The Washington times., 1924-11-20
SHE ONCE
OWNED
GEM
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tConunueu from First Page.J
eterdam diamond cutter to whom it
was entrusted Wilhelm Fals-was
robbed Of 1t by his son. He was
found hanging behind his shop
shutters next morning. Soon after
the son, too, committed suicide.
"A penniless friend. to whom the
thief had given the mysterious
blue stone, sold it. to q London
dealer; but on the day after the
price was handed over-in thou
sands of yellow sovereigns--the
seller, by the irony Of fate, died Of
starvation.
1t was from this London dealer
that it was bought by the late
Henry Hope, an English country
gentleman, the only owner upon
which the stone seems to have had
no evil effect.
But his grandson, Lord Francis
Hope. then married to May Yohe,
the actress, had to appeal to the
crown In order that he might break
the entail and get rid Of the stone.
The dealer into whose hands it
passed became bankrupt. In 1907
CoIot, a French broker, took it
over at $500, 900. A Russian prince
then bought it, and lent it to q
pretty music hall actress at the
Folies Bergeres. The first night
she wore 1t on the stage the prince
shot her from q box. After prov
ing the diaNond to be his own
property, he took possession of It,
only to be stabbed to death two
days later by revolutionists. Colot,
the broker, went insane and killed
II al R1ss.n An
ing in the one week.
Death Strikes Again.
The next owner, a Greek jeweler,
sold it to the ex-Sultan Abdul
Hamid Of Turkey, who had pas
sion for precious stones. A few
days later the jewelor was, with
his wife and children. thrown
,mysteriOusly over q precipice and
The sultan gave it to slave to
be polished; he was thrown into 9
dungeon from which he was rescued
during the recent revolution. The
keeper of the vault where the jewel
was kept was found strangled at
the door. The eunuch who was
given charge Of it was hanged in
the streets by a mob. When the
Young Turks broke into the pal
ace, the sultan's favorite was wear
ing it on her breast as she danced,
She was shot dead by her master,
the bullet just missing-as the Rus.
sian princes bullet had just missed
the fatal blue diamond. As for
Abdul, of course he has lost his
throne.
The present millionaire owner has
already tried to back out of his
purchase, relying on the clause that
allowed him six months trial. but
he has been beaten in the law
courts. 1t is his wife who is 80
eager to defy superstition.
Disappears at Times.
Not the least curious thing about
the "blue Hope" as it is often
called, is the mysterious way in
which it disappears at times. The
movements of other diamonds are
well known. The Hope changes
hands secretly and furtively, wisIl-
out any blowing of trumpets in
the press. Buyers keep quiet about
their new purchase, almost as II
they superstitiously wished to avoid
drawing the attention Of the curse
that seems to hang over the stone.
Indeed, it is seldom that one can
say as definitely as at present in
whose possession the stone really
is. Sometimes it has mysteriouslyy
disappeared for years.. no dealer
being able to trace it.
Its last disappearance is very
recent. The Turkish dealer, Habib,
who bought it from the Young
Turks, after the Sultan's deposition,
set sail for the east, carrying his
jewel case with him. Near SinEa-
pore the ship went down. Hablh
with it. His nephew engaged skilled
divers to fish up the all-important
case, though the ship lay at the
tremendous depth Of twenty-six
fathoms.
obituary" Premature.
The attempt seemed hopeless and
the worlds press gave obituary no.
tees" of the stone, declaring that it
would work no more ruin. But after
weeks of toll the case was actually
brought up by the famous diver,
Milne. All the expected jewels
were there, save the one and only
Hope. Habib had sold it before
leaving Europe, though nobody
knew to whom.
And then it cropped up, in its
usual mysterious fashion, in Amer,
lea.
1t is tiny stone, only an inch
by snven-eights Of an inch. It was
oncG twice that SIZE, but has nnys,
teriously grown smaller in its wan.
derings. In color it is unique among
diamonds, being dark, with a strange
blue and purple glitter in its depths,