Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 January 1902 — RICHES OF EASTERN RULERS. [ARTICLE]

RICHES OF EASTERN RULERS.

Fabulous Stores of Gold and Precious ■tones Hoarded for Centuries. At a time when millions of men are struggling their hardest for the doubtful privilege of keeping themselves alive it seems difficult to realise that jewels and gold, whose value is counted in hundreds of millions of pounds, should be lying hidden in royal houses, untouched and seen only by a privileged and curious few. who have been privileged to gaze on the wonders of the shah’s treasure house tell astonishing stories of wealth which is indeed beyond the dreams of avarice, and which might well form a climax to the marvels of the Arabian Nights* tales;of diamonds and rubies, emeralds and sapphires, so countless that they might literally bo measured by the peck; of shields, helmets and armor thickly incrusted with priceless gems, and sword scabbards which it pains the eye to look upon, so dazzling are the jewels which sheath them. One of these scabbards Is completely covered with diamonds, the smallest of which is as large as a finger nail. Vessels of solid gold, so large that only a strong man could lift one of them, crowns blazing with every color of the rainbow, chains of gold and rare precious stones, enamels of matchless beauty, lie scattered about in careless profusion; trays are heaped to overflowing with sapphires and pearls, many of which are worth tens of thousands of pounds. A glass case, two feet long and a foot and a half in width and height, is more than half filled with thousands of pearls perfect in shape and luster. By its side is a globe of gold, twenty Inches In diameter, with seas of emeralds and continents of diamonds and rubies to the number of 50,000, and each stone specially chosen for its purity and beauty. The weight of this globe is %cwt., and its value £1,000,000 sterling. Among the countless treasures of the shah are a flawless uncut ruby said to be as large as a hen’s egg and of a value which no one has ventured to estimate; a turquoise as long as a man’s finger, and a belt a foot wide which is so closely set with many-hued precious stones that it is one unbroken blaze of diamonds and emeralds, pearls and rubies. Of all the native princes of India the Gaekwar of Baroda is the richest In gold and jewels, a mere catalogue of which would fill some of the world’s richest millionaires with despair. One of his most interesting, though by no means most valuable possessions, is a carpet, 10 feet long and 6 feet in width, composed entirely of a groundwork of exquisite'pearls on which is traced a design in diamonds. This carpet, which certainly has no equal in the world, is said to be worth £300,000, or £5,000 a square foot. Of much greater value than this carpet of gems is a matchless collar, consisting of five rows of diamonds and two of emeralds, the stones being of graduated sizes from that of a walnut to the size of a pea; from this collar of 700 of the most perfect stones in existence hangs as a pendant the famous “Star of the- South” diamond, one of the most magnificent diamonds the world has ever seen.