The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1875-10-14
THE GUIKWAR'S GEMS" 1.-THE STAR
OF THE SOUTH"


find ourselves on an extremely narrow
veranda, which encircles small square
well which occupied the center of the
palace from top to bottom. Above we
natives looking over the ratings. Be-
meath are q number of Arabs and other
soldiers, keeping watch over several
things, among them sacred flag which
is hung across the well on occasions of
high festival. On the opposite side are
number of closed sanctioned windows
which guard the jewel-room or jemdark-
hama. Moving to the right there are
rooms which look like dungeons and are
guarded by sentinels. At the end of the
veranda we enter little close-smelling
room, which would be dark were it not
for the light of some wicks thrown in
a salver of ola light which, we are
so that it to some extent resembles the
holy fire of the Parsees. Here, in q
corner on the left, is a door-the outer
entrance to the jewel-room. After some
delay an elderly Mahratta makes his ap-
pearance and opens the lock, and we
enter o room which is as black as night
aud awful stale smelling. One of the
grated windows facing the well is thrown
open and by the little light thus obtain
ed we perceive number of shelves,
which are loaded with State archives.
Another ponderous black door being
unbarred, we enter q dark room-the
jewel-room. While a window is being
opened We prepare to be surprised with
the flash of thousand jewels, but are
rather disappointed to find only num-
Der of iron clamped chests or drawers
ranged round the room. But these
drawers contain the State jewelry, worth
93,O0O,GO0 sterling, report says; and
on the custodian pulling out one of the
deep drawers in central chest and pro-
ducing enormous morocco-covered cases,
which are opened tenderly, we have no
need 20 be longer disappointed, for a
novel description meets our eyes. Here
in one case lies displayed breast-piece
composed of chains of diamonds, num-
bering seventy-nine in all. All the dia-
monds are beautiful, but there are three
in the pendant of ten, which are con-
spicuously SO, while one at least deserves
to be called magnificent. This particu-
lar one occupies the center of the pen
dant, and is, I believe, known as the
Star of the South. It is nearly as large
as a rupee, and its brilliance would, if
you were inclined to be more poetical
than covetous, remind you of nothing so
much as a mass of Indian sunlight,
gathered from the haunts the sun beats
upon with greatest intensity, and COM
pressed into the sparkling block before
us. This diamond cost Khunderao ESQ.,
900, and, like all great diamonds, has a
history, though not such an interesting
one, perhaps, as the Sancy diamond,
which, you will remember, was found
in the body of servant of Baron de
Sancy, who had been deputed to carry
it, as a present, to the King of France,
but, being attacked by robbers on the
way, swallowed it in order to battle their
attempts to find it. According to Harry
Emmanuel, one of our standard author
tiles on the history of great diamonds,
| the Star of the South was found in 1853
at Bogagem, in the Province of Minas
| Geraes, by a negro. When rough ii
weighed 254a carats, but since the cut
ting it weighs only 125 carats. It is OF
an oval form, and was cut by-and was,
before it found its way to India and
tempted the Guikwar, the property Of
Mr.. Coster, of Amsterdam. It is not
perfectly white and pure but, never,
| theless, it is reckoned one of the finest
large diamonds in the world. The large
oblong diamond fixed above the Star is
fiat, and possesses nothing like the pur.
ity and brilliancy of its great rival. II
cost 100000. The whole breast-piece
of diamonds cost over half a million
sterling, and is one of the most beauti-
| full necklaces of that description extant.
| When we have finished admiring the
Star of the South and its seventy eight
multiradiant companions we are shown
a necklace composed of a number oil
chains of pearls, each of remarkable size
and purity. This necklace is valued al
950.0O0. have been told that pearls
do not retain theirbeauty for more thar
fifty years and could not help think
ing it pity that fate would not permit
such thing of beauty as this necklace
to remain joy forever. Drawer after
drawer is opened and case after case OF
| jewels displayed, until the miserable
dungeon seems to begin to look radiant
Rings, with stones in them large enough
to stretch across three of your fingers
necklaces of diamonds, mostly fiat and
dulllooking, with pearl-shaped emerald
drops; nose rings of pearls and emeralds
earrings of wheels of diamonds and
chains of gold; these and similar curl
osities are displayed in succession before
our delighted eyes until we are stated
with sights, and leave the old Mahsatta,
who has watched the goings out and
comings in of the jewels for twenty OF
thirty years, to put the cases back into
the drawers, and bar and double bar the
| doors and windows of fha DIM