rHECIO us STONUS. 263 



is from two to six feet below the surface. The manner of work is simple 

 enough. A claim or piece of ground, thirty feet square is occupied by 

 two diggers in partnership, assisted by their black servants. They re- 

 move the loose blocks of stone, which are cast aside ; they take up the 

 gravel and sift it thoroughly, either in a dry state or with abundance of 

 water in a sieve rocked by a cradle. "When the pebbles have thus been 

 separated from the sand they are cleansed and placed upon the sorting 

 table to be carefully examined for any diamonds that may lie among them. 

 The mines were pronounced the richest in the world. Diamonds weigh- 

 ing from twenty to thirty carats were not unusual; and among the excep- 

 tional treasures found were diamonds weighing considerably more than 100 

 carats, including the beautiful 'Star of Beaufort,' and the 'Star of Dia- 

 monds,' weighing 107|- carats; and a lovely stone, which attracted especial 

 attention by exhibiting under the microscope an aspect of pointed moun- 

 tain summits, lighted by vivid sunlight with all the colors of the rainbow." 

 " One of the most celebrated diamonds is that of the Eajah of Matteen, 

 in Borneo. It was found on that island, and weighs 318 carats. It is 

 shaped like a pear, and is considered by the people of Borneo as a kind of 

 palladium to which the destinies of the empire are attached. They attri- 

 bute to it the miraculous power of curing all diseases by means of the 

 water in which it has been dipped. According to Jamieson, the Governor 

 of Borneo offered for it $150,000, two large war brigs, with their guns, am- 

 munition and stores, and seventy cannon, with a large quantity of powder 

 and shot; but the Eajah refused to i^art with it. The story of the cele- 

 brated Eegency diamond is told by St. Simon, who professes to sj)eak of 

 his own personal knowledge. He says that the diamond was stolen by a 

 person employed in the diamond mines, who escaped to Europe with it, and 

 after showing it to several jDrinces — and among the rest to the King of 

 England — passed over to Paris, and showed it to the somewhat notorious 

 Law. Law proposed to the Eegent that it should be bought for the King, 

 but the state of the finances was such that the Duke hesitated to spend such 

 a large sum in that way. St. Simon lent his influence in favor of the pur- 

 chase, representing that the diamond was peerless in Europe, and would 

 well become the crown of France, and that the purchase of it would shed 

 glory on the regency of the Dake. The latter at last consented, and the 

 diamond was bought for $384,000, others say $648,000, the seller receiving 

 also the fragments resulting from the cutting, with interest on the price 

 till the whole was paid. From that time the Eegent became identified with 

 the fortunes of France, and a chapter of historic details belongs to its 

 career. It has passed through many revolutions, and it has passed literally 

 through many hands, for in the days that followed the fall of Louis XYI, 

 the Eegent, carefully chained and guarded by gens d'armes, was exposed 

 to the people of Paris, and any half-starved workman who chose might 

 hold this symbol of royal splendor and epitome of twelve million francs 

 for a few moments in his brown hands. The Eegent, pawned to the Ba- 



