PRECIOUS JEWELS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 11280, 9 August 1930, Page 9

PRECIOUS JEWELS

STRANGE HOODOOS

CURSE OF A DIAMOND.

TWENTY PEOPLE KILLED,

In' the matter-of-fact, scientific world of to-day it is difficult for us to believe that the curse of Tutankhamen; as reported in a recent cable, really has been'responsible for the death of twenty people who were associated in some way or other with the opening of the young Pharaoh’s tomb, says a writer in the Adelaide ‘“Observer.” *

Such mysterious curses seem to belong more to the-pages! of sensational novels, where' indeed they have flourished exceedingly for many years. But there have been a few of them in actual fact.

Disregarding all the Indian tales about the hideous deaths which have come to those who dared to steal the temple idol’s jewelled eye, and spb\ itualistic experiences, one cannot deny that some, extraordinary demon of tragedy has followed hot on tho heels of people connected with certain tilings and certain events.

The best authenticated “curses” of modern times-.have been attached to two diamonds. of diamonds is a history of theft and murder, which generally can bo explained by the greed nnd envy which tho jewels arouse. But in the case of the famous Koli-i-noor diamond, and the Hope* diamond, there seems to be some outside, power, some inexplicable evil, more mysterious and more malignant even than the curse of Tutankhamen. The curse of the Koh-i-noor diamond can be traced as far back as 1304.

Misfortune always followed in 4he diamond’s wake until it became with 4 the Hindus a symbol of misfortune. A Persian potentate, Nadir Shah, had no sooner stolen the jewel than bis officers- murdered him. The officer who seized the stone died soon afterwards. ‘ The next owner, a Shah, was 'starved into selling it to Runjeet Singli; arid Runjcet Singh too died almost immediately. Before be died be sent the Koh-i----noor (the Mountain' of . Light) to the Temple of Juggcrnuat. His successors, fearful’ of the misfortune which the diamond might bring,. took .to it. out of the temole, nnd when Great Britain annexed the Punjab in 1549 the 143 carat jewel was given to Queen Vitcoria. It was not given witli any evil intention, in the hope that the curse would wreak harm on the Queen. But. a tew years afterwards came the Indian mutiny, and Great Britain almost lost India. More curious still than the tale of? the Koli-i-noor is that of the Hope diamond, which has been more deadly than poison to those who have been foolhardy or unluclcv enougri to- possess it. It all began centuries ago when the great traveller Tavernier bought the greenish-bluo stone and sold it to Louis XIV. of France. Tavernier suddenly found liimself the victim of religious persecution and fled to Switzerland, .where, soon afterwards, in great poverty, lid died. The , king’s . favorite, Madame de Montespan, wore the diamond at a. ball, and a few days afterwards lost the* king’s favor. Marie Antoinette wore it often. The French revolutionaries guillotined her. When the fateful gem was bought by ,a Dutch gem cutter his son. stole it from him. The father died, bro-ken-hearted ; r the son, after ho had sold the diamond to Francois Beaulieu went insane and killed himself. Beaulieu died suddenly the day after ho had sold the stone to a London dealer. .

• Thus the diamond came to England. No ono knew of its sinister powers of evil. Within the nelxt 20 years— that is, ‘ until 192(1 —ls people in some way associated with it were murdered, killed accidentally, or died suddenly. MURDER AND MADNESS. In 1901 Lord Hope, whose father had bought the diamond and given it his name, sold, it because of the. misfortune which it had brought upon his wife, May Yohe, .an ' Australian actress.

The gem came into tho hands of Simon Frankel, a- New -York dealer, who before very .long,, from being a prosperous merchant, found himself on the .brink of insolvency.

■ Prince • Kaiiitovski, of Russia, bought- tile MlamomF; arid hung .'it' round, the .neck-'of-Mademoiselle Lorens Laduc, of the F'olies .Bergeres, in; Paris., ; ■ ■' -f ' ■ ‘ / t

The -prince was' passionately. in love -with the, actress,-but one night when; she was Rearing tho glittering jewel on tho - Stage he fell into a mad fit; and shot, her dead. ‘ A few days afterwards . he was stabbed to death by some members of a secret political club.- - TRAIL OF DEATH. -..Still tho jewel’s thirst for death was not 'satisfied.' ,/A -Greek; dealer' •llougliti it .and sold jit 'fjb.thp Sultan of* Turkey, ' Alldul' Hamid..’ Withiir a week- tho dealer had been killedi with' Iris' wifeand 'two children in an accident. ; ' . ’ 1 ; The'Sultan,''(laughing, at ; what/he •palled tlip- f silly' iupor ktition f of a curse, .put' thp: diamond:-in his collection of . precibus' 'Stories. _ ;• ■ Thpre, it . stayed , for somo timo.Duririg liiat.‘time the' keeper of tho

jewel's was murdered; his successor ivas hanged by n( mob, in the streets of Constantinople; and the Sultan’s favojite infuriated him almost to madiiess by wearing tlio diamond, and lie shot her. Senor Habib, a rich Spaniard, bad the Stone next. He went down in tlie \yreck of a big steamer off Singapore. The jewel, unfortunately, was sav^d. £52,000 FOR DEATH. In 1911 Edward McLean, and American newspaper proprietor, disregarding all tho rumors that the British Royal Family had refused to accept the diamond because of its evil ’reputation, bought it for £32,000.’’ Before long, when bis son bad been, killed in a motor accident, lie sold \ the diamond to Monsieur de Hautillc, who three months afterwards was . knocked down and killin in the same way as young McLean. With the diamond still in Ids family’s possession, de Ilautville’s eldest sou took poison by accident and died in terrible agony. His daughter was drowned and bis youngest son was killed in a shooting mishap.

Where the diamond is now, no one knows.