mines
have produced, it may not be uninteresting to mention that the great
diamond now in the possession of the Sultan of Matan, which has been
seen and examined by Europeans, weighs 367 carats ; it is of the shape
of an egg, indented on one side. It is, however, uncut; and on this
account it may be difficult to say whether it will become the largest
cut diamond ever known ; for the famous diamond of Aurung-zeb, called
the Mogul, in its rough state, weighed 795 carats, and was then valued
at £600,000 ; but when cut was reduced to 279 carats. This celebrated
diamond, known by the name of the ' Matan' diamond, was discovered by a
Dyak, and claimed as a droit of royalty by the Sultan of the country,
Gurn-Laya, but was handed over to the Pangeran of Landak, whose
brother, having got possession of it, gave it as a bribe to the Sultan
of Sukadana, in order that he might be placed on the throne of Landak.
The lawful prince, however, having fled to Bantam, by the aid of the
prince of that country and the Dutch, succeeded in regaining possession
of his district, and nearly destroyed Sukadana. It has remained as an
heir-loom in the family for four descents, and is almost the only
appendage of royalty now remaining."
Although
it has brought little but trouble to its owners, this gem is looked
upon by them as a sort of tutelar deity, and held in the very highest
esteem on account of the astonishing healing virtues with which the
popular imagination has endowed it. That such superstitious ideas
should still be prevalent amongst the semi-civilized races of the East,
need not surprise
