SINISTER JEWELS

Southland Times, Issue 19458, 23 January 1925, Page 8

SINISTER JEWELS

GEMS THAT ARE ACCURSED. STRANGE TALE OF DISASTER. A dramatic story of a lovely princess’s “hoodoo” gems is related by the London i Daily Express. The princess is the Russian I royal wife of a fabulously wealthy Ameri- • can, Mr William Leeds, and the gems belonged to his mother, the widow of Mr i William B. Leeds, the American “tin-plate” i king, and wife of Prince Christopher of ; Greece. I The reason, states the newspaper, why ' these radiant strings of pearls, emeralds I and diamonds will probably never adorn , the white throat of Princess Xenia is that | they have reflected the shadows of personal despair, political disappointment, illhealth, and even death. It is fascinating, though sad, to trace the history of Princess Christopher as illuminated by the glow of the gems which are now casually offered to the first purchaser —with the necessary bank account. Such a process offers a striking parallel to the i somew’hat sinister fortunes of the Romanoff diamonds, which raised the cry: “Take them out of Russia; they are accursed”; i and the collection of the ill-starred Empreiss i Zita of Austria. I WEALTH AND BAD LUCK. | The late Mrs Leeds’s streak of bad luck j seems to date from her acquisition of enor- | mous wealth. Her first husband began his ■ career on an extremely small scale. While he was still a young man he had become i the owner of all the large tin-plate mills in the country and of the Rock Island Railroad, in addition to a controlling grip • on several other industries. Before long he had accumulated a fortune of £10,000,000. Of this titanic amount, £8,000,000 went to his wife. Just how many of the Leeds millions purchased flashing diamonds, winking rubies, and emeralds has never been even roughtly estimated. I After the death of her husband there ; began a series of chessboard manoeuvres ■ to link the Leeds millions with some pen- ■ niless peerage outside the Royal circle. Mrs Leeds, however, had her way. She : married her prince. King Constantine ; “cast off” his brother, Prince Christopher, and when the king died, the “Leeds’ luck” • ordained that the Princess should not become Queen of Greece. Then she became sick and after an illness which made her life a burden, she died. FACING DEATH. Moreover, the “Leeds’ luck,” has dogged her son and his wife. Princess Lenia. The young couple have twice faced death in • boating accidents last year. i The first time, while venturing across a ! treacherous sound on the Georgia coast j in a small motor launch, they were forced J to take to a little batteau when the other craft swamped. Only a few weeks ago the intrepid Mr Leeds extinguished a petrol fire which was about to destroy his palatial yacht, Wildcat, while he and his wife were on holiday in the northern part of New York State. A match had been carelessly cast by some one on a petrol-coated portion of the lake, and the life of Mr Leeds’ wife was imperilled. She would surely have perished but for his bravery and action. At the very moment when “Billy” Leeds I was beating out the flames which played ! about Princess Xenia, other flames ere *1 flickering in a glass case in a jeweller’s shop, the lustrous fire of diamonds, the radiant glow of pearls, and the darting fire of emeralds. The princess may well be excused for not wanting to wear the fabulous Leeds gems.