The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-03-13
DIAMOND FROM THE SKY.
Wonderfully Beautiful Jewel Found
in Hole Cleft by Thunderbolt

Two hundred years ago a peasant
family lived in a Swiss hamlet, and
one evening a terrific storm broke
| from the Alps, and amid the incessant
flashes of lightning and peals Of
thunder came binding glare and
deafening crash, setting fire to the
roof of the cottage. Next day the
peasant, as he ruefully contemplated
the smoking ruins, noticed deep fis-
sure in the garden leading to the root
of pine tree. Without knowing ex-
actly why he fetched pick-ax and be-
gan digging until from the depths of
the hole a mysterious blue light shone
fitfully," is the beginning of strange
story from Lyons that says the Paris
correspondent of the London Stand
ard, reads lust like fairy tale"
Hurriedly making the sign of the
cross the man fled, but the following
morning returned and saw the same
curious gleam, like star, from the
depths of the furrow cleft by thun-
derbolt. Thrusting his hand down
he brought out a marvellous stone
still dancing uncanny rays of light.
Much disturbed in his mind, the
honest peasant took his find to the
parish priest, who said: ''The stone
came to you from Heaven and it is the
finger of God that placed it in your
field. AS long as you keep it you and
yours will be safe from storms and
evil chances" Faithfully respecting
the priests word, the stone has been
ever since religiously preserved by
succeeding generations of the family.
But it has never brought much
luck, the last survivors being now
without a penny. The present pos
SCISSOR, a woman aged As, is married
and a mother of twelve children, five
of whom are still living, while thir-
teenth is expected shortly. A few
years ago she and her husband left
their native village and Wentto Berne
where they started small business,
which failed" continues the story.
They then came to Lyons, where
they have since lived ahand-to-mouth
existence. Reduced to the last ex-
tremity of want, they decided to
part with the famous thunderbolt
stone and took it to a well known
Lyons jeweler.
"Petrified with establishment at
seeing such a splendid diamond in
the possession of almost beggar
woman, the jeweller Informed the po-
lice, and not till the family had sent
to Switzerland for documents certi-
flying that the diamond had really be-
longed to them for the last 200 years
was the woman allowed to regain
possession of the precious pebble.
"Since then she has been beseiged
from morning till night with absurd
offers of the hundredth part of the
value of the diamond, which has been
examined and photographed by ex-
perts. What will probably be known
as the 'thunderbolt' diamond-lt
there is any truth in the story and II
it proves a genuine stone-is said 10
show all the unmistakable signs of
rough diamond 1t is one of the big
gest known, weighing 29O karats.
whereas the Grand Mogul diamond
only weighed 2SO karats.
'It will doubtless soon arrive in
Paris and be submitted to the final
Judgment of experts who cannot err.
Almost every famous diamond has its
own pedigree and story, but none
has ever remained hidden so long in
the keeping of poverty-stricken own
ers, whose secretiveness is at least
as strange as the reputed manner of
the discovery"