THE KOH-I-NUR. 87
his
health. So all Eastern historians of the time declare, devoutly
believing in the miracle. Perhaps we, more sceptical, may account for
it by suggesting that both men, father and son, were suffering from
Indian fever, and that the elder died, while the younger was able to
live through it.
Humayun
must have retained possession of the Koh-i-nur during his adventurous
life, for his son, the celebrated Akbar, appears to have bequeathed it
in turn to his son and successor, Jehangir. This Jehangir was the most
magnificent of all the Mogul emperors, or indeed it might be safely
added of all the emperors of the world. He was a great admirer of
diamonds of which he possessed a vast quantity. He must have inherited
an immense number of jewels from his father Akbar, for in his memoirs
he describes his crown, which he valued at a sum equivalent to ten
millions of dollars, and which was composed exclusively of the diamonds
and other jewels which Akbar had purchased.
