DESTRUCTION OF THE BASTILLE, JULY 14, 1789.—ITS KEY PRESENTED BY LA FAYETTE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, AND NOW AMONG THE RELICS AT MOUNT VERNON.
XXV.
DIAMONDS AND DIAMOND MINES.
HOW DIAMONDS ARE OBTAINED.—THE COUNTRIES THAT PRODUCE THEM.—MODES OF SEEKING THEM IN BRAZIL.—CURIOUS PRECAUTIONS AGAINST THEFT.—HOW A SLAVE IN BORNEO ROBBED HIS EMPLOYER.—FAMOUS DIAMONDS AND THEIR HISTORY.—THE REGENT, THE ORLOFF, AND THE KOHINOOR.—FIDELITY OF A SERVANT.—THE STAR OF THE SOUTH.—A SHARP TRICK OF AN AMATEUR GAMBLER.
The hardest known mineral in the world, and at the same time the most valuable, is the diamond. It cannot be cut or scratched by any other substance. In cutting the diamond, another diamond, or the dust of one, must be used. The process of polishing these stones by rubbing two of them together was probably known in Asia a great many years ago; but it was not introduced into Europe until the middle of the fifteenth century. The diamond-cutters of Asia preserved the secret of their work very carefully long after these valuable stones were brought to Europe. About the middle of the fifteenth century, Louis Berquen, of Bruges, accidentally discovered that by rubbing two diamonds together, their surfaces might be cut. The powder obtained in this way is used for polishing the stone.
The diamond must first be dug from the earth, and if we only knew where to find them we could doubtless discover richer gems than any of those now known. The earth which contains the diamond is worked in the same way as the auriferous gravels, both having been produced by the same causes. Gold occurs in the beds or streams, by the disintegration of the rocks, in which it was originally contained, and their gradual wearing and washing away. Diamonds were originally contained in the rocks in the same way that gold was held there, and the process of disintegration has been pretty much the same. Many of the places where gold is found contained diamonds; and in some localities in California the sands are now being reworked to obtain any small particles of gold that may have been left, and also to obtain diamonds. The original gold-seeker looked only for the yellow metal. The gold-seeker of to-day searches not only for gold, but for hard pebbles, which may prove rough diamonds.
WHERE DIAMONDS ARE FOUND.
Diamonds are found in various parts of the globe. The most celebrated diamond regions are those of India, South Africa, and Brazil. The Indian diamond mines are in various localities, the most famous being in the vicinity of Golconda. They have been exploited for thousands of years, and some of the stones now in existence have a history dating back two thousand years before the Christian era. The diamond mines of Brazil have latterly yielded more extensively than have the Golconda mines. At one time, a slave at work in a Brazilian mine struck with his pick a bed of diamonds which were valued at nearly two millions of dollars. They were carried to England, and caused a panic in the diamond market. The supply was the largest ever known to come forward at one time, and greatly frightened the holders of precious stones, not only in England, but all over the continent of Europe. If any individual could be so fortunate as to find a few million dollars’ worth of diamonds at one time, he could create an alarm among the dealers in precious stones from one end of the world to the other.