About the Incomplete History of the Mountain of Splendour Diamond

THE MOUNTAIN OF SPLENDOUR.

Persia in Poetry and Romance--The Shah in England--A Precious Gem, the History of which is at present unknown.

The Arabian Nights, Lallah Rooke, and Eastern fable generally, coupled with the sack of Delhi by Nadir Shah, and the accumulation of its strange hordes of wealth in "That delightful Province of the Sun," have surrounded Persia with a halo of romance studded with precious gems. There was once a brilliant reality in the "untold treasures" of Persia, but that time, it is to be feared, is past, and the tendency of the prosaic age in which we live is to go to the extremes in discounting the exaggerations of history, leaving nothing to the imagination. For example, when the Shah visited England for the first time satirists questioned the genuineness of his jewelled decorations, and horticulturists declared that in spite of "the Bower of Roses by Bendemere's stream," his majesty saw more and finer examples of Persia's favourite flower in London than ever he saw at home. The Shah, wore what appeared to be fine gems, but they were mostly roses or very flat brilliants. There is supposed to be still in the Persian regalia a large and lovely stone, weighing 135 carats, valued at pound 145,800, known as the "Mountain of Light." It is mentioned by Murray, in a quotation from Sketches of Persia, published in 1838. Further than arriving at the bare fact of its supposed existence, our investigations in regard to this precious gem have had no result. We have reason to believe that even the Persian Ambassador has found it impossible to assist our inquiries to a satisfactory conclusion.