GEMS, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL 



Kimberley. These children, playing in the shallow 

 water of a little tributary of the Orange River, gathered 

 handfuls of pretty stones from time to time, which they 

 took to their home as playthings. One of these stones, 

 of peculiar shape and very bright, attracted the notice 

 of their mother. She knew nothing of precious stones, 

 but surmised that this one might have some market 

 value. She made no attempt to dispose of the stone, 

 however, and had all but forgotten it, until some time 

 later during the course of the conversation with an 

 old friend of the family, Schalk Van Niekirk, who 

 was paying a visit. Then it developed that the chil- 

 dren, tiring of their plaything, had lost it somewhere 

 about the yard; and it was not until after a long and 

 diligent search that it was finally found in the garden. 



Little did the Jacobses suspect that their successful 

 search would change the history and map of South 

 Africa. 



They did believe, however, that the stone had some 

 value, and so did their visitor, who offered to buy it. 

 The Jacobses would not hear of this this probable 

 imposition on an old friend but they gave Van Nie- 

 kirk the stone, telling him jokingly to "sell it and make 

 his fortune." In the end he carried out their instruc- 

 tions to the letter. 



The story of the peregrinations of the little stone for 

 the next few months reads like a fairy tale. Van 

 Niekirk turned the stone over to his friend, O'Reilly, 

 who carried it with him to Hope town, where everyone 

 laughed at him for supposing that it was valuable. 

 But even the most skeptical were obliged to admit 



[315] 



