early
age in the prime of his life and that the New York merchant met with
financial disaster, and also that another merchant into whose hands the
stone had passed, an Armenian named Habib, was drowned in the ill-fated
La Seine whilst on his way to Java. His wallet contained amongst
other precious stones the Hope diamond. I myself narrowly missed
travelling by the same steamer, having missed my connection at
Singapore on my way from Australia, so the tragic event is still sharp
on my memory. Subsequently an ex-naval deep-sea diver whom I met on
that occasion in Singapore was instrumental in recovering Habib's
wallet, and with it the Hope Diamond.
The later history of the stone is well known and can be found in many accounts. I may quote in passing a news item from the London Evening News
of May 4th, 1938, which says: "Boston, Wednesday.—May Yohe,
international stage star of the 'nineties, one-time wearer of the
ill-fated Hope diamond, and friend of royalty, now rises at six every
morning to do a job of relief work at £ 3 6s. per week.
She is working as a research clerk for the Works Progress
Administration, and she is living in a four-room flat alongside the
railway lines in Boston."
But
although within my own ken the several persons who have had anything to
do with that noble gem ended their days in a manner different from that
which they might have chosen for themselves, I should be lacking in
sincerity if for the sake of playing up to the reader's desire for a
spot of goose-flesh I were to refrain from saying bluntly: "Bosh! A
piece of crystallised pure carbon cannot in itself have a baneful
influence upon man."
