The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-10-24
A wOMAN'S PARADISE.
The Jewel Department Of the
Paris ExpositiOn-Two Great
Diamonds.

paris Letter to the Boston JouTnal.)
Ladies find it worth their while TO
spend hours in the section where the
jewellers display their treasures. l
went there with NJ. Castellani the
other day, and, as he pointed out
wonder after wonder, |, too, began to
feel some interest in the emeralds, the
sapphires, the diamonds, and the anti
que gems displayed. although it does
seem a burning shame to lock up all
this money in such compact form. /
held N my band yesterday two dia-
mond ear pendants which belong to
the collection of the ex-Queen Of Spain,
sold the other day. These two mighty
diamonds, which drew to them floods
of light and drank it greedily, were
purchased by a rich Prince who lives
here. for a quarter OF q million francs.
What Unreasonable good Queen Isa~
bella might have done with that money
at intervals during her reign! What
hospitals she might have founded !;
what naked Spanish beggars might
she have clothed ! What masses might
she have caused to have been said for
-. But all this is useless theorizing.
The diamonds will aggravate the rivals
Of some other great lady for many and
many a year to come They were but
a drop in the ocean of wealth which l
saw all around me. Here European
luxury showed to what extent its de-
mands can go. Collars of pearls, tiaras
of diamonds, emeralds and rubies were
strewn about in reckless p%rOfusion.
Policemen strolled carelessly about,
but were generally in the immediate
vicinity of any case which an exhibitor
was opening for the purpose OF show
ing goods. There will be two grand
prizes" given to the French jewellers.
In bracelets Of enameled gold there is
such wonderful variety as have never
seen before. There is also q mass of
small caskets, bonbOnniers, etc, each
of which is worth a fortune. The
emeralds attracted C~astellani's prac-
ticed eye, and while he was pointing
out their special beauties he told u
story to illustrate the great difficulty
nowadays experienced by jewelers. in
distinguishing between true and false.
1t appears that at ~ time in the reign
of Napoleon III, he was severely
pressed for money, and so it was deter
mined that the emeralds, each one
worth a fortune, in one Of Eugenle's
necklaces should be sold, and false
ones should be put in their places. The
imperial treasury was charged with
this delicate task and succeeded in do
ing it. After Eugenie's fall from
power, an English jeweler purchased
the necklace which the dethroned En-
press had left behind her, and had it
not been for his curiosity to discover
how much the emeralds were worth
"a curiosity which led him to unset
one and test 1.-THE would never have
known hat the tones were false.
When he found that they were not
genuine he demanded an explanation,
and the whole matter came out.
Emeralds abound in the display Of
crown jewels in the main corridor Of
the Champs de Mars palace on the
side next to the Seine. Within the
railing around the priceless collection
sits a sharp-faced man, who is proba-
bly, one Of the sharpest detectives in
France; and inside a second railing
stand four policemen. There is no
danger hat any one will have a chance
to put his or her hand thorough the
glass and grasp a handful Of Kohl
noors. The police are too quick for
that. Even the wandering pickpocket
has no chance. Just as he fancies him
self safe he is touched on the shoulder
by some quiet faced man, who invites
him to accompany him to a neighbor-
ing station" Sometimes, when the
pickpocket has done nothing beside
wander i%nnocently about, he is arres-
ted, and, when discharged, is informed
that he must leave the country at
once.