Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-07
history. IL stu contains three large and two
small diamonds in the hit. but two Others 81
medium si,e were ssclen and never recovered

soiaErAn FROM OLD RIcxoRY-
Nobody would be apt TO think THAI Old Hick-
DRY jackson allowed ''clautc - 90 GO 70 the dem
milton bcv-woSs in Che matter % foreign gifts.
and very probably the oao present he did ac-
cept from abroad would not be considered
violation, because in dollars and cents the value
IL practically nil Nevertheless the odd-look-
ing scimetar. with it's most peculiar wooden
handle. came TO the White House from the Sui
tan OF Turkey and never reached the museum
until about six weeks ago. ahen the scinletar.
with quite collection Of Jackson relics, vas
deposited by Mrs. Mary Donelson Wilcox a
descendant Of the hero Of New Orleans. The
gift Of the Sultan OF Turkey to ''Oid Hickory"
bears the tradition OF having belonged to Ma
homeS The Turkish ruler gave IL as a sign Of
Moslem friendship for Uncle sam. according TO
the address OF presentation BY the Turkish en-
yoy who brought it. This relic was left in
Jackson's will 20 Andrew Jackson Donelson,
great nephew Of the general. and makes one CT
dozen other interesting articles in that ease.
TIE uniform coat worn BY jackson ~ New
orleans battlefield and his pistol ease with con-
tents have long been part OF the museum
attractions. and the late additions are: por-
trait painted while "old Hickory" still wore
his fighting military insignia \ silk purse used
when attending horse races fine hand painted
ivory miniatures of the general nnd Mrs. Jack
son, an Appendix 10 blackstone used while
Jackson was studying law at Salisbury and a
peculiar heavy wooden cane elaborated with
l silver leaves like fish fms Besides these are
set Of lewelry md n tortoiae-shel. comb belong
ing to Mrs. Jackson and large veil presented
/ by ladies Of Cincinnati. who requested the
Presidents wife 10 wear IL on the occa-
sion Of her husbands Inauguration. She
Z died. however. before that day arrived. The
notification PROCLAMATION printed on satin
ana presented to jackson by Hartford friends,
completes the list.
! THE SYRIAN sARCoPHAGUs.
"O,d Hickory was the hero OF another gift
after he retired from Office. but this he de-
/ ciined most emrhaticnlly. although il was
offered by Commodore Elliott The article t.
l still known as the "svrian sarcophaeas." and
/ rests on the north SIDE OF the museum. where
it was placed after being removed from the
| patent Office. The ssrcopbsgus came from ele-
! waited grounds in the rear Of Beirut, SYRIA and
was embarked on the United statos frigate
Constitution, flagship Of the Mediterranean
! squadron. In 1899 Who the occupant was Is
only matter Of conjecture, though Il has been
I supposed TO have been the last resting place of
/ a Roman emperor. When Commodore Elliott
offered il 10 Gen. Jackson for the final deposit
of his remains "old Hickory" replied with
characteristics simplicity that an Americans
| bones could not rest IN a receptacle prepared
for kings and emperors, and the prevailing
method Of burial was all he asked.
set OF gold-mouuted knives of Arab manu-
\ facture and equally handsome sword we're
| the gifts from the Sultan OF Zanzibar TO Com
modore Shufeldt, but the Imaum of Muscat
| furnished more trouble with his donations to
Van Buren and the government generally than
1 any other ruler on record and for nearly four
| years his persstency in sending different ships
with offerings made life a burden 10 Thomas "
| Carr. then United States consul at Tangier.
Van Buren, finally laid the matter before
| Congress and after selling the horses the
remainder OF the cargo was ordered placed in
| the custody of the national institute. Such
| disposition was made and the altar Of roses
box of pearls ana jeweled sword helped to
swell the thieves prize when the patent Office
| was robbed. eight years later.
The gold ihgot from the melted swords about
| 100 diamonds taken from the Van Barren scab-
bard, the altar of roses and pearls were sealed
in box after being reclaimed from the thieves.
/ and in 1919 deposited for safe keeping in the
treasury vaults. Like all things of the kind
tradition had invested this part of the gift with
enormous valge by the middle of Ileveland's
/ administration, when Prof. Baird requested
the removal Of the box TO It's proper depository
! in the National Museum. This transfer took
place February %. 1887. and then the Smith
! sonian people had n laugh at the treasury oil
| GERS expense. They had expected to find
box with diamonds as big as the 0rloff aud
hohinoor. Instead they found one small bottle
| of altar of roses, the small diamonds and gold
ingot mentioned and 10 pearls. The last
| named contain among their number two large
pear-shaped jewels of a really valuable nature,
| although much OF the rich laster has been lost
with age. The remaining las are considerably
4 impaired in worth from the fact that they were
punctured for striaging before presentation,
and while the diamonds are of a pure quality
and beautifully cut none own TO a karat in
| weight and the whole collection of Jewels sent
| by the imaum will not top 5000 in cash
| There were other articles in the gift. though
worth four times that am,unt. and the Persian
rings furnished their quota toward the total
VALUABLE RUG.
What has become OF many Of these is another
mystery which The patent Office fire in 1877 is
responsible for. At the same time the best
| specimen is still in existence. and the mag
nificent rug eighty feet in length. is one Of the
| woven curiosities on the museum catalogue
| Its value far back as the time of its receipt
! ing IS really more an elegant carpet than rug.
| and there can be few, if any. like 1t now known
From its antiqueness alone three times the orici-
nal valuation would be a cheap figure for the
treasure as marketable commodity. while the
Muscatine cashmere shawls have declined in
value. The six in the collection were each ND
praised at 5000 fifty wears ago. in spite of their
| ugly pattern. But moths played havoc with
that part OF the invoice up in the patent Office
and now the shaw,s are purely relics.
A long list of Japanese fancy articles in the
shape Of miniature temples, screens vases aud
china and earthen ware went into the museum
when Commodore NJ. c. Perry returned from
the expedition TO Japan. The tycoon sent a
celestial saddle. costly silks and dozens of
other articles 10 President Pierce, and portion
Of these are catalogued, but dozens of others
are not. because trace of them was lost at the
White House, although few relics went 70 the
State Department when the Japanese embassy
WAS welcomed by Buchanan and deposited the
treaty Perry negotiated. A sword pre-
| sented to the commodore by the tycoon il still
| in the State Department. together with a num-
| Der of other gifts properly belonging at the
museum, but so far the transfer has not been
made, in spite Of the fact that the act OF Con-
| gress making the museum the legal repository
| in this line requires such action.
The highly valuable Grant relics and in
| Vulnerable other gifts from foreign govern
| ments to United States citizens on exhibition
at the museum were made 70 the recipients
| after retiring from Office TO private life. and
| the Constitutions bar. therefore. did not oper-
ate against tie acceptance. The medals and
decorations presented by Napoleon iii, the
Gar or Russia and the Emperor of Austria TO
| the venerable inventor of the lfeboat Joseph
Francis, are OF this order. but the recipient,
nevertheless, in turn presented them TO the
government President Cleveland received an
offering from the beathen Queen of Madagascar
in 1886. but the highly colored silk table covers
were at once sent from the executives possess
sion to the legal receptacle required BY the
Constitution. Practically this completes the
of.Hx all. L. a.. - -