Evening star., 1924-03-16

,pon arriving at Amsterdam, he Of
tered it for sale.
The transaction was about TO BE-
completed through am agent in be
half Of the British government wher
he. was outbid by Count GregoFy
Orioft, who bore the matchless gem
Off to tho Empress of Russia, thr
famous Catherine II.
1t is said that the sum paid fo"
the stone was the equivalent -
$4,000.
This is the stone about which is
woven the fabulous story OF the
theft Of the diamond eye from ar
Indian idol by a soldier. sometime
quoted as French and sometime
Irish, who, having secreted himself
in the temple Of the idol for night
during which he pried the jewel from
the eye of the figure, started TO maxi
his escape on the following morning,
only to fall dead upon the threshold
1t was the belief of the natives that
he. was stricken by the gods in con
| sequence Of his desecrating act
The second stone in order OF weigh
| belongs to Austria being 139 carats.
In beauty of shape and purity il is
said TO exceed all others remarkable
for size. 1t lis absolutely colorless.
and is cut as brilliant of the mos;
perfect symmetry. 1t measures about
an inch and half in diameter at the
girdle. and is about an inch deep
This stone has often been confused
with another called the ~Maximilian."
also belonging to the Austrian gov
| ernment. the latter being authenti-
ca1ly described as having a lemon
coiored tinge, and "rose-cut," though
Of approximately the same weight and
size.
THE next stone IN size is said to be
the Regent" belonging to
France, and also sometimes known
as the Pitt diamond" Its weight is
1859 carats. and it is of admirable
shape. but is of blue tint. This
gem was found in Malacca, according
to history, and was sent to England
| in 1762 by Thomas Pitt, grandfather
of William Pitt, who was at that time
Governor Of Fort Saint George, Ma
| dras. He stated. in a letter published
! in the London Daily Post in 1743.
that he bought the jewel from a ma
| tive merchant, paying for it $1,000
pagodas. the pagoda being about d.
dollar and a half in our money. In
| 174s it was purchased for Louis XIV
| of France. and at that time f135,000
was paid for it.
During the French revolution this
precious stone was stolen from the
Royal Garde- Meuble, but was soon
recovered. 1t was later. however.
pledged to the Bank of Amsterdam
by the directory for 5000 600 francs,
but was redeemed by Napoleon and
worn in the hilt Of his sword during
his regime.
| The "Koh-i-noor," which is among
Engiand's priced possessions, might
we'll be called the hero" of any and
every conspicuous diamond. Its early
recorded history is undoubtedly. fabu-
lous, but nevertheless most interest
ing. 1t is said to have been found
30o1 years before Christ, and was
worn by karna, King of Anga- From
that time it passed to succession of
owners, kings and conQuerors, whose
fortunes rose and fell with the CEN
turies, until it came, as did the Rus
sian diamond. into the hands of Nadir
Shah Like this other famous Jewel.
it fell into the hands of the chief Of
q band Of Afghans upon the assassi-
nation of Nadir Shah, and this chief,
at the head Of his company of war
riors, performed many daring feats
and at length established new en-
pire in the kingdom Of Cabul.
Upon his death the Koh-i-nocr was
found among the royal jewels and
descended to his son, Timoor Shah.
who himself lived but a short while
and was succeeded to the throne by
his son, Shah Zemaun- He in turn
was driven from the throne by his
half-brother, Mahmood, a designing
| and INSCRIPTIONS rascal, who was
| in league with the King of Persia.
| In his Night, however, Shah Zefnaun
took with him the Koh-i-noor and,
with a few faithful retainers, began
| a retreat
! Being forced to stop for rest and
refreshment he chose the castle of
an old retainer and dependent, but
soon discovered that he was being
forcabiy detained by this traitor while
q messenger was being sent to fetch
Mahmood.
While thus being held prisoner
Shah Zemaun secreted the Koh-f-noor
with some other jewels IN the wall
of the apartment where he was kept.
Here no was held until Mahmood
sent a surgeon to deprive him of
j his sight, tho u0sA mode OF disabling
| a rival in those days, and shortly,
his eyes having been pierced by a
lancet, he was taken to Cabul and
put under confinement.
Mahmood's reign was Of short and
turbulent duration. He was soon
deposed and Shuja, a full brother of
Zemaun, ascended the throne, where
upon his first act was to release his
unfortunate brother.
It was not many years thence that
these domains came under British
rule and the famous Jewel was taken
to Bombay, whence 1t was conveyed
to the distant shores Of England and
presented to her majesty the. queen.