£ &■ AT9LSA1/y
ccj«ia»KFr
4
M!:N Vinson Walsh Mi Lcan. ten
years old, the "$2110,000,000 bahy."
was killed by a casual automobile
in fMjrit of Friendship, the McLean
Washington home, the supersti
tious people of the country shook
their heads with an "I-told-you-so"
air and invariably they were heard
to exclaim: “The ‘evil-eye' Hope
■diamond is active again!”
Presumably almost everybody has hetird of ihe
Unpe diamond and of the long history of mystery,
misfortune, shattered hopes, blasted fortunes and
violent deaths which is declared to center about
the famous gem. Suflioe it to say that the Hope
diamond is a sapphire-blue stone <>f 1-4‘i karats;
that it made its appearance in France in 1 dlls;
that it is believed by the superstitious to have the
"evil eye;” that its published history, which is
probably largely imaginary, would seem to bear
out its evil influence on the fortunes of its many
owners, and that the parents of the dead boy are
the present owners of the gem, so far as the
world knows.
I k“ JOO.OtHunni hahy ’ \uis the >on of Mr. and
Mrs. Edward Heal McLean, lie was expected to
inherit a vast fortune front Ids grandfathers,
•lohn II. McLean, the owner ot several newspa
pers, and 1 homns F. Walsh, a millionaire mine
operator of Colorado. He slept in a gold cradle,
the gift of King Leopold of Helgium, a partner
with Walsh in the famous Camp Bird geld mine
in the San Juan district of Colorado, lie had
five nurses iu live of the finest mansions in Amer
ica. He had a private car, which carried him to
Palm Beach, to California, or wherever he was to
go. He had a half dozen automobiles of his own.
From the moment of his birth Yin-on was fa
mous as the most carefully guarded bahy on earth.
A small unity of guards, detectives and attendants
mid a corps of doctors and nurses watched over
him lit hours in the day. When In* was an infant
he took his airings iu a baby buggy which was a
veritable steel cage ioeked by special padlocks.
Tin wit- cue of the precautions again-d kidnapers.
Thep came a moment when the vigilance of his
attendants was relaxed. Slipping away, the hoy
started across the street. A “flivver” hearing a
West Virginia license and containing three women
• 'nine along and ran him down in front of his
home!
It was In Kit is that Jean linptisto Tavernier, a
French traveler, appeared in Paris with a diamond
of marvelous size and coloring. Some said it had
been atoleti from it place anion; the ornaments
of a Hindu idol. More insisted it had been taken
from the palace of the tlrand Moguls of Delhi.
Wherever it came from, the story places it im
mediately afterward in the possession of Louis
XIV, who placed it among the crown jewels of
France and permitted it to be worn by Mine, de
Montespan.
Tims the <3inrnoij'I is launched upon :i career of
ill fortune anil disaster and tract d>.
It was not lung, mi runs the story, after Traver
riier sold it to Louis XIV for L’.aOO.OOO franes and
a barony, that Travomier was torn to pieces l.»v
wild dogs‘while lie was on a hunting expedition.
Mine, de Montespnn’s fall Is part of history.
She was supplanted soon by Mine, de Maintenon.
At this time the diamond weighed 07*2 karats.
The story says that in the rough it was of lid
karats, and that tin* king sent it to an Amsterdam
jeweler to be cut and polished.
Along with other court jewels the diamond de
scended upon the death of Louis XIV to Louis XV.
Tradition permits several of his favorites to have
worn it, and so the lives of nil of these are sup
posed to have ended in tragedy, failure or worse,
lands XVI came into possession of the stone in
course of time, and through him it went to Marie
Antoinette, who wore it, extending the same privi
leg«» to her friend. Princess de Lamballe. Centime
history records that Marie Antoinette died on the
guillotine, and that the princess was torn to pieces
by a French mob and her head carried about upon
a pike.
The stone was lost sight of about lT'.rj. Then,
utter a span of ' *k years the stone i euppeared in
1'soO. In the meantime the story writers again
reduced its size to 4 l karats. Wherever the gem
u, us ,n those year- of mystery, stories are numer
ous today that it still was performing its mission
<j!' Pjighting lives and tortunes.
One of these accounts attributes to Daniel
Ixliaxnn, a Jeweler of London, who got the stone in
LSiU, a story that after it was supposedly stolen
from the royal treason of Prance by a Pans
mob the geni was sold to an Amsterdam jeweler.
William Fa Is, who refill the stone to its present
‘dimensions. The story goes that Hendrik, a son
of William Fais. stole tin* jewel from liis parent,
who died a mined man. Then this record dis
poses of Hendrik by suicide, alter which tin*
stone got into possession of one P rands Ileuu
■ etj, to whom the story ascribes a death by star
vation. It was this man who sold tin* stone to
Jllia.son.
From 134 In son it passed Info the ownership of
Henry T. Hope, a bunker of London, and ac
sjuired lilt* name under wiii-h it now is known.
The price is mated to lie $<». s'•<>.•. It is out clear
That Hope suffered greatly fp.-eggb h.s possession
of 11 diamond, nevertheless stories are to be
w/yjosy jy<?LfX/rA/r£/i,/J&A>orst'/rje (o.vi/r/^rj
‘*»u:111 ;!• :it hi* suffered finnin-.d rover ■ **s am! other
personal misfortunes.
Hope is credited with bavins given the dliirnond
to his daughter at the time 'he married the sixth
duke of New eastle in h'll. lint apparently it was
the Union monitors and not she who bequeathed
the sent to le t- son. Lord Francis Hope, that it
■ .-id set sensational!) into the life of May Yohe,
tite American actress.
This part of the story is mere ti, tioti. It is true
that May Yohe married Lord Francis Hope. It
is true that she eloped with ('apt. Putnam Brad
iee Strut.it, on of a former mayor of New York.
Ford Francis obtained a dh">v, and the wife
married Captain Strong, only to tie divorced a
second time.
But May Yohe, although he has been quoted as
saying that lie wore the Hope diamond only
>": ■ and that Iter troubles were due to its malign
iutluence, probably never even saw the stone. Cer
tit.nly Lord Francis never had possession of it.
So, when the -dory goes on to say that he sold
it for SltiN.OOO to .Joseph Frank**!, a New York
jeweler, the statement is untrue.
It is true that Frnnkel had the geui in New
fork. Where and from whom Frankel acquired
the stone never has been made clear, hut the
stone went buck to Baris and into the possession
of Jacques Colet, who bought it from FruAjeL
CoJet bus been reported as having killed himself
after losing his mind.
Before that tragedy, however, the diamond is
reputed to have passed into tin* ownership of
Briuee Ivan Kanitowxki. and the legend promptly
disposes of the prince at the hands of a mob of
Itusslan revolutionists. Thence the story skips to
the murder of Mile. Lad tie, to whom the I* assign
prince had loaned the diamond. A jealous ad
mirer is charged with this murder.
Next in the legend of tlie jewel is listed Simon
Moneharides, of whose identity there appears to
be uncertainty. But the legend sends him riding
close enough to a precipice to he thrown over and
killed. Just bet ore hi> death Moneharides is cred
ited with having sold the dlanion i to Selim Habib,
a Persian, who acted as agent for the Sultau
Ab lul Hamid.
One version of the next chapter is that Habib
was drowned in a wreck and the diamond lost.
I'll.* publication of this was later explained its a
ruse to throw thieves off the trail. This version
takes the stone to Constantinople, where it cuts a
wide swath in violence, misfortune and death and
dually brings about tin* end of Abdul Hamid.
Me till that as it may. it appears that instead of
having drowned with the gem in the shipwreck;
l!ahih got back to Baris with it. It was sold at
auction for $S0,(H)0 June 24. UXt;*.
i’ll ‘ gem then passed into possession of 1’. C.
Cartier, and the Cartier lirm brought it to this
country. In January. 11)11, announcement was
made that Hie stone had been sold to the McLean
family and that the purchase price was $180,000.
Mrs. McLean wore the stone at least once in pub
lic. according to the newspapers.
An authoritative article by T. lidgar Will.sou in
the Jewelers' Circular Weekly about the time of
the McLean purchase states that the “evil eye"
reputation of tin* Hope diamond dates from the
publication of a sen atloual urticli to u-01 when
}vsvjfo/y sv ejL fA jy
Frankel brought the stone to
New York. Willson says the
authentic story of the stone
begins with 1830, when Elia
son sold it to Hope. He
traces it through the Hope
heirs to its sale at auction to
Frankel in London In 1901.
Habib bought it in Paris and
it was sold at auction in
Paris when the Habib col
lection was disposed of in
IPO!), it is believed, though
it has never been proved, that
the present stone wus cut
from the 67,4-karat blue dia
mond that formed a part of
i lie stolen French regalia.
No mention of ill luck having
l-’li'Knn tfoni' or the
Nowcast les was ever mode. Frankel was prosper
ous while lie had the >tone anti llabib’s misfor
turii's came alter lie sold the stone. Sir Francis
Hope never had the stone and May Yohe never
saw it. A1! of which states T. Edgar Willson, as
aforesaid.
Nevertheless and notwithstanding, the reputa
tion of thi' Hope diamond is probably blasted for
all lime. If it hasn't the “evil eye” there are
millions'uf superstitious people who believe it has
and will give credence to everything evil they may
read about it.
They may. in the course of time, even attribute
to its malign influence the automobile accident
which made Vinson McLean at his birth the sole
heir to the great Walsh fortune. In llH'Ki. when
automobiles were rare, Vinson Walsh, brother of
Mrs. McLean, was killed in a smashup at Newport.
Mrs. McLean, who was then Miss Evelyn Walsh,
was also in the car and received injuries which
made tier an invalid for a year.
Two other children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. McLean, both hoys, one of whom is four and
the other a year old.
At the time of the probating of Ids grandfa
ther Walsh’s will it was found that there was
only 90,210,000 to be divided between the two heirs
of tin* McLean union. Vinson and John It., Jr.
Young McLean was a democratic youth. For
several years his boon companion was a small
negro hoy ills tutors said lie was an exception
ally bright student, and he was popular with his
mates.
He was fond of animals. Fifty-six Shropshire
sheep were sent all the way from Colorado to liar
Harbor by express for him. They came from the
Idg Walsh ranch, Wolluirst, near Denver. He
himself directed the purchase of a great dock of
white Brahma eld kens, ducks and turkeys, u llus
slan wolf hound, six blooded terriers, two Great
Danes and a half score of other dogs and u great
number of ponies.
Are t lie Mela mis superstitious about t lie beau
tiful gem? Nobody seems to know definitely. But
one of tile stories about the stone since it lias been
iu their possession seems to indicate that Its evil
reputation had its effect upon them.
Anyway, as the story goes, there was some hitch
about the payment of tlie purchase price of the
stone. It evidently was not because of lack of
money. There was a law suit. In the course of
(he controversy stories were printed to show that
Mr. McLean harbored a feeling of timidity be
cause ni, the evil history attributed to the stone,
and that lie stipulated that the jewel should be
taken hack by the Cartier firm in the event that
any tragedy occurred in the McLean family within
six months. Whether tintt story is true is not
dear, but eventually formal announcement was
made by attorm-vs connected with the suit over
the purchase price that a compromise had been
effected.
The superstitious who believe in the “evil eye.'
which is world-wide belief that neither Christian
ity nor civilization has been able to kill, will
pin their faith on the evil spell of the Hope dia
mond to this fact:
Vinson McLean was probably the most carefullj
guaided child in the world, jrj ti casual automobile
came uAwj* kilied Wul
3
Triumphs From the Fashion Show
■ .»<*■>!■ i i rw^>f .rrrm m mv m nr -r-m*m -at? *•-tjr*'.t jh %ik mi AJ
To attend one of the fashion shows,
*ta;;od by the Fashion-Art League of
America is to come away, convinced
that Americans might sign up a Decla
ration of Independence in the matter
of fashions without sacrificing any
thing of beauty or style. They do not
choose to do this and they do not fol
low slavishly the lead of other lands,
but look to all quarters of the world
for inspirations. These they adapt to
suit our needs, and also they create for
themselves such examples of loveliness
as are revealed in the two evening
gowns pictured here. Great American
names are signed to them, and the
gown at the left is one of the triumphs,
of the last fashion show.
This “I’apillon" gown has as a foun
dation a green and gold metal cloth
that shimmers through a veiling of
gray tulle. Three full flounces of tulle
are placed above the bottom of the
skirt and a tunic of tulle is edged with
a frifl of it. The bodice slopes down
from above the bust line at the front
into a wide girdle at Hie back. Here
it gives as much countenance to the
backless gown of I’aris as one may ex
P'M't from an American designer. An
overbodiee of the tulle covers the
shoulders nnd forms short sleeves. The
effect of a short, square train Is made
of wide green and gold ribbon, bro
caded with a butterfly pattern, that is
set into the girdle at each side and
joined at the middle with two gold
roses. These roses are small and full
bloom, made of a gauze and appear
unexpectedly on the tunic, where It is
draped at the hack. They strike the
high note that finishes off a gorgeous*
and beautiful gown.
“Gorgeous” does not tit ns a descrip
tion of the gown shown at the right,
hut “brilliant" belongs to It. it was
made of black satin, black tulle nnd
jet by a famous designer, whose Drain
seems to bo an inexhaustible picture
gallery of lovely apparel for woman
kind. The skirt is adapted to fall in
about the ankles, revealing them nnd
the sitk-nnd-SHtin-elad feet. The black
tulle overbodiee has long and full
draped sleeves, a wide girdle of bril
liant jet embroidery and strands of
jet beads over the shoulders. A long,
generous strand of them falls from the
front of the bodice.
Surprises That Lurk in Hat Shops
At the time when we have hereto
fore found “llnls" written In the story
of summer millinery we find this year
“continued." It seems the powers that
be In the realm «>f hats have forbidden
the eurly execution of summer head
wear and Interdicted the coining of
velvet and other wintry looking things
In August. To answer the demand for
something new for late summer they
have furnished new hats, but they are
all summery and not wintry. Most ot
them are made of taffeta silk or crepe
georgette in coo! combinations of eol
j or. like navy and white, white and
black, all white and all pink. The hat
in a delicate shade, like the inside
of a shell is promised a great vogue.
Three unusual hats for late sum
mer are shown in the group above. The
hat at the upper left of the group tins
| a M-ry wide, protecting brim and is
! covered with shell pink georgette
| rrepe. There is a “curtain" about the
i prim edge that makes a pretty shadow
' for the eyes. Such a hat sheds a pale
glow over the face. For trimming if
boasts a scarf of tuscan braid lace
draped about the crown and hanging
over the brim edge. How much more
pleasing t<> look at in hot weather a
hat of this kind is than one of heavier
stuffs.
The big black hat has always been
., favorite in midsummer millinery.
The example of ’t shown in the pie
mre is mail.; of hair braid with a
incj edge put on In two rows about
%
the brim and covering the rouuA
crown. It is sparingly trimmed with
u cluster of glyeerined ostricii feath
ers- at the back and a tie of ribbon
about the crown.
A bonnet-like shape at the bottom
of the group is a charming novelty.
This georgette-covered shape has a
| facing that covers half the under
brim in a darker shade than the stripe
in tile hat. In this model tin* g-orgette
is a white with cross bars of celestial
blue. One would expect a sash of rib
bon on a model as quaint as this, and
it Is there: also -i small cluster of
dowers and a wisp of feathers are set
tled complacently, knowing they are
expected, at the front of the shape.
Brocaded Ribbon Vests.
'File vest lor suit wear keeps its
popularity and its magnilicy^^ too.
Gorgeous brocaded materials go into
■ these vests that give brightness to the
■ suit, limcaded ribbon is frequently
used for this purpose, and very lovely
are the wide flowered and brocaded
ribbons that adorn the ribbon coun
j ters.
Dolman or Cape?
Where, oh, where is the plain coat of
1 yesterday? Today if It isn't a dolman
; it ts sure to be u cape.