The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-29 00:00:00

TATTERSALLS'.—LAsT NIGHT.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STAKES.
100 to 30 agst Lord Zetland (taken)
sto 1 agat Gardener (taken and offered)
10 to 1 agst Costa (taken)
11 to 1 agat Fairwater (taken)
100 to 8 agst Wingrave (taken and offered)
20 to 1 agst Gibraltar (taken)
20 to 1 agat Dollar (taken)
20 to 1 agst Blondin (offered)
25 to 1 agst Touch-and-Go (taken and offered)
25 to 1 agat Alabama (taken and offered)
50 to 1 agst Lapidist (taken)
EARL SPENCER'S PLATE.
4 to 1 agst Soapstone (taken)
Sto 1 agst Lady Clifden (taken)
CITY AND SUBURBAN.
100 to 6 agst Voluptaa (taken)
16 to 1 agst Liston (taken)
25 to 1 agat Mail Train (taken)

TILE DERBY.
Bto 1 agst Scottish Chief (taken)
100 to 6 agst Forager (taken)
1000 to 35 agst First Flight (taken)
1000 to 35 agst Ely (taken)
33 to 1 agst Birch Broom (taken)
40 to I agst General Peel (taken)
50 to 1 agst Baragah (taken)
b 0 to 1 agst Jack Frost (taken)
1000 to 15 agst Balornock
1000 to 15 agst Jupon

THE SHAH'S JEWELS.—In such a show of gems
as seemed to realise the wonders of Aladdin's lamp, the
eye was too much dazzled and the memory too con-
tused for description to be possible. But I remember
that at the back of all was the Kaianian crown, and on
either side of it two Persian lambskin caps adorned with
splendid aigrettes of diamonds. The clown itself was
shaped like a flower-pot, with the small end open, and
the other closed. On the top of the crown was an uncut
ruby, apparently without flaw, as big as a hen's egg. In
front of the crown were dresses covered with diamonds and
pearls, trays with necklaces of pearls, rubies and emeralds,
and some hundreds of diamond, ruby, and torquoise rings.
In front of these again were gauntlets and belts covered
with pearls and diamonds, and conspicuous among them
the Kaianian belt, about a foot deep, weighing perhaps 18lb.,
and one complete mass of pearls, diamonds, emeralds, and
rubies. Still nearer to us stood a drinking bowel completely
studded with enormous jewels, a tray full of foreign orders
set in brilliants, and in front of all lay a dozen swords, one
or two of which are worth a quarter of a million each.
Along with these were epaulettes covered with diamonds,
and armlets so contrived that the brilliants revolved and
kept up a continual shimmer. It was difficult among so
many to single out particular gems. Perhaps, however,
the first place ought to be assigned to the fatuous Darya i
Nur, or " Sea of Light," the sister diamond to our Punjab
trophy, the Kuh i Nor, or " Mountain of Light." It is an
inch and a half long, an' inch broad, and 3-Bths of an inch
thick. Ithas the name of Fath Ali Shah on one side, and the
inscribing this name reduced the value of the diamond, so
at least saya Yahya Khan, "deux millions—mais deux mil-
lions de quoi—de piastres, de francs—qua sail-je?" I was
not prodigiously impressed with this jewel. It is a mon-
strous diamond, but not very brilliant. I could pardon a
rustic who should mistake it for glass. Nevertheless it has
a wondrous history. The Persians say—and, to copy the
Jowettian expression, I partly agree with them—that the
Sea of Light and the Mountain of Light were jewels in the
sword of Afrasiab, who lived 3,000 years B.C. Eastern took
them from Afrasiab, and they continued in the crown of
Persia till they were carried away by Timur, from whom
they descended to Muhammad Shah, King of Delhi, and
Nadir brought them from India ; but when ho was slain,
Ahmed Shah Abdalli carried off the Kuh i Nur, which de-
scended to Shah Shuja, and was taken from him by Ran-
jit Singh. The Darya i Nur remained in Persia with the
greater part of the other gems that Nadir brought from
India.—Eastwick's Journal in Persia.

BLAKE, TIIE ARTIST, AND Tom PAINE.—In 1792
the artist proved, as he was wont to relate, the
means of saving Paine from the vindictive clutches of ex-
asperated " friends of order." Early in that year Paine
had published his second part of " The Rights of Man."
inrai meeting
A few months later, county and corporation addresses
against "seditious publications" were got up. The Go-
vernment (Pitt's) answered the agreed signal by issuing a
proclamation condemnatory of such publications, and
commenced an action for libel against the author of " The
Rights of Man," which was to come off in September; ,all
this helping the book itself into immense circulation.
The "Friends of Liberty" held their meetings too, in
which strong language was used. In September, a French
deputation announced to Paine that the Department of
Calais had elected him member of the National Conven-
tion. Already as an acknowledged cosmopolitan and
friend of man, he had been declared a citizen of
France by the deceased Assembly. One day in this
same month, Paine was giving at Johnson's an idea
of the inflammatory eloquence he had poured forth at a
public
liight. Blake, who was pre-
sent,of his report that those
e niy
power,si le ll
lny vinferred
eager the
t o pio
lay u
frroemrthse tenor
hold of noxious persons, would
c
not let slip such an opportunity. On Paine's
rising to leave, Blake laid his hands on the orator's shoulder,
saying, "You must not go home,
or you are a dead man 1"
and hurried him off on his way to France, whither he was
now, in any case bound, to take his seat as French legisla-
tor. By the time Paine was at Dover, the officers were in
his house, or, as his biographer Mr. Cheetham designates
it, his " lurking hole in the purlieus of London ;" and some
20 minutes after the Custom House officials at Dover had
turned his slender baggage with, as he thought, extra
malice, and he had set sail for Calais, an order was received
from the Home-office to detain him. :England never saw

Tom Paine again, New perils awaited him : reign of terror
and near view of the guillotine—an accidentally open door
and a chalk mark on the wrong side of it proving his salva-
tion. But ano less serious one had been narrowly escaped
from the English Tories. Those were hanging days!
Blake, on this occasion, showed greater sagacity than
Paine, whom, indeed, Fuseli affirmed to be more ignorant
of the common affairs of life than himself even. Spite of
unworldliness and visionary faculty, Blake never wanted
for prudence and sagacity in ordinary matters.-64/chrot a
Life of William Blake.
ROYAL ACADEMY OF MIISIC.—We are informed
that the lessee of Her Majesty's Theatre generously
intends (in the course of the present season) placing his
theatre and the services of all his artists at the disposal of
the directors of the Royal Academy of Music, for the pur-
pose of a grand performance in aid of the funds of that most
meritorious national institution; on which occasion Mr.
Mapleson purposes to introduce to the public any of the
pupils, vocal or instrumental, that the professors of the
Royal Academy of Music may deem sufficiently advanced
in their studies. We have reasons far believing that Mr.
Mapleson's kind interest in the professional welfare of the
pupils of this establishment will by no means be limited to
this special occasion.