Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 October 1876 — About Diamonds. [ARTICLE]

About Diamonds.

Sfe«M Ho Hally purchased .foft-wiestidfpensive diamonds she, could find, wnd-the bill was • trr “ »•> JniibiT'Mpbiii jOf; iiOsoff TWaumywj»t B&M -iSiEiiSMlja-SS oveiMW WB?<WMly)-tff’Ms woutaing frUrtte withqmih Satrsfoctkm.' dirimerids at* riatrte audience. created a senSHttOff/lff cohrse; and her soeietf,^.|p4qh(soijgM:taUir linen frigged MXiIBASffIS ed so tfef #Hanef.,iFM (fl <«Mith daretef than : to tliai;>pc>p®laxity ofr JMW* •W' -ffiJ'W*’' di ‘ - Were Peter - tri bid As wife | Sailor^/otfWand .-imy the most expensive diamonds pfflMjlif market, he would Wtofe’foH sSft doWte'tb thwtrtiine'TiflanV <t exhibit in the Main butidtn|,iA«&tftehnilil',” and have a bill senVbaoh - to the old. gentleman To ’ ’Ottd’limw" ‘ ,f ’’ tertas To Bufo • • • ’ • ’• >.h>' ~., in tiife-lnrirket'in*.'mis-Mirnn‘J';abd is iufcroundeteiby ftdniiririg'CroVrtls litoftiing uift&Bighfoiij ion <»£> »•>’< r ” . P re ™Uft U te'l W imported oy Americans, but with the production of California’ gold came’ a taste WMioKfeoQh iwcmascd § Hoikm, ?■<»»*,»WW j?sw xvas-solextenHvOlypractiCod -thtt 'a leading lewder , dpelwd it ibis behef tlfot less than one-sixth of the ‘ gems imported, AIMS not gold that gUttffo, neither is anything ItfarldteW diamond, «L Adolphus who‘with siifeli '’nappy. speech and winning* imtaliiereprtjstilfed lifer with' a diamond! Mcklacw .7l | ¥lH!“de«l*’'d>ar fellowlV'stae wOulsteafelaWiy.tttffitWfehhsk' her lady friend if-they (the diamonds) sBS “just non id r r All of which would not have occi (fild W teMUWfi /Jll rfH&laOTiSKtfe® mucn perfected that experts are required to detect well-itiiide hriltatTbiis. A fcornposition has bfeeti bbtatpfed which* presents a hard, fine,, .lugtreua appearance;M these: mock diamonds depend most, however, on the artistic fthcj ‘setting of the tinsel smis. Bou.rguignoq,p( /RaMftj* who has a worldwide reputation! as. a ■-manufacturer of most famous diamonds of tht- world. ££oo3® stone of (pi i> lense size and* a romantic history.i t xFbr a* thiMedrid yeaft’ ft! was stolen from sovtyeign, and was the jeauto, otmumeroqs | petty wars among Orientiii'tribes. It at last fell into the possession OQ^ler.who styled himself “Auruhzebe, Baber di pre Moguls/’ and Who tope-could' be improved *by polishing;! He intrusted from 793 carafe *was with difficulty restrained from cutting the workman dowtf 1 so, foeufrißlftprnpartion, so great was that. sonerwn’srage. -ffhe stone should nA barsteaan. reditoed to a weight of less than4(M) - carats, and at that size it would lAve’tfebn Worth $3,06b .000. The diamond*- W* finally. captnred British troops in one rtf England’s East era wap, dtef attracted much attention. It has since been recut anil pOJUhed bv Costar, of Aim were the Another gem, amimliatienofwhich is ««&-% one of the finest st OW ian Imperial collection.’ ’pje fristory of this stone is one of qgipMfihnfl ffioadahedtatad has such a tragic interest that J cannot forbear inserting apportion heifeii Many years ago thm brothers bearing the commom nan&tnQhafras; WalkSWSSS3 brothQMfwutji'-e —* - u 'i-' ■■■'■' 1 ’*! “ Here is the AtotamtM’wi jnymbfen looking for so long.” “ He shall not escape us.thie time,!’ .replied one of the others. “ Allah isWMftitr »TW nothing!” said to him the elofeSt of tile, brothers. , “lam Chafras, to whom thou wast seeking eW erywhere?sometime Ago,-to sell him the WfifefeSfi ready t»«lose tiioiMrgain ’without delay.” “ - ffer you, but I ju& nfi lpqger U»e owner of that superthdiamond,” repliad the Afghan, r Mordecai, the Jpw, for 85,000 piastres and Of the 'iftifee htoftiere, the accommodalm«Afghan led them to f the residence of <tle >Jfew,’ of whom they attelling the three brothew that ht was well aware of file diamond's great value. “ the eldest o/ the brothers, when they had retired from the humble dwelling of Mordecai, “ he is too shafp for us.”

brothers Chafras returned to the Msidewto ,ie4, secured tbftf. Moe#' of the JtouiAk d inv?tfed U tlS -Afghan to dine with accented -die invitation, and poison was, placed, ua hKvnne by bis murderous hdsts. The bruUiei> then tpjHCMhijffiUDei jiiastres, which their victim had lycpivpd qf Mordecaf, and in great baste fled the country. . But, owing to the exceeding great valpe of the “ Moon of the mucic trodble-atosfe when the 'brothers Came to % bddp 4heir spoils. ;The eldest finally proixfefed that aU shwlfl .retire far Um nignf, ana to the one tiTio should receive ./he plainest token of love and preference from Allah the great diamoad would lie •mven. Bo each'retired; thlnkingtliat.before day he Would oonceltouof sofae ac count of a dream to tell ,his brothers that, .would secure to him the edveted prize. Hut during /he night the iMT younger brothers were by. .fine eldest, iwflto became possessor of the great stone well as of the other ill-gottei 'property of .. his victims. Qhafras then jotpf 'hfeyed to’Amsterdam for the purpose 'df selling his great gem, but in that tiqfty he waited years without finding a purchaser. He ffien went to Bt. Petersibarg, where he began negotiations with' tlieamits of, Catharine ;ll.. wlto much dMireff to gam 1 possession of the Jewel, The price demanded was very great, hbwever, and not evep. a royal purse could effect its purchase in a prompt and royal nuwr. The agents of the Empress then' resorted to strategy. Leading the possessor Of the tamed stone into dissipation and (debt they hoped to compel him to AMI at p lower figure. But tfie wily Chafras detected their designs, paid his debts, and 'Abandoned the gay RusMah capital. Catharine, however, was a woman and an Empress, and paid the Chafras’ -price-r----$650,(lOO, Ari Annuity of |20,006, mid ii patent of, nobility. 8o tfie criminal became wealthy and a Russian nobleman. His life was unhappy, hoWeveir.'and lie* died,a .violent death. Many of his grand-*-children are now living in extreme Poverty in the city of Astrakhan. '« Mons. Bourguignon exhibits Imitations , of, othet famous • diamonds—the ” Pitt, ” -,s tssr® was; once swallowed by an owner *to prevent it# robbery, that unwise ac-t ofily subjecting him to death and disembowelment;thfi ü ßtar of the South,” from' BrAfHl ; and,others of great value; arid eolebrhat becomes of alb the diainonds is as piuch of a thqf>te of all the plris. So many diamonds have been produced that it is not hard to - accept as sbber,truffi that, story of the. sailor Sinbad’s, who reported that in a certain val,ley diamonds Were as- thick as pfebbles in Si bed of a Npw England brook. But;. it were certain death for a man to ep , this valley. -Htrategj’ had to be emfptoyed in procuring the diamonds. Pieces of raw meat were rolled down Jhq isides of thfe motthtaihs iiito tile' valley, where ' the/’. wqulfi collect the precious stones in the way tnat a school -boy’s snyw-bajl. colJecterthfe snow in which it is rolled. Then Wbfefi fiip rock birds* descended upon the jpiefek of.meat and carried, thqm ,to. the mountains,’ the diamond-hunters -would follpw. up, anfiftuiilthei aests of the birds l havEtbeeo* the. nearest near approach'Mbquep&ed 300. pounds of diamonds i-to his hwfs: there stood the. royal, uuwe.ip which has plhced the tairious “ PeacpcK Throne,” formed’ entirely of gold' and jewels, and valued at $30,000,080: and ‘Persuui usurper bore away jewels to the value of $100,000,000. ." Nos marly years ago a slave workman in tiirned out 'diamonds valtied at’ $1,500,000 with one stroke of his.sjtovel. The fortunate man was liberated and re**warfl<jd, as are all slaves <tvhd' J find stonesweikltifig more than sevepteeq csra(s. / , , The most valuable diamond ever found in the’Urtited States was picked up by a workman on the banks,of the James river,Mai] Richmond, Va., in 1856. It weighs 23.7jaaJatS{'An&- it valued at $40,000. Therpjs, a valuable shop -case here at the Centennial. It is only three feet squire; Phut contains oVer' $300,000 in preciqus :jewels,-., ’ Thirty-five thousand dollars per square foot! Why, I believe, .some if those frdtrtier toivn-lot rten would qxcqapga bv the foot if the would agree to “build immediately la Car. Chicago Tribune.