The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-09-14

Il Mistake.
When the Queen is at Windsor visitors
are permitted to visit certain portions Of
buckingham Palace, but Marlborough
House, the home of the Prince of Wales,
is never opened to the public, and Dotn
places are so carefully guarded that one IS
not often paid for lettering about. one
young and venturesome American from
Connecticut was standing in front OF
buckingham Palace on the evening OF
the recent state concert. He walked 10
within a few yards of the palace gate, ana
there met a sinewy young fellow WIN
bright eyes, broad shoulders, and a Keen
air, who was swinging along lelsureiy,
cane in hand. His cutaway coat was
thrown open, his shoes were dust covered
and he had the general appearance OF a
healthy man who had walked a dozen
miles. ~IgHTfTE
Queen lives here9" said the American,
a. the pedestrian slowed up. ttklH
Yes" was the reply.
By this time the pair had reached the
gate. The relocated tootguard salute9
the tall young man as he opened the small
gate. Fr
Coin ing" said the American.
Eyes" was the reply, and the YANKEES
kept pace with him until n OF N sue
doors of the palace was reached.
Know anybody hereS"
Yes" .e}-re
Who'd you know"
"The queen"
80, ratsl s'posenext you'll tell me she's
your mother?n
She's my grandmother, and am
Prince George of Walesl"
Here half a dozen fiunkies appeared,
and after much bowling and spine curvlng
the tall young man was ushered IN ana
the Yankee was informed that only nolu7
ers of tickets to the State concert were
admitted to the palace that night.
"Come4 on the next visiting day., sala
the prince, and turning to Il OF the
dunkies he said:-'Be sure and give
gentleman every facility when he calls
again. The Americans are curious IL
more ways than one.n
1t transpired later that the soldiers at
the gate supposed that the American was
n of the Princes companions, ana SO
allowed him to pass, and the American
tells the story as d good joke on himself.
How to Test Diamonds.
The method employed for determining
the genuineness of diamonds at the Bra
lillian mines is to rub them with black
mastic, which will adhere if the gem Is
real. Or it may be rubbed against an
other diamond, it's purity being judged
by the resulting sound. The Dest OF al
tests, though, is that of refract1on. Cn-
like all other crystals, the diamond mas
not a double refracting power, which
means that objects looked at through It
do not appear as If multiplied by two. Ii
you have a diamond of which you are
doubtful look at a pin through 1t. Ii you
see two pins the ton is false.
Diamonds do not fiuctuate much in
value, l presumefn suggested the Star re-
porter.
"No," responded the dealer: But they
steadily advance in price. The demand
for them seems continually to grow and
the cost of digging for the gems increases
with the depth of the excavations in the
Misunderstanding blue clay of South
Africa and Brazil. Nothing short of the
discovery of new and prolific fields could
bring them down in the market. The
African diamond mines were found by
some children of a poor Boer family, who
brought to their mother one evening a
dozen shining pebbles they had picked
up, which were afterwards sold by the
good woman for an average of $4,000
apiece, In Brazil the mines are largely
worked, if not wholly, by slaves, and /
have heard that If d man finds q really
valuable gem he is often given his free
dom as a reward. The biggest and purest
diamond in the world was foundi in South
Africa in 1884, and weighed originally 400
carats. 1t was reduced by the process of
cutting to 100 carats, Il fragment chip
ped off being bought by the King of
Portugal for $40, 600. The Rajah of Mat
tan's famous diamond, until recently the
largest known in the world, weighed 367
carats, and the Mogul gem 279 earats,
in their rough state, s that the n
from the Cape easily holds first place. q
Washington Star.