THE BRAGANZA. 41
whatever
be its true character, it should continue to be regarded as a genuine
diamond. On this point the strongest doubts have always been
entertained, and Murray tells us that, " Mr. Mawe, who had attentively
examined it, informed me that he considered it to be a 'Nova Mina,' or
white topaz, and not a diamond."
This
passage presents considerable difficulty, for Mawe nowhere says he had
ever even seen, much less examined, the stone ; nor is it easy to
understand how he could have had the opportunity of doing so. Indeed
his description of it as a " white topaz " would seem to imply
that he never set eyes on this gem, at least if Barbot is correct in
describing it as "d'une couleur jaune foncé."
This
is very far from being the only discrepancy in the current accounts of
the Braganza. Barbot himself tells us that it was found, not by three
banished criminals, but by a slave, who, therefore, received his
liberty, and, " une pension viagère pour lui et la famille." He adds
that it is the shape of a pea, and, " might be about the size of a
hen's egg ;" while Liebig reduces its weight to 95 carats.* Authorities
are equally at variance as to the date of its discovery, which Kluge
says was in 1741, Murray about 1764, and others, with Mawe, more
correctly, about 1797.")* In the same way, the locality where it was
found is stated by
