A BLUE DIAMOND MYSTERY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14002, 7 September 1907, Page 2

A BLUE DIAMOND MYSTERY.

FRENCH COUNTESS AND HER GUEST. • There have been some'famous diamond robberies in, l'aris, robberies., .that. have. made as much noise in the.world as the disappearance of the Grand Muster's Star of the Order of St, Patrick, of which Mark Twain has so., amusingly exculpated him•sclf. • France was recently ringing with a diamond robbery—the btory of'the famous bluo diamond. It was a year ago Unit we first heard of it. The Comtcese de Rodjllec du I'orzic lost a wonderful bluo diamond rilig in her, own , chateau of ICerSteare, near Brest; 'There were 22 guests staying in tho' house at the time; 'amongst them was M. Greger, State Councillor' at' the Russian Embassy. For some reason ■ho was suspected; his baggage was searched by the police, and the missing ring found in his tooth-powder box. That is the story, in its hard out-lines, which -JlUed the Paris newspapers with columns of sensational conjecture in August last .year. Tile Russian diplomat was placed under arrest, but the case was subsequently dropped, not,' however, to the satisfaction of the incriminated person, who insisted on-au opportunity'being given him to clear 'his character. That .opportunity .has nowtaken tli® form of a civil action for damages for -defamation, -brought, by M. Qregor against the count-ess- and her husband. In court Maitrc Allain, a wellknown Paris advocate, opened tho case for tho plaintiff. In th-o courso of it he revealed tho life- story, of the count and countess, suggesting that the title was. not authentic. He further fold that, tho countwas a non-commissioncd officer in. a dragoon regiment when he mot, tlio lady, 25 years his senior, who had a. large fortune, made for her ..by her father, an English contractor nt; Brest,. .. He' contrastedtho status of the accusers, with the accused. His client, he said, belonged to a family of exceptional notability. In consequence of the charge, against liim, which counsel implied was a plot', to •hirii-.suspicion from the < guilty party, ho offered to resign his position with thp--Eii26iii.il Government. The authorities, liowever, refused to listen to it. This,-the biri&ter decl&d. was one more proof that his client's reputation, was of tho best.' . . ' ' A DRAMATIC MOMENT.'

There wefe some dramatic passages in counsel's opening statement, On tha morning after the disappearance of the ring M. Greger was leaving'.for Paris. Hortrent to say good-bye to his hostess, who.'was in the drawing room';■- I hopeyou, have enjoyed youreelfj'-Vsaid'the'eounte&'-with apparent $Oh/:perf«ctljj''' said the visitor. "Then give mi: back my ring," said the countess ill dramatic tones. At the same time a curtain at. the otiier end of the room was drawn aside, revealing the presence of the husband and-, of the local police magistrate.- The count advanced towards the astonished visitor and said: "You are the thief." Months afterwards the two met again on horseback in the liois. .The' Russian raised his hunting crop and struck the other on the shoulder. Do Eodellcc galloped off, says M. Greger. The count's was that his horse was restive. The court heard. the other side of the story from the lips of tho eloquent Maitre Labori. Women in -'smart dresses filled the court and listened attentively to every word of the celebrated lawyer's speech for the defendants. -Was tlw plaintiff a sort of Baffles after all? Did he jnove in high society and stay in country chateaux merely to rob his hosts? Counsel did.'not-say as much, since such things require proof raiid there is no proof. Could it be proved that the count- and coliht-ess acted in bad faith in arresting their visitor? On the other hand, could it. be proved that jhe was .guilty merely because the ring was found in an article of toilet perfectly acccssible to servants and others in the. house? The oddest feature of the case was the readiness of M. G-reger's "femme de chambre" to denounce him, both to the police and in an extraordinary communication made to the Matin in the form of personal memoirs. A "lady's maid" who writes memoirs is certainly something of a mm avis! CELEBRATED DIAMOND THEFTS. ' There have Been celebrated thefts of' diamonds in'the past. One of the most noteworthy was that committed by a court jeweller in tho days of, Louis XIV. He had speculated ar.d lost money, and this induced him to'-pawn- a large quantity of precious stones, which had been confided to him by the King for tho confection of an ornament destined ,for the Elector of .Bavaria.- Suddenly he jeweller died, and his brother-in-law burnt his books so that the theft might jirit be discovered. But the Roi.Soleil),.who know, as you might suspect-, a good 'deal about lniman; nature, ordered an inventory to bo taken.- Restitution was immediately ordered. : Yet- the greatest- robbery'of this kind took place imder the Revolution.' The Orown jewel's' were kept- at- that "time in a ■furniture warehouse, .; On the morrow of tho massacres' of-'Septcmlwr Paris learpt with stupefaction that' the pantochnicon had been broken' into and the' Crown diamonds carricd off. including two famous stones ItnoWn as tho Regent- and the Saney. The Moniteur related on the morrow that the thieves had entered the strongroom where the jewels were kept by means of ropes attached to the gas brackets outside. Two; of the robbers, were arrested and a numbor of. the stones found iu their possession, together with the beautiful cornl which had served to beguile the infant years of the Dauphins. > The robbery created an enormous sensation. It was supposed that politics had something to do with it, until other of the culprits were arrested, and found to be mere.vulgar professionals. Nearly all tho jewels were recovered.