48 



A CHAPTER ON DIAMONDS. 



be eitlier an error or a misprint, so, witli the exception, tlien, of 

 tlie Borneo and the Portugal diamonds, the " Mountain of Light" 

 is the largest known diamond. But a certain obscurity hangs 

 over both the last-mentioned cfems. It is not stated if the Borneo 



o 



jewel is not an uncut diamond. The " Mountain of Light" weigh- 

 ed, before it was cut, according to the celebrated crystal lographer, 

 Rome de Tlsle, 19S§ carats ; and according to Tavernier, 900 ca- 

 rats. The Portuguese diamond is known to be uncut : and while, 

 according to Romy de I'lsle, it weighs 1680 carats, according to 

 Blondeau, it only weighs 120 carats, and Mr. Mawe, 9 of. It is 

 in the form of a natural octohedron, and, worse than all, Mr. Mawe, 

 a good authority, believed it to be a white topaz. The " Moun- 

 tain of Light" is, in reality, then, entitled to be considered as the 

 largest authenticated diamond known. 



The Times has anticipated us, by recording the history of this 

 invaluable gem in one of its masterly leading articles. A few of 

 the prominent features of this eventful history, by which this pre- 

 cious stone is made to symbolize the revohitions of ten generations, 

 may, however, be briefly alluded to. This marvellous stone was 

 discovered in the Mines of Golconda, in the year 1550. The 

 kingdom of that name constituted at that time one of the five 

 Mahometan states which had been formed in the Deccan towards 

 the close of the fifteenth century. When the Mogul princes ex- 

 tended their pretensions to the sovereignty of the Deccan, Kootub 

 Shah, then Kino- of Golconda, was brouo-ht into collision with 

 Shah Jehaun, the reigning emperor. The result was, that the 

 "Mountain of Light" passed from Golconda to Delhi, where it 

 vfas seen in the time of the great Aui'ungzebe by Tavernier. — 

 Sometimes worn on the persons of the Moguls, sometimes adorn- 

 ing the famous peacock tlirone, this inestimable gem was safely 

 preserved at Delhi, until, in 1739, the empire received its fatal 

 blow from the invasion of Nadir Shah. Among the spoils of con- 

 quest which the Persian warrior carried back with him in triumph 

 to Khorassau, and which have been variously estimated as worth 

 from 30,000,000/. to 90,000,000i. sterling, the Koli-i-:N'ur was 

 the most precious trophy, but it Avas destined to pass from 

 Persia as quickly as that ephemeral supremacy in virtue of 

 Y/hich it had been acquired. Nadir Shah had entertained in his 

 service a body of Aflghans, of the Abdallee tribe, under the lead- 

 ership- of Ahmed Shah, who also served his master in the capacity 



