South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-04-24

precious stones,
and il was part
" this princess. who collected the IA
nous pearl necklace which caused
so much heart burnings to Queen
Victoria when the latter discovered
after her Ascension to the throne
that she could not get possession of
these gems, in view of the fact that
the duke Of Cumberland claimed
them as his property and took them
with him. together with a certain
service OF gold plate. which had
adorned the table of English sover-
eigns on state occasions, to Hanover
when he assumed the government Of
that country.
A lawsuit followed which lasted
some years. and which was decided
by the English courts in favor of the
duke, much to the sorrow of the
queen, who never could bring her
self 10 forgive her kinsman for hav-
ing deprived her of all these beau
tiful things. Her anger was the
greater that the English crown,
strange as this may appear. did not
possess any pearl necklace that
could be compared TO the inesti-
mable jewels which had been worn
by the queens of that realm, previ-
Gus to the day when they had been
taken away by the duke of Cumber
land.
Their Early History.
The latter, however. did not trOu-
bic at all about the feelings of his
cousin, TO whom, in his turn, he
could not forgive the fact that her
existence had deprived him Of his
chance of becoming king of Great
Britain and Ireland. as we'll as king
Of Hanover, and relations between
them never became cordial or even
friendly.
During the war Of 1865. when
Hanover was invaded by the Prus-
sian troops. the then Queen Marie,
when she fled from her capital.
carried away with her the famous
pearls, together with other jewels
that she contrived TO hide about her
person. But the big pearl and dia-
mond tiara, which had adorned the
brow of all the duchesses Of Bruins
wick, and the queens of Hanover,
was confiscated by the Prussian gov
eminent, together with the fortune
Of King George, and securely put
into the custody of a bank in Ber-
lin, where il remained until the
marriage of the kaiser's only daugh-
ter to the son of the duke of Cum
berland. who, as everybody knows.
became the last duke Of Brunswick
thanks to his alliance with the Hob
enzollern family
1t is said that on the eve OF the
wedding William III caused this
tiara 10 be taken out of the bank
where it had lain for AZ years and
brought TO the old Schloss of Ber-
lin. where. without asking the duke
Of Cumberland's leave. he had pre-
sented it to his daughter. who had
worn it on her wedding day, much
to the disgust. it is said. OF her new
mother-in law. the duchess of Cum
berland, who would much have pre-
ferred getting herself the splendid
diadem 10 which she had far more
tight than the young princess to
hand assurance which is characters
tic of everything that the kaiser
does.
But the Brunswick-or rather the
Hanover pearls-remained in pos
session of the head of the dynasty.
and though the Empress Augusta
Victoria. it is related. made several
~ 70 10 90 L
as 10 her desire to see them trans
ferred to the Princess Victoria
Louise. the former did not seem TO
understand them. To the contrary
she sported the famous necklace
which had already been the object
OF SO much heart burnings at her
sons wedding. and took a special
pleasure in asking the kaiser 10 ad-
mire it. as it deserved TO be.
a Wonderful Necklace.
II is indeed quite a wonderful
necklace. composed Of nine rows OF
almost perfect pearls, the smallest
OF which is OF the size of large
pea. The most remarkable thing
about this jewel is that in color it
is perfectly matched, a most rare
thing considering that II IS COM
posed OF more than goo pearls. The
late queen OF Hanover was so fond
OF il. that she always wore il day
and night, and actually had il on her
neck when she died.
The poor princess had become
quite weak in her intellect toward
the end OF her life, and she was al
ways afraid 10 lose this ornament.
which had been considered by her
late husband. as his most precious
property. This circumstance is said
20 have made such an unpleasant
impression or the present duchess
OF Cum berland. that for a long time
she would not wear or even touch
this heirloom. But when she no.
ticed that the kaiser would have
liked il 10 be transferred 10 his own
daughter. she changed her mind.
and proceeded To affect a particular
affection for it. perhapS as n revenge