The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-22
'R0YlLfYs]a PlNNSH0PsI
Prodigal Ndsasehs Vic: Placed
Their Jssnslry in Pledge.
Henry VI Nat.sious for Never Res
deeming Ws svalunbles-A Geld
Image Of thet Virgin Mary Once
Held for Ranson-The Financial
Transactions OF Henrietta Maria

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Transactions OF Henrietta Maris
OF all inanimate objects which hav
stirred to the depths the various emotions
of mankind gems and jewels take an cas-,
first place; probably also their delusiv'
sparkle has proved greater incentive Il
crime than anything else has ever dane
while In the love affairs Of the world the,
have always played very conspicuous
part. That this role has not always beer
an honorable one Is. unfortunately, tot
well proved when one remembers the
countless tragedies and stories which sur.
round almost every famous Jewel in ex-
! istence. History tells US how kings and
particularly queens-have forgh
and schemed to obtain possession Of them
indeed. from the world-renowned pearls Of
Cleopatra down to the famous ''Cumber-
land jewels Of Queen Victoria, queens
gems have always been among her most in
teresting and romantic possessions. Many
of poor Mary Queen Of Scots troubles
arose from the fact Of her owning the most
magnificent parure OF pearls in the world.
and the extraordinary conduct OF her royal
kinswomen, Catherine Medici Of France
and Queen Elizabeth Of England. In their
frantic attempts to obtain thege gems the
while their Inflated cousin lay in prison
affords entertaining IL scarcely edifying
reading. Yet another famous queen who's
jewels proved her undoing, or at least
prejudiced her people against her, was the
beautiful! Marie Antoinette OF France, who
certainly paid dearly enough for the dia-
inond collar she was destined never to
wear.
Although 1t must be confessed that the
fair sex seem to have fallen more under
the fascination Of precious stones than
their lords and masters, yet enc thing
must be said for them--when they came
into possession OF their Jewels they gen.
orally kept them, while 1t was left for the
,Ilustrous members of the male sex to show
Cow to raise money on the glittering bau-
blts.
With the exception OF poor devoted Hen
rietta Maria. who went to Holland and
nawned her private jewels to obtain money
70 enable her much beloved husband to
carry ON his war. and Anne Boleyn, who.
as historians tell US, was always short of
money. poor woman, and who pawned all
her jewels In ozder to pay her debts be-
fore her marriage. the instances of women
dtsposing OF their trinkets are exception
ally rare. but from time imnemorial the
king has turned to his regalia and raised
money on 1t. 1t has, indeed, become an
unwritten maxim that II you must pawn
anything jewels are the ideal things with
which to operate. This probably comes
from the fact that they have always POS
o1 ha cd ~ ct
value in small space. besides which the
standard Of their value does not fuctuate
much. Therefore It is not surprising to
fiEd that history teens with examples Of
royal pawned jewels, and almost every
country has once or oftener been rescued
from great embarrassment By the money
advanced OF its crown jewels.
One of the earliest authentic cases comes
from Spain. The Spaniards trace the de-
scent of their royal house back to Cid
Compeador. who fourished In the eleventh
century. This gentleman on one occasion
raised a loan In manner which has in
th.se degenerate days, unfortunately-for
the borroyer!-died out. Wishing to go
to war and having no FUNDS, he borrowed
the necessary moneys from certain Jews
on the security OF his treasure Golfers,
which were locked. The money lenders
were forbidden on pain Of death TO have
those Golfers opened, and at the time of
the transaction no one but the King him
self knew that they were empty. 1t says
much, however, for the honor OF the said
King that the cases, empty or full. were
redeemed at their full value. Nearer
home we have an amusing story Of low
Henry III pawned gold image of the Viz
gin Mary in order to pay the officers Of
the chapel royal at Windsor, and then, a
few hours afterward fearing lest his sacri-
legious deed should bring upon him ILL
luck, he redeemed 1t with some land from
his own private parks. Another curious
story of the pawning transactions of Henry
III relates to the famous Sancy diamond,
which belonged to the Baron de Sancy,
who lent it to Henry in order that the
King might give it as security to the
Swiss Government. The messenger who
carried the stone to the King was set upon
and killed, but the thieves did not find
the booty. the faithful servant having
swallowed 1t, and 1t was ultimately recov-
cred.
Strange, indeed, we're the financial trans
actions Of Edward III. During the long
war he waged with France he pawned al
most everything Of value which he pos
sessed. and then borrowed his Queens
crown, on which he borrowed 92,500. As
the war went on the poor Queen saw less
and less hope Of ever beholding her crown
again. She appealed to her royal consort
who was. however, too much wrapped up
In his armies to spend a penny, even
had he had it. on anything else. The ma
ton had at this time collected a sum
which was to be given to the King to
spent on some Of his cavalry. and the
qucs ion was raised should the King re-
deer. the crown from his private purse and
,iss the nations gift for the armies, or
should the nation redeem the crown and
leave the King free to disburse his private
purse for the benefit of his soldiers?
Eventually compromise was made, a
special tax Of wool being levied, SO that
all the money could be used for the army,
and $4,000 packs Of wool were sent to
Cologne to redeem the pledged crown.
Henry vi is notorious as being the mon
arch who never could or would redeem his
pledges, among the most famous of which
was a Jewel called.the "rich collar" which
was pnwned by him anG ultimately passed
into foreign hands.
One of the most instructive and mysteri-
Gus stories of pawned jewels comes to US
from France. At the end of the eighteenth
century. after the disturbances toward the
close of 1892. the French crown Jewels,
which had formerly been open to inspec-
ton in the Garde Meuble, were locked up
in cases and stamped with the seal Of the
commune. and three commissaries were
deputed to guard the treasure trove
Whether through carelessness or design
is not known. but one morning it was
found that during the night the colorado
round the Garde Meubl had been scaled
and the contents OF the cases distracted.
There was no clew upon which the police
could work, and. although many persons
were arrested on susricisn, no real result
was arrived at.