The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-07-25
"a HGZEHY

their heads with an "I-told-you-so'
air and invariably they were heard
to eXclaim: 1.-THE 'evil-eye' Hope
diamond is 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 it to say that the Hope
diamond is a sapphire-bIue stone of 44A karats;
uhat 1t made it's appearance in France in 1868;
that IL is believed by the superstitious to have the
evil eye" that its published history, which Is
probably largely imaginary, would seem to bear
ouS It's evil influence on the fortunes Of It's many
owners, and that the parents Of the dead boy are
NE present owners of the gem, so far as the
world knows.
The "S200,00O,O 600 baby was the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Edward Beal Mclean. He was expected IN
inherit a vast fortune from his grandfathers
Johh II. Mclean, the owner of several newspa-
pers, and Thomas f. Walsh, a millionaire mine
operator OF Colorado. He slept in q gold cradle
he gift of King Leopold of Belgium, a partner
With Walsh in the famous Camp Bird gold mine
In the San Juan district Of Colorado. He had
hve nurses in five of the finest mansions in Amer
lea. he had a private car, which carried him to
falm beach, TO California, or wherever he was to
go. He had a half dozen automobiles of his own
From the moment of his birth Vinson was ia
nous as the most carefully guarded baby on earth
"A small army of guards, detectives and attendants
and a corps Of doctors and nurses watched over
him "A hours in the day. When he was an infant
ne took his airings in a baby buggy which was a
veritable steel cage locked by special padlocks.
This was one of the precautions against kidnapers.
Then came a moment when the vigilance of his
attendants was relaxed. Slipping away, the boy
started across the street. A ''fivver' hearing a
West Virginia license and containing three women
came along and ran him down in front of his
home!
1t was in 1868 that Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a
FTench traveller, appeared in Paris with q diamond
OF marvellous size and coloring. Some said it had
been stolen from it's place among the ornaments
of a Hindu idol. More insisted it lad been taken
from the palace Of the Grand Moguls of Delhi.
Wherever it came from, the story places it i'm
mediately afterward in the possession of Louis
XIV, who placed it among the crown jewels of
France and permitted it to be worn by Nine. de
Montespan.
Thus the diamond is launched upon a career Of
i'll fortune and disaster and tragedy.
1t was not long, so runs the story, after Traver-
nier sold it to Louis XIV for 100000 francs and
a barony, that Travernier was torn to pieces by
wild dogs while he was on a hunting expedition.
Nine. de Montespan's fall vs. part of history.
She was supplanted soon by Nine. de Maintenon.
At this time the diamond weighed 67A karats.
The story says that in the rough it was Of 112
karatS, and that the king sent 1t to an 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
worn it, and so the lives Of all Of these are sup
posed to have ended in tragedy, failure or worse.
Louis XVI came into possession Of the stone in
course of time, and through him II went to Marie
Antoinette, who wore it, extending the same priv
iege to her friend, Princess de Lamballe. Genuine
lteko~x that Afo.;o 1sn< A. ~ A.
by a French mob and her head carried about upon
q 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 are numer-
Gus today that 1t still was performing its mission
of blighting lives and fortunes.
One of these accounts attributes to Daniel
Eliason, a jeweler of London. who got the stone In
1880, a story that after 1t was supposedly stolen
from the royal treasures Of France by a Paris
mob the gem was sold to an Amsterdam jeweler.
William Falls, who recut the stone to it's present
dimensions. The story goes that Hendrix, a son
Of William Falls, stole the jewel from his parent.
who died a ruined man. Then this record dis
Doses Of Hendrix by suicide. after which the
btone got into possession Of one Francis Beau
lieu, to whom the story ascribes q death by star
ration. It was this man. who sold the stone to
Elias0n.
From Eliason It passed into the ownership of
Henry T. Hope, a banker of London. and ac-
uuired the name under which 1t now is known.
The price 10 stated to be $65.000. 1t Is not clear
that Hope suffered greatly through his possession
n the diamonds: nevertheless stories are to be