More
convincing is the identification of the Koh-i-noor with the Great
Mogul. Except for the fact that the Koh-i-noor has a history which goes
back to the remotest times, a history of blood, rapacity, cruelty,
during which period the gem changed hands many times, but never for
gold, there might be some colour in such a tale. It too is linked with
Baber, the great Mogul, who owned it, and when it came to England (to
be presented to Queen Victoria on June 3rd, 1850) its weight was then
either 186 or 193 carats. The weights are variously given by the
authorities I have consulted. That did not prove it had no connection
with the other stone, for it is suggested that it might be only a
portion of the lost diamond. We are here confronted with a great
mystery, however, to which I can add nothing.
The weight of the Koh-i-noor was reduced by recutting to a mere io6yz carats.
Voorsanger was the cutter's name, a Dutch master of the craft who was
employed by a Mr. Costers. The work was done at the rooms set apart for
the restoration of Crown Jewels in London, and the supervisor was Mr.
Sebastian Garrard, the cost of recutting being ,£ 8,000. An amusing
story is told by an acquaintance of Mr. Robert Garrard, another member
of the superintending firm.
"When I met him (Robert Garrard), I said to him: 'What would you do if the Koh-i-noor burst?'
" 'I would take off my name-plate and bolt,' he replied."
In
the year 1853 a negress was at work at a mine in the province of
Minas-Gerals, in Brazil, when she dug out of the soil a diamond
weighing 254^ carats in the rough.
