Odments.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3102, 26 September 1899, Page 6

Odments.

' Fmmiis Diamond Thefts. Diamonds— bo easy of concealment/ a»d always possessing a high market value— are, next to oash, money Itself, moet greatly desired by professional thieves, and to getting them mnch daring, ingenuity, and slfiill are devoted. Besides this, there is frequently sur--rovnding great diamond robberies ah •lr of adventure and romance. For these reasons the stealing of diamonds makes a moet interesting chapter In the (history of crime. The pvAJtenj Diamonds. Dast autumn » statement in a London -paper "tiHit ooe John Francis dn Barry, -who claimed to be heir to the famous Mme. dm Barry? (mistress of Louis XV., was In that city searching for lost dia. mondS and otfcer jewels that had been stolen a century before brought to mind one of the most famous and tragic dia^ mond rofbberies of history. Ab the story flow, to 1791 Mme. dv Barry, who had Ingratiated herself with Louis XV., and wbo was a prominent and influential character in Louie's pray Oourt, and wbolbad possessed "herself of great wealth. Whitfi had been diverted from the Treasury of the State, was living in the Chateau &c Lonveciennes. On the night of 10th Januarry, gorgeously arrayed, «ad Ibedecked with £60.000 worth of diamonds and jewels, Mme. dv Barry attended a grand fete. She returned to her chateau at an early hour in the morning, entered her boudoir, and, wearied by excess, hurriedly placed her diamonds on the dressing fable and ©ought her bed. Before sleep ihad closed iher eyes she saw the hangings of her window part, and two men, wearing masks, entered the room. One, with a drawn knife, bade her keep silent, while the cither gathered up the jewels. and then the two quickly departed, leaving her in a faint A scaling ladder was found at heT window, and the dagger thai bad threatened her life on the ground art its foot ; but the thieves were never again seen in France. They were, however, seen in London, where they tried to sell the diamonds, and were arrested : but as the theft was not committed in England there was then no way of holding the thieves, and they were allowed «to go. with loss of their booty, which was placed in the care of a firm of bankers. Madame dv Barry offered £1000 reward for the return of the jewels, and when she learned of their fate took steps to get tbem ; but pending negotiations, which were lengthened by the bankers' code of red tape, war broke out between England and France, and she lost her bead as well as her diamonds. The theft of diamonds of such great value only called r* Mention to the Illgotten wpalth of Madamp dn Barry, and during the excitement of the times she was impeached and guillotined. The hiding jAace of the prerions store of lost diamonds no one knows, and therefore the heirs of Madame dv Barry have little. hone of their recovery. An Ingenious Plan. Coming down to our own day. a. diamond theft with a woman in it. which was much talked of at the time of its occurrence, in 1884. happened in Paris. An Italian gentleman, named T/*>uif* Frankenmann. and his daughter. Minon. occupied adjoining rooms in a "hotel, against the communicating door of which the father had his desk. Many jewellers were Invited to take samples of their wares to the father's room, for he wanted to buy some handsome wedding presents for his daughter. When t*h P jp-nren^rs came with their good* he cautioned them not to let their business be known to his daughter, for he wanted to surprise her. Onejeweller. who had a beautiful nef"k>laoe and a gorgeous sunburst, valupd art j '£lfioO. on the father's detsk. was on the | verge of closing the desired sale, when the door opened and the daughter entered. The father quickly rlofipo" the desk, hiding thp jewels from sight, made j excuses for getrlner rid of the daughter, j and finally succeeded. "T will follow, aud see that, there Is no danger of her returning." hp said as ] he went out r4 the door, and left the i -eTreiipr gnT-vng at the desk where he toad sppn his diamonds hidden. I The jeweller beoame restless after ■ ! waiting fifteen minutes without thp rp- i turn of his expected customer. After ■another fifteen minutes he forced open thp desk, and found an opening in .its : back and one in the door, but did not find his diamonds. Neither did he ever 1 find -the bride-elect or her generous 1 father. Stolen in the Post Office. Some of the largest diamond rob- ■ beries occur in the fields where the ' gems are found, and there, when the i thief is discovered, justice Is jjs swift j as a leaden ball fired from a pistol. . A noted case was one at New Brush | Post Office, in the Cape diamond fields, I which occurred in 1871. From that j : post office many thousands of pounds' j [ worth of diamonds were sent by regis- j f tered letters fco Liondon. and shortly before the sailing of a ship from Gape--1 town there would frequently be a large. and therefore valuable, collection of j 1 packages, ready for shipment. It was j on one of these occasions, when £35.000 worth of diamonds, ready for the mail, ; I were left on a table near a window un- j guarded for a few minutes, while the postmaster went to an adjacent saloon, that James Harvey, a diamond hunter In ill-fortune, who was well acquainted with the premises, stole the packagp. Harvey was cunning enough to play poverty, and even borrowed money to pay his way to Capetown and to London. Two months later, while at Capetown, and on the eve of sailing for London, while in convivial mood, he made a display of wealth that led to his arrest a.nd convection. Btdng outside of the ddamond fields when arrested he saved his life at the time, but shortly afterwards lost lt by disease while in orison. A Would-be Thief Shot Dead. Two years afterwards there was a £40,000 diamond robbery near the came place, but the thief enjoyed hds booty inly for a few seconds. Three brothers named RobHylns, who had had remarksibly good fortune, went to sleep In their Kttie tent on the eve of their departure for London, with the accumulation of their joint labour for six years under the pillow of the middle one, when a Spaniard, named Marc Martano, enHe came through an opening made by a stiletto, which he carried in his hand bo murder with if one of the three sleepks moved. Fortunately for the brothers they did not move until the robber had secured the diamonds and was parting She tent to retreat, when the three on Itbe came instant awoke. With a quickaess born of years of watchfulness they limed thetr ooc&ed (revolvers, and, with fhe moan to light t&eir human target, Ared. (Mariano feM dead with three bullet* fen hto >body , say ooe of. which would . I-_T««MM*4U_*__. I