lucky pearl of Palawan? And what had happened to Pang-lima Hassan and his people since its loss? I have not found out.
I
had a sort of second-hand interest in the historic Hapsburg pearls—a
far cry, these, from the humble mascot of a savage tribe. They were a
magnificent collection. The Empress Maria Theresa and the other ladies
who wore them had to swathe them in many loops around their necks and
bosoms. But no longer are they in the possession of the fallen
Hapsburgs. They are now owned by a multimillionaire who lives in the
South of France.
These
gems passed through the hands of an old partner of mine, a Paris
dealer, the most sporting and enterprising of his kind, who deserved
the profit that he made. It was at the time the ex-Emperor Charles,
last of the Austrian emperors, needed funds urgently for the purchase
of the aeroplane and the provision of many other items necessary to his
plan, that spectacular re-entry into Hungary to regain his throne. He
sold the pearls for what he could get for them, and yet in the end the
sacrifice got him nowhere. The Hapsburg star had set.
Speaking
of royal pearls, there are the famous Hanoverian pearls. They are long
ropes of magnificent gems, "cascading to the knees", as one writer has
put it. They belonged originally to Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, and a
very unhappy lady, despite the fact that her pearls went
treble-stranded round her waist and bosom. Other royal wearers after
her were Queen Victoria and then Queen Alexandra.
