In the present volume I have tried to give some idea of the underground wonders of the Kimberley mines. I have pictured the strenuous toil of the men who bring to the surface the buried treasures, and I have given some idea of the skill and ingenuity with which their labours are controlled. I have done my best to explain the fiery origin of the Diamond, and to describe the glowing, molten, subterranean furnaces where they first begin mysteriously to take shape. I have shown that a diamond is the outcome of a series of Titanic earth convulsions, and that these precious gems undergo cycles of fiery, strange, and potent vicissitudes before they can blaze on a ring or a tiara.
I am glad to have paid these two visits to South Africa. I always recall with interest the dusky smiling natives at work and at play. I am glad to have seen that Arabian Nights vision, the strong-room of the De Beers Company. Above all, I have vividly graven on my heart the friendly welcome, and the innumerable acts of kindness shown us by our able, energetic, and enterprising Colonial fellow-countrymen.
W. C.
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | Preliminary | [1] |
| II. | Kimberley and its Diamond Mines | [14] |
| III. | Kimberley Mines at the Present Day | [34] |
| IV. | Collecting the Gems | [55] |
| V. | The Diamond Office | [73] |
| VI. | Noteworthy Diamonds | [76] |
| VII. | Boart, Carbonado, and Graphite | [81] |
| VIII. | Physical and Chemical Properties of the Diamond | [89] |
| IX. | Genesis of the Diamond | [115] |
| X. | The Natural Formation of the Diamond | [127] |
| XI. | Meteoric Diamonds | [134] |
| Index | [141] | |