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THE REGENT. 35
daylight
the most vivid rays. One authority on precious stones observes that the
Regent is not cut to rule, being too thick for its size, but he
quaintly remarks that such a diamond is above law. The Regent may do as
it likes, but smaller stones should beware how they imitate
peculiarities which in them would be called defects.
On
the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 the Regent and its
glittering companions in glory were safely lodged in a sea-girt
fortress. But Napoleon never returned to redeem them.
From
the day when this peerless diamond first came to France it has always
been a sovereign gem in the strictest sense of the term. It has never
been used to adorn any one but the reigning monarch, and has never
condescended to deck the brow of a woman.
During
the present Republic the Regent has dwelt somewhat in obscurity. It
lies snugly put away along with the other crown jewels in the vaults of
the Ministère des Finances. But
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