The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-08

! which must be sacrificed to robe some
| 1000 OF more peers, peeresses and OFF,
! cial dignitaries who Will attend the
/ coronation ceremony will be interested
| to hear that one enterprising firm has
! recently sent 10000 weasels tails out
! to China. AS the consignment is an
| entirely novel one and cannot be ac-
! counted for on any sudden demand Tor
| these particular appendages in the Ce-
| lestial Empire. it can only be con-
cluded that the tails will shortly re
appear on our shores as ermine and
| erminois.
The prices asked for peers and peer
essss' robes and coronets by various
traders seem to be fixed very arbitrarl-
", as they vary so enormously. A
regulation silver-gilt coronet can be
purchased at e. at one we'll known
| West End goldsmith's, and at not less
than G22 at a similar establishment
in the same street. 1t Is to be pre-
sumed that the two articles are prac-
tically identical, and therefore there Is
nothing but the caprice of the jewel
ers to account for this great discrepan-
cy."
Similarly, for exactly the same robe
made from the Earl MarshaPs speclh-
cation one IS asked f25 at one tailor's
and $40 at another Of precisely similar
standing. Some robemakers are going
to the extent of asking 1900 and more.
Ever since his accession the King has
in every way possible made Queen
Alexandra as prominent as possible.
Every honor and distinction that could
be paid to her upon public and state
occasions have been paid. And it is
therefore probably quite true that for
the coronation Queen Alexandra
crown will be reset with other and
more valuable jewels. The Queen Con-
sorts crown, which was first worn by
Mary of Modena, Queen of James II,
has been taken from the Tower or
London. 1t is Of very rich gold, set
with diamonds of great value, inter-
mitted with pearls and other precious
stones, the cap being similar to that
of the Prince of Wales crown. The
chief alteration, 1t is generally under
stood. VIII be the addition of the Gam
Gus Koh-i-noor diamond to the stones
already in the crown. Yet it is not
certain that a new crown altogether
will not be made for the Queen and
that the Mary of Modena crown has
not been taken from the Tower simoiv
for the purposes of comparison with
models of the new crown. However
that may be, it is generally accepted
that the Koh-i-noor will appear in the
Queens Coronation crown. The his
Tory Oh LH4S ldInOuS QldlilOiiQ NeAfA bN
definitely traced for nearly $50 years.
But it is said to have been discovered
1000 years ago in the Godavery river,
which rises in Bombay and flows into
the Bay of Bengal. and there is little
doubt that it is the wonderful jewel
that figures in hoary Indian song and
romance.
1t was brought from the Lahore
treasury in 1885, presented to Queen
Victoria, and recut at a cost of $4,000.
The diamond now weighs LOG lie car
ats, having lost so carats in the recut-
ting.
There are only four diamonds larger
than the Koh-i-noor. These are the Or
loft diamond weighing 194% carats,
which was stolen by a Frenchman from
the eye of an Indian idol and sold
through Count Orloff to the Empress
Catherine of Russia; the Pitt diamond
Q36A carats), bought by the Regent
Duke of Orleans in III for Louis XIV.
of France from Mr.. Pitt, Governor of
Madras; the Florentine diamond Q331a
carats). now in possession of the EN-
peror of Austria; and the Star of the
| South Q24A carats), found by negro
in Brazil in 1855.
The sum of 2,0O00O0 sterling has been
| mentioned as the value of this famous
! gem, but said a jewelry expert sit is
| worth just what a rich person or stats
might be disposed to give for it. It's
| value is immense, of course-it IS
worth fortune at the least-but it is
| rot common article of commerce, and
no man can say how much or how little
a Rothschild or a Rockefeller might
| pay for it were it offered for sale. Its
great worth lies in its sentimental
| value--the history that centers around
! it, the vicissitudes through which it has
! passed. the fact that it was worn by
| Queen Victoria on great occasions, and
| that it is now the property of the King
| of England"
Before the Koh-i-noor reached Queen
! Victoria but after it had become her
! property, it was nearly lost. After the
annexation of the Punjab in 1S49 it was
! given up to the British, and at a meet
| ing of the board was handed to John
! (afterward Lord) Lawrence in a small
box beneath many folds of linen for
safe keeping. He placed it in his waist
coat pocket and forgot the treasure.
! When he dressed for dinner the waist
coat containing it was thrown care