The evening world., 1911-03-14
~

A one OF It's victims I have been
asked to write the story OF the famous
Hope diamond. Frankly. I DO II with
thing. But perhaps cns American woman
may help others TO avoid the curse that
fell upon her. II the husband Of Mrs.
Evelyn W. Mclean. latest owner of the
diamond. 10 wise he will settle the ex-
pensive litigation into which he has
already been drawn by the stones banc-
full influence and then cast It into the
bottom Of the sea.
The immense blue diamond which wal
ormerl the property Of my husband.
Lord Francis Hope. has cut q sinister
trail down the centuries. . trail that -
red with blood and black with shame
and wet with tears. Death and disaster
have logged TIE footsteps Of the tenn
porary owners OF this malignant stone.
for Il is a notable fact that 1t has never
remained long in any ones possession.
l have wondered sometimes IL the bane
were laid Upon It by the will Of q jeal-
Gus Eastern god in revenge for his loss.
Because the first positive bit Of history
relative to the diamond 10 that It wal
stolen from India In the latter part OF
the seventeenth century by one Andre
Tavernier. q Frenchman and q subject
Of Louis XIV.
Killed by Wild Dogs.
To the Grand Monarch re took his
fnd. bartering II for 1850. 900 francs and
a barony. But the good merchant did
not long enjoy his fortune. Within a
year he was torn to pieces by wild dogs
on a unting trip in Spain. and the dia-
mond's work of destruction was begun.
incidentally. I have read hat when
Louis purchased the gem II wa still In
tho rough inc weighed no loss than
ll2is carats But after the Amsterdam
jewellers had worked at It only 67lt
carats were left. After the French
revolution. when 1t was bought by the
grandfather OF Lord Hope. It had been
cut down to ~ carats. which Is its
present size.
But I am going ahead too quickly
Madame de Montespan. the beautiful
favorite Of the great Louis. is the first
woman on record TO feel the baleful In
huence OF the diamond. Coincident with
her acquisition OF 1t came the growing
ascendercy OF her successful rival
Madame de Maintenon. The latter, who
Is said to have depended on charm OF
mind rather than OF person. was wise
enough or careless enough not to de-
mand the Jewel as her guerdon. But
another fsvorite OF Louis's. NJ. Fouquet.
borrowed It for one OF his magnificent
- .tN tatA. hA Loaf his
head.
Queen Lost Her Head.
Louis XIV. had the sense to leave tho
magnificent thing In his treasure vaults
during his entire reign. But Queen
Marie An~toinette. another beau;lfui
woman, insisted on wearing 1t TO a
great ball at the Tuilrf,es. Afterward
she loaned II to her bosom friend. the
Princess de Lamballes Not so long
after. the later was torn to pieces oY
the Paris mob. and the neck on which
the diamond had glistened was paraced
in front Of the bourbons' prison win
dow. And not long after the queen
herself went TO the gullotine.
One can only guess at the secret
ira gedies linked to the diamond durins
inc next lOily yohis NHpeo
fancy they were few. But In 1880 II
appeared again as the property OF an
English jeweller. one Davtd Ellison
He admitted that he bought 1t Of a
man who died OF starvation the mex
day, and who In turn told a tale OF re-
ceiving It from q friend who
suicide. The stone. as l have said. hat
been cut down some twenty carats
but It was almost Immediately recog
nized as a crown Jewel OF France. Tina
nation, however, made no attempt e
recover Il. She had had enough or tn
hoodoo.
Instead, II was bought by Henri,
Thomas Hope. to whom II brought Z
series OF family mistortunes. From hin
II descended to Lord Francis Hope. tn
man ! married.
Hopes Under the Curse.
I have nothing in the world hut tn
most cordial respect and admiration 70
Lord Hope. II Mas a love match %
= my side and. I believe, on his. w
had happy years. But the curse OF tn
great diamond fell upon us both,
frankly admit that I vas altogethe
10 blame for leaving him. Capt, Put
= nam Bradlee Strong, with whom
, eloped, was not worth one little hnge
r OF Lord Hope. He was simply a hand
!. some, d!ssolute New Yorker who's
father was twice Mayor. l shoul
never. never W. taken such a step
: but the Hope diamond bewitched me
Under It's spell l committed the mos
, unhappy mistake of my llfe-and III
. proof Is that after Lord Hope dispose
Of the diamond. and | got beyond II
Q influence. We both pulled ourselves u
3 short,
He did sell It. thank goodness, 10
Z sl6s. 900 10 the Arm OF Frankel. 1cwcller
a.. In New York n London, Then h
r, marr!ed a nice English girl. paid hi
q debts. has an heir now and is yer