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NOTES.
THE REGENT, p. 3G.
Uffenbach, a German traveller who visited this country in the year 1712, states, in his most amusing account of his sojourn in London, that he made many fruitless attempts to get a sight of this diamond, recently brought home by Governor Pitt, and the fame of which had already spread over Europe. But there was no obtaining an interview with the far from enviable possessor ; so fearful was he of robbery (and not without cause in those days), that he never made known beforehand the daj' of his coming to town, nor slept twice consecutively in the same house. During the next five years, until the Regent relieved him of it in 1717, Pitt must have found his too precious stone almost as harassing in possession as did the slave, its first finder, who, as the story goes, concealed it in a gash made for its reception in the calf'of his leg, until he had the opportunity of escaping to Madras. There the poor wretch fell in with an English skipper, who, by promising to find a purchaser for the stone and to halve the profits, lured him on board ship and disposed of his claims by pitching him overboard. The rogue obtained no more from Jamchund than 1000?., which he speedily ran through, and then hanged himself—a most fit conclusion to the whole affair.
The robbery of the Garde-Meuble was effected under the most suspicious circumstances ; the regalia, including gold plate of incalculable value, had been sealed up by the Commune of Paris after the massacre of Aug. 10th, and in the following month the seals were found broken, and the locks opened by means of false keys. The thieves were never detected ; but an anonymous letter sent to the Commune directed them where to find the Regent and the " Calice de l'Abbé Suger," buried in the Allée des Veuves, the latter stripped of its precious gold-mounting. These two objects were too well-known to be converted into money without certain detection ; but the rest disappeared for ever.
The fortunes of Bonaparte may be said to have been founded on the Regent, for after the famous 18th Brumaire, by pledging it to the Dutch government, he procured the funds so indispensable for the consolidation of his power.
THE SANCY, p. 39.
That the diamond known amongst the French regalia down to the year 1792 as the Sancy was not the famous one of the Duke of Burgundy may be proved by its weight, in addition to the other reasons already advanced.
The weight of the Sancy was 54 carats, or 3 gros1 (216 grains). Now De Boot, than whom no person had better opportunities of getting exact information, states that the largest diamond ever seen in Europe was the one purchased from Carlo Affetati of Antwerp by Philip II. in the year 1559 ; and this weighed 47 % carats. But Philip had been presented with the
1 The gros was 72 grs. : 8 went to the ounce of l'aris.
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