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CHAPTER V
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CELEBRATED DIAMONDS — CONTINUED
A DIAMOND, included in all lists of the celebrated stones of the world, is variously quoted as the
"
Mattam," the " Matan " and the " Rajah of Mattan," and is so named
because owned by the rajahs of that territory, in whose family it
remains. It is an uncut pear-shaped crystal weighing 367 Borneo carats,
or about 318 European carats. Some doubts have been raised as to its
genuineness. The reigning princes of the country regard it with
superstitious reverence, believing that their fortunes are linked with
the possession of the stone, a belief shared by the people of Borneo,
who also think that the destinies of the empire are in some mysterious
way connected with it. They also attribute to it miraculous power,
claiming that water in which it is dipped will cure all diseases. Only
under very extraordinary circumstances, therefore, are strangers
allowed to see it, and then they may not touch it. Mawe says that the
captain of an Indiaman to whom it was shown was requested not to touch
it. It was exhibited on a salver of gold. The size of it was about that
of a walnut, and it had a bluish, metallic luster. Upon examination at
Pontianak in 1868, it was pronounced to be rock crystal, but many think
that a copy only of the real stone was shown. By some it is said to
have been found in 1760, by others in 1787, in the Landak mines on the
west
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