WHO does not love diamonds? Where is there a mind in which the bare mention of them does not excite a pleasant emotion? Is there any one of rank too exalted to care for such baubles? The highest potentates of the earth esteem them as their choicest treasures, and kingdoms have been at war for their possession; while there is none so low or so poor as to be unable to find pleasure in the admiration of their splendour. Shall we turn to the domain of intellect, where surely the gewgaws of ornament should be lightly esteemed? The diamond offers to the philosopher one of the most recondite and subtle problems that have ever engaged the human mind; while the merest tyro in science may find in it the most instructive topics of study. Shall we look at it in an artistic point of view? The diamond is one of the most beautiful things in nature. No painter, were he ten times a Turner, could do justice to its effulgence; no poet, were he ten times a Shakspeare, could put its lustre into words. Light was the first and fairest gift of heaven to man; the diamond is fairer than light itself; it is light, only seven times beautified and refined. For one half the human race diamonds are delirium-the true eyes of the basilisk

their power over the sex we dare not do more than hint at, and the woman who would profess herself indifferent to their fascination simply belies her feminine nature. One of the most extraordinary romances in the history of the world was all about

a diamond necklace and who would venture to number the true romances occurring every year of our lives in which diamonds take part? As regards the less decorative sex, the diamond forms altogether an exception to the usual idea of the propriety of ornament. A man who bedizens himself with gold or jewels in general is rightly pronounced an empty fop; but the wearing of a fine diamond will only mark its possessor as having a superior taste for what is most admirable and beautiful among the productions of nature. The minerals we call gems, jewels, "precious" stones, par excellence, are the most noble objects of inorganic creation; and the diamond is the queen of them all.

Let us then have a chat about Diamonds, which will interest everybody.

The localities where diamonds have hitherto been found, are Central India, Sumatra, Borneo, the Ural mountains, Australia, some parts of North America, and the Brazils; but the first and last sources only have been of any great extent. Down to a comparatively late period the continent of India was the only district of any importance, whence diamonds were obtained. The principal regions producing them were the high valleys of the Pennar near Cuddapah, and of the Kistna near Ellora (and not far from the hill fort of Golconda, the name usually associated with these ancient and rich mines), as also a rude, little known, mountainous district, containing the sources of Nerbudda and

A 2

Sone; and a range of hills in Bundelkund, between the latter river and the Sonar. The produce of these mines was enormous, both in regard to number and size. One of the Mohammedan Emperors, who died at the end of the twelfth century, after a long reign of plunder, is stated to have amassed in his treasury 400lbs. weight of diamonds alone. In later times, however, the produce from this part of the world has gradually fallen off, and is now entirely superseded by the more recently discovered mines of the Brazils.

The existence of these was revealed to the eastern world by an accident in the year 1727. A Portuguese of the name of Bernardino Fonseca Lobo, when at the gold mines of Minas Geraes, saw the miners using, as card counters, small stones which they said were found in the gold washings, and which he, having seen similar ones in the East Indies, conjectured to be rough diamonds. He brought a quantity to Lisbon, where his suspicion was confirmed, and public attention was at once drawn to the rich discovery. The European dealers, who had hitherto obtained their stones from India, fearing that they would be depreciated in value, spread the report that the pretended Brazilian diamonds had been surreptitiously sent from Goa to South America; but the Portuguese soon demonstrated their authenticity, and turned the tables upon the merchants, by actually sending them to Goa, and selling them in India as native produce. The discovery once made, the sources of supply were soon found, and worked extensively, and proved very productive. The stones abound more or less on the great north and south ranges of the country between 13 and 21 south latitude; but the principal working, so long known as the diamond district, and in which the town of Diamantina lies, is a high, mountainous, and sterile tract of country, situated between the heads of the rivers

Doce, Arassuahy, Jequetinhonha, and the great river of San Francisco. The ancient province of Bahia has also more lately become one of the principal

sources. In 1843 a mulatto miner, who had gone alone into the interior to search for new washings, was working up to his ankles in water, in the bed of a stream at Sincora, in this province, when, dropping the end of his crowbar, to rest himself, on the ground below, he was somewhat surprised at hearing it sound hollow. He repeated the blow a second and a third time, when the bar fell through. He put his hand into the hole, and pulled out a handful of diamonds. Elated with his discovery he returned home, and offered the stones for sale to some of the parties with whom he had been formerly engaged. As the diamonds were of a different quality and shape from any they had seen before, they taxed him with having discovered a new mine, which for some time he strongly denied; but, on being thrown into prison on the charge of stealing the diamonds, he confessed his discovery, and, on promise of making it known, was released. The

SO

hole he had broken into produced alone ten pounds of superior stones, worth probably more than 100,0007. in their rough state; and, on the neighbourhood being searched, the produce was abundant, that six or eight months afterwards, from 10,000 to 15,000 people had collected on the spot, and in the first two years it is supposed nearly 600,000 carats were extracted, to the value of above half a million of money: an influx into the market, which for a time very seriously depreciated the value. This circumstance, however, combined with the increased difficulty of extraction, the unhealthiness of the climate, and the high prices of provivisions, soon checked the production, and brought matters again to a more normal state. Since this time another new mine has been discovered, producing good stones, and the diamondbearing district is so extensive as to remove any fear of speedy exhaustion.

The total production of diamonds from the Brazilian mines has been estimated up to the year 1850 at upwards of 10,000,000 carats, or above two tons; and valued at 16,000,0007. sterling. At

some seasons the general richness of the ground has been marvellous; after a rain the children would seek gold in the gutters, and often find large quantities; diamonds have been found in the vegetable roots in the gardens, and in stones carelessly thrown about the road; even the fowls would pick up diamonds.

The prevailing rocks in the diamond districts are the same as the usual auriferous strata, i. e. chiefly varieties of metamorphic mica schist, occasionally intersected with irregular quartz veins. The matrix in which the stones actually lie is a mineral called Itacolumite, from the mountain Itacolumi, in Brazil, where it was first discovered. It is a silicious conglomerate, cemented together with ferruginous matter, and appears to have undergone plutonic action. The diamonds lie often imbedded in flaky portions of this material, like the well-known specimens of garnets in mica schist. In some parts of the Brazils the stones have been sought to some small extent by working the original vein in the rocks; but this has been troublesome and expensive, and recourse is had in preference to the alluvial beds of streams and rivers, where the diamonds are brought down with the detritus from the hills above. These water-courses have been always considered the most productive in fine stones, as well as the most profitable in working. Gold dust, and some few other stones, are found along with the diamonds, but the latter always form the principal object. The colour, crystallization, and quality of the stones, are generally much alike in the same district, but the size varies considerably, large and small being found all together. The great majority of stones found are of small size; it is said that only about one in ten thousand will exceed, when cut, ten carats in weight, and hence the disproportionate increase in value of large sized stones.

The Brazilian mines were formerly worked by government; but bad management and the extensive system of robberies practised by all classes concerned, caused this plain, to fail and they are now farmed out to private individuals,

who carry on the workings at their own risk and profit. Slave labour is still employed, but all possible precautions are taken to prevent dishonesty. Thefts are severely punished, and rewards are offered for integrity and success in working. The slave who finds a diamond of 17 carats, is crowned with a wreath of flowers, and led in procession to the overseer, who gives him his freedom, accompanied with a new suit of clothes, and permission to work for his own profit; minor rewards are given for smaller stones.

The method of working for the stones is very simple. The streams are diverted, and the water exhausted as much as possible from the beds by pumping; the gravel and alluvial soil are then excavated and washed in troughs by means of currents of water; the earthy particles being first carried away, the remaining gravel is carefully searched for diamonds, which are easily recognised by those acquainted with them. The process of working is carried on as long as the dry weather lasts, namely, from April to the middle of October, all vestiges of the diggings being soon destroyed by the succeeding heavy rains. All the work is done by hand, no machinery having been hitherto found to answer.

Diamonds are usually found in crystalline forms-principally six, eight, and twelve sided, called by mineralogists the cube, the octohedron, and the rhombic dodecahedron; the two latter forms being the most common. In the rough state

generally, at Rio Janeiro, to merchants in Europe; by far the greater part coming to London. These merchants again sell them to other houses, whose business it is to get them cut, and so to give them the precious brilliancy which is their principal characteristic.

The art of cutting diamonds into a regular shape is of comparatively modern invention; they were long worn in their natural state, or only cleaned and polished. It appears, during the fourteenth century, some attempts were made to cut them into regular forms, but without any view to the improvement of their brilliancy; and it was only in the year 1456, that a certain Louis van Berquen, of Bruges, discovered the principle of cutting facets upon them, on which their lustre, as now known, so much depends. Cardinal Mazarin, about 1650, invented the perfect form of the brilliant, and had twelve large diamonds of the French crown cut into this shape, which has ever since been acknowledged the best possible for exhibiting the beautiful optical properties of the stone.

Diamond cutting, in the present day, is almost exclusively done by Jews at Amsterdam, where large diamond mills have been established; and it is calculated that 10,000 out of the 28,000 persons of the Jewish persuasion living in that city are dependent directly or indirectly on this branch of industry.1 One of the largest establishments is that of Messrs. Coster, in the Zwanenburg Straat, who use steam-power to drive their machines, and employ from 200 to 300 hands.

The process of cutting the diamonds is as follows:-The rough stone is first given into the hands of an experienced workman, who examines its natural form, and determines what general shape and size it can most advantageously be made to assume. Having settled this in regard to two diamonds, he beds each of them

1 The writer had lately the advantage of visiting the Amsterdam diamond works, along with Professor Tennant, one of our best English connoisseurs in precious stones, and to whose kindness he is indebted for much of the information in the present paper See also Kluge's "Handbuch der Edelsteinkunde."

in a mass of cement placed at the end o a piece of wood of a convenient size for handling, and then proceeds to rub the two stones one against the other, on the principle of "diamond cut diamond," changing from time to time the parts acted on, and so bringing both stones gradually into the form he desires. The mutual abrasion of the two stones produces diamond powder, which is carefully preserved for the subsequent operations. When the diamond has received its general shape, it is sent into the mill to be finished, by cutting upon it the numerous small angular "facets," as they are termed, which make up the surface. This is done by exposing the stone to the action of diamond powder on a steel plate revolving with great velocity-an operation perfectly analogous to that of glass cutting, or the ordinary well-known lapidary's wheel. The cutting plates are usually about ten or twelve inches in diameter; they are placed horizontally with their spindles vertical, and are made to revolve about thirty or forty times in a second; the part acting on the diamond travelling over the facet at the rate of about a mile in a minute. Diamond powder, of extreme fineness, mixed with the best olive oil, is placed with a feather upon the upper table of the wheel, and the apparatus is then ready for action on the diamond. The stone is embedded in a mass of soft metal, an amalgam of lead and tin, easily fusible, and yet hard enough to retain the stone firmly in its position; this is fixed in a moveable handle, which is again attached to a small frame. The workman, having first heated the metal to a soft state, beds the diamond in it in the required position, and fixes it there by plunging into water; the frame is then placed to project over the wheel, and the diamond, being downwards, comes in contact with its upper surface, on which the diamond powder is placed; weights are then applied, and the result of the friction, at the immense velocity, is to cut a facet upon the stone in a very short space of time. When one of these is finished, the workman softens the metal, extracts the stone, and replaces it

in the proper position for making another facet; and here comes into play a very remarkable feature of the operation, namely, the accuracy of judgment which skill and experience give in arranging the faces of the stone. It is obvious that, in any many-sided solid body whose shape is to have any pretensions to regularity or symmetry, the different faces must not only all staud in certain definite angular positions in regard to each other, but must all bear a certain size in relation to the magnitude and form of the whole. Further, any one acquainted with geometry will know, that for a solid figure of fifty or sixty sides, the determination of these angles and surfaces, by any theoretical rule, would be a matter of great difficulty; while the attempt to make such a figure practically, by any one unskilled in the operation, would only lead to continual trial and error-attempts, which, even if the thing were ever properly done at all, would waste a large portion in the operation, and consequently much diminish the ultimate available size. Any one who will try, for example, to cut a turnip or a potato, by his eye and hand only, into a regular octohedron, or solid figure of eight equal and similar sides, will at once appreciate the difficulty. Yet the diamond-cutter has to do a much more difficult problem, namely, to give about sixty symmetrical and regular faces to stones sometimes only about an eighth of an inch diameter; without any mechanical aids whatever to his judgment; and yet producing, without a particle of unnecessary waste, the very largest stone geometrically possible out of the rough body. This of course can only be the result of great skill and long experience. Having made one facet, he judges by his eye the exact angle at which the stone must be placed to cut the new one, and the exact depth to which the grinding for the latter must be carried; and so accurately is this done, that it is very seldom a good workman ever has to revert to a facet for correction, after he has once passed it over. The stone is so fixed in the metal as to leave other facets visible for constant comparison

with the one under progress; and the handle is capable, by a sort of universal joint, of adjustment to any nicety for the position of the stone in touching the wheel. There is no further division of labour than between the rough cutter and the finisher-the latter taking the stone from the former in its roughed-out state, and returning it to the proprietor in the shape of the perfect finished brilliant ready for sale. The last touches to the facets consist of polishing, or giving to them the peculiar diamond lustre ; but this is in no wise different from the grinding, except in being done with more care. The man can at any time adjust the weight or force with which the stone is pressed upon the wheel, or he can remove it entirely, and substitute the gentle pressure of his hand; and he can also modify the veloity of the grinding action; for, although the wheel itself is kept at a constant number of revolutions per minute, he can place the stone nearer to, or further from the axis, as he likes, which will of course give a less or greater effective velocity, according to the radius of the acting circle.

The diamond powder, of which a large quantity is used, is obtained partly from the first process, of rough-cutting the stones; partly from diamonds of a quality not good enough to cut for sale, which are broken up for the purpose; and partly from the newly discovered substance, "carbonado," which is hard enough for this use, although of a somewhat coarse quality. The powder is carefully sifted cleaned from dirt and extraneous matters, and, when about to be used, is mixed with the finest vegetable oil.

The workmen are all Jews, and are regularly educated to the trade. They are paid by piece-work. Formerly, they did their work at their own houses, their wheels being turned by manual power; but it is now found more advantageous for the large proprietors to provide workshops of their own furnished with steam power, for the use of which the men pay out of their earnings Some of the more skilful and industrious men realise considerable incomes. There is,