The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1919-07-18
"a HTLLY

\ their neaOS with an '1-tOldyou-S0'
air and invariably they were heard
to excaim: The 'evil-eye' Hope
diamond il active again"
Presumably almost everybody has heard of the
Hope diamond and of the long history of mystery
misfortune, shattered hopes blasted fortunes and
violent deaths which is declared to center about
the famous gem. Suffice ii TO say that the Hope
diamond is sapphire-blue stone of Az karats;
that it made its appearance in France in 1858;
that is believed by the superstitious to have the
"evil eye;" that its published history which is
probably largely imaginary, would seem TO bear
out Its evil influence the fortunes of its many
owners, and that the parents of the dead boy are
the present owners of the gem. SO far as the
world knows
The "S2o0oooooo baby the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Edward Beal Mclean. He was expected to
inherit fortune from his grandfathers
John r. Mclean, the owner of several newspa
pers, and Thomas F. Walsh. a millionaire mine
operator of Colorado. He slept in a gold cradle
the gift of King Leopold of Belgium a partner
with Walsh In the famous Camp Bid gold mine
In the San Juan district of Colorado He had
five nurses In five of the finest mansions in Amer
lea He had private car which carried him to
Palm Beach, to California or wherever he was To
go. He had half dozen automobiles of his own
From the moment of his birth yinson was fa-
nous the most carefully guarded baby on earth
small army of guards, detectives and attendants
and corps of doctors and nurses watched over
him "a hours in the day. When he was an infant
he took his arings in baby buggy which was n
veritable steel cage locked by special padocks.
This was one Of the precautions against kdnapers.
Then a moment when the vigilance of his
attendants relaxed Slipping away. the boy
started across the street. '.fivver" bearing a
West Virginia license and containing three women
came along and him down In front of his
homei
1t In 1868 that Jean Baptste Tavernier a
French traveller, appeared in Paris with diamond
of marvellous size and coloring Some said 1t had
been stolen from its place among the ornaments
of Hindu idol. More insisted it had been taken
from the palace of the Grand Moguls of Delhi.
Wherever it came from, the story places 1t i'm
mediately afterward in the possession of Louis
XIV, who placed 1t among the jewels of
France and permitted 1t to be worn by Nine. de
Montespan.
Thus the diamond is launched upon a career of
I'll fortune and disaster and tragedy.
1t not long, so runs the story after Traver-
nier sold 1t to Louis XIV for 250OOOO francs and
barony, that Travernier torn to pieces by
wild dogs while he was on hunting expedition.
Nine. de Montespan's fall is part of history.
She was supplanted soon by Nine de Maintenon.
At this time the diamond weighed 67h karats.
The story says that In the rough 1t of 112
karats, and that the king sent 1t to Amsterdam
jeweler to be cut and polished
Along with other court jewels the diamond de-
scended upon the death of Louis XIV to Louis XIV.
Tradition permits several of his favorites to have
1t, and the lives of all of these are sup
posed to have ended In tragedy, failure worse.
Louis XVI came into possession of the stone In
course of time, and through him IL to Marie
Antonette, who wore IT, extending the same privl-
lege to her friend Princess de Lambae. Genuine
history records that Marie Antoinette died on the
guillotine, and that the princess to pieces
by a French mob and her head carried about upon
a pike
The stone was lost sight of about 1892. Then,
after a span Of 3S years the stone reappeared in
1880. In the meantime the story writer's again
reduced its size to A karats Wherever the gem
was in those years of mystery stories numer
Gus today that it still performing its mission
of bghting lives and fortunes.
One of these accounts attributes to Daniel
Eliason. a jeweer of London, who got the stone In
1880, story that after 1t supposedly stolen
ON the royal treasures of France by Paris
mob the gem sold to Amsterdam jeweler
William Falls who recut the stone to its present
dimensions. The story goes that Hendrix son
of William Falls, stole the jewel from his parent
who ued ruined man. Then this record dis
poses of Hendrix by eide, after which the
stone got into possession of one Francis Beau
lieu to whom the story ascribes death by star
yation 1t was this who sold the stone to
Eason.
From Eason it passed into the ownership Of
Henry 7. Hope, banker of London and ac-
qur.d the name under which it is known.
The price is stated to be $4,000. 1t is not clear
that Hope suffered greatly through his possession
of the diamond; nevertheless stories to be