The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-03-31
SHINING o OF GEMS
FEW soyEREIGNs EVER POSSESSED
SUCH A VAST QUANTITY.
Finest Rnby known-A Ring Given
berf-Rare Canoes.
London G~entlewoman.

London Gentlewoman.
Few sovereigns have ever possessed such
a shining store of gems as Queen Vic
toria. for. though the crown jewels have
been shorn of their splendor by the guam
tltv ceded to Hanover, and now in the pos
session Of the Duke OF Cumberland, a vast
number of precious stones remain and have
been added TO at different periods by her
Nfaiesty's long reign by magnificent pres
ents, which may rather be called tribute.
from the East. and by such quantities of
personal souvenirs that probably even their
royal owner had lost count OF them. A
great many have been transferred by the
Queen 10 her own children and grandchil-
dren, but such gifts are entirely private,
and the world seldom hears anything about
them. There is. it is said, among the pri-
vate apartments at Windsor a strong room,
or. rathel, department, called the ward
robe" in which quantities of keepsakes and
souvenirs are stored, but though catalOgued
and duly docketed. only those who are in
charge really know anything about them.
The Accommodations Of over sixty years must
be ~stupendous.
Queen Charlotte, the consort OF George
Ill, Queen Victoria's grandmother, had
magnificent Jewels. many Of which remain
in the royal family or have reverted to it,
though others are scattered. She. poor
lady. did nor get a great deal OF satisfac-
ton out of them, though they were, so to
speak, dangled before her when she was
chosen 10 be the bride of the young King
OF England. to whom she proved such a
faithful wife. She herself said they were
the pleasure of a week, a fortnight at
most. and to return no more" Queen Char
lotte's pearls alone were valued at G150,-
coo, and part of them went to Hanover,
- & 20 hAn con tho rrE a q nTnhaFI0n nd
in her will. The King spent $4,000 on
jewels for her, and she bequeathed them
back TO him or, failing him, as heirloOms TO
the house of Hanover. Then in 1863 the
Nabob of ArcOt sent over a box or "bulse'
of diamonds of fabulous value to King
George, and he handed most of them TO
his Queen, who at her death left them TO
her four daughters, making the Queen
Dowager of Wurtemberg an exception,
though she directed that a very fine set of
garnets and diamonds should be sent 10
her The sDlendor of Queen Charlotte's
diamonds or state occasions was almost
barbaTic, and it is on record that in aGdi-
ton to those disposed about her small per-
son she sometimes carried a nosegay of
jewels with one huge diamond Respondent
OF the top.
THE CROWN OF ENGLAND.
The crown of England. specially made
for her Majesty in 1898 by Messrs. Run
dell & Bridge, the then famous court Jew
eIers. has a large sapphire in the center.
ORIGINALLY bought lOT the crown u dcOESG
". In the front. set in the center Of q
diamond Maltese cross, is the finest ruby
known. 1t is believed to have belonged to
a potentate of Central Asia centuries ago
in the dim past. and somehow it got into
the hands of an Abyssinian prince. 1t was
next heard Of as worn by a Moorish mon
arch at Granada. where IL excited the envy
of Pedro the Cruel Of CASTLE, who asked
the great Moor TO visit him. a visit from
which he never returnes TO the halls of
Granada. for Pedro seized him and com
passed his murder. tearing the great ruby
from his turban. Tradition asserts that
Pedro gave it 10 the Black Prince, who was
in Spain a good deal, and. in the inter-
necine skirmishes OF the time, laid the
foundation of the malady that shortened
his life. He is said to have worn the ruby
at the battle of Najarn in 1867, and il was
worn by Henry V in his helmet at Agin-
court. The cross on the summit contains
the rose-cut 'inestimable" sapphire that
was once set in the famous ring of Ed
ward the Confessor; so long treasured at
his shrine, and the heritage of which gave
his successors the power of blessing cramp
rings.
At the first drawing room Princess Vic
toria attended. in February. 1891, she wore
a beautiful pearl necklet and a diamond
clasp in her hair, ard AZ her marriage she
wore splendid diamond earrings and a
necklace 10 match, and the diamond brooch
that Prince Albert had brought her as a
wedding present. On several occasions in
this early part of her reign she wore a per-
feet blaze OF diamonds as stomacher or
breastplate, and when she dissolved Par
lament after her accession. in addition TO
an ornament of this nature, a Sreat dia-
mond star flashed on her neck, and on her
head was q diamond tiara. At the famous
[Iantasenet pan, over anu aoovS o1nsr
$1,000. Her Majesty'S jewel cases have al
ways been well furnished with these
stones. although the diamond bows she
had on at her coronation, which were val
ued at 100000. were destined TO revert to
Hanover.
great number. a pathetic interest attaches
10 the little enamel circlet with a single
diamond in it that Prince Albert gave her
when they were boy and girl together. and
he and his brother came TO England to
visit their aunt. the Duchess of Kent. and
frightened the life Of the little princess.
their cousin. who was a lonely child. by
their merry society and boyish pranks. Her
engagement ring was a beautiful serpent
of emeralds, and she always wore il. as
well as the historic ruby and diamond ring
that was the outward and visible sign Of
her queendom. being put on her finger at
the coronation. and causing her a great
deal OF pain. because Il mistake had been
made In the measurement and II was too
small. This was speedily rernedied. and
she was never without Il. She also wore
several memorial rings.
HIGHLY PRIZED RINGS.
Two rings that the Queen priced very
highly were presented 20 her by the late
Mr.. Fortnum. Of Hill House, Stanmorc,
who was such an enthusiastic collector and
left no less than 500 valuable and historic
rings 10 the Ashmolean Museum. At the
jubilee OF 1897 he sent her the diamond sig
net of Queen Henrietta Maria, and a few
years ago she accepted from him a gold
and sapphire signet ring that had belonged
10 Mary Stuart, the wife of William III.
Her late Majesty also possessed the signet
ring OF Charles 1. which IS not at all too
large for a mans little finger. though IL
has the royal arms minutely engraved on a
steel shield and the lion and unicorn eS-
q~ussitely modelled in the same metal. re-
clining on the shoulders OF n massive gold
ring. Another OF her treasures was the
slgnet ring made for Charles IL when
Prince Of Wales, which had the ostrich
plumes between the letters c. Z. cleanly
and deeply cut on n table diamond. one
half by three-eighths inch In size, formed
into a heart-shaped, seven-sided shieli /.
The stone Is lustrous, but slightly tinsed
with yellow. The back Of the ring IL en-
ameled with a bow and culver en- satire.
These are all relics OF the Queens Stuart
ancestors, and she had also some fine lew
cry that belonged 10 Queen Anne.
a very curious and immensely valuable
ring Is an extremely fine ruby, half an inch
IN diameter and OF splendid quality. II il
engraved with a profile head OF Louis XII
OF France, and inside IL is engraved Laws