer- 
tainly a  different  stone. 

Others  arguing  from  its  form  have  suggested  that 
it  may  be  the  Russian  Orloff,  an  equally  untenable 
theory,  as  will  be  made  evident  when  we  come  to  deal 
with  that  famous  gem. 

Our  own  opinion  is  that  the  Great  Mogul  has 
ceased  to  exist  as-  such.  It  was  probably  stolen 
either  at  the  sack  of  Delhi  or  at  the  death  of  Nadir 
Shah,  and  then  in  order  to  escape  detection  its  pos- 
sessors had  it  broken  by  cleavage  into  two  or  more 
stones.  Its  form  and  especially  its  great  size  would 
facilitate  this  process,  a  fate  which  we  know  has  over- 
taken more  than  one  other  large  diamond."*  In  confir- 
mation of  this  view,  the  reader  is  more  particularly 
referred  to  the  statements  of  Dr.  Beke,  Mr.  Tennant, 
and  Sir  David  Brewster  regarding  the  Abbas 
Mirza  diamond. 

Barbot  states  that  it  was  of  a  very  pure  water, 
though  of  a  soft  ros}-  tint,  and  that  it  has  been 
estimated  at  .i{J^420,ooo,  while  others  have  suspected 
that  it  was  not  a  diamond  at  all,  but  a  white  sapphire 
or  perhaps  topaz.  But  Tavernier  was  far  too  good 
an  expert  to  be  mistaken  in  a  matter  of  this  sort,  and 
the  suggestion  would  probably  never  have  been 
made  but  for  its  altogether  exceptional  size. 


See  the  account  ot  the  Blue  iliuniontl. 


VI, 


THE  STAR  OF  THE  SOUTH, 


Found  by  a  Negress. — A  stone  of  singular  beauty.— Sold  for 
;^3,ooo,  ultimately  to  realise  ;f8o,ooo. — A  lovely  tint. — 
The  lion  of  two  International  Exhibitions,  it  is  after- 
wards sent  to  India.  —  Purchased  by  the  ruler  of 
Haroda.  —  The  Prince's  other  Treasures.—  Diamond 
Dtist  poisoning. — Nemesis. 


YING  west  of  the  mountains  of  San  do 
Espinaco  is  a  vast  plain.  Here  the 
river  Velhas  has  its  source,  and  the 
New  World's  largest  diamond  its  origin. 
It  was  picked  up  in  July,  1853,  by  a  negress  at  work 
in  the  mines  of  the  province  of  Minas-Geraes,  Brazil.* 
The  diamond,  when  found,  presented  the  general 
form  of  a  rhombic  dodecahedron  with  very  obtuse 
angles,  and  twenty-four  natural  facets,  besides  certain 
faint  streaks,  pointing  at  a  possible  octahedric 
cleavage.  In  one  of  the  facets  there  appeared  a 
somewhat  deep  depression,  in  which  was  formerly 
inserted     an    octahedral    crystal,    which    from    other 


*  This  was  the  account  current  at  Villa  Rica  (  Villa  Rica — Rich  Town), 
the  centre  "Station  of  this  rr.inino^  province.  Another  report  fixes  the  exact 
sjiot  at  Boj^agem,  but  after  careful  research  we  have  failed  to  identity  any 
such  place  in  Brazil  :  what  is  meant  is  no  doubt  the  river  of  that  name, 
which  rises  in  the  \'iadeira  mountains,  and  flows  for  forty  leagues  through 
the  province  of  Goyaz,  northwards  to  the  Maranhao  or  Upper  Tocantins. 


8o  THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

symptoms,  was  evidently  a  true  diamond.  On  the 
lower  surface  were  two  other  indentations  of  a 
similar  character,  but  not  so  deep,  one  of  which 
revealed  traces  of  from  three  to  four  different  crystals. 
On  the  same  side  was  a  flat  space,  where  it  had  pro- 
bably been  removed  from  the  matrix  by  diluvial 
action.  There  were  also  perceptible  a  few  black 
specks,  due  apparently  to  the  presence  of  titanic  iron 
or  volcanic  sand.  All  these  circumstances  showed 
plainly  enough  that  it  originally  formed  one  of  a 
group  of  adamantine  crystals,  fixed  in  the  crevices 
of  certain  metamorphic  rocks,  characteristic  of  the 
Brazilian  mountain  systems. 

Such,  at  least,  is  the  commonly  accepted  view. 
But  it  is  unhesitatingly  rejected  by  Barbot,  who  has 
made  a  special  study  of  this  gem,  and  whose  opinion 
is  certainly  entitled  to  consideration.  "  We  are 
certain,"  he  writes,  "  that  this  large  hollow  was 
merely  a  solution  of  continuity  in  the  crystalline 
layers,  and  that  the  other  depressions  of  a  slighter 
character  are  due  to  the  same  cause.  The  flat  part, 
which  seems  and  really  is  cleaved  by  an  accidental 
cause,  formed  the  point  of  contact  with  the  matrix." 
The  late  M.  Dufrenoy  supposed  that  this  diamond 
must  have  formed  part  of  a  group  of  diamantiferous 
crystals.  In  this  he  was  mistaken,  for  diamonds  are 
produced  isolated,  in  the  various  parts  of  the  matrix, 
rarely  agglomerated  or  superimposed,  nor  grafted  one 
on  the  other,  like  the  p}-rites  and  crystals  of  spar  and 
quartz. 

This  stone  wliich,  according  to  the  usual  method 
of  valuation,  ought  to  be  worth  nearly  i.44,000,  was 


THE   STAR   OF   THE   SOUTH.  8l 

sold  in  the  rough  for  ;i^3 5,000  (302  contos  de  Reis), 
and  reduced  by  cutting  from  254^   to   125  carats,  at 
an  expenditure  of  close  upon  ^500.     In  the  process 
it  assumed  an  elegant  oval  form,  in  which  the  light 
is  well  refracted.     It  is  of  unusual  length,  35  milli- 
metres b}'  29  millimetres  broad,  and  19  in  thickness. 
These  measurements,  as  Barbot  remarks,  might  seem 
to  imply  a  magnitude  superior  even  to  that  of  the 
"Regent."     Yet  this  gem  is  really  13  carats  lighter, 
a  fact  explained  by  the  perfect  harmony  of  propor- 
tions   exhibited    by    the    "Regent,"    and   which    are 
missing  in  the  "  Star  of  the  South."     Nevertheless, 
it    is  a  pure    stone    and    has,    on    the    whole,    been 
handled    with    great  judgment,    although   the   best 
possible   advantage    has    not    perhaps,    been    taken 
of  its  natural  forms.     The  cutter  was  Voorsanger,  of 
Mr.  Coster's  establishment  at  Amsterdam,  and  in  his 
hands  the  diamond  lost  rather  more  than  half  of  its 
original  weight.     The  reflected  light  is  perfectly  white, 
but,  strange  to  say,  it  assumes  by  refraction  a  decided 
rose  tint,  very  agreeable  to  the  eye.     This  probably 
unique  phenomenon  is  due,  no  doubt,  to  the  peculiar 
prismatic  form  imparted  to  the  crystal,  perhaps  un- 
con.sciously,  by  the  cutter. 

After  its  latent  beauties  were  thus  revealed  to 
the  world,  this  superb  gem  was  purchased  by  Messrs. 
Halphen,  and  a  few  other  merchants  in  Paris,  who  had 
constituted  themselves  a  syndicate  for  the  purpose. 
By  them  it  was  named  the  "  Estrella  do  Sud,"  or 
"  Star  of  the  South."  Before  reaching  them,  it  had 
passed  in  its  rough  state  through  several  hands,  all 
of  whom  were  more  or  less  benefited  by  its  possession 


82         THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

Thus,  the  negress,  by  whom  it  was  discovered  in  1853, 
was  rewarded,  according  to  the  usual  practice  in 
Brazil,  with  her  freedom,*  and  to  this  was  afterwards 
added  the  further  boon  of  a  pension  for  life,  in  recog- 
nition of  the  exceptional  size  and  value  of  her  "  find." 
Yet  her  master,  Casimiro  de  Tal,  was  at  first  so  little 
conscious  of  its  true  value,  that  he  was  induced  to 
part  with  it  for  the  relatively  nominal  sum  of  ^^"3,000. 
The  purchaser  deposited  it  in  the  Bank  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  receiving  an  advance  of  no  less  than  ;f  30,000 
on  its  security  alone. 

The  stone  ultimately  reached  the  above-men- 
tioned Paris  Syndicate,  by  Avhom  it  was  shown  in  the 
Dutch  department  of  the  London  Exhibiton  of  1862, 
and  in  that  of  Paris  in  1867.  On  both  occasions  it 
attracted  great  attention,  and  its  fame  reached  the 
remotest  corners  of  the  globe.  It  was  soon  after- 
wards  forwarded  to  India,  where  a  bid  of  i^i  10,000 
was  made  for  it  by  a  large  house  on  behalf  of  a  native 
rajah.  After  considerable  negotiation,  the  parties 
being  unable  to  agree  on  the  terms,  the  transaction 


*  "  There  aie  many  laws  and  ieo;ulations  to  prevent  the  negroes  con- 
cealing and  smuggling  diamonds.  As  a  means  of  encouraging  honesty,  il 
a  negro  finds  a  stone  of  17^  carats,  he  is  crowned  with  a  wreath  of  Mowers, 
and  led  in  procession  to  the  manager.  Then  his  freedom  is  bestowed  upon 
him,  plus  a  suit  of  clothes  and  permission  to  work  for  wages.  If  a  negro 
finds  one  from  eight  to  ten  carats  weight,  he  receives  two  new  shirts,  a  suit 
of  clothes,  a  iiat,  and  a  handsome  knife.  For  smaller  but  valuable  stones 
other  rewards  are  given.  For  unfaithfulness,  the  negroes  are  beaten  with 
sticks,  or  have  iron  bands  fastened  round  their  throats;  and  on  repetition 
of  the  fault,  they  are  not  admitted  to  the  works  again.  Notwithstanding 
all  these  rewards  and  pui  ishments,  one-third  of  the  produce  is  supposed  to 
be  surreptitiously  disposed  of  by  the  labourers.  Manifold  are  the  tricks 
used  by  the  negroes  to  appropriate  and  barter  the  gems  they  discover.  In 
tiie  very  presence  oi  the  overseers,  they  manage  to  conceal  them  in  their 
hair,  their  mouths,  their  ears,  or  between  their  fingers.  Not  untrequently 
they  will  throw  them  away,  and  return  for  them  at  the  dead  of  night.'' 
- — Streeter's  "  Cons  and  Precious  Stones," 


THE   STAR   OF   THE   SOUTH.  83 

fell  through,  and  the  stone  was  returned  to  Messrs. 
Halphen,  who  acted  throughout  in  the  name  of  the 
Syndicate,  and  not  on  their  o\\'n  account  as  is  usually 
supposed. 

During  the  exhibition  of  the  gem  in  India,  glow- 
ing accounts  of  its  rare  size  and  beauty  had  reached 
the  late  ex-Gaikwar  of  Baroda,  next  to  the  eccentric 
Charles,  Duke  of  Brunswick,  the  greatest  diamond 
fancier  of  modern  times.  This  prince  gave  a 
commission,  which  was  ultimately  entrusted  to 
Mr.  E.  Dresden,  of  London  and  Paris,  to  buy  the 
Star  of  the  South  for  eight  lakhs  of  rupees,  or  ;^8o,ooo, 
Mr.  Dresden, thereupon,applied  through  Mr.  Halphen, 
to  the  Syndicate,  who,  although  they  had  already 
declined  i^iTO,ooo,  after  9,om.e  pourparlers  were  in- 
duced to  accept  the  Gaikwar's  offer.  On  this  subject 
we  were  favoured  on  June  14,  1881,  with  a  communi- 
cation from  Mr.  Dresden,  the  subjoined  extract  from 
which  will  be  found  peculiar)}-  interesting  : 

"  .A.  few  }'ears  after  the  death  of  the  late  Em- 
peror Napoleon,  his  Empress  sold  through  Smith, 
Fleming  and  Co.,  her  famous  collection  of  diamonds 
(amongst  which  were  a  pair  of  splendid  drops),  to  that 
same  ruler  of  Baroda,  so  that  he  now  possesses  a 
matchless  quantity  of  diamonds,  including  the  Star 
of  the  South,  which  I  had  the  commission  to  buy, 
and  for  which  I  paid  Halphen  in  Paris  two  million 
francs  (^80,000),  inclusive,  of  course,  of  the  mount- 
ings, &c.,  which  were  ver\'  costh'." 

It  may  be  added  that  the  ill-luck  which  often 
seems  to  folloAv  the  possessors  of  great  diamonds 
swiftly  overtook  the  new  owner  of  the  Star  of  the 


84        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

South.  It  will  be  in  the  recollection  of  our  readers 
that  this  notorious  Mahratta  prince  fell  into  serious 
trouble  a  few  years  ago  for  his  murderous  practice  of 
destroying  refractory  subjects  with  diamond  dust. 
Having  tried  a  similar  expedient  to  get  rid  of  the 
British  resident,  Colonel  Phayre,  whose  presence  in 
Baroda  acted  as  an  inconvenient  check  on  his  san- 
guinary propensities,  the  Gaikwar  was  arraigned 
before  a  specially  constituted  tribunal,  found  guilty, 
and  deposed  from  the  throne  of  his  ancestors  by  a 
mandate  from  the  beneficent  lady  paramount  of  India. 


VII. 
DU    TOIT    I. 

Beautiful  but  a  little  ••  Off-Colour  " — South  African  Diamonds 
— Their  Origin  and  Character — Enormous  Increase  of— 
Estimated  Value  of  "  Claims"  in  the  Mining  Districts 
—  Peculiar  Delicacies  of  the  Straw  Tint — Stones  that 
Rival  those  of  Brazil  and  India — "  Bort." 

HE  latest  great  "  find  "  in  South  Africa, 
and  exceeded  in  size  only  by  one  other 
stone  from  that  region,  was  discovered 
in  1878  on  a  "claim"  at  Du  Toit's  Pan, 
where   a  greater  proportion   of  large   diamonds  has 
been    produced    than    in    an\-    other    diamantiferous 
district  in  the  world.     It  is  of  a  light  "  off-colour,"* 
and    free    from    flaws,   but  not  of  the  finest   water, 
though  by  skilful  treatment  it  may  prove  a  magni- 
ficent stone.     Since  its  discovery,   the  value  of  the 
claims,  especially  in  the  Kimberley  district,  has  risen 
enormously.     Claims  originally  disposed  of  at  the  rate 
of  i^50  per  twenty  square  feet  are  now  realising  many 
thousand   pounds.     Precious   Stones  and  Gems  con- 
tains   some    exclusive    and     interesting    information 
upon  South  African  diamonds.     Without  trespassing 
unduly  upon  the  chapter  which  deals  with  the  subject 
from  various  points  of  view,  there  are  a  few  facts  that 
may  very  properly  be  repeated  in  this  place.     It  is 

*  A  large  proportion  of  the  African  diamonds  are  what  are  called 
"  otf-coloured  "  stones,  usually  exhibiting  a  delicate  straw  tinge,  still,  often 
very  beautiful  when  skilfully  cut. 


S6  THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF    THE   WORLD. 

well  ascertained  that  these  diamonds  were  originally 
developed  in  an  igneous  matrix  belonging  probably 
to  that  large  series  of  eruptive  rocks  which  have 
burst  further  through  the  Karoo  strata  at  so  many 
points  in  South  Africa.  In  the  dry  diggings  the 
stones  are  possibly  found  almost  in  their  original 
positions.  Those  which  reward  the  digger  in  the  river 
beds  have  probably  been  washed  down  by  running 
water,  and  there  are  superficial  deposits  here  and  there 
in  which  ice  has  been  the  means  of  transportation. 
Such,  at  least  are  the  various  hypoth-eses  which  have 
been  put  forward  in  explanation  of  the  somewhat 
singular  distribution  of  the  diamonds  at  the  Cape. 

Hardly  a  dozen  years  have  past'  since  these  new 
fields  were  discovered.     During  that  time  the  yield  of 
fine  stones   has   been  enormous.     The  first  notable 
one  was  the  "  Dudley,"  the  next  the  "  Stewart."     The 
latter  gem  is  the  only  one  which  takes  precedence  in 
size  of  the  Du  Toit  I.     Although  many  of  the  Cape 
diamonds  are  "  straw  coloured,"  a  very  fair  proportion 
are  of  the  first  water,  bearing  comparison  with  some 
of  the  finest  gems  of  Brazil  and  the  Indies.     Even 
the  yellowish  ones  are  of  a  peculiar  delicacy  of  tint 
which  is  very  attractive  in  a  well  cut  stone.     It  has 
been  estimated  that  20  per  cent,  of  the  Cape  stones 
are  of  the  finest  quality,  15  of  the  second,  and  20  of 
the  third,   the  remainder  being  what  is  technically 
called  "  bort."     It  is  as  well  to  add  that  all  diamonds 
which  are  not  sufficiently  pure  for  cutting  are  classed 
under   the   term    "  bort."      They   are    crushed   into 
powder,  which  is  used  for  grinding  diamonds,  and  also 
in  the  engraving  of  gems  of  exceptional  hardness. 


DU    TOIT   I.  87 

Since  the  discovery  of  the  Du  Toit  I.,  two  quarter 
claims  in  the  vicinity  of  the  spot  where  it  was  dug 
out  have  been  sold  for  ;^20,000.  The  competition 
for  mining  rights  continues  to  be  severe  in  other 
districts,  and  the  latest  rewards  of  enterprising 
investments  have  justified  the  faith  of  both  capitalist 
and  labourer. 


VIII. 
THE   GREAT  TABLE. 


Taverniers  account  of  the  "  Table "  Diamond — Its  Size. 
Shape,  and  Value — Shah  Jehan's  Invasion  of  the 
Deccan  —  Fire  and  Sword  —  Raising  Monej-  to  pay 
Tribute  to  the  Victor — The  Parsees  and  the  English — 
Where  is  the  Great  Gem  to-day  ? 


N  Tavernier's  list  of  the  "  largest  and 
finest  diamonds  and  rubies  seen  by  him 
in  Europe  and  Asia,"  this  stone  occu- 
pies the  third  place,  (II.  305).  Of  it  he 
remarks  :  "  It  is  a  stone  which  weighs  iy6^  mangelins, 
which  make  242^^6  of  our  carats.  The  mangelin,  as 
I  have  said,  is  the  weight  used  in  the  kingdoms  of 
Golconda  and  Visapur,  and  it  is  equivalent  to  i|  of 
our  carats.  When  in  Golconda,  in  the  year  1642,  I 
was  shown  this  stone,  and  it  is  the  largest  diamond  I 
have  seen  in  India  in  the  hands  of  dealers.  The 
owner  allowed  me  to  make  a  casting  of  it,  which  I 
sent  to  Surat  to  two  of  my  friends,  calling  their 
attention  to  the  beauty  of  the  stone  and  to  its  price, 
which  was  500,000  rupees  or  750,000  livres  of  our 
money.  I  received  a  commission  from  them,  in  case 
it  was  pure  and  fine  water,  to  offer  400,000  rupees 
for  it.  But  it  was  impossible  to  come  to  terms  at  this 
price,  although  I  believe  that  it  might  have  been  had 
if  they  were  willing  to  offer  450,000." 


THE    GREAT   TABLE.  89 

This  is  all  that  Tavernier   tells  us  of  this   re- 
markable stone,  which  is  illustrated  in  the  first,  though 
not  in  subsequent  editions  of  his  work.     The  repre- 
sentation show^s  it  to  be  table-cut,  so  that   it  may  be 
easily  recognized,  should  it  again  come  to  light  in 
India  or  elsewhere  ;  for  since  the  time  of  Tavernier  it 
has  not  been  seen  by  any  European  expert.     Its  pecu- 
liar form  would  easily  allow  of  its  being  reduced  by 
cleavage    to    tw^o    or    more  stones,   a  fate   that   has 
possibly  befallen  it.     Many  stones  have  from  time 
to  time  been    so   treated,  for   the   express   purpose 
of    destroying    their    identity,    even    though     their 
intrinsic    value   has    thereby    been    greatly    reduced. 
A    notable    instance    is    the    French    "  Blue    Drop," 
which   was  of  such  an    unique    character,  that  after 
it    was  stolen    from    the   Garde  Meuble,    in    1792,  it 
could  not  be  exposed  for  sale  without  incurring  the 
risk  of  instant  detection.      Hence    the    necessity  of 
altering  its  appearance  by  some  process  of  reduction, 
as  fully  explained  in  our  account  of  the  "  Hope  Blue." 
In  the  same  way  the  great  "Table,"  also  a  stone  of 
an  unique  type,   at   least   as   regarded    its    size   and 
peculiar  shape,  was  very  likely  broken  up  by  cleavage 
into    two    or    more    stones,   and    it    is  by    no  means 
impossible  that  the  Russian  "  Table,"  which  will  be 
described  in  a  later  chapter,  may  be  one  of  those  frag- 
ments.    Pictures  and  other   rare  artistic  objects  are 
known  to  have  been  manipulated  in  analogous  ways  for 
like  purposes.     One  of  the  numerous  and  vexatious 
charges   brought   by  his  enemies   against  Benvenuto 
Cellini,  when  employed  at  the  court  of  Francis  I.,  seems 
to  have  been  of  this  character.    The  method  which  he 

F 


9©  THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF   THE  WORLD. 

adopted  for  bringing  the  wearisome  and  ruinous  suits 
against  him  to  a  close,  was  highly  characteristic.  He 
tells  us  in  his  famous  autobiography,  that  being  unable 
to  obtain  any  redress  from  the  law,  "  I  had  recourse  to 
a  long  sword,  which  I  had  by  me.  The  first  that  I 
attacked  was  that  person  who  commenced  that  unjust 
and  irritating  suit  ;  and  one  evening  I  so  hacked  him 
about  the  legs  and  arms,  taking  care,  however,  not  to 
kill  him  right  out,  that  I  deprived  him  of  the  use  of 
both  his  legs."  Having  got  rid  of  another  party  to 
the  suit,  in  a  similar  summary  manner,  he  exclaims, 
with  grim  humour,  "  For  this  and  every  other  blessing, 
I  returned  thanks  to  the  Supreme  Being !  " 

At  the  period  referred  to  byTavernier,  Golconda 
was  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Shah  Jehan,  whose 
miserable  end  (hardly  less  wretched  than  that  of 
Shakespeare's  King  Lear),  has  generally  excited  so 
much  commiseration,  that  his  infamous  treachery 
and  indescribable  inhumanity,  are  lost  sight  of,  had, 
only  three  years  before  Tavernier's  visit,  collected  an 
immense  force  to  invade  the  Deccan.  Every  country 
that  was  overrun  by  his  troops  was  delivered  to  fire  and 
sword.  "  One  hundred  and  fifteen  towns  and  castles 
were  taken  in  the  course  of  the  year,  and  the  kings  of 
Beejapoor  and  Golconda,  to  appease  the  conqueror, 
renounced  their  rank  as  sovereign  princes,  and  received 
commissions  from  the  emperor  of  the  Moguls."  This 
was  but  the  beginning  of  sorrow.  It  was  between  this 
eclipse  and  the  subsequent  utter  destruction  of  these 
renowned  kingdoms,  under  Mir  Jemla,  and  Aurung- 
zeb's  eldest  son,  Mohammed,  that  Tavernier  saw  the 
royal  gem   under  notice,  in  the  hands  of  a  private 


THE   GREAT   TABLE. 


91 


diamond  merchant.     How  came  this  stone  in  private 
hands  ?     The  answer  is  not  far  to  seek.     The  tribute, 
on  the  first  signing  of  the  treaty,  was  up  to  the  full 
amount.     Mir  Jemla   had    probably  suggested   this, 
as  a  severe  lesson,  with  a  view  to  bring  his  royal 
master  to   his   knees  ;    but  the  fallen  king  had  gall 
enough  to  seize  the  person  of  the  revolted  minister's 
son,  and  the  war  between  Katb  and  Mir  Jemla  was  a 
war  a  oiUrancc.     The  annually  recurring  tribute  forced 
the  court  and   king  to  raise  money  on  jewels  not  dis- 
closed to  the  Mogul  conqueror,  and  as  Tavernier  was 
known  certainly  to  the  Parsee  merchants   of  India, 
and  had  in  a  measure  gained  the  confidence  of  the 
most  English  of  all  Asiatics,  it  is  not  surprising  that, 
European  as  he  was,  he  should  be  shewn,  and  even 
allowed  to  take  a  model  of  this  stone.     We  venture 
to  doubt  whether  Tavernier  could  have  secured  it  for 
an  added  £"5,000  to  the  offer  he  made,  with  a  view  to 
purchase,  considering  the  wealth  and  stable  character 
of  the  opulent  merchants  in  Western   India.     It  was 
said  that  a  Turvcc  or  Bheel  chief  carried  it  to  the  city 
of  Golconda,  and  commenced  his  negociations  by  an 
interview  with  a  "  Havildar,"  a  commander  of  horse, 
a  native  of  his  own  tribe.     This  is  probably  true.     The 
Bheels  dwelt,  and  still  dwell,  in  the  fastnesses  of  the 
Western  Ghauts,  and  along  the  affluents  of  the  Upper 
Godavery,  where  most  probably  the  stone  was  found. 
As  already  stated,  it  is  probable  that  this  stone 
has  been  broken  up,   in  order  to  baffle  all  efforts  to 
trace  its  identity,  though  some  Orientals  differ  from 
this  explanation  of  its  disappearance.     It  is  estimated 
that  there  are  more  than  120,000  families  of  Parsees 


92        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

residing  within  the  limits  of  what  was  termed,  in  the 
first  quarter  of  this  century,  the  "  Presidency  of 
Bombay,"  and  in  that  capital  alone  there  were  6,000 
families.  No  other  class  of  natives  has  connected  itself 
so  intimately  with  the  English.  The  fire  which  blazed 
in  the  burning  bush,  but  consumed  it  not,  is  still  the 
emblem  of  the  Supreme  Being  they  worship.  They 
learn  English  and  speak  it  idiomatically.  They 
master  also  the  Gujerati  tongue,  which  prevails  about 
the  Gulfs  of  Cutch  and  Cambay,  and  a  large  tract  of 
the  western  coast  ;  and,  although  their  religion  indis- 
poses them  to  become  working  jewellers,  they  value, 
as  Europeans  do,  beautiful  things  in  nature  and  art. 
That  the  Parsees  would  resist  the  outrageous  bartering 
tricks  of  the  native,  is  characteristic,  but  that  a  mag- 
nificent gem  in  their  possession  would  be  broken  up 
is  questioned.  Then  where  is  the  great  "Table" 
diamond  }  Certainly  not  advertised,  if  in  Persia,  nor 
paraded,  if  in  Bombay,  Gujerat,  or  Beejapoor. 


IX. 

THE    REGENT    OF    PORTUGAL. 

The  Slave  and  the  Diamond— Punishments  and  Rewards 
m  Minmg— How  Bahia  became  famous — Discovery  of 
the  Regent  by  a  Negro— He  is  Pensioned  and  obtains 
his  Freedom. 

leading  figure  in  the  history  of  Brazih'an 
diamonds    is   the    slave.      Negro   and 
negress,    they    both    appear    as     dis- 
coverers of  some  of  the  most  remark- 
able of  the  great  gems.     This  arises  from  the  fact  that 
the  miners  were  chiefly  slaves.     In  the  early  days  of 
diamond  hunting  on  the  Rio-das- Velhas,  as  a  means 
of  encouraging  honesty,  if  a  negro  found  a  stone  of 
17I  carats,  he  was  crowned  with  a  wreath  of  flowers, 
and  led  in  procession  to  the  manager.     His  freedom 
was  given  to  him,  and  he  was  dressed  in  a  new  suit  of 
clothes.     For  "  unfaithfulness,''  which  meant  the  crime 
of  appropriating  diamonds  the  slaves  were  beaten  with 
sticks,  and  subjected  to  other  physical  torture.     But 
in  spite  of  all  kinds  of  precautions  and  punishments 
a  third  of  the  produce  of  the  mines  was  supposed  to 
be  stolen,  and  it  is  so  to  this  day.     It  was  a  "  cunning 
slave"  who  revealed  the  treasures  of  Minas-Geraes, 
and  established  the  fame  of  Bahia.     He  was  of  the 
former  province,  though  he  worked  as  an  agricultural 
labourer  in  the  last-mentioned  district.      Diamonds 
had   been  found  here,  but  the  Portuguese  minister, 
Marquis   de   Pombal,   would    not   permit   a    regular 


94  THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS   OF  THE  WORLD. 

exploration  for  them,  fearing  that  mining  might  eclipse 
agriculture,  which  he  esteemed  as  of  the  first  import- 
ance.    Noticing  that  the  soil  of  this  region  and  that 
of  his  native  place  were  similar  in   appearance,  the 
slave  went  home,  and  found   Minas-Geraes  yielded 
diamonds  in  abundance.     He  fled  from  his  master, 
and  offered  7,000  carats  of  diamonds  for  sale  in  a 
distant  city,  whereupon  he  was  arrested  on  suspicion 
of    having    stolen    them.       He    would    not    confess 
whence  he  had  obtained  them.     It  was  soon  con- 
cluded that  he  had  found  them  in  some  spot,  the 
whereabouts  of  which  was  unknown  except  to  him- 
self.     His  master  outwitted  him  by  restoring  him 
without  punishment  to  his  occupation  at  Bahia.     Then 
he  had  the  slave  watched,  and  the  immense  diamanti- 
ferous  value  of  Bahia  and    Minas-Geraes  was   dis- 
covered, and  within  a  year  afterwards  25,000  diamond 
hunters  were  at  work  in  the  former  district,  and  for  a 
long  time  they  collected  as  much  as  1,450  carats  a  day. 
It   was   a   slave   who   discovered   the   diamond 
known  as  the  Regent  of  Portugal.     The  history  of 
the  stone   is  very  obscure,  and    has   been    rendered 
more  so  by  those  writers  who  have  confused  it  with 
the  Braganza.     Like  that  gem  of  doubtful  reputation, 
it  seems  to  have  been  found  in  the  year   1775,  in*  or 
near  the  river  Abaite,  a  few  miles  north  of  the  Rio 
Plata.     The  finder  was  a  poor  negro,  who  was  re- 
warded with   his  freedom,   and  a  yearly  pension   of 
;^50.     The  gem  is  of  round  shape,  weighs  215  carats, 
and  its  value  has  been  estimated  at  396,800  guineas. 


X 

THE     JAGERSFONTEIN. 

Diamond  Robberies  at  the  Cape — Receivers  and  Illicit 
Dealers  —  A  Serious  Question  for  Companies — A 
209  Carat  Stone  Stolen — Chase  of  the  Thieves — 
Smgnlar  Capture  and  Discoverj-  of  the  Stone — Life 
at  the  Diamond  Fields  —  Singular  Shopkeepers — 
Kafirs  and  their  Masters  —  The  Great  Stoue  sold 
for  £j2) — Confession  of  the  Thieves. 

URING  the  month  of  December,  1S81 
there  appeared  in  the  London  papers  a 
dispatch  from  the  Cape  Diamond  Fields 
which  stated,  in  half  a  dozen  Hnes, 
the  fact  that  two  thieves,  having  stolen  a  diamond 
of  209  carats  had  been  captured  with  the  stone 
in  their  possession.  The  story  is  interesting, 
more  particularly  as  an  illustration  of  the  risk 
in  diamond  mining  to  which  we  have  previously 
referred,  and  which  will  crop  up  again  during  our  in- 
vestigations, namely,  that  of  robbery.  From  the 
very  earliest  days  diamond  seekers,  slaves,  or  free- 
men, employed  by  princes  or  companies,  have  yielded 
to  the  temptation  of  concealing  their  most  valuable 
discoveries.  At  the  South  African  Fields  to-day  this 
incentive  to  dishonesty  is  increased  by  the  existence 
of  an  active  system  of  dealing  in  stolen  stones.  It 
is  an  axiom  of  English  law  that  tlie  receiver  is  as  bad 
as  the  thief;  but  in  Cape  Colony  the  former  seems  to 
flourish  even  more  securely  than  he  does  in  England. 


g6        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

"Illicit  Diamond  Buying"  is  quite  a  business  in 
South  Africa.  The  police  have  done  a  good  deal  to 
reduce  the  nefarious  operations  of  the  receivers  at 
Kimberley  ;  but  77/r  Friend  of  the  Free  State,  in  an 
editorial  article,  recently  complains  that  at  Jagersfon- 
tein,  the  illicit  traffic  is  carried  on  without  let  or 
hindrance.  Says  this  colonial  journal,  under  date, 
December  ist,  1881  :— "  Some  of  the  best  companies 
are  paying  out  ;^300  weekly  for  expenses,  which  is 
about  recouped  by  the  diamonds  handed  over  and 
sold  on  account  of  the  company  ;  but  there  is  little  or 
no  profit,  and,  consequently,  no  dividends.  Now,  it 
is  not  too  much  to  suspect  that  the  larger  diamonds 
are  stolen,  the  proceeds  of  sale  of  which  would, 
perhaps,  yield  a  handsome  dividend.  It  is  passing 
strange,  too,  that  Kimberley  has,  according  to  the 
telegrams  and  the  public  journals,  yielded  more 
large  white  stones  since  the  working  of  Jagers- 
fontein  than  before.  Even  the  famous  '  Porter- 
Rhodes  '  diamond  had  to  remain  in  its  matrix 
at  Kimberley,  until  Jagersfontein  produced  large 
first-water  stones  !  We  understand  from  correspon- 
dents, and  from  gentlemen  recently  from  Fauresmith 
and  Jagersfontein,  that  the  arrangements  of  the 
illicit  diamond  buying  are  perfect  between  that 
mine  and  Kimberley  ;  and,  seeing  that  the  crime  of 
illicit  diamond  buying  is  not  included  in  the  extradi- 
tion treaty  between  this  state  and  Griqualand  West, 
they  are  likely  to  remain  so  !  There  is  also  a  good 
deal  of  righteous  indignation  among  those  who  are 
claimholders,  diggers,  and  shareholders  in  the  various 
companies,  and  some  even  go  so  far  as  to  assert  that 


THE   JAGERSFONTEIN.  97 

'lynching'  is  not  too  bad  for  those  who  are  aiding 
and  abetting  '  boys  '  and  overseers  to  steal  their  em- 
ployers' goods.  We  are,  however,  afraid  that  public 
opinion  is  not  so  much  against  the  dishonest  I.  D.  B's 
as  one  would  think.  If  the  illicit  diamond  buying 
hurt  the  traders — instead  of  enriching  them  ! — as 
much  as  it  does  the  digger,  those  who  are  engaged  in 
the  unholy  traffic  would  have  been  wiped  off  the  face 
of  the  earth  long  ago.  When  all  classes  benefit  by  it, 
it  is  vain  to  expect  that  a  speedy  end  will  be  made  of 
it.  Can  this  last  long  ?  We  very  much  doubt  it,  for  the 
expenses  of  working  are  now  so  enormous  that  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  no  dividends  are  paid.  The  question 
then  arises.  How  long  will  this  state  of  things  be  per- 
mitted to  last  ?  There  are  but  two  v/ays  out  of  the 
difficulty  :  either  do  away  with  the  illicits  altogether  or 
stop  digging,  which  is  being  carried  on  at  a  loss,  even 
if  the  Kimberley,  Du  Toit's  Pan,  De  Beers  and  Jagers- 
fontein  shopkeepers  have  to  close  their  establishments, 
and  the  churches,  chapels,  clubs,  theatres,  hotels,  and 
other  public  places  of  resort  have  to  be  shut  up  alto- 
gether !  One  or  other  of  the  two  things  must  happen 
soon,  and  the  sooner  it  takes  place  the  better.  Perhaps, 
after  all,  'our  civilization  is  a  failure,'  and  the  digging 
for  diamonds  should  be  done  by  those  who  are  the 
owners  of  the  claims  ;  and  maybe  the  illicit  diamond 
buying  is  the  only  natural  outcome  of  men  wishing 
to  be  rich  without  the  trouble  of  ivorking  for  money." 
It  is  the  incident  of  the  robbery  of  the  209  carat 
stone  that  called  forth  these  remarks.  The  story  runs 
thus  :  Mr  P>ames  is  a  private  digger  at  Jagersfontcin  ; 
that  is,  he  has  a  claim  of  his  own,  apart  from  a  company 


98         THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF  THE   WORLD. 

and  employs  diggers.  On  the  15th  of  November 
he  was  informed  that  he  was  being  robbed.  It 
was  more  particularly  mentioned  that  at  that  very 
time  he  had  just  been  plundered  of  several  diamonds, 
and  among  them  one  weighing  probably  200  carats. 
On  the  follov/ing  day  the  Government  Inspector  re- 
ceived information  to  the  same  effect  from  a  different 
source.  He  and  Mr.  Frames  compared  notes,  and 
found  that  they  had  sufficient  evidence  to  justify 
them  in  having  the  suspected  parties  apprehended ;  but 
it  was  agreed,  in  order  to  secure  the  diamond,  to  give 
the  thieves  the  chance  of  getting  some  distance  on 
the  road  to  Kimberley,  where  it  was  said  they  were 
going  to  sell  it.  Several  young  men,  diggers  and 
others,  were  sent  on  and  stationed  somewhere  alone 
the  road  to  intercept  the  culprits.  The  result  is 
related  by  Mr.  G.  S.  Armstrong,  manager  of  the 
Fauresmith  Company.  He  says  :  "  I  voluntarily 
assisted  to  capture  the  accused  thieves,  Jacob  Kleb 
and  Frederick  Adamson,  A  plan  was  made  to  allow 
them  to  go  to  a  certain  distance  and  then  apprehend 
them.  The  accused  took  the  Koffyfontein  road  to 
Kimberley.  We  had  made  a  circuit,  and  were  re- 
turning, when  we  met  the  accused,  about  three  miles 
this  side  of  Swanepoel's.  The  distance  from  here  to 
Swanepoel's  is  about  four  hours  on  horseback,  or 
twenty-four  miles.  My  comrade  Dykes  and  myself 
pretended  to  be  drunk.  Kleb  asked  how  far  it  was 
to  the  house  ?  Dykes  tried  to  answer  in  Dutch, 
saying,  'a  Jdein  beitje  farder.'  Dykes'  horse  was 
almost  knocked  up.  Mine,  being  better,  I  crossed 
country  to  head  the  cart  which  Kleb  and  Adamson 


THE  JAGERSFONTEIN.  99 

were  driving,  Dykes  following  the  cart.  It  was  about 
half- past  nine  when  we  came  to  Swanepoel's.  We 
found  the  cart  outspanned,  and  sent  in  one  of  the 
other  party,  which  had  now  joined  us,  to  see  if  the 
accused  were  there.  He  gave  us  the  signal  that  they 
were.  We  went  up  to  the  door,  six  of  us,  and  went 
in.  The  two  accused  were  sitting  at  a  table  having 
a  singsong,  a  darkey  lady  sitting  on  the  right.  There 
was  also  a  travelling  Jew.  On  going  in  we  covered 
them  with  our  revolvers.  Mr.  Dykes  (who  could  not 
read  Dutch)  told  them  we  had  a  warrant  for  their 
apprehension.  Kleb  asked  for  what  ?  Mr.  Frames 
then  read  the  warrant  in  Dutch.  We  next  hand- 
cuffed the  accused.  We  took  Kleb  into  another 
room  and  searched  him,  a  few  being  left  to  guard  the 
prisoners.  We  found  no  diamonds  on  him.  We 
then  searched  Adamson,  but  found  no  diamonds  on 
him.  We  brought  the  woman  into  the  room,  and 
asked  Mrs.  Swanepoel  to  search  her.  Mrs.  Swanepoel 
said  she  was  afraid,  so  we  had  to  do  it  ourselves. 
We  found  no  diamonds  on  the  woman.  We  took  the 
others  out  of  the  room  into  the  room  where  Kleb  was. 
We  searched  carpet-bag,  &c.  Kleb's  were  the  first  we 
searched.  We  found  no  diamonds.  I  saw  a  side-bag 
lying  on  a  bed  in  another  room,  and  asked  the  woman 
if  it  was  hers  ?  The  bag  is  the  same  as  is  now  before 
the  Court.  The  woman  said  the  bag  did  not  belong 
to  her,  nor  to  Adamson.  I  picked  it  up  and  took  it 
to  the  room  where  Kleb  was.  I  asked  Kleb  if  the 
bag  belonged  to  him.  He  said,  '  yes.'  I  opened  it, 
and  pulled  out  a  silk  handkerchief,  and  then  a  pair  of 
trousers.     The  trousers  produced  by  the  Court  are 


100       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

the  same.  I  asked  Kleb  if  the  trousers  were  his  ? 
He  said,  *  Yes.'  I  put  the  trousers  on  the  table.  Mr. 
Wilson  was  by  my  side.  He  commenced  searching. 
I  was  going  to  the  other  room  when  Wilson  shouted. 
I  do  not  know  what  he  said  ;  but,  knowing  there  was 
something  up,  rushed  back.  Wilson  was  excited.  I 
don't  know  what  he  said.  I  was  also  excited.  He 
(Wilson)  had  a  diamond  in  his  hand.  I  am  not  certain 
from  whom  I  got  it,  but  I  got  hold  of  it.  Mr.  Wilson 
said  he  found  it  in  one  of  the  pockets  of  the  trousers. 
We  searched  the  cart,  after  which  we  took  the  pri- 
soners and  brought  them  back  to  Jagersfontein,  and 
handed  them  over  to  the  police." 

The  stone  weighed  209^  carats.  The  way  in 
which  information  of  its  existence  and  robbery  was 
obtained,  may  be  gathered  from  the  evidence  given 
before  the  police  magistrate,  by  a  Mr.  Phillip  Anthony 
Rivers,  who  related  how  he  went  into  a  drinking  shop 
where  Adamson  and  others  were  talking  about 
diamonds.  They  openly  spoke  of  a  large  stone  which 
Kleb  was  going  to  take  to  Kimberley.  Adamson 
keeps  a  shop  opposite  to  the  one  of  which  Rivers  is 
the  owner.  One  night  after  the  conversation  referred 
to,  he  says  : — "  I  remember  a  kafir  coming  to  me  one 
night,  between  nine  and  ten.  The  kafir  asked  me  the 
price  of  a  blanket.  I  showed  him  one.  He  said  he 
would  come  some  other  day  and  buy  it.  I  looked  at 
him,  he  made  sign  and  said, '  Baas,  I  want  to  see  you.' 
He  went  out  of  my  shop,  and  I  followed.  He  said  he 
had  something,  but  was  afraid  of  me.  I  asked  him 
hoAv  it  Avas  he  was  afraid  of  me  ?  '  Why,  because,' 
he  replied,  '  I  have  been  to  the  other  shop,'  pointing 


THE  JAGERSFONTEIN.  lOI 

to  Adamson's,  '  and  it  is  closed.'  I  told  him  to  show 
me  what  he  had  got.  He  said  it  was  a  large  diamond, 
and  showed  me  the  bowl  of  his  pipe,  and  said  it  was 
as  large  as  that.  I  told  him  to  take  it  out  and  show 
it  to  me.  He  said,  '  No,  I  am  afraid.'  Afterwards 
he  said  he  would  go  and  fetch  the  diamond,  which  was 
hidden  under  a  stone.  I  was  not  to  go  to  sleep  ;  he 
would  be  back  presently.  As  he  passed  Adamson's 
door  it  opened,  and  a  kafir  came  out  by  the  name  of 
Woolwash,  I  think.  The  two  talked  a  short  time,  and 
then  went  into  Adamson's  shop.  The  other  side-door 
of  the  shop  opened  shortly  afterwards.  I  saw  the 
same  boy  that  had  been  with  me  come  out.  I  knew 
him  by  his  white  trowsers,  which  had  stripes  on  them. 
Two  other  kafirs  also  came  out.  The  first  passed  the 
dwelling-house  of  Adamson.  I  saw  men  going  to 
Adamson's  house.  The  dwelling-house  is  about  five 
yards  from  the  shop.  A  little  time  afterwards  the  kafir 
who  had  the  stone  returned  to  Adamson's  shop.  He 
went  in  at  the  back  door.  My  boy  (a  Bushman)  was 
with  me.  I  told  him  he  might  go  to  bed.  Next 
morning  I  asked  my  boy  if  he  had  seen  the  kafir  who 
had  the  big  diamond  ?  He  said  he  had  seen  him  in 
Adamson's  place,  and  saw  him  go  to  the  tent  where 
Adamson's  kafirs  stayed.  I  sent  my  boy  to  the 
tent  to  tell  the  kafir  I  wanted  to  see  him.  My  boy 
came  back  and  told  me  the  kafir  would  not  come. 
I  stood  on  my  stoop  and  watched,  and  saw  the 
boy  going  to  Adamson's  shop.  I  called  out  to  him 
'how  is  it  with  the  big  diamond  you  did'nt  bring?' 
He  said,  '  It's  too  late,  the  baas  has  the  diamond,' 
pointing  to  Adamson's  shop.     I  asked  him  if  he  had 


102        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF    THE   WORLD. 

sold  it?  He  replied,  yes.  I  asked  how  much  he  got 
for  it.      He  answered,  it  was  not  yet  all  settled. 

It  created  quite  a  sensation  in  court  when  it  was 
proved  that  Adamson  only  gave  £  1 5  for  the  stone  ; 
while  from  further  evidence  it  was  shown  that  he 
expected  to  get  ;^5000  for  it  at  Kimberley, 

Since  the  committal  of  the  prisoners  for  trial,  they 
have  confessed  to  having  sold  within  the  last  two 
months,  diamonds  of,  respectively,  65,  10,  and  2\ 
carats  in  weight  for  ;i^i,200  ;  and  two  of  19^  carats 
each,  and  one  of  2ii  carats  for  /"o/S  at  Kimberley. 


X. 

THE    ORLOFF. 


Royal  Lover's  Gift  —  Prince  Orloff  and  the  Czarina 
Catharine — An  Imperial  Gem — Fable  of  the  Temple 
of  Brama — A  French  Grenadier's  Plot — The  costly  Eye 
of  an  Idol  stolen — A  Great  Diamond  on  its  Travels — 
The  Adventurer,  Khojeh  Raphael — Prmce  Orloff  Pur- 
chases the  Gem  to  restore  his  favour  at.Court — ;fgo,ooo 
and  ;^'4,ooo  a  year  is  paid  for  the  Stone — Another  Grena- 
dier— The  PeacockThrone — Shah  Jehan again — A  Mer- 
chant Adventurer  and  Warrior — The  desolating  war 
of  the  Deccan — Royal  Freebooters — A  tragic  end — 
The  Koh-i-  N ur  and  Koh-i-Tur — The  M oon  of  M ountains. 


HE  rays  of  light  which  penetrate  this 
brilh'ant  arc  not  more  deflected,  dis- 
torted, and  confusing  than  is  the  history 
of  the  birth  and  early  destination  of 
the  gem  ;  and  to  add  still  more  to  the  perplexity, 
there  is  inseparably  attached  to  its  very  name  a 
scandal  which,  like  the  stone  itself,  appears  to  be 
about  the  only  solid  reality  on  which  we  can  rest. 
Prince  Orloff's  love  intrigue  with  the  Czarina, 
Catherine  the  Second  of  Russia,  is  a  well-known 
page  in  the  history  of  Imperial  courts.*  The  tem- 
porary cloud  that  gathered  about  his  relations  with 


*  Oflov,  sometimes  spelt  Orloff,  and  generally  pronounced  Arloff,  is 
the  name  of  a  family  remarkable  in  Russian  history.  Its  founder  was  a 
certain  Ivan  Orel,  or  Eagle,  who  in  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great,  was  a 
private  soldier  among  the  Strelitzes,  or  Archers,  who  formed  a  body  in  the 
Rus-ian,  analogous  to  tlie  Janissaries  in  the  Turkish  empire.  At  tlie  time 
their  destruction  was  accomplished,  Peter  the  Great  employed  himself  in 
beheading  many  of  them  with  his  own  hand,  on  a  long  beam  of  wood, 
which  served  as  a  block  for  several  at  a  time.     It  is  a  current  story  in 


104       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

his  royal  mistress  was  dispelled  by  the  brilliant  rays 
of  a  lover's  gift,  dazzling  enough  for  Gcethe  to  have 
made  it  the  pendant  that  tempted  Marguerite. 

In  every  respect  the  Orloff  is  the  most  remark- 
able of  the  great  Russian  diamonds.  It  forms  the 
chief  ornament  in  the  Imperial  sceptre.  From  this 
circumstance  it  is  sometimes  called  the  "  Sceptre  " 
diamond.  Its  position  is  immediately  beneath  the 
golden  eagle,  which  surmounts  the  symbol  of  regal 


Russia,  that  Ivan  was  one  of  those  doomed  to  death,  and  that  on  being 
called  on  to  kneel  down  to  receive  the  blow,  he  kicked  away  a  head  which 
was  still  remaining  on  the  beam,  with  the  observation,  '■^  If  this  is  my  place. 
It  ought  to  be  clear!'  Struck  with  his  coolness,  Peter  spared  the  intended 
victim's  life  and  placed  him  in  a  regiment  of  the  line,  where  by  his 
bravery,  he  won  his  way  to  the  rank  of  officer,  which  brought  with  it  that 
oi  noble.  His  son  Gregory  Ivanovich,  rose  to  be  governor  of  Novgorod 
and  had  five  sons,  of  whom  two  were  especially  lemarkable.  Gregory 
Gregoryevich  Orlov,  born  in  1734,  entered  the  army,  was  engaged  in 
tlie  Seven  Years'  War,  and  was  sent  to  St.  Petersburg  with  Count 
Schwerin,  at  the  time  the  Count  was  taken  prisoner.  The  Grand 
Duchess  Catherine,  at  that  time  the  wife  of  the  heir  to  the  throne,  saw 
Orlov,  who  was  distinguished  tor  the  manly  beauty  of  his  person,  and  he 
became  her  favourite.  'I'he  Orlovs.  both  Gregory  and  his  brother,  took 
part  in  the  sudden  revolution  of  the  9th  of  .'uly,  1762,  which  put  an  end  to 
the  short  reign  of  Peter  111.,  and  raised  his  wife — soon  to  become  his  widow 
— to  the  throne  as  the  Empress  Catherine.  After  that  event,  honours  were 
showered  upon  Orlov,  who  was  the  father  of  the  Empress's  child,  the  Count 
Eobrinski.  He  aspired  to  become  her  acknowledged  husband,  and  share 
the  throne,  but  this  wish,  which  was  apparently  at  times,  near  to  its  ac- 
complishment, was  finally  thwarted  by  the  opposition  of  her  advisers,  if  not 
by  her  own  reluctance.  In  1771,  Orlov  really  distinguished  himself  by  the 
judjiment  and  energy  of  his  measures  against  the  plague  in  Moscow, 
whither  he  repaired  in  person,  to  give  orders  on  the  spot,  at  the  time  the 
epidemic  was  raging,  in  the  next  year  his  haughtiness  and  assumption  in 
negociating  with  the  Turks  at  'i'okshani,  occasioned  affairs  to  take  a  bad 
turn,  and  he  himself  broke  otf  the  Conferences  to  hasten  back  to  St. 
Petersburg,  on  hearing  that,  during  his  absence,  he  was  being  supplanted 
by  a  fresh  favourite.  He  was  met  on  his  way  by  the  Empress's  orders,  to 
repair  to  his  seat  at  Gatchina,  and  she  afterwards  sent  him  to  the  palace  ot 
'I'sarskoe  Selo,  where  he  lived  in  oriental  splendour,  received  the  title  of 
Prince,  and  was  addressed  as  "  Your  Highness."  When  Potemken  rose 
to  the  height  of  power,  Orlov  married,  and  travelled  abroad,  but  lost  his 
wife,  returned  to  St.  Petersburg,  where  he  resided  at  the  Marble  Palace, 
which  had  been  presented  to  him  by  the  Empress,  and  finally  died  in  1783 
after  having  been  for  some  time  out  of  his  %tmK%.—  Etiglish  Cyclopedia, 


THE   ORLOFF.  IO5 

power.  It  is  also  occasionally  spoken  of  as  the  "  Am- 
sterdam," from  the  place  where  it  was  purchased  for 
the  Russian  crown,  under  circumstances  which  will 
be  hereafter  detailed.  In  size,  it  ranks  first  amongst 
European  gems ;  in  beauty  it  yields  only  to  the 
"  Regent,"  while  for  romantic  interest  it  rivals  the 
"  Koh-i-Nur"  itself.  Its  early  history  is  involved  in 
great  obscurity,  and  seems  to  have  got  somehow  in- 
extricably involved  in  that  of  the  "  Moon  of  Moun- 
tains," another  great  diamond  in  the  Russian  regalia. 
The  "  Moon  of  Mountains,"  however,  reached  Europe 
through  Persia,  whereas,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
the  "Orloff"  found  its  way  direct  from  India  to  Holland 
and  thence  to  Russia.  In  all  current  accounts  of  its 
original  discovery,  however,  the  circumstances  are 
related  in  such  a  confused  way,  that  it  has  hitherto  been 
impossible  to  fix  its  first  definite  appearance.  The 
date  of  its  arrival  in  Europe,  and  of  its  purchase  by 
Prince  Orloff  for  the  Empress  Catherine  II.,  are  demon- 
strated by  the  subjoined  passage  from  a  letter  dated 
January  2nd,  1776,  from  the  Hague,  and  quoted  by 
Boyle  in  the  Museuui  Britannicum  (London,  1791)  : 
— "  We  learn  from  Amsterdam  that  Prince  Orlow* 
made  but  one  da)''s  stay  in  that  city,  where  he  bought 
a  very  large  brilliant  for  the  Empress,  his  sovereign, 
for  which  he  paid  to  a  Persian  merchant  there  the 
sum  of  1,400,000  florins,  Dutch  money.  A  florin  in 
Holland  is  valued  at  2od." 

Dutens,  writing  about  this  time,  tells  us  that  "  this 


*  This  is  the  German  spelling,  to  be  pronounced  Orlov,  or  rather 
Arlov,  w  in  that  language  being  equivalent  to  our  v.  But  the  true  Russian 
sound  seems  best  represented  by/or  f,  hence  the  general  form  Orloff' 


I06       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF  THE  WORLD. 

diamond  was  said  to  have  formed  one  of  the  eyes  of 
the  famous  statue  of  Scheringam  in  the  Temple  of 
Brama."*  These  words — "  un  des  yeux  de  la  fameuse 
statue  de  Scheringam  dans  le  Temple  de  Brama," 
have  been  copied,  with  the  usual  variations  by  subse- 
quent writers,  who  have  seldom  asked  themselves 
what  this  "  famous  statue  of  Scheringam  "  could  be, 
or  where  "  the  Temple  of  Brama,"  was  situated, 
which  contained  it.  The  word  in  Kluge  becomes 
"  Sherigan,"  while  in  King  it  assumes  the  form 
of  "  Sheringham,  and,  from  a  statue  or  idol,  is 
transformed  to  a  town.f  But  after  a  careful  investi- 
gation of  all  the  circumstances  we  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  never  was  a  statue  or  idol  named 
Scheringam  or  Sherigan,  nor  any  town  named  Sher- 
ingham. The  true  form  of  the  word  seems  unquestion- 
ably to  be  Srirangam,  in  English  usually  written 
Seringham,  and  this  Seringham  is  neither  a  statue,  an 
idol,  nor  a  town,  but  a  fortified  island  in  Mysore, 
formed  by  the  river  Cavery  and  its  branch  the 
Colerun,  two  miles  north  of  Trichinopoly.  At  the 
western  extremity  of  this  island  stands  a  magnificent 
pagoda  or  Hindu  temple,  with  seven  distinct  enclo- 
sures, lofty  towers,  a  gilded  cupola,  and  numerous 
dwellings  of  Brahmins,  the  whole  enclosed  within  an 
outer  wall  some  four  miles  in  circumference.  This  is 
the  Hindu  temple  that  has  been  transformed  to  the 
"  statue  of  Scheringham,"  and  town  of  "  Sheringham," 


*  Des   Pier  res  Precieuses  et  des  Pier  res  Fines — Nouvelle  edition, 
Florence,  1783. 

f  The  expression  in  King  is  ''  one  of  the  eyes  ot  the  gicat  idol  at 
Sheringham." 


THE   ORLOFF.  107 

from  the  chief  idol  in  which  was  abstracted  the  "Orlofif" 
Diamond.  According  to  Dutens'  account,  a  French 
grenadier,  having  deserted  the  Indian  service,  found 
employment  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  temple, 
where  he  soon  learnt  from  native  report  that  the 
sacred  edifice  contained  a  celebrated  idol  of  the 
Hindu  god  Sri-Ranga,*  whose  eyes  were  formed  by 
two  large  diamonds  of  inestimable  value.  These  he 
determined  to  seize,  but  no  Christians  being  admitted 
beyond  the  fourth  enclosure  of  the  pagoda,  in  order 
to  effect  his  purpose  he  assumed  the  character  of  a 
native  devotee,  and  affected  great  veneration  for  this 
particular  divinity.  By  this  means  he  gradually 
secured  the  unlimited  confidence  of  the  unsuspecting 
Brahmins,  and  at  last  procured  the  appointment  of 
guardian  to  the  inner  shrine  containing  the  object  of 
his  special  attentions.  Taking  advantage  of  a  stormy 
night,  he  laid  sacrilegious  hands  on  the  deity  entrusted 
to  his  watchful  care,  and  wrenched  one  of  the  glitter- 
ing eyes  from  its  socket,  leaving  the  other  undisturbed, 
either  because  he  was  interrupted  at  his  work,  or 
because  he  discovered  that  the  corresponding  orb 
was  mere  "  paste."  With  his  costly  prize  he  escaped 
through  the  raging  tempest  to  the  English  army, 
then    encamped    at    Trichinopoly,-f-    and    thence    to 


*  Whence  tlie  name  of  the  island,  Srirangam,  in  which  the  temple 
was  situated.  The  same  divinity  p;ives  his  name  to  the  still  more  famous 
city  of  SeriHgapatam,  that  is,  Sri-Ranga-Pattan,  or  "  City  of  Sri-Ranga," 
which  is  also  situated  in  Mysore,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  same  river 
Cavery,  but  much  nearer  its  source. 

f  Dutens  (p.  37)  writes  •' Ti  ichinapeuty,"  a  place  which  lias  no 
existence  except  in  the  works  on  precious  stones  published  since  the  time 
of  that  writer.  Dutens  also  speaks  of  a  town  called  Gondeleur,  through 
which  the  grenadier  passed  on  his  way  to  Madras.  This  town  I  have 
failed    to    identify,   unless   it   be   the   Gudaluni  of   the   natives    (Angelice 


I08       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

Madras,  where  he  was  glad  to  dispose  of  the  gem  for 
;^2,ooo,  to  an  English  sea  captain,  who  brought  it  to 
London,  where  he  sold  it  to  a  Jew  for  ;^i 2,000.  Here 
the  story  again  becomes  clouded,  and  in  fact  mixed 
up  with  the  adventures  of  the  "  Moon  of  Mountains." 
The  Armenian,  Shafrass,  who,  as  will  be  presently 
seen,  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  "  Orloff,"  is  suddenly 
introduced,  instead  of  a  Persian  merchant,  who  pur- 
chased this  stone  from  the  Jew,  and  brought  it  to 
Amsterdam.  The  merchant  here  referred  to  was 
probably  the  notorious  Khojeh  Raphael,  of  Armenian 
extraction,  but  born  at  Julfa,  a  suburb  of  Ispahan. 
This  Khojeh  was  some  years  afterwards  met  in 
Leghorn  by  the  Persian  traveller,  Mirza  Abu  Taleb 
Khan,  who  describes  him  as  "a  complete  old  scoundrel, 
who  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  the  world,  and  understood 
a  number  of  languages.  He  had  left  Persia  when  a 
young  man,  and  had  gone  by  sea  to  Surat ;  thence 
across  the  peninsula  to  Bengal.  After  residing  there 
some  time  he  made  a  voyage  to  England,  and  from 
that  country  went  to  Russia ;  and  after  travelling 
over  great  part  of  Europe,  at  length  settled  as  a  mer- 
chant in  Leghorn."* 

It  was  on  his  way  from  England  to  Russia  that 
Khojeh  met  Prince  Orloff  in  Amsterdam,  and  induced 
him  to  purchase  the  Indian  gem  for  his  mistress,  the 


Ccdalor  or  Gudalur),  which  lies  on  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  15  miles  S.S.W.  of 
Pondicherry,  and  about  midway  between  Tiichinopoly  and  Madras.  It 
the  surmise  be  correct,  the  mention  of  such  a  place  would  go  far  to 
strengthen  the  verisimilitude  of  Dutens'  story,  on  which  much  needless 
discredit  has  been  thrown.  It  would  have  been  a  most  likely  place  for  the 
Frenchman  to  have  passed  through  on  his  way  to  Madras. 

*    Travels  m  Asia,  Africa,  and  Eurobe — London,    1814,   Vol,  II., 
p.  301. 


THE  ORLOFF.  I09 

Czarina,  Catherine  II.  Orlofif  was  himself  at  the 
time  also  on  his  travels.  Having  fallen  under  the 
displeasure  of  Catherine,  he  had  absented  him- 
self from  Court  until  the  storm  should  blow  over. 
Khojeh's  offer  was  now  eagerly  accepted,  as  afford- 
ing an  excellent  opportunity  for  recovering  the 
favor  of  the  empress,  who  is  reported  to  have  already 
declined  the  purchase  as  too  costly,  but  who  now 
accepted  the  jewel  at  the  hands  of  her  illustrious 
subject.  Orloff  paid  the  merchant  ^^"90,000  in  cash, 
besides  procuring  him  an  annuity  of  ;f  4,000.  Accord- 
ing to  some  accounts  a  patent  of  nobility  was  added. 
But  it  will  be  seen  that  this  honour  was  reserved  for 
the  Armenian,  Shafrass,  in  connection  with  the  "  Moon 
of  Mountains  "  diamond.  Some  writers  also  state  that 
the  "  Orlofif"  was  at  one  time  set  in  the  throne  of  Nadir 
Shah,  and  that  after  his  murder  it  was  stolen  by  a 
French  grenadier,  who  escaped  with  it  to  Madras. 
In  order  to  substantiate  this  story,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  assume  that  there  were  two  French 
grenadiers  concerned  in  the  theft  of  two  of  the  largest 
diamonds  in  the  world,  that  both  of  them  fled  to 
Madras,  and  that  both  also  sold  their  plunder  for  the 
the  same  sum  of  ;^2,ooo  to  an  English  skipper.  Of 
course  nobody  will  believe  this,  and  we  shall  see  that 
Nadir  Shah's  gem  was  not  taken  to  India,  but 
from  India,  and  that  no  French  grenadier  was  con- 
cerned in  its  theft. 

King  writes  "  certain  it  is  that  Nadir  Shah 
brought  the  "  Orlofif"  back  amongst  the  spoils  of  Delhi, 
along  with  the  "  Koh-i  Nur."  This  statement  must 
also  be  rejected  as  absolutely  erroneous,  originating 


no      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

out  of  the  Strange  muddle  in  which  the  stories  of  the 
"Orloff"  and  "Moon  of  Mountains"  have  become 
involved,  and  from  which  our  accounts  of  the  two 
stones  will,  we  trust,  finally  rescue  them. 

Professor  Maskelyne,  who  carefully  examined  it, 
assured  Kingthat  the  "Orloff "  was  an  Indian  cut  stone, 
all  the  facets  exhibiting  the  blunt  edges  and  rounded 
surfaces  that  mark  the  style.  Concentrated  rows  of 
triangular  facets  are  disposed  on  the  upper  surface, 
and  corresponding  four-sided  facets  on  the  lower  sur- 
face. It  is  about  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg,  with  a 
slight  yellow  tinge,  and  in  shape  so  like  Tavernier's 
"  Great  Mogul,"  that  some  writers  have  supposed  the 
two  may  be  one  and  the  same  stone.  But  this  theory 
cannot  be  seriously  entertained  in  the  face  of  the  vast 
difference  in  their  respective  sizes,  the  "  Great  Mogul  " 
weighing  280,  and  the  "  Orloff"  193  carats  only.  Nor 
is  it  to  be  supposed  that  the  former,  after  leaving 
Borgio's  hands,  was  without  any  obvious  motive, 
again  entrusted  to  a  cutter,  and  by  him  reduced  by 
87  carats,  while  preserving  its  exact  shape  and  out- 
lines. Otherwise  it  is  conceivable  that  after  the  sack 
of  Delhi  by  Nadir  Shah,  the  "  Great  Mogul  "  might 
have  found  its  way  from  the  Imperial  treasury  to  the 
far-famed  temple  of  Sri-Ranga  in  Mysore. 

The  true  name  of  the  "  Orloff"  is  said  to  be  the 
"  Koh-i-Tur,"  or  "  Mount  Sinai,"  a  circumstance  which 
lands  us  in  fresh  difficulties  ;  for  Aurung-zeb  is  re- 
ported to  have  possessed  a  large  diamond  of  this 
name,  which  he  set  in  one  of  the  eyes  of  the  peacock 
overshadowing  his  throne.  On  this  point  Murray 
quotes  the  subjoined  curious  passage  from  a  manuscript 


THE   ORLOFF.  Ill 

paper  by  Mr.  Whittaker,  son  of  the  historian  of  Craven, 
who  had  long  resided  in  India : — 

"  The  Prince  Aulumgeer  (Aurung-zeb)  in  1658 
deposed  his  father  Shah  Jehan,  emperor  of  Delhi,  and 
usurped  his  throne.  He  caused  to  be  constructed  the 
famous  '  Takht-i-Taus,'  or  '  Peacock  Throne/  which 
represented  in  appropriate  jewels  a  peacock  with  its 
head  overlooking,  and  its  raised  and  spread  tail  over- 
shadowing the  person  of  the  emperor  when  sitting  on 
the  throne.  The  natural  hues  of  the  bird  were  ex- 
quisitely imitated  by  the  richest  gems  of  the  world,  and 
the  eyes  were  supplied  by  two  celebrated  diamonds,  the 
largest  known,  called  (as  every  Asiatic  double  name 
must  have  a  jingle)  '  Koh-i-Nur,'  the  Mountain  of 
Light,  and  '  Koh-i-Tur,'  the  Mountain  of  Sinai. 
Having  completed  this  throne,  relinquishing  the  name 
of  Aulumgeer,  or  '  Grasper  of  the  Globe,'  he  assumed 
that  of  Aurung-zeb,  or  '  Ornament  of  the  Throne.' 
He  died  in  1707,  aged  87,  and  his  throne  remained  in 
possession  of  his  successors  till  1728,*  when  Nadir 
Shah  invaded  Hindoostan,  took  and  plundered  Delhi, 
and  massacred  125,000  men,  women,  and  children. 
Together  with  sixty  millions  of  other  plunder,  he 
carried  off,  and  broke  up  the  Peacock  throne,  but 
being  assassinated  on  his  return  towards  Persia  in 
1729,  his  treasures  fell  to  general  Ahmed,  Chief  of 
the  Abdalli  Afghans,  of  Cabul,  called  also  the 
Durani,  from  each  man  wearing  a  dur,  or  pearl,  in 


*  These  dates,  like  some  of  the  facts  here  mentioned,  are  wild. 
Nadir  Shah  sacked  Dellii,  not  in  1718,  but  in  1739,  and  the  date  of  his 
death  was  1747,  not  1729.  Nor  was  he  assassinated  on  his  return  towards 
Persia,  but  fully  eight  years  after  his  return  to  Persia. 


112       THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE   WORLD. 

the  right  ear.*  He  seized  on  the  throne  of  Cabul, 
and  in  the  confusion  of  this  exploit  the  '  Koh-i-Tur ' 
was  lost  for  ever." 

The  truth  of  this  notable  summary  of  a  very 
complex  page  of  history  is  discounted  by  the  fact 
that  the  dates  and  the  supposed  occurence  do  not 
agree.  First  in  reference  to  Shah  Jehan  and  his 
family  in  the  year  1658  ;  the  desolating  wars  in  the 
Deccan,  which  raged  from  the  Nerbudda  to  the 
Kistna,  were  at  that  period  in  their  fiercest  phase. 
Nominally  the  diamond  merchant  Jemla  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  invading  forces  of  the  Emperor,  although 
Shah  Jehan's  third  son  Aurung-zeb  was  the  virtual 
conductor  of  the  expedition.  Emir  Jemla,  the  mer- 
chant, was  a  Persian  who  had  not  only  become  a 
resident  at  the  Court  of  the  sovereign  of  Golconda 
(Kootb),  but  was  advanced  by  him  to  offices  of 
high  command,  and  had  successfully  conducted  this 
monarch's  wars  for  several  years  in  the  Carnatic, 
where  he  had  gathered  spoils  of  immense  value. 
The  sovereign  and  his  favourite  fell  out,  as  free- 
booters have  often  done  before  in  regard  to  the 
division  of  their  spoil.  Thereupon  the  diamond  mer- 
chant Jemla  threw  himself  on  Aurung-zeb,  then  44 
years  of  age,  and  in  the  very  prime  of  life.  Jemla 
persuaded  the  prince  to  attack  his  old  master  Kootb, 


*  This  is  also  a  mistake.  The  Abdah  or  Avdali  Afghans  took  their 
present  name  of  Duranis,  not  from  the  mytliical  circumstance  here  men- 
tioned, but  from  the  title  of  Diir-i-Duran,  or  "Pearl  of  the  Age  '  assumed 
by  Ahmed  Khan,  chief  of  the  Popalzae  branch  of  that  tribe,  when  he 
usurped  the  throne  of  Kandahar,  on  the  death  of  Nadir,  in  1747.  The 
Duranis  form  a  very  large  section  of  the  Alghan  nation,  numbering 
altogtther  according  to  Thornton  about  800,000,  rather  too  large  a 
population  to  be  kept  supplied  with  a  stock  o(  pearl*  to  be  worn  in  the 
ght  lar, 


THE   ORLOFF.  II3 

and  represented  the  value  of  the  loot  the  prince  would 
acquire,  and  the  importance  of  such  untold  treasure 
in  prosecuting  his  ambitious  projects.  Kootb,  how- 
ever, offered  Aurung-zeb  prodigious  wealth  in  dia- 
monds and  specie  to  leave  his  kingdom  unmolested, 
and  threatened  Jemla  with  the  death  of  his  son  (whom 
Kootb  had  seized  and  cast  into  prison),  unless  the 
terms  were  accepted.  Aurung-zeb  declined  the  pro- 
posal, and  entrusted  to  Mohammed,  his  eldest  son,  the 
conduct  of  the  war.  The  young  warrior,  with  Jemla, 
set  fire  to  the  city  of  Golconda  and  murdered  its 
inhabitants.  As  the  King  retreated  to  the  old  city  he 
was  closely  followed  by  young  Mohammed.  Kootb 
was  at  the  mercy  of  the  victorious  prince,  who  would 
have  slain  him  but  for  the  intercession  of  his 
daughter,  whom  Mohammed  wedded  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  slaughter  and  desolation  of  the  royal 
house.  Within  a  few  months  the  dependent  king  of 
Beejapoor  died,  and  his  throne  being  filled  without 
reference  to  the  Emperor,  Shah  Jehan,  the  Deccan 
was  again  subject  to  the  horrors  of  war. 

From  this  period  to  1666  (nine  years)  the 
internecine  strife  for  supremacy  under  the  nominal 
sovereignty  of  their  father,  Shah  Jehan's  four  sons, 
Dara,  Shooja,  Aurung-zeb,  and  Murad  were  in  per- 
petual strife.  The  star  of  Aurung-zeb  soon  showed 
itself  in  the  ascendant.  Shah  Jehan  and  his  youngest 
son  Murad  were  now  virtually  prisoners  of  Aurung- 
reb.  Dara,  his  elder  brother,  had  been  conquered, 
and  was  in  flight,  and  Shooja  was  in  arms  ready  to 
attack  Aurung-zeb,  who  had  seized  the  power  of 
the   throne,  though   vehemently  asserting  his    utter 


114       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF  THE   WORLD. 

indifference  to  its  honours  or  observances,  and  Shooja 
marched  to  Allahabad.  Shah  Jehan,  with  Murad, 
was  within  the  walls  of  Agra,  where  he  died  in  1666, 
and  all  of  his  family  having  been  cut  off  either  by  the 
prowess  or  duplicity  of  Aurung-zeb,  he  became  abso- 
lute master  of  the  situation. 

It  might  be  that  a  viusmid,  ornamented  with  a 
peacock  made  of  gems,  was  ordered  to  be  made 
by  Aurung-zeb,  but  it  is  far  more  like  the  act  of  his 
vain-glorious  father.  Shah  Jehan.  The  story  about 
the  two  eyes  being  the  "  Koh-i-Nur,"  and  the  "  Koh-i- 
Tur  "  is  discredited  by  Murray,  who,  discussing  the 
MS.  quoted  by  Whittaker  says  :  "  It  will  be  perceived 
that  the  two  diamonds  which  are  referred  to,  are  by 
no  means  '  the  largest  known,'  and  the  '  Koh-i-Tur,' 
plundered  by  Nadir  Shah,  safely  reposes  among  the 
crown  jewels  of  Russia,  weighs  193  carats,  and  is 
valued  at  ;^ 369,800."  This  description  corresponds 
exactly  with  the  "Orloff,"  which  Murray  thus  identifies 
with  a  stone  called  the  "  Koh-i-Tur,"  carried  off  from 
the  Delhi  treasury,  where  it  formed  a  companion  to 
the  "Koh-i-Nur."  On  this  it  will  be  sufficient  to  observe 
that  the  "Koh-i-Nur"  was  unknown  to  the  Mogul 
emperors  by  this  name,  which  was  conferred  on  it 
by  Nadir  Shah  himself  when  first  he  set  eyes  on  it. 
Hence  Whittaker's  statement  regarding  a  corre- 
sponding "  Koh-i-Tur,"  so  entitled  because,  "  every 
Asiatic  double  name  must  have  a  jingle,"  loses  its 
point,  and  the  title  of  "  Koh-i-Tur,"  now  applied  to  the 
"  Orloff,"  does  not  enable  us  to  identify  this  gem 
with  one  of  that  name  wrongly  assumed  to  have 
been   owned  by  Aurung-zeb,     We   must    therefore. 


THE   ORLOFF.  II5 

until  the  story  of  the  French  grenadier  is  shown  to 
be  a  pure  fabrication,  maintain  that  the  "  Orloff "  glit- 
tered in  the  eye,  not  of  Aurung-zeb's  peacock,  but  of 
the  idol  Sri-Ranga,  and  that  it  reached  Europe,  not 
from  Delhi  via  Persia,  but  from  Mysore,  via  Madras. 

Mawe,  who  had  also  confused  the  stories  of  the 
"Orloff"  and  "Moon  of  Mountains,"  in  the  first 
edition  of  the  Treaty  on  Diamonds,  subsequently 
discovered  his  mistake,  and  at  p.  42  of  the  second 
edition  of  that  work,  (London,  1823),  inserted  the 
subjoined  paragraph  : — "  In  a  former  edition  I  stated 
that  this  diamond  belonged  to  Nadir  Shah,  but  this 
may  be  doubted,  as  the  Asiatics  rarely  part  with 
diamonds  of  a  large  size  ;  nor  do  I  believe  that  a 
single  instance  of  the  kind  is  known  to  have  occurred." 

The  account  given  by  Pallas  of  the  "Orloff" 
will  be  noticed  when  we  come  to  treat  of  the  "  Moon 
of  Mountains." 


XI. 

THE  KOH-I-NUR.* 


The  Great  Diamond  of  History  and  Romance  " — Strange 
but  True — Fact  and  Fable — An  Extravagant  Tradition 
— "One  Long  Romance  of  Five  Centuries  " — Tricks  of 
Eastern  Friendship — Exchanging  Turbans — The  Piti- 
ful Story  of  Shah  Rokh — A  Factor  of  War  and  Murder, 
the  Stone  Carries  a  Curse — Built  up  in  a  Prison 
Wall — A  Pathetic  Incident — Eastern  Reverence  for 
Gems — The  Supposed  Talisman  of  Victory  brings 
Defeat — Annexation  of  the  Punjaub  to  the  British 
Empire — Confiscation  of  the  Crown  Jewels  of  Lahore 
to  the  East  India  Company — The  Greatest  Gem  of 
all  Presented  to  the  Queen  —  Its  Character  and 
Appearance  —  It  is  Re-cut  on  the  Advice  of  the 
Prince  Consort — The  Koh-i-Nur  at  last  a  Token  of 
Liberty  and  Peace. 


HIS  is  pre-eminently  the  "  Great  Dia- 
mond of  history  and  romance."  Its 
stirring  adventures,  when  divorced  from 
all  connection  with  Tavernier's  "  Great 
Mogul,"  become  intelligible  enough.  The  first  dis- 
tinct and  authentic  reference  to  the  "Koh-i-Nur" occurs 
in  the  subjoined  passage  from  the  Memoirs  of  Sultan 
Baber,  the  author  of  which  was  a  direct  descendant  of 
Tamerlane,  and  founder  of  the  so-called  Mogul  Empire 


*  It  will  interest  the  reader  to  know  that  Her  Majesty  the  Queen 
graciously  read  this  chapter  in  manuscript,  without  requesting  any  cor- 
rection or  alteration  in  the  leading  points  of  our  history.  No  one,  we 
believe,  has  studied  more  carefully  the  records  of  India  than  the  Queen,  and 
on  this  account  we  felt  that  Her  Majesty  would  be  pleased  to  recognise  our 
effort  to  tell  the  complete  story  of  the  Koh-i-Nur,  so  far  as  to  permit  us  to 
submit  the  MS.  for  her  approval.  This  does  not,  of  course,  pledge  Her 
Majesty  to  an  endor'=ement  of  the  facts,  but  it  is,  to  some  extent,  an  added 
S^uarantee  of  the  correctness  of  our  researches,  and  it  gives  a  lustre  to  our 
work,  for  which  we  are  loyally  grateful. 


THE   KOH-I-NUR  117 

in  Hindostan.  Under  the  date  of  May  4,  1526,  the 
Sultan  writes  : — 

"  Bikermajit,  a  Hindoo,  who  was  Rajah  of 
Gvvahor,  had  governed  that  country  for  upwards 
of  a  hundred  years.  In  the  battle*  in  which  Ibrahim 
was  defeated,  Bikermajit  was  sent  to  hell.f  Biker- 
majit's  family,  and  the  heads  of  his  clan  were  at  this 
moment  in  Agra.  When  Humaiunt  arrived,  Bikcr- 
majit's  people  attempted  to  escape,  but  were  taken 
by  the  parties  which  Humaiun  had  placed  upon  the 
watch,  and  put  in  custody.  Humaiun  did  not  permit 
them  to  be  plundered.  Of  their  own  free  will  they 
presented  to  Humaiun  a  '  peshkesh '  (tribute  or  pre- 
sent), consisting  of  a  quantity  of  jewels  and  precious 
stones.  Among  these  was  one  famous  diamond, 
which  had  been  acquired  by  Sultan  Ala-ed-din.  It 
is  so  valuable  that  a  judge  of  diamonds  valued  it  at 
half  of  the  daily  expense  of  the  whole  world.  It  is 
about  eight  mishkels.  On  my  arrival,  Humaiun  pre- 
sented it  to  me  as  a  peshkesh,  and  I  gave  it  back  to 
him  as  a  present.'' 

That  the  diamond  here  referred  to  is  the 
"  Koh-i-Nur,"  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  ; 
nor  indeed  has  the  fact  ever  been  seriously  called 
into  question.     It  will  be  noticed  that,  although  he 

*  Baber  here  refers  to  the  great  Battle  of  Pariput  fought  on  April  21 , 
1526,  in  which  the  emperor  Ibrahim,  of  the  Afghan  Lodi  dynasty  was 
overthrown,  and  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Tabar  or  "  Mogul  " 
dynasty  on  the  throne  of  Delhi. 

f  On  this,  Leyden  and  Eskine,  the  English  translators  of  the 
Memoirs,  remark :  ''  The  charitable  mode  in  which  a  good  Mussulman 
signifies  the  death  of  an  infidel." 

X  Humaiun  was  the  favourite  son  and  successor  of  Baber,  as  emperor 
of  Hindostan. 


IlS       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF   THE  WORLD. 

speaks  of  it  as  already  "  famous,"  Baber  gives  it  no 
particular  name,  and  it  did  not  take  its  present  desig- 
nation till  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Nadir  Shah, 
The  illustrious  historian  mentions,  however,  that  it 
"  had  been  acquired  by  Sultan  Ala-ed-din,"  which 
enables  us  to  trace  its  existence  some  two  hundred 
years  further  back.  The  Ala-ed-din  here  spoken  of 
belonged  to  the  Khilji  dynasty,  which  succeeded  that 
of  the  Ghuri,  and  which  ruled  over  a  large  portion  of 
Hindostan  for  33  years,  from  A.D.  1288  to  1 321,  when 
they  were  replaced  by  the  Toghlaks.  Ala-ed-din 
Khilji  had  obtained  possession  of  the  "famous 
diamond"  in  the  year  1304,  when  he  defeated  the 
Rajah  of  Malwa,  in  whose  family  it  had  been  as  an 
heirloom  from  time  out  of  mind.  One  tradition 
carries  it  back  to  the  somewhat  legendary  Vikrama- 
ditya,  an  ancestor  of  the  Rajah  of  Malwa  here  spoken 
of,  and  of  Baber's  Bikermajit,  Rajah  of  Gwaloir. 
This  Vikramaditya  flourished  in  57  B.C.,  and  is  said 
to  have  driven  the  Saca  (by  which  are  no  doubt  meant 
the  Scythians)  out  of  India.  But  no  value  can  attach 
to  the  tradition,  which  is  evidently  a  sort  of  after- 
thought, suggested  by  the  similarity,  or  rather  iden- 
tity, of  the  two  names  Bikermajit  and  Vikramaditya. 
At  the  same  time  the  association  is  significant,  as  it 
serves  to  show  that  the  gem  was  at  all  times  regarded 
as  the  property  of  the  Rajahs  of  Malwa,  who  are 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  Rajahs  of  Ujein  and  Gwalior  ; 
for  all  these  places  were  formerly  included  in  the 
territory  of  Malwa,  which  has  since  been  subdivided 
among  the  States  of  Bhopal,  Indore,  and  Gwalior — 
the  dominions  of  Scindia.     We  now  understand  how 


THE   KOH-I-NUR.  1 19 

it  happened  that  the  diamond,  after  being  acquired 
by  the  Sultan  Ala-ed-din  in  1304,  is  found  in  the 
possession  of  Bikermajit,  Rajah  of  GwaHor  in  1526. 
It  had  evidently  been  restored  to  Bikermajit's  family 
by  the  Khilji  ruler  after  peace  had  been  established 
between  the  two  states. 

A  still  more  obscure  and  extravagant  tradition 
identifies  this  stone  with  one  discovered  first  some 
5,000  years  ago,  in  the  bed  of  the  Lower  Godavery 
River,  near  Masulipatam,  and  afterwards  worn  as  a 
sacred  talisman  by  Carna,  Rajah  of  Anga,  who  figures 
in  the  legendary  wars  of  the  Mahabharata.  That 
such  a  stone  should  have  been  found  in  such  a  place 
is  likely  enough,  as  it  may  well  have  been  washed 
down  to  the  delta  of  the  Godavery,  which  flows 
through  one  of  the  oldest  and  richest  diamantiferous 
regions  in  the  world.  But  its  identification  with  the 
stone  under  consideration  rests  on  no  solid  foundation, 
nor  will  it  readily  be  believed  that  a  gem,  which  re- 
mained unnamed  till  the  eighteenth  century,  could 
be  unerringly  traced  back  to  pre-historic  times. 

Its  subsequent  history  from  the  time  when  it  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Baber  to  the  present  day  is  insepar- 
ably associated  with  many  ot  the  most  stirring  and 
romantic  events  of  modern  days.  But,  to  quote 
Maskelyne,  though  "  one  long  romance  from  then 
till  now,  it  is  well  authenticated  at  every  step,  as 
history  seems  never  to  have  lost  sight  of  this  stone 
of  fate  from  the  days  when  Ala-ed-din  took  it  from 
the  Rajah  of  Malwa,  five  centuries  and  a  half  ago,  to 
the  day  when  it  became  a  crown  jewel  of  England." 

Bernier  tells  us  that  on  the  death  of  Shah  Jehan, 


120       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

Aurung-zeb  "set  out  immediately  for  Agra,  where 
Begum  Sahel  received  him  with  distinguished  honour. 
On  arriving  at  the  women's  apartments  the  princess 
presented  him  with  a  large  golden  basin  full  of  pre- 
cious stones,  her  own  jewels  and  those  which  belonged 
to  Shah  Jehan."  The  princess  here  referred  to  was 
Jihanira,  the  too  well-beloved  daughter  of  Shah 
Jehan,  who  remained  with  him  to  the  last,  and  who 
had  used  her  influence  to  prevent  him  from  destroy- 
ing his  jewels  rather  than  surrender  them  to  Aurung- 
zeb,  as  mentioned  in  our  account  of  the  "  Great  Mogul." 
It  is  uncertain  whether  Baber's  diamond  was  one  of 
those  contained  in  the  golden  basin,  or  whether  it  had 
already  been  given  to  Aurung-zeb  during  his  father's 
lifetime.  The  former  supposition  seems  to  be  the 
most  probable  ;  for  amongst  Aurung-zeb's  treasures 
exhibited  to  Tavernier,  November  3,  1665,  there  was 
only  one  diamond  of  great  size — the  "  Mogul  " — and 
Shah  Jehan,  already  afflicted  by  a  fatal  disease,  died 
in  the  following  February.  But  the  point  is  of  little 
consequence,  as  in  any  case  the  stone  remained  in  the 
possession  of  the  Mogul  dynasty  until  Nadir  Shah's 
invasion  of  India,  during  the  reign  of  Mohammed 
Shah,  in  1739. 

In  our  account  of  the  "Orloff,"  reference  has  already 
been  made  to  Whittaker's  statement  that  Aurung-zeb 
made  use  of  the  "  Koh-i-Nur  "  as  one  of  the  eyes  of  the 
peacock,  adorning  his  "  Peacock  Throne,"  and  that 
Nadir  carried  off  and  broke  up  this  throne,  thus  gain- 
ing possession  of  the  famous  gem.  But  according  to 
another  and  apparently  a  more  trustworthy  account, 
when  he  seized  on  the  Delhi  treasury  this  stone,  which 


A 

THE  KOH-I-NUR.  121 


he  was  bent  on  securing,  was  found  to  be  missing, 
and  for  a  long  time  all  his  efforts  to  obtain  it  were 
baffled.  At  last  a  woman  from  Mohammed's  harem 
betrayed  the  secret,  informing  Nadir  that  the  emperor 
wore  it  concealed  in  his  turban,  which  he  never  on  any 
occasion  laid  aside. 

Nadir  had  now  recourse  to  a  very  clever  trick,  in 
order  to  secure  the  coveted  prize.     Having  already 
seized  on  the  bulk  of  the  Delhi  treasures,  and  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  the  ill-fated  Mogul  emperor,  he 
had  no  further  pretext  for  quarrelling,  and  could  not 
therefore  resort  to  violence  in  order  to  effect  his  pur- 
pose.    But   he  skilfully  availed    himself   of  a   time- 
honoured  Oriental  custom,  seldom  omitted  by  princes 
of  equal  rank,  on  State  occasions.     At  the  grand  cere- 
mony a  few  days  afterwards  held   in   Delhi,  for  the 
purpose  of  re-instating  Mohammed  on  the  throne  of 
his  Tartar  ancestors,  Nadir  suddenly  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  asking  him  to  exchange  turbans,  in  token  of 
reconciliation,   and    in   order  to    cement    the  eternal 
friendship  that  they  had  just  sworn  for  each  other. 
Taken  completely  aback   by  this  sudden  move,  and 
lacking  the   leisure  even  for  reflection,  Mohammed 
found  himself  checkmated  by  his  wily  rival,  and  was 
fain,  with  as  much  grace  as  possible,  to  accept  the 
insidious  request.     Indeed  the  Persian  conqueror  left 
him    no    option,    for    he    quickly    removed    his    own 
national  sheepskin  head-dress,  glittering  with  costly 
gems,   and   replaced    it   with    the    emperor's    turban. 
Maintaining  the  proverbial  .self-command  of  Oriental 
potentates   Mohammed    betrayed    his    surprise    and 
chagrin  by  no  outward  sign,  and  so  indifferent  did  he 

H 


122       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

seem  to  the  exchange,  that  for  a  moment  Nadir  began 
to  fear  he  had  been  misled.  Anxious  to  be  relieved 
of  his  doubts,  he  hastily  dismissed  the  durbar  with 
renewed  assurances  of  friendship  and  devotion.  With- 
drawing to  his  tent  he  unfolded  the  turban,  to  dis- 
cover, with  selfish  rapture,  the  long  coveted  stone. 
He  hailed  the  sparkling  gem  with  the  exclamation, 
"Koh-i-Nur!"  signifying  in  English,  "Mountain  of 
Light." 

At  Nadir's  death  most  of  his  treasures  were 
dispersed,  but  the  "  Koh-i-Nur,''  henceforth  known  by 
this  title,  passed  together  with  many  other  jewels 
into  the  hands  of  his  feeble  son,  and  temporary  suc- 
cessor. Shah  Rokh.  On  him  it  brought  nothing  but 
misfortune  ;  yet  he  clung  to  it  with  amazing  tenacity, 
refusing  to  part  with  it  under  pressure  of  the  must 
atrocious  tortures,  including  even  loss  of  sight.  After 
his  overthrow,  he  had  been  permitted  to  reside  at 
Meshd,  as  governor  of  that  city  and  district.  Hither 
he  brought  the  "  Koh-i-Nur,"  together  with  many  other 
gems  of  great  value,  which  formed  part  of  the  plun- 
der carried  off  by  his  father  from  India.  Aga  Mo- 
hammed, who  had  an  insatiable  appetite  for  such 
things,  determined  to  get  possession  of  them  ;  and 
in  order  the  more  easily  to  effect  his  purpose,  he 
advanced  with  a  large  force  towards  Meshd,  under 
the  pretext  of  visiting  the  sacred  shrine  of  the 
Imam  Riza,  which  is  annually  resorted  to  by  many 
thousands  of  Shiah  pilgrims.  He  thus  succeeded 
in  quietly  occupying  the  city.  After  performing 
his  devotions  at  the  tomb  of  the  saint,  suddenly 
throwing  off  all  disguise,  he  ordered  the  blind  prince 


A 

THE    KOH-I-NUR.  1 23 

to  deliver  up  his  concealed  treasures.  As  tlie  in- 
fatuated Shall  IvDkh  still  protested  that  he  had 
already  parted  with  them,  he  \\^as  ordered  to  be 
put  to  fresh  torture,  which  had  the  effect  of  bringing 
to  light  several  costly  gems.  But  as  neither  the 
"  Koh-i-Nur  "  nor  the  immense  ruby  known  to  have 
been  in  the  crown  of  Aurung-zeb  were  amongst 
them,  Aga  Mohammed  devised  a  truly  diabolical 
expedient  to  get  hold  of  them.  He  ordered  his 
victim's  head  to  be  closely  shaved  and  encircled  with 
a  diadem  of  paste,  and  boiling  oil  to  be  poured  into 
the  receptacle  thus  formed.  But  even  the  frightful 
agonv  of  this  torture  could  onlv  induce  the  victim  to 
surrender  the  ruby.  He  still  retained  his  hold  of  the 
great  diamond.  The  miserable  monarch  never  re- 
covered from  these  hijuries.  Before  his  death,  Ahmed 
Shah,  founder  of  the  Durani  x\fghan  Empire,  came  to 
his  assistance  in  175  i,  concluded  an  alliance  with  him, 
and  received  in  return  the  fatal  gem,  whose  brilliancy 
could  no  longer  rejoice  the  lack-lustre  e)-es  of  Shah 
Rokh.* 

Possession  of  the  unlucky  gem  pro\'ed  no  less 
disastrous  to  the  Durani  d\-nasty  than  it  had  to  the 
Mogul  emperors,  and  to  Nadir's  familw  At  his  death 
Ahmed  Shah  bequeathed  it  to  his  son  and  heir 
Taimur  Shah,  who  removed  the  seat  of  government 
from    Kandahar    to   Kabul,   and    who  died   in    1793. 


*  P2arly  in  1751.  Ahmed  was  recalled  to  Me^lld  hy  tlie  revolt  ox'"  Mir 
Allum  Khan  (Aga  Mohammi/d  i,  Chief  o!  Kauin,  who  had  seized  on  the 
treasure  atMe^hd  andhlinded  and  dethroned  Sjiah  Rokli  i\Iui-za.  Ahmed 
restored  Shah  Kokh  and  aoon  alter  to.'k  Kauin  and  pet  Mir  Allum  to  death. 
Elphinstone's  Kiifuil,  p.  579.  But  according  to  other  accounts  Shah  Rokh 
had  already  been  blinded  before  the  events  here  related. 


124       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

From   TainiLir  it  descended,  with  the  crown,  to  his 
eldest  son,  Shah  Zaman,  who  was  deposed  and  de- 
prived of  his  sight  by  his  next  brother.  Shah  Shuja 
ul-Mulk.*     The  usurper  thus  became  possessed  of  the 
"  Koh-i-Niir,"  which  he  retained  almost  to  his  death  ; 
but  which,   nevertheless,  involved   him  in   an    unin- 
terrupted series  of  calamities  and  sufferings.     After 
having  remained   for   many  years  concealed   in   the 
wall  ot   a  stronghold,  where  Shah  Zaman  had  been 
confined,  the  diamond  was  brought  to  light  by  the 
merest  accident.     Shah  Zaman  had,  as  he  supposed, 
securely  embedded    it  in    the  plaster  of  his    prison 
wall.     But  in  course  of  time  a  portion  of  the  plaster 
crumbled  away,  leaving  one  of  the  sharp  angles  of 
the  crystal  exposed,  or    slightly  protruding    on   the 
surface,     Against  this  one  of  the  officials  happening 
to  scratch  his  hand,  his  attention  was  attracted  to  the 
spot,  his    eye  fell   on   the    sparkling    facet,    and  the 
"  Koh-i-Nur  "  was  once  more  rescued  from  its  hiding 
place.     At    all    State    ceremonials    Shah  Shuja  now 
wore    it    on    his    breast,    where    it    glittered    when 
Elphinstone  was  sent  by  the  Indian  Government  as 
Envoy   to    Peshawur  during   that    Prince's    troubled 
reign. 

In  his  turn  dethroned,  deprived  of  his  sight,  and 
driven  into  exile  by  Shah  Mahmud,  third  son  of 
Taimur,  Shah  Shuja  had  contrived,  amidst  all  his 
disasters,  to  retain  possession  of  the  great  diamond, 
with  which    he   now  withdrew  to    the  court   of   the 


*   "  The  messengers  met  Raman  on  his  way  to  Kabul,  and  performed 
their  orders  by  piercing  his  eyes  with  a  lancet." — Elphinstone,  op.cit.  p.  579. 


A 

THE   KOH-I-NUR.  12$ 


famous  Runjit-Singh,  the  "  Lion  of  the  Punjaub," 
accompanied  by  his  brotlier,  Shah  Zaman,  whom,  as 
stated,  he  had  himself  ah-eady  rendered  sightless, 
according  to  the  brutal  fashion  of  the  Durani  court. 

Runjit  at  first  received  the  two  ill-starred  brothers 
with  open  arms,  and  even  declared  war  on  their 
behalf  against  Shah  Mahmud,  from  whom  he  took 
the  territory  of  Kashmir,  which  at  that  time  formed 
part  of  the  Afghan  dominions.  He.  however,  not 
only  forgot  to  restore  their  possessions  to  the  unfor- 
tunate brothers,  but  began  to  oppress  them  in  every 
way,  and  to  extort  from  them  all  the  treasures  they 
had  brought  away  from  Kabul.  Amongst  these  the 
"  Koli-i-Nur  "  was  coveted  more  than  all  the  rest,  and 
Runjit  spared  no  efforts  to  get  hold  of  it.  How  he  at 
last  effected  his  purpose  is  thus  related  by  Kluge  : — 

"  Driven  from  Peshawur  to  Kashmir,  and  hence 
to  Lahore,  Shah  Shuja  became  apparently  the  guest, 
but  in  reality  the  prisoner  of  Runjit  Singh,  who, 
though  no  connoisseur  ot  precious  stones,  none  the 
less  attached  great  importance  to  their  possession. 
Of  the  'Koh-i-Nur'  he  had  heard  only  by  report,  and 
employed  every  means  to  secure  it.  Wufifo- Begum, 
consort  of  the  unhappy  king,  had  also  sought  and 
obtained  protection  from  Runjit,  and  was  conse- 
quently now  residing  in  Shadera.  Runjit  ordered 
her  to  deliver  up  the  stone,  which,  however,  she 
protested  was  not  in  her  possession.  Thereupon  he 
caused  all  her  effects  to  be  seized  and  brought  to 
Lahore,  thus  acquiring  jewels  of  greater  value  than 
any  he  had  ever  pos.sessed  before.  Supposing  that 
the  '  Koh-i-Nur'   was  amongst  them,  the  bulk  of  the 


126       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

property,  including  shawls,  carpets,  and  gems,  was 
retained,  and  a  few  trifles  returned  to  the  Begum. 
But  soon  ascertaining  that  the  'Koh-i-NCu-'  was  not  to 
be  found  amongst  the  jewels,  he  had  the  Begum  closely 
watched  ;  two  of  her  most  intimate  attendants  were 
thrown  into  prison,  and  the  other  members  of  the 
Zenana  deprived  even  of  bread  and  water.  No  one, 
without  being  first  searched,  v/as  allowed  to  approach 
or  leave  the  princess,  and  it  was  at  the  same  time 
intimated,  that  nothing  but  the  surrender  of  the  dia- 
mond would  satisfy  Runjit.  Thereupon  the  Begum 
sent  him  some  very  costly  stones,  and  amongst  them 
a  ruby  of  considerable  value.  Having,  as  stated, 
no  personal  knowledge  of  gems,  the  t}rant  of  the 
Punjaub  now  fancied  that  this  ruby,  which  surpassed 
everything  he  had  yet  seen,  must  be  the  real  stone. 
But  in  order  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  he  sent 
for  a  person  acquainted  with  the  '  Koh-i-Nur,'  placed 
all  the  stones  before  him,  and  asked,  which  is  the 
'  Koh-i-Niir  } '  He  received  answer  that  it  was  not 
amongst  those  gems,  which  compared  to  it,  were  of 
little  value.  This  made  him  all  the  more  eager  to 
procure  it,  and  he  again  began  to  treat  the  Begum 
and  her  family  with  great  harshness.  After  keeping 
them  without  food  for  two  days,  finding  that  she  still 
held  out,  he  gave  up  the  hope  of  bringing  her  to 
terms  by  such  means,  and  had  recourse  to  more  in- 
sinuating ways.  She  now  promised  to  give  up  the 
stone,  provided  Runjit  released  Shah  Shuja  from 
captivity  in  Kaslunir,  and  conferred  a  life  pension  on 
him,  besides  sundry  favours  on  her -elf  and  friends. 
Shah  Shuja  was  liberated  at  once,  but  some  of  the 


A 

THE    KOH-I-NUR.  12/ 


conditions  not  havinc:  been  fulfilled,  the  Bcf^um  de- 
clared that  the  stone  was  not  in  her  keeping,  but  that 
it  had  been  pledged  to  a  merchant  in  Kandahar. 
Runjit  thereupon  returned  to  the  former  coercive 
measures,  and  the  princess  was  once  more  deprived 
of  food,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  At  last  Shah  Shuja 
himself  volunteered  to  surrender  the  stone,  and  a 
time  was  fixed,  on  which  he  promised  to  produce  it. 

"  On  June  i,  1813,  the  appointed  day,  Runjit, 
accompanied  by  several  confidential  friends,  and 
some  experts  acquainted  with  the  stone,  proceeded 
to  Shadera,  w^here  Shah  Shuja  ivas  then  residing. 
At  the  ensuing  interview,  after  both  were  seated,  a 
profound  silence  prevailed,  which  neither  side  seemed 
disposed  to  break.  An  hour  was  thus  spent,  and 
Runjit,  notwithstanding  his  impatience,  still  abstained 
from  interrupting  the  solemn  stillness.  He,  however, 
hinted  to  a  confidant  that  he  might  quietly  remind 
Shah  Shuja  of  the  object  of  their  interview.  There- 
upon the  latter  nodded  to  a  slave,  who  withdrew, 
and  presently  returning  with  a  packet,  which  he  placed 
on  the  carpet,  at  an  equal  distance  from  the  two 
princes.  Deep  silence  again  ensues ;  Runjit's  im- 
patience grows  to  a  fever  heat  ;  no  longer  able  to 
control  his  feelings,  he  directs  one  of  the  attendants 
to  take  up  the  packet  ;  it  is  opened,  and  a  glittering 
gem  of  unusual  size  is  revealed,  and  recognised  by 
the  experts  as  the  true  'Koh-i-Nur.'  At  sight  of  the 
long-coveted  prize,  Runjit  forgets  the  past,  and  breaks 
the  silence  with  the  question  'At  what  price  do  you 
value  it.''  To  which  Shah  Shuja  replies  'At  good 
luck,  for  it  has  ever  been  the  associate  of  him  who 


128        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD. 

has  vanquished  his  foes.'  And  he  might  have  added 
with  equal  truth,  '  At  bad  luck,  for  sorrow  and  suf- 
ferings have  ever  followed  in  its  wake  ! '  But  by  his 
answer  he  betrayed  the  true  secret  of  the  mysterious 
reverence  akin  to  worship,  with  which  choice  gems 
of  this  sort  have  ever  been  regarded  in  the  East,  and 
till  recently  in  the  West."  Much  in  the  same  way 
Marboeuf,  bishop  of  Rennes,  in  the  nth  century, 
described  in  barbarous  Latin  verse,  the  virtues  of  the 
Agate,  thus  translated  by  King  : — 

"  The  Agate  on  the  wearer  strength  bestows. 
With  ruddy  health  his  fresh  complexion  glows ; 
Both  eloquence  and  grace  by  it  are  given, 
He  gains  the  favour  both  of  earth  and  heaven." 

According  to  the  account  of  a  trustworthy  eye- 
witness. Shah  Shuja's  bearing  throughout  this  inter- 
view was  such  as  to  command  the  deepest  respect, 
and  produced  a  marked  effect  on  the  audience.  He 
received  from  Runjit  a  sum  of  125,000  rupees,  and 
soon  after  this  occurrence  he  withdrew  with  his 
brother,  Shah  Zaman,  to  Ludianah,  in  British  terri- 
tory, where  they  resided  for  some  time  on  an  annual 
pension  of  60,000  rupees  each,  and  6,000  to  each  of 
their  eldest  sons.  Here  Whittaker  tells  us  that  he 
saw  them  in  182 1,  and  he  adds  that  Runjit  at  that 
time  had  the  diamond  at  Lahore,  capital  of  the  Sikh 
States.  "A  Bengali  shroff,  or  banker,  named  Silchurd, 
resident  at  Ludianah,  having  occasion  to  visit  Lahore 
on  the  Rajah's  business,  asked  his  highness  for  per- 
mission to  see  the  jewel,  which  being  granted,  Silchurd 
fell  on  his  face  and  worshipped  the  stone." 

The  further  adventures  of  this  splendid  gem  are 
soon  told.     Runjit  caused  it  to  be  set  in  a  bracelet 


A 

THE   KOH-I-NUR.  1 29 


which  he  wore  on  all  public  occasions.     On  his  death 
bed  in  1839,  an  attempt  was  made  to  induce  him  to 
conciliate  the  favour  of  the  gods  by  presenting  the 
stone  to  the  famous  shrine  of  Jaganath  (Juggernaut). 
He  is  even  said  to  have  given  his  consent  by  an  in- 
clination of  the  head  ;*  but  the  crown  jeweller  refused 
to  surrender  the  treasure  without  a  duly  signed  written 
warrant,   which    was   being    prepared    when    Runjit 
breathed  his  last.     It  thus  remained  in  the  Lahore 
jewel-chamber  till  the  young  Rajah  Dhulip-Singh  was 
recognised    by   the   British    Government    (after   the 
murder  of  Shu- Singh),  when  an  English  Agent  was 
stationed  with  a  strong  body-guard  in  Lahore.     Then 
followed    the    mutiny   of  the   two  Sikh    Regiments, 
which    brought    about    the    final    annexation    of  the 
Punjaub  in  1840,  when,  as  related  by  Hunt,  "the  civil 
authorities  took  possession  of  the  Lahore  Treasury, 
under  the  stipulations  previously  made  that  all  the 
property  of  the  State  should   be  confiscated  to  the 
East  India  Company,  in    part  payment  of  the  debt 
due  by  the  Lahore  Government,  and  of  the  expenses 
of  the  war.     It  was  at  the  same  time  stipulated  that 
the  'Koh-i-Nur'  should  be  presented  to  the  Queen  of 
England.     After  the  Company  became  possessed  of 
the  gem,  it  was  taken  in  charge  by  Lord   Dalhousie, 


*  King  (p.  73)  puts  another  complexion  on  this  story.  According  to 
him  Runjit  was  so  convinced  that  nothing  but  ruin  would  ever  attend  the 
possession  of  the  fatal  stone  that,  ''having  satisfied  his  covetousness  in  the 
enjoyment  of  its  possession  during  his  lifetime,  he  vainly  sought  to  break 
through  the  ordinance  of  fate,  and  to  avert  tiie  concomitant  destruction  from 
his  family  by  bequeathing  the  stone  to  the  shrine  of  Juggernaut  for  the  good 
of  his  soul  and  the  preservation  of  his  dynasty.  But  his  successors  could 
not  bring  themselves  to  give  up  the  baleful  treasure — each  one,  doubtless, 
acting  on  the  maxim  'apres  moi  le  deluge.'" 


130       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

and  sent  by  him  to  England  in  custody  of  two  officers." 
Thus  this  great  historical  diamond  passed  with  victory 
from  East  to  West,  and  was  presented  to  the  future 
Kaiser-i-Hind  on  June  3,  1850.  It  was  shown  at  the 
first  great  Exhibition  held  the  following  year  in  Hyde 
Park,  on  which  occasion  it  attracted  a  great  deal  of 
attention,  although  it  had  been  so  unskilfully  treated 
by  the  Indian  cutter  that  it  looked  little  better  than 
an  ordinary  crystal. 

When  brought  to  Europe  it  was  found  to  weigh 
exactly    iS6^q   carats.     We   have   seen   that    Baber 
gives  the  weight  of  Bikermajit's  diamond  ^t  "about 
eight  mishkels,"  or  somewhat  over   187  carats,  while 
Tavernier  repeatedly  declares  that  the  "Great  Mogul '' 
was  reduced  by  Borgio  to  279  carats.     Again  the  two 
stones  were  of  totally  different  form,  and  the  Mogul 
was  without  a  history,  having  been  quite  recently  dis- 
covered in  the  KoUur  mine,  whereas  authentic  records 
carried  the"Koh-i-Nur"  back  to  the  year  1304,  beyond 
which  date  it  had  a  tradition  giving  it  an  antiquity  of 
some  fifty  centuries.     Several  recent  writers  still,  how- 
ever, persist   in   regarding  these  two  distinct  stones 
as  one  and  the  same  gem.     Even  Professor  Nicol,  in 
the  last   edition  of  the  Encyclopcudia  Britaimica,  re- 
vives this  theory,  and  goes  the  length  of  suggesting 
that  the  "  Great  Mogul,"  the  "  Koh-i-Nur  "  and  the 
stone  found  in  Cucha  in  1832,  were  all  pieces  of  one 
original  crystal.     Speaking  of  the  "  Koh-i-Nur,"  he 
remarks  that  "  its  lower  side  is  flat  and  undoubtedly 
corresponds  to  a  cleavage  plane.     Hence  it  has  been 
conjectured  that  it  and  the  Russian  '  Orloff '  diamond 
are  portions  of  the  original  stone  belonging  to  the 


A 

THE   KOH-I-NUR.  131 


'  Great  Mogul,'  whilst  a  stone  of  132  carats  obtained 
by  Abbas  Mirza  at  the  storming  of  Cucha  in  Khoras- 
san  in  1832,  may  be  a  third  fragment.  This  portion 
was  long  used  by  a  peasant  as  a  flint  for  striking  fire. 
The  three  united  would  have  nearly  the  form  and 
size  given  by  Tavernier,  and  the  '  Koh-i-Nur '  would 
then  surpass  all  known  diamonds  in  its  magnitude,  as 
in  its  eventful  history."  For  a  refutation  of  this 
theory,  the  reader  is  referred  to  our  account  of  the 
Abbas  Mirza  Diamond. 

In  consequence  of  the  clumsy  way  in  which  the 
Hindoo  cutter  had  handled  the  "  Koh-i-Niir,"at  a  time 
when  the  art  was  still,  doubtless,  in  its  infancy.  Prince 
Albert  consulted  Sir  David  Brewster,  as  to  how  it 
might  be  re-cut  to  the  best  possible  advantage.  He 
found  in  it,  as  is  the  case  with  many  other  large  dia- 
monds, several  little  caves,  which  he  declared  (accord- 
ing to  his  theory),  to  be  the  result  of  the  expansive 
force  of  condensed  gases.  This,  together  with  the 
flaws  already  noticed,  he  considered  would  make  the 
cutting  of  it.  without  serious  diminution,  a  very  diffi- 
cult thing.  Messrs.  Coster,  however,  of  Amsterdam, 
thought  that  in  the  hands  of  skilful  workmen,  the 
difficulties  might  be  overcome.  Several  patterns  of 
cuts  were  laid  before  Her  Majest\-  and  the  Prince 
Consort,  and  after  due  consultation,  selection  was 
made  of  the  form  which  it  now  has,  and  which  may 
be  described  as  that  of  a  regularly-cut  brilliant. 

Mr.  Voorsanger,  of  ]\Ir.  Coster's  establishment, 
was  the  workman  entrusted  with  the  responsible  task 
of  re-cutting  the  famous  gem,  and  liis  labours  were 
conducted    in    the   atelier  of  the   Crown  Jewels,  in 


132       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

London.*  To  assist  his  object  a  small  four-horse 
machine  was  erected,  and  the  cutting  commenced  by 
the  Prince  Consort  placing  the  diamond  on  the  mill 
on  the  6th  of  July,  1852.  The  operation  was  com- 
pleted at  the  end  of  thirty-eight  days  of  twelve  hours 
each.  The  "  Star  of  the  South,"  a  much  larger  stone, 
was  afterwards  cut  by  the  same  hand  in  three  months. 
But  the  "  Pitt,"  or  "  Regent,''  treated  by  the  slower 
hand-process  of  the  eighteenth  century,  had  occupied 
no  less  than  two  years. 

One  of  the  flaws  in  the  "  Koh-i-Nur"  gave  great 
trouble.  In  order  to  remove  it  the  number  of  revolu- 
tions of  the  cutting-wheel  had  to  be  increased  to 
3,000  per  minute,  and  even  then  the  object  was  only 
attained  very  slowly.  During  the  process  of  re- 
duction, the  diamond  lost  exactly  eighty  carats  in 
weight,  having  been  reduced  from  i86j^^  to  its  present 
weight  of  io6j^g  carats. 

After  all,  the  result  was  far  from  giving  universal 
satisfaction,   although  obtained  at  a  cost  of  no  less 


*  It  is  questionable  whether  Her  Majesty  and  the  Government  would 
not  have  been  better  advised,  had  they  sent  the  stone  direct  to  Amsterdam, 
for  re-cutting  by  experts  on  the  spot,  instead  of  placing  the  work  in  the 
hands  of  a  firm,  more  famous  for  their  artificery  in  silver,  than  their  cutting 
ot  diamonds.  The  result,  we  venture  to  think,  would  have  been  a  stone 
of  greater  brilliance  than  the  present  one.  The  responsibility  of  cutting 
a  diamond  of  such  value  and  historic  interest  as  the  ''  Koh-i-Niir,"  is  well 
illustrated  by  an  anecdote  connected  with  the  latest  manipulation  ot  the 
gem  in  question.  While  Mr.  Sebastian  Garrard  was  superintending  the 
re-cutting,  many  professors  and  men  of  note  went  to  the  factory,  to  see  the 
progress  of  the  work, — the  majority  of  them  being  of  opinion  that  the  stone 
would  split  into  pieces  during  the  operation.  It  is  stated  that,  as  they 
were  passing  from  the  factory  to  the  shop,  they  encountered  the  late  Mr. 
Robert  Garrard,  and  put  to  him  the  following  question: — "  What  would 
you  do  supposing  the  Koh-i-Niir  does  •  fiy  to  pieces  ?  '  "  "Take  my  name- 
plate  off  the  door  and  bolt,"  was  the  ready  answer. 


A 

THE   KOH-I-NUR.  133 

than  jCS,ooo.  The  Prince  Consort,  who  took  the 
greatest  interest  in  the  operation,  and  whose  sound 
advice  had  probably  prevented  a  total  failure,  openly 
expressed  his  dissatisfaction  with  the  work. 

On  the  treatment  which  the  "Koh-i-NCir"  re- 
ceived in  the  cutter's  hands,  King  is  very  severe, 
remarking  that  owing  to  the  flattened  and  oval 
figure  of  the  stone,  the  brilliant  pattern  selected 
by  the  Queen's  advisers  "entailed  the  greatest 
possible  amount  of  waste."  He  adds  that  Mr.  Coster 
would  have  preferred  the  drop  form,  but  that  "  in  a 
historical  relic  like  this,  the  sole  course  that  would 
have  recommended  itself  to  a  person  of  taste,  was 
the  judicious  one  pursued  some  years  before  by 
Messrs.  Rundell  and  Bridge,  in  their  re-cutting  of 
the  '  Nassak,'  both  in  its  native  and  artificial  figure. 
In  this,  by  following  the  trails  of  the  Hindoo  cutter, 
amending  his  defects,  and  accommodating  the  pattern 
to  the  exigencies  of  the  subject  matter,  they  trans- 
formed the  rudely-facetted,  lustreless  mass,  into  a 
diamond  of  perfect  brilliancy,  at  the  sacrifice  of  no 
more  than  ten  per  cent,  of  its  original  weight." 

It  may  also  be  remarked  that,  although  said  to 
be  cut  as  a  brilliant,  this  great  Oriental  talisman  is 
really  only  such  in  name,  being  much  too  thin  to  have 
satisfied  the  Jeffries,  Ralph  Potters,  and  the  other 
great  dealers  of  the  last  and  beginning  of  the  present 
century.  In  fact  the  cutting  of  the  "  Koh-i-Nur  "  on 
this  occasion,  revealed  the  painful  fact  that  the  art 
was  then  extinct  in  England,  while  even  the  Amster- 
dam and  Paris  operators  had  lost  much  of  their 
former  cunning.     They  followed  a  system   of  mere 


134       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

routine,  betraying  little  inventive  power,  and  show- 
ing themselves  incapable  of  grappling  with  the 
problem  of  how  best  to  reduce  a  stone,  with  the  least 
sacrifice  of  its  weight,  and  the  greatest  display  of  its 
natural  lustre.* 

The  "  Koh-i-Nur  "  is  preserved  in  Windsor  Castle. 
A  model  of  the  gem  is  kept  in  the  jewel  room  of  the 
Tower  of  London,  to  satisfy  the  laudable  curiosity  of 
Her  Majesty's  faithful  lieges.  Although  not  of  the 
very  finest  water,  and  of  a  greyish  tinge,  the  stone 
was  valued  before  being  re-cut  at  about  iJ"  140,000. 
But  Barbot  considers  it  far  from  being  worth 
such  a  sum.  He  allows,  however,  that  it  is  still  an 
extraordinary  stone,  "  but  more  on  account  of  its 
great  surface  than  for  its  play,  which  is  almost 
neutralised  by  its  great  spread."  It  must,  however, 
be  remembered  that  this  is  the  criticism  of  a  French- 
man naturally  alarmed  for  the  hitherto  unrivalled  re- 
putation of  the  "  Regent."  Since  Burbot's  time  it  will 
be  seen  in  our  account  of  the  "  English  Dresden,"  that 
the  lustre  even  of  the  "  Regent,"  has  been  somewhat 
dimmed  by  the  absolutely  faultless  character  of  the 
Bagagem  crystal. 

Although  yielding  to  these  and  perhaps  to  one 
or  two  others  in  brilliancy,  as  it  does  to  several  in  size, 
the  "Koh-i-Niir"  must  ever  remain  without  a  rival 
for  the  intense  interest  attaching  to  the  sanguinary 
and  romantic  incidents  associated  with  its  marvellous 
career.     A   strange   fatality  presided    over  its   early 


*  The   art   however,   has  withhi    tl)c   last   few  years   not  only  been 
revived,  but  now  far  surpasses  anything  ever  hitherto  accomplished. 


A 

THE  KOH-I-NUR.  135 

vicissitudes,  but  its  alleged  "  uncannie  "  powers  have 
now  ceased  to  be  a  subject  of  apprehension.  Its 
latest  history  eloquently  demonstrates  the  fact  that 
extended  empire  is  a  blessing,  just  in  proportion 
as  it  finds  hearts  and  hands  willing  to  fulfil  the  high 
duties  which  increased  privileges  involve. 


XII. 
DARYA-I-NUR, 

A  City  of  Gems  and  Jewels — Nadir  Shahs  Descent  on  Delhi 
— Indiscriminate  Slaughter  and  Plunder — The  Shah 
of  Persia's  Largest  Diamond,  "  Sea  of  Light " — Its 
Shape  and  Character— Is  the"  Darya-i-Nur"  the  Missing 
"  Mogul  ?"— "  Opinions  Differ  "—A  ReUable  Judgment. 


OHAMMED    Shah,  who    inherited    the 
spoils  extorted  by  his  progenitors  from 
the  unhappy  kings  of   Golconda    and 
Beejapoor,    sat    upon    the     throne     of 
Delhi,    a    mark    for   any   adventurous   warrior   who 
had  the   courage  to    descend    the    Suleiman  range, 
and,    crossing    the    Indus,     march    straight    to    the 
most    luxurious     capital     of    the     Eastern    empire. 
Jewels    of    unequalled    magnitude    and    lustre    were 
openly  exposed    in   durbars  of   the   Palace,    on    the 
holy  shrines,    and    in  the    princely  demesnes    of  its 
Maharajah,  its   nobles  and  its  merchants.     Nothing 
in  the  history  of  modern  times  can  equal  the  inroad 
of  the  humbly- born  sheep-skin  clothier.  Nadir  Shah, 
who   had   mounted   the   throne  of  Persia.     Without 
warning,  this    warrior-prince    came    boldly    on    the 
devoted  city,  and  having  plundered  its  palaces,  laid 
waste  its  populous  streets,  which  he  choked  up  with 
the  dead  of  his  opponents.     He  removed  his  booty 
with  reckless  prodigality,  amidst  the  fire  and  smoke 
of  the  devastated  public  buildings.     Nothing  of  value 
escaped  the  rapine  of  this  merciless  murderer.     The 


THE   DARYA-I-NUR,  13/ 


peacock  throne  with  its  priceless  jewels,  the  treasures 
of  the  general  populace,  even  the  ordinary  stores 
of  the  labourer  went  in  the  indiscriminate  loot. 
The  "Koh-i-Nur"  (as  previously  shown),  and  the 
"  Darya-i-Nur,"  with  waggon-loads  of  less  renowned, 
but  hardly  less  valuable  things,  were  removed  en  masse 
to  Khorassan,  where  the  murderer  arrayed  himself  in 
the  spoils  of  his  royal  victim,  and  unconsciously  by 
his  very  triumph,  paved  the  way  to  his  own  murder, 
and  the  destruction  of  his  dynasty  and  race. 

"  The  Darya-i-Nur,"  which  in  imagination  might 
seem  to  flash  blood  red  rays,  came  out  of  this  carnage, 
pure  and  lovely  as  when  it  was  first  cut.  It  is  pro- 
bably the  finest  gem,  as  it  certainly  is  the  largest 
diamond  belonging  to  the  Shah  of  Persia.  It  is  a 
magnificent  stone  of  the  purest  water,  and  of  almost 
matchless  lustre,  fully  deserving  the  proud  title  of 
"  Sea  or  River  of  Light,"  by  which  it  has  always 
been  known  in  Persia.*  It  appears  to  be  rose-cut, 
and  weighs  i86  carats,  which,  strange  to  say,  was  the 
exact  weight  of  the  "  Koh-i-Nur,"  before  that  famous 
L'^em  was  re-cut  in  London.  Were  there  anv  truth 
in  the  story  that  the  emperor  Aurung-zeb  had  the 
"  Koh-i-Niir,"  and  another  stone  of  like  size,  set  in 
the  eyes  of  the  peacock  overshadowing  his  throne,  we 
might  well  suppose  that  this  was  the  corresponding 


*  In  Persian  ,  "^  W;^ — Daiya-i-Niir  — Sea  or  River  of  Light. 
Although  the  adjective  Daryai  strictly  means  marinL-,  the  noun  Darya  is 
applied  indifferently  to  seas  and  rivers,  as  in  Amu-Darya,  the  Persian 
name  of  the  river  Oxus  Niir  is  "  Light  ;''  as  in  the  corresponding  ex. 
pression  A'c/^-r-Awr— Mound  of  Light, 

I 


138       THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

gem.*  In  any  case,  it  seems  tolerably  certain 
that  the  "  Darya-i-Nur  "  was  one  of  the  diamonds 
carried  off  by  Nadir  Shah,  when  he  plundered  the 
Delhi  treasury  in  1739.  But  if  it  was  never  associated 
with  the  "  Koh-i-Nur,"  it  is  now  at  least  fittingly 
coupled  with  the  "Taj-e-Mah,"  a  gem  of  scarcely 
inferior  splendour,  for  both  of  these  superb  diamonds 
figure  as  the  ornaments  in  a  pair  of  magnificent 
bracelets,  which  Sir  John  Malcolm  tells  us  he  saw 
in  Persia,  and  which  were  valued  at  no  less  than 
one  million  sterling. 

Some  writers  have  suggested  that  the  "  Darya-i- 
Nur"  may  possibly  be  the  missing  "  Great  Mogul,"  of 
which  nothing  has  been  heard  since  the  time  it  was 
seen  by  Tavernier  in  Aurung-zeb's  treasury  in  1665. 
Thus  Barbot,  amongst  others,  writes  that,  "  Thamask 
Kouli-Khan,  so  famous  under  the  name  of  Nadir 
Shah,  seems  to  have  got  possession  of  the  '  Great 
Mogul.'  If  so  it  may  now  be  in  Persia,  where  it  is 
known  by  the  name  of  *  Darya-i-Nur,'  or  '  Ocean  of 
Light.' " 

But  while  it  is  quite  possible,  and  even  probable 
that  Nadir  may  have  seized  the  "  Great  Mogul,"  it  does 
not  at  all  follow  that  this  diamond  is  now  represented 
by  the  "  Darya-i-Nur."  On  the  contrary, the  two  stones 
differ  so  widely  in  size  and  form  that  they  cannot 
possibly  be  the  same  jewel  under  two  different  names. 
The  "  Great  Mogul,"  as  we  have  seen,  was  reduced  in 


♦   It  will  be  seen  in  our  account  ol  the  '•.Jehan-Ghii-Sliah  "  that  this 
stone  i?>  also  one  of  the  rivals  for  tlie  honour  of  having  formed  a  companion 
of  the  ''  Koh-i-Nir  "  in  the  peacock  throne  ;  but,  for  the  reasons  there  stated 
none  of  these  claims  can  be  accepted  as  valid. 


THE    DARYA-r-NUR.  1 39 

Borgio's  hands  to  279^^^  carats,  whereas  Malcolm  tells 
us  that  the  "  Darya-i-Nur  "  weighs  only  186  carats.  In 
shape  the  former  presented  the  appearance  of  an  egg 
cut  in  half,  whereas  the  latter  appears  to  be  rather 
of  a  flat  oval  form.  It  is  also  mounted  in  a 
bracelet,  a  setting  for  which  the  "  Great  Mogul " 
would  be  unsuited.  Hence,  whatever  its  origin,  the 
"  Darya-i-Nur  ■'  cannot  at  all  events  be  identified 
with  the  great  Indian  diamond. 

A  full  account  of  the  "  Darya-i-Niir's"  adventurous 
career,  after  it  passed  from  Nadir  Shah  to  his  son, 
Shah  Rukh,  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  devoted  to 
the  "  Taj-e-Mah." 


XIII. 
THE    AHMEDABAD. 


A  Name  that  excites  Unpleasant  Reflections— Incidents  of 
lintish  Warfare  in  India — The  Assault  and  Capture 
of  Ahmedabad — The  Opportunities  of  Collectors. 


HMEDABAD  is  not  a  pleasant  name 
to  British  ears.  A  French  officer,  the 
ChevaUer  St.  Lubin,  acting  secretly 
with  some  Mahratta  chief,  following  up 
in  the  Ghauts  the  schemes  he  had  only  two  success- 
fully adopted  in  Mysore,  produced  the  disasters 
attending  the  war  of  Hyder  Ali  with  the  Madras 
Government.  Governor-General  Warren  Hastings 
directed  that  a  force  should  be  sent  to  assist  the 
Government  of  Bombay.  The  Peishwa  of  Poonah 
was  an  infant,  and  the  chief  authority  was  thrown 
into  the  hands  of  Rugonath  Raw. 

Without  waiting  for  the  support  of  the  troops 
from  Bengal,  the  Government  of  Bombay  commenced 
hostilities.  The  troops  of  the  former  Presidency 
moved  slowly,  harrassed  by  the  Mahrattas,  and  before 
a  general  action  was  attempted  Colonel  Kay  and 
Captain  Stewart  fell  in  a  skirmish. 

Colonel  Egerton  was  compelled  to  relinguish  the 
command,  and  the  British  troops  commenced  an  ill- 
considered  retreat.  On  the  nth  January,  1779,  this 
retreat  degenerated  into  a  rout.     So  little  power  had 


THE   AHMEDABAD.  I4I 

the  British  in  Bombay  reserved  to  themselves,  thnt 
when  their  ally  Rugonath  Raw  was  demanded  to  be 
surrendered  by  the  Poona  minister,  the  panic-stricken 
Government  of  Bombay  would  have  given  him  up, 
had  he  not  made  his  escape  to  Scindia.  The  British, 
by  the  help  of  Scindia,  made  a  convention  with  the 
Mahratta  Government  of  Poona,  by  which  the  Island 
of  Salsette  was  to  be  ceded,  and  the  fort  and  govern- 
ment of  Baroach  were  to  be  added  to  Scindia's 
kingdom,  two  hostages  being  left  to  secure  the  per- 
formance of  that  engagement  from  the  British.  This 
arrangement  cost  England  41,000  rupees  as  presents 
for  the  good  offices  of  some  powerful  Hindoos. 

The  Bengal  contingent  was  intercepted  by  native 
chiefs,  and  so  little  progress  had  Colonel  Leslie  made 
in  five  months  that  the  Governor-General  recalled 
him,  and  appointed  Colonel  Goddard  to  succeed  to  the 
command.  After  this  the  Bengal  contingent  was 
very  soon  marched  into  Bombay,  and  in  1780  Colonel 
Goddard  put  his  army  in  motion,  and  Ahmedabad 
was  taken  by  assault.  From  its  position,  at  the 
eastern  end  of  Gujerat,  both  Scindia  and  Holkar 
were  threatened  with  check,  and  these  two  chiefs 
advanced  to  give  battle  to  Goddard,  when  the  British 
general  at  once  accepted  the  challenge.  Scindia  used 
all  the  eastern  arts  to  avert  the  engagement  he  had 
challenged,  but  Goddard  brought  the  matter  to  an  end 
by  an  attack  upon  the  enemy's  camp,  which  proved 
successful.  In  the  meantime  a  small  force  under 
Captain  Popham  attacked  Lahar,  50  miles  from 
Calpie,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  Sir  Eyre  Coote, 
carried  it  by  storm.     If  possible,  it  was  an  object  of 


142       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF  THE  WORLD. 

great  importance  to  take  Gwalior,  deemed  by  the 
Indian  military  authorities  impregnable.  Popham 
sat  down  to  consider  how  to  deal  with  the  "  exceed- 
ing high  rock — scarped  nearly  all  round  "  and  garri- 
soned by  a  thousand  men.  He  saw  his  point,  and 
actually  determined  personally  to  attempt  the  capture, 
and  after  midnight  he  was  in  the  fort.  This  gave 
Bombay  a  respite  and  a  lesson. 

Such  bandits  as  the  Mahrattas,  are  constantly 
dividing  the  booty  taken  in  the  expeditions 
against  feebler  communities.  In  a  hotly  contested 
engagement  like  that  of  Ahmedabad,  the  soldiers 
of  the  native  chiefs  often  find  valuable  loot  on  the 
persons  of  their  officers,  whom  they  rob  when  dead  or 
severely  wounded.  These  are  the  occasions  which 
skilled  collectors  of  valuables  improve.  We  readily 
believe  M.  Tavernier  when  he  says  that  he  purchased 
this  magnificent  stone,  the  "  '  Ahmedabad,'  for  one  of 
his  friends,  and  that  it  originally  weighed  157^  carats, 
but  after  being  cut  on  either  side  the  jewel  was  re- 
duced to  94^  carats,  and  that  its  water  was  perfect. 
The  flat  side,  where  there  were  two  flaws  below, 
was  about  the  thickness  of  a  sheet  of  stout  paper. 
When  I  had  the  stone  I  caused  all  this  part  to  be  re- 
moved together  with  a  portion  of  the  upper  point 
where  little  flaws  remained."* 

It  is  strange  that  nothing  further  should  be  known 
regarding   a    stone,    which,    even    when    reduced    by 


*  ''  Le  coste  plat  ou  il  y  a  deux  glaces  au  bas  estoit  mince  comme 
une  feuille  de  gros  papier.  En  faisant  tailler  la  pierre  je  fis  emporter  tout 
ce  morceau  mince  avec  une  partie  du  bout  d'en-haut,  ou  il  est  reste  une 
petite  pointe  de  glace." — It  is  figured  in  the  first  edition  ot  his  work 
Vol.  II.,  p.  334. 


THE   AHMEDABAD.  [43 

cutting,  was  still  over  94  carats  in  weight.  Tavernier 
probably  never  brought  it  to  Europe,  but  disposed  of 
it  in  Persia,  where  there  are  still  many  hidden 
treasures,  destined  again  to  turn  up  whenever 
liberal  institutions  are  introduced  into  that  oppressed 
country. 


XIV. 


THE  PORTER-RHODES. 


The  Kimberley  Mine-A  Surprise— "  Test  Diamonds"— 
Mr.  Porter- Rhodes  at  Osborne  —  Presented  to  the 
Queen— Her  Majesty's  Opinion  of  the  Famous  Cape 
Stone— At  Osborne  Cottage-^The  Empress  Eugenie 
an  Authority  on  Gems— Handling  the  "Koh-i-Niir" 
at  Windsor. 


HE  recent  exhibition  of  the  "Porter- 
Rhodes"  in  Bond  Street,  London,  has 
made  this  remarkable  stone  a  familiar 
object  to  connoisseurs.  During  the 
winter  of  1881,  many  ladies  and  gentlemen  inspected 
it,  and  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  owner,  some  of  the 
details  of  its  discovery.  Notes  upon  the  question  of 
its  value  have  been  published  in  the  leading  journals, 
wherein  it  has  been  stated  that  while  a  syndicate  of 
English  diamond  merchants  had  offered  him  ;^6o,ooo 
for  his  treasure,  he  estimates  its  value  at  more  than 
^^200,000.  The  history  of  the  .stone  (which  is  as  yet 
uncut),  and  the  opinions  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen, 
and  Her  Imperial  Majesty  the  Empress  Eugenie,  are 
set  forth  in  the  following  letter,  written  to  Mr.  Streeter 
by  Mr.  Porter- Rhodes. 

"  In  giving  an  account  of  the  Blue- White  Dia- 
mond, weighing  150  carats,  which  is  known  as  the 
'  Porter-Rhodes  Diamond,'  I  am,  since  my  visit  to 
vou,  more  assured  of  the  great  worth  of  the  stone, 


THE    PORTER-RHODES.  I45 

and  from  information  derived  from  reliable  sources, 
I  have  every  confidence  in  saying,  I  firmly  believe  it 
has  no  rival.  The  diamond  was  found  on  the  12th 
of  February,  1880,  in  one  of  my  claims,  (or  diggings), 
situated  in  what  is  known  as  the  Kimberley  Mine, 
Diamond  Fields,  South  Africa.  Here,  at  mid-day, 
the  workmen  are  allowed  to  leave  the  mine,  and  are 
away  somewhat  over  an  hour  for  dinner.  I  was  in  the 
habit  of  meeting  my  overseers  at  this  time  every  day, 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  anything 
good  had  been  found,  or  other  news  in  connection 
with  the  mine,  and  I  had  always  impressed  upon 
them,  in  case  of  a  good  stone  being  unearthed,  they 
were  not  to  mention  the  fact  before  the  diamond  had 
been  handed  to  me.  The  reason  for  this,  no  doubt, 
you  will  quite  understand.  At  that  time,  and  even 
now,  the  dealers  in  rough  diamonds  like  to  be  in  the 
position  of  knowing  that  the  diamond  or  parcel  of 
diamonds,  purchased  from  the  claimholder,  had  not 
been  offered  for  sale  to  any  of  their  neighbours  in 
opposition  establishments,  and  I  believe  I  have  at 
times,  obtained  higher  prices,  through  being  able  to 
shew  that  no  other  dealer  had  seen  the  stones.  Why 
this  should  make  any  difference  I  am  unable  to  tell. 
On  the  1 2th  of  February,  1880,  I  had  been  busily 
engaged  at  the  Magistrate's  Court,  in  connection  with 
a  case  I  had  against  a  native,  who  had  been  misbe- 
having himself,  and  was  not  released  until  a  few 
minutes  after  the  time.  12  o'clock,  when  I  should 
have  been  at  the  edge  of  the  mine,  to  hear  the  news. 
However,  I  went  in  the  direction  where  I  was  most 
likely  to  meet  my  chief  overseer,  and  fortunately  saw 


146       THE  GREAT    DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

him  in  the  street,  and  at  a  glance  saw  something 
unusual  had  happened.  In  reply  to  my  question 
'  Anything  good  to-day  .'' '  '  Yes,  a  white  one  this 
time,'  he  replied,  and  at  the  same  moment  pro- 
ceeded to  hand  the  stone  to  me,  which  I  partially 
hesitated  in  taking.  I  saw  it  was  so  uncommonly 
white,  that  I  thought  some  one  had  been  playing  a 
practical  joke  upon  the  man,  but  once  in  my  hand,  I 
realised  its  genuineness.  I  had  had  the  diamond 
about  four  months  before  the  fact  was  made  publicly 
known.  Besieged  by  gentlemen  anxious  for  a  sight 
of  it,  I  made  arrangements  with  a  friend,  who  kindly 
consented  to  allow  me  to  exhibit  the  diamond  in  his 
office.  We  had  some  difficulty  in  restraining  the 
crowd,  as  each  person  expected  to  be  allowed  to 
handle  it,  which  I  considered  reasonable  enough. 
There  was  great  excitement  amongst  those  who 
understood  the  matter,  each  willingly  paying  a 
sovereign,  and  within  an  hour  I  had  taken  ;^ioo. 
This,  with  further  amounts,  arrived  at  something  like 
iJ^500,  and  was  handed  to  the  managing  committee  of 
our  hospital  on  the  diamond  fields.  I  must  mention 
that  most  of  the  dealers  keep  what  you  will  better 
know  as  'test  stones,'  for  the  purpose  of  trying  the 
color  of  parcels  of  diamonds  offered  them  for  sale, 
as  according  to  the  light  of  the  day,  or  the  tint  of 
the  particular  kind  of  paper  the  stones  may  be 
wrapped  in,  the  buyers  are  apt  to  be  deceived,  and 
to  guard  against  this,  the  '  test  stones  '  are  placed 
with  the  others,  by  which  means,  they  better  assure 
themselves  of  the  quality  of  the  stones  offered.  Many 
gentlemen  produced  their  '  test  diamonds,'  and  I  am 


THE  rORTER-RTTODES.  147 

happy  to  sa}-,  when  placed  next  to  mine,  even  to  the 
smallest,  there  was  not  one  so  white,  and  I  felt  on 
this  account,  all  the  more  gratified  to  hear  each  gen- 
tleman in  his  turn,  add  to  the  compliments  they  had 
already  paid  me  upon  the  purity  of  what  is  now 
known  as  the  '  Porter-Rhodes  Diamond.' 

"  When  leaving  Kimberley,  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  receive  a  letter  from  Mr.  Orpen,  then  our 
Surveyor-General,  introducing  me  to  Colonel  Gawler, 
who  has  charge  of  the  Crown  Jewels.  In  him  I  found 
a  thorough  English  gentleman,  who,  shewing  me 
every  possible  kindness,  ready  to  assist  me,  so  far  as 
his  position  allowed,  in  furthering  the  object  of  my 
visit  to  England.  Through  Colonel  Gawler's  influence, 
it  was  arranged  that  I  should  pay  a  visit  to  Osborne, 
where  our  Queen  was  then  living,  and  there  exhibit 
the  stone  to  Her  Majesty.  I  left  London  on  the  i8th 
of  January,  1881,  which  you  will  no  doubt  remember 
as  the  day  of  the  very  heavy  snow-storm.  The  line 
was  so  blocked  by  the  drifting  of  the  snow,  that  the 
train  arrived  at  its  destination  too  late  for  my  ap- 
pointment. I  communicated  with  Sir  John  Cowell, 
who  is  Master  of  the  Queen's  Household,  mentioning 
the  unfortunate  position  I  was  in.  He  replied  that 
Her  Majesty  understood  the  case,  and  would  allow 
me  to  present  myself  the  next  day.  I  took  good  care 
not  to  be  late  on  this  occasion,  and  found  myself  at 
Osborne  atthe  right  time.  The  attendants  shewed  me 
into  the  apartments  of  the  Master  of  the  Household, 
and  after  spending  some  time  with  Sir  John  and  Lady 
Cowell,  it  was  announced  that  the  Queen  was  pre- 
pared to  receive  me.     On  being  presented   to   Her 


148       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

Majesty  and  His  Royal  Highness  Prince  Leopold,  I 
broke  the  seal  of  the  envelope  covering  the  diamond, 
and  handed  it  to  the  Queen,  Her  Majesty  being  the 
first  to  see  it  out  of  South  Africa,     At  a  glance  1 
think,  she  saw  its   great   beauty,  and    I  was   more 
assured   when   the  question  followed      '  Is   it   really 
from  the  Cape  ? '     I  think  you  will  agree  with  me 
that  people  in  England  know  but  very  little  of  the 
Cape,  and  under-estimate  its  worth.     I  explained  to 
Her  Majesty  how  we  are  robbed  by  a  low  class  of 
men    known    to    the    diggers    as    '  Illicit    Diamond 
Dealers,'  and   how  closely  we  are  obliged  to  watch 
the  natives  in  consequence,  necessarily  entailing  very 
heavy  cost.     Her  Majesty  after  examining  the  stone 
thoroughly,  and  evidently  understanding  the  subject, 
congratulated   me   upon  its  great  purity,  as  well  as 
upon  m)^  good  fortune  in  having  secured  it  from  the 
h  nds  of  the  illicit  diamond  buyers.      The    Queen 
then  withdrew,  and  Prince  Leopold,  accompanied  by 
Princess  Beatrice  entered,  and  on  their  inspection  of 
the  stone,   I  was  equally   pleased   with  the   interest 
displayed,   and   the   kind    expressions  used.      After 
exhibiting  the  stone  to  a  number  of  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Court,  I  was  taken  by  Captain   Bigge 
to  what  is  known  as  Osborne  Cottage,  then  the  tem- 
porary residence  of  the  Empress  Eugenie,  where  we 
were  received  very  kindly,  and  had  not  waited  many 
minutes  when  the  Empress  entered.     This  audience 
was  most  entertaining,  as  I  found  the  Empress  to  be 
quite  an  authority  on  the  subject,  and  in  possession 
of  the  history  of  all  diamonds  of  note.     The  Empress 
said    everything   good    possible    of    the    stone,,  and 


THE    POKTtR-RHODtS.  1 49 

remarked  that  it  was  '  simply  perfection,'  not  knowing 
what  to  compare  it  with.  Here,  too,  I  was  asked, 
'  are  you  sure  the  diamond  is  from  South  Africa,  and 
have  you  not  had  it  polished  a  little  ?'  I  was  some- 
what amused  when  the  Empress  remarked,  '  I  have 
always  been  under  the  impression  that  diamonds  from 
the  Cape  were  very  yellow,  and  worth  but  little.'  I 
believe  I  convinced  Her  Majesty  of  the  fact  that 
good  stones  are  exported  from  the  Cape,  and  I  am 
sure,  Mr.  Streeter,  in  referring  to  you,  I  have  no  better 
authority  to  bear  me  out  on  the  subject. 

"  Before  leaving  Osborne,  I  took  the  precaution  to 
ask  if  I  might  be  allowed  to  inspect  the  great  "  Koh-i- 
Nur,"  and  I  am  happy  to  say  Her  Majesty  graciously 
granted  me  permission  ;  but  I  was  not  then  aware  of 
the  gem  being  kept  at  Windsor.  A  short  time  after, 
when  the  Queen  returned  to  Windsor  Castle,  I  had 
the  honour,  in  company  with  my  sister,  of  viewing 
this  grand  historical  stone,  and  I  am  proud  to  be  able 
to  say,  allowed  to  handle  it,  an  honour  I  think  which 
has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  very  few.  I  shall  never  forget 
the  pleasure  experienced  at  my  reception  by  the 
English  Court.  I  have  too,  a  handsome  watch  and 
chain,  presented  to  me  by  Her  Majesty,  and  this  I 
trust,  will  be  an  everlasting  remembrance  of  the  for- 
tunate time  when  I  was  admitted  to  the  presence  of 
our  gracious  Sovereign,  Victoria." 


XV. 


THE    TURKEY    I.    AND    IE 


Gems  111  the  Turkish  Regalia — Abdul  Aziz  and  his  Creditor 
— An  Incident  of  Turkish  Trouble — A  Reign  of  Terror. 


HER]^2  are  two  large  diamonds  in  the 
Turkish  Regalia  of  which  little  or 
nothing  is  known  beyond  the  fact  of 
their  existence.  We  have  named  them 
as  above.  The  first  weighs  147,  and  the  second 
84  carats,  The  heaviest  of  the  two  is  said  to  have  been 
"  picked  up  on  the  sands  by  a  boy."  One  can  hardly 
imagine  a  more  vague  description  of  discovery. 
We  have  made  considerable  efforts  to  obtain  fuller 
information  in  regard  to  the  antecedents  and  present 
character  and  appearance  of  these  two  gems,  but  so 
far  without  success.  A  gentleman  holding  an  official 
position  in  the  East  undertook  to  assist  us.  He  wrote 
to  us  as  follows  from  Galata  on  July  19,  1881. 

"  In  reply  to  yours  of  I  ith  inst.,  I  beg  to  say  that 
I  shall  endeavour  to  get  the  information  3'ou  seek  ; 
but  as  the  Turkish  fast,  the  Ramazan,  is  now  coming 
on,  it  is  quite  useless  to  attempt  anything  till  after 
Bairam,  that  is  in  five  weeks.  I  shall  then  apply, 
through  the  Embassy,  for  a   firman    to   inspect   the 


TURKEY    I.   AND   II.  15I 

jewels,  which  may  or  may  not  be  given.  At  that 
time  I  shall  also  endeavour  to  get  such  drawings  and 
legends  as  you  wish  for.  1  may,  however,  say  that 
of  late  years  immense  robberies  have  gone  on  ;  and 
very  likely  the  stones  you  speak  of  have  disappeared. 
When  Abdul  Aziz  was  dethroned,  and  Murad  came 
in,  he  paid  his  banker,  a  certain  Christaki  Efifendi, 
the  debt  he  owed  him  (;^500,ooo)  in  diamonds  ;  giving 
him,  so  it  is  alleged,  no  less  than  ;^8oo,ooo  worth  of 
stones.  Christaki  Effendi  went  to  Paris,  where  he 
disposed  of  the  gems  ;  but  as  Murad  in  the  mean- 
while was  dethroned,  he  never  took  the  trouble  either 
to  come  back  or  to  render  an  account.  It  is  thus 
very  likely  that  my  search  for  the  stones  of  which  you 
speak  may  be  fruitless.  In  the  meantime  you  must 
be  patient,  and  I  shall  promise  not  to  forget  your 
request." 

Five  months  later  our  correspondent  writes  again, 
this  time  from  Constantinople  : — 

"  I  have  your  memorandum  of  2nd  inst.,  and  can 
well  understand  that  you  are  surprised  at  my  long 
silence.  I  regret,  however,  to  say  that  I  am  not  one 
whit  nearer  the  information  you  desire  than  when 
you  first  wrote  to  me  about  it ;  and  that  I  doubt  very 
much  if  I  ever  shall  get  anything  reliable  to  com- 
municate to  you.  I  have  taken  no  inconsiderable 
amount  of  trouble  in  the  matter,  and  have  approached 
several  high  and  influential  men  on  the  subject ;  but 
with  absolutely  no  result.  It  is  not  at  all  a  question 
of  money  ;  but  simply  this,  that  the  reign  of  terror 
in  the  palace  is  so  absolute,  that  no  one  would  ever 
dare  to  ask  a  question  referring  to  crown  jewels." 


152      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

It  is  possible  that  at  a  future  day  we  may 
unearth  the  true  stories  of  these  Turkish  gems.  At 
present  we  must  leave  the  subject  where  it  is.  The 
unsettled  state  of  affairs  at  the  Porte  is  graphically 
illustrated  in  the  closing  sentence  of  our  agent's 
second  letter. 


XVI. 

THE    TAJ-E-MAH. 

The  Diamond  Works  of  Sninbhulpore — Mining  Under  Diffi- 
culties— Diamond  Seekers  at  Work— A  Famous  Region — 
Robbed  and  Exiled— A  Monarch  on  the  Rack — The 
Royal  Torturer  Assassinated — A  Gorgeous  Bracelet^ 
Royal  Gems — Uncivilized  Persia — A  Strange  Story — 
The  Philosophic  Content  of  a  Blinded  King. 


HIS  gem  is  acknowledged  to  be  of  Indian 
origin,  and  has  the  character  of  a 
Godaverv  stone.  It  is  like  its  twin 
the  Darya-i-Nur,  of  first  water,  and 
is  claimed  by  the  diamond  finders  as  a  Mahanuddy 
which  in  Sanscrit  is  the  synonym  of  "  great  river," 
and  is  appropriated  to  the  stream  which  runs  from 
west  to  east  and  falls  into  the  Bay  of  Bengal. 

The  diamond  works  of  Sumbhulpore  are  not 
rich  in  large  first  class  diamonds,  but  they  have  been 
remarkable  for  their  clear  water.  The  reason  of  the 
ill  success  attending  the  working  of  these  diamanti- 
ferous  fields  is  that  in  the  north  the  jungle,  in  addition 
to  being  pestiferous,  is  the  haunt  of  the  tiger  and  the 
leopard.  Natives  also  affirm  that  it  is  the  only  spot 
in  India  where  the  lion  has  been  found.  It  is  rich  in 
gold  and  produces  gems  of  the  first  water.  The 
petty  chiefs  have  always  striven  to  keep  the  know- 
ledge of  this  unpeopled  mining  di.strict  to  themselves 
fearing  alike  the  Mahratta  and  Mohammedan  inter- 
ference. They  have  generally  taken  quiet  posses- 
sion of  such  produce  as  was  washed  down  the  torrent 

K 


154       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

into    the    larger   affluents.     In    1818    this    province 
came   into   the   British    possession,    but   the    British 
workmen  stationed  at  Sumbhulpore  fell   victims   to 
the    insalubrity    of    the    country.     The  part  of  the 
river    Mahanuddy  in    which    diamonds   were  found 
reaches   from   Chundepore  where    the  Maund  joins 
the  main  stream  to  Sohnpore  where  the  Mahanuddy 
makes  a  sudden  bend  to  the  north  producing  an  exten- 
sive mud  bank  on  the  northern  shore,  making  alto- 
gether a  course  of  120  miles.     Throughout  this  extent 
the  diamond  searchers  ply  their  unwholesome  trade 
from  the  time  when  the  rains  cease  to  their  periodical 
return.      These   labourers  are  of  two  tribes   called 
Jhara  and  Tora.     The  former  are  said  to  be  Gonds, 
an   aboriginal  race,  and  the  latter  a  mixed   people. 
When    the    rain    has    ceased    the    Jhara    and    Tora 
searchers  repair  to  the  upper  Mahanuddy,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  and  explore  the  beds,  especially 
the  alluvial  deposits.      The  principal  tool  which  they 
employ  is  a  sharp  pickaxe.     All  the  detritus  is  well 
washed.     The  hard  stony  matter  is  looked  at  care- 
fully by  the  women.     It  is  put  thinly  on  planks  and 
exposed  to  the  glare  of  the  sun,  which  shows  up  the 
character  of  the  calcareous  "  detrit."     Every  particle 
of  red  ochrey  clay  coloured  by  oxide  of  iron,  is  passed 
through    the    fingers    and    thumb,    and    examined 
minutely,  as  this  is  richest  in  diamonds.     But  con- 
cealment of  the  stones  was  and  perhaps  is  very  easy 
and  common.     In  18 18,  the  year  of  the  dispersement 
of  the  Pindarics  and  not  less  thieving  masters,  the 
Mahrattas,  the  native  searchers  found  by  some  ex- 
periments that  the  white  man's  agent  valued  fairly 


THE   TAJ-E-MAH.  155 

some  fine  stones  brought  for  his  inspection,  and  the 
agent  very  shortly  after  had  a  stone  of  81  carats  (a 
Brahmin)  brought  to  him  at  Sumbhulpore,  which 
he  vakied  at  ^^500.  The  names  given  to  the 
various  stones  are  classed  into  four  divisions — ist. 
Brahmins ;  2nd,  Kshatrias  ;  3rd,  Vaisyas ;  and 
4th,  Sudras. 

The  native  searchers  are  allowed  sixteen  villages 
rent  free,  and  all  the  gold  they  find  they  may  appro- 
priate for  their  own  use.  The  Ranee,  Rullum  Coher, 
in  the  beginning  of  this  century,  received  one  diamond 
of  72  carats,  and  a  second,  or  its  nominal  twin,  of  ^j 
carats,  with  many  equally  clear  but  smaller  gems.  In 
1809  a  gem  of  168  carats  was  discovered,  and  found  a 
place  in  her  treasury.  The  repute  of  the  possession  of 
these  gems  got  abroad,  and  Holkar's  or  Scindia's 
Mahratta  troops  swooped  down  upon  her  territory, 
robbed  her  of  her  gems,  and  drove  her  into  exile. 
The  stones  were  supposed  to  have  been  deposited  in 
the  stronghold  of  Asseeghur,  and  were  taken  by  the 
British  in  the  early  spring  of  18 19,  at  the  breaking  up 
of  the  Mahratta  confederacy.  The  "  Taj-e-Mah  "  pre- 
sented so  much  the  character  of  the  gems  in  question, 
although  exceeding  them  in  size  and  weight,  that  the 
birth  place  of  the  stone  is  attributed  to  the  upper 
Mahanadi  or  Mahanuddy.  It  found  its  way  into  the 
bands  of  Mir  Jumna,  the  diamond  merchant,  and  the 
Shah  of  Persia  obtained  it  either  directly  or  indi- 
rectly from  his  hands  as  will  be  shown  in  the  historic 
sketch  which  follows  :• — 

The  "  Taj-e-Mah  "  is  perhaps  the  very  finest  gem 
in  the  Persian    collection.     But  notwithstanding  its 


156       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

Persian  title,*  its  Indian  origin  is  betrayed  by  its 
shape,  for  it  is  skilfully  cut  in  the  form  of  a  rose 
diamond,  the  style  almost  universally  adopted  in 
Hindoostan.  From  that  country  it  was  brought  away 
with  a  vast  quantity  of  other  treasures,  variously  esti- 
mated at  from  ^^30,000,000  to  ^60,000,000  by  the 
Perso-Tartar  conqueror,  Nadir  Shah,  in  1739.  After 
his  death  in  1747  it  was  rescued  from  the  pillage  of 
his  effects  which  then  took  place,  and  thus  came  into 
the  possession  of  his  unfortunate  successor,  Shah 
Rokh.  When  this  feeble  ruler  fell  into  the  power  of 
the  usurper,  Aga  Mohammed,  he  clung  with  incredible 
tenacity  to  the  glittering  treasures  which  had  been 
saved  from  the  wreck  of  his  father's  property.  For  a 
long  time  he  endured  with  the  constancy  of  a  martyr 
the  cruel  treatment  and  horrible  tortures  to  which  the 
usurper  subjected  him.  Exposed  alternately  to  the 
pains  of  hunger  and  thirst,  heat  and  cold,  racked, 
torn  with  red  hot  pincers,  and  at  last  deprived  of  his 
eyes  by  the  usual  Persian  process  of  cold  steel,  his 
firmness  gradually  gave  way,  and  he  yielded  up  the 
costly  gems  one  by  one,  with  each  successive  applica- 
tion of  the  rack  or  pincers,  of  burning  heat  and  biting 
cold. 

By  this  means  Aga  Mohammed  succeeded  at  length 
in  getting  possession  of  the  bulk  of  the  crown  jewels, 
including  both  the  "  Taj-e-Mah  "  and  the  "  Darya- 
i-Nur."  But  the  usurper  proved  no  exception  to  the 
evil  destiny  usually  attending  the  possession  of  these 
large  diamonds.     He  was   himself  soon    afterwards 

*  The     Persian    title    is     i>^   g-^  —  Taj-e-Mah,     literally    the 
"  Crown  or  Crest  of  the  Moon." 


THE   TAJ-E-MAH.  157 

assassinated  by  the  emissaries  of  the  rival  faction  at 
that  time  contending  for  the  throne  of  the  "  king  of 
kings."  After  his  death  the  murderers  handed  over 
all  his  jewels  to  Sadek  Khan  Shekaki,  who  had  been 
one  of  his  leading  generals,  but  who  was  suspected  of 
having  been  privy  to  the  murder.  Since  then  the 
"Taj-e-Mah"  and  "Darya-i-Nur  "  have  remained  in 
the  possession  of  the  Persian  monarchs,  and  are  now 
set  in  a  pair  of  magnificent  bracelets,  which  are  re- 
puted to  be  worth  about  a  million  sterling. 

Our  authority  for  this  statement,  and  in  fact, 
for  nearly  all  our  historical  notes,  regarding  both 
the  "Taj-e-Mah"  and  "  Darya-i-Nur,"  is  Sir  John 
Malcolm,  who  visited  Persia  in  an  official  capacity 
early  in  the  present  century,  and  who,  at  an  interview 
with  the  Shah  in  Teheran,  was  allowed  to  inspect  the 
crown  regalia.  He  thus  relates  the  incident  in  his 
Sketches  of  Persia,  published  anonymously,  1827: — 
"The  king,  at  this  visit,  appeared  in  great  good 
humour  with  the  Elchi,  and  gratified  the  latter  by 
shewing  him  his  richest  jewels,  amongst  which  was 
the  '  Sea  of  Light,'  which  is  deemed  one  of  the 
purest  and  most  valuable  diamonds  in  the  world. 
Many  of  the  others  are  surprisingly  splendid."  Sir 
John  Malcolm  adds,  'The  'Darya-i-Nur,'  or  'Sea  of 
Light'  weighs  186  carats,  and  is  considered  to  be  the 
diamond  of  the  finest  lustre  in  the  world.  The  '  Taj- 
e-Mah,'  or  '  Crown  of  the  Moon,'  is  also  a  splendid 
diamond.  It  weighs  146  carats.  These  two  are  the 
principal  in  a  pair  of  bracelets,  valued  at  near  a 
million  sterling.  Those  in  the  crown  are  also  of 
extraordinary  size  and  value." 


158       THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF   THE    WORLD. 

In  our  account  of  the  "Koh-i-Nur"  allusion 
was  made  to  the  horrible  practice  of  gouging  out 
the  eyes  of  political  opponents,  until  recently  so 
prevalent  both  in  Persia  and  Afghanistan.  The  in- 
difference with  which  these  frightful  cruelties  came  to 
be  regarded,  even  by  the  victims  themselves,  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  following  graphic  story  of  Riza 
Kuli  Khan,  related  by  Sir  John  Malcolm  in  the  work 
just  quoted. 

"  Riza  Kuli  Khan,  the  governor  of  Kazerun, 
came  to  pay  the  Elchi  a  visit.  This  old  nobleman 
had  a  silk  band  over  his  eye-sockets,  having  had  his 
eyes  put  out  during  the  late  contest  between  the 
Zend  and  Kajar  families  for  the  throne  of  Persia. 
He  began,  soon  after  he  was  seated,  to  relate  his 
misfortunes,  and  the  tears  actually  came  to  my  eyes, 
at  the  thoughts  of  the  old  man's  sufferings,  when 
judge  of  my  surprise  to  find  it  was  to  entertain,  not 
to  distress  us,  he  was  giving  this  narration,  and  that, 
in  spite  of  the  revolting  subject,  I  was  compelled  to 
smile  at  the  tale,  which  in  any  country  except  Persia, 
would  have  been  deemed  a  subject  for  a  tragedy. 
But  as  poisons  may  by  use  become  aliment,  so  mis- 
fortunes, however  dreadful,  when  they  are  of  daily 
occurrence,  appear  like  common  events  of  life.  But 
it  was  the  manner  and  feelings  of  the  narrator  that, 
in  this  instance,  gave  the  comic  effect  to  the  tragedy 
of  which  he  was  the  hero. 

"  I  had  been  too  active  a  partizan,"  said  Riza 
Khan,  "of  the  Kajir  family,  to  expect  much  mercy 
when  I  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  rascally  tribe  of 
Zend.     I  looked  for  death,  and  was  rather  surprised 


THE   TAJ-E-MAH.  I  59 

at  the  lenity  which  only  condemned  me  to  the  loss  of 
my  eyes.     A  stout  fellow  of  a  feresh  (menial  servant), 
came  as  executioner  of  the  sentence.     He  had  in  his 
hand  a  large  blunt  knife,  which  he  meant  to  make  his 
instrument.     I  offered  him  twenty  tomams  if  he  would 
use  a  penknife  I  shewed  him.     He  refused  in  the  most 
brutal  manner,  called  me  a  merciless  villain,  asserting 
that  I  had  slain  his  brother,  and  that  he  had  solicited 
the  present  office  to  gratify  his  revenge,  adding,  his 
only  regret  was,  not  being  allowed  to  put  me  to  death. 
"  Seeing,"  continued  Riza,  "  that   I   had   no  tender- 
ness to  look  for  from  this  fellow,  I  pretended  submis- 
sion, and  laid  myself  on  my  back.     He  seemed  quite 
pleased,  tucked  up  his  sleeves,  brandished  his  knife, 
and  very  composedly  put  one  knee  on  my  chest,  and 
was  proceeding  to  his  butchering  work,  as  if  I  had 
been  a  stupid  innocent  lamb,  that  was  quite  content 
to  do  what  he  chose.     Observing  him,  from  this  im- 
pression, off  his  guard,  I  raised  one  of  my  feet,  and, 
planting  it  on  the  pit  of  his  stomach,  sent  him  "  heels 
over  head"  in  away  that  would  have  made  you  laugh 
(imitating  with  his  foot  the  action  he  described,  and 
laughing  heartily  himself  at  the  recollection  of  it).     I 
sprang  up,  so  did  my  enemy  ;  we  had  a  short  tussle, 
but  he  was  stronger,  and,  having  knocked  me  down, 
succeeded  in  taking  out  my  eyes."     "  The  pain  at  the 
moment,"  said  the  old  Khan,  "  was  lessened  by  the 
warmth  occasioned  by  the  struggle.    The  wounds  soon 
healed,  and  when  the  Kajirs  obtained  the  undisputed 
sovereignty  of  Persia,  I  was  rewarded  for  my  suffering 
in  their  cause.     All  my  sons  have  been  promoted,  and 
I  am  governor  of  this  town  and  province.     Here  I  am 


l6o      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

in  affluence,  and  enjoy  a  repose  to  which  men  zvho  can 
see  are,  in  this  country,  perfect  strangers.  If  there  is  a 
deficiency  of  revenue,  or  any  real  or  alleged  cause  for 
which  another  governor  would  be  removed,  beaten,  or 
put  to  death,  the  king  says,  "  Never  mind  ;  it  is  only 
poor  blind  Riza  Kuli;  let  him  alone."  So  you  observe 
Elchi,  that  I  have  no  reason  to  complain,  being  in  fact 
better  defended  from  misfortune  by  the  loss  of  my  two 
eyes  than  I  could  by  the  possession  of  twenty  of  the 
clearest  in  Persia,"  and  he  laughed  again  at  this  second 
joke." 


XVII. 
THE   AUSTRIAN    YELLOW 

Official  History— A  Romantic  Ston — A  Great  Diamond  Mis- 
taken for  a  Piece  of  Glass — Fact  and  Fiction— Charles 
the  Bold  and  "The  Florentine '"—A  Splendid  "Cap 
of  Maintenance." 


HE  history  and  identity  of  this  stone 
have  given  rise  to  much  controversy  ; 
but  there  can  be  no  longer  any  reason- 
able doubt  that  it  is  the  same  gem 
which  Tavernier  tells  us  he  saw  "  more  than  once  " 
amongst  the  treasures  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany, 
and  which  has  been  variously  known  as  the  "  Tuscan," 
the  "  Florentine,"  and  the  "  Austrian."  He  says  that 
"it  weighs  139I  carats,  is  pure  and  of  fine  form, 
cut  on  all  sides  in  facets,  and  of  a  citron  tint,"  a  des- 
cription corresponding  in  every  respect  to  that  of 
the  stone  under  consideration.  It  was  the  largest 
diamond  in  Europe  in  his  time,  but  owing  to  its  citron 
or  yellow  colour  was  not  so  highly  esteemed  as  it 
would  otherwise  have  been.  According  to  the  rule 
given  by  Tavernier  for  calculating  the  market  value 
of  large  stones,  he  finds  that  "  this  diamond  should  be 
worth  2.608,335  livres."*     It  has  been  in  the  possession 


♦  "Le  diamant  du  Grand  Due  de  Toscane  pese  119^  carats,  et  il 
est  de  belle  forme  taille  de  tous  les  costez  a  facettes,  et  comme  I'eau  tire  un 
peu  sur  la  couleur  de  citron  je  ne  mets  le  premier  curat  qu'  a  135   iivics 


l62       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

of  the  House  of  Austria  since  the  time  of  Maria 
Theresa,  and  the  subjoined  official  account  of  it 
is  embodied  in  the  recently  issued  Catalogue  of  the 
Objects  contained  in  the  Treasury  of  the  Imperial  and 
Royal  House  of  Austria,  kindly  forwarded  to  us  by 
the  Austrian  Ambassador  in  London  : — 

"  The  *  Florentine,'  also  called  the  '  Great 
Florentine  diamond,'  actually  forming  part  of  a  hat- 
button,  is  known  to  be  one  of  the  largest  diamonds  in 
the  world.  It  weighs  133^  carats  of  Vienna,-f  but  is 
rather  yellow.  The  stone  is  cut  in  nine  surfaces 
covered  with  facets  forming  a  star  with  nine  rays. 
This  jewel  was  once  the  property  of  Charles  the  Bold, 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  day  carried  all  his  valuables  in  the  battle-field, 
first  to  have  them  always  in  sight,  and,  secondly,  on 
account  of  the  mysterious  power  then  attributed  to 
precious  stones.  Charles  lost  this  diamond  at  the 
battle  of  Morat  on  the  22nd  June,  1476.  Tradition 
relates  that  it  was  picked  up  by  a  peasant  who  took  it 
for  a  piece  of  glass,  and  sold  it  for  a  florin.  The  new 
owner,  Bartholomew  May,  a  citizen  of  Berne,  sold  it 


suf  lequel  pied  le  diamant  doit  valoir  2,608,335  livres." — Vol.  II.,  ji.  290  of 
i68i  ed.  The  rule  is  here  laid  down  at  p.  288.  Square  the  number  of 
carats,  and  multiply  result  by  the  price  of  a  stone  of  one  carat  of  same 
value  as  the  stone  in  question  For  the  price  varies  with  the  quality  of  the 
stone  itself.  Thus  a  perfect  stone  of  one  carat  being  valued  at  150  livres, 
the  price  of  such  a  stone  weighing  12  carats  will  be  12  x  12  x  150  = 
2i,6oo=the  price  in  livres.  It  may  be  remarked  that  this  rule  is  usually 
credited  to  Jetiiies,  who  lived  nearly  100  years  after  the  time  of  its 
real  author. 

t  The  Viennese  carat  is  somewhat  larger  than  the  French,  the 
former  weighing  206-1300,  the  latter  205.500  milligrams  only.  The  133^ 
carats  of  Vienna  would  thus  make  about  139^  French  carats,  the  weight 
given  by  Tavernier. 


THE   AUSTRIAN    YELLOW.  163 

to  the  Genoese,  who  sold  it  in  turn  to  Ludovico  Moro 
Sforza.     By  the  intercession  of  the  Fuggers  it  came 
into    the     Medici     treasury    at     Florence.       When 
Francis  Stephen  of  Lorraine  exchanged  this  Duchy 
against  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Tuscany,  he    became 
the  owner  of  the  '  Florentine  Diamond.'     Through 
this  prince,  who  became  later  on  the  consort  of  the 
Empress  Maria  Theresa,  this  diamond  came  into  the 
private  treasury  of  the  Imperial  House  at  Vienna. 
At  the  coronation  of  Francis  Stephen  as  Emperor  of 
Germany  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  the  4th  day  of 
October,   1745,  the    'Florentine  diamond'    adorned 
the  crown  of  the  House  of  Austria." 

It   is    much   to    be   regretted   that   this    official 
statement  should  adopt  the  erroneous  view  that  the 
"  Florentine  "  belonged  originally  to  Charles  the  Bold. 
If  it  did  belong  to  him,  a  most  violent  supposition  in 
any  case,  it  was  certainly  not  one  of  the  three  dia- 
monds which  Robert  de  Berquem  tells  us  that  prince 
placed  in  the  hands  of  his  great  uncle,  L.  de  Berquem, 
inventor  of  the  art  of  diamond  cutting,  "  to  have  them 
advantageously  cut,  according  to  his  skill.     He  cut 
them  forthwith  (that  is  apparently  in  1476),  one  thick 
another  thin  {foible),  and  the  third  in  triangular  shape. 
And  he  succeeded  so  well  that  the  Duke,  delighted  at 
such  a  surprising  invention,  gave  him  three  thousand 
ducats  in  recompense."     He  adds  that  Charles  gave 
the  "  foible,"  or  thin  stone  to  Pope  Sixtus  IV. ;  and 
the  triangular  one  to  Louis  XI  ;  and  that  he  kept  the 
third  or  thick  one  for  himself,  wearing  it  in  his  ring 
"  when  he  was  killed  before  Nancy,  one  year  after 
having  had  them  cut,  that  is  in  1477."     But  it  is  not 


164       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

to  be  supposed  that  a  diamond  weighing  139^  carats 
could  be  worn  in  a  ring,  so  that  the  "Florentine" 
must  have  been  a  different  stone  from  that  here 
spoken  of.  Besides  De  Comines,  whose  account  of 
the  Duke's  diamonds  is  much  more  reliable  than  that 
of  Berquem,  writing  200  years  after  the  event,  tells  us 
that  "  his  great  diamond,  which  was  one  of  the  largest 
in  Christendom,"  was  lost,  not  at  the  battle  of  Nancy, 
in  January,  1477,  but  at  that  of  Granson  in  1476,  on 
which  occasion  Charles  lost  "all  his  large  jewels" 
{toutes  ses  grandes  bagues),  together  with  all  his 
baggage. 

The  story  goes  that  this  "  great  diamond  "  was 
lost  by  Charles  in  the  confusion  of  the  rout,  but  that 
a   common    Swiss   soldier  found   it,  together  with   a 
valuable  pearl  in  a  box.     Mistaking  the  diamond  for 
a  bit  of  glass,  he  threw  it  aside,  but  on  second  thoughts 
picked  it  up  from  under  a  waggon  where  it  had  fallen. 
He  then  sold  it  for  a  florin  to  a  priest  at  Montigny, 
who  in   his  turn   disposed   of  it  for  three  francs  to 
the   Bernese  authorities.      At    that   time    there  was 
residing  at  Berne  a  wealthy  merchant,  named  Bartho- 
lomew May,  who  had  many  relations  both  of  a  com- 
mercial  and  private   character  with    Italy.     Having 
purchased  the  gem  for  5,000  florins,  and  a  present  to 
the  Mayor,   William  von  Diessland,   through  whose 
mediation  the  sale  had  been  effected,  May  sold  it  for 
a  small  profit  to  a  Genoese   dealer.     From  him  the 
Milanese  Regent,  Ludovico  Moro  Sforza,  bought  it  for 
some  10,000  florins,  and  when  the  treasures  of   Milan 
were   distributed,   Pope    Julius   H.  purchased   it    for 
20,000  ducats. 


THE   AUSTRIAN    VELLOW.  165 

But  this  Story  is  in  flat  contradiction  to  the  posi- 
tive statement  of  J.  J.  Fugger,  who  assures  us  that  the 
diamond  in  question  was  purchased  from  the  Bernese 
Government,  not  by  Bartholomew  May,  but  by  his 
own  great  uncle,  Jacob  Fugger,  head  of  the  famous 
Nurenberg  family  of  that  name,  together  with  the 
"  Cap  of  Maintenance,"  and  other  jewels  belonging  to 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy  all  for  47,000  florins. 

In  a  curious  document,  illustrated  by  himself  in 
1555,  and  published  by  Lambeccius  in  the  Bibliotheca 
CcBsarea,  Fugger  gives  a  detailed  account  of  these 
jewels.  But  his  description  of  Charles  the  Bold's 
large  diamond,  which,  he  says,  was  the  talk  of 
all  Christendom,*  answers  to  that  of  none  of  the  large 
diamonds  now  extant  in  Europe,  and  least  of  all  to 
the  "Florentine.  He  says  it  formed  a  pyramid  five- 
eighths  of  an  inch  square  at  the  base,  with  the  apex 
cut  into  a  four-rayed  star  in  relief,  each  star  coinciding 
with  the  middle  of  each  face  of  the  pyramid.  It  was 
the  central  piece  in  a  beautiful  pendant  of  diamonds, 
rubies,  and  pearls,  which  remained  for  some  years  in 
the  Fugger  family.  It  thus  came  into  the  hands  of 
the  author  of  the  manuscript,  who  sold  the  pendant 
to  Henry  VIII.,  of  England,  in  1547,  shortly  before 
his  death.  It  continued  to  form  part  of  the  English 
regalia  during  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  But  soon 
after  lier  accession  to  the  throne,  Queen  Mary  pre- 
sented it  to  her  husband  Philip  II.,  1554  And  thus 
it  happened,  as  Fugger  remarks,  that  after  a  period  of 
seventy-six  years  (1477 — 1554)  this  diamond  returned 


*  ''Der  grosz  und  dicht  spitiig  Diamante,  von  dem  in  der  gantzen 
Christenheit  gesagt  wurd." 


1 66        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

to  the   representative,  in  the   fourth  descent,  of  its 
original  owner,  Charles  the  Bold,  of  Burgundy. 

It  is  thus  placed  beyond  doubt  that  the  stone 
lost  by  Charles,  whether  at  Granson  or  Nancy,  ulti- 
mately found  its  way  through  Switzerland,  and  Jacob 
Fugger,  and  his  great  nephew  J.  J.  Fugger,  into  the 
possession  of  Henry  VIII.,  by  whose  daughter  Mary 
it  was  presented  to  Philip  II.  But  the  "  Florentine  " 
passed  directly  from  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  to 
Maria  Theresa.  Consequently  the  introduction  of  the 
Fugger  family  into  the  above  official  account  of  the 
stone,  with  which  they  had  nothing  to  do,  arises  out 
of  a  misconception  or  a  confusion  of  the  traditions 
associated  with  two  distinct  gems.  It  thus  appears 
that  the  "  Florentine "  cannot  clearly  be  traced  to 
Charles  the  Bold  at  all.  Its  authentic  history  really 
begins  with  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  in  whose 
possession  it  was  when  examined  and  weighed  by 
Tavernier.  Its  form  and  treatment  ("  cut  on  all  sides 
in  facets")  are  distinctly  Indian,  which  again  renders 
it  extremely  improbable  that  this  stone  was  one  of 
those  manipulated  by  De  Berquem  for  the  Bur- 
gundian  prince.  We  are  thus  led  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  "  Florentine  "  probably  reached  Italy  direct 
from  the  East,  and  that  the  many  stories  and  legends 
associated  with  Charles  the  Bold  and  his  regalia  have 
been  transferred  to  the  "  Florentine "  through  the 
ignorance  of  writers  who  lived  long  after  the  events 
they  were  describing. 

Whatever  doubt  might  remain  on  this  point  is 
disposed  of  by  a  consideration  of  the  respective 
forms   of    the    stones    themselves.       Both   are    said 


-     ^  THE   AUSTRIAN   YELLOW.  1 6/ 

to  be  star-shaped.  But  we  have  seen  that  Fugger 
describes  the  Burgundian  as  "  a  pyramid,  with 
the  apex  cut  into  a  four-rayed  star  in  rehef," 
whereas  we  are  officially  told  that  the  "  Florentine" 
"  is  cut  in  nine  surfaces,  covered  with  facets  forming 
a  star  %vith  nine  rays?' 

Another  still  more  extravagant  tradition  identi- 
fies the  "  Florentine  "  with  the  "  Sancy,"  from  which, 
as  will  be  seen  further  on,  it  differs  in  weight,  form, 
colour,  and  history.  The  true  origin  of  both  of  these 
historical  gems  may  doubtless  be  wrapped  in  ob- 
scurity, but  that  they  are  two  totally  distinct  stones 
there  cannot  be  the  shadow  of  a  doubt. 

Owing  to  the  confusion  between  the  "  Fugger  " 
and  "  Florentine,"  the  latter  has  sometimes  been 
called  the  "  Maximilian,"  as  by  Murray,  who  writes 
that  "  the  '  Maximilian,'  or  Austrian  diamond,  is  of  a 
yellow  colour  and  rose  cut,  and  has  been  an  heirloom 
in  the  family  ever  since  the  emperor  of  that  name," 
But  we  have  seen  above  that  it  did  not  pass  into  the 
Austrian  family  until  the  time  of  Maria  Theresa. 
It  was  one  of  the  gems  purchased  by  Jacob  Fugger 
that  passed  into  the  hands  of  Maximilian  II.,  for 
whom  P'ugger  broke  up  the  "  Cap  of  Maintenance," 
resetting  all  the  jewels  adorning  it.  He  describes  it 
as  of  silk,  and  covered  with  pearls,  with  a  hat-band  of 
sapphires  and  rubies,  and  a  plume-case  set  with  alter- 
nate rows  of  good-sized  diamonds,  pearls,  and  rubies. 
It  would  thus  seem  that  one  of  these  "  good-sized 
diamonds"  has  developed  into  a  stone  of  139^  carats, 
and  that  the  latter  has  been  made  an  "  heir-loom  "  of 
the  House  of  Austria  nearly  two  hundred  years  before 


1 68       THE   GREAT  DIAMONDS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

it  crossed  the  Alps  ;  for  Maximilian  II.  reigned  from 
1564  to  1576,  while  Maria  Theresa  married  Francis 
Stephen  of  Lorraine  in  1736. 

This  stone  has  been  variously  estimated  at 
^40,000  to  i^5o,ooo,  and  even  at  ;^i55,ooo.  But  for 
its  citron  hue  the  latter  might  not  perhaps  be  too 
high  an  estimate  of  its  value. 


XVIII. 
THE  PITT  OR  REGENT. 


Found  by  a  Slave — Stolen  by  an  English  Skipper — Treachery 
and  Murder — Sold  for  /"i,ooo — Bought  for  ^"24,500 — Re- 
sold to  the  Regent  of  France  for  £1^5,000 — Stolen  and 
Restored  to  the  Garde-Meuble — Pawned  to  the  Dutch 
— Redeemed  and  Worn  by  Napoleon  the  Great — Cap- 
tured after  Waterloo,  and  taken  to  Berlin — On  View 
at  the  Paris  Fxhibition — Among  the  Crown  Jewels  of 
France,  and  Valued  at  ^"480,000. 


llRST  known  as  the  "  Pitt,"  then  as  the 
"  Regent,"  this  perfect  diamond  has  a 
remarkable  history.  There  are  two 
stories  of  its  original  discovery.  They 
do  not  differ  sufficiently  to  cast  a  doubt  upon  the 
general  facts.  The  second  version  of  the  narrative  is 
easily  reconcilable  with  the  first. 

The  adventures  of  the  "  Pitt "  begin  very  much 
on  the  lines  of  several  other  great  stones.  Cupidity, 
murder,  remorse,  are  factors  in  the  opening  chapter. 
Trouble,  political,  social,  and  personal,  accompany  the 
gem  to  its  latest  resting-place.  It  was  found  by  a 
slave  in  the  Parteal  mines,  on  the  Kistna,  in  the  year 
1 70 1.  The  story  goes  that,  to  secure  his  treasure,  he 
cut  a  hole  in  the  calf  of  his  leg,  and  concealed  it,  one 
account   says,  in  the  wound    itself,   another   in    the 

L 


170      THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF  THE   WORLD. 

bandages.  As  the  stone  weighed  410  carats  before 
it  was  cut,  the  last  version  of  the  method  of  conceal- 
ment is,  no  doubt,  the  correct  one.  The  slave  escaped 
to  the  coast  with  his  property.  Unfortunately  for 
himself,  and  also  for  the  peace  of  mind  of  his  confi- 
dant, he  met  with  an  English  skipper,  whom  he 
trusted  with  his  secret.  It  is  said  he  offered  to  give 
the  diamond  to  the  mariner,  in  return  for  his  liberty, 
which  was  to  be  secured  by  the  skipper  carrying  him 
to  a  free  country.  But  it  seems  probable  that  he 
supplemented  this  with  a  money  condition  as  well, 
otherwise  the  skipper's  treatment  of  the  poor  creature 
is  as  devoid  of  reason  as  it  is  of  humanity.  The 
English  skipper,  professing  to  accept  the  slave's  pro- 
posals, took  him  on  board  his  ship,  and  having 
obtained  possession  of  the  jewel,  flung  the  slave  into 
the  sea.  He  afterwards,  so  this  first  version  of  the 
narrative  goes,  sold  the  diamond  to  Mr.  Thomas  Pitt, 
governor  of  Fort  St.  George,  for  ;6^  1,000,  squandered 
the  money  in  dissipation,  and  finally,  in  a  fit  of 
delirium  tremens  and  remorse,  hanged  himself. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  substantial 
accuracy  of  this  characteristic  beginning  of  the  ad- 
ventures of  the  great  diamond,  with  a  trifling  exception. 
The  English  sea  captain  sold  it  in  all  probability  for 
;^i,000,  not  to  Mr.  Pitt,  but  to  Jamchund,  at  that 
time  the  largest  diamond  merchant  in  the  East,  who, 
it  will  be  seen  in  the  course  of  our  history,  sold  it  to 
Mr.  Pitt  for  ;^20,400.  The  circumstances  connected 
with  his  purchase  of  the  gem,  are  fully  related  by 
Pitt  himself,  who,  on  his  return  to  Europe  in  17 10, 
was  suspected,  and  even  openly  accused,  of  having 


THE   PITT  OR   REGENT.  I^i 

procured  it  by  foul  or  unfair  means.  Amongst  others 
Pope  was  supposed  to  point  at  something  of  the  kind 
in  the  oft-quoted  lines  from  the  Man  of  Ross. 

"Asleep  and  naked  as  an  Indian  lay, 
An  honest  factor  stole  a  gem  away ; 
He  pledg'd  it  to  the  Knight,  the  Knight  had  wit. 
So  kept  the  diamond,  and  the  rogue  was  bit." 

These  scandalous  reports,  to  which,  however 
much  credence  never  seems  to  have  been  attached, 
having  reached  the  ex-governor,  at  that  time  in 
Norway,  he  sent  a  letter  from  Bergen  to  the  editor 
of  the  European  Magazine  for  October,  17 lo,  setting 
forth  the  true  facts  of  the  case.  A  certified  copy  of 
this  document  was  carefully  preserved  in  the  Pitt 
family,  and,  in  consequence  of  some  fresh  rumours 
regarding  the  early  history  of  the  diamond,  was  again 
published  by  them  in  the  Daily  Post  for  November 
3,  1743,  that  is,  seventeen  years  after  Pitt's  death. 
The  chief  passages  bearing  on  the  transaction  are 
here  subjoined  from  the  latter  source  : — 

"  Since  my  coming  into  this  melancholy  place  of 
Bergen,  I  have  been  often  thinking  of  the  most  unpa- 
ralleled villany  of  William  Fraser,  Thomas  Frederick, 
and  Sampa,  a  black  merchant,  who  brought  a  paper 
before  Governor  Addison*  in  council,  insinuating  that 
I  had  unfairly  got  possession  of  a  large  diamond, 
which  tended  so  much  to  the  prejudice  of  my  reputa- 
tion, and  the  ruin  of  my  estate,  that  I  thought 
necessary  to  keep  by  me  the  true  relation  how  I 
purchased  it  in  all  respects,  that  so  in  case  of  sudden 
mortality,  my  children  and  friends  may  be  apprized 

*     This  was  a  brother  of  the  celebrated  poet  and  es-sayist.     He  suc- 
ceeded Pitt  as  governor  of  Fort  St.  George  in  1709  or  1710. 


172       THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

of  the  whole  matter,  and  so  be  enabled  thereby  to 
put  to  silence  and  confound  those  and  all  other 
villains,  in  their  base  attempts  against  either. 

"  About  two  or  three  years  after  my  arrival  at 
Madras,  which  was  in  July,  1698,  I  heard  there  were 
large  diamonds  in  the  country  to  be  sold,  which  I  en- 
couraged to  be  brought  down,  promising  to  be  their 
chaperon,  if  they  would  be  reasonable  therein,  upon 
which  Jamchund,  one  of  the  most  eminent  diamond 
merchants  in  these  parts,  came  down  about  December, 
1 70 1,  and  brought  with  him  a  large  rough  stone,  about 
305  mangelins,  and  some  small  ones,  which  myself 
and  others  bought.  But  he,  asking  a  very  extrava- 
gant price  for  the  great  one,  I  did  not  think  of 
meddling  with  it  ;  when  he  left  it  with  me  for  some 
days,  and  then  came  and  took  it  away  again,  and 
did  so  several  times,  insisting  upon  not  less  than 
200,000  pagodas,*  and  as  I  best  remember,  I  did  not 
bid  him  more  than  30,000,  and  had  little  thoughts  of 
buying  it  for  that.  I  considered  there  were  many 
and  great  risks  to  be  run,  not  only  in  cutting  it,  but 
whether  it  would  prove  foul  or  clean,  or  the  water 
good.  Besides,  I  thought  it  too  great  an  amount  to 
venture  home  in  one  bottom,  so  that  Jamchund  re- 
solved to  return  speedily  to  his  own  country,  so  that, 
I  best  remember,  it  was  in  February  following  he 
came  again  to  me  (with  Vincaty  Chittee,  who  was 
always  with  him  when  I  discoursed  about  it),  and 
pressed  me  to  know  whether  I  resolved   to  buy  it. 


•     As  a  pagoda  is  worth  about  8s.  6d.,    this  would  be  equivalent  to 
about  ;^85,ooo. 


THE   PITT   OR   REGENT.  173 

when  he  came  down  to  100,000  padagoes,  and  some- 
thing under  before  we  parted,  when  we  agreed  upon 
a  day  to  meet  and  to  make  a  final  end  thereof,  one 
way  or  other,  which  I  believe  was  the  latter  end  of 
the  aforesaid  month,  or  beginning  of  March,  when  we 
met  in  the  consultation  room,  when,  after  a  great 
deal  of  talk,  I  brought  him  down  to  55,000  padagoes, 
and  advanced  to  45,000,  resolving  to  give  no  more 
and  he  likewise  not  to  abate,  so  delivered  him  up  the 
stone,  and  we  took  a  friendly  leave  of  one  another. 
Mr.  Benyon  was  then  writing  in  my  closet,  with  whom 
I  discoursed  what  had  passed,  and  told  him  now  I 
was  clear  of  it ;  when,  about  half-an-hour  after,  my 
servant  brought  me  word  that  Jam.chund  and  Vincaty 
Chittee  were  at  the  door,  who,  being  called  in,  they 
used  a  great  many  expressions  in  praise  of  the  stone, 
and  told  me  he  had  rather  I  should  buy  it  than  any- 
body ;  and,  to  give  an  instance  thereof,  offered  it  for 
50,000.  So,  believing  it  must  be  a  pennyworth  if  it 
proved  go  3d,  I  offered  to  part  the  5,000  padagoes  that 
were  between  us,  which  he  would  not  hearken  to,  and 
was  going  out  of  the  room  again,  when  he  turned 
back,  and  told  mc  I  should  have  it  for  49,000.  But 
I  still  adhered  to  what  I  had  before  offered  him, 
when  presently  he  came  to  48,000,  and  made  a  solemn 
vow  he  would  not  part  with  it  for  a  pagadoe  under  ; 
when  I  went  again  into  the  closet  to  Mr.  Benyon,  and 
told  him  what  had  passed,  saying  that  if  it  was  worth 
47,500  it  was  worth  48,000.*     So  I  closed  with  him 


*  Pitt,  who  throughout  spells  "padagoe"for  pagoda,  here  appends 
a  note  in  which  he  reduces  the  48,000  pagodas  to  "  ^^20,400  sterling, 
at  8s,  6d.  per  padagoe," 


174       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

for  that  sum,  when  he  delivered  me  the  stone,  for 
which  I  paid  him  honourably,  as  by  my  books  doth 
appear.  And  I  here  further  call  God  to  witness  that 
I  never  used  the  least  threatening  word  at  any  of  our 
meetings  to  induce  him  to  sell  it  to  me  ;  and  God 
Himself  knows  it  was  never  so  much  as  in  my 
thoughts  so  to  do.  Since  which  I  have  had  frequent 
and  considerable  dealings  with  this  man,  and  trusted 
him  with  several  sums  of  money,  and  balanced  several 
accounts  with  him,  and  left  upwards  of  2,000  padagoes 
in  his  hands  at  my  coming  away.  So  had  I  used  the 
least  indirect  means  to  have  got  it  from  him,  would 
he  not  have  made  himself  satisfaction,  when  he 
has  had  my  money  so  often  in  his  hands  ?  Or  would 
I  have  trusted  him  afterwards,  as  I  did  preferable  to 
all  other  diamond  merchants  ?  As  this  is  the  truth, 
so  I  hope  for  God's  blessing  upon  this  and  all  my 
other  affairs  in  this  world,  and  eternal  happiness 
hereafter. — Written  and  signed  by  me  in  Bergen, 
July  29,  1 7 10. — Tho.  Pitt." 

On  the  back  of  this  declaration  the  following- 
words  are  written  : — "  In  case  of  the  death  of  me, 
Tho.  Pitt,  I  direct  that  this  paper,  sealed  as  it  is,  be 
delivered  to  my  son,  Robert  Pitt." 

In  publishing  this  document  the  editor  of  the 
Daily  Post  observes  that  he  does  so  "  at  this  time  of 
day  "  (that  is  seventeen  years  after  Pitt's  death),  "  by 
desire,  and  hopes  that  the  following  piece  will  give 
satisfaction  to  all  those  who  may  still  suspect  that 
that  gentleman  did  not  fairly  come  by  the  said  stone." 

No  doubt  Pitt  drove  rather  a  hard  bargain 
with  Jamchund  ;   but   there   was  otherwise   nothing 


THE   PITT  OR   REGENT.  175 

dishonourable  or  even  unusual  in  the  transaction.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  in  this  account  there  is  no  refer- 
ence to  the  story  of  the  slave,  about  which  neither  Pitt 
nor  Jamchund  were  likely  to  know  anything.  The 
governor  was  evidently  under  the  impression  that 
the  dealer  had  brought  the  stone  with  many  others 
down  from  the  diamond-fields,  while  the  dealer,  if  he 
picked  up  such  a  gem  for  i^i,000  from  a  sea-captain 
on  the  coast,  would  naturally  abstain  from  asking  any 
indiscreet  questions,  whatever  his  suspicions  might  be. 
The  fact  that  Jamchund  ultimately  closed  for  48,000 
pagodas,  or  a  little  over  ^20,000,  after  asking  200,000 
pagodas,  or  ;^85,ooo,  would  almost  imply  that  he  was 
glad  to  get  rid  of  the  diamond  "  at  a  sacrifice," 
because  conscious  that  the  circumstances  attending 
its  purchase  would  not  bear  any  severe  scrutiny. 

Pitt's  account  of  his  share  in  the  transaction 
was  afterwards  fully  confirmed  by  Mr.  Salmon  who 
was  present  on  the  occasion.  Yet  it  appears  that 
the  stone,  which  had  been  consigned  by  Pitt  to  Sir 
Stephen  Evance,  of  London,  and  sent  home  in  the 
ship  Bedford,  (Captain  John  Hudson),  was  charged 
in  the  original  bill  of  lading  at  6,500  pagodas  only. 
This  might  have  been  done  either  to  save  freight, 
or  more  probably  to  avoid  attracting  attention  to  the 
stone,  and  thereby  exposing  it  to  the  risk  of  being 
stolen. 

The  diamond  was  cut  very  skilfully  in  London, 
and  in  the  process,  which  lasted  two  years,  it  was  re- 
duced from  410  to  136I  carats.  The  editor  of  the 
Museum  Britannicum  stated  at  the  time  that  the 
cutting  and  polishing  cost  ;^5,ooo,  and  Jeffries,  who 


1/6       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

points  out  the  mistake  made  in  the  operation,  and 
shows  how  it  might  be  improved,  remarks  that  there 
is  only  one  small  speck,  and  that  placed  in  such  a 
position  as  not  to  be  detected  in  the  setting.     He  also 
says  that  another  ^5,000  was  spent  in  negotiating  its 
sale  to  the  Regent,  Duke  of  Orleans,  who  purchased 
it  in    17 17,   during  the  minority  of  Louis  XV.,  for 
£iSS,ooo.     The  cleavage  and  dust  obtained  in  the 
cutting  were  also  valued  at  from  £y,ooo  to  ^8,000,* 
so  that  Pitt  must  have  netted  at  least  i^  100,000  by 
his  venture.     With  this  he  restored  the  fortunes  of 
the  ancient  house  of  Pitt,  which  was  destined  later  on 
to  give  to  England  two  of  her  greatest  statesmen  and 
orators,  for   the   governor   of  Fort    St.   George   was 
grandfather  of  the  great  Earl  of  Chatham,  father  of 
the  illustrious  William  Pitt.     He  was  born  at  Bland- 
ford,  in  Dorsetshire,  where  he  was  buried  in  May,  1726. 
In  the  funeral  oration  preached  on  the  occasion  by  the 
Rev.  Canon  R.  Eyre,  the  following  reference  was  made 
to  the  "diamond  scandal:" — "That  he  should  have 
enemies  no  wonder,  when  envy  will  make  them,  and 
when    their    malice    could    reach    him    in    no    other 
way,    it   is   as    little   to   be   wondered    at  that   they 
should  make  such  an  attempt  upon  his  credit  by  an 
abusive  story  as  if  it  had  been  by  some  stretch  of  his 
power  that  he  got  that  diamond  which  was  of  too 
value  for  any  subject  to  purchase,  an  ornament  more 


*  These  figures,  like  almost  everything  else  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  great  historical  diamonds,  are  variously  given  in  different 
writers.  Thus  Murray  (p.  59)  gives,  as  here  stated,  ''from  j^7,ooo 
to  ^'8,000  ;"  while  King  (p.  83)  says  that  "  the  value  of  the  fragments 
separated  in  shaping  it  amounted  to  ;^3,Soo  "  He  adds  that  it  became  by 
the  process,  "  for  perfection  of  shape  as  well  as  for  purity  of  water  the  first 
diamond  in  the  world  ;  as  it  still  continues." 


THE   PITT   OR   REGENT.  177 

fitly  becoming  an  Imperial  crown,  which  if  it  be  con- 
sidered, may  be  one  reason  why  it  was  brought  to  the 
governor  by  the  merchant  who  sold  it  in  the  Indies, 
and  it  was  brought  to  him  once  or  twice  before  he 
could  be  persuaded  to  part  with  so  great  a  sum  of 
money  for  it,  as  it  cost  him." 

Even  after  refuting  the  calumnies  of  his  enemies, 
Pitt  knew  little  rest  until  he  was  quit  of  his  costly 
jewel.  He  was  constantly  haunted  by  a  morbid  fear 
of  losing  or  being  robbed  of  it,  so  that  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  he  could  ever  be  induced  to  exhibit  it 
even  to  his  most  intimate  friends.  The  German  tra- 
veller, Offenbach,  when  visiting  England  in  17 12, 
anxious  to  see  all  the  sights  of  the  metropolis,  made 
several  vain  attempts  to  get  a  view  of  the  gem,  which 
had  already  become  famous  throughout  the  West. 
While  it  remained  in  his  possession  the  ex-governor 
never  slept  two  nights  running  under  the  same  roof. 
He  moved  about  capriciously,  or  in  disguise,  and  never 
gave  previous  notice  of  his  arrival  to,  or  departure, 
from  town. 

At  last  he  was  relieved  of  further  anxiety  by  the 
negotiations,  in  consequence  of  which  the  "  Pitt " 
became,  the  "  Regent,"  passing  from  its  English 
owner    into    the    hands    of    the    Duke    of  Orleans 

> 

Regent  of  France,  in  17 17.  After  being  cut  in  the 
form  of  an  almost  faultless  brilliant,  a  model  of  the 
diamond  was  taken,  which  is  now  in  the  British 
Museum,*  and  on  the  silver  frame  is  engraved  the 


*   Murray   (p.    65)  says   that   in   the  same   place   there  is  another 
"  model  of  the  '  Pitt '  diamond  in  i:;.  originui  rou^ii  form  in  lead. ' 


178        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD. 

legend :  "This  is  the  model  of  Governor  Pitt's  diamond, 
weight  136J  carats  ;  was  sold  to  Louis  XV.  of  France, 
A.D.  17 17."  This  model,  or  rather  a  duplicate  without 
the  frame,  had  been  sent  to  Paris  and  submitted  to 
the  famous  Scotch  financier  John  Law,  at  that  time 
at  the  height  of  his  power  in  France.  Law  took  the 
stone  first  to  the  Regent,  and  then  to  the  Due  de  Saint 
Simon,*  who  gives  a  full  account  of  the  affair  in  his 
Memoirs.  Saint  Simon  agreed  with  Law  that  France 
ought  to  possess  a  gem  which  up  to  that  time  was  in- 
comparably the  finest  ever  seen  in  Europe.  Yielding 
to  their  combined  efforts,  the  Regent  at  last  consented 
to  purchase  it  for  i^i35,ooo,-f-  including  i^5,ooo  for  the 
negotiations,  a  euphemistic  expression,  which,  trans- 
lated into  plain  language,  meant  a  bribe  for  Law. 
Money,  however,  was  just  then  so  scarce,  that  the 
interest  alone  was  paid  on  the  amount,  jewels  being 
given  as  security  for  the  principal  until  it  was  paid  off. 
This  price,  great  as  it  may  appear  to  be,  was  even 
then  regarded  as  much  below  its  real  value,  and  in  the 
inventory  of  the  French  Crown  Jewels,  drawn  up  in 
1 791,  it  is  valued  at  12,000,000  francs,  or  ^^"480,000. 

The  year  after  the  preparation  of  this  inventory 
which  was  made  by  a  commission  of  the  most 
experienced  jewellers  in  Paris,  the  whole  of  the  French 


■^  Saint  Simon,  who  seems  to  have  known  nothing  of  its  early 
history,  asserts  that  it  was  stolen  by  a  person  employed  in  the  Indian 
diamond  fields,  who  brought  it  to  Europe,  After  showing  it  to  the  King 
of  England,  and  several  other  English  noblemen,  he  took  it  to  Paris,  where 
he  submitted  it  to  Law,  Then  follow  the  particulars  of  the  negotiations 
with  the  French  Regent,  as  stated  in  the  text. 

+  But  on  this  point  the  authorities  are  at  variance  with  each  other. 
Board  says  the  figure  was  2,250,000  francs  :  Jeffries,  ^125,000  ;  others 
;^i  30,000. 


THE   PITT   OR   REGENT.  1/9 

Regalia  disappeared,  and  with  it  the  "  Pitt,"  now  the 
"  Regent,"  which  stood  at  the  head  of  the  list.  The 
remarkable  circumstances  attending  this  famous  rob- 
bery of  the  Garde-Meiible  are  thus  related  by  M. 
Breton,  editor  of  the  Gazette  des  Tribiincaiix : — 

"  The  inventory  of  the  Crown  diamonds,  made  in 
1791,  in  virtue  of  a  decree  of  the  Constituent  Assem- 
bly, had  scarcely  been  completed  in  the  month  of 
August,  1792,  at  the  time  of  the  last  public  exhibition, 
which  took  place  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  every  month. 
After  the  sanguinary  events  of  August  loth  to  Sep- 
tember 2nd,  this  rich  treasury  was  naturally  closed  to 
the  public,  and  the  Paris  Commune,  as  representing 
the  State  property,  put  its  seals  on  the  cabinets  in 
which  had  been  placed  the  crown,  the  sceptre,  and 
other  ornaments  of  the  coronation  service.  The 
golden  shrine,  bequeathed  by  Cardinal  Richelieu  to 
Louis  XIII.,  with  all  the  accompanying  diamonds 
and  rubies,  and  the  famous  golden  vase,  weighing 
106  marks,  besides  a  vast  quantity  of  other  vases  in 
agate,  amethyst,  and  rock  crystal.  On  the  morning 
of  September  17th,  Scrgent  and  the  two  other  com- 
missioners of  the  Commune,  perceived  that  during 
the  night  robbers  had  made  their  way  in  by  scaling 
the  colonnade  from  the  side  of  the  Place  Louis  XV., 
and  through  a  window  looking  in  that  direction, 
having  thus  got  access  to  the  vast  halls  of  the  Garde- 
Meuble,  they  had  broken  the  seals  without  forcing  the 
locks,  carried  off  the  priceless  treasures  contained  in 
the  cabinets,  and  disappeared  without  leaving  any 
other  traces  of  their  presence.  Several  persons  were 
arrested,  but  released  after  a  protracted  enquiry.     An 


l80         THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD. 

anonymous  letter,  addressed  to  the  Commune  stated, 
that  some  of  the  stolen  objects  were  in  a  ditch  in  the 
Allee  des  Veuves,  Champs-Elysees.  Sergent  at  once 
proceeded  with  his  colleagues  to  the  spot,  which  had 
been  very  carefully  indicated.  Here  were  found 
amongst  other  things  the  famous  "  Regent"  diamond, 
and  the  no  less  famous  agate-onyx  cup,  known  by 
the  name  of  the  Abbe  Suger's  Chalice,  which  was 
afterwards  placed  in  the  cabinet  of  antiques  in  the 
National  Library. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  investigations  made  at  the 
time  and  subsequently,  it  remained  uncertain  whether 
this  robbery  had  a  political  object,  or  whether  it  was 
simply  the  act  of  ordinary  criminals,  undertaken  at  a 
time  when  the  guardians  of  the  public  security  were 
in  a  state  of  complete  disorganization.  Some  said 
that  the  proceeds  of  these  treasures  were  intended  to 
maintain  the  army  of  the  emigrants.  Others,  on  the 
contrary,  pretended  that  Pethion  and  Manual  h:-d 
used  them  to  obtain  the  evacuation  of  Champagne^ 
by  giving  up  the  whole  to  the  King  of  Prussia.  Some 
even  went  so  far  as  to  assert  that  the  keepers  them- 
selves had  broken  open  the  cabinets,  and  Sergent,  of 
whom  we  have  above  spoken,  was  nick-named  Agate, 
in  consequence  of  the  mysterious  way  in  v/hich  he 
had  found  the  agate-onyx  cup.  But  none  of  these 
more  or  less  absurd  surmises  ever  received  any  judicial 
confirmation. 

"Nevertheless,therewas  one  circumstance  of  which 
I  was  witness,  jointly  with  the  others  present  at  the 
sitting  of  the  special  criminal  court  of  Paris,  when 
Bourgeois  and  others  accused  of  having  forged  notes 


THE   PITT   OR   REGENT.  l8l 

on  the  Bank  of  France,  were  put  upon  their  trial  in 
1804.  One  of  the  accused,  who  had  assumed  the 
name  of  Bada,  had  at  first  denied  all  the  charges 
brought  against  him.  But  during  the  proceedings 
he  made  a  complete  confession,  and  explained  the 
ingenious  devices  employed  by  the  forgers.  '  It  is 
not  the  first  time,'  he  added,  '  that  my  revelations 
have  been  useful  to  society,  and  if  I  am  now  con- 
demned, I  will  implore  the  emperor's  pardon.  But 
for  me.  Napoleon  would  never  have  mounted  the 
throne ;  to  me  alone  is  due  the  success  of  the 
Marengo  campaign.  I  was  one  of  the  robbers  of 
the  Garde-Meuble.  I  had  assisted  my  associates  to 
bury  in  the  Allee  des  Veuves  the  *  Regent '  and  the 
other  easily  recognized  objects,  by  which  they  might 
have  been  betrayed.  On  the  promise  of  a  free  pardon 
a  promise  which  was  faithfully  kept,  I  disclosed  the 
hiding-place.  Here  the  'Regent'  was  recovered,  and 
you  are  aware,  gentlemen,  that  this  magnificent 
diamond  was  pledged  by  the  first  Consul  to  the  Dutch 
Government,  in  order  to  raise  the  money,  of  which  he 
stood  in  the  greatest  need  after  the  i8th  Brumaire." 

"  The  criminals  were  all  condemned  to  the  galleys 
except  Bourgeois  and  Baba,  who  were  sent  to  the 
prison  of  Bicctre,  where  they  died.  I  do  not  know 
whether  Baba  made  any  further  revelations  beyond 
what  I  have  reported,  and  which  may  also  be  read  in 
the  Joiiriial  de  Paris  of  that  date." 

Since  its  recovery  and  redemption  from  the 
Dutch  Government,  the  "Regent"  seems  to  have 
remained  in  the  French  treasury  to  the  present  time- 
The  first  emperor  is  known  to  have  worn  it  in  the 


l82       THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

pommel  of  his  sword,  and  Barbot  tells  us  expressly  that 
it  was  publicly  shown  amongst  the  Crown  jewellery 
at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1855  *  Still  it  is  remark- 
able that  this  brilliant  does  not  figure  in  the  inventory 
of  the  State  Jewels,  drawn  up  by  order  of  Napoleon 
in  1 8 10,  nor  apparently  in  any  of  the  subsequent 
official  reports  on  the  Crown  jewels.  This  circum- 
stance, however  it  is  to  be  explained,  has  doubtless, 
lent  some  colouring  to  the  many  conflicting  statements 
regarding  its  subsequent  vicissitudes.  Kluge  asserts 
that  after  its  recovery  in  1792,  it  was  pledged,  not  to 
the  Dutch  Government,  but  to  Treskow  a  merchant 
in  Berlin.  He  also  refers  to  the  highly  improbable 
report  that,  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  where  the 
Prussians  found  it  in  the  Emperor's  State  carriage, 
it  was  carried  off  to  the  Prussian  treasury.  If  it  really 
was  taken  to  Berlin  on  that  occasion,  it  was  subse- 
quently restored  to  the  French  Government,  for  Ersch 
and  Gruber,  writing  in  1833,  distinctly  state  that  at 
that  time  it  was  "  the  first  diamond  in  the  French 
treasury."  f  Barbot  also  justly  regards  it  as  the  most 
conspicuous  gem  in  the  now  disused  crown  of  France. 


*  "  Tout  le  monde  a  pu  admirer  cette  magnifique  pierre  parmi  les 
paiures  de  la  couronne  a  lExposition  Universelle  de  1855,  et  contempler  sa 
rare  et  unique  beaute."  Op.  cit.  p,  240.  'J'ouching  its  "  rare  and  singular 
beauty,"  this  writer,  a  most  competent  judge  in  sucii  matters,  adds  (p.  44), 
"  Ce  qui  fait  la  valeur  du' Regent'  ne  git  pas  seulement  dans  son  poids 
mais  bien  en  ce  qu'  il  est  I'uniqne  parmi  toutes  les  pierres  princieres,  reu- 
nissant  les  plus  rares  qualites  des  gros  diamants,  c'est-a-dire  blancheur  eclat 
et  surtout  beaute  de  forme.  11  en  est  certes  plus  volumineux,  mais  s'il  fallait 
les  ramener  a  la  purete  de  forme  du  'Regent'  aucun  n'  atteindrait  son 
poids." 

I  ''  Er  ist  der  erste  Diamant  im  franzosischen  Schatze."     Allgemeine 
Encydopddie.     Vol  24,  p.  456. 


THE  PITT   OR   REGENT.  1 83 

This  crown,  which  also  contains  eight  other  diamonds, 
weighing-  from  19  to  28  carats,  is  thus  by  far  the 
richest  in  the  world.* 

The  form  of  the  "  Regent,"  is  somewhat  round, 
an  inch  broad,  ij  of  an  inch  long,  and  f  of  an 
inch  thick.  It  was  reduced  in  cutting  from  410  to 
136^  carats,  and  has  been  estimated  to  be  worth 
£480,000. 


*  The  Ministry  of  Finance  was  visited  this  afternoon  by  the  Par- 
liamentary Committee  entrusted  with  the  examination  of  the  bill  relative 
to  the  sale  of  the  Crown  Jewels.  The  committee  was  received  by  M, 
Antonin  Proust  and  by  MM.  Bapst,  the  jewellers,  who  gave  it  all  the 
necessary  information.  It  appears  that  during  the  Restoration  the  Crown 
jewels  were  deposited  with  the  Bapsts.  Under  Louis  Philippe  they  were 
kept  in  the  Garde  Meuble,  and  during  the  Empire,  M.  Thelin  had  them 
safely  locked  up  in  a  strong  box.  They  are  now  in  chests  in  a  cellar  at  the 
Ministry  of  Finance,  and  it  is  in  this  subterranean  chamber  that  they  were 
laid  out  to-day.  Tiie  ornaments  that  possess  a  historic  or  an  artistic  value 
had  been  separated  from  the  rest.  They  include  a  collection  of  decorations 
sent  to  the  sovereigns  of  France  by  foreign  monarchs,  and  are  valued  at 
;^8,  000  sterling;  a  watch  presented  by  the  Dey  of  Algiers  to  Louis  Quatoi-ze 
and  worth  ^,^120;  a  brooch  of  diamonds,  of  antique  cut,  valued  at  about 
£3,000  ;  and  a  sword,  the  hilt  of  which,  mounted  in  1824,  is  a  fine  speci- 
men of  chaste  French  workmanship.  MM.  Bapst  advised  the  committee  to 
retain  all  these  articles,  as  they  were  really  worth  iar  more  than  their  money 
value.  There  is,  consequently,  every  reason  to  believe  that  they  will 
eventually  find  their  way  to  the  Apollo  Gallery  at  the  Louvre.  As  for  the 
"Regent"  a  diamond  unique  in  the  world  on  account  of  its  size,  the 
jewellers  also  opposed  its  sale.  It  was  formerly  valued  as  high  as  half  a 
million  sterling,  but  there  is  always  risk  that  it  might  not  fetch  more  than 
£25,000,  and  its  acquisition  by  some  enterpri.-ing  showman  would  be 
scarcely  creditable  to  this  country.  Such  were  the  arguments  used  by  MM. 
Bapst,  and  their  counsels  will  probably  be  followed  in  this  as  in  other 
matters.  The  other  jewels,  estimated — en  bloc — at  about  half  a  million 
pounds,  have  no  historic  value.  There  are  only  three  parures,  the  sapphire, 
the  tunjuoise,  and  the  ruliy  parure,  the  last  made  expressly  for  the  Duchesse 
de  Berry.  AH  the  other  jewels  were  arranged  and  altered  again  and  again, 
to  suit  the  taste  of  the  Empress  Eugenie.  I  may  add  that  the  committee 
has  not  yet  arrived  at  any  definite  decision,  but  will  revisit  the  Crown  jewels 
in  the  course  of  the  week. — "Paris  Correspondent,"  Daily  Telegraph, 
December  8,   1881. 


XIX. 
THE    MOUNTAIN    OF   SPLENDOUR. 

Persia  in  Poetry  and  Romance — The  Shah  in  England — A 
Precious  Gem,  the  History  of  which  is  at  present 
unknown. 


HE  Arabian  Nights,  Lallah  Rooke,  and 
Eastern  fable  generally,  coupled  with 
the  sack  of  Delhi  by  Nadir  Shah,  and 
the  accumulation  of  its  strancje  hordes 


*t>^ 


of  wealth  in 


"That  delightful  Province  of  the  Sun," 

have  surrounded  Persia  with  a  halo  of  romance  studded 
with  precious  gems.  There  was  once  a  brilliant  reality 
in  the  "  untold  treasures  "  of  Persia,  but  that  time,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  is  past,  and  the  tendency  of  the  prosaic 
age  in  which  we  live  is  to  go  to  the  extremes  in  dis- 
counting the  exaggerations  of  history,  leaving  nothing 
to  the  imagination.  For  example,  when  the  Shah 
visited  England  for  the  first  time  satirists  questioned 
the  genuineness  of  his  jewelled  decorations,  and 
horticulturists  declared  that  in  spite  of  "  the  Bower 
of  Roses  by  Bendemere's  stream,"  his  majesty  saw 
more  and  finer  examples  of  Persia's  favourite  flower 
in  London  than  ever  he  saw  at  home.  The  Shah, 
wore  what  appeared  to  be  fine  gems,  but  they  were 


THE   MOUNTAIN    OF   SPLENDOUR.  185 

mostly  roses  or  very  flat  brilliants.  There  is  supposed 
to  be  still  in  the  Persian  regalia  a  large  and  lovely 
stone,  weighing  135  carats,  valued  at  ^^'145, 800,  known 
as  the  "  Mountain  of  Light."  It  is  mentioned  by 
Murra>',  in  a  quotation  from  Sketches  of  Persia,  pub- 
lished in  1838.  Further  than  arriving  at  the  bare 
fact  of  its  supposed  existence,  our  investigations  in 
regard  to  this  precious  gem  have  had  no  result. 
We  have  reason  to  believe  that  even  the  Persian 
Ambassador  has  found  it  impossible  to  assist  our 
inquiries  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion. 


M 


XX. 


A 


THE    ABBAS    MIRZA. 


Pieces  of  the  "  Great  Mogul"— Dr,  Beke  and  the  '*  Koh-i-Nur  " 
— Evidence  against  his  theory,  and  that  of  Professor 
Tennant— Complete  identification  of  the  ''Abbas 
Mirza," 


N  a  previous  chapter  we  ventured  to 
express  the  opinion  that  Tavernier's 
"  Great  Mogul  "  has  ceased  to  exist  as 
such,  andj  to  escape  detection,  has  been 
cut  up  into  two  or  more  stones.  If  this  view  is  correct 
there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  what  we  have  named 
the  "Abbas  Mirza"  is  one  of  these  pieces.  It  turned  up 
at  the  capture  of  Cucha,  in  Khorassan,  by  the  Persian 
general  "  Abbas  Mirza,"  in  1832,  but  attracted  little 
attention  until  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association 
in  185 1.  On  that  occasion  a  statement  was  made  by 
Dr.  Beke,  of  the  Chemical  Section,  "  On  a  Diamond 
Slab  supposed  to  have  been  cut  from  the  Koh-i-Nur." 
The  subjoined  report  of  Dr.  Beke's  views  appeared  at 
the  time  in  the  AtheiKEum,  for  July  5,  185 1  : — 

"It  appears  that  in  1832,  the  Persian  army  of 
Abbas  Mirza,  for  the  subjugation  of  Khorassan,  found 
at  the  capture  of  Cucha,  among  the  jewels  of  the 
harem  of  Reeza  Kooli  Khan,  a  large  diamond  slab, 
supposed  to  have  been  cut  from  the  '  Koh-i-Nur.'  It 
weighed  130  carats,  and  showed  the  marks  of  cutting 


THE   ABBAS   MIRZA.  1 87 

on  the  flat  or  largest  side.  The  only  account  that 
could  be  obtained  of  it  was  the  statement  that  it  was 
found  in  the  possession  of  a  poor  man,  a  native  of 
Khorassan,  and  that  it  had  been  employed  in  his 
family  for  the  purpose  of  striking  a  light  against  a 
steel,  and  in  this  rough  service  it  had  sustained  injury 
by  constant  use.  The  diamond  was  presented  by  the 
Prince  of  Persia  to  his  father  Futteh  Ali  Shah.  The 
Armenian  jewellers  of  Teheran  asked  the  sum  of 
20,000  tomaums  (about  ;^io,ooo  sterling)  for  cutting 
it  ;  but  the  Shah  was  not  disposed  to  incur  the 
expense.  These  particulars  had  been  forwarded  to 
Dr.  Beke  by  his  brother,  Mr.  W.  G.  Beke,  late  colonel 
of  engineers  in  the  Persian  service,  and  Khorassan 
campaign." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  in  1852, 
Section  B.,  Chemical  Science,  Professor  Tennant,  as 
reported  in  the  AtJienceuni  of  Sept.  25,  1852,  expressed 
his  opinion  that  Dr.  Blake's  view  was  correct.  "  He 
had  made  models  in  fluorspar,  and  afterwards  broken 
them,  and  obtained  specimens  which  would  correspond 
in  cleavage,  weight,  and  size  with  the  '  Koh-i-Nur.' 
By  this  means  he  was  enabled  to  include  the  piece  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Blake,  and  probably  the  large  Russian 
diamond,  as  forming  altogether  but  portions  of  one 
large  diamond.  The  diamond  belongs  to  the  tesselar 
crystalline  system,  it  yields  readily  to  cleavage  in  four 
directions,  parallel  to  the  planes  of  the  regular  octahe- 
dron. Two  of  the  largest  planes  of  the  '  Koh-i-Nur,' 
when  exhibited  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  were  cleavage 
planes  ;  one  of  them  had  not  been  polished.  This 
proved  the  specimen  to  be  not  a  third  of  the  weight 


1 88   THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

of  the  original  crystal,  which  he  believed  to  have  been 
a  rhomboid  dodecahedron  ;  and  if  slightly  elongated, 
which  is  a  common  form  of  the  diamond,  would  agree 
with  Tavernier's  description  of  it  bearing  some  resem- 
blance to  an  egg.  Sir  D.  Brewster  made  some  obser- 
vations, and  stated  that  the  English  translation  of 
Tavernier's  work  left  out  the  minute  details  which 
were  fully  given  in  the  original.  Sir  David  expressed 
his  satisfaction  with  Mr.  Tennant's  illustration,  which 
clearly  proved  the  diamond  to  be  only  a  small  part  of 
a  very  large  and  fine  stone." 

Brewster's  remark  that  the  English  translation 
of  Tavernier's  work  omitted  the  minute  details  given 
by  that  writer  is  very  significant  in  the  present  con- 
nection. Had  those  details,  as  set  forth  in  our 
account  of  the  "  Great  Mogul,"  received  proper  at- 
tention, subsequent  writers  could  never  have  fallen 
into  the  mistake  of  confounding  that  stone  with  the 
"Koh-i-Nur."  Nor  would  Dr.  Beke  have  here  sug- 
gested that  the  slab  found  at  Cucha  might  be  a 
portion  of  the  "  Koh-i-Nur."  The  remarks  made 
both  by  Tennant  and  Brewster,  evidently  show  that 
they  refer  this  fragment  not  to  the  "  Koh-i-Nur,"  but 
to  Tavernier's  "  Great  Mogul."  Its  weight  being  138 
carats,  it  could  not  be  described  by  them  as  forming 
"  only  a  small  part"  of  the  "  Koh-i-Nur,''  which  was 
never  known  to  weigh  more  than  186  carats  alto- 
gether. Hence,  Brewster's  "  very  large  and  fine  stone  " 
must  necessarily  refer  to  the  "  Great  Mogul,"  which 
was  the  only  other  stone  ot  which  the  Cucha  slab 
could  be  described  as  "  a  small  portion." 

In  his  account  of  the  "  Great  Mogul,"  the  reader 


THE   ABBAS   MIRZA.  189 

will  remember  that  Tavernier  remarks  :  "  if  Hortensio 
knew  his  business  well,  he  would  have  taken  from 
this  large  stone  sone  fine  pieces,  without  wronging 
the   king,   and   without    having    so   much  trouble    to 
grind   it  down."     The  question   here  arises  whether 
Borgio    may    not    have    adopted    this    very    obvious 
course,  concealing   the   fact    to    escape   punishment, 
and  secretly  disposing  of  the  fragments   on  the  first 
favourable    opportunity.       In    this    case    the    Cucha 
slab  may  well  have  been  one  such  fragment,  and  the 
very  circumstances  attending   its   origin  would  then 
also  sufficiently  account  for  the  mystery  in  which  it 
is  involved.     Having  been  fraudulently  obtained  and 
secretly  sold  "  for  a  song,"  to  the  first  comer,  it  may 
have   easily  remained  in   the  hands  of  obscure  and 
ignorant   persons,  unacquainted  with  its  true  value, 
and  have  thus  been  ultimately  "  found  in  the  posses- 
sion of  a  poor  man,"  in  whose  family  "  it  had  been 
employed   for  the  purpose  of  striking  a  light  against 
a  steel,"  and  have  thus  "  sustained  injury  by  constant 
user 

Since  its  discovery  in  1832,  the  "Abbas  Mirza '' 
has  probably  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  Persian 
kings,  although  we  have  failed  to  find  any  direct 
allusion  to  it  in  the  public  descriptions  of  the  Shah's 
regalia. 


XXI. 
DU    TOIT    IL 


The  Pan  Diggings,  South  Africa— Active  Mining  Operations 
in  1871 — The  first  important  '•  Find." 


HIS  Stone  is  named  after  the  "Du  Toit's 
Pan,"  dry  diggings,*  in  South  Africa. 
The  mine  belonged  to  Mr.  Van  Wyke, 
and  it  began  to  prove  attractive  to  a 
few  diamond  hunters  for  the  first  time  in  1870.  It  is 
situated  about  twenty-four  miles  from  the  Vaal  river. 
Within  a  short  time  after  the  first  really  active 
operations,  some  fine  stones  were  discovered,  and  in 
1 87 1,  there  sprang  up  quite  a  lively  encampment 
of  diggers.  "  The  Pan  "  is  now  worked  by  several 
mining  companies.  The  "  Du  Toit  II,"  was  found  by 
Messrs.  Stevens  and  Raath,  on  July  21,  1871.  It 
weighed  in  the  rough,  124  carats. 


*  They  derived  this  name  from  the  fact  that  there  was  no  water 
there,  and  the  diamonds  having  been  originally  discovered  in  a  light  sandy 
soil,  it  was  thought  that  they  could  he  found  without  the  diggers  having  to 
undergo  the  laborious  operations  of  cradling  and  washing  the  soil  before 
sorting,  which  they  had  been  compelled  to  do  whilst  operating  on  the 
banks  of  the  river.  The  first  of  the  dry  diggings  to  attract  public  attention 
was  Du  Toit's  Pan,  to  which  a  few  diggers  liad  resorted  before  tiie  close  of 
1870.  Small  diamonds  had  been  found  on  this  farm,  and  on  the  adjoining 
one.  Du  Toit's  Pan  belonged  to  a  Mr.  Van  Wyk,  and  Bultfontein  to  a 
Mr.  Du  Plooy.  It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  wade  through  the  details  of 
purchase  and  sale,  and  the  disputes  and  actions  at  law,  which  came  out  of 
the  purchase,  It  will  be  sufficient  to  state  that  these  two  farms  ultimately 
became  the  property  of  the  London  and  South  Ah-ican  Exploration  Company, 
and  were,  when  first  purchased  by  that  company,  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Free  State.  — R.  W.  Murray  in  the  Journal  of  Jie  Society  of  Arts. 


XXII. 

THE    MOON    OF    MOUNTAINS. 

"  Diamond  Cut  Diamond  " — Nadir  Shah  Murdered  by  his  own 
Troops— Shafforass  and  the  Afghan  Soldier — The  Curse 
of  Wealth — A  Terrible  Tragedy — Three  Brothers  Mur- 
der a  Jew  and  an  Afghan  for  the  "Moon  of  Mountains" — 
Two  Brothers  Murdered  by  the  Third — Adventures  of 
the  Assassin — The  Law  of  Russia — The  Story  as  told 
by  Pallas — Shaftbrass  the  Murderer  Retires  and  Marries, 
and  is  eventually  Killed  by  his  Son-in-Law. 

FTER  unravelling  the  intricate  history 
of  the  "  Orloff,"  so  often  interwoven 
with  that  of  the  "  Moon  of  Mountains," 
the  tragic  story  of  the  latter  gem  flows 
smoothly  enough.  That  this  diamond  originally  be- 
longed to  the  Mogul  emperors,  and  passed  from  them 
together  with  a  vast  quantity  of  other  treasures,  to 
Nadir  Shah,  is  highly  probable.  It  seems  to  have  been 
in  the  Persian  conqueror's  possession  for  many  years, 
and  of  all  places  visited  by  his  destroying  hosts,  Delhi 
was  by  far  the  most  likely  to  have  harboured  a  rare 
stone,  such  as  this.  It  was  said  to  have  been  one  of  the 
two  large  diamonds  which  ornamented  Nadir's  throne, 
and  which  were  respectively  known  as  the  "  Sun  of 
the  Sea,"  and  the  "  Moon  of  Mountains."  A  few  years 
after  returning  from  his  sanguinary  campaign  laden 
with  spoil,  his  chariot  wheels  literally  clogged  with 
the  blood  of  his  helpless  victims,  he  was  mur- 
dered, and  his  ill-gotten  treasures  plundered  and 
dispersed  by  his  revolted  and  brutalized  troops.  This 
occurred  in  the  year  1747,  and  a  short  time  afterwards 


192      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

an  Afghan  soldier,  formerly  in  Nadir's  service,  made 
his  appearance  in  Bassorah,  a  large  town  on  the 
Shatt-el-Arab,  about  seventy  miles  from  its  mouth 
in  the  Persian  Gulf.  This  place  has  long  been  a 
famous  emporium  for  all  sorts  of  Eastern  produce, 
and  to  it  the  Afghan  warrior  brought  his  wares,  con- 
sisting of  one  very  large  diamond,  the  "  Moon  of 
Mountains,"  an  emerald  of  rare  size  and  beauty,  a 
fine  ruby,  a  magnificent  sapphire,  since  known  to  the 
Persians  as  the  "  Eye  of  Allah,"  besides  many  other 
costly  jewels,  all  of  which  had  doubtless  fallen  to  his 
share  when  Nadir's  effects  were  pillaged.  At  this 
time  Shaftrass,  an  Armenian  merchant,  was  residing 
in  Bassorah,  with  his  two  brothers,  and  to  him  the 
Afghan  offered  his  gems  at  a  very  temptirig  price. 
Shaffrass,  however,  who  was  greatly  astonished  at  the 
sight  of  so  many  sparkling  jewels  in  the  hands  of  a 
common  soldier,  evidently  unaware  of  their  great 
value,  was  obliged  to  put  him  off  for  a  few  days,  in 
order  to  find  sufficient  funds  to  effect  the  purchase. 
Meantime  the  Afghan  became  suspicious,  and  fancying 
that  a  snare  was  being  laid  for  him,  suddenly  disap- 
peared from  Bassorah  in  the  same  mysterious  way  in 
which  he  had  entered  the  place. 

The  Afghan  had  meantime,  made  his  way  to 
Bagdad,  where  he  fell  in  with  a  Jew,  to  whom  he 
disposed  of  his  treasure  for  65,000  piastres,  or  about 
;^500  sterling,  and  two  full  blooded  Arab  horses.  But 
unfortunately  for  himself,  instead  of  returning  to  his 
home  in  the  Suleiman  Mountains,he  remained  loitering 
in  the  famous  capital  of  the  eastern  Califs,  squander- 
ing his  easily  acquired  wealth  in  riot  and  dissipation 


MOON    OF    MOUNTAINS  1 93 

of  all  sorts.     In  the  midst  of  his  revels  he  one  day  ran 
against  Shaffrass,  who  had  unwittingly  followed  him 
to  Bagdad,  where  he  had  a  large  trading  connection. 
"  Now,"  thought  the  wily  Armenian,  "  I  shall  take 
good  care  not  to  lose   sight  of  my  man  again,  until 
the  bargain  is  struck."     He  was  not  however,  a  little 
disappointed   to    learn    that    the  wares  had    already 
been    sold    to    a    third    party.     Nevertheless,   there 
was  still  hope  of  doing  a  .stroke  of  business  with  the 
Jew,  whose  house  the  Afghan  had  pointed  out,  and 
on    whom    Shaffrass    lost    no    time    in   calling.     But, 
although  he  offered  double  the  amount  of  the  pur- 
chase  money  for  the   diamond   alone,  on   which    he 
had  set  his  heart,  the  Jew  declined  to  part  with  it. 
Shaffrass    now    held    a    consultation    with    his    two 
brothers,  who  had  joined  him  in  Bagdad.     The  trio 
forthwith  resolved  to  murder  the  Jew,  and  thus  get 
possession  of  the  coveted  treasures.     Having  carried 
out  this  cold-blooded  assassination,  they  also  deemed 
it  prudent  to  get  rid  of  the  Afghan,  whcse  evidence 
would  scarcely  fail  to   incriminate   them,  when   the 
matter  came  to  be  investigated.     Taking  advantage  of 
his  dissipated  habits,  they  easily  induced  him  to  join 
them  the  next  day  in  an  entertainment,  followed  by  a 
drinking  bout,  during  which  they  found  an  opportunity 
of  poisoning  him  in  his  cups.     The  two  bodies  were 
placed  together  in  a  sack,and,accordingtothe approved 
Eastern  method,  thrown  by  night  into  the  Tigris.* 


*  In  the  current  versioni  of  the  stor)',  the  Euphrates  has  been  sub- 
stituted for  the  Tigris,  with  the  usual  lofty  disregard  of  geography;  for 
the  reader  need  scarcely  be  reminded  thnt  Bagdad  lies  on  the  Tigris,  about 
190  mildjs  above  its  junction  witli  t;ic  Euphrates. 


194      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF   THE  WORLD. 

Everything  had  so  far  gone  on  smoothly  enough. 
But  when  they  came  to  the  distribution  of  the  plunder, 
each  of  the  three  murderers  insisted  on  having  the 
diamond.  As  it  was  impossible  to  divide  the  stone 
into  three  equal  parts,  and  as  neither  brother  would 
waive  his  claim  Shaffrass  settled  the  matter  by  treat- 
ing his  two  brothers  in  the  same  way  that  they  had 
treated  the  unfortunate  Afghan.  So  the  following 
night  another  sack,  also  containing  two  dead  bodies, 
was  quietly  dropped  into  the  river,  and  the  Armenian 
found  himself  sole  master  of  treasures,  which  on  ex- 
amination were  found  far  to  exceed  in  value  his 
most  sanguine  expectations.  Feeling  that  it  would  be 
dangerous  to  linger  in  a  place  where  awkward  inquiries 
might  be  set  on  foot  at  any  moment,  he  packed  up, 
and  withdrew  to  Constantinople,  whence  he  ultimately 
made  his  way  through  Hungary  and  Silesia  to  Holland. 
Here  he  set  up  as  a  dealer  in  precious  stones,  and 
drew  the  attention  of  the  various  European  sovereigns 
to  some  of  his  choicer  specimens.  The  Empress 
Catherine  II.,  who  seems  to  have  been  particularly 
taken  by  his  description  of  the  great  diamond,  sent 
him  a  pressing  invitation  to  go  to  St.  Petersburg, 
where  she  placed  him  in  communication  with  the 
crown  jeweller,  M,  Lasaroff.  After  some  negotiations, 
he  was  offered  an  annuity  of  io,000  roubles,  together 
with  a  patent  of  nobility  for  certain  of  his  gems.  But 
Shaffrass,  who  desired  something  more  tangible,  de- 
manded a  cash  payment  of  600,000  roubles,  which 
was  considered  rather  exorbitant.  However,  Count 
Panin,  at  that  time  Catherine's  favourite  minister,  was 
fully  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  in  the  long  run  proved 


MOON    OF   MOUNTAINS.  195 

himself  more  than   a  match  for  the  astute  Oriental. 
Shafifrass  was  beguiled   with  fair  words    and    empty 
promises.     His  demand  was  neither  agreed  to  nor 
rejected,  and  he  himself  was  gradually  led  into  a  style 
of  living,  which  was  far  beyond  his  means,  and  obliged 
him  to  run  heavily  into  debt.     When  his  purse  was 
exhausted  and  his  credit  broken.  Panin  suddenly  put 
an  end  to  the  negotiations,  and  the  Armenian  was 
officially  informed  that  he  could  not  carry  out  his 
avowed  intention  of  leaving  Russia  or  even  the  capital 
until  all  his  creditors  were  satisfied.     Such  was  the 
law  of  the  land,  and  no  exception  could  be  made  in 
his   favour.     He    now  found   himself  at    the   mercy 
of  the  minister.     Nevertheless,  he  determined  not  to 
sacrifice  the  diamond,  which  had  already  cost  him  so 
much  blood.     He  accordingly  raised  money  enough 
to  meet  his   liabilities   by  the  sale  of  some  smaller 
gems  amongst  the  Armenians  of  St.  Petersburg,  paid 
his  debts,  and  suddenly  withdrew  from  the  capital. 

He  was  now  completely  lost  sight  of ;  but  ten 

years   later   the  Russian   Court   received    intimation 

that  he  was  residing  in  Astrakhan.     Here  negotiations 

were  renewed  for  the  purchase  of  the  diamond,  which 

he  was  at  last  induced  to  part  with,  apparently  on  the 

original  terms.     Murray,  speaking  of  the  "  Orloff,"  says 

that  "  a    Greek  merchant,  named    Gregory    Suffrass 

offered  it  for  sale  in  Amsterdam  in  1766,  from  whom 

Prince  Orloff  bought  it  for  Catherine  of  Russia  for 

^90,000,    an    annuity   of    ^4,000,    and    a   patent    of 

nobility,  as  he  himself  informed  Mr.  Magellan."     He 

then  quotes  the  authority  of  Dutens  for  this  statement, 

which,  he  adds,  "  Seems  to  be  a  genuine   account." 


iq6     the  great  diamonds  of  the  world. 

But  Dutens  makes  no  mention  of  Suffrass  or  Shaffrass, 
and  merely  says  that  the  Jew,  who  bought  the  "  Orlofif" 
from  a  ship  captain,  "  a  few  years  afterwards  disposed 
of  it  more  advantageously  to  a  Greek  merchant."* 

To  the  introduction  of  the  name  of  Shaffrass  into 
this  passage  may  be  traced  all  the  confusion,  that 
has  since  arisen  in  regard  to  the  history  of  the  "Orloff" 
and    "  Moon   of  the   Mountains."     By  removing  this 
name  the  accounts  of  each  become  perfectly  clear  and 
intelligible.     The  "  Orloff''  comes  directly  from  the 
Seringham   temple,  Mysore,  to  Europe    by  the  sea 
route  ;  the  "  Moon  of  Mountains"   is  brought  over- 
land, apparently  from  Delhi,  through  Persia,  Bassorah, 
Bagdad,  and   Constantinople.     They  both  meet  for  a 
moment  in  Amsterdam,  the  great  diamond  mart  of 
the  West,  where  the  "Orloff"  is  purchased  by  Prince 
Orloff  for   Catherine    from   a    Greek   merchant,    and 
whence  Shaffrass  takes  the  "  Moon  of  Mountains,"  first 
to  St.  Petersburg,  and  then  to  Astrakhan.     Here  he 
ultimately  disposes  of  it,  also  to  the  Russian  Crown, 
as  above  stated. 

It  may  be  added  that  after  his  flight  from  Badgad, 
the  crimes  of  Shaffrass  came  to  light.  Being  thus  pre- 
vented from  returning  to  his  native  land,  he  settled 
in  Astrakhan,  where  he  married,  and  had  seven 
daughters.  But  Nemesis  overtook  him  at  last ;  for 
he  was  poisoned  by  one  of  his  own  sons-in-law,  under 
circumstances  not  unlike  those  by  which  he  had  him- 
self sacrificed  his  two  brothers. 


*  "  II  donna  le  diamant  pour  50,000  livres,  a  un  capitaine  de  vaisseau, 
qui  le  vendit  trois  cent  mille  livres  a  un  juif,  lequel  s'en  defit  plus  avanta- 
geu^ement  ensuite  .^  un  n%ociant  grec  quelques  annces  apres."  Op.'cit,, 
P-  37- 


MOON    OF    MOUNTAINS.  I97 

Another  version  of  the  story  is  given  by  Barbot, 
who  states  that  the  "  Moon  of  Mountains  "  fell  into 
the  hands  of  an  Afghan  chief,  who  sold  it  to  an 
Armenian  named  Shaffrass,  a  merchant  in  Bassorah, 
for  50,000  piastres.  Shaffrass  kept  it  for  twelve  years, 
and  then  sent  one  of  his  brothers  to  Amsterdam  to  treat 
for  its  sale,  either  with  England  or  Russia.  After 
some  protracted  negotiations  the  latter  Power  acquired 
it  for  450,000  silver  roubles,  and  a  patent  of  nobility 
to  the  seller  ;  for  thus  are  titles  obtained  in  Russia." 
This  reads  like  an  cditio  expurgata  of  the  more 
romantic  and  popular  account.  But  it  has  its  value,  in 
so  far  as  it  associates  the  "  Moon  of  Mountains  "  with 
Shaffrass,  and  thus  helps  to  distinguished  this  stone 
from  the  "  Orlofif,"  with  which  that  dealer  was  in  no 
way  connected. 

But  Barbot's  story  is  itself  merely  a  re-hash  of 
the  account  given  by  P.  S.  Pallas  in  his  Travels 
through  the  Southern  Provinces  of  the  Russian  Empire, 
in  1793-4.  Although  involving  some  repetition,  it 
will  be  best  to  give  the  text  of  Pallas  in  full,  as  it  is 
constantly  referred  to  by  writers  who  have  never 
consulted  the  original,  and  who  have  consequently 
superadded  fresh  errors  to  those  for  which  Pallas  is 
responsible.  At  p.  276  of  the  first*  volume  of  the 
English  edition  (London,  1812)  Pallas  writes  : — 

"  During  my  residence  in  Astrakhan  I  became 
acquainted  with  the  heirs  of  the  late  Grigori  Safarov 
Shaffrass,  the  Armenian,  who  sold  the  celebrated  large 
diamond,  which  is  now  set  in  the  Imperial  sceptre  of 

•    Not  second  volume,  as  is  generally  stated. 


198       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF  THE  WORLD. 

Russia.     The  history  of  this  diamond,  which  holds  so 
distinguished  a  place  among  those  of  the  very  first 
water,    may    probably   afford    entertainment   to   my 
readers,  as  I  shall  thereby  refute  many  false  reports 
which  have  been  circulated  on   this  subject.     Shah 
Nadir  had  in   his  throne  two  principal   Indian  dia- 
monds, one  of  which  was  called  the  '  Sun  of  the  Sea,' 
and  the  other  the  '  Moon  of  the  Mountains.'     At  the 
time  of  his  assassination  many  precious  ornaments 
belonging  to  the  crown  were  pillaged,  and  afterwards 
secretly  disposed  of  by  the  soldiers  who  shared  the 
plunder.      Shaffrass,  commonly  known  at  Astrakhan 
by  the  name  of  Millionshik,  or  the  Man  of  Millions, 
then  resided  at  Bassorah,  with  two  of  his  brothers. 
One  day  a  chief  of  the  Avganians  (Afghans)  applied 
to  him,  and    secretly    proposed    to    sell,    for  a  very 
moderate  sum,  the  before-mentioned  diamond,  which 
probably  was  that  called  the  '  Moon  of  the  Mountains,' 
together  with  a  very  large  emerald,  a  ruby  of  con- 
siderable size,  and  other  precious  stones  of  less  value. 
Shaffrass  was  astonished  at  the  offer,  and  pretending 
that  he  had  not  a  sufficient  sum  to  purchase  these 
jewels,  he  demanded  time  to  consult  with  his  brothers 
on  the  subject.     The  vendor,  probably  from  suspicious 
motives,  did  not  again  make  his  appearance.    Shaffrass, 
with  the  approbation  of  his   brothers,  immediately 
went  in  search  of  the  stranger  with  the  jewels,  but  he 
had  left  Bassorah.     The  Armenian,  however,  met  him 
accidentally  at  Bagdad,  and  concluded  the  bargain  by 
paying  him  50,000  piastres  for  all  the  jewels  in  his 
possession.    Shaffrass  and  his  brothers  being  conscious 
that  it  was  necessary  to  observe  the  most  profound 


MOON   OF   MOUNTAINS.  I99 

secrecy  respecting  this  purchase,  resolved,  on  account 
of  their  commercial  connections,  to  remain  at  Bassorah. 
After  a  lapse  of  twelve  years,  Gregori  Shaffrass,  with 
the  consent  of  his  brothers,  set  off  with  the  largest  of 
the  jewels,  which  had  till  then  been  concealed.  He 
directed  his  route  through  Sham  (Damascus),  and 
Constantinople,  and  afterwards  by  land  through 
Hungary  and  Silesia  to  the  city  of  Amsterdam, 
where  he  publicly  offered  his  jewels  for  sale. 

"  The  English  Government  is  said  to  have  been 
among  the  bidders.  The  Court  of  Russia  sent  for 
the  large  diamond,  with  a  proposal  to  reimburse  all 
reasonable  expenses,  if  the  price  could  not  be  agreed 
upon.  When  the  diamond  arrived,  the  Russian 
Minister,  Count  Panin,  made  the  following  offer  to 
Shaffrass,  whose  negociator,  M.  Lasaref  was  then 
jeweller  to  the  Court.  Besides  the  patent  to  hereditary 
nobility,  demanded  by  the  vendor,  he  was  to  receive 
an  annual  pension  of  6,000  roubles  during  life,  500,000 
roubles  in  cash,  one-fifth  part  of  which  was  to  be 
payable  on  demand,  and  the  remainder  in  the  space 
of  ten  years,  by  regular  instalments.  The  capricious 
Shaffrass  likewise  claimed  the  honour  of  nobility  for 
his  brothers,  and  various  other  annuities  or  advan- 
tages, and  persisted  so  obstinately  in  his  demands, 
that  the  negociation  was  frustrated,  and  the  diamond 
returned. 

"  Shaffrass  was  now  in  great  perplexity.  He  had 
involved  himself  in  expenses,  was  obliged  to  pay 
interest  for  considerable  sums  he  had  borrowed,  and 
there  was  no  prospect  of  selling  the  jewel  to  ad- 
vantage.    His  negociators  left  him  in  that  perplexity 


200       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD 

in  order  to  profit  by  his  mismanagement.  To  elude 
his  creditors,  he  was  obliged  to  abscond  to  Astrak- 
han. At  length  the  negociations  with  Russia  were 
re-commenccd  by  Count  Gregory  Grigorievitsh  Orloff, 
who  was  afterwards  created  a  Prince  of  the  Empire, 
and  the  diamond  was  purchased  for  450,000  roubles, 
ready  money,  together  with  the  grant  of  Russian 
nobility.  Of  that  sum  it  is  said,  120,000  roubles  fell 
to  the  share  of  the  negociators  for  commission, 
interest,  and  similar  expenses.  Shaffrass  settled  at 
Astrakhan,  and  his  riches,  which  by  inheritance 
devolved  to  his  daughters,  had,  by  the  extravagance  of 
his  sons-in-law,  been  in  a  great  measure  dissipated." 

It  is  obvious  that  Pallas  received  this  version  of 
the  story  from  "  the  heirs "  of  Shaffrass,  whom  he 
met  in  Astrakhan,  and  who  were  naturally  interested 
in  suppressing  the  series  of  crimes,  by  which  the 
Armenian  merchant  got  possession  of  the  diamond. 
It  is  also  obvious  that  Pallas  has  wrongly  transferred 
the  whole  story  from  the  "  Moon  of  Mountains '' 
to  the  "  Orloff."  According  to  his  own  showing, 
the  sale  to  the  Russian  Government  was  effected 
after  Shaffrass  had  been  "obliged  to  abscond  to 
Astrakhan,"  that  is,  some  years  after  his  arrival 
in  Amsterdam.  But  we  have  the  already  quoted 
contemporary  testimony  of  the  Museum  Britannicum, 
to  the  effect  that  the  diamond  associated  with 
the  name  of  Prince  Orloff,  and  now  set  in  the 
Imperial  sceptre  of  Russia,  was  purchased  by  Orloff, 
not  in  Astrakhan  from  Shaffrass,  but  in  Amsterdam, 
from  a  Persian  merchant  in  the  year  1776.  Pallas 
is,    no    doubt,    quite    right    in    supposing    that    the 


MOON   OF   MOUNTAINS.  20l 

Stone  disposed  of  in  Astrakhan  came  through  the 
Afghan  chief  and  Nadir  Shah  from  the  Delhi  treasury. 
But  it  is  equally  evident  that  the  stone  purchased  in 
Amsterdam,  came  from  Mysore  to  Europe  by  the  sea 
route.  We  are  thus  again  driven  to  the  same  con- 
clusion, that  the  Shaffrass  story  belongs  to  Nadir's 
diamond,  the  "  Moon  of  Mountains,"  and  the  French 
deserter's  to  the  Seringham  gem,  now  in  the  Imperial 
sceptre. 


N 


XXIII 
PATROCINHO, 


One  of  Brazil's  Largest  Diamonds—"  Picked  up  "  in  1851— 
The  Thieves  of  Minas-Geraes— A  Gem  without  a 
a  Pedigree. 


HIS  is  one  of  the  very  largest  stones  ever 
found  in  Brazil.  It  was  picked  up 
in  185 1,  near  the  source  of  the  Rio 
Patrocinho,  a  small  stream  watering 
the  district  in  the  centre  of  the  province  of  Minas 
Geraes,  which  is  the  most  elevated  portion  of  the 
Brazilian  table-land.  It  lies  along  the  upper  course 
of  the  Rio  de  San  Francisco.  Nearly  every  kind 
of  metal  has  been  found,  at  one  time  or  another,  in 
this  province.  It  is  particularly  rich  in  iron,  gold,  and 
diamonds.  The  latter  have  been  chiefly  discovered 
in  the  Tequetinhonha  and  Abaite,  instances  of  which 
have  already  been  mentioned.  A  large  portion  of 
the  country  washed  by  these  rivers  is  still  held  by 
Indian  tribes,  though  some  districts  are  well  settled 
by  Europeans.  Cidade  Diamentina,  formerly  Tejaco 
the  capital  of  the  diamond  district,  is  situated  on 
an  acclivity  of  a  mountain,  4,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  These  diamantiferous  regions  have 
produced  many  splendid  stones,  but  none  about  which 
less  is  known  than  the  "  Patrocinho,"  our  efforts  to 
unearth  it  having  so  far  proved  singularly  futile. 


XXIV 

THE    ENGLISH    DRESDEN. 

A  Faultless  Stone — Remarkable  Success  of  Cutting — A 
Fortune  made  in  Cotton  and  spent  on  a  Diamond — 
Crafty  Agents — Singular  Coincidence  of  Ill-Luck — 
A  Ruined   Merchant  and  a  Deposed  Prince. 

HROUGH  the  courtesey  of  Mr.  E. 
Dresden,  from  whom  it  takes  its  name, 
we  are  enabled  for  the  first  time  to 
give  the  true  history  of  this  most  re- 
markable gem.  Many  of  the  subjoined  particulars 
are  contained  in  a  letter,  dated  June  14th,  1881,  which 
Mr.  Dresden  kindly  forwarded  to  us  in  reply  to  an 
application  for  an  authentic  account  of  a  diamond, 
concerning  which  so  many  false  reports  are  still  cur- 
rent. This  notable  stone  was  found  about  the  year 
1857,  in  the  Bagagem  district,  Brazil,  the  same  place 
which  also  yielded  the  "  Star  of  the  South,"  and  which 
has  been  identified  in  our  description  of  that  gem. 
Soon  after  its  discovery,  the  "  English  Dresden " 
was  brought  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  where  the  owner's 
agents  bought  and  forwarded  it  to  him  in  London, 
in  the  same  year,  1857.  A  model  was  then  taken  of 
the  rough  stone,  which  weighed  119^  carats,  although 
evidently  forming  a  part  only  of  the  original  crystal. 
What  became  of  the  corresponding  portion  has  re- 
mained a  profound  secret,  though,  as  Mr.  Dresden 
suggests,  it  may  have  cither  been  destroyed  in 
detaching  it  from  the  rock,  or  else  may  possibly  have 
remained  behind  in    its  original  itacolumite  matrix. 


204       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD. 

However  this  may  be,  the  owner  submitted  the  fractured 
crystal  to  "  a  marvellously  clever  polisher,"  in  Am- 
sterdam, who  converted  it  into  a  very  fine  drop-shape 
diamond.  In  the  process  of  cutting  it  lost  exactly 
43  carats,  and  now  consequently,  weighs  only  y6^ 
carats.  But,  as  Mr.  Dresden  well  remarks,  experts 
alone  can  fully  appreciate  the  extraordinary  skill  of 
a  workman  "  who  produced  such  a  well-proportioned 
drop  out  of  half  a  rough  diamond,  and  with  such  little 
loss  in  weight — not  even  one-third." 

The  result  was  an  absolutely  faultless  gem,  if  at 
least  there  be  anything  in  this  world  which  can  be 
pronounced  quite  free  from  blemish.  No  imperfections 
of  any  sort  have  ever  been  detected  in  this  unrivalled 
brilliant,  so  that  Mr.  Dresden  does  not  hesitate  to 
assert  that  "  there  is  no  diamond  known  in  the  world  to 
come  up  to  it."  Such,  indeed,  is  its  astonishing  purity 
and  lustre  that  the  writer  adds :  "  I  matched  my  drop 
with  the  '  Koh-i-Nur '  at  Garrard's  one  day,  and  to  the 
surprise  of  all  present,  the  latter's  colour  turned 
yellowish,  a  proof  how  perfectly  w/iite  my  diamond 
must  be."  A  competent  judge,  also  wrote  at  the 
time :  "  It  is  perfectly  pure,  free  from  defects,  and 
has  extraordinary  play  and  brilliancy.  Indeed  the 
quality  of  the  stone  is  superior  to  the  '  Koh-i-Nur.' 
Yet  when  half  a  share  in  this  magnificent  jewel  was 
offered  to  a  noted  West-end  jeweller  for  the  relatively 
small  sum  of  ;^i2,ooo,  he  declined  it." 

This  refusal  probably  led  to  the  further  migrations 
of  the  stone,  which  ultimately  found  its  way  to  the 
"  Far  East "  under  somewhat  remarkable  circum- 
stances.    After  having  been  offered  to  nearly  all  the 


THE   ENGLISH   DRESDEN.  205 

crowned  princes  of  Europe,  and  successively  declined 
by  them,  it  was  seen  and  greatly  admired  by  an  Indian 
rajah,  who  is  said  to  have  visited  London  in  1863, 
chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  adding  this  diamond  to  his 
collection.  But  the  price,  fixed  at  that  time  at  ;^40,ooo, 
was  more  than  he  could  afford,  and  he  was  reluctantly 
compelled  to  decline  the  purchase. 

The  rajah  was  accompanied  on  this  occasion  by 
an  English  merchant  from  Bombay,  who,  dazzled 
by  the  lustre  of  this  peerless  gem,  expressed  a  great 
desire  to  possess  it.  "  I  should  like  to  buy  this 
diamond  myself,"  he  remarked,  "  but  have  not  the 
means  to  do  so  at  present.  Whenever  I  am  rich 
enough  I  shall  certainly  not  fail  to  secure  it."  No  atten- 
tion was  paid  at  the  time  to  these  words,  which,  how- 
ever, were  afterwards  remembered,  when  the  speaker 
found  himself  unexpectedly  in  a  position  to  prove 
their  sincerity.  Within  a  year  of  his  desire  to  possess 
the  English  "  Dresden,"  the  great  war  of  Secession 
broke  out  in  the  United  States,  which  led  to  an 
almost  fabulous  rise  in  the  price  of  cotton,  of  which 
commodity  the  Bombay  merchant  happened  to  be 
a  large  holder.  By  selling  off  his  stock  at  enormous 
profits  he  suddenly  found  himself  in  possession  of 
ample  means  to  gratify  "  the  dearest  wish  of  his  heart." 
He  at  once  wrote  to  Mr.  Dresden,  and  his  letter  was 
followed  by  a  special  agent  commissioned  to  effect  the 
purchase.  In'executing  the  task  entrusted  to  him  this 
agent  contrived  to  do  a  stroke  of  business  of  which 
neither  Mr.  Dresden  nor  the  purchaser  was  aware  at 
the  time.  Making  a  show  of  extreme  caution,  he  be- 
trayed an  apparently  praiseworthy  zeal  in  the  interest 


206       THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE   WORLD. 

of  his  employer.  His  first  objection  was  to  the  stone 
itself.  "  I  am  no  expert,"  he  remarked.  "  How  can 
I  be  certain  that  it  is  a  genuine  diamond  ?"  The 
seller  thereupon  had  it  submitted  to  a  competent 
and  disinterested  judge ;  and  when  his  verdict  had 
been  obtained,  the  agent  thought  the  price  (;^40,ooo) 
rather  high,  adding  :  "  I  have  not  full  instructions,  and 
do  not  think  he  would  give  so  much.  However,  I  do 
not  mind  taking  the  responsibility  on  myself  of  offering 
you  ;^32,ooo.  In  fact,  as  it  is  evidently  a  very  fine 
stone,  I  am  prepared  to  do  this  on  my  own  account, 
and  if  my  employer  does  not  ratify  the  transaction,  you 
may  still  regard  it  as  a  bargain,  for  in  that  case  I  will 
keep  the  stone  for  myself"  The  expert,  to  whom  it 
had  been  submitted,  persuaded  Mr.  Dresden  to  accept 
this  offer,  and  on  receipt  of  ^32,000  from  a  person  pro- 
bably not  worth  as  many  shillings,  the  diamond  passed 
into  the  "  middleman's  "  hands.  By  him  it  was  con- 
veyed to  Bombay,  and  handed  over  to  the  English 
merchant,  who  was  given  to  understand  that  no 
abatement  had  been  made,  and  that  consequently 
his  ^40,000  had  been  sunk  in  the  purchase.  The 
agent,  and  it  is  said  one  other,  had  thus  a  round  sum 
of  ^8,000  to  divide  between  them,  an  arrangement 
which,  however,  would  not  have  "  held  water  "  in  a 
court  of  law. 

The  usual  ill-luck,  apparently  inseparable  from 
the  possession  of  all  these  great  diamonds,  now  over- 
took the  Bombay  trader.*     Continuing  to  do  business 


*  It  is  merely  in  the  way  of  "coincidence  "  that  we  refer  once  more 
to  the  ill-luck  which  seems  invariably  to  have  accompanied  the  possession 
pf  extraordinary  large  diamonds,  and  to  instance  the  ruin  which  fell  on 


THE   ENGLISH    DRESDEN.  20/ 

in  cotton,  he  found  himself  again  a  large  holder,  when 
"  Secession,"  and  with  it  the  price  of  cotton,  suddenly 
collapsed.  This,  with  the  withdrawal  of  the  ;^40,ooo 
not  only  involved  his  affairs  in  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ment, but  threw  him  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  from  which 
he  soon  sank  into  the  grave.  His  estate  had  now  to 
to  be  wound  up,  and  the  executors  considered  them- 
selves fortunate  in  being  able  to  recover  the  ;^40,ooo 
by  disposing  of  the  already  famous  "  Dresden  Drop" 
to  the  late  notorious  Gaikwar  of  Baroda,  in  whose 
family  it  still  remains.f 


the  procurer  of  this  diamond  for  the  Indian  Prince,  as  well  as  the  merchant 
buyer  of  the  gem.  Though  the  latter  became  a  ruined  merchant,  and  tlie 
former  a  wholly  deposed  potentate,  we  need  hardly  point  out  that  in  both 
instances  it  was  the  qualities  which  dominated  the  character  of  each,  and 
not  the  stone,  which  ensured  the  ruin  of  the  men  in  question.  Aiiliis  Gelins 
in  his  Nodes  Atticae,  tells  us  that  when  the  Romans  seized  upon  the  treasure 
found  in  the  Temple  ot  Toulouse,  in  Languedoc,  a  series  of  fatal  misfortunes 
overtook  the  perpetrators  of  what  was  deemed  their  sacrilege,  and  that  thence- 
forward the  Aunim  Tholosaniim  (the  gold  of  Toulouse),  became  a  proverbial 
expression  for  treasure  which  brought  ruin  upon  its  possessors. 

t  ''  Our  telegraphic  intelligence  of  this  morning  contains  an  account  of 
the  investment  of  the  youthful  Gaikwar  with  full  powers  of  administration, 
and  the  return  of  the  State  of  Baroda  to  native  rule,  which  were  consum- 
mated on  Wednesday  after  an  imposing  ceremony.  More  than  six  years 
have  elapsed  since  the  Indian  Government,  on  the  deposal  of  Mulhar  Rao. 
assumed  the  functions  of  government  in  Baroda  during  the  minority  of  the 
young  Prince  chosen  as  his  most  suitable  successor ;  and  now  the  position  of 
affairs  is  about  to  revert  to  what  it  was  before  Mulhar  Rao  fell  into  evil 
ways,  and  paid  the  penalty  of  his  crimes.  The  question  of  our  recent  rela- 
tions with  the  reigning  family  and  people  of  Baroda,  has  therefore,  reached 
a  terminal  point,  and  presents  itself  for  consideration,  and  description  as  a 
complete  episode  in  modern  Anglo-Indian  history.  The  young  Prince,  to 
whose  care  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  two  millions  of  people  are  now 
entrusted,  was  born  in  1863,  and  is  named  the  Maharajah  Sivaji  Rao.  He 
is  the  direct  descendant,  through  a  younger  son,  of  Pilaji  Rao,  the  founder 
of  the  House.  Khandi  Rao  left  no  heir,  and  the  posthumous  child  of  his 
wife,  the  Princess  Jamna  Bai,  proving  a  daughter,  his  younger  brother, 
Mulhar  Rao,  was  allowed  to  assume  and  retain  the  rank  of  ruler.  The 
antecedents  of  this  Prince  wrere  not  of  a  character  to  inspire  much  confi- 
dence in  his  capacity  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  State  with  happy  results, 
and  the  event  soon  proved  that  the  worst  anticipations  were  justified.  He 
was  called  upon  in  187410  institute  certain  necessary  reforms,  and  a  definite 


208       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  two  of  the  finest 
diamonds  in  the  world,  the  "  Star  of  the  South  "  and 
the  "  English  Dresden,"  should  have  had  a  closely 
parallel  career.  Both  were  found  nearly  about  the 
same  time,  in  the  same  district  of  Bagagem  ;  bought 
in  the  same  city  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  ;  treated  in  the 
same  place  (Coster's  Atelier,  Amsterdam),  forwarded 
through  the  same  agency,  (Mr.  Dresden  of  London,) 
to  the  same  country,  India  ;  and  there  ultimately 
purchased  by  the  same  person,  the  Gaikwar  of 
Baroda. 


period  was  given  him,  within  which  they  were  to  be  carried  out.     The 
progress  ot  the  threatened  complication  was  precipitated  by  the  attempt  to 
poison  the  Resident,  Colonel  Phayre,  and  by  the  implication  of  the  Gaikwar 
himself  in  the  crime.      Mulhai  Rao  was  then  suspended  from  his  post,  and 
fhe  circumstances  were  investigated  before  a  mixed  commission.     But  the 
mfmbers,   three  of  whom  were  English  and  the  other  three  natives,  were 
unable  to  agree  in  their  decision,  and  the  Supreme  Government  thereupon 
thought  itself  bound  to  intervene,  and  decree  the  removal  of  Mulhar  Rao 
for  his  "  notorious  misconduct  '   and   "  gross  misgovernment,"     The  diffi- 
culty then  became  to  find  a  suitable  successor  for  him,  and,  after  as  brief  a 
deliberation  as  possible,  the  Princess  Jamna  Bai  was  allowed,  in  May,  1875, 
to  adopt  as  her  son  the  young  Prince  who  had  just  been   invested  by  Sir 
James  Fergusson,  with  the  sovereignty  of  his  ancestors'  dominions.     During 
his  minority  the  State  has  been  governed  under  the  control  of  British  officials 
but  great  assistance  has  also  been  given  by  the  experienced  and  talented 
native  minister,  Madhava  Rao,  who  established  his  reputation  as  a  skilful 
administrator  many  years  ago  in  Travancore.     As  a  consequence  of  these 
last  six  and  a  half  years  of  enlightened  government,  Baroda  has  recovered 
all,  and  more  than  all,  its  old  prosperity.     The  new  Gaikwar  has  but  to 
continue  in  the  course  marked  out  by  our  former  ally,  Gaikwar  Khandi 
Rao,  and  to  avoid  the  errors  of  his  predecessor,  Mulhar  Rao.     He  will  thus 
be  able  to  maintain  the  prosperity  of  his  people  at  its  present  high  point, 
and  to  preserve  with  the  paramount  Power  those  relations  of  friendship  and 
confidence  which  have  so  long  characterized  the  intercourse  of  the  Gaikwar 
and  the  Indian  Government.'' — The  Times,  January  2nd.  1882. 


XXV. 

THE  AKBAR  SHAH,  or  JEHAN 
GHIR  SHAH. 


Lost  and  Found — Known  m  Turkey  as  the  "  Shepherd's 
Stone  " — Sold  to  the  hite  Gaikwar  of  Baroda — Another 
Disappearance — Royal  Egotism. 


N  every  respect  a  very  remarkable  stone, 
the  "  Akbar  Shah"  entirely  disappeared 
about  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, but  it  has  again  recently  come  to 
light.  Thanks  to  information  courteously  communi- 
cated to  us  by  Messrs  George  Blogg  &  Co.,  of  London, 
we  are  enabled  to  trace  its  history  back  to  the  famous 
Mogul  Emperor  Akbar  Shah,  apparently  its  first 
owner.  It  remained  in  the  Mogul's  treasury  till  the 
time  of  Shah  Jehan,  by  whom  it  was  beautifully  en- 
graved in  Arabic  characters  on  both  sides.  After  its 
long  disappearance  it  suddenly  came  to  light  again  a 
few  years  ago  in  Turkey,  where  it  was  known  by  the 
name  of  the  "  Shepherd's  Stone."  But  the  two  inscrip- 
tions left  no  doubt  as  to  its  true  origin.  Mr.  George 
Blogg,  who  purchased  it  at  Constantinople  in  February, 
1866,  was  told  at  the  time  that,  according  to  the 
tradition,  it  formed  one  of  the  eyes  of  the  Peacock 
Throne,  destroyed  by  Nadir  Shah.  By  him  it  was 
briught  to  London,  where  it  was  rc-cut  to  a  drop,  as 


210       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

the  most  advantageous  form,  by  the  late  Mr.  L.  M. 
Auerhaan.  It  was  then  sold  by  Messrs.  Blogg,  to 
the  notorious  Gaikwar  of  Baroda,  in  1867,  for  3I  lacs 
of  rupees  (^35,000),  and  now  lies  hidden  away  with 
the  other  treasures  accumulated  by  that  prince  during 
his  oppressive  reign. 

The  stone  weighed  originally  120  Arabic,  or 
116  English,  carats.  But  in  the  hands  of  the  cutter 
it  was  reduced  to  about  71  or  72  carats,  and  during 
the  process  the  two  inscriptions  were  totally  des- 
troyed. Facsimile  copies,  however,  were  first  taken, 
and  are  here  appended,  with  the  English  translations: — 

Shah  Akbar,  To  the  Lord  of  Two  Worlds, 

The  Shah  of  the  World,  1039,  A.M. 

1028  A.H.  Shah  Jehan. 


The  date  on  No.  i,  1028  a.h.,  corresponds  to 
1650,  A.D.  But  Akbar,  who  succeeded  Humayun  in 
1556,  died  in  1605.  Hence  the  inscription  could  not 
have  been  engraved  by  Akbar  himself  The  date 
obviously  indicates  the  year  when  Shah  Jehan  caused 
it  to  be  made,  whilst  the  terms  of  the  inscription 
record  the  fact  that  the  stone  had  belonged  to  Akbar. 
The  second  inscription  was  evidently  added  eleven 
years  later  on,  also  by  Shah  Jehan,  the  then  owner, 
who  reigned  from  1627  to  t666,  his  reign  thus  covering 
both  dates. 


XXVI. 


THE   TAVERNIER   BLUE, 


A  Precious  Colour  in  Diamonds—"  D'un  Beau  Violet  "— 
Famous  Mines  in  History  and  Tradition — Misfortune 
follows  Tavernier— The  Old  Idea  of  Great  Diamonds 
being  Unlucky— One  Stone  with  a  Treble  History, 


HIS  stone  is  described  as  "D'un  beau 
violet,"  and  at  once  attracts  the  atten- 
tion of  every  connoisseur.  There  are 
diamonds  of  a  sapphire  hue,  and  one 
of  a  ruby  red,  which  are  of  high  value  ;  there  are  also 
green,  white  olive,  black,  yellow,  and  fire-coloured  ; 
but  the  red  and  blue  are  the  rarest  of  all  natural  pro- 
ductions. An  affluent  of  the  Coleroon  somewhat 
north  of  the  Palqhat  Pass  in  the  South-Western 
Ghauts  is  said  to  be  the  locality  where  this  unique 
specimen  was  found. 

It  must  strike  students  as  very  wonderful  that 
the  places  in  which  great  diamonds  were  said  to  be 
discovered  are  not  the  extensive  mines  at  the  base  of 
the  Neela-Mulla  mountains,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Krishna  and  Pomarjivers,  where  a  hundred  thousand 
miners,  labourers,  and  merchants  dwelt  in  the  time  of 
Methold  ;  nor  the  mines  of  Golconda,  described  by 
Jean  Baptiste  Tavernier  ;  nor  those  of  Raulconda ; 
nor  the  Gani  or  Coloor,  seven  days  journey  from  the 
same  capital,  where,  in  Tavernier's  time,  sixty 
thousand  labourers  were  at  work,  and  where,  we  are 


212        THE    GREAT  DIAMONDS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

told,  a  poor  Vaisya  preparing  a  piece  of  ground  to 
sow  some  millet,  struck  his  hoe  on  a  stone,  which  to 
his  surprise  and  the  dealers,  too,  turned  out  to  be  a 
diamond  weighing  twenty-five  carats.  It  was  from 
this  thin  soil  that  a  stone  of  forty  carats  was  found, 
which  was  presented  to  Shah  Jehan  by  the  Persian 
general  Emir  Jemla.  But  the  stones  found  here  were 
tinged  with  green,  yellow,  or  red.  Tavernier  speaks 
of  a  diamond  the  weight  of  which  was  793  carats, 
which  was  given  by  the  Emir  Jemla  to  the  emperor. 
Sumelpoor  on  the  South-Western  frontier  of  Bengal^ 
and  near  the  source  of  the  river  Quel,  was  also  visited 
by  Tavernier,  and  the  South-West  of  Allahabad  on 
the  Ganges,  a  stronghold  of  the  Prasians,  was  also  the 
locality  of  the  most  ancient  diamond  mines. 

Vast  as  were  and  are  these  diamond  fields,  com- 
paratively few  remarkable  stones  are  declared  to  have 
been  discovered  there,  and  for  obvious  reasons.  The 
feudal  lord  of  the  soil  made  conditions  with  the 
employer  of  labour,  similar  to  those  existing  between 
the  rich  merchant  jeweller  Marcandar,  and  the  King 
of  Golconda,  who  stipulated  that  the  merchant  should 
pay  yearly  to  the  king  30,000  pagodas  of  8s.  6d.  each 
for  working  the  mine,  and  reserve  for  the  king's 
special  right  all  stones  found,  which  exceeded  in 
weight  two  carats.  This,  no  doubt,  accounts  for  so 
few  large  diamonds  coming  to  light.  The  merchant's 
temptation  to  have  large  stones  broken  up  was  very 
great. 

The  experience  of  smuggling  in  all  ages,  and  in 
every  country,  confirms  the  report  that  this  restriction 
onl}'  stimulated   the    secreting    and   disposal   of  the 


THE   TAVERNIER    BLUE.  213 

commodity  so  reserved.  It  was  indeed  a  tremendous 
premium  on  the  concealment  of  the  place  where  these 
exceptional  stones  were  found  ;  and  as  the  inventive 
faculty  of  Easterns  is  of  luxurious  growth,  it  may  well 
be  believed  that  the  extraordinary  incidents  which 
were  related  about  the  discovery  of  wonderful  stones, 
would  be  as  wonderful,  and  far  more  plentiful  than 
the  diamonds  themselves. 

Tavern ier,  on  his  last  return  from  the  East,  sold 
twenty-five  large  diamonds  to  Louis  le  Grand  Mo- 
narque,  1668.  But  this  violet  blue  stood  at  the  head  of 
the  list.  From  1 391  to  theend  of  theeighteenth  century 
diamonds  were  passionately  sought  for  both  by  men 
and  women  in  most  Courts  of  Europe  to  adorn  their 
persons,  and  their  grand  reception  rooms.  The  sums 
of  money  given  to  Tavernier  by  Louis  XIV.  for  this 
Blue  diamond  and  the  other  stones  purchased  by  the 
Grand  Monarque,  so  enriched  the  merchant,  that  he 
purchased  a  great  estate,  to  which  he  retired  to  spend 
in  peace  his  remaining  years  with  his  loved  and  trusted 
son.  His  sovereign,  besides  enriching  Tavernier 
with  above  ;^  100,000,  added  the  honour  of  nobility. 
Alas  !  The  ill-luck  which  was  said  to  pursue  the 
merchants  in  these  gems  from  India  seems  to  have 
attached  itself  to  this  famous  traveller.  The  son 
involved  his  aged  father  in  such  unfortunate  specu- 
lations, that  he  was  compelled  to  sell  his  estate 
to  pay  his  debts,  and  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  to 
venture  out  once  more  to  the  East.  On  his  journey  he 
was  attacked  by  fever  and  perished.  It  is  very  note- 
worthy that  Emir  Jemla  died,  after  the  miscarriage  of 
his  son,  in  a  similar  manner.     That  this  blue  diamond 


214       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD, 

was  cut  after  coming  into  the  possession  of  the  French 
king,  and  reduced  to  6/1  carats  is  most  probable.  It 
appears  that  by  cleavage  subsequently  the  dia- 
mond was  reduced  to  44^  carats,  and  after  this 
treatment  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  late 
Mr.  Henry  Thomas  Hope,  and  stands  unrivalled. 

The  disappearance  of  Tavernier's  rough  blue 
from  the  French  regalia,  followed  by  the  unexplained 
appearance  of  a  cut  gem  of  precisely  the  same  delicate 
blue  tint,  and  answering  in  size  to  the  original  after 
due  allowance  made  for  loss  in  cutting,  leaves  little 
or  no  room  for  doubting  the  identity  of  the  two  stones. 
Hence  the  theory  set  forth  in  Precious  Stones  and  Gems 
remains  unchallenged  ;  nor  is  it  likely  to  be  seriously 
called  in  question  by  any  future  experts.  It  will  be 
further  demonstrated  in  our  account  of  the  "  Hope  " 
diamond.  We  have  also  succeeded,  by  a  careful 
process  of  analysis,  in  identifying  this  stone  with  the 
French  "  Blue."  It  thus  appears  that  the  rough  un- 
cut Tavernier,  the  French  "Blue,"  lost  in  1792,  and 
the  "  Hope,"  are  one  and  the  same  stone. 


L 


XXVII. 
THE  TENNANT. 

Another  South  African  Gem—"  Off  Colour,"  but  free  from 
Flaw  or  Speck— Offered  for  Sale  by  Auction. 

HORTLY  before  his  lamented  death, 
the  distinguished  mineralogist,  Mr. 
James  Tennant,  of  London,  became 
possessed  of  this  gem.  From  the  brief 
account  published  by  him  in  November,  1880,  and 
illustrated  with  four  engravings,  we  gather  that  the 
rough  diamond  was  brought  to  him  from  the  South 
African  diamond  fields  by  one  of  his  students.  In 
the  original  state  it  weighed  112  carats,  but  it  has 
since  been  cut  in  London  as  a  brilliant,  losing  46 
carats  only  in  the  process.  Hence  its  present  weight 
is  66  carats.  Like  most  African  stones  it  has  a  yellow 
tinge,  and,  as  the  printed  account  says,  "  it  exceeds  in 
size  and  brilliancy  any  diamond  in  the  British  crown." 
It  was  recently  put  up  to  auction  at  the  rooms  of 
Messrs.  Christie,  by  Professor  Tennant's  executors, 
with  a  reserve,  but  was  not  sold.  We  have  named 
it  the  "Tennant"  in  recognition  of  the  remarkable 
talents  of  this  great  mineralogist. 

In  the  paper  already  referred  to,  mention  is  made 
of  some  other  South  African  diamonds  in  the  same 
collection,  one  of  which  is  stated  to  weigh  56  carats. 
But  it  is  apparently  of  inferior  quality  to  the 
"  Tennant,"  which,  although  of  a  yellow  hue,  is  free 
from  flaws  or  specks. 


XXVIII. 


THE  STAR  OF  DIAMONDS. 


A  Brilliant  Gem — "  All  the  Colours  of  the  Rainbow." 


EEING  how  recently  the  active  working 
for  diamonds  in  South  Africa  was 
commenced,  it  is  not  a  little  surprising 
that  we  are  unable  to  present  the  reader 
with  the  history  of  one  of  the  most  precious  stones 
known  to  experts  by  the  somewhat  arrogant  title 
of  "  the  Star  of  Diamonds."  It  is  mentioned  by 
Dieulafait  as  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  discovered 
in  the  South  African  diamond  fields.  "  A  lovely 
stone,  which  attracted  attention  by  revealing  under 
the  microscope  a  prospect  of  pointed  mountain  crests, 
lit  up  by  vivid  sunlight  in  all  the  colours  of  the  rain- 
bow."    It  weighed  in  the  rough  state  107I  carats. 


XXIX. 
THE  RIO  DAS  VELHAS 

A  Treasure  of  Brazil — Fouud  iuthe  famous  Diamond  Province 
of  Minas-Geraes. 


LMOST  as  little  is  known  of  this  gem 
as  of  the  "  Star  of  Diamonds."  It  was 
found  about  the  year  1852,  in  the 
Rio-das- Velhas  (Guaicuti),  a  large  river 
flowing  from  the  Paraupeba  Mountains,  through  the 
province  of  Minas-Geraes,  Brazil,  northwards  to  the 
the  right  bank  of  the  San  Francisco.  In  the  absence 
of  any  further  information  it  is  interesting  to  identify 
the  locality  of  the  river  which  gives  the  gem  its  title. 
The  upper  branches  of  the  San  Francisco  rise  on  the 
north  of  the  Serra-das-Vertentes,  3,000  feet  above  the 
sea.  They  are  principally  the  Paraupeba,  and  that 
more  properly  called  the  S.  Francisco,  which  unite 
after  a  course  of  above  150  miles  in  19°  20'  S.  lat. 
The  river  then  flows  in  a  northerly  direction  to  its 
junction  with  the  Rio-das-Velhas.  Before  this,  how- 
ever, it  forms  the  cataracts  of  Pirapora.  The  Rio- 
das-Velhas  rises  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Villa  Rica 
on  the  northern  decli .  ities  of  the  Serra  Mantiqueira, 
and  runs  upwards  of  250  miles. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  stone  under  notice 
may  have  travelled  down  the  San  Francisco  to  the 
point  where  it  was  eventually  found.  We  hope  at  a 
future  day  to  trace  its  wanderings  since  those  pre- 
adamite  days  when   nature  first  set  it  adrift   in  the 

"  troubled  waters." 

O 


XXX. 

THE  BAZU, 


A    Product   of  the    KoUur    Mine — Cleavage    and    Flaws — A 
Risky  and  Unprofitable  Speculation. 


EFORE  the  cleavage  this  stone,  which 
Tavernier  procured  in  the  Kollur  mine, 
weighed  104  carats.  Although  of  fine 
water,  it  seemed  to  be  so  foul  in  the 
middle,  that,  being  of  large  size  and  held  at  a  high 
price,  none  of  the  Banians  (native  traders)  would 
venture  to  purchase  it.  At  last  a  Dutchman  named 
Bazu  was  bold  enough  to  do  so,  and  having  had  it 
cleaved  there  was  found  in  the  interior  as  much  as  eight 
carats  weight  of  impurities,  which  had  the  appearance 
of  decayed  vegetable  matter.*  The  smaller  portion 
remained  pure  with  the  exception  of  a  few  almost 
imperceptible  blemishes.  But  as  to  the  other  portion, 
the  flaws  passed  right  through  it,  and  it  had  to  be 
divided  into  seven  or  eight  pieces.  Bazu  ran  a  great 
risk  in  having  this  stone  cleaved.  The  operation 
might  have  broken  it  into  a  hundred  pieces.  Even 
as  it  was  he  made  a  bad  bargain,  which  shows  plainly 
enough  that  "  where  the  Banians  refuse  to  bite,  there 
is  not  much  hope  for  the  Franks." 

*  A  diamond  of  similar  character  is  now  in  the  British  Museum. 


XXXI. 
THE    RAULCONDA. 

Cutters  at  Work  in  a  Mine — A  Notable  Operation 


HIS  stone  takes  its  name  from  the  mine 
where  it  was  discovered.  There  is 
nothing  sufficiently  sahent  in  its  history 
to  suggest  a  more  appropriate  title. 
Tavernicr  mentions  the  stone  in  his  account  of  the 
Raulconda  mine,  where  he  saw  it  in  the  process  of 
being  cut.  "  In  this  mine,"  he  says,  "  there  are  a 
number  of  cutters,  each  of  whom  has  only  one  wheel, 
which  is  of  steel,  and  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary 
dinner  plate.  They  place  one  stone  only  on  each 
wheel,  which  they  moisten  incessantly  with  water 
until  they  have  found  the  grain  of  the  stone.  Then 
they  take  oil,  and  do  not  spare  the  diamond  dust, 
which  is  very  cheap,  to  make  the  stone  run  the 
quicker,  and  they  also  charge  it  much  more  than  we 
do.  I  have  seen  150  lbs.  of  lead  placed  on  one  stone, 
though  it  was  certainly  a  very  large  one,  which  re- 
mained at  103  carats  after  having  been  cut,  and  the 
mill  was  like  ours,  the  large  wheel  of  which  was 
turned  by  four  blacks."  The  site  of  Raulconda  mine 
will  be  found  identified  in  our  introductory  chapter. 


XXXII. 
THE    HASTINGS. 

In  the  Early  Days  of  our  Eastern  Empire — National  Ingrati- 
tude— A  Georgian  Scandal — Cruel  Caricature — The 
Power  of  Diamonds. 

N  the  year  1786 the  "  Hastings''  diamond, 
(which  cannot  now  be  identified  in  the 
crown  jewels),  was  sent  by  the  Nizam 
ol    the    Deccan   to   King   George    III., 
whose    favour    Mr.    Hastings    was   about    that    time 
anxious  to  secure.     He  was  on  his  trial  for  having 
endowed  the  nation  with  an  eastern  empire.     Com- 
missioned   to    deliver    the  jewel    to    the    king,   this 
circumstance    brought   both    himself   and    the    royal 
family    into   great    trouble.      The    report    was    soon 
spread  that  in  order  to  prevent  an  adverse  sentence, 
Hastings  had  bribed  the  king  with  a  valuable  diamond, 
and  as  Queen  Charlotte  had  the  reputation  of  being 
very  avaricious,  it  was  added  that  her  mediation  had 
also  been  purchased  by  similar  means.     This  gave  rise 
to  numerous  scurrilous  writings  and  caricatures,  which 
were  publicly  hawked  about  the  streets  and  exhibited 
in  the  shop  windows.     In  one  of  these  advantage  was 
taken  of  a  notorious  mountebank,  who  professed  that 
he  could  eat  and  digest  stones  like  an  ostrich,  and 
whose  performances  were  advertised  on  posters  under 
the  heading  of  "  The  Great  Stone  Eater."     For  the 
juggler  the  caricaturists  substituted  the  king,  who  was 
represented  as  "  The  Greatest  Stone  Eater."     He  was 
depicted  with  a  diamond  in  his  mouth,  and  a  heap  of 


THE   HASTINGS.  221 

others  ready  for  mastication.  Amongst  the  numerous 
street  ballads  that  appeared  on  the  occasion  was  the 
following,  reprinted  with  some  slight  but  necessary 
modifications  by  Thomas  Wright  in  his  Caricature 

History  of  the  Georges  : — 

I'll  sing  you  a  song  of  a  diamond  so  fine, 
That  soon  in  the  Crown  of  our  Monarch  will  shine  ; 
Of  its  size  and  its  value  the  whole  country  rings, 
By  Hastings  bestowed  on  the  best  of  all  kings. 

Deny  down,  &c. 

From  India  this  jewel  was  lately  brought  o'er. 
Though  sunk  in  the  sea,  it  was  found  on  the  shore, 
And  just  in  the  nick  to  St   James's  it  got, 
Conveyed  in  a  bag  by  the  brave  Major  Scott,  * 

Deny  down,  &c. 

Lord  Sydneyf  stepped  forth  when  the  tidings  were  known, 
It's  his  office  to  cany  such  news  to  the  throne, 
Though  quite  out  of  breath  to  the  closet  he  lan. 
And  stammered  with  joy,  'ere  his  tale  he  began. 

Derry  down,  &c. 

Here's  a  jewel,  my  liege,  there's  none  such  in  the  land. 
Major  Scott  with  three  bows,  put  it  into  my  hand, 
And  he  swore,  when  he  gave  it,  the  wise  ones  were  bit. 
For  it  never  was  shown  to  Dundas  or  to  Pitt, 

Deny  down,  &c. 


*  This  Major  Scott  was  a  personal  friend  and  prominent  champion 
of  Warren  Hastings,  and  when  the  diamond  scandal  was  referred  to  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  he  it  was  who  supplied  the  necessary  information,  and 
gave  the  true  histoiy  of  the  affair.  But  his  explanation  was  received  with 
incredulity  by  thf  hostile  faction. 

t  The  diamond,  together  with  a  rich  purse,  containing  the  Nizam's 
letter  was  openly  presented  to  the  king  by  Lord  Sydney  at  a  levee  in 
St.  James's  Palace.  But  Hastings  happened,  unfortunately  for  himself,  to 
be  present  on  the  occasion,  this  circumstance,  of  course,  lending  colour  to 
the  report  that  the  diamond  really  came  from  him,  the  Nizam's  name 
being  merely  used  as  a  cloak  to  veil  the  true  nature  of  the  transaction. 


222        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD. 

"  For  Dundas,"  cried  our  Sovereign,  "  unpolished  and  rough 
Give  him  a  Scotch  pebble — 'tis  more  than  enough — 
And  jewels  to  Pitt,  Hastings  justly  refuses, 
For  he  has  already  more  gifts  than  he  uses." 

Derry  down,  &c. 

"  But  run,  Jenky,  run  !"  adds  the  king  in  delight, 

"  Bring  the  queen  and  the  princesses  here  for  a  sight  ; 

They  never  would  pardon  the  negligence  shown. 

If  we  kept  from  their  knowledge  so  glorious  a  stone." 

Derry  down,  &c. 

"  But  guard  the  door,  Jenky  !  No  credit  we'll  win 
If  the  prince,  in  a  frolic,  should  chance  to  step  in  ; 
The  boy  to  such  secrets  of  State  we'll  ne'er  call, 
Let  him  wait  till  he  gets  our  crown,  jewels,  and  all  !" 

Derry  down,  &c. 

In  the  princesses  run,  and  surprised,  cry  "  O,  la  ! 
'Tis  as  big  as  the  egg  of  a  pigeon,  papa  !" 
"  And  a  pigeon  of  plumage  worth  plucking  is  he," 
Replies  our  good  monarch,  "who  sent  it  to  me !'' 

Derry  down,  &c. 

Madam  Schwellenberg  peep'd  thro'  the  door  at  a  chink, 
And  tipped  on  the  diamond  a  sly  German  wink. 
As  much  as  to  say,    "  Can  we  ever  be  cruel 
To  him  who  has  sent  us  so  glorious  a  jewel  ?" 

Derry  down,  &c. 

Now  God  save  the  queen  !    while  the  people  I  teach. 
How  the  king  may  grow  rich,  while  the  Commons  impeach. 
Then  let  nabobs  go  plunder,  and  rob  as  they  will, 
And  throw  in  their  diamonds  as  grist  to  his  mill. 

Derry  down,  Sec. 

This  is  no  doubt  the  stone  of  which  Mawe  wrote  : 
"  A  fine  stone,  weighing  loi  carats,  called  the  *  Nizam  ' 
diamond,  was  brought  from  India  by  governor 
Hastings  ;  it  made  a  most  perfect  brilliant,  and 
was  presented  to  our  late  gracious  queen  Charlotte." 


THE  HASTINGS.  223 

In  this  sentence  we  have  a  characteristic  instance 
of  the  extreme  carelessness  displayed  by  most  writers 
on  precious  stones.  For,  short  as  it  is,  it  contains  no 
less  than  three  mistakes,  all  of  which  might  have  been 
avoided  by  a  little  attention  to  the  facts  of  the  case. 
In  the  first  place  the  stone  was  never  "  called  the 
'  Nizam  '  diamond."  Secondly,  it  was  not  "  brought 
from  India  by  governor  Hastings,"  but  sent  from 
India  by  the  Nizam  to  governor  Hastings.  Lastly, 
it  was  not  "presented  to  our  late  gracious  Queen 
Charlotte,"  but  to  King  George  III.  by  Hastings  at 
the  request  of  the  Nizam.  It  is,  however,  likely 
enough  that  it  afterwards  passed  into  Queen  Charlotte's 
possession,  although  of  this  there  can  be  no  certainty. 
It  is  also  quite  possible  that,  for  his  own  purposes, 
Hastings  may  have  made  the  most  of  the  part  played 
by  him  in  the  transaction.  He  was  fully  aware  that 
his  enemies  were  both  numerous  and  powerful,  and 
great  efforts  were  needed  to  command  sufficient 
influence  to  obtain  a  favourable  verdict.  One  of  the 
means  which  he  freely  employed  to  secure  this  object 
was  a  lavish  distribution  of  his  funds  amongst  influen- 
tial members  of  society.  Hence  he  was  not  parti- 
cularly interested  at  the  time  in  refuting  the 
popular  impression,  that  the  great  diamond  was  his 
personal  gift  to  royalty.  A  certain  amount  of  interest 
could  not  fail  to  be  felt  in  the  fate  of  a  man  who 
could  afl"ord  to  solicit  the  favour  of  his  sovereign 
by  such  princely  means.  Society  at  the  time  was  not 
immaculate,  and  in  any  case  it  was  as  true  then  as 
ever  that  "  every  woman  had  her  price,"  and  that  when 
all  else  failed,  diamonds  ever  commanded  success.     If 


224    THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

he  did  not  possess  an  unlimited  store  of  these  trea- 
sures, the  impression  that  there  were  more  where  this 
gift  to  the  king  came  from,  might  equally  well  serve 
his  purpose. 


XXXIII. 
THE    STAR    OF    BEAUFORT. 

The  comparatively  Unknown  Diamond  Fields  of  South 
Africa — The  Progress  and  Wealth  of  Griqualand  West 
— One  of  many  Great  Diamonds. 

R.  R.  W.  MURRAY,  in  a  paper  read 
before  the  Society  of  Arts  a  year  ago, 
held  that  while  the  Diamonds  Fields  of 
South  Africa  are  the  least  known  of 
English  territory,  and  have  been  most  misrepre- 
sented, no  single  spot  of  ground  in  the  whole  world, 
is  better  worth  knowing  than  they  are.  We  quite 
agree  with  him  in  believing  that  no  discovery  of 
modern  times  is  more  remarkable  than  that  of  the 
Diamond  Fields  of  South  Africa,  no  portion  of  her 
Majesty's  dominions  has  made  such  rapid  progress 
in  civilization  and  wealth  ;  and  that  unless  the  pro- 
gress of  the  province  of  Griqualand  West,  in  which 
the  Diamond  Fields  are  situated,  is  checked  by  mis- 
government,  it  will  be  one  of  the  chief  centres  of 
trade,  and  commerce  in  that  great  country. 

What  is  almost  as  remarkable  as  the  general 
ignorance  in  regard  to  South  Africa,  is  the  way  in 
which  some  of  the  diamonds  discovered  there 
become  absorbed,  and  leave  comparatively  no  trace  of 
their  history  or  their  whereabouts.  Take,  for  example 
the  "  Star  of  Beaufort."     All  that  appears  to  be  known 


226       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

concerning  it  is  that,  speaking  of  the  unusual  number 
of  large  stones  found  in  the  South  African  diamanti- 
ferous  regions,  Dieulafait  observes  that,  "  among  the 
exceptional  treasures  were  diamonds  weighing  con- 
siderably more  than  loo  carats,  one  of  which  was 
the  beautiful  '  Star  of  Beaufort.'  Our  inquiries  do 
not  at  present  enable  us  to  add  anything  to  this 
vague  mention  of  a  very  valuable  stone. 


XXXIV. 
THE    CHAPADA. 

Peculiarities  of  Brazilian  Stones — A  Diamond-Bearing  Rock 
— A  Notable  Gem,  named  after  the  District  where  it 
was  found. 


N  a  recent  number  of  the  American 
Journal  of  Science,  Mr.  A.  O.  Derby,  in 
a  paper  on  the  geology  of  the  diamond, 
gives  some  interesting  results  of  his 
researches.  It  has  been  generally  stated  that  the 
Brazilian  diamond  has  its  matrix  in  itacolumite, 
which  is  a  granular  quartzose  rock  sometimes  flexible. 
Mr.  Derby,  however,  shows  that,  under  the  name  of 
itacolumite  rocks,  two  distinct  geological  series  have 
hitherto  been  confounded.  The  diamond-bearing- 
rock  of  Grao  Mogul  probably  belongs  to  the  newer 
of  the  two  series ;  but  the  stones  have  not  been 
formed  in  these  rocks,  and  occur  there  only  as  deriva- 
tive bodies  like  the  associated  pebbles.  At  Sao  Jao 
de  Chapada  the  diamond  is  found  in  a  deposit  of 
clay ;  and  its  original  matrix  is  described  as  a  vein  of 
quartz  accompanying  a  rock  of  unknown  nature,  but 
containing  iron  and  crystals  of  tourmaline,  traversing 
a  series  of  schists  and  itacolumite.  Mr.  Derby  is  of 
opinion  that  the  original  diamond  formation  in  Brazil 
is  probably  of  Cambrian  age.  A  notable  diamond  of 
?>']\  carats  was  found  in  185 1,  in  the  rich  mineral 
district  of  Chapada,  or  Santa-Cruz-da-Chapada,  three 
leagues  North-East  of  Fanado,  in  the  province  of 
Minas-Geraes,  Brazil  It  has  been  named  after  the 
district  that  produced  it. 


XXXV. 
THE   NASSAK. 


Under  the  Mahratta  Power—"  Gifts  of  the  gods  "—A  Present 
to  the  East  India  Company  —  Reminiscences  of  a 
Royal  Birthday— Re-cut  by  Order  of  the  Marquis  of 
Westminster. 


HE  town  of  Nassak,  variously  written 
Nassac,  Nassik,  Nasik,  Nessuck,  &c., 
lies  on  the  Upper  Godavery,  95  miles 
by  rail  north-east  of  Bombay.  In  the 
neighbourhood  are  some  famous  cave-temples,  and 
in  the  days  of  the  Mahratta  ascendancy,  this  town 
was  a  noted  place  of  pilgrimage,  annually  resorted  to 
by  thousands  of  devotees.  The  offerings  of  these 
worshippers  of  Shiva,  the  presiding  genius  of  the 
district,  caused  here,  as  elsewhere,  throughout  the 
peninsula,  a  gradual  accumulation  of  vast  treasures 
in  the  local  shrines.  While  the  Mahratta  power 
flourished,  these  treasures  were  respected,  but  when 
they  fell  upon  evil  days,  the  Peishwas,  nominal  heads 
of  the  great  confederacy,  helped  themselves  freely  to 
the  "gifts  of  the  gods,"  thereby  acquiring  the  means 
to  carry  on  their  incessant  wars  against  rival  chiefs, 
and  finally  against  the  all-absorbing  "  Company 
Bahadur."  When  Bajerow,  the  last  independent 
Peishwa,  surrendered  to  the  British  in  the  last  Mah- 
ratta war  of  18 1 8,  his  baggage  became  the  "loot" 


THE   NASSAK.  229 

of  the  conquerors.  Amongst  the  prizes  of  war 
seized  on  that  occasion,  was  this  diamond,  which 
the  Peishwa  had  already  taken  from  the  temple  of 
Shiva,  in  Nassak,  and  which  was  thence  known  as 
the  "  Nassak"  Diamond.  It  had  been  concealed  by 
his  orders,  but  was  brought  to  light  by  Colonel 
J.  Briggs,  who  forthwith  handed  it  over  to  the  Marquis 
of  Hastings,  under  whom  the  combined  operations 
against  the  Peishwa  had  been  conducted.  By  him  it 
was  presented  to  the  East  India  Company,  but  was 
ultimately  given  up,  and  formed  part  of  the  booty, 
being  at  the  time  valued  at  ^^30,000.  It  was  thus 
brought  to  the  London  market,  in  the  year  1818,  and 
soon  afterwards  sold  by  the  East  India  Company  to 
Messrs.  Rundell  and  Bridge.  Mawe,  who  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  it,  describes  it  as  "  a  diamond  of  great 
purity,  but  of  a  bad  form."  He  gives  its  weight  as 
79  carats  and  2  grains,  (the  79  being  an  obvious 
misprint  for  89),  and  adds  that  "its  form  is  trian- 
gular, and  it  is  cut  and  polished,  so  as  to  retain  the 
greatest  possible  weight.  But  it  exhibits  none  of  the 
qualities  which  it  would  so  proudly  display,  if  it  had 
teen  well  proportioned." 

When  it  reached  Europe  the  "Nassak,"  which 
had  been  badly  cut  in  India,  presented  very  much  the 
form  and  appearance  of  the  "  Koh-i-Nur,"  the  native 
cutter  having,  as  usual,  sacrificed  everything  to  size. 
Hence,  when  Messrs.  Rundell  became  the  owners, 
they  found  it  desirable  to  have  it  re-cut,  and  in  doing 
so  they  pursued  a  very  wise  course.  By  instructing 
the  artist  to  keep  as  closely  as  possible  to  the  traces 
of  the   Hindu  cutter,    "  amending   his   defects,  and 


230       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD. 

accommodating  the  pattern  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
subject  matter,  they  transformed  the  rudely-facetted, 
lustreless  mass  into  a  diamond  of  perfect  brilliancy,  at 
the  sacrifice  of  no  more  than  lo  per  cent,  of  its 
original  weight." 

The  thread  of  the  history  is  then  taken  up  by 
Murray,  who  tells  us  that  "  it  has  remained  for  ten 
years  in  the  possession  of  Rundell  &  Bridge,  and 
was  disposed  of  by  public  sale  in  London  in  July, 
1831,*  for  the  sum  of  ^^7, 200  to  Emanuel  Brothers. 
Its  weight  is  stated  to  be  89^  carats.  The  amount 
realized  by  the  sale  of  the  '  Nassak '  diamond 
scarcely  amounted  to  one-third  of  its  previously 
estimated  amount." 

It  was  in  the  month  of  August,  1837,  that  the 
"  Nassak  "  and  a  number  of  other  costly  gems  were 
put  up  to  sale,  by  Messrs.  Emanuel  in  Willis's  Lower 
Room,  King  Street,  St.  James's.  The  "Nassak," 
and  the  diamond  earrings,  presented  by  the  Nabob  of 
Arcot  to  Queen  Charlotte,  together  with  the  brilliant 
brooch  purchased  by  Emanuel  from  Bevis  Marks,  were 
knocked  down  to  the  Marquis  of  Westminster,  who 
presented  the  earrings  and  brooch  to  the  Marchioness 
as  a  birthday  present. 

At  the  Drawing  Room  on  Queen  Victoria's 
birthday,  immediately  succeeding  her  accession  to 
to  the  British  throne,  the  Marquis  of  Westminster 
wore  the  "  Nassak  "  diamond  on  the  hilt  of  his  sword, 
and,  "  the  Marchioness  intended  on  the  same  occasion 


*     In   this  year   Messrs.   Rundell    retired    from    business,  when   the 
"  Nassak,"  with  much  oi  their  other  goods,  was  brought  to  the  hammer. 


THE  NASSAK.  23 1 

to  have  worn  the  '  Arcot '  diamonds,  but  indisposition 
prevented  her  attendance." 

We  have  seen  that  the  *'  original  weight "  was 
89I  carats,  and  this  was  now  reduced  to  78I  carats, 
a  very  slight  sacrifice  compared  with  the  loss  suffered 
by  the  "Koh-i-Nur',  and  some  other  Indian  stones 
when  re-cut  in  London  or  Amsterdam.  Kluge  says 
the  re-cutting  was  executed  "  by  order  of  the  Marquis 
of  Westminster."*  But  this  must  be  a  mistake  ;  for 
the  operation,  as  already  stated,  was  performed  by 
Messrs.  Rundell  before  the  stone  was  put  up  to  sale 
in  July,  1837,  and  consequently  before  the  Marquis 
had  any  control  over  it. 

It  gained  so  much  in  the  lapidary's  hands  that 
this  gem  is  now  reputed  to  be  worth  from  ;C25,ooo 
to  ^^30,000,  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
stone  was  sold  when  times  were  very  bad  and  money 
scarce. 


*  "  Aut  Befehl  des  Marquis  von  Westminster  von  neuem  gescli- 
nitten,''  op.  cit.  p.  254.  Barbot  also  maites  the  same  mistaiic,  asserting 
(p.  269)  that  the  operation  was  "  executee  par  les  ordres  du  Marquis  de 
Westminster." 


XXXVI. 
THE   SHAH 

Engraved  Diamonds — A  Barbarous  Subterfuge — Sadek  Khan 
Bricked  Up  in  a  Dungeon — An  Incident  of  the  Desert 
— "A  Blaze  of  Jewels" — Oriental  Extravagance. 


HIS  fine  stone  shares  with  the  "  Jehan- 
Ghir  Shah "  the  honour  of  being  the 
only  diamonds  that  are  known  to 
have  ever  been  engraved  in  the  East. 
And  so  little  known  are  even  these  specimens,  that 
they  are  not  so  much  as  mentioned  by  King  in  his 
otherwise  interesting  account  of  diamond  engraving 
in  the  Natural  History  of  Precious  Stones. 

The  "  Shah  "  seems  to  have  formed  part  of  the 
Persian  regalia  from  the  remotest  times.  Barbot 
asserts  that  it  was  lost  when  Nadir  Shah's  treasures 
were  plundered  by  his  revolting  troops  after  his  death 
in  1747.  But  if  so,  it  was  afterwards  recovered,  for 
according  to  the  generally  accepted  account,  it  was 
presented  to  the  Russian  Emperor,  Nicholas  I.,  by  the 
Persian  Prince  Cosrhoes,  younger  son  of  Abbas  Mirza, 
when  he  visited  St.  Petersburg  in  1843. 

The  "  Shah  "  is  table-cut,  or  what  is  technically 
known  as  lasque.  It  is  of  the  very  finest  water,  with- 
out the  least  cloud  or  flaw,  and  so  pure  throughout, 
that  in  treating  it,  the  cutter  was  able  to  leave  several 
of  the  national  facets  untouched.  This  circumstance 
also  explains  the  small  sacrifice  which  it  suffered  in 


THE   SHAH.  233 

the  process  of  reduction.  It  is  said  to  have  weighed  in 
the  rough  about  95  carats,  and  as  its  present  weight 
is  86  carats,  it  lost  9  carats  only  in  the  cutter's  hands. 
The  three  facets  obtained  by  cleavage  are  beautifully 
engraved  in  Arabo-Persian  characters  with  the  names 
of  three  Persian  rulers  as  under: — 


Li,   y^^f        (Akbar  Shah). 
^^  r^^^'      (Nisim  Shah). 


3.      ^     "^1  -,Aj'       (Fat'hh  Ali  Shah). 

Round  the  upper  edge  of  the  stone  runs  a  small 
groove,  apparently  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the 
string  with  which  it  was  worn  suspended  round  the 
neck.  By  what  process  this  intaglio  and  the  inscrip- 
tions were  executed  it  is  impossible  to  say.  The 
probability  is  that  all  were  done  at  the  same  time 
by  some  European  gem-engraver  employed  by  the 
Persian  Court. 

The  third  name  engraved  on  this  remarkable 
diamond  is  that  of  Aga  Mohammed's  nephew,  who 
succeeded  him  in  1797.  On  Aga's  death  in  that  year, 
the  usurper,  Sadek  Khan  seized  a  great  quantity  of 
crown  jewels.  But  he  was  defeated  at  Kasvin,  and 
he  purchased  his  freedom  by  surrendering  most  of 
these  treasures.  The  rest  he  retained,  intending,  if 
necessary,  to  use  them  in  a  similar  way  on  some  future 
occasion.  Some  time  afterwards  he  did  actually  again 
revolt.  Fat'hh  All's  patience  was  now  exhausted,  and 
he    not   only  confiscated    all    the   remaining  jewels, 

P 


234       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD 

amongst  which  was  this  engraved  stone,  but  also 
ordered  the  rebel  Sadek  Khan  to  be  bricked  up  alive 
in  a  dungeon.  This  method  of  punishment  was 
adopted  because  Fat'hh  Ali  had,  on  a  former  occasion, 
promised  on  oath  never  to  shed  Sadek's  blood. 

Yet  Fat'hh  Ali,  in  spite  of  his  inhuman  punish- 
ment   of   Sadek,    was    not    naturally    cruel.     Many- 
instances  are,  indeed,  related  of  his  kindly  and  mag- 
nanimous disposition.     On  one  occasion,  as  he  was 
passing  through  the  desert  from  Bastam  to  Shahrud, 
it  so  happened  that  the  ladies  of  the  harem  and  their 
escort  lost  their  way.     The  king,  with  a  few  atten- 
dants,  immediately  set  out  in  search  of  them  ;  but 
they  strayed  so  far  that  all  the  water  was  consumed 
and  nothing  remained  except   a   small  piece  of  ice, 
which  was  reserved  for  Fat'hh  Ali.     Perceiving  how- 
ever, that  a  young  prince  had  fainted  from  weakness 
and    thirst,   this    Oriental    Sir   Philip    Sydney  relin- 
quished the  life-giving  morsel,  and  with  his  own  hands 
placed  it  in  the  mouth  of  his  exhausted  fellow  traveller. 
Fat'hh  Ali  was  on  one  occasion  visited  by  Sir 
R.  Kerr-Porter,  who  in  his  Travels  thus  describes  his 
magnificent  reception  :  "  He  entered  the  saloon  from 
the  left,  and  advanced  to  the  foot  of  it  with  an  air 
and    step   which    belonged   entirely  to  a   sovereign. 
Had    there    been    any   assumption   in    his    manner 
I  could  not  have  been  so  impressed.     He  was  one 
blaze  of  jewels,  which  literally  dazzled  the  sight  on 
first  looking  at  him.     A  lofty  tiara  of  three  elevations 
was  on  his  head,  which  shape  appears  to  have  been 
long  peculiar  to  the  crown  of  the  great  king.     It  was 
entirely  composed  of  thickly-set  diamonds  and  pearls, 


THE   SIIAII.  235 

rubies  and  emeralds,  so  exquisitely  disposed  as  to 
form  a  mixture  of  the  most  beautiful  colours  in  the 
brilliant  light  reflected  from  its  surface.  Several 
black  feathers  like  the  heron's  plumes,  were  inter- 
mixed with  the  resplendent  aigrettes  of  this  truly 
Imperial  diadem,  whose  bending  points  were  finished 
with  pear-shaped  pearls  of  an  immense  size.  The 
vesture  was  of  gold  tissue,  nearly  covered  with  a 
similar  disposition  of  jewelry,  and  crossing  the 
shoulders  were  too  strings  of  pearls,  probably  the 
largest  in  the  world.  I  call  his  dress  a  vesture, 
because  it  set  close  to  his  person,  from  the  neck  to 
the  bottom  of  the  waist,  showing  a  shape  as  noble  as 
his  air.  At  that  point  it  devolved  downwards  in 
loose  drapery,  like  the  usual  Persian  garment,  and 
was  of  the  same  costly  materials  with  the  vest.  But 
for  splendour  nothing  could  exceed  the  broad  brace- 
lets round  his  arms,  and  the  belt  which  encircled 
his  waist.  They  actually  blazed  like  fire,  when  the 
rays  of  the  sun  met  them  ;  and  when  we  know  the 
names  derived  from  such  excessive  lustre,  we  cannot 
be  surprised  at  seeing  such  an  effect.  The  jewelled 
band  on  the  right  arm  was  called  the  '  Mountain  of 
Light,'  and  that  on  the  left  'the  Sea  of  Light.' 
These  names  were  of  course  derived  from  the  cele- 
brated diamonds  contained  in  the  bracelets." 

It  will  be  seen  from  our  account  of  the  "  Darya- 
i-Nur "  and  "  Moon  of  Mountains "  that  this  writer 
is  in  error  regarding  the  name  of  one  of  these  famous 
diamonds.  His  description  is  in  other  respects  ex- 
tremely interesting,  and  helps  to  show  that  towards 
the   beginning    of  the  present  century  most  of  the 


236       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF   THE  WORLD. 

crown  jewels  (scattered  during  the  troubles  ensuing 
on  the  death  of  Nadir  Shah),  had  again  been 
recovered  and  collected  in  the  royal  treasury. 

Fat'hh  Ali,  who  retained  his  seat  on  the  throne 
lill  his  death  in  1S34,  was  remarkable  in  another 
respect.  His  harem  consisted  of  800  ladies,  and  he 
left  issue  nearly  two  hundred  children.  Mr.  Binning 
assures  us  that  in  1850,  many  of  his  off-spring  were 
still  alive,  and  earning  their  bread  as  artisans  and 
tradesmen. 


XXXVII. 

THE   DUDLEY,  OR  STAR  OF  SOUTH 

AFRICA. 


Strange  History — The  Vicissitudes  of  a  Diamond — A 
Child's  Toy  worth  a  King's  Ransom — The  Discovery 
of  Diamonds  at  the  Cape — A  Great  Stone  thrown 
away  in  Africa  to  be  afterwards  Sold  for  over  ;f  ii,ooo 
in  London. 


HE  story  of  the  "  Star  of  South  Africa  " 
(now  better  known  as  the  "  Dudley  ") 
is  the  history  of  the  beginning  of  dia- 
mond mining  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  Apart  from  its  interest  in  this  respect  it  is 
quite  a  little  romance  of  accidental  discovery. 
Mr.  B.  W.  Murray  narrated  it  one  evening  last 
year  to  the  Society  of  Arts.  We  cannot  do  better 
than  reproduce  the  leading  facts  from  his  graphic 
paper  which  has  been  published  in  the  Society's 
Journal : — 

"  In  the  course  of  that  year,  1867,  just  as  things 
were  at  the  very  worst,  and  men  had  come  to 
regard  the  whole  of  South  Africa  as  God-forsaken, 
Mr.  John  O'Reilly,  a  trader  and  hunter  in  the 
interior,  was  in  Albania.  Here  I  had  better  explain 
that  Albania  is  a  portion  of  the  province  of  Griqua- 
land  West.  It  was  a  portion  of  the  territory  of 
the   Griquas,   who  were  under  the  chieftainship  of 


238      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF   THE   WORLD. 

Nicholas  Waterboer,  who  afterwards  ceded  his  terri- 
tory to  the  British  authorities.     That  territory,  which 
became  a  Crown  colony,  and  in  which  are  the  diamond 
diggings  and   mines,  is  situated   between   the  Cape 
Colony,  the  Free  State,  the  Batlapin  territory,  and 
that  which  is  set  down  in  the  old  maps  as  occupied 
by  Hottentot  tribes,  and  in  which  the  copper  mines 
are  found.     I  shall  endeavour  to  avoid  embarrassing 
you  with  more  of  such  details  than  are  unavoidable. 
The  latitude  and  longitude  are  not  at  all  essential  to 
the  subject  with  which  I  am  dealing.     It  will  be  suffi- 
cient for  you  if  I  state  that  Griqualand  West  is  about 
600  miles  from  each  of  the  sea  ports,  and  that  it  is 
approached  by  various  routes  ;  those  most  frequented 
are  the  western,  or  Table  Bay  route,  the  eastern,  from 
Port  Elizabeth,  the   frontier,   or   the    East    London 
route,  and  the  Durban  or  Natal  route. 

"  Albania,  of  which  I  commenced  to  speak,  was 
a  portion  of  the  Griqua  territory,  settled  by  colonists, 
under  terms  made  with  Waterboer,  some  two  years 
before  the  discovery  of  diamonds  had  been  heard  of 
One  of  the  colonists  who  had  helped  to  form  the 
settlement  was  a  Mr.  Van  Niekirk.  Mr.  O'Reilly, 
who  was  returning  from  the  interior  to  Colesberg, 
called  upon  Van  Niekirk,  and  remained  with  him 
the  night.  In  the  course  of  the  evening,  one  of 
Van  Niekirk's  children,  a  little  girl,  was  playing  on 
the  floor  with  some  of  the  pretty  pebbles  which  are 
common  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Vaal  River. 
Mr.  O'Reilly's  attention  was  directed  to  one  of  the 
stones,  which  threw  out  a  very  strong  light,  to  which 
Mr.    O'Reilly's   eyes  had    been    unaccustomed.     He 


THE  DUDLEY,   OR   STAR   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA.      239 

took  it  Up  from  the  floor  and  offered  to  buy  it,  asking 
what  Van  Niekirk  would  take  for  it.  The  simple- 
minded  Boer  could  not  understand  what  the  meaning 
of  purchasing  a  stone  could  be,  and  he  said  he  would 
take  no  money  for  it,  but  that  if  Mr.  O'Reilly  had  a 
mind  to  it,  he  could  have  it. 

"  The  colonial  trader  is  generally  represented  as 
a  verneuker  of  a  most  designing  and  unscrupulous 
kind,  but  there  are  men  amongst  them  whose  right 
dealing  and  high  character  would  stand  comparison 
with  those  of  any  men  in  the  world,  and  no  men  have 
a  better  footing  amongst  the    Boers  than  the   old- 
established   traders.     Mr.   O'Reilly  is  one  of  them. 
He  told  Van  Niekirk  that  he  believed   it  to  be  a 
precious  stone  and  of  value  ;  he  would,  therefore,  not 
take  it  for  nothing.     It  was  ultimately  agreed  between 
them  that  O'Reilly  should  take  the  stone,  ascertain 
its  value,  and,  if  found  to  be  a  diamond,  as  O'Reilly 
suspected  it  was,  that  it  should  be  sold,  and  the  money 
divided  between  them,     Mr.  O'Reilly  took  the  stone 
to  Colesberg,  where  he  showed  it,  and  he  confidently 
stated  to  the  people  he  met  at  the  bar  of  the  hotel 
that  it  was  a  diamond.     He  wrote  his  initials  on  the 
window-pane  and  cut  a  tumbler  with  the  stone,  and 
was  laughed  at  for  his  alleged  foolishness,  as  many  a 
discoverer  had  been  before  him.     One  of  the  company 
took  the  stone  out  of  O'Reilly's  hands  and  threw  it 
into  the  street.     It  was  a  narrow  chance  that  the 
stone  was  found  again,  and,  had  it  not  been,  it  is  quite 
a  question  whether   the    Diamond    Fields   of  South 
Africa  had  yet  or  ever  been  discovered  in  our  day. 
However,  the  stone  was  found,  and  O'Reilly  sent  it 


240       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

to  Grahamstown,  to  Dr.  Atherstone,  to  be  tested,  and 
and  the  doctor  and  Bishop  Ricards,  the  Roman 
Catholic  Bishop  of  Grahamstown  (one  of  the  most 
scientific  men  in  South  Africa)  both  pronounced  it  to 
be  a  diamond  of  22^  carats.  From  Grahamstown  the 
stone  was  sent  to  the  then  Colonial  Secretary, 
the  Hon.  Richard  Southey,  afterwards  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Griqualand  West,  who  submitted  the 
stone  to  the  best  authorities  at  hand,  and  they  all 
decided  it  to  be  a  diamond.  It  was  then  forwarded  to 
the  Queen's  jewellers,  Messrs.  Hunt  and  Roskell,  who 
confirmed  the  decisions  obtained  in  the  colony,  and 
valued  the  stone  at  ;^5oo.  At  this  valuation,  it  was 
purchased  by  his  Excellency,  Sir  Philip  Wodehouse, 
who  was  Governer  of  the  colony  at  the  time. 
Mr.  O'Reilly,  as  soon  as  he  had  ascertained  for 
certain  that  his  first  stone  was  a  diamond,  set  out 
to  see  if  he  could  not  find  others,  and  was  not 
long  before  he  found  one  of  8|  carats,  and  this  too 
was  purchased  by  Sir  Philip  Wodehouse  for  ;!^20O. 
This  led  to  a  good  deal  of  excitement  throughout  the 
country.  Small  diamonds  were  brought  in  by  natives. 
Then  flashed  the  startling  intelligence  through  the 
country  that  a  diamond  of  over  83  carats  had  been 
discovered.  This  turned  out  to  be  true,  and  this  is 
how  it  came  about.  Mr.  Van  Niekirk,  from  whom 
Mr.  O'Reilly  obtained  the  first  stone,  hearing  that  it 
had  turned  out  to  be  a  diamond,  remembered  that  he 
had  seen  one  of  a  similar  character  in  the  possession 
of  a  native,  and  set  out  to  find  it.  A  Boer  is  not  long 
in  getting  hold  of  a  native  when  he  wants  him,  and 
Van    Niekirk   soon  had  his  man.     The  native  had 


THE  DUDLEY,  OR   STAR  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA.      24 1 

kept  the  stone,  and  Van  Niekirk  gave  him  nearly 
all  he  possessed  for  it — about  500  sheep,  horses,  &c. — 
but  at  whatever  the  price,  he  obtained  the  stone,  and 
set  off  with  it  to  Messrs.  Lilienfield  Brothers,  of  Hope- 
town,  merchants  of  long  standing  in  South  Africa,  and 
now  represented  in  Hatton-garden.  They  purchased 
the  stone  for  i^i  1,200,  and  christened  it  the  "  Star  of 
South  Africa,"  forwarded  it  to  England,  and  it  ulti- 
mately became  the  property  of  the  Countess  of  Dudley, 
who  purchased  it  of  Messrs.  Hunt  and  Roskell." 

In  the  process  of  cutting,  undertaken  by  the  pur- 
chasers, it  was  reduced  to  46^  carats,  and  assumed, 
in  the  lapidary's  hands,  a  triangular  shape  of  such 
great  brilliancy  and  perfectly  colourless,  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  distinguished  it  from  an  Indian  stone  of 
the  finest  water.  The  present  Earl  of  Dudley  had 
it  skilfully  mounted  with  95  smaller  brilliants,  as  a 
head  ornament,  whereby  full  effect  is  given  to  its 
beautiful  form  and  splendid  lustre. 


XXXVIII. 
THE    THRONE. 


The  Peacock  Throne — Strange  Picture  of  Magnificence — 
An  Error  Corrected — The  Sanguinary  Adventures  of 
Tamerlane. 


HIS  Stone  we  have  so  named  because  it 
formed   a  conspicuous    feature    of   the 
magnificent  throne   of  the  Mogul   em- 
perors, the  gems  of  which  were  yearly 
weighed,  and  the  result  carefully  noted.     There  were 
altogether  seven  Imperial    thrones  covered  all  over, 
some  with  diamonds,  others  with  rubies,  emeralds,  or 
pearls.     But  this,  which  Tavernier  fully  describes,  was 
by   far  the  most  sumptuous,  and  was   specially  dis- 
tinguised    by    a    peacock,  whose    outspread  tail  was 
made  of  blue  sapphires  and  other  coloured  gems,  and 
whose  body  was   of   enamelled   gold    studded    with 
stones,  and  with  a  large  ruby  in  front,  whence  hung 
a  pear-shaped  pearl,  about  50  carats  in  weight,  or  200 
grains.     On  either  side  of  the  peacock,  and  at  about 
the  same  height,  there  stood  two  bouquets,  the  flowers 
of  which  were  of  enamelled  gold  and  precious  stones. 
Tavernier  goes  on  to  say  that,  "  on  the  side  of  the 
throne  facing  the  Court,  there   is   an   open-set  jewel, 
whence  hangs  a  diamond  from  80  to  90  carats  in  zveight, 
and  surrounded  by   rubies   and   emeralds,  and  when 
the  king  is  seated  he  has  this  jewel  right  in  front  of 


THE   THRONE  243 

him."  Tavernier,  who  makes  no  further  reference  to 
this  diamond,  adds  that  the  throne  was  begun  by 
Tamerlane,  and  finished  by  Shah  Jehan,  and  that  it 
was  valued  at  seventy  lacs  of  rupees  (equal  to  ;!^  700,000 
sterling),  "  qui  sont  cent  soixante  millions,  500,000 
livres  de  nostre  monnoye."  There  is  every  reason  to 
doubt  the  accuracy  of  Tavernier's  statement,  at  all 
events  as  to  the  commencement  of  the  Peacock 
Throne.  Tamerlane  is  probably  an  error  for  Baber 
or  Humayun,  and  the  point  raises  some  interesting 
if  not  melancholy,  reflections. 

About  the  year  1398,  Tamerlane  (known  as  the 
"  Firebrand  of  the  Universe,")  crossed  the  Indus 
in  his  raid  from  Tartary  to  the  luxurious  dis- 
trict of  Delhi,  and  on  his  course  of  indiscriminate 
plunder  and  slaughter,  became  so  hampered  with 
captives  taken  on  his  march,  that  he  slaughtered  in 
cold  blood  100,000  of  them.  He  ravaged  Delhi,  set 
fire  to  its  magnificent  public  buildings  and  the  dwell- 
ings of  its  inhabitants,  and  inaugurated  a  scene  of 
indescribable  massacre  and  pillage,  by  acts  of  besotted 
truculence.  Then  having  secured  untold  wealth,  and 
wasted  more  than  he  could  take  away,  he  returned  to 
his  Tartar  capital,  a  monster  among  bandits,  never 
more  to  visit  the  scenes  of  his  horrible  exploits.  His 
inroad  upon  India  was  measured  by  a  few  days  only. 
He  constructed  nothing  but  piles  of  unburied  men, 
women,  and  children,  and  he  wrote  nothing  but  a 
legend  of  blood  and  barbarous  outrage. 

Very  general  as  is  the  belief  in  the  one  Peacock 
Throne  out  of  the  seven  Imperial  seats,  covered  all 
over  with   diamonds,  rubies,  emeralds,  or  pearls,  it 


244       THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

would  be  lawful  to  hesitate  whether  "  the  bird  with 
out-spread  tail  made  of  sapphires  and  other  coloured 
gems,  and  whose  body  was  of  enamelled  gold,  studded 
with  stones,  and  with  a  large  ruby  in  front,  whence 
hung  a  pear-shaped  pearl,  weighing  about  50  carats," 
is  the  actual  thing,  familiarly  known  by  the  French 
jeweller  as  the  bird  strutting  about  the  chateaux  in 
his  native  country. 


XXXIX. 
THE    ROUGH. 

Roughs  of  the  East  and  West— A  Text  for  the  Educationist— 
A  Lost  Diamond — A  Reminiscence  of  Golconda, 

STRANGE  title  for  a  diamond,  is  "The 
Rough  ; "  a  name  which  is  associated 
in  England  with  the  worst  form  of 
humanity.  A  philosopher  might  find 
a  text  for  a  moral  essay  in  a  comparison  of  the  inno- 
cent  gem  and  the  "rough"  of  the  east-end  of 
London.  If  it  takes  three  generations  to  make  a 
gentleman,  however,  the  human  rough  as  we  know 
him  in  London,  is  far  less  susceptible  of  conversion 
into  the  polished  jewel  than  nature's  inarticulate  gem 
coarse  and  unattractive,  as  found  in  the  mine.  We 
commend  this  theme  of  contrast  and  comparison  to 
the  educationist.  Our  "Rough''  in  this  chapter  is 
a  diamond  of  doubtful  history. 

Mawe  concludes  his  account  of  "  Peculiar  Dia- 
monds "  with  the  remark  that  "  there  are  in  the  hands 
of  individuals  briUiants  of  considerable  magnitude, 
from  26  to  30  carats,  and  a  rough  diamond  has  lately 
been  imported  that  weighs  over  80  carats."  It  does 
not  appear  that  this  Rough  specimen  has  been 
further  traced.  As  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  much 
of  its  weight  may  have  been  sacrificed  by  the  process 
of  cutting,  its  weight  in  the  rough  gives  no  clue  to  its 
identity  with  any  existing  brilliants  weighing  less 
than  80  carats. 


XL. 

THE    STAR   OF   SARAWAK. 

Bornean  Gems — Exploration  of  North  Borneo— Difficulties 
to  be  overcome — Indications  of  Success — A  Genuine 
Bornean  Stone — The  Treasures  of  Sarawak. 


HOUGH  we  have  seen  some  notable 
and  fine  diamonds  hailing  from  the 
little-known  and  wonderful  island  of 
Borneo,  we  have  had  reason,  as  will 
already  have  been  observed,  to  question  the  reality 
of  the  great  gem,  which  is  offered  to  the  world  as  an 
example  of  Bornean  treasures. 

The  truth  is,  that  neither  in  the  Dutch  region 
of  Borneo,  nor  in  the  territories  of  the  Rajah  of 
Sarawak,  has  anything  like  systematic  exploration  for 
gems  been  conducted.  Hunting  for  precious  stones 
is  known  to  be  of  so  speculative  a  character,  that 
mineral  explorers  in  Borneo  have  been  encouraged 
rather  to  seek  for  coal,  iron,  copper,  antimony,  Lnd 
gold,  than  for  diamonds.  There  are  traditions  of 
mining  for  precious  stones,  and  without  doubt,  in 
past  days,  many  diamonds  have  been  found,  but 
recent  investigations  have  shown  that  the  quantity 
exported  has  been  exaggerated,  though  their  quality 
can  hardly  be  excelled. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Borneo  is  entering  upon  a 
new  era  of  exploration  and  prosperity.  In  spite  of  the 
tremendous  obstacles  of  jungle  and  other  difficulties, 
Mr.  Frank  Hatton,  F.C.S.,  one  of  the  most  successful 
students  of  our  Royal  School  of  Mines,  has  already 


THE   STAR   OF   SARAWAK.  247 

made   great   headway   in   the   scientific   exploration 
of  the  northern  regions  of  Borneo,  under  the  chartered 
company,  whose  cessions  in  the  Malay  Archipelago, 
have  recently  been  so  much  discussed.     Although  he 
only  started  on  his  interesting  journey  of  exploration 
in  the  autumn  of  1881,  his  investigations  lead  to  en- 
couraging hopes  as  to  the  mineral  resources  of  the 
country,  notably  in  the  way  of  coal,  iron,  and  anti- 
mony, besides  a  suggestion  of  an  excellent  mineral 
oil.      It  is  too  early  as  yet  for  the  explorer  to  have 
arrived  at  anything  like  definite  results.     His  travels 
belong  at   present  as  m.uch  to  the  history  of  geo- 
graphy as  to  possible  mineral  deposits.     Adventures 
of  river  and  jungle,  experiences  of  natives  who  have 
never  yet  seen  white  men,  incidents  of  sport,  acci- 
dents of  travel,  variations  of  climate,  and  a  hundred 
other  mattei's  that  belong  to  first  visits  to  new  worlds, 
must   naturally  tend   to    interfere   somewhat  with  a 
concentrated   hunt  for  minerals.     Nevertheless,  Mr. 
Hatton  is  sending  home  encouraging  reports,  and  in 
one  of  them,  we  venture  to  think,  he  shows  that  he 
has  been  within  the  possible  pale  of  a  diamantiferous 
region,  though  it  seems  to  us  he  is  more  intent  upon 
what   the   company   would    regard    as    the    greater 
commercial  importance  of  metals.*     His  researches 
arc,  as  we  have   already  said,  attended  with  many 


♦  As  regards  the  Sarawak  district  of  Borneo,  The  Neiv  Ceylon  quotes 
Mr.  Crocker,  (a  former  resident  under  the  present  Rajah  Brooke),  who,  in  a 
paper  read  at  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  in  February,  1881,  stated 
that  the  upper  country  of  Borneo  is  rich  in  minerals,  that  gold  is  still  worked 
by  the  Chinese,  and  diamonds  by  the  Malays.  This  is  outside  the  northern 
cession,  which  is  practically  a  "  Garden  of  the  Sun,"  for  vegetation,  and 
with  a  grand  range  of  mountains.  In  Sarawak,  25,000  tons  of  antimony 
was  exported,  from  1S59  to  1879,  and  from  1870  to  1879,  15,000  flasks  of 


248       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

difficulties,  not  the  least  being  that  of  a  climate  which, 
attractive  to  the  tropical  planter,  must  be  very  trying 
to  the  physical  powers  of  the  mineral  explorer.  The 
operations  of  the  young  scientist,  are  supplemented  by 
the  aid  of  a  chemical  laboratory  with  furnaces  for  the 
assaying  of  metals  at  Labuan,  whence  he  has  already 
sent  home  analyses  of  certain  mineral  specimens  sub- 
mitted to  him,  as  well  as  examples  of  his  own  dis- 
coveries. Caution  is  evidently  one  of  his  characteristics, 
and  travel  in  a  tropical  country  is  a  slow  business  ;  we 
must,  therefore,  be  content  to  wait,  but  we  have  great 
hopes  that  the  spirit  of  exploration  once  roused  in 
Borneo,  we  shall  soon  have  a  real  knowledge  of  the 
value  of  the  information  which  has  come  down  to  us 
from  ancient  times,  describing  Borneo  somewhat 
grandiloquently,  it  must  be  confessed,  as  an  island 
of  precious  stones  and  treasures  of  gold. 

To  students  of  Bornean  gems,  there  is  a  far  more 
interesting  treasure  on  view  at  a  house  of  business 
in  Bond  Street,  than  the  pear-shaped  model  of  the 
"  Rajah "  diamond.  This  is  a  genuine  stone.  It 
was  purchased  from  a  Chinaman  about  four  years 
ago,  by  the  Rajah  of  Sarawak.  Found  at  Landak, 
it  weighs  70  carats,  and  is  of  the  purest  water.  It 
is  known  as  the  "  Star  of  Sarawak." 


quicksilver.  Mr.  Hunt,  referring  to  Sir  Stamford  Raffles,  in  1812,  speaks 
of  Landak  as  producing  diamonds,  "when  rough  of  a  white  or  yellow 
hue  ;  but  none  are  found  of  that  inkey  and  flinty  tinge  so  valuable  in  some 
of  the  Golconda  diamond." 


XLI. 
THE    RUSSIAN   TABLE. 

A  Russian  Secret. 

T  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  it  should 
often  be  so  difficult  to  discover  the 
whereabouts  of  a  great  and  famous 
diamond,  the  more  so  when  we  con- 
sider its  financial  value.  The  "  Russian  Table''  is  in 
evidence,  both  in  works  of  history  and  travel,  but  that 
is  all.  Its  existence  is  chronicled,  and  its  size  ;  but 
we  know  of  no  person,  who  has  seen  it,  and  as  yet 
have  not  unearthed  a  single  "  biographic "  incident 
connected  with  it.  Possibly  in  future  editions  of  the 
present  work,  our  correspondents  may  help  us.  The 
secrets  of  Russian  jewels  are  in  some  cases  as  well 
kept  as  those  of  Turkey.  The  "Table"  is  reported 
to  be  a  fine  stone,  though  of  course  its  form  is  the 
least  attractive  style  of  diamond  cutting.  It  weighs 
68  carats. 


0 


XLII. 
THE   MASCARENHAS    I.    &   II. 


A  Rich   Viceroy,    who   was   also  a  Toxicologist — "  Hung  in 
Effigy  "  and  possibly  poisoned  as  well. 


HESE  two  stones  belonged  to  the  no- 
torious Portuguese  viceroy,  Dom  Philip 
de  Mascarenha,  who  showed  both  of 
them  to  Tavernier,  when  that  traveller 
was  in  Goa,  in  1648.  He  thus  speaks  of  them  and  of 
their  owner. 

"  I  will  say  in  passing,  that  no  viceroy  of  Goa 
ever  left  the  country  so  enriched  as  Dom  Philip  de 
Mascarenha.  He  had  a  quantity  of  diamonds,  all 
stones  of  great  weight,  from  ten  to  forty  carats.  But 
he  had  especially  two,  which  he  was  good  enough  to 
show  me  when  I  was  in  Goa,  one  of  which,  a  thick 
stone,  weighed  57  carats,  and  the  other  6y^  carats, 
both  of  them  tolerably  pure,  and  of  good  water, 
and  cut  in  the  Indian  fashion.  The  report  ran  that 
this  viceroy  was  poisoned  on  board  ship,*  and  it  was 
added  that  his  death  was  a  just  retribution  for 
having  caused  so  many  persons  to  perish  in  the 
same   way,    especially    while    he    was    governor    in 


*  That  is,  on  board  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  for  Europe  at  the 
end  of  his  government,  and  in  which  he  died  before  reaching  Lisbon,  where 
he  would  have  met  with  a  very  warm  reception. 


THE   MASCARENHAS   I.   &   II.  2$  I 

the  island  of  Ceylon.  He  always  kept  the  most 
subtle  poison  at  hand,  to  make  use  of  whenever  he 
wished  his  vengeance  to  be  swift.  Having  in  this 
way,  made  many  enemies,  who  feared  for  them- 
selves the  fate  of  his  victims,  he  was  found  one 
morning  hung  in  effigy  in  Goa,  when  I  was  there,  in 
the  year  164S." 


XLIII. 
THE    FRENCH    BLUE. 


The  Crown  Jewels  of  France — Breaking  up  of  a  Great  Stone 
— Fragments  that  are  Afterwards  Traced. 


\WE  writes  :  "  In  the  Crown  Jewels  of 
France  is  a  fine  light  blue  diamond, 
which  weighs  67I  carats,  and  was  esti- 
mated at  above  ;^ioo,ooo."  This  refers 
undoubtedly  to  the  magnificent  blue  diamond  which 
occupies  the  second  place  in  the  inventory  of  the 
French  Crown  jewels  drawn  up  in  1791,  where  it  is 
described  as  weighing  Qj^q  carats  and  valued  at 
3,000,000  francs,  or  iJ"i 20,000.  As  fully  described  in 
our  account  of  the  "Regent,"  these  treasures  were  stolen 
from  the  Garde  Meuble  in  1 792.  But  the  blue  diamond 
was  not  amongst  the  few  gems  subsequently  restored, 
although  Mawe  still  speaks  of  it  in  1823,  as  "  in  the 
Crown  Jewels  of  France  ;"  and  Murray,  writing  so 
late  as  1839,  describes  it  as  still  "belonging  to  the 
Crown  Jewels  of  France." 

Since  its  disappearance  in  1792  its  fate  continued 
to  be  enveloped  in  the  deepest  obscurity  until  the 
mystery  was  at  last  happily  cleared,  as  set  forth  in 
Precious  Stones  and  Gems,  and  made  further  evident 
in  succeeding  pages  of  the  present  work. 

We     have     already,    in    a    previous     chapter, 
demonstrated  that  the  true  original  of  the  "  French 


THE   FRENCH   BLUE.  253 

Blue "  was  the  "  Rough  Tavernier  Blue,"  which 
in  the  process  of  cutting  and  polishing  was  reduced 
from  112I  to  6y^  carats.  The  "French  Blue," 
was  itself  later  on  reduced  by  cleavage  into  one 
large  and  two  small  fragments.  The  large  fragment 
was  again  skilfully  manipulated,  so  as  still  further  to 
disguise  its  origin,  and  is  now  known  as  the  "  Hope 
Blue,"  weighing  44J  carats.  Of  this  stone  the  two 
smaller  fragments  form  the  compliment.  One  of  them 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Duke  of  Brun.swick,and  was 
disposed  of  at  the  sale  of  his  effects  which  took  place 
at  Geneva  in  April,  1874.  The  purcha.sers  were 
Messrs.  Ochs  Brothers,  of  Paris,  who  obtained  it  for 
17,000  francs,  or  £6So.  It  weighs  13I  carats.*  The 
third  fragment  has  lately  been  seen  and  examined  by 
ourselves.  Its  colour  is  identical  with  that  of  the 
"  Hope  "  and  the  Duke  of  Brunswick's  "  Blue,"  and  it 
weighs  as  nearly  as  possible  ij  carats.  By  adding 
44|,  13^,  and  i|  we  get  "  59J"  carats,  which  are  about 
7i  4.  h  less  than  67^,  the  weight  of  the  "  French  Blue,^' 
from  which  these  pieces  are  believed  to  have  been 
obtained.  The  difference  is  accounted  for  by  the 
losses  incidental  to  the  cleaving  of  the  "French 
Blue,"  and  the  fresh  treatment  of  the  several  frag- 
ments needed  to  give  them  a  regular  form.  The  full 
account  of  the  process  by  which  all  these  fragments 
have  been  traced  back  to  the  "  French  Blue,"  will, 
as  stated,  be  found  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  the 
"  Hope  Blue"  diamond. 


*  Sei!  Catalogue,  published  at  the  time  by  Messrs.  Rossel  et  Flls  o 
Geneva. 


XLIV. 
THE   SEA   OF   GLORY. 

A  Reminiscence  of  Persian  Splendour — A  Splendid  Crown 
Jewel. 

T  is  quite  possible  that  the  graphic 
author  of  the  Sketches  of  Persia,  pub- 
h'shed  b}^  Murray,  may  have  seen  this 
notable  gem.  He  saw  the  "  Sea  of 
Light,"  and  other  stones,  some  of  which  he  could  not 
individually  examine.  For  example,  on  his  second 
visit  to  the  Persian  Court,  the  king,  at  the  reception 
of  the  envoy  from  the  Governor-General  of  India  was 
literally  covered  with  rare  jewels.  His  dress  "  baffled 
description."  It  was  a  robe  of  white,  a-blaze  "  with 
jewels  of  an  extraordinary  size,  and  their  splendour, 
from  his  majesty  being  seated  where  the  rays  of  the 
sun  played  upon  them,  was  so  dazzling,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  distinguish  the  minute  parts  which 
combined  to  give  such  amazing  brilliancy  to  his 
whole  figure."  The  splendours  of  the  Persian  Court  in 
those  days  were  on  a  far  different  scale  to  the  some- 
what "  faded  glories  "  of  to-day,  when  the  Shah  is  in 
danger  of  falling  between  two  alternatives,  a  forced 
alliance  with  Russia,  or  an  uncertain  dependence 
upon  the  lukewarm  friendship  of  England.  In  the 
days  of  the  Seffarean  monarchs,  Merv  was  considered 
the  most  important  frontier  post  of  Persia  ;  to-day  it 
is  almost  an  outpost  of  the  Russian  power  in  Asia. 

The  "  Sea  of  Glory  "  is  one  of  the  principal  gems 
of  the  Persian  crown.  It  weighs  66  carats,  and  is  said 
to  be  worth  ;^ 34,848. 


XLV. 


THE   KOLLUR. 


The    Kollur  Mine— The  Kistna  Valley— A  Beautiful  Stone 
Cut  in  the  Mine  Itself, 


N  Indian  cut  stone  of  great  purity,  pur- 
chased in  the  year  1653,  by  Tavernier, 
in  the  Kollur  mine,  Kistna  valley,  the 
situation   of   which   will   be  found    ac- 
curately determined  in  our  introductory  chapter. 

This  gem  figures  as  No.  6  in  Tavernier's  list  of 
large  diamonds,  and  is  briefly  described  in  the  first 
edition  of  his  work.  He  tells  us  that  "  this  is  another 
diamond  which  I  bought  in  1653,  in  the  Coulour 
(Kollur)  mine.  It  is  a  beautiful  and  pure  stone, 
cut  as  a  thick  stone,  in  the  mine  itself,  and  weighs 
36  mangelins,  which  are  equivalent  to  63I  of  our 
carats."  Elsewhere,  however,  he  makes  a  mangelin 
equal  to  if  carats.  Hence  36  mangelins  ought  to 
make  49 J  carats  only,  not  63!  as  here  stated.  But 
the  mangelin,  like  the  rati  and  other  Indian  standards 
of  measurement,  may  have  varied  at  different  times 
and  places. 


XLVI. 
THE  PEAR   AND   SAVOY. 


Set  in  Pearls — A  Popular  Fiction  Dispelled — The  Pear  and 
Savoy  not  one  Stone — The  Shadows  of  Nadir  Shah — 
Loss  of  the  Pear  in  Persia. 


N  the  inventory  of  the  Crown  Jewels  of 
the  House  of  Savoy,  drawn  up  on 
October  19,  1679,  the  first  gem  on  the 
list  is  described  as  "  a  large  table  dia- 
mond, set  in  a  gold,  black  and  white  enamelled  rim, 
in  the  antique  style,  weighing  54  carats,  with  three 
appended  pearls,  pear-shaped,  amongst  which  pearls 
is  the  'Pilgrim,'  weighing  45  carats,the  other  two  38  and 
36  carats  respectively.  This  gem  was  bequeathed 
to  the  crown  by  Queen  Christina  of  France  by  her 
will  dated  April  5,  1662." 

It  has  been  suggested  that  this  gem,  which  we 
name  the  "  Savoy,"  is  the  same  as  Tavernier's  "  Pear  ;" 
but  although  the  weight,  about  54  carats  each,  corre- 
sponds, the  shapes  show  that  they  are  two  different 
stones.  Tavernier's  is  described  as  "  pear  shaped," 
whereas  the  "  Savoy  "  is  stated  to  be  table-cut,  the 
pear  form  mentioned  in  connection  with  it  referring, 
not  to  the  diamond  itself,  but  to  the  accompanying 
pearls,  which  are  said  in  the  inventory  to  be  grouped 


THE   PEAR   AND   SAVOY.  25/ 

or  disposed  in  the  form  of  a  pear.*  Until  the  Italian 
text  of  the  inventory  was  published  in  1880,  it  was 
supposed  that  the  diamond  was  described  as  pear- 
shaped,  whence  the  natural  conclusion  that  this  stone 
was  Tavernier's  "  Pear." 

It  is  further  to  be  noted  that  Tavernier  saw  the 
Indian  gem  in  1658  in  the  Mogul's  treasury,  where  it 
in  all  probability  remained  till  the  sack  of  Delhi  by 
Nadir  Shah  in  the  next  century.  But  the  "  Savoy  " 
diamond  was  already  amongst  the  French  regalia  in 
1662,  in  which  year  it  was  bequeathed  to  the  House 
of  Savoy,  as  stated  in  the  above-quoted  passage  from 
the  inventory.  Hence  the  theory  that  the  two  are  one 
and  the  same  gem  must  be  unhesitatingly  rejected. 

It  is  remarkable  that  both  have  since  disap- 
peared. The  "  Pear  "  was  doubtless  carried  off  by 
Nadir  Shah,  and  lost  in  Persia.  The  "  Savoy"  may 
possibly  have  been  re-cut  and  thus  reduced  in  size,  so 
that  it  can  now  no  longer  be  identified.  At  all 
events  no  allusion  whatever  is  made  to  it  in  the  sub- 
sequent inventory  of  the  crown  jewels  prepared  in  the 
year  1772,  and  a  copy  of  which  has  been  courteously 
forwarded  to  us  by  Signor  Pincone,  the  present  private 
secretary  of  his  Majesty  King  Humbert  of  Italy,  heir 
and  successor  to  all  the  treasures  of  the  House  of 
Savoy. 

It  is  needless  to  add  that  neither  of  these  stones 
can  be  associated  with  the  "Sancy,"  which  is  certainly 


*  I'he  words  of  the  text  are  unmistakable  : — "  Un  grosso  diamante 
in  tavola.  .  .  di  pezo  di  carrati  cinquanta  quatro,  con  tre  perle  appese 
ad  esso  in  forma  di  pero," 


258      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD, 

of  the  same  size,  but  which  in  its  form,  history, 
and  all  other  respects  differs  entirely  from  both  of 
them. 

Next  to  the  "  Great  Mogul,"  the  "  Pear,"  was  the 
largest  diamond  seen  by  Tavernier  when  he  was  per- 
mitted to  inspect  Aurung-zeb's  regalia.  All  he  tells 
us  regarding  it,  is  that  it  was  of  excellent  form,  pear- 
shaped,  of  fine  water,  and  62|  ratis  in  weight.  This 
would  make  it  as  nearly  as  possible  54I  carats. 


XLVII. 
THE   GREAT   SANCY. 


The  Sphinx  of  Diamonds  —  Looking  Back  over  Three 
Hundred  Years— In  the  Days  of  the  "  Holy  League" 
A  Royal  Debauchee — A  Faithful  Valet — Important 
Revelations — Under  a  Cloud — A  "  Cause  Celebre  " — 
Once  More  on  its  Travels — An  Incident  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales's  Indian  Tour. 


HIS  is  the  very  sphinx  of  diamonds. 
The  history  of  many  other  gems  is  no 
doubt  sufficiently  obscure,  and  often 
involved  in  great  confusion.  There  is 
generally,  however,  some  key  to  the  solution  of  the 
most  difficult  problems,  and  the  writers  of  this  work 
are  complacent  enough  to  hope  that  the  reader  will  find 
more  than  one  such  problem  satisfactorily  solved  in  the 
accompanying  pages.  But  the  "  Sancy  "  seems  to  be 
wrapped  in  a  dense  cloud  of  mystery,  defying  the 
most  subtle  analysis,  and  impenetrable  to  the  attacks 
of  the  keenest  processes  of  reasoning.  Nevertheless, 
there  are  even  here,  one  or  two  breaks  of  light,  by 
means  of  which  it  may  be  possible  to  dissipate  the 
darkness  in  which  this  famous  jewel  has  hitherto  been 
involved. 

Much  of  this  darkness  is  due  to  the  commonly 
accepted  statement,  that  the  "  Sancy  "  was  one  of  the 
large  diamonds  lost  by  Charles  of  Burgundy,  either 
at    Nancy    or    Granson.     Its    history    thus    became 


26o         THE   GREAT    DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

entangled  in  that  of  the  "Florentine,"  elsewhere  eluci- 
dated. Once  separated  from  that  connection,  and 
from  the  Burgundian  duke,  to  whom  we  shall  see 
that  it  never  belonged,  its  career,  although  still  some- 
what obscure,  becomes  at  least,  consistent  with  facts, 
and  on  the  whole,  fairly  intelligible. 

The  "  Sancy "  is  described  as  almond-shaped, 
and  originally  facetted  on  both  sides,  a  form  and 
cut  peculiar  to  India,  and  altogether  unknown  in 
Europe.  We  may  therefore,  take  it  for  granted  that 
it  was  not  one  of  the  stones  manipulated  by  Louis  de 
Berquem,  for  Duke  Charles.  On  the  other  hand,  its 
Indian  origin  harmonises  with  the  statement  made, 
amongst  others,  by  Louis's  descendant,  Robert  de 
Berquem  that  the  gem  was  brought  from  the  East  by 
M.  de  Sanci,  French  Ambassador  at  the  Ottoman 
Court,  who  purchased  it  for  a  large  sum  in  Constan- 
tinople, apparently  about  the  year  1 570.  This  French 
gentleman,^Nicholas  Harlai,  Seigneur  de  Sancy,  was 
evidently  a  diamond  fancier,  as  shown  by  the  fact 
that  he  also  in  1589,  obtained  another  large  stone 
from  Don  Antonio,  the  pretendant  to  the  Portuguese 
crown,  as  security  for  an  advance  of  ico.ooo  livres, 
which  was  never  repaid. 

Nicholas  was  attached  both  to  the  Courts  of 
Henry  III.  and  Henry  IV.,  having  been  ambassador 
for  the  former  in  Turkey,  for  the  latter  in  England, 
during  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  According 
to  two  different  versions,  obviously  of  one  event,  he 
is  stated  to  have  advanced  the  "  Sancy "  to  both 
monarchs,  in  order  to  enable  them  to  borrow  money 
on  its  security,  for  the  purpose  of  enlisting  a  body  of 


THE  Great  sancy.  261 

Swiss  mercenaries,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  times. 
With  regard  to  Henry  III.,  we  read  in  Varillas 
(Memoirs),  that  during  the  "Holy  League,"  (1576), 
formed  for  the  threefold  purpose  of  exterminating 
the  Huguenots,  shutting  up  the  king  in  a  monastery, 
and  placing  the  Duke  of  Guise  on  the  throne,  Henry 
abandoned  himself  to  a  life  of  almost  unparalleled 
debauchery,  leaving  the  cares  of  State  to  his  mother, 
Catherine  de  Medicis.  In  his  twenty-sixth  year  he 
became  quite  bald,  and  in  order  to  conceal  his  de- 
formity, the  Due  de  Sully  tells  us  that  he  wore  "  a 
little  turban  on  his  head,  his  *  toque '  as  it  was  called, 
which  was  ornamented  in  front  with  a  very  large 
diamond.  It  is  added  that  Henry  induced  M.  Sancy 
to  part  with  the  Indian  gem,  which  had  already 
become  famous  in  the  West,  ostensibly  to  empawn 
it  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  means  to  engage  a 
body  of  Swiss  soldiers  to  crush  the  Due  de  Guise. 
In  1588  the  duke  was  assassinated  by  the  Swiss 
guard  thus  formed,  who  were  themselves  afterwards 
shot  down  by  the  Parisian  rabble.  But  the  jewel 
does  not  appear  to  have  ever  been  pledged  by  Henry, 
for  it  continued  to  glitter  on  his  toque  when  he  was 
engaged  combing  his  lap  dogs,  fondling  his  monkeys, 
stringing  death's  heads,  playing  with  his  ivory  cup 
and  ball,  or  caressing  his  detestable  dwarfs  and 
minions,  his  cheeks  plastered  with  white  and  rouge, 
his  lips,  eyes,  and  ears  smeared  with  unguents  and 
cosmetics,  while  the  streets  of  Paris  ran  with  the 
blood  of  his  bravest  subjects,  and  his  realm  was 
brought  to  the  verge  of  ruin  by  the  feuds  and  in- 
trigues of  lawless  passion   and    religious    animosity. 


262       THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD, 

Such  was  the  murky  atmosphere  faintly  illumined 
by  this  glorious  gem,  while  in  the  possession  of  the 
modern  Heliogabalus. 

From  Henry  III.,  assuming  the  truth  of  this  story, 
the  gem  returned  to  Nicholas  Harlai,  who,  according  to 
the  second  account,  advanced  it  to  the  Valois'  successor, 
Henry  IV.  of  Navarre,  under  peculiarly  romantic 
circumstances.  Being  desirous  of  strengthening  his 
army  by  a  body  of  Swiss  recruits,  Henry  is  reported 
to  have  borrowed  the  diamond  of  Nicholas,  now  su- 
perintendent of  finance,  intending  to  raise  money  on 
its  security.  But  the  messenger  charged  with  the 
responsibility  of  conveying  the  gem  either  to  the 
king  from  Harlai,  or  from  the  king  to  the  Swiss  (for 
the  story  is  here  somewhat  confused),  disappeared  on 
the  way.  A  long  interval  elapsed  before  it  became 
known  that  he  had  been  waylaid  and  assassinated. 
Full  of  confidence  in  the  loyalty  and  inventive  faculty 
of  his  servant,  Harlai  proceeded  to  the  forest  where 
the  murder  had  been  committed.  After  a  long  search 
the  body  was  found,  disinterred  and  opened.  In  the 
stomach  was  found  the  diamond,  which,  as  suspected 
by  his  master,  the  faithful  valet  had  swallowed  to 
prevent  its  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  thieves. 

Whatever  credit  may  be  given  to  these  stories,  it 
is  certain  that  the  "  Sancy "  again  returned  to  its 
rightful  owner,  from  whom  it  soon  passed  into  the 
possession  of  Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England.  We 
have  seen  that  Harlai  was  ambassador  of  Henry  IV. 
at  her  Court,  and  the  subjoined  document  shows  that 
he  sold  it  to  the  British  Crown,  doubtless  during  his 
residence  in  London.     The  passage,  which  occurs  in 


THE   GREAT   SANCV.  263 

the  Inventory  of  the  Jewels  in  the  Tower  of  London, 
March  22nd,  1605,  thus  describes  the  "  Mirror  of 
Great  Britain,"  a  famous  Crown  Jewel,  composed 
soon  after  the  accession  of  James  I.  "  A  greate 
and  ryche  Jewell  of  golde,  called  the  '  Myrror  of 
Greate  Brytayne,'  conteyninge  one  verie  fayre  table 
dyamonde,  one  verie  fayre  table  rubye,  twoe  other 
lardge  dyamondes,  cut  lozengewyse,  the  one  of  them 
called  the  '  Stone  of  the  letter  H.  (15)  of  Scotlande,' 
garnyshed  wyth  smalle  dyamondes,  twoe  rounde 
perles,  fixed,  and  ONE  fayre  dyamondE,  CUTT  in 
FAWCETTIS,   BOUGHT   OF   SAUNCEY."  * 

This  important  extract,  strangely  overlooked  by 
all  who  have  hitherto  endeavoured  to  unravel  the 
tangled  history  of  the  "  Sancy,"  shows  beyond  all 
doubt,  that  this  gem  never  permanently  left  the 
hands  of  its  original  purchaser  until  disposed  of  by 
him  to  the  Crown  of  England,  somewhere  between 
the  years  1590  and  1600.  The  words  "  cutt  in  faw- 
cettes "  clearly  identify  the  stone  here  referred  to 
with  that  still  known  as  the  "  Sancy." 

If  possible,  still  more  important  is  the  following 
passage,  which  occurs  at  p.  1 1  of  Robert  de  Berquem's 
well-known  Merveilles  dcs  Indes,  published  in  1669. 
Speaking  of  the  diamonds,  at  that  time  famous  for 
their  size  and  beauty,  the  writer  observes  :  "  There 
are  some  of  extraordinary  size  and  perfection.  The 
present  Queen  of  England  has  the  one  brought  by 
the  late  M.  de  Sancy,  from  his  embassy  in  the  Levant, 


Inviiilones  0/ the  Treunti-y  af  the  Exchequer,  Vol.  II.,  p.  305. 


264       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF    THE   WORLD. 

which  is  almond-shaped,  cut  in  facets  on  both  sides, 
perfectly  white  and  pure,  and  weighing  loo  carats."  * 

The  "  present  Queen  of  England  "  might  have 
been  either  the  queen-consort  of  Charles  II.,  Catharine 
of  Braganza,  or  the  dowager-queen  Henrietta  Maria. 
But  in  either  case,  this  passage  shows  that  the  "  Sancy  " 
remained  in  the  possession  of  the  English  royal  family 
till  the  year  1669.  It  also  shows  that  the  stone  was 
brought  by  M.  Sancy,  as  above  stated,  direct  from 
"  The  Levant,"  consequently,  that  it  could  never  have 
belonged  to  Charles  the  Bold.  Its  owner,  here  spoken 
of  as  "  the  late  M  de  Sancy,"  died  in  1627,  and  as  he 
had  already  parted  with  it  in  London,  about  or  after 
the  year  1 590,  it  is  evident  that  all  the  other  De  Sancys, 
descendants  of  the  original  purchaser,  mentioned  in 
popular  accounts  of  the  stone,  are  purely  mythical 
beings,  introduced  to  make  its  history  stretch  back 
to  the  time  of  the  Burgundian  prince. 

We  now  identify  Henrietta  Maria,  and  not 
Catherine,  of  Braganza,  as  the  Queen  referred  to  by 
Berquem.  This  appears  from  the  subjoined  extract 
from  a  letter  of  the  Queen  Dowager,  written  while  in 
exile  to  Somerset,  Earl  of  Worcester,  and  presenting 
to  him,  amongst  other  valuable  gifts,  the  very  diamond 
in  question,  in  return  for  the  sacrifices  made  by  that 
nobleman  in  the  cause  of  the  House  of  Stewart  :  "  We, 
Henrietta  Maria  of  Bourbon,  Queen  of  Great  Britain, 


•  II  y  en  a  tout  a  fait  d'extraordinaires  pour  leur  grandeur  et  per- 
fection. La  Royne  d'Angleterre  d'apresent  a  celiiy  que  detfunct  Monsieur 
de  Sancy  apporta  de  son  Ambassade  du  Levant,  qui  est  en  forme  d'amande 
taille  a  facetes  des  deux  costez,  parfaictement  blanc  et  net  et  qui  pese  cent 
carats. 


THE   GREAT   SANCY.  265 

have  by  command  of  our  much  honoured  lord  and 
master,  the  King,  caused  to  be  handed  to  our  dear 
and  well-beloved  cousin,  Edward  Somerset,  Count 
and  Earl  of  Worcester,  a  ruby  necklace  containing 
ten  large  rubies  and  160  pearls  set  and  strung  together 
in  gold.  Among  the  said  rubies  are  also  two  large 
diamonds,  called  the  '  Sanci'  and  the  '  Portugal^  &c."* 

The  "  Portugal,"  of  which  nothing  further  is 
known,  was  probably  the  above-mentioned  stone  re- 
ceived by  Nicholas  Harlai  from  Dom  Antonio  in 
security  for  a  large  sum  never  repaid.  It  would  thus 
became  the  property  of  Harlai,  and  may  have  been 
sold  by  him  to  the  English  crown  when  he  disposed 
of  the  "  Sanci  "  about  1 590! 

But,  however  this  be,  the  distinct  reference  here 
made  to  the  "  Sanci,"  while  confirming  Berquem's 
statement,  brings  the  history  of  this  stone  down  to 
the  reign  of  Charles  II.  There  is  an  absurd  state- 
ment current  in  popular  works  to  the  effect  that 
Charles'  successor,  James  II.,  purchased  the  diamond 
from  a  Baron  de  Sanci,  while  residing  at  St.  Germain. 
But  we  have  seen  that  it  had  passed  from  the  Sanci 
family  just  about  100  years  previous  to  that  time. 
James  certainly  did  obtain  possession  of  the  stone  ; 
but  that  was  either  through  purchase,  or,  more  pro- 
bably gift,  from  the  generous  Earl  of  Worcester,  its 
then  owner.  All,  however,  are  of  accord  that  James, 
in  his  turn,  sold  it  for  625,000  francs  (^25,000)  to 
Louis  XIV.  about  the  year  1695.  From  the  "  Grand 
Monarque  "  it   passed   to   his   successor    Louis   XV., 

*  Quoted  by  Jones,  p.  232. 


266       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD. 

who  wore  it  as  a  hat  ornament  at  his  coronation. 
It  also  appears  among  the  French  Crown  Jewels 
in  the  inventory  of  1791,  in  which  it  is  valued  at 
1,000,000  francs  (^^40,000). 

But   here  begin    a    fresh  series  of  vicissitudes  ; 
for  it  disappeared  the  very  next  year,  together  with 
the  "  Blue  Diamond,"  and  the  other  valuables  per- 
manently lost  to  the  nation  at   the    robbery  of  the 
Garde  Meuble.     And  now  comes  Barbot's  positive 
assertion    that    a    stone,    in    every    respect    resem- 
bling the  "Sancy"  was  sold  in  1835  by  an  agent  of 
the  Bourbons  to  the    Princess    Paula   Demidoff  for 
500,000  roubles — i^7 5,000,  or,  if  paper  money,  about 
^35 ,000.    Beyond  Barbot's  assertion  there  is  no  autho- 
rity for  this  statement,  which  may  have  been  put 
forward  for  political  purposes,  in  order  to  implicate 
the  Legitimists  in  the  robbery  of  the  Garde  Meuble. 
Another  report,  that  it  somehow  fell  into  the  hands  ot 
the  Queen  of  Spain,  who  presented  it  to  her  favourite, 
Godoi,  "  Prince  of  Peace,"  scarcely  calls  for  serious 
refutation.     Both  statements  cannot  possibly  be  true, 
and  both  are  contradicted  by  the  fact  that  it  entered 
the  Demidoff  family  not  through  a  Bourbon  agent  in 
1835,  but  through  a  respectable  French  merchant  in 
1828,  or  thereabouts. 

Now  comes  the  famous  cause  cdebre  of  Prince 
Demidoff  versus  M.  Levrat,  Director  of  the  Society 
of  the  Mines  and  Forges  of  the  Grisons,  Switzerland. 
After  agreeing  to  buy  the  gem  from  M.  Demidoff  for 
600,000  francs  (^^24,000),  Levrat  stated  that  it  was 
not  worth  a  third  of  that  sum,  since  it  had  been 
greatly    reduced    in    weight   from    being   recut   as   a 


THE   GREAT   SANCY.  267 

brilliant.  The  Prince  accordingly  agreed  to  accept 
145,800  francs  ((^5,830),  payable  in  three  instalments 
at  an  interval  of  six  months,  the  buyer  placing  200 
shares  of  the  Swiss  Company  in  the  seller's  hands  as 
security  for  the  payment.  But  Levrat,  failing  to  dis- 
charge the  very  first  instalment,  M.  Demidoff  brought 
the  action  to  have  the  contract  cancelled,  and  to  re- 
cover possession  of  the  diamond,  which  Levrat  had 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Mont  de  Piete  or  State 
Pawning  Establishment.  Judgment  was  given  in 
favour  of  the  plaintiff,  who  was  authorized  to  with- 
draw the  diamond  on  payment  of  the  usual  expenses 
due  to  the  Mont  de  Piete,  the  defendant  being  con- 
demned to  pay  the  legal  costs  of  the  process. 

The  case  was  decided  on  June  ist,  1832, 
in  the  tribunal  of  First  Instance  presided  over 
by  M.  D.  Belleyme.  Thirty-three  years  thereafter 
the  "  Sancy "  resumed  its  travels,  after  all  its 
strange  vicissitudes  again  returning  to  "  the  land  of 
its  birth,"  for  it  was  purchased  in  February,  1865, 
of  the  Demidoff  family  fur  ;{^2o,ooo  by  a  London 
firm,  on  behalf  of  the  wealthy  Parsee  merchant. 
Sir  Jamsetjee  Jeejeebhoy,  of  Bombay.  It  did  not 
however,  remain  long  in  the  East,  for  it  was 
again  in  Paris  in  1867,  where  it  was  to  be  seen 
in  the  glass  case  of  MM.  Bapst,  shown  in  the 
Universal  Exhibition  of  that  year,  who  were  then 
asking  a  million  of  francs  for  it.  Certainly  if 
there  were  as  many  solutions  of  continuity  in  the 
stone  itself  as  in  its  history,  as  at  that  time  published 
in  the  Paris  press,  we  should  tremble  for  the  million 
of  francs  !     It  may  be  asserted  without  exaggeration 


268        THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

that  it  has  been  made  the  subject  of  more  contra- 
dictory accounts  than  perhaps  any  other  historical 
jewel,  the  "  Koh-i-Niir"  alone  excepted.  Such  accounts 
serve,  however,  at  least  to  illustrate  the  anxiety  which 
is  naturally  felt  to  enhance'  "  the  rare  and  beautiful '' 
with  a  history  worthy  the  intense  desire  to  possess 
them,  and  thus  to  excuse  our  idolatry. 

Whether  Messrs.  Oulman's  expectations  were 
fully  realised  or  not,  we  cannot  say.  But  in  any  case 
they  appear  to  have  soon  found  a  purchaser  for  the 
"  Sancy  "  in  the  Maharaja  of  Puttiala.  In  the  account 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales'  Tour  in  India  it  is  stated 
that  at  the  Grand  Durbar,  this  native  prince  wore  on 
his  turban  many  fine  diamonds  which  were  said  to 
have  belonged  to  the  Empress  Eugenie,  and  "  the 
'  Great  Sancy  '  as  a  pendant." 

By  a  strange  fatality  this  stone  has  again  been 
thrown  on  the  market.  As  the  Prince  of  Wales  was 
landing  in  England  on  his  return  from  India,  a  tele- 
gram was  put  into  his  hand  announcing  the  sudden 
death  of  his  friend  the  Maharaja  of  Puttiala.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  event,  the  '  Sancy  '  is  once  more  on  sale. 


^ 

^S  v/i 

m^ 

^jB^ 

^^P 

^§& 

XLVIII. 

THE    TAVERNIER,   A,  B,  &  C. 


The  Diamond  Bought  by  Louis  XIV. — Stolen  with  the 
French  Regaha  in  1792— A  Present  to  the  Empress 
Eugenie  by  Her  Husband.— "The  Golden  Fleece." 


F  the  twenty  diamonds  which  Tavernier 
sold  to  king  Louis  XIV.,  and  which  are 
figured  in  the  first  edition  of  his  work, 
four  only  exceeded  30  carats  in  weight. 
Of  these,  the  largest  was  the  rough  blue,  weighing 
II2|  carats,  which  we  have  already  described. 

The  three  others  may  here  be  conveniently 
grouped  together  as  the  Tavernier  A,  B,  &  C. 

A. 

Of  this  fine  stone  Tavernier  gives  three  figures, 
representing  its  upper  and  lower  surface,  and  thick- 
ness respectively.  He  tells  us  that  it  weighed  Sij^g 
carats,  was  "  white  and  pure  "  {blanc  et  net)  and  "  cut 
in  India"  {tailU  aux  Indcs). 

Since  Tavernier's  time  nothing  further  has  been 
heard  of  this  gem,  which  no  doubt  was  stolen  with 
the  rest  of  the  French  regalia  from  the  Garde  Meuble, 
in  1792.  But  a  very  beautiful  stone,  which  we  have 
little  doubt  is  the  identical  and  long-missing  Tavernier 
A,  was  purchased  by  the  late  Emperor  Napoleon  III. 
in  the  year  i860,  and  by  him  presented  to  the  Empress 


270       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

Eugenie.  It  is  described  as  a  perfect  brilliant,  of  an 
oval  shape,  blunt  at  one  end,  very  beautifully  cut,  and 
weighing  5 1  carats,  or  very  nearly  the  exact  weight 
of  A. 

B. 

This  stone  weighed  32f  carats,  but  was  un-cut 
{brut).  As  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  it  may  have 
lost  in  the  process  of  cutting,  it  cannot  now  be  iden- 
tified with  any  existing  gem. 

C. 

Tavernier  gives  us  two  illustrations  of  this  dia- 
mond, one  showing  its  upper  surface,  the  other  its 
depth  or  thickness.  Like  A,  it  was  white,  pure, 
and  Indian  cut.  It  weighed  3i§  carats,  and  this  cir- 
cumstance gives  us  a  clue  to  its  identification.  In 
the  inventory  of  the  French  Crown  Jewels,  prepared 
by  order  of  the  National  Assembly,  in  1791,  the  fourth 
place  was  occupied  by  a  large  diamond,  which  was 
the  most  conspicuous  gem  in  the  Golden  Fleece,  and 
which  weighed  3 if  carats,  or  within  about  a  quarter 
carat  of  the  Tavernier  C.  That  they  are  one  and  the 
same  stone  there  can  belittle  doubt.  In  the  inventory 
the  Golden  Fleece  gem  was  valued  at  300,000  francs, 
or  ^12,000,  certainly  an  extravagant  price  for  any 
stone  of  that  size,  unless  this  figure  is  to  be  taken  as 
the  value  of  all  the  stones  set  in  the  Golden  Fleece. 
According  to  the  usual  calculation, a  diamond  weighing 
31  or  32  carats,  even  of  the  purest  water,  ought  not 
to  be  worth  much  more  than  ;i^2,500  or  ;^3,ooo. 

In  the  fresh  inventory  drawn  up  by  order  of 
Napoleon,  in  18 10,  there  is  no  separate  entry  of  any 


THE   TAVERNIER,   A,    B   &   C.  27 1 

diamond  of  this  weight.  Hence  it  must  have  cither 
disappeared  altogether  when  the  Garde  Meublc  was 
robbed  in  1792,  or  else  it  was  remounted  in  the  crown, 
which  in  the  new  inventory  was  described  as  set  with 
5,206  brilliants,  jointly  weighing  1,872^  carats,  and 
valued  at  1 1,686,504  francs,  or  about  ^^"467,460. 


XLIX. 


LA    REINE    DES    BELGES. 


A  New  Stone  in  the  History  of  Diamonds — A  Gift  from  the 
Archduchess  of  Hungary  to  her  Daugliter  the  Queen 
of  Belgium. 


HIS  diamond  which,  through  the  kind- 
ness of  Baron  Solvyns,  the  Belgian 
Ambassador  in  London,  comes  to  h'ght 
now  for  the  first  time,  is  in  the  posses- 
sion of  H.M.  the  Queen  of  the  Belgians.*  It  weighs 
50  carats.  Her  Majesty  received  it  from  her  mother 
the  Archduchess,  wife  of  the  Archduke  Joseph, 
Palatine  of  Hungary,  brother  of  the  late  Emperor 
of  Austria. 


*  "  Leopold  11.  (Leopold  Louis  Phillippe  Marie  Victor),  King  of 
the  Belgians,  son  ot  the  late  king,  Leopold  1.,  upon  whose  death,  wliich 
occured  December  5,  1865,  he  succeeded  to  the  throne  as  Leopold  II., 
was  born  at  Brussels,  April  9,  1835,  and  married,  August  22,  1853,  the 
Archduchess  Maria  ot  Austria,  by  whom  he  has  had  three  childien — two 
daughters  and  one  son,  the  Duke  of  Braiiant,who  died  in  January,  1869,  at 
the  age  of  10.  .  .  .  His  Majesty  has  visited  England  very  frequently. 
His  '  Silver  Wedding'  was  celebrated  with  great  rejoicings,  August,  1878." 
— Men  of  the   Tii>it\ 


L. 

THE    EUGENIE. 

A  Splendid  Hair-Pin— Catherine  II.  of  Russia  and  her 
Favourites — Royal  Presents — How  the  Hair-Pin  was 
Bought  by  Napoleon  III. — Its  Sale  to  the  Notorious 
Gaikwar  of  Baroda. 


PERFECT  brilliant  of  51  carats,  of  an 
oval  shape,  blunt  at  one  end,  and  very 
beautifully  cut.  this  diamond  was  set 
as  the  centre  of  a  hair-pin  belonging 
to  the  Empress  Catherine  II.  of  Russia.  When 
Potemkin  became  her  favourite  she  made  him  a 
present  of  it,  as  a  proof  of  her  esteem,  and  to  reward 
him  for  the  great  services  he  had  rendered  to  his 
country.  This  man,  unlike  her  other  favourites,  was 
endowed  with  more  than  mere  personal  attractions. 
He  had  great  natural  abilities,  and  presence  of 
mind.  Catherine  bestowed  upon  Potemkin  for  his 
services,  both  military  and  diplomatic,  the  surname  of 
Taurisschesky.*  It  was  at  this  time  that  he  received 
from  Catherine  a  magnificent  palace  called  (con- 
formably to  this  name)  the  Tauria,  together  with  the 
diamond  now  known  as  the  "  Eugenie."  The  Emperor 
Napoleon  III.,  on  the  occasion  of  his  wedding,  bought 
tliis    stone    from    a    grand    niece    of    Potemkin,    the 


*     This  name  was   taken  from   the  Kliersonesus    Taurica  (Ciim^i) 
which  was  added  by  Potemkin  to  the  Rus-ian  Empire. 


274       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS    OF  THE  WORLD. 

Princess  Colorado  (who  was,  at  the  same  time,  the 
heiress  of  all  the  jewels  belonging  to  the  Russian 
Prince),  and  gave  it  to  his  wife. 

The  Empress  of  the  French  re-named  the  stone 
"Eugenie,"  and  it  is  from  Her  Majesty's  own  lips 
that  we  received  our  information.  During  the  whole 
of  her  reign,  the  empress  wore  this  gem  as  a  centre 
stone  of  a  diamond  necklace,  which,  after  the  Franco- 
German  war,  was  sold  to  the  notorious  Gaikwar  of 
Baroda,  for  a  lac  and  a  half  of  rupees  (/"  15,000). 
This  was  the  man  who  attempted  (as  previously- 
stated),  to  destroy  the  British  Resident,  Colonel 
Phayre,  by  administering  diamond  powder  to  him, 
for  which  he  was  tried  by  a  jury  of  three  English- 
men and  three  Natives.  He  was  defended  by 
Sergeant  Ballantine.  The  judges  could  not  agree, 
and  the  Gaikwar  was  discharged.  He  was,  however, 
after  the  trial  deposed  for  his  misgovernment,  and  since 
then  the  "  Eugenie,"  together  with  many  other  large 
diamonds  purchased  by  him,  has  disappeared.  He 
is  supposed  to  have  hidden  them  away,  in  the  hope  of 
some  day  raising  money  on  them  for  the  purposes  of 
an  attempt  to  recover  his  possessions. 


LI. 

THE    PIGOTT. 


The  Early  Days  of  the  Indian  Empire — The  Black  Hole  of 
Calcutta — The  Successes  of  Clive — "  Trifling  Gifts  " — 
A  Lottery  Prize — Sold  to  Ali  Pasha  for  ^"30,000,  and 
by  him  Destroyed — Only  the  Model  of  the  "  Pigott " 
remains. 


HE  name  of  Governor  Pigott,  connected 
as  it  is  with  that  of  the  Subahdar 
Sooray-oo-Doulah,  opens  up  a  dark 
page  in  our  Indian  history.  Mr.  Drake, 
the  Governor  of  the  English  settlement  in  Calcutta, 
with  the  Commandant,  Captain  Minchen,  fled  in 
the  middle  of  the  night,  leaving  the  honor  of  their 
country,  and  the  lives  of  a  large  body  of  their  country- 
men, exposed  to  the  frightful  rancour  of  an  inex- 
perienced, illiterate,  self-indulgent  prince,  hardly 
eighteen  at  the  time,  marching  with  a  numerous 
army,  and  within  a  few  hours  march  of  Cossimbazar,  to 
seize  the  English  possessions,  and  enrich  himself 
with  the  fabulous  wealth  supposed  to  be  stored  up 
in  their  factories  (a.D.  1756).  Governor  Drake  and 
Commandant  Minchen,  possessed  of  the  one  idea 
that  self-preservation  was  the  first  and  only  law 
which  they  had  to  observe,  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  Subahdar's  army  boded  them  harm,  and 
therefore,  that  the  thing  to  be  done  was  to  decamp 


276       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

at  midnight,  to  leave  Cossimbazar  well-nigh  defence- 
less, and  thereby  to  give  up  Calcutta,  with  all  it 
contained,  to  a  mixed  Mohammedan  and  native 
force.  This  they  did  with  cruel  promptitude.  The 
triumphant  garrison  thereupon  drove  the  helpless 
foreigners,  146  of  them,  into  tlie  strongroom  used  for 
the  confinement  of  military  offenders,  since  called  the 
"  Black  Hole,"  where  seven-tenths  died  in  unexampled 
horror  during  the  night,  and  tlie  whole  English 
population  were  exposed  to  miseries,  in  comparison 
of  which  the  death  on  duty  of  every  man  in  the  city 
would  have  been  a  glory  and  a  paradise. 

The  surrender  of  Cossimbazar  was  not  known  to 
Mr.   Pigott,  the  Governor  of  Madras,  till  the   1  sth  of 
July,  and  it  was  two  months  before  he  and  liis  council 
could  make  up  their  minds  to  send  aid  to  their  brethren 
at  Calcutta,  and  then   it  was  due  to  Mr.  Orme  that 
Colonel  Clive  was  nominated   to  command   the  ex- 
pedition against  the  Nabob,  which  Mr.  Manningham, 
being  one  of  the   runaway  council  at   Cossimbazar, 
very    naturally    opposed.     Clive,    small    as    was    the 
force  at  his  command,  soon  recovered    Calcutta  for 
the  company,   and    followed  up  this   ^-ucccss  by  the 
total   overthrow  of  Sooraj-00-Doulah,  his  army  and 
his  kingdom.   The  successes  of  Clive  were  partialh'  un- 
availing, because  the  Governor  of  Madras,  Mr.  Pigott, 
failed  to  protect  "  Fort  St.  David,"  which  capitulated 
to  the  French.     In   the  siege  of  Madras  Mr.  Pigott 
shewed  some  courage,  and  the  coming  up  of  a  fleet, 
under  Admiral  Pocock,  preserved  the  town  from  being 
taken.     The  French  were  driven  beyond  the  Kistna, 
and  the  English  gained  an  extended  line  of  eighty 


THE   PIGOTT.  277 

miles  along  the  coast,  and  twenty  miles  inland.  In 
these  successes  Clive  had  the  master  hand  and  the 
lion's  share. 

Mr.  Pit^ott,  at  Madras,  after  coquetting  for 
possession  of  the  Northern  Circass  (conceded  both 
by  Nizam  Ali  and  Basalat  Jung),  found  he  had 
plunged  the  whole  possessions  of  the  Company  on  the 
Coromandel  coast  into  most  serious  difficulties.  He 
returned  to  England,  and  was  created  an  Irish  Peer, 
in  consequence  of  having  prudently  given  up  his  design 
to  lead  the  Madras  forces  to  re-conquer  Calcutta, 
in  favour  of  Colonel  Clive  ;  and  Sir  John  Lindsay 
arrived  at  Madras  as  governor  in  quick  succession 
to  him.  Sir  Robert  Hartland  assumed  the  high 
powers  with  which  he  was  invested,  and  forthwith 
Madras  and  Tanjore  were  involved  in  hostilities. 
Sir  Robert  Fletcher  was  restored  to  the  chief 
command,  and  Mr.  Warren  Hastings  was  brought 
from  Madras,  and  succeeded  to  the  chair  of  the 
Council  of  Bengal,  1772.  The  attack  on  the  Rohillas 
follov/ed. 

The  conquest  of  Tanjore  was  condemned  at 
home  by  the  Court  of  Directors,  who  removed 
Mr.  Wynch,  the  Governor  of  Madras,  and  re-appointed 
Lord  Pigott.  But  Lord  Pigott,  determining  to  rule 
without,  and  in  despite  of  his  Council,  was  put  under 
confinement  by  his  own  Council  ;  and  the  governor, 
weakened  by  the  climate  and  irritated  by  the  opposi- 
tion, died  the  prisoner  of  those  over  whom  he  had 
been  appointed  to  preside,  1776. 

How  Lord  Pigott  obtained  possession  of  this 
gem  called  the  "  Pigott  "  is  not  clear,  and  when  any 


2y2>        THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD. 

ray  of  light  is  attempted  to  be  thrown  upon  its 
acquisition,  the  less  "luminious"  it  becomes.  It  is 
pretty  certain,  however,  that  he  brought  this  rare 
diamond  to  England  somewhere  about  the  year  1775- 
There  is  no  record  of  the  source  whence  he  procured 
it,  but  it  probably  came  to  him  either  from  his  friend, 
the  Rajah  of  Tanjore,  or  from  the  Nabob  of  Arcot, 
from  whom  he  admitted,  in  a  letter  to  the  Court  of 
Directors,  that  he  had  accepted  a  few  presents  "  of  a 
trifling  value."  If  this  diamond  was  amongst  the 
gifts,  it  was  certainly  no  "  trifle,"  for  it  has  been  valued 
by  Mawe  at  no  less  a  sum  than  ^^ 40,000.  At  any 
rate  it  fetched  ^^"30,000  in  the  year  1801,  when  it  fell 
in  a  public  lottery  to  a  young  man,  who  afterwards 
sold  it  for  a  low  price.  It  passed,  in  the  year  18 18, 
into  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Rundell  and  Bridge,  the 
city  jewellers,  and  from  them  it  was  soon  afterwards 
purchased,  also  for  ^30,000,  by  Ali  Pasha,  who 
forwarded  a  special  messenger  to  receive  it.  Murray 
tells  us  that  its  new  owner,  "  always  wore  it  in  a 
green  silk  purse  attached  to  his  girdle.  When 
Ali  Pasha  was  mortally  wounded  by  Reshid  Pasha, 
he  immediately  retired  to  his  divan,  and  desired  that 
his  favourite  wife,  Vasilika,  should  be  poisoned.  He 
then  gave  the  diamond  to  Captain  D'Anglas,  with 
an  order  that  it  should  be  crushed  to  powder  in  his 
presence, which  was  forthwith  obeyed,  and  the  beautiful 
gem  utterly  destroyed.  Vasilika  still  lives,  but  the 
model  of  the  diamond  alone  remains.  The  too 
obedient  officer  bitterly  regretted  his  folly  ;  and  the 
destroyed  diamond  haunted  him  in  his  dreams  for 
months  afterwards." 


THE   PIGOTT.  279 

This  tragical  end  of  what  Mawe  calls  a  "  diamond 
of  the  first  water,  and  ranking  amongst  the  finest  in 
Europe,"  entirely  escaped  the  notice  of  Dieulafait 
Kluge,  and  other  writers  on  Precious  Stones.  All  of 
them  continued  to  speak  of  it  as  still  in  existence, 
Emanuel  shrewdly  remarking  that  "  the  present 
owner  is  not  known  !" 

This  circumstance  also  accounts  for  the  astonish- 
ing differences  of  opinion  that  prevail  regarding  the 
size  of  a  stone  which  has  been  seen  by  no  expert 
since  the  time  when  it  passed  out  of  the  hands  of 
Messrs.  Rundell  &  Co.*  Murray  gives  its  weight  at 
47^-  carats  ;  Dieulafait  at  81^  ;  Emanuel  at  82^  ;  and 
Kluge  at  82|.  But  Mawe,  who  was  personally 
acquainted  with  the  stone,  and  who  wrote  before  it 
was  sold  to  Ali  Pasha,  tells  us  distinctly  that,  "its 
weight  is  49  carats,"  and  this  statement  must  be 
accepted  as  final. 

The   same  writer  describes  it  as  "  a  brilliant  of 
great  surface,  both  in  table  and  girdle,  but  is  con- 
sidered not  of  sufficient  depth,"  and  is,  therefore,  also 
lacking  in  brilliancy. 

Another  point  remains  to  be  noted.  Murray 
makes  the  astonishing  statement  that  "  the  '  Pigott  ' 
diamond  was  brought  to  England  by  Earl  Pigott  when 
Governor-General  of  India."  Of  course  Earl  Pigott, 
or  rather  Lord  Pigott,  was  never  "  Governor- General 
of  India,"  though  he  was  twice  governor  of  Madras. 


♦   As  .Ali   Pasha  was  assassinated  in  1822,  the  sale  must  have  been 
effected  some  time  between  18  18  and  that  year. 


280       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

In  the  interval  between  the  two  appointments  he 
visited  Europe,  on  which  occasion  he  was  created  an 
Irish  peer,  apparently  about  the  year  1775.  Hence  it 
must  have  been  about  this  time  that  he  brought  the 
diamond  to  Europe  ;  for  his  second  tenure  of  office' 
as  is  well  known,  ended  fatally,  another  mournful 
instance  of  the  strange  and  relentless  destiny  which 
has  so  frequently  followed  in  the  wake  of  these 
fascinating  but  ill-omened  gems.  Thornton,  in  his 
History  of  the  British  Empire  in  India,  thus  relates 
the  circumstances  : — 

"  At  this  time  a  man  notorious  in  the  history  of 
the  British  connection  with  the  Nabob  of  Arcot,  first 
became  conspicuous.  The  Nabob  had  hinted  that  if 
he  was  dispossessed  of  Tanjore,  his  ability  to  dis- 
charge the  debts  owing  by  him  to  British  subjects 
would  be  seriously  affected.  A  civil  servant  of  the 
Company,  named  Paul  Benfield  intimated  that  he 
held  assignments  on  the  revenues  of  Tanjore  for 
vast  sums  lent  by  him  to  the  Nabob,  and  other  assign- 
ments on  the  growing  crops  for  large  sums  lent  to 
individuals.  These  allegations  were  more  than  sus- 
picious. It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  Benfield 
brought  with  him  to  India  any  wealth,  and  he  had 
there  enjoyed  no  opportunity  of  honestly  amassing 
any.  The  governor  properly  demanded  some  evidence 
that  the  claims  were  just  ;  but  none  was  offered  that 
could  satisfy  any  one  not  previously  prepared  to  be 
satisfied.  A  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Govern- 
ment determined  against  the  claims  ;  but  to  whatever 
cause  it  may  be  attributed,  a  change  took  place,  and 
the  Board  reversed  their  own  decision  by  determining 


THE   PIGOTT.  281 

that  the  crop  sown  during  the  Nabob's  possession  was 
his  property  ;  and  that  the  alleged  assignments  of  the 
Nabob  to  Benfield  gave  to  his  demands  the  character 
of  public  claims.  The  governor  had  strenuously 
opposed  these  conclusions  ;  but  his  opinion  was  dis- 
regarded. 

"  This  struggle  was  succeeded  by  another.  A 
British  resident  was  to  be  appointed  for  Tanjore. 
Lord  Pigott  proposed  Mr.  Russell,  a  civil  servant, 
the  majority  of  the  Board  supported  Colonel  Stuart, 
second  in  command  at  Madras.  The  question  was 
violently  debated  at  several  meetings,  the  governor 
refused  his  signature  to  the  papers  necessary  to  carry 
into  effect  the  will  of  his  opponents,  and  at  length  the 
latter  determined  to  act  without  it.  The  governor 
was  equally  bent  upon  maintaining  his  own  rights, 
and  upon  two  members  of  the  Board  affixing  their 
signatures  to  a  paper  to  which  his  had  been  refused, 
he  charged  them  with  acting  in  a  manner  subversive 
of  the  authority  of  the  government  The  persons 
constituting  the  former  majority  now  seceded  and 
having  forwarded  a  protest  against  the  conduct  of 
Lord  Pigott,  assumed  to  themselves  the  right  of  the 
government.  This  was  followed  by  the  governor 
declaring  all  the  refractory  members  suspended,  and 
ordering  Sir  Robert  Fletcher,  the  commander-in-chief, 
into  arrest,  for  the  purpose  of  being  brought  to  trial 
by  a  court-martial. 

"  The  adverse  party  followed  the  example  of  their 
chief  with  no  slow  nor  indecisive  steps.  They  de- 
termined to  arrest  him,  and  on  August  24th,  1776, 
the   Governor   of   Madras   became   the   prisoner   of 

S 


282       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS  OF   THE   WORLD. 

certain  members  of  his  own  council.  He  appealed  to 
Sir  Edward  Hughes,  the  admiral  commanding  the 
squadron  in  the  roads,  for  protection,  and  the  admiral 
demanded  that  safe  conduct  to  the  ships  should  be 
given  him.  The  ruling  body  inquired  whether  Sir 
Edward  would  be  responsible  for  Lord  Pigott  if  the 
request  was  complied  with.  The  admiral  answered 
that  he  tendered  the  requisition  in  the  king's  name, 
and  would  make  no  terms.  The  acting  council  re- 
plied that  they  had  no  proof  that  the  Crown  em- 
powered its  officers  to  require  the  removal  of  any 
servant  of  the  Company,  in  such  a  situation  as  that 
of  Lord  Pigott,  from  under  the  authority  of  the 
Company's  government,  and  the  admiral  rejoined 
that  the  case  was  unexampled,  that  he  had  done  his 
duty  in  making  the  requisition,  and  must  leave  those 
who  had  resisted  it  to  meet  the  consequences.  One 
of  these  consequences  was  lamentable.  The  consti- 
tution of  Lord  Pigott,  impaired  by  age  and  an  Indian 
climate,  sank  under  the  irritation  to  which  he  had 
been  exposed,  and  the  restraint  to  which  he  was 
subjected,  and  he  died,  the  prisoner  of  those  over 
whom  he  had  been  appointed  to  preside." 

This  was  in  the  year  1777,  and  as  his  death  took 
place  in  India,  if  the  stone  was  brought  to  England 
by  Lord  Pigott  himself,  it  must  have  been  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  return  to  Europe  a  short  time  previously. 


LII. 
THE  THREE   TABLES. 

Au  Ancient  Form  of  Diamond  Cutting — Famous  Gems  that 
have  Disappeared. 


HESE  are  mentioned  by  Tavernier 
amongst  the  treasures  of  Aureng-zeb, 
seen  by  him  in  1665.  The  reference 
to  them  as  well  as  to  the  already  de- 
scribed "  Pear,"  occurs  m  the  subjoined  passage  (II. 
p.  227)  :  "  After  having  well  contemplated  this  great 
stone  (the 'Great  Mogul'),  and  returned  ittoAkel-Khan, 
he  showed  me  another  pear-shaped  diamond,  of  very 
good  form  and  fine  water,  with  three  other  diamonds, 
table-shaped,  tzuo  of  tJiein  flaivless  (nets),  and  the  third 
with  some  little  black  specks  (de  petits  points  noir). 
Each  weighs  tifty-five  to  sixty  ratis,  and  the  pear 
sixty-two  and  a  half."  Their  weight  would  therefore 
be  on  Tavernier's  scale  of  reduction,  from  48^  to  52^ 
carats,  as  indicated  in  our  tabulated  scheme  p.  320. 

Although  the  table  *  appears  to  have  been  the 
original  cut  of  the  diamond,  this  form  is  now  so  seldom 
used,  that  specimens  have  become  extremely  rare. 
Besides  the  three  here  described,  the  only  others  of 
any  size  known  to  us  are  the  "  Great  Table,"  which 


*     Tlie  technical  name  of  the  table  is  lasque,  and  small  slabs  in  this 
form  are  still  used  for  covering  miniatures,  and  are  then  called  portrait  stones. 


284       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

has  disappeared,  and  the  "  Russian  Table,"  weighing 
68  carats.  The  table  style  was  practically  super- 
seded in  the  West,  by  the  introduction  of  the  rose- 
cut  in  the  year  1520.  The  still  more  perfect  brilliant 
form,  invented  by  Vincenzio  Peruzzi,  of  Venice,  came 
into  use  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII.  of  France, 
and  is  now  universally  adopted,  except  in  the  case  of 
circular  stones,  for  which  the  rose  is  the  most  effective 
style. 

None  of  the  "Three  Tables"  seen  by  Tavernier 
have  since  been  traced,  nor  have  any  stones  answering 
to  their  description  ever  been  seen  in  Europe.  They 
were  probably  carried  off  by  Nadir  Shah,  after  the 
sack  of  Delhi,  and  may  some  day  again  come  to  light 
in  Persia  or  Afghanistan. 


LIII. 


THE  DRESDEN  GREEN. 

One  of  the  Rarest  Diamonds  in  the  World— A  Comparatively 
Small  Gem  Valued  at  /"30,ooo. 


HIS  gem  is  the  largest  in  the  "Green 
Vaults"  of  Dresden,  and  owing  to  its 
peculiar  green  tint,  one  of  the  rarest 
diamonds  in  the  world.  This  rare  stone 
weighs  48i  carats.  It  is  probably  of  Indian  origin, 
but  nothing  seems  to  be  known  of  its  antecedents. 
It  is  valued,  according  to  Kluge,  at  200,000  thalers 
(^30,000),  a  very  large  sum  for  a  stone  of  such  a 
small  size,  but  accounted  for  by  its  unique  character. 
Mr.  Streeter  has,  or  had  lately,  on  sale  a  small  red 
diamond,  altogether  unique  of  its  kind,  for  which 
iS"  1,000  was  asked,  although  it  weighed  only  three- 
quarters  of  a  carat. 


LIV. 


THE    BANIAN. 


Astute  Dealers — "The  Banian  Removes  his  Turban  " — Rapid 
Business. 


HIS  stone  was  bought  from  a  Banian 
or  Indian  trader  by  Tavernier  at  the 
Raulconda  mine,  and  sold  by  him  to  a 
Dutch  captain  on  his  return  to  Surat. 
He  gives  us  an  interesting  account  of  the  circum- 
stances attending  its  purchase.  "  One  day  towards 
the  evening  a  badly  dressed  Banian  with  only  a  girdle 
round  his  body,  and  a  shabby  kerchief  on  his  head, 
came  and  politely  accosted  me,  taking  his  seat  by  my 
side.  In  this  country  no  attention  is  paid  to  dress, 
and  many  with  nothing  but  a  dirty  cloth  round  their 
loins,  occasionally  contrive  to  hide  away  a  good  parcel 
of  diamonds.  .  .  .  After  some  time,  he  asked  me, 
through  my  interpreter,  whether  I  wished  to  purchase 
a  few  rubies,  and  drew  out  about  twenty  ruby  rings 
from  his  girdle.  After  examining  them  carefully  I 
told  him  they  were  too  small  for  my  purpose.  But 
remembering  a  commission  I  had  received  from  a 
lady  in  Ispahan  to  procure  her  a  ruby  ring  of  about 
lOO  crowns,  I  bought  one  of  these  for  some  400  francs. 
I  knew  very  well  it  was  only  worth  300,  but  I  gladly 


THE   BANIAN.  287 

risked  the  difference  in  the  behef  that  he  had  not 
come  merely  to  dispose  of  those  rubies,  and  because 
I  saw  from  his  manner  that  he  wanted  to  be  alone 
with  me  in  order  to  show  me  something  better.  As 
the  time  of  prayer  for  the  Mohammedans  was  drawing 
near,  three  of  the  attendants  given  to  me  by  the 
governor  went  off,  and  I  sent  away  the  fourth  to 
procure  some  bread,  which  is  scarce  in  those  parts. 
Being  thus  alone  with  me  and  my  interpreter,  the 
Banian,  with  great  ceremony,  removed  his  turban, 
and  unbound  his  hair,  which,  according  to  the  fashion, 
was  tied  up  on  his  head.  Then  I  saw  him  take  from 
his  hair  a  little  bit  of  linen  in  which  was  wrapped  a 
diamond  weighing  485  of  our  carats,  of  fine  water,  and 
cabochon  cut,*  three-fourths  of  the  stone  pure,  except 
a  small  patch  (chevron)  on  one  side,  which  seemed 
to  penetrate  a  little  into  the  stone.  The  other  quarter 
was  all  flaws  and  red  flecks  {^points  rotiges). 

"As  I  was  examining  the  stone  with  great  atten- 
tion, the  Banian  said,  *  Do  not  trouble  to  look  at  it 
now.  You  will  see  it  at  your  leisure  to-morrow 
morning  when  you  are  alone.  When  a  fourth  of  the 
day  has  passed  (for  thus  they  reckon  the  time)  you 
will  find  me  outside  the  town,  and  if  you  want  the 
stone,  you  will  bring  the  money,  and  he  then  told  me 


*  This  is  a  very  remarkable  statement,  for,  as  far  as  we  are  aware 
it  is  the  only  instance  on  record  of  a  diamond  cut  in  cabochon  form.  Indeed 
we  cannot  but  suspect  some  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  writer,  who  has  pro- 
bably used  the  expression  carelessly  for  rose  cut,  the  usual  Indian  style. 
The  peculiar  crystal  of  the  diamond  we  fancy  would  scarcely  lend  itself  at 
all  to  the  cabochon  or  convex  cut,  which  is  the  form  generally  chosen  for  the 
opal,  cat's  eye,  and  such  like  stones  that  have  a  play  of  colours.  However, 
the  sapphire  was  in  ancient  times  always  so  treated,  as  emeralds  and  rubiei 
of  inferior  quality  still  are,  but  we  should  say,  the  diamond  never. 


288       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

what  he  wanted  for  it I  did  not  fail  to 

keep  the  appointment,  and  brought  the  sum  he  had 
asked,  less  200  pagodas,  which  I  kept  in  reserve. 
But  in  the  end,  after  a  little  chaffering,  I  had  to  give 
him  an  additional  100  pagodas.  On  my  return  to 
Surat  I  sold  the  stone  to  a  Dutch  captain,  making  a 
decent  profit  on  the  transaction." 


LV. 
THE    ANTWERP. 

A  Bridal  Gift — History  at  Fault. 


HE  original  owner  of  this  stone  was 
Carlo  Afifetati,  of  Antwerp.  From  him 
it  was  purchased  in  the  year  1559  for 
80.000  crowns  by  King  Philip  II.  of 
Spain,  who  intended  it  as  a  bridal  gift  to  his  ill-starred 
third  wife,  Elizabeth,  youngest  daughter  of  Henry  II, 
of  France.*     Clusius,  who  mentions  the  circumstance, 


*  Philip  II.  was  four  times  married.  The  Queen  of  England,  by 
whom  he  had  no  issue,  was  his  second  wife.  His  first  was  his  cousin,  Mary 
of  Portugal,  and  by  her  he  had  one  son,  Don  Carlos,  whose  fate  has 
deepened  the  sombre  aspect  of  his  reign.  That  young  prince,  who  appears 
to  have  been  of  a  haughty  and  violent  temper,  was  exasperated  by  his 
father's  refusal  to  admit  him  to  a  share  in  the  administration  of  the  kingdom, 
though  he  had  never  shown  any  capacity  for  public  affairs.  After  giving 
many  proofs  of  a  discontented  and  disordered  mind,  he  was,  on  the  charge, 
as  it  would  seem  from  the  researches  of  Mr.  Prescott,  of  aiming  at  the 
king's  life,  and  of  having  shown  heretical  tendencies,  arrested  in  his  bed 
by  Philip  himself,  at  midnight  on  the  i8th  of  January,  1568.  To  the 
Council  of  State  and  to  Foreign  Courts,  Philip  merely  assigned  as  his  reason 
for  so  acting,  the  necessity  laid  upon  him  by  his  duty  to  God  and  regard 
for  the  welfare  of  the  monarchy.  Philip,  it  was  clear,  had  come,  for  some 
reasons,  to  regard  his  son  with  settled  aversion,  and  it  soon  came  to  be 
understood  that  he  was  condemned  to  an  imprisonment  from  which  there 
was  no  hope  of  release,  and  in  which  he  was  to  be  treated  with  the  utmost 
rigour,  and  that  it  was  a  subject  on  which  every  one  must  be  silent.  Happily 
tor  him,  death,  in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  terminated  his  miserable 
existence  (July  24,  1 5  68),  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years.  The  horrid 
suspicion  that  his  death  had  been  hastened  through  poison  or  other  means, 
by  his  father's  command,  which  prevailed  at  the  time,  has  been  frequently 
repeated  since,  and  is  directly,  though  inconclusively  stated  by  Llorente, 
the  secretary  of  the  Inquisition,  in  his  Histoire  de  F Imjuisitwn,  book  III., 
p.  171,  &c  Be  the  manner  of  his  death  however,  what  it  may,  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that,  as  Mr.  Prescott  observes,  the  responsibility  to  a  great 
extent,  must  be  allowed  to  rest  on  Philip,  who,  if  he  did  not  directly  employ 
the  hand  of  the  assassin  to   take  the  life  of  his  son,  yet  by  his  rigorous 


290       THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

states  that  it  was  the  largest  diamond  ever  seen  in 
Europe  up  to  that  time.  This  is  a  remarkable  state- 
ment, and  if  it  could  be  depended  upon,  one  which 
might  help  not  a  little  to  clear  up  the  history  of  the 
"  Sancy."  But,  notwithstanding  the  great  authority 
of  Clusius,  and  the  excellent  opportunities  he  had  of 
gaining  exact  information,  this  assertion  cannot  be 
regarded  as  trustworthy. 


treatment,  drove  that  son  to  a  state  of  desperation  that  brought  about  the 
same  result. — History  of  Philip  II.,  book  IV.,  chap.  7.  But  the  authentic 
version,  which  we  have  related,  of  this  mysterious  and  tragical  affair,  has 
been  still  further  variously  discoloured  by  calumny  and  fiction.  Writers 
who  believed  Philip  to  be  the  murderer  of  his  son,  have  upon  this  foundation 
formed  the  superstructure  for  a  romantic  tale,  of  a  mutual  and  criminal 
passion  between  Don  Carlos  and  his  father's  third  wife,  the  princess 
Elizabeth  of  France,  who  was  originally  betrothed  to  himself,  and 
whose  life,  which  closed  quickly  afterwards,  is  also  said  to  have  been 
sacrificed  to  the  jealous  vengeance  of  her  husband.  For  this  charge  against 
all  the  parties  there  seems,  however,  to  have  been  no  foundation.  (See  a 
full  sketch  of  the  career  of  Don  Carlos,  and  an  elaborate,  able,  and  just 
examination  of  the  whole  question  of  his  connection  with  Elizabeth,  and 
his  treatment  by  his  father  in  Prescott's  History  of  the  Rei^n  of  Philip  II. 
vol.  II.,  hook  IV.,  chaps.  6,  7,  and  8).  By  Elizabeth  Philip  had  two 
daughters  who,  together  with  his  son  and  successor  by  his  fourth  wife, 
Anne,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Maximilian  II.,  were  the  only  legitimate 
issue  which  he  left.  In  the  midst  of  his  persecuting  zeal,  he  had  given  one 
purer  proof  of  his  regard  for  religion,  and  sacred  literature  owes  an  obligation 
to  his  memory,  for  the  publication  of  the  beautiful  polyglot  bible,  which 
bears  his  name,  and  which  was  printed  at  Antwerp  in  1569 — 72,  in  eight 
vols.,  folio. 

Philip  III.  was  a  prince  in  everything  except  the  bigotry  of  his  faith, 
of  a  character  most  opposite  to  that  of  his  father.  Gentle,  humane,  and 
unconquerably  indolent,  he  surrendered  himself,  and  the  whole  management 
of  his  affairs  from  the  very  commencement  of  his  reign,  to  the  guidance  of 
his  favourite,  the  Marquis  of  Dema,  who  had  been  his  chief  equerry,  and 
whom  he  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Duke  of  Lerma.  This  nobleman,  who 
governed  Spain  as  prime  minister  with  unbounded  power  for  twenty  years, 
was  a  personage  of  dignified  mien,  and  of  a  mild  and  beneficent  disposition; 
but  as  a  statesman,  though  he  wanted  neither  prudence  nor  firmness,  he 
was  otherwise  of  only  moderate  capacity,  and  he  rendered  his  administration 
Injurious  to  the  State  by  his  love  of  pomp  and  lavish  expenditure,  and  the 
consequent  derangement  of  the  national  finances.  He  was  supplanted  at 
last  in  the  affection  of  his  feeble  master  (1618),  by  his  own  ungrateful  son, 
the  Duke  of  Uzeba,  under  whom  the  kingdom  was  not  better  governed,  and 
the  aged  Lerma  was  solaced  by  the  Pope,  in  his  unmerited  disgrace,  with  a 
Cardinal's  hat,  which  he  had  the  foresight  to  solicit  a  little  before  his  fall, 
as  a  protection  from  the  persecution  of  his  enemies. — English  Cyclopivdia. 


LVI. 
THE    HOPE    BLUE. 


Models  of  Historic  Gems  in  London — The  Romance  of  Facts 
— Identification  of  the  "  Hope  Blue  "  and  the  Famous 
French  Stone — A  Lovely  Gem  and  a  Notable  Jewel. 


HERE    is    at    i8,  New  Bond   Street  a 
remarkable  case  containing  a  collection 
of  the  models  of  many  of  the  great 
diamonds  of  the  world,  the  histories  of 
which  are  set  forth  in  this  volume.     The  facsimiles 
are  cut  in   crystal  and  glass,  and  in   regard  to  the 
tinted    stones,   the   rare   hues    of    the   originals    are 
suggested.    In  this  very  interesting  collection,  gathered 
together  in  spite  of  many  difficulties,  and  with  much 
careful  research,  will  be  found  the  story  of  the  "  Hope 
Blue,"  simply  told    in  three   parts    (we   had    almost 
said  in  three  volumes),  that  once  formed  one  great 
and  glorious  gem.     It  would  be  a  strange  story,  could 
it  be  told,  the  history  of  this  cleavage,  with  the  details 
of  the  several  adventures  of  the  triple  gems,  since  the 
masterpiece  was  stolen  from  the  Garde  Meuble  in  the 
stormy  times  of  1792. 

Failing  the  possibility  of  our  entertaining  the 
reader  with  such  a  narrative,  we  think  it  will  be 
admitted  that  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  romance  in 
the  very  logic  of  facts  which  has  identified  the  divided 
gem,  and  for  the  purposes  of  history,  at  all  events, 


292        THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE   WORLD. 

re-united  them.  There  is  nothing  to  be  added  to 
Mr.  Streeter's  own  account  of  his  establishment  of  the 
"  Hope  Blue"  as  part  of  the  famous  Tavernier  stone. 
It  is,  therefore,  quite  in  order  that  we  should  quote 
the  following  interesting  passage  from  Precious  Stones 
and  Gems. : — 

"  This  stone  (the  '  French  Blue ')  was,  with  the 
rest  of  the  French  regalia,  seized  in  August,  1792,  and 
deposited  in  the  Garde  Meuble.     From  this  insecure 
place  it  was  surreptitiously  abstracted  in   September 
of  the    same  year.     What   became   of  it  remains  a 
mystery.     That    it    should   have  really  been  lost   is 
incredible,    and    from    the    sudden   appearance   of  a 
stone  of  similar  character,  the  extraordinary  rarity  of 
which  is  acknowledged,  I  strongly  incline  towards  the 
belief  that  it  was  Tavernier's  re-cut,  and  so  altered  in 
form    as    to    render    its    identification   very    difficult. 
This  hypothesis,  which  I  offer,  receives  additional  pos- 
sibility from  the  fact  that  a  blue  brilliant  about  the 
year   1830  was  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Daniel  Eliason, 
which  stone  came  to  light  without  a  history,  without 
any  account   being  rendered  as  to  whence  it  came, 
and  what  had  been   its  travels  and   fortunes.     Sub- 
sequently   I    trace    it    as    the    property    of  the    late 
Mr.   Henry  Thomas  Hope,  under  the  name  of  the 
'  Hope  '  diamond.     The  difference  in  weight  between 
the  original  stone  of  67^  carats,  and  this  actual  stone 
of  44J,  forces  upon  us  the   interrogjltion,  '  Was  the 
weight  lost  simply  in  the  cutter's  hands  in  manipu- 
lating the  stone,  or  were  one  or  more  pieces  removed 
by  simple  cleavage  and  preserved  V     I  incline  to  the 
latter  alternative,  viz.  :  that  the  diamond  abstracted 


THE   HOPE   BLUE  293 

in  1792  was  reduced  by  cleavage,  and  formed  into 
two  brilliants.  This  deduction  is  more  probable, 
as  Tavernier's  diamond  evidently  had  one  of  the 
crystallographic  faces  largely  produced  on  the  one 
side,  which  gave  the  stone  a  '  drop  form.'  This 
formation  is  frequently  seen  in  diamonds,  especially 
in  coloured  stones  (excepting  always  the  yellow 
varieties),  leading  us  to  infer  that  the  cleavage  plane 
must  have  run,  as  in  the  diagram,  from  A  to  B. 


"  In  the  first  cutting  of  the  stone  the  original 
shape  was  to  some  extent  preserved,  which  left  an 
ill-formed,  triangular-shaped  brilliant,  somewhat  thin 
on  one  side.  From  this  it  would  have  been  easy  for 
an  expert  to  cleave  a  triangular  piece  of  about  10  or 
II  carats,  thus  leaving  the  stone  weighing  about 
56  carats,  the  re-cutting  of  which,  as  a  perfect 
brilliant,  well-proportioned,  would  reduce  it  to  its 
present  weight  of  44J  carats.  It  is  observable  that 
the  '  Hope'  diamond  '  is  even  now  straighter  on  one 
side  than  the  other,  and  this  strengthens  the  presump- 
tion of  the  stone  having  been  cleaved  as  suggested. 
The  late  Emperor  of  the  French  ordered  a  model  of 
the  '  Blue  '  diamond  in  question  to  be  made  while  it 
remained  in  the  Paris  Exhibition. 


294       THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE  WORLD. 

"  It  would  confirm  my  hypothesis  still  further 
could  the  piece  or  pieces  split  off  be  discovered.  The 
piece  at  first  must  have  been  triangular,  having  a 
straight  side,  corresponding  with  the  side  of  the '  Hope ' 
diamond,  as  described  above.  If  then  we  find  a  blue 
diamond  of  drop  shape,  of  the  same  colour  precisely 
as  the  '  Hope,'  having  its  base  to  correspond  with  the 
straight  side  of  the  latter,  proportionate  in  substance, 
and  weighing  from  12  to  13  carats,  we  have  a  strong 
presumptive  evidence  that  the  smaller  is  a  cleavage 
of  the  larger.  Such  a  stone  did  actually  come  into 
the  market  in  April,  1874.  It  was  purchased  in 
Geneva  at  the  sale  of  the  late  Duke  of  Brunswick's 
jewels.*  The  purchaser  put  the  stone  for  a  short 
time  into  my  hands,  and  I  examined  it  in  juxta- 
position with  the  '  Hope  '  diamond.  It  is  identical  in 
colour  and  quality.  I  know  not  how  to  avoid  the  con- 
clusion that  the  Duke  of  Brunswick's  '  Blue  Drop  ' 
diamond  once  formed  the  triangular  salient  gibbosity 
which  formerly  appears  to  have  characterized  the 
stone  now  known  as  the  '  Hope  '  brilliant.  Besides 
the  '  Hope'  and  Brunswick  diamonds,  there  are  only 
three  diamonds  known  in  Europe  that  can  justly  be 
termed  '  blue,'  and  these  all  differ  from  the  '  Hope,' 
and  from  each  other  in  colour." 

The  "  Hope "  is  a  very  lovely  gem,  of  a  most 
beautiful  sapphire  hue,  with  an  adamantine  lustre  of 
extreme  brilliancy.  It  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Hope 
for  ^18,000,  and  was  considered  by  good  judges  to  be 
worth  a  great  deal  more.     Westrop  (p.  4),  values  it  at 


*  See  "French  Blue." 


THE   HOPE   BLUE.  295 

no  less  than  ^30,000,  probably  not  an  excessive  figure 
considering  its  absolutely  unique  character,  faultless 
texture  and  exquisite  form.  It  is  unusually  thick, 
and  measures  §  of  an  inch  in  breadth,  by  i^  in  length. 
With  regard  to  the  smallest  of  the  three  frag- 
ments, referred  to  in  our  account  of  the  French  "  Blue," 
and  which  weighs  i^  carat,  we  may  state,  to  complete 
the  subject,  that  it  was  purchased  in  Vienna  some 
twenty  years  ago,  by  Messrs.  Hertz  &  Co.,  one  of  the 
largest  gem  merchants  in  Paris.  About  six  years  since 
we  bought  it  of  them  for  ^300,  and  it  now  figures  as 
one  of  the  most  conspicuous  stones  in  a  butterfly, 
composed  of  diamonds  of  all  known  colours.  This 
lovely  diamond  butterfly  is  often  seen  standing  out 
conspicuously,  as  one  of  the  rarest  jewels  in  the  world, 
in  the  London  salons. 


LVII. 


THE  FERDINAND. 


The  Raulconda  Mines. — Tinted  Stones — A  Diamond  that 
Broke  into  Fragments  on  the  Cutter's  Wheel — "  Bort" 
— A  Curious  Freak  of  Nature. 


BOUT  five  days'  journey  from  Golconda, 
and  about  half  as  much  again  from 
Bejapoor,  there  is  an  extensive  plain, 
where  diamonds  were  found  in  the  15th 
and  1 6th  centuries,  of  great  purity  and  of  unusual  size. 
It  was  known  as  the  Raulconda  ;  but  early  in  the  17th 
century,  between  this  plain  and  a  no  less  productive 
mine  at  Coloor,  some  stones  of  very  imperfect  con- 
sistency, were  discovered,  which  shattered  easily  when 
placed  under  the  wheel.  The  pure  water,  for  which 
the  stones  of  old  Raulconda  were  celebrated  in  all 
countries,  was  wanting  in  this  new  source  of  diaman- 
tiferous  wealth.  A  yellow  or  reddish  grey  was  visible 
in  the  stones,  although  the  genuine  brilliancy  of  the 
diamond  was  unimpaired.  However  much  the  geolo- 
gist might  be  interested  in  these  peculiarities,  which 
in  some  particulars  characterized  many  of  the  findings 
at  Coloor,  the  mercantile  world  received  the  new 
consignments  with  indignation,  and  the  king  of 
Golconda  therefore  deemed  it  incumbent  on  him  to 
close  the  mine.  In  the  meantime,  a  stone  weighing 
42    carats    was    found    and    taken    to    Surat,    where 


THE   FERDINAND.  297 

Messrs.  Fremclin  &  Francis  Breton,  the  heads  of 
the  English  company,  showed  this  handsome-looking 
stone  to  Edward  Ferdinand,  a  Spanish  Jew.  He 
seems  to  have  approved  of  the  gem,  and  was  com- 
missioned to  take  it  to  Europe  and  seek  a  purchaser 
for  it.  At  Leghorn  he  was  offered  25,000  piastres  for 
the  stone  by  some  Jews  of  his  acquaintance.  He 
refused  to  part  with  it  on  these  terms,  and  took  it  to 
Venice,  where  he  determined  to  have  it  cut.  No 
sooner,  however,  was  it  placed  on  the  wheel  and  the 
operation  begun,  than  it  burst  first  into  nine  pieces, 
and  subsequently  into  small  fragments. 

It  may  be  explained  that  the  stones  here  spoken 
of  are  what  in  the  trade  are  known  as  Bort,  that  is, 
imperfect  crystals,  which,  though  useless  for  orna- 
mental purposes,  have  nevertheless,  a  certain  value  in 
the  market.  They  are  used  either  for  engraving  hard 
gems,  or  crushed  to  form  diamond  dust.  This 
dust,  possessing  the  property  of  extreme  hard- 
ness, is  mixed  with  oil,  and  employed  in  polishing 
diamonds.  Some  pieces  of  bort  have  even  been 
turned  into  rose  diamonds,  and  a  curious  speci- 
men in  Mr.  Streeter's  collection  of  rough  minerals 
shows  a  number  of  octahedral  adamantine  crystals, 
grouped  round  a  central  nucleus  of  dark-coloured 
bort.  The  mass  weighs  altogether  19  carats,  and 
was  procured  from  the  South  African  diamond  fields 
by  Mr.  Streeter's  explorers. 


LVIII. 
THE  POLAR  STAR. 

One    of   the  Gems    in    the    Russian  Crown    Purchased    in 
England — A  Stone  of  Rare  Purity  and  Lustre. 


EXT  to  the  "  Orloff,"  "  Moon  of  Moun- 
tains," and  "  Shah,"  the  largest  and 
finest  diamond  belonging  to  the  Russian 
Crown,  is  the  "Polar  Star."  It  was 
purchased  in  England  for  the  Imperial  Regalia,  and 
is  remarkable  for  its  rare  purity  and  lustre.  It  is 
brilliant  cut,  and  weighs  40  carats.  Dieulafait  makes 
the  curious  statement  that  "it  belongs  to  the  Princess 
Yussupoff."* 

At  one  time  it  seems  to  have  been  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Joseph  Buonaparte,  who  bought  it  of  Morton 
for  52,500  francs. 


»  So  also  Barbotfp.  107),  "  On  cite  encore  chez  cette  puissance  (la 
Russie),  un  magnitique  diamant,  connu  sous  le  nom  d'  Etoile  Polaire;  il 
appartient  a  la  princesse  YoussoupotT." 


LIX. 


THE   PASHA   OF   EGYPT. 


Forty  Carats  and  Valued  at  ;^28,ooo — The  Finest  Gem  in  the 
Egyptian  Treasury. 


HIS  is  the  finest  gem  in  the  Egyptian 
Treasury.  It  seems  to  have  been  pur- 
chased for  i^28,ooo  by  Ibrahim  Pasha. 
According  to  Mr.  Emanuel,  it  "  weighs 
40  carats,  is  of  octagonal  form,  and  is  brilliant  cut,  and 
is  of  very  good  quality  and  lively."  Our  inquiries 
have  not  led  us  into  any  interesting  discoveries,  histo- 
rical or  otherwise,  in  connection  with  this  Egyptian 
treasure.  It  is  supposed  to  be  still  at  head-quarters 
on  the  Nile  ;  but  in  these  days  of  Eastern  changes 
and  troubles,  it  is  questionable  whether  any  one  out- 
side a  certain  official  circle  can  say  what  particular 
spot  the  "  Pasha  "  may  be  illuminating. 


LX. 


THE    GREEN    BRILLIANT. 

A  Relic  of  the  Dresden  Vaults — Worn  as  a  Button  by  the 
King  of  Saxony. 


N  the  Dresden  Green  Vaults,  besides  the 
"Dresden  Green,"  there  is  another  green 
diamond,  which  weighs  i6o  grains,  or 
about  40  carats.  According  to  Kluge 
it  is  brilHant  cut,  and  set  a  jour  in  a  plume.*  This 
is,  no  doubt,  the  same  stone  which  Mawe  de- 
scribes "  a  green  brilliant  of  exquisite  beauty  and 
great  size,  but  of  irregular  form."  He  adds  that  in 
his  time,  or  early  in  the  present  century,  "  it  was 
worn  by  the  King  of  Saxony,  when  in  court  dress, 
as  a  button  to  the  plume  of  his  hat."  It  seems  to 
have  belonged  originally  to  the  Elector,  Augustus  of 
Saxony. 


*     "  Eine  HutagrafFe  mit  einem  griinen,  160  gran  wiegenden,  a  jour 
gefassten  Brilliant."     Op.  cit   p.  Z54. 


LXI. 
THE    BANTAM, 

One  of  Tavernier's  Royal  Customers— "  The  Queen  of 
Borneo"— The  Dutch  Regaha— A  Fanatical  Pilgrim 
of  Mecca— Fighting  and  Feasting. 

HEN  Tavernier  was  in  Java  in  1648 
he  was  a  frequent  guest  of  the  then 
reigning  Rajah  of  Bantam,  in  the 
western  part  of  the  island.  Like  most 
Eastern  potentates,  this  king  was  fond  of  collecting 
precious  stones,  and  made  several  purchases  from  the 
French  dealer.  At  one  of  these  interviews  he  pro- 
duced a  kris  or  dagger,  which  he  was  having  em- 
bellished in  the  Turkish  style.  The  handle  was  to  be 
set  all  over  with  diamonds,  for  which  purpose,  not 
possessing  enough  in  his  treasury,  he  commissioned 
Tavernier  to  procure  as  many  as  would  be  required  to 
complete  the  work.  But  the  top  of  the  hilt  was 
already  covered,  and  in  the  plaque  there  was  one  very 
large  diamond  cut  in  facets,  which  the  expert  tells  us, 
as  far  as  he  could  judge,  "was  worth  at  least  fifteen 
or  sixteen  thousand  crowns."  The  king  informed 
him  that  he  had  received  it  as  a  present  from  the 
Queen  of  Borneo,  and  that  he  had  sent  it  to  be  cut  in 
Goa.  But  he  himself  set  a  much  higher  price  on  it 
than  Tavernier  thought  it  could  be  worth. 

This  is  all  the  authentic  information  we  have 


302       THE  GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

regarding  this  stone,  which  probably  passed  into 
the  possession  of  the  Dutch,  when  they  suppressed 
the  kingdom  of  Bantam,  and  converted  it  into  a 
"  Residency."  If  so  it  may  be  the  same  stone  as 
that  weighing  36  carats,  now  in  the  Dutch  regalia, 
and  concerning  which  so  little  is  known.  In  any 
case  it  was  very  near  costing  Tavernier  his  life.  He 
had  taken  the  dagger  to  Batavia  for  the  purpose  of 
procuring  stones  for  the  settings  with  which  the 
handle,  and  even  the  sheath  was  already  covered,  but 
laid  on,  as  he  tells  us,  "without  any  order,  from 
which  I  judged  that  they  have  no  knowledge  of 
design."  Returning  next  morning  to  the  palace,  with 
his  brother  and  a  Dutch  surgeon,  who  was  attending 
one  of  the  king's  wives,  they  had  to  pass  along  a  road 
with  the  river  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  a  large 
garden  enclosed  by  palisades.  Behind  these  pali- 
sades a  fanatical  native  of  Bantam  lay  concealed, 
watching  his  opportunity  to  run  "amuck  "  amongst 
the  "  infidels  ;"  for  he  had  just  returned  from  the 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  was  bent  on  showing  his 
zeal  for  the  faith  in  the  usual  Malay  fashion.  The 
Europeans  were  walking  all  three  abreast,  and  when 
they  reached  the  spot  the  fakir  thrust  out  his  poisoned 
weapon,  intending  to  bury  it  in  the  body  of  one  of 
them.  But  "  God  permitted  him  to  be  too  quick,  so 
hat  the  point  passed  just  in  front  of  us.  The  Dutch- 
man being  on  my  left,  next  the  river,  and  slightly 
ahead  of  my  brother  and  myself,  the  spearhead 
struck  his  breeches,  whereupon  he  and  I  immediately 
seized  the  wooden  haft,  while  the  fakir  tugged  with 
might  and   main  to  recover  the  pike.     My  brother, 


'  THE   BANTAM.  303 

who  was  on  my  right  hand  next  the  palisades,  and 
who  was  young  and  always  ready  for  a  fray,  jumped 
on  it,  and  fetched  him  three  sword-cuts  about  the 
body,  of  which  he  incontinently  died.  A  number  of 
Chinese  and  other  idolators,  who  were  near  the  scene 
came  forthwith  to  kiss  my  brother's  hands,  and  thank 
him  for  having  despatched  the  infuriated  fakir. 
Thence  we  proceeded  to  meet  the  king,  who  had 
already  been  informed  of  what  had  taken  place,  and 
who  showed  his  approval  by  presenting  my  brother 
with  a  girdle.  For  although  Mohammedans,  these 
kings  and  governors  are  very  glad  when  those  gallows- 
birds  get  killed,  well-knowing  that  they  are  a  reck- 
less set,  whom  it  is  desirable  to  get  rid  of"  The 
affair  ended  in  feasting,  dancing,  and  a  grand  display 
of  fireworks,  which  lasted  five  or  six  days.  Being 
associated  with  such  a  stirring  event,  the  stone  may 
be  appropriately  named  the  "  Bantam." 


LXII. 


THE     HORNBY. 


Another   Gem  unknown  to  History  —  Possibly  to  be   found 
at  Teheran. 


O HN  M URRA Y  writes :  "  The '  Hornby' 
diamond,  brought  from  the  East  Indies 
by  the  Hon.  William  Hornby,  governor 
of  Bombay,  in   1775,  weighs  36  carats, 

and  is  now,  I  believe,  the  property  of  the  Shah  of 

Persia." 

Nothing  further  is  known  of  this  stone,  no  mention 

of  which  occurs  in  any  writer  subsequent  to  the  time 

of  Murray,  the   second    edition    of    whose    Memoir 

appeared  in   1839. 


LXIII. 


THE    HOLLAND. 


A    Crown   Jewel — Its  Origin   and   Character    Unrecorded- 
Conical  in  Shape,  and  valued  at  ;f  10,368. 


HE  Crown  Jewels  of  the  Netherlands 
have  been  augmented  from  time  to  time 
in  the  past,  both  by  conquest  and  by 
purchase.  Borneo  and  other  islands  of 
the  Eastern  seas  are  supposed  to  have  greatly  en- 
riched the  treasures  of  the  Hague.  Possibly  the 
diamond  which  is  mentioned  by  Murray  as  the 
"  Holland "  may  be  a  relic  of  the  glorious  days  of 
Admiral  Tromp,  or  a  tribute  from  the  dusky  subjects, 
over  whom  Holland  still  rules  in  the  Malay  Archipe- 
lago. The  only  record  we  find  in  relation  to  it  is  the 
statement  of  Murray  that  it  is  "  of  conical  shape, 
weighs  ^6  carats,  and  is  valued  at  ^10,368. 


LXIV. 
THE    HEART. 


A  Splendid  Trinket — The  Royal  Turban  of  Baber— Eastern 
Monarchs  in  Full  Dress. 


EAN  Baptiste  Tavernier  says  that  in 
1665,  he  saw  amongst  Aurung-zeb's 
treasures,  a  trinket  composed  of  twelve 
diamonds,  all  rose-cut,  and  each  weigh- 
ing from  13  to  14  carats.  In  the  midst  was  a  heart- 
shaped  rose  of  the  finest  water,  with  three  little  flaws, 
the  rose  weighing  35  carats.  It  seems  that  Akel 
Khan,  the  crown  jeweller,  shewed  them  to  the  famous 
French  merchant. 

Portraits  of  Baber,  a  descendant  in  the  fourth 
generation  from  Timour  of  Western  Tartary,  repre- 
sent his  royal  apparel  as  exceeding  in  splendour 
either  that  of  his  son  or  grandson,  Humaiun  and 
Akbar,  or  any  of  their  successors  on  the  Imperial 
throne  of  Hindoostan.  All  their  portraits  are  notice- 
able as  lacking  a  "  Cydaris"  or  tiara,  or  royal  turban, 
comparable  to  that  worn  by  Baber,  which  is  worth 
describing.  The  rose  composition  in  the  front  con- 
tains twelve  large  diamonds  in  the  circumference, 
and  within  this  are  ranged  twelve  pearls,  and  in  the 
centre  a  magnificent  rose-cut  diamond.  On  the  top  is 
an  angular  diamond,  of  the  shape  of  that  mentioned 
by  Tavernier,   and  surrounded  by  fourteen  pearls  ; 


THE   HEART.  307 

these  are,  in  their  turn,  surmounted  by  two  feathers, 
at  the  base  and  ends  of  which  are  pendant  pearls 
of  immense  size.  Literally  hundreds  of  diamonds  arc 
ranged  in  the  circumference  of  the  cap,  which  mounts 
considerably  higher  above  the  head  than  the  whole 
length  of  face  and  beard.  Four  similar  roses  are  on 
the  royal  coat  sleeves,  and  20  diamonds  and  98  pearls, 
in  double  row,  constitute  the  necklace  and  18  dia- 
monds fringed  on  top  and  bottom,  with  pearls  form 
bracelets  for  the  upper  arm.  Baber's  son,  Humayun, 
wore  the  same,  12  diamonds  with  12  smaller,  and 
10  smaller  pearls  with  the  fine  rose  centre,  surmounted 
with  the  same  pointed  diamond  and  feather,  but 
except  that  the  turban  was  surrounded  mid-way  with 
two  rows  of  pearls,  the  "  cydaris  "  (tiara),  had  no  other 
gems.  In  Akbar's  cap  were  the  same  rose  and  sur- 
mounts, and  somewhat  different  necklaces  coming 
down  to  the  waist.  The  "  cydaris  "  State  turban  of 
Jehanghir  was  adorned  with  the  same  star  and  sur- 
mounts, but  his  necklaces  combined  his  father's 
single  and  Baber's  double  necklace,  beside  which 
he  had  earrings  with  three  pearls  transfixed  in  each. 
Aurung-zeb  wore  on  his  turban  the  same  star  with 
a  pearl  pendant  and  surmounts  ;  like  his  predeces- 
sors, his  dress  resembled  Baber's  with  the  exception 
of  the  elaborate  Cap  of  Maintenance.  Possibly  the 
heart-shaped  diamond  was  either  the  surmount  com- 
mon to  all  the  above-mentioned  Mogul  emperors,  or 
the  central  diamond  of  the  enormous  rose  trinket 
worn  in  the  front  of  the  regal  turban.  That  either 
might  weigh  35  carats  it  is  not  difficult  to  conjecture. 
Aurung-zeb  had  no  earrings.     We  have  seen  that  the 


308      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

above  princes  modified  the  great  ornaments,  and 
that  the  crown  jeweller  would  undoubtedly  have  the 
opportunity  of  shewing  the  French  merchant  on  a 
business  visit,  the  jewels  in  question.  That  these 
gems  were  the  regalia,  and  not  the  private  property 
of  the  emperor  will  be  rendered  probable,  as  Nadir 
Shah  wore  the  same  star  and  surmount  on  his  very 
ugly  hat,  more  like  Charles  James  Fox's  beaver  than 
a  Cap  of  Maintenance. 


LXV. 
THE    LITTLE    SANCY. 

A  Mystery  Cleared  Up — Official  History— The  Crown  Neck- 
lace Worn  by  the  Princess  Mary  of  Sachsen-Altenburg 
on  her  Marriage  with  Prince  Albert  of  Prussia — Origin 
of  the  title  "  Little  Sancy." 


T  the  time  of  the  marriage  of  Prince 
Albert  of  Prussia  with  Princess  Mary 
of  Sachsen-Altenburg  in  Berlin,  the 
bride  was  described  in  the  newspaper 
accounts  of  the  wedding  as  wearing  "  the  crown 
necklace,  zvitJi  the  celebrated  '  Sancy  diamond!'  Much 
surprise  and  mystification  were  caused  by  this  state- 
ment, apparently  made  on  authority ;  for  amongst 
the  many  strange  peregrinations  of  the  "  celebrated 
'  Sancy  '  diamond,"  a  visit  to  the  Prussian  "  Schatz- 
Kammer  "  had  not  hitherto  been  mentioned.  We  are 
now  in  a  position  to  clear  up  the  mystery,  thanks 
to  the  subjoined  extract  from  an  official  communi- 
cation obligingly  made  to  us  on  June  /,  i88i,  by 
Herr  Smernitz,  minister  of  the  Royal  Household, 
Berlin  : — 

"Amongst  the  numerous  diamonds  of  the  Royal 
Treasury  there  is  one  only  possessing  historical 
interest.  This  is  a  brilliant  of  splendid  shaj  e 
weighing  34  carats,  worn  as  a  pendant  to  a  necklace, 
and  known  as  the  '  Little  Sancy.'  This  diamond 
was  bought  by  Prince  Frederick  Henry,  of  Orange, 


310     THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS   OF  THE  WORLD. 

who  died  in  the  year  1647,  ^^^  who  was  grand- 
father of  King  Frederick  I.,  of  Prussia.  Through 
King  Frederick  it  passed  from  the  Orange  bequests 
to  the  Prussian  royal  treasury." 

It  thus  appears  that  at  her  wedding  Princess 
Mary  of  Sachsen-Altenburg  wore,  not  the  celebrated 
"  Sancy"  diamond,  but  the  "  Little  Sancy,"  correctly 
enough  described  as  attached  to  the  "crown  neck- 
lace." Of  the  very  existence  of  this  "  Little  Sancy," 
the  public  has  hitherto  been  profoundly  ignorant. 
Nor  does  it  even  now  appear  by  what  right  it  bears 
the  name  of  "  Sancy  "  at  all.  The  explanation,  how- 
ever, is  not  far  to  seek.  We  have  already  seen  that 
Nicholas  Harlai,  Signeur  de  Sancy,  was  evidently  a 
diamond  collector,  and  that  he  died  in  the  year  1627. 
After  his  death  his  collection  was  no  doubt  dis- 
persed by  the  family,  and  in  this  way  the  diamond, 
weighing  34  carats,  would  be  thrown  on  the  market. 
Hence  its  purchase  by  Frederick  Henry  of  Orange, 
in  1647,  is  easily  accounted  for.  A  diamond  of 
its  weight,  rare  enough  in  those  days,  at  least  in 
Europe,  would  naturally  be  associated  with  its  owner, 
the  famous  collector,  M.  Sancy,  and  as  the  largest, 
weighing  54  carats,  was  known  as  the  "  Great  Sancy  ;" 
the  other,  weighing  34  carats,  probably  the  next  in 
size,  took  the  name  of  the  "  Little  Sancy." 


LXVI. 
THE    NAPOLEON. 

The  Vague   History  of  a   Brilliant  Gem — An  Ornament  of 
Napoleon's  Sword  Hilt. 

ERY  little  is  known  regarding  this  beau- 
tiful   gem,    whose    history    begins    as 
abruptly  as  it  terminates.     Like  one  of 
those  bright  meteors,  which  in  northern 
climes  suddenly  flash  across  the  starry  firmament  to 
be  presently  extinguished  in  darkness,  it  makes  its 
appearance  in  the  British  metropolis  about  the  time 
of  the  French  Revolution,  and  has  already  vanished 
out  of  sight  almost  before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Murray,  who  is  almost  our  only  authority 
for    its    brief    but    brilliant    career,   tells    us    that    it 
belonged  originally  to  Mr.  Eliason  (the  same  gentle- 
man who  sold  the  "  Blue  "  diamond  to  Mr.  Hope),  of 
London.     It  was  seen  in  his  possession  by  a  trust- 
worthy person,  from  whom  Murray  received  the  few 
particulars  which  he  has  recorded  regarding  its  subse- 
quent history.     From  this  source  we  learn  that  it  was 
purchased    from    Eliason    for   i^8,ooo   by    Napoleon 
Buonaparte,  and  by  him  worn  in  the  hilt  of  his  sword 
on   the  occasion    of  his   wedding   with  the   hapless 
Josephine  Beauharnais,  in   1796.     Murray  adds  that 
"  it  was  not  a  diamond  of  the  first  class,"  although  it  is 
known  to  have  really  been  a  very  perfect  stone. 

It  is  remarkable  that  at  that  early  period  of  his 
career,  when  he  was  still  only  a  distinguished  general 


312      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD. 

of  the  Republican  forces,  Napoleon  had  already- 
amassed  wealth  enough  to  afford  to  spend  iJ"8,ooo  on 
a  single  gem.  Still  more  remarkable  is  the  fact  that 
nothing  more  is  heard  of  this  diamond  after  it  thus 
came  into  the  possession  of  "  le  petit  caporal."  In 
the  inventory  of  the  crown  jewels  prepared  by  order 
of  the  emperor  in  iSio,  there  is  no  separate  entry  of 
any  diamond  of  this  size.  It  may  possibly  have  been 
removed  from  the  sword,  and  included  in  one  or 
other  of  the  numerous  groups  of  brilliants  contained 
in  that  collection.  But  in  any  case  it  must  have 
been  sold  before  NajDoleon  III.  came  to  the  throne, 
for  the  Empress  Eugenie  has  assured  us  that  she 
never  saw  it  amongst  the  French  crown  treasures. 


LXVII. 
THE    CUMBERLAND. 

Days  of  Trouble  in  England — The  Battle  of  Culloden — The 
City  of  London  presents  a  Great  Diamond  to  the 
Conqueror — The  "Cumberland  "  restored  to  Hanover 
on  a  claim  sent  in  to  the  English  Court. 


HIS  stone   was  originally  purchased  by 
the  City  of  London,  for  ^10,000,  and 
presented  to  Prince  William,  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  immediately  on  his  return 
from  Culloden  in  1746. 

The  preceding  year  had  been  characterised  by 
serious  disaffection  towards  the  throne  and  ministry. 
Anson  had  arrived  from  his  circumnavigation  of  the 
globe.      The  broad-bottomed  Ministry  consisted    of 
the  Pelhams,  aided  by  Lords  Harrington,  Gower,  and 
Lyttelton.     Lord  Orford  had  come  up  from  Houghton 
to  advise  the  king,  returned  to  Norfolk,  and  died.    This 
year  was  one  of  danger  to  England.     A  Ministry  dis- 
tracted by  internal   jealousies   and   dissensions ;  the 
old    Tories    raising    up    the    smouldering    spirit    of 
Jacobitism  ;  France,  Spain,  and   Italy,  in  its  famil)- 
compact,  joined  by  Holland  ;  Scotland  in  open  re- 
bellion ;   Prince  Charles  Edward  landing  ;   the  clans 
in  arms ;  Sir  John  Cope  vanquished  and  routed,  and 
"  Preston  Pans "   rousing  the  enthusiasm   of  English 
chivalry  to  its  zenith  ;  the  times  were  exciting  in  the 
extreme.     At  this  juncture,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland, 

U 


314      THE   GREAT   DIAMONDS   OF   THE   WORLD, 

a  strong  Whig,  upon  whose  support  he  verily  believed 
the  stability  of  the  throne,  in  the  line  of  Hanover, 
depended,  proceeded  to  the  North,  and  vigorously 
prosecuted  the  work  entrusted  to  him  of  driving 
Charles  Edward  out  of  the  realm,  and  striking  a  death 
blow  to  rebellion  in  Scotland.  No  short  campaign  was 
ever  more  passionately  popular  than  this,  which  ended 
in  the  battle  of  CuUoden.  The  "  Duke's  Head  "  was 
the  tavern  sign  on  every  English  country  tavern, 
and  the  common  garden  flower  known  as  the  Sweet 
William  was  appropriated  to  him. 

''  The  pride  of  France  is  lily  white, 
The  rose  in  June  is  Jacobite ; 
The  prickly  thistle  of  the  Scot 
Is  Northern  knighthood's  badge  and  lot; 
But  since  the  Duke's  victorious  blows, 
The  ///}',   thistle^   and  the  rose, 
All  droop  and  fade  and  die  away — 
Sweet  William  only  rules  the  day. 
No  plant  with  brighter  lustre  grows. 
Except  the  laurel  on  his  brows." 

Alas,  the  hero  of  Culloden  soon  fell  from  his 
popularity.  His  habits  had  became  gross,  and  his 
self-indulgence,  acting  on  his  weakened  constitution, 
made  him  ungainly  ;  whilst  the  enmity  and  jealously 
of  his  elder  brother,  who  envied  his  popularity  and 
feared  for  his  succession,  succeeded  in  blackening  his 
character.  Within  a  few  months  (1747),  the  Allied 
Army  under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  was  entirely 
defeated  at  the  battle  of  Lauffeld,  and,  whilst  this 
raised  the  spirit  of  France,  it  was  fatal  to  the  repu- 
tation of  our  warrior-prince.  The  attempt  to  sow 
dissension  between  the  two  royal  brothers,  greatly 
scandalized  the  middle  classes,  but  in  175  i  the  end 
of  the  jealously,  which,  the  mother,  Queen  Caroline, 


THE   CUMBERLAND.  315 

had  so  injudiciously  encouraged,  terminated   in  the 
death  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

What  really  became  of  the  "  Cumberland "  is 
not  known  for  certain  (though  it  is  understood  to 
have  been  restored  to  Hanover  by  Queen  Victoria, 
in  1866),  as  the  uncle  of  George  III.  was  very  un- 
happy in  all  his  domestic  and  social  relationships. 
After  the  death  of  his  brother,  he  sadly  belied  his 
mother's  hopes  and  prophecies.  It  was  during  the 
height  of  his  popularity  that  the  citizens  feasted 
and  feted  him,  and  the  "  precious  stone "  was  pre- 
sented to  him  as  the  fittest  exponent  of  a  city's 
"  gloss  of  fashion  and  its  mould  of  form." 


Lxvm. 

THE  BRAZILIAN. 

An  Unauthorized  Title— The  Rough  Diamond  mentioned  by 

Mawe. 


E  have  given  this  vague  title  to  a  stone  of 
which  our  knowledge  is  no  less  vague. 
All  that  seems  to  be  known  regarding 
it   is  conveyed   in    the  subjoined    brief 

notice  occurring   at  p.   46  of  Mawe's   often    quoted 

book  : — 

"  An  individual  lately  received  a  rough  diamond 

from   Brazil,  above  90  carats,  which,  when    formed 

into  a  brilliant,  weighed  nearly  32  carats  ;  it  cost  ^200 

in  workmanship." 


LXIX. 


THE   DRESDEN    WHITE. 


A  White  Stone  among  the  Dresden  Green— Set  in  a  Piece  of 
Jewelry. 


ESIDES  its  numerous  coloured  dia- 
monds, the  Dresden  collection  com- 
prises at  least  one  white  brilliant  of 
pure  water  over  30  carats  in  weight. 
It  is  the  most  conspicuous  gem  in  an  ornament  com- 
posed exclusively  of  stones  of  the  finest  water.  Its 
weight  is  given  by  Kluge  at  123  grains,  or  3o|  carats. 


LXX. 


THE   DRESDEN    YELLOW. 


One  of  Four  Famous  Yellow  Gems. 


N  the  Dresden  Green  Vaults  there  are 
altogether  four  "  Yellow  "  brilliants  of 
great  beauty.  Of  these  Kluge  says  the 
largest  weighs  117^  grains,  or  as  nearly 

as  possible  30  carats.     Hence  its  claim  to  a  place  in 

our  list. 


APPENDIX 


The  following  is  a  complefe  list  of  the  Great  Diamonds 
described  in  this  work,  together  tviih  their  7veights  in 
carats,  in  the  rough  and  after  being  cut. 


NAMES. 

WEIGHT  IN 

CARATS. 

! 

RouRh. 

Cut. 

Braganza  or  Abaite  ... 

1, 680            i 

Matan 

367 

Nizam 

340 

Great  Mogul 

279t% 

Stewart          ...         ...         ...      ' 

288|/^ 

Star  of  the  South      i 

254 

125 

Du  Toit  I 

244 

Great  Table 

242X^6 

Regent  of  Portugal  ... 

215 

The  Jagersfontein     ... 

209X 

Orlofif  or  Koh-i-Tar  ... 

193 

Koh-i-Nur      

193 

((r)   168 

1(2)     106 

Darya-i-Nur   ... 

186 

Ahmedabad  ... 

157^ 

Porter-Rhodes 

150 

Turkey  I. 

147 

Taj-e-Mah      

146 

Austrian  Yellow- 

139^ 

Pitt  or  Regent 

410 

137 

Mountain  of  Splendour 

1 

135 

Abbas  Mirza 

130 

Du  Toit  II 

124 

Moon  of  Mountains  ... 

120 

Patrocinho     ... 

I20|^ 

English  Dresden 

119^ 

76>^ 

320 


Appendix, 


NAMES. 


WEIGHT  IN  CARATS. 


Rough. 

Cut. 

Jehan-Ghir-Shah        

^         J% 

Tavernier  Blue 

112^ 

African  Yellow 

112 

Star  of  Diamonds     ... 

1071^ 

Rio  das  Velhas 

105 

Cent-Six        

106 

Bazu  ... 

104 

Raulconda 

103 

Hastings        «- 

lOI 

Star  of  Beaufort        

100 

Nassak 

/(0  89^ 

^      ^     X^*^^\J\m^^*-                                                                                   »••                                                                          ««■                                                                         •■■ 

(  (2)  78S/8 

Chapada 

87i 

Shah 

86 

Dudley 

83i 

46i 

Throne 

80  to  90 

Rough 

80 

Star  of  Sarawak 

70 

Russian  Table 

68 

Mascarenha  I.           

67>< 

French  Blue  ... 

112^ 

67i 

Sea  of  Glory  ... 

66 

Kollur            

63^ 

Pear 

543/< 

Great  Sancy  ... 

53>^ 

Tavernier  A,  B,  C 

{ 

51T6     32^ 
31^ 

La  Reine  des  Beiges 

50 

Eugenie 

51 

Pigott 

49 

Three  Tables 

48^to525^ 

Dresden  Green 

4^'A  -; 

Banian 

4S}4 

Antwerp         

mYz 

Appendix. 


321 


NAMES. 

WEIGHT  IN  CARATS. 

Hope  Blue 

Ferdinand 

Rough. 
42 

Cut. 

44^ 

Polar  Star 

40 

Pasha  of  Egypt 
Green  Brilliant 

40 
40 

Bantam 

36 

Hornby 

Holland         

36 

36 

Heart             

35 

Napoleon 
Little  Sancy  ... 
Cumberland  ... 

34 
34 
32 

Brazilian 

32 

Dresden  White 

30^ 

Dresden  Yellow 

30 

HowLFTT  &  Son,  OU  Style  Printers,  10,  Frith  Street,  Sobo  Square,  London, 


WOR  KS 

BY 


EDWIN    W.    STREETER. 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  ;  Author  of  "  Precious  Stones 

and  Gems ;"  Gold  Medallist  of  the  Royal  Order  of  Frederic ; 

Holder  of  a  Special  Gold  Medal  from  H.M.  the  King  of  the  Belgians. 


PRECIOUS  STONES   AND  GEMS.     Demy  8vo. 

Richly  Illustrated.  Cloth,  15/-  Third  Edition,  with  additional 
information,  and  a  new  chapter  on  Pearls.  An  exhaustive  and 
practical  work  for  the  merchant,  connoisseur,  or  the  private  buyer. 
Treats  upon  every  description  of  Precious  Stones ;  giving  their 
hiitory,  habitat,  value,  and  uses  for  ornament ;  together  with  much 
information  regarding  their  matrix  or  rough  state. 

CONDITION    OF   NATIONS.     By  G.  Fr.  Kolb. 

Social  and  Political ;  with  complete  Tables  of  Comparative  Statistics. 
Translated,  edited,  and  collated  to  1880.  With  Original  Notes  and 
Information  by  Edwin  W.  Streeter,  F.R.G.S. 

GOLD.     Legal    Regulations    for   the    Standard    of 

Gold  in  different  countries  of  the  world.  Coloured  Tables,  and 
Facsimiles  of  London  and  Birmingham  Hall  Marks.     Cloth,  2/- 

THE  GREAT  DIAMONDS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

Their  history  and  romance.  Collected  from  official,  private  and 
other  sources  during  many  years  of  correspondence  and  enquiry, 
The  MS.  of  the  "Koh-i-Nur"  graciously  read  and  approved  by 
Her  Majesty  the  Queen.  The  accounts  of  the  "  Pitt  "  and  the 
"Eugenie"  revised  by  Her  Majesty  the  Empress  Eugenie. 
Edited  and  annotated  by  Joseph  Hatton  and  A.  H.  Keane. 


George  Bell  &  Sons,  York  St.,  Covent  Garden. 


Demy  %vo.^  rtchly  illustrated,  cloth,  15/-. 

"PRECIOUS  STONES  AND  GEMS," 

By  EDWIN  W.  STREETER,  f.r.g.s. 

Now  Ready.     Third  Edition,  with  Additional  Information. 

London :— GEORGE  BELL  &  SONS,  York  St.,  Covent  Garden 


An  exhaustive  and  practical  work  for  the  merchant,  the  connoisseur,  or 
the  private  buyer.  Treats  upon  every  description  of  Preciouf  Stone:  giving 
their  history,  habitat,  value,  and  uses  for  ornament;  together  with  much 
information  regarding  their  matrix  or  rough  state. 


THE  STANDARD.—''  Mr.  Streeter  gives  an  accurate 
and  complete  description  of  every  kind  of  Precious 
Stone  and  Gem,  and  makes  his  book  still  more 
attractive  and  complete  by  a  series  of  coloured 
plates." 

THE  DAIL  V  TELEGRAPH—''  Considers  the  know- 
ledge and  experience  of  Mr.  Streeter  usefully  dis- 
played for  the  information  of  all." 

THE  DAILY  NEWS.~"¥evi  romances,  indeed,  can  be 
more  entertaining,  though  the  primary  object  of  the 
volume  is  strictly  of  a  practical  kind." 

THE  MORNING  POST.—"  Mr.  Streeter  prefaces  his 
handsome  volume  with  a  warning  to  his  readers 
that  it  is  not  intended  as  a  scientific  treatise,  but  a 
practical  work  on  the  nature,  properties,  and  value 
of  precious  stones.'' 

THE  DAILY  CHRONICLE.— ''Ur.  Streeter  brings 
his  wide  experience  to  bear  upon  the  subject  of 
Precious  Stones.  It  is  the  combination  of  practical 
ideas  with  an  artistic  appreciation  of  the  choicest 
gems  that  renders  the  work  interesting." 


Opinio7is  of  the  Press. 


THE  MORNING  ADVERTISER.— ''Thi^  volume 
may  be  taken  for  the  future  as  the  text  book  of 
lapidarian  lore." 

THE  FALL  MALL  C^^^Z^JT^.— "Contains  a  large 
amount  of  information  lucidly  stated.  Of  special 
significance  to  the  admirer  of  jewels.  At  once 
instructive  and  entertaining." 

THE  ST.  JAMESS  GAZETTE.— Th&xe  are  several 
chapters  in  Mr.  Streeter's  book  on  South  African, 
Australian,  Brazilian,  and  Indian  diamonds ;  and  as 
many  more  on  coloured,  the  geological  as  well  as 
the  geographical  regions  in  which  they  are  found 
being  clearly  stated." 

THE  SATURDAY  REVIEW.— ''The  valuable  part 
of  Mr.  Streeter's  book  is  that  which  relates  to  the 
diamond-producing  countries." 

THE    GRAPHIC.—'-'  As  a  manual  of  gems  ;  their  market 

price  and  characteristics Mr.  Streeter's 

book  claims  a  specialty  among  the  crowd  of  books 
about  Precious  Stones." 

THE  ILLUSTRATED  LONDON  NEWS.— "The 
antiquary  not  less  than  the  naturalist  will  find  a 
vast  amount  of  curious  anecdote  in  this  pleasant 
volume,  which  has  been  compiled  with  much 
diligent  research." 

THE  OBSER  VER.  —"  Mr.  Streeter  is  to  be  congratulated 
upon  having  made  his  history  and  characteristics 
of  gems  exceedingly  interesting,  but  upon  having 
provided  a  manual  of  the  greatest  practical  use." 

THE  QUEEN— "The  plan  of  this  new  book  is  so  com- 
prehensive that  it  includes  very  full  details  on  many 
topics.  The  notes  on  coloured  diamonds  are  very 
interesting." 

THE  ART  JOURNAL.—"  One  may  read  the  book  for 
pleasure,  and  certainly  for  knowledge." 


opinions  of  the  Press. 


THE  WORLD.—"'  Precious  Stones  and  Gems  "  is  written 
for  the  scientific  collector  of  jewels  and  contains 
many  valuable  hints." 

THE  TABLET. — "  Mr.  Streeter  has  met  with  great  and 
well-deserved  success  in  his  work.  It  is  the  outcome 
of  thirty-five  years'  experience,  and  it  is  evident  that 
the  author  has  spared  no  cost  or  pains." 

THE  ILLUSTRATED  SPORTING  ^  DRAMATIC 
JSfE  WS. — "  A  fascinating  book,  which,  from  end  to 
end,  affords  unremitting  pleasure." 

THE  COURT  76>£/i?iV^Z.— "The  plan  of  the  work  is 
to  give  under  the  heading  of  each  jewel  its  pecu- 
liarities and  characteristics." 

THE  EXAMINER.— ''Mr.  Streeter  has  handled  his 
subject  with  a  fulness  of  knowledge  which  makes 
his  book  interesting  to  all. 

PUBLIC  OPINION.— "  A  book  upon  a  special  subject 
by  an  acknowledged  master." 

THE  WHITEHALL  RE  VIE  W—"  Supplies  a  want 
which  has  long  been  felt.     Of  singular  originality." 

THE  BULLIONIST— ''!'-,  an  authority  of  deserved 
weight  and  competence." 

THE  CITY  /'i?^^6".—"  Details  the  history  and  distin- 
guishing characteristics  of  all  precious  stones  with 
which  people  are  familiar." 

THE  LEEDS  J/iii?CW?K—"  The  work  contains  in  a 
very  attractive  form,  nearly  all  that  is  known  on 
the  subject." 

THE  ^C6>JlSyJ/.^iV.—" Characterises  'Precious  Stones 
and  Gems'  as  an  attempt  to  popularise  information 
on  the  subject  of  which  it  treats." 

THE  UNITED  SERVICE  GAZETTE.— '' A\\ho\xg\\ 
the  author  does  not  claim  to  have  written  a  scientific 
treatise,  he  has  in  reality  done  so." 


Opinions  of  the  Presf. 


THE  NEWS  OF  THE  ^rO/?LZ).—"  Considers  it  one  of 
the  most  lucid  and  comprehensive  expositions  of  the 
subject." 

THE  SUNDAY  TIMES— ''  Advises  the  reader,  curious  in 
such  matters,  to  turn  to  a  volume  full  of  instruction 
and  entertainment." 

THE  ARMT  AND  NAVY  GAZETTE— ''Vi  would  be 
difficult  to  enumerate  the  mass  of  information." 

THE  GLASGOW  HERALD— ''Hsls  never  met  with  a 
book  so  satisfying  on  its  particular  topic." 

THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  —  "  Mr.  Streeter  has  just 
published  a  clever  book  on  '  Precious  Stones  and 
Gems.' " 

THE  SUNDERLAND  HERALD.—''  This  work  is  well 
calculated  to  create  increased  interest  in  the  subject." 

THE  LIVERPOOL  DALE  Y  POST.—''  It  is  the  work 
of  a  recognized  authority." 

THE  EDLNBURGH  COURANT.  —  "Ux.  Streeter's 
subject  loses  nothing  in  his  hands.  He  brings  to  his 
work  both  professional  knowledge  and  literary  ability." 

YORK    HERALD.  —  "  A   handsome   volume     .      .      . 
Useful  alike  in  the  library  and  drawing-room     .     . 
Full  of  practical  hints,  research,  and  historical  and 
descriptive  tales." 


THE 

"CONDITION   OF    NATIONS," 

By  G.   FR.  KOLB. 

Social  and  Political,  with  Complete  Tables  of 
Comparative  Statistics. 

Translated,  edited,  and  collated  to  1880.     With  Original  Notes  and 
Intormation  by  EDWIN  W.  STREETER,  f.r.g.s. 


THE  STANDARD.^''  .  .  .  This  book  might  be 
described,  from  one  point  of  view,  as  a  panorama  of 
the  internal  condition  of  all  the  peoples  of  the 
civilized  world,  and  from  another,  as  a  compendious 
and  discreet  decoction  of  the  most  important  Blue 
Books  of  all  the  countries  and  all  the  languages 
which  boast  a  literature  of  the  kind  ....  We 
have  before  us  some  950  closely  printed  pages,  with 
all  the  fulness  and  fidelity  that  facts  and  figures  can 
secure  ....  No  more  thorough,  comprehen- 
sive, or  serviceable  book  of  the  kind  has  ever  issued 
from  the  press." 

THE  ATHEN^UM.—''  ....  Deservedly  holds 
a  high  place  amongst  works  of  its  class.  ...  It 
is  a  veritable  treasury  of  statistical  knowledge,  and 
its  historical  retrospects  and  explanatory  notes  endow 
it  with  a  permanent  value." 

THE  DAILY  TELEGRAPH.—''  ....  Time 
would  fail  us  were  we  to  try  and  make  out  a  list  of 
the  different  departments  of  life  and  action  on  wliich 
these  statistics  cast  a  new  and  bright  light  .... 
There  are  mines  of  information  and  guidance  lying 
in  the  imposing  volume  before  us." 

THE  BAIL  V  NE IVS.—''  ...  For  this  great  work 
on  Universal  Statistics,  statesmen,  and  public  writers, 
and  indeed  every  student  of  political  affairs,  have 
good  reason  to  be  grateful     .     .     .     .     " 


Opijtions  of  the  Press. 


THE  ST.  JAMES'S  GAZETTE.—''  Its  pages  replete 
to  overflowing  of  facts  excellently  arranged, 
possesses  the  most  essential  qualities  of  a  book  of 
reference  in  an  eminent  degree  ;  it  is  abundant  and 
it  is  clear." 

THE  B  ULLrONIST.—''i:hQ  work  has  been  admirably 
rendered  ....  As  a  work  of  reference  it  will 
form  a  valuable  addition  to  any  library." 

THE  STATIST. — "The  work  is  carefully  done,  and  will 
be  found  both  interesting  and  useful  to  many." 

THE  ECONOMIST—''  ....  By  far  the  most 
comprehensive  volume  we  are  acquainted  with,  as  a 
general  statistical  description  of  the  condition,  both 
social  and  material,  of  every  important  nation  of  the 
world." 

THE  CITY  PRESS.— "  A  valuable  work   of  reference. 

.     .     .     Scarcely  a  subject  of  any  importance  can 

be  mentioned,  which  will  not  be  fouiid  to  have  been 

treated  at  full  length  in  this  astonishing  compilation." 

THE  FINANCIAL  OPINION.—"  No  more  thorough, 
comprehensive,  or  serviceable  book  has  ever  been 
issued." 

IHE  ECHO. — "  An  immense  variety  of  subjects  have 
been  passed  under  review  with  the  most  praiseworthy 
and  painstaking  industry,  and  most  commendable 
attention  to  the  simplest  details  of  a  great  and 
exhaustive  work  ....  The  book  is  a  chart  to 
guide  statesmen  on  their  way.     ..." 

THE   UNITED  SERVICE  GAZETTE.— "It  is  not  a 

mass  of  undigested  figures,  but  a  book  teeming  with 
wide  and  valuable  information.  There  is  much 
in  every  chapter  specially  interesting  to  military  and 
naval  men.'' 

THE  BRIGHTON  G^^Z^rri?.— "Reflects  great  credit 
on  all  concerned  in  its  production.  It  is  the  best 
work  on  Sociology  which  has  yet  issued  from  the 
Press." 


"GOLD," 

By  EDWIN  W.   STREETER, 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society ;  Gold  Medallist  of  the 

Royal  Order  of  Frederick ;  Holder  of  a  Gold  Medal  from 

H.M.  the  King  of  the  Belgians. 


Legal  Regulations  for  the  Standard  of  Gold  in  different  countries  of  the  world. 
Coloured  map,  plates,  and  tables,  cloth,  2/-. 


®|ji»tious   of  tlje   ^vq&^, 

THE  STANDARD.—^'Thh  book  contains  all  the  argu- 
ments which  can  be  urged  against  what  is  called  Govern- 
ment interference  in  determining  the  standard  of  gold." 

THE  MORNING  ADVERTISER.— ''In  this  volume 
Mr.  Streeter  has  given,  in  a  concise  form,  valuable 
information  about  Hall  Marks." 

THE  COURT  yOURNAL.—"  The  general  public  cannot 
be  supposed  to  understand  the  mysteries  of  carats 
and  hall  marks.  Mr.  Streeter's  proposal  that  all 
articles  containing  less  than  12  carat  gold,  or  one 
half  gold  and  one  half  common  metal,  should  be 
sold  as  metal,  is  decidedly  just.  Mr.  Streeter  goes 
still  further  and  insists  that  18  carat  gold  is  the 
proper  quality." 

THE  PALL  MALL  GAZETTE.—'' Mx.'S>\.xee\.exaxg\ie^ 
in  favour  of  a  warranty  of  the  precious  metals  when 
used  as  articles  of  commerce." 

THE  BULLIONIST—T\(\%  work  has  the  double  claim 
and  attention  due  to  the  circumstance  that  it  con- 
tains a  valuable  record  of  facts,  and  a  clear  argument 
infavour  of  a  standard  of  purity  for  the  precious  metals." 

THE  QUEEN.—"  It  is  useful  to  remember  that  the 
fashion  of  a  bracelet,  say  of  9  or  12  carat  gold,  costs 
as  much  as  the  fashion  of  one  of  18,  and  buyers 
are  gainers  by  the  purchase  of  a  better  article." 

THE  MORNING  POST—"  Treats  of  the  legal  regula- 
tions of  the  precious  metals  in  different  countries  of 
the  world. 

PUBLIC  OPINION. — "An  important  treatise,  though  more 
especially  suitable  for  the  statesman  and  jeweller." 

X 


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