The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-01

monds, and had an exceedingly valuable
collection, which he always took with him
when campaigning ana, ike Suvaroff, en-
loyed watching the flashes they gave forth
from the light of a camp fire. He would
better have left them at home, however,
when he started to conquer the Swiss, for
az Grandson he sustained terrible de-
Ieat, and barely escaped with his life,
IeaVlng all his jewels behind. His camp
was sacked by the Swiss and the gold
box containing the Sancy was captured
by a soldier, who looked inside. and find
ing what ne supposed to be a piece of
giasS, threw 1t away and put the box in
MS knapsack, Several days after some
one told him that the glass was probably
valuable, and he returned, and had the
good fortune to find it, took IL home, and
sold ii to priest for a form. 1t changed
hands dozen times after that, each hold
er realizing a fortune on It, and was final
ly purchased by Henry ". Desiring to
employ body of Swiss mercenaries, he
sent the gem to Switzerland by a trusted
envoy as security for their pay. On the
road the man was wayla.d and captured
by robbers. but before he was searched
ne managed to swallow the gem Finding
nothing of value on his person, the en-
ragged robbers shot him, and left his body
lying IN the road. When Henry learned
of the fate of his servant, the idea oc-
Cured to him that the man might have
conceaed the gem, the body was disin-
TERED and opened and the Sancy recover
cd. IL was sent on TO Switzerland was
never redeemed by the French govern
ment, was pledged 10 banker at Metz
as security for a loan, and at that point
IL disappeared from history.
Like most men whose rise to power
seems the work of destiny rather than of
human courage, or foresight, Napoleon
was superstitious. and among his numer-
GUS private beliefs was a devout trust in
diamond talisman. The gem was one of
unusual SIZE and splendor, weighing %
carats, or the shape Of an almond. and cut
in the Oriental style, with a great number
OF small facets following the natural shape
of the stone. One side however had been
ma Ia
pidary of the Orient had engraved certain
caballstic characters that no scholar could
interpret, nor even ascertain the language
OF Wnich they Were a part. Napoleon OBJ
tanned the gem in Egypt, but how or from
whom he would never divulge. He fire.
quenty alluded during the height of his
power to his talisman, but only those most
intimately associated with him knew what
1t was, nor did they make their knowledge
public until after his fall He wore the gem
IN golden setting so as to show both
sides OF the stone; chain passed round
his neck, and the amulet was carried sus-
pended in a morocco leather case, next to
his bosom. He never took It off, even in the
bath. though he was very careful to guard
1t from the water and once or twice year
he cleaned IL with his own hands and put
II i'm new case. From Egypt to Waterloo
he wore tho precious amulet, but on the
night OF that fatefu day the gem, case,
and chain were gone. How the loss occurr-
III was never a Scprtained. NO COO rch Nc G
made for the stone, which has never been
seen since, and it probably now lies in the
of some road between Waterloo and Paris
Napoleon evidently believed that his good
fortune went with his talisman, and never
alluded to il again.
One of the most mysterious things about
diamonds is the ease with which they can
disappear. Two centuries ago TaVernier,
made his way to the east, where he in
gratiated himself in the favor of most of
the princes and potentates of India. A
connoisseur in diamonds, he managed to
nhTEOnal
of the precious stones then in the treas
uries of rich monarchs. He brought back
accounts of no less than seven diamonds
of great sizes none less than 200 carats,
all of which he weighed and described with
an accuracy that gave evidence of the
truth of his statements. Not one of these
diamonds has ever been seen since. Of
course, it is easy to say that TaVernier
was romancing, and that the hugs gems
existed only in his imagination but in the
case of two or three Tavernier's descrip-
tions are sustained by the testimony Of
other experts, while indian historians are
equally explicit concerning one or two of
Mogul," the largest of all known dia-
monds, there Is abundance of testimony
as to size and weight, in addition to the
statements of Tavernier. 1t was Col
conda gem, and weighed 7S7 carats in the
rough, though much reduced by cutting.
1t was the property of Vizier Mirgmola,
vassal of the King of Golconda, who de-
! termined to have him assassinated in or
der to obtain the gem. But Mirgimola es-
| that time the Great Mogul, who speedily
| learned of the diamond, and intimated
that it would be delicate and acceptable
present. Mirgimola took the hint the
| shah got the gem, and, while it was in the
| treasury of Arungzebe, his successor, Tav-
ernier, examined and weighed 1t. 1t has
never been mentioned as seen by any one
since, and whether it was hidden before
| Nadir Shad captured Delhi or whether it
was part of the spoils is unknown. 1t
| may have been divided into number of
| smaller gems or it may be now concealed
| in some fortress in India, Persia, or Arabia
as was the crown of Chasroes for LOCO
| years, to reappear at some future time
when it is safe for the owner to display
| his wealth.
That valuable gems should disappear
| in the far East is not remarkable par
| tcularly when we remember that almost
| in our own time a large collection van
| ished, most of them never being recov-
manded a list to be made of the crown
| jewels, and there were found 9,5H dia-
monds, with an immense number of other
gems, the whole being valued by a mod
| crate estimate at over 100000 francs
! The collection was placed in a special
| building, which was closed 10 the pub
lie. The doors We're locked. barred, and
| sealed, and a guard was set, but on the
| night of Sept l6, 1892, the whole collection
| was mysteriosly stolen by persons who
| had evaded the sentinels and broken open
I the doors. Everybody was aStounded at
! the holiness of the robbery, and the en-
| tire detective and police force of France,
| stimulated by the offer of large rewards,
made diligent search for months, but
not a trace of the thieves of their Booty
was discovered for years Long after
4 ward an anonymous letter gave word
| where a portion of the spoil was hidden,
and, upon search. the Regent diamond
/ and one or two other precious objects
were found in the spot indicated. Twelve
| years after this incident soldier of the
| empire, arraigned for robbery declared
| that he had given the Information which
| led to the discovery of the Regent and
| claimed the credit of Napoleons early
successes, the first consul having pawn
| ed the jewel to the Dutch bankers to OBJ
| tain funds to carry out his schemes. Dur
| ing the empire several magnificent gems.
of which the holders either could not or
would not give a satisfactory account
were offered for sale in various Euro
pean courts but none of them could be
certainly identified with the missing
stones. Among those which disappeared
was a famous blue diamond Weighing
sixty-sevens carats, which has never been
recovered. The suspicion was entertained
that this and the Hope diamond are the
same, and as the latter weighs forty-four
carats it is surmised that the loss was
occasioned by recruiting to prevent iden-
tifcation The thieves who carried off
the French regalia have never been dis