scarcely believe to be real, yet hesitating between a dread of the
rigorous laws relating to diamonds and a hope of regaining their
liberty, they consulted a clergyman, who advised them to trust to
the mercy of the State, and accompanied them to Villa Rica where he
procured them access to the Governor. They threw themselves at his
feet and delivered to him the invaluable gem, on which their hopes
rested, relating all the circumstances connected with it. The
Governor astonished at its magnitude could not trust the evidence
of his senses, but called the officers of the establishment to
decide whether it was a diamond, who set the matter beyond all
doubt. Being thus by the most strange and unforeseen accident put
in possession of the largest diamond ever found in America, he
thought proper to suspend the sentence of the men as a reward for
their having delivered it to him. The gem was sent to Rio de
Janeiro, from whence a frigate was dispatched with it to Lisbon,
whither the holy father was also sent to make the proper
representations respecting it. The sovereign confirmed the pardon
of the delinquents and bestowed some preferment on the worthy
sacerdote."
[G] "This is either a misprint or a gross mistake. For as there are
one hundred and fifty carats to the ounce it would be more correct
to say 'nearly a pound in weight.'"
Such was the finding of the Braganza about ninety years ago.
The Prince referred to in Mawe's account, was John VI., who, in 1792,
was declared Regent owing to the mental derangement of the Queen Maria
Isabella, his mother. He was a great diamond-collector, not so much
from love of the glittering gems themselves as for the wealth they
represented. As Brazil was rich in diamonds, and as all the proceeds
from the mines were submitted to His Highness before being sent out
of the country, he had ample opportunity of forming an extremely
good collection. According to Mawe it was the Regent's practice to
retain for himself all the large stones, with the result that his
treasure-chests contained the most splendid collection of diamonds
known in modern times.
In 1809, Napoleon, by one of those pithy orders of the day which so
delighted his armies, declared that "the house of Braganza had ceased to
reign," and the house of Braganza forthwith proceeded to give truth to
the declaration by withdrawing itself from Portugal. On November 9, John
VI., the former regent, who had become king upon his afflicted mother's
death, sailed for Rio Janeiro. And he remained there until 1821, when
the clamors of his European subjects compelled him very reluctantly to
come back to them.
It is probable that in this not over-valiant flight to safer climes King
John carried the Braganza back to its native land. But whether in Lisbon
or Rio Janeiro the Braganza was more a wonderful legend than an actual
stone, for it was always kept secluded in the strongest safe of the
Treasure Chamber. The Prince showed some of his diamonds to Mawe, but
the latter in an emphatic foot-note says "I did not see this diamond
(the Braganza) when in Brazil." On gala days John wore the royal gem
around his neck, and for the purpose of suspension it had a small hole
drilled through the top. A large rough diamond nearly a pound in weight,
hanging from the neck by a string of gold, would seem to our thinking to
be rather a barbaric ornament for a civilized monarch to wear.
The diamond mines of Brazil, which were discovered in 1727, yielded an
extraordinarily rich harvest during the first years of tillage. In 1732,
no less than eleven thousand ounces of these precious stones were
shipped from Rio to Lisbon. But this influx of diamonds created
something like a panic among the merchants of Europe, and to save their
precious goods from a disastrous fall in price they formed a league of
defamation. All kinds of reports were circulated about the new
comers--that they were defective, that they were ill-colored and finally
that they were not diamonds at all. These reports gained belief, and
purchasers refused to buy the Brazilian gems. The malicious libels of
the European merchants were cleverly defeated by the crafty Portuguese.
Since Europe would have none but Indian diamonds Brazil must needs
furnish none other. The diamonds from Sierra do Frio were secretly
conveyed to the Indo-Portuguese settlement of Goa; then they were sent
inland, made up in the recognized Indian style as parcels of Oriental
gems, and thus doctored they appeared in Paris and London. There a
credulous public eagerly bought them up at the high prices due to
undoubted Indian diamonds. Once the western gems were fairly accepted,
the Portuguese threw off the mask, no doubt laughing heartily at the
stupidity of the out-witted merchants, and Brazilians are now treated as
fair and honorable diamonds. All that is to say except the tremendous
Braganza which is persistently sneered at and doubted by many writers.
Mawe describes at great length the diamond diggings of his day, and as
human nature varies little, it is probable that his picture would be
recognized even now as a truthful likeness of those localities and their
inhabitants. He says that, notwithstanding the rich produce of the
ground the inhabitants are mostly poor and wretched. Many of them drag
out their lives in misery and idleness in the hope, which is never
realized, of one day finding a great diamond which shall make them rich
and happy forever. The actual work is done by slaves under the eye of
overseers, who are supposed to be of unimpeachable integrity and
sleepless vigilance. The traveler gives some astonishing details by
which the measure of the former quality may be taken. He observes that
as the produce of the mines was all Government property and there being
the severest laws against smuggling, he expected to see (at the mining
district) no gems except those in the official treasury. This
expectation however was quickly dispelled, for he found diamonds to be
the current coin of the place. Even the mere word _grimpiero_ (smuggler)
seemed to throw the inhabitants into a sort of fit; they writhed about,
smote their breasts, called upon the Virgin and all the Saints to bear
witness to their horror of this the greatest sin possible to a human
being. Yet they all smuggled diamonds, from the slave at the
washing-trough to the priest officiating at the altar. Mawe, who had
considerable influence at court, was the first mere traveler who ever
visited the mines, and it is probable that he was the only person who
ever went there without smuggling. He remarks that he found it safer to
see nothing of that which passed under his very nose.
In order to encourage honesty among the slaves, the finders of large
diamonds were rewarded in different degrees according to the size of the
stone. The finder of an octavo (seventeen and one half carats) was
crowned with a wreath of flowers and carried in procession to the
administrator who gave him his freedom and two new suits of clothes. The
fortunate negro, moreover, then received permission to work in the mines
on his own account.
During Mawe's stay at Tejuco a negro found a very large diamond, which
with much eagerness he took to be weighed.
"It was pleasing to see the anxious desire of the officers that it
might prove heavy enough to entitle the poor negro to his freedom,
and when on being delivered and weighed it proved only one carat
short of the requisite weight all seemed to sympathize in his
disappointment."
Even now after all these years one cannot help feeling regret for the
high hopes of that humble slave so sadly blighted. But those who build
their fortunes on diamonds are sometimes bitterly disappointed. Harken
to this anecdote from the pen of the same traveler in Brazil. He was
waiting for an escort to the mines and had meditated taking a couple of
soldiers, when a singular occurrence furnished him with two miners who
were appointed to attend him, and whose conduct he pleasantly says
deserved every commendation. A free negro from Villa do Principe, some
mine hundred miles from Rio Janeiro, wrote to the Prince Regent that he
had in his possession an amazingly large diamond which had been
bequeathed to him by a friend. The negro was desirous of personally
offering it to the Prince whose fondness for diamonds was pretty well
known. The Prince commanded the negro to come to the capital
immediately, and as the recognized owner of an immense diamond must not
travel meanly, he had a carriage and escort given to him. After
twenty-eight days of traveling, during which time he was the envied of
all beholders, he arrived at Rio Janeiro and was straightway brought to
the palace and speedily thereafter into the presence of the Regent. His
Highness, well accustomed to large gems, since he used to wear the
Braganza around his neck, was nevertheless astonished at the size of
this new diamond. Everybody stood with bated breath to hear what he
would say, while a few clever ones estimated its value in unheard-of
millions. A round diamond was of itself an almost miraculous thing,
nobody having ever heard of the like before.
However, it was sent under guard to the treasury, and the next day Mawe
was invited to inspect the great novelty and to give his opinion upon it
as a geologist. Armed with letters and permits the distinguished
stranger went to the treasury and was solemnly introduced into its
innermost recesses. He was politely received by the treasurer who
explained everything to him, showing him the jewel-chests each fitted
with three locks, the three keys of which were held by three different
officials.
"One of these chests being unlocked an elegant little cabinet was
taken out from which the treasurer took the gem and in great form
presented it to me. Its value sunk at the first sight, for before I
touched it I was convinced that it was a rounded piece of crystal.
It was about an inch and a half in diameter. On examining it I told
the governor it was not a diamond, and to convince him I took a
diamond of five or six carats and with it cut a very deep nick in
the stone. This was proof positive. A certificate was accordingly
made out stating that it was an inferior substance of little or no
value, which I signed."
Then the geologist went home and wrote a letter setting forth this
unwelcome fact as delicately as he could, for he knew that his letter
would be shown to His Highness, and it is at all times an uncomfortable
task to tell disagreeable news to a king. However the Prince Regent was
high-minded enough not to be angry with him. But great was the
disappointment of the unlucky negro. For years he had been building
hopes upon that round diamond, and now to see them vanish before the
geologist's "deep nick" was trying indeed. Instead of being fêted and
feasted and loaded with rewards, he returned home unescorted and
empty-handed to be possibly laughed at by those very persons who had
formerly envied him.
As a set-off to the deep disappointment suffered on account of this
supposed diamond we may mention the finding of another South American
stone which was attended with far different results. A negress working
at the mines of Minas-Geraes in 1853 picked up in her trough a stone two
hundred and fifty-four and one half carats in weight, which proving to
be an undoubted diamond obtained freedom for the woman, and afterwards a
life-pension. Her master sold the diamond for fifteen thousand dollars,
and the buyer immediately obtained one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars for it. After being cut by Voorsanger, the same workman who
manipulated the Koh-i-nûr, it proved to be a white stone of uncommon
beauty and lustre. Under the name of the Estrella do Sud[H] (Star of
the South) it attracted much attention from amateurs and was eventually
bought by an Indian rajah for one hundred and forty thousand dollars.
[H] The naming of diamonds is an art wherein there may lie fitness
as well as unfitness. Historic stones frequently bear the name
of their first well-known owner, as for example the "Regent,"
the "Orloff," the "Braganza," and many others. Again they may
bear names indicative of their character as "Austrian Yellow,"
"Dresden Green," "French Blue," or yet again their names may
be purely fanciful. Of this latter class there are numerous
examples. The above "Estrella do Sud" is one, the "Koh-i-nûr"
is another. When fanciful names are given we hold emphatically
that they should always be in the language of the person who
bestows it. As a historian we protest against needlessly
confusing the already intricate annals of diamonds by giving
to American gems fine names fetched from Persia. The largest
diamond found in the United States weighed in the rough
twenty-three and three fourths carats and rejoices in the
appellation of Oninoor (Sea of Light.)
Notwithstanding the lofty attitude of judicial impartiality which we
endeavored to assume at the beginning of this article, a lurking
suspicion remains in our mind that had the Braganza, like the round
stone before described, been subjected to the keen scrutiny of Mawe's
scientific eyes, it would no longer be classed among the most remarkable
diamonds of Europe.
Considerable difference of opinion exists as to the fate of the Braganza
after King John's death. Did he give it to Don Miguel his second son? or
was it a crown jewel and as such did it devolve upon Don Pedro the
eldest along with the kingdom of Portugal? Don Pedro preferred the
young empire of Brazil to the old kingdom of Portugal, which he gave to
his little daughter Donna Maria da Gloria for whom he contracted that
unnatural marriage with his own brother. The house of Braganza was
divided against itself for many years during the first quarter of this
century and very nearly came to destruction thereby. The diamond which
goes by the family name did not meddle in these politics, but lived in
modest retirement, wherein it differs remarkably from the other diamonds
with which we have already become acquainted.
Indeed the Braganza stone leads so secluded a life that its very form is
not distinctly known, but is said to be octahedral, a type of
crystallization frequently met with in diamonds and topazes. Its color
is likewise subject to variation; some writers declare it to be white,
and others again aver that it is deep yellow. As to its valuation--that
is mere guess-work under the circumstances of ignorance in which we all
flounder. Romé Delisle raises his estimate to the enormous figure of
fifteen hundreds of millions of dollars, while Jeffries lowers his to
the more modest sum of twenty-five millions. Even this latter amount is
a good deal to be locked up in so small an article as a stone eleven
ounces in weight.
VII.
THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY.
To give a full account of this precious stone would almost involve the
writing of the history of England from the reign of Edward III. down to
the present time. We shall therefore limit ourselves to a few of the
most striking scenes in which the Ruby figured.
Though differing much in appearance--the one being red and the other
blue--the ruby and the sapphire are, chemically speaking, the same,
_viz._ pure alumina. The perfect ruby is very rare and more valuable,
size for size, than the diamond. It is tested in a curious manner. If it
exactly agrees in tint with the fresh blood of a pigeon dropped upon the
same sheet of white paper on which it lies, it is pronounced perfect. A
stone of such beauty and rarity was of course supposed to be endowed
with miraculous powers and affinities by the ancients; as, for instance,
"the Osculan," dedicated by the Lady Hildegarde to St. Adelbert of
Egmund. Of this stone, says a sixteenth-century writer:
"In the night-time it so lighted up the entire chapel on all sides
that it served instead of lamps for the reading of the Hours late
at night, and would have served the same purpose to the present
day, had not the hope of gain caused it to be stolen by a runaway
Benedictine monk, the most greedy creature that ever went on two
legs."
The Black Prince's Ruby is only by courtesy called a ruby. It is in
reality a "spinel," a stone of inferior hardness and less intense color
and brilliancy than the true ruby. All the large historic stones which
are called rubies are declared by Mr. King to be undoubted spinels.
There is yet another class of rubies of an inferior type known as
"balais," a name probably derived from the place in India whence they
came. The inferior ruby is found in all parts of the world; but Burmah
is the home of the true ruby, a region that has just been added to the
widely-spreading empire of the British Queen.
In the middle of the fourteenth century Spain was ruled by a number of
petty kings whose wars, assassinations and executions leave a general
impression of bloodiness upon the mind by which all distinct detail is
engulfed. It is essential however to remember that Granada was ruled by
a Moorish prince, Mohammed by name, and Castile owned for Lord Don
Pedro, the Cruel by title. The Moorish Mohammed, an easy-going
personage, was dethroned by his brother-in-law Abu Said. Flying for his
life, he escaped to Seville and threw himself upon the mercy of this
Pedro the Cruel. This monarch espoused the cause of his kingly neighbor,
and after several defeats the usurper thought it best to come to Seville
and arrange a peace with his foe. Abu Said accordingly repaired to the
capital of Don Pedro accompanied by a numerous and most magnificent
suite. He was politely received, but the next day, by Don Pedro's
order, Abu Said and all his attendants were set upon and murdered. This
was done for the sake of the Moorish prince's jewels which were many and
valuable. Among the treasures thus evilly acquired was the Ruby now set
in the crown of England.
Though enriched by this spoil, Don Pedro soon felt the instability of
human greatness, and in his turn had to fly for his life. His adversary
was his own brother, Henry, the son of the beautiful and unfortunate
Leonora de Guzman. This Henry raised a goodly army for himself composed
for the most part of Gascon mercenaries, and he had for counselor and
captain the famous French knight, Bertrand Duguesclin. Against such a
foe Don Pedro could make no stand, so he hurried to Bordeaux, where the
Black Prince along with his wife Joan, called the Fair Maid of Kent, was
keeping his Christmas in right royal style. This was in 1366. Don Pedro
promised untold treasures to the Black Prince if he would come to his
aid. Tempted by such bait, the Black Prince led his troops into Spain,
fought for Don Pedro and conquered Henry for him at the battle of Najera
on April 3, 1367.
This was the first, but unhappily not the last, battle-field on which
English and French slaughtered each other for the sake of a Spanish
tyrant.
Overjoyed at this success Don Pedro presented to his deliverer then and
there the splendid Ruby in order to get which he had murdered Abu Said.
Immediately afterwards he went off to Seville to collect the rest of the
promised treasure. So he said at least, but the treasure never came, and
the Black Prince, after losing half his army from sickness, was obliged
to quit Spain without other payment than the Ruby. He wore the gem in
his hat, as an original and contemporaneous picture of him which Walpole
saw testifies. It is said that in the fever-stricken plains of the
Peninsula the Black Prince inhaled the germs of the disease which a few
years afterwards carried him to the grave. The Ruby, large and splendid
though it be, was dearly bought at such a price. Don Pedro was stabbed
to the heart a few years afterwards by his victorious brother Henry, as
he knelt before him praying for mercy. Here the curtain falls upon the
first scene in the drama of our Ruby.
It rises again on the field of Agincourt, October 25, 1415. Henry V. of
England, with his army reduced to fifteen thousand men, was falling back
upon Calais from Harfleur when at Agincourt he encountered the French
king and his nobility followed by an army of nearly fifty thousand men.
The night before the battle Henry spent in disposing his forces to the
best advantage, and on the morning he arrayed himself with a
gorgeousness which has been commented upon by all contemporary writers.
It was the fashion for kings to go splendidly into battle, and for a
handsome young king of twenty-five like Henry it was only natural that
he should follow such a fashion to the fullest. His armor was
gilt-embossed, but his helmet was the theme of especial praise. The
useful iron head-piece was surmounted by a rich crown garnished with
rubies, sapphires and pearls valued then at six hundred and seventy-five
pounds.[I] In this glittering ornament the Black Prince's Ruby was a
conspicuous feature. During the fight the king and his shining crown
were to be seen in all parts of the field where the battle raged
hottest. He fought like a lion for his life, unlike the kings of modern
times who, if present at all, sit afar off and view the battle-field
safely through telescopes.
[I] It must be remembered that the money value of the pound sterling
in Henry's time was three or four times what it is now.
Henry's crown and stout iron casque did him good service on that
eventful day, for it is related how the French Prince, the Duke of
Alençon, struck it a heavy blow with his battle-axe, which came near
finishing Henry's career on the spot. Again several Frenchmen, excited
by the blood-red glitter of the Ruby perhaps, swore to strike Henry's
crown from his head or perish in the attempt. They accordingly rushed
upon him in a body, and one of them knocked off a part of the crown, but
the king defended himself bravely until supported by some of his own
knights.
The sequel of this broken fragment of the crown is not so picturesque or
heroic. One of the prisoners taken in the fight, a person named
Gaucourt, declared after he was brought to England that he knew where
the jewels were which had been struck from the crown. On promise of his
liberty without ransom if he restored them, he went to France and got
the lost gems, returning with them to London. It is a sorry thing to
have to record of the hero of Agincourt that he appears to have taken
the recovered jewels and then neglected to liberate Gaucourt.
The identical helmet worn by Henry, now shorn of all its jewels and only
decked with the dust of four centuries, hangs high aloft in Westminster
Abbey where it is never seen without causing interest in the mind of
even the most unimaginative visitor. The two deep marks, one made by the
battle-axe of the Duke of Alençon and the other by the sword of the
nameless Frenchman, are plainly visible, enduring evidence of the
fierceness of the fighting on the stricken field of Agincourt.
Henry VI. followed his father's example in carrying his crown to the
battle-field, but further than that the parallel cannot lie, for instead
of winning a kingdom the luckless Henry lost his crown at Hexam (1464)
and only saved his life by the fleetness of his horse. The crown which
probably mounted our Ruby, was borne by a page who was killed, and the
regal bauble was instantly carried off to Edward IV. who had himself
forthwith crowned with it at York.
In that long and bloody struggle the honors of which are somewhat
concealed in its graceful and poetic name, the Wars of the Roses, the
Ruby adhered to the winning side. When Lancaster was bowed in the dust,
it gleamed on the head of York, and so we bring it down to the youthful
days of bluff King Hal. At his coronation Henry VIII. is thus described
by a contemporary:
"He wore a robe of crimson velvet furred with ermine, his jacket of
raised gold, the placard (tabard?) embroidered with diamonds,
rubies, emeralds and great pearls, and other rich stones, a great
Bauderike (collar) about his neck of great Balasses, while as for
his beautiful features, amiable visage and princely countenance,
with the noble qualities of his royal state, they are too well
known by everybody to need mention by me."