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The Moon of Mountains

"Diamond Cut Diamond"--Nadir Shah Murdered by his own Troops--Shafforass and the Afghan Soldier--The Curse of Wealth--A Terrible Tragedy--Three Brothers Murder a Jew and an Afghan for the "Moon of Mountains"--Two Brothers Murdered by the Third--Adventures of the Assassin--The Law of Russia--The Story as told by Pallas--Shafforass the Murderer Retires and Marries, and is eventually Killed by his Son-in-Law.

AFTER unravelling the intricate history of the "Orloff," so often interwoven with that of the "Moon of Mountains," the tragic story of the latter gem flows smoothly enough. That this diamond originally belonged to the Mogul emperors, and passed from them together with a vast quantity of other treasures, to Nadir Shah, is highly probable. It seems to have been in the Persian conqueror's possession for many years, and of all places visited by his destroying hosts, Delhi was by far the most likely to have harboured a rare stone, such as this. It was said to have been one of the two large diamonds which ornamented Nadir's throne, and which were respectively known as the "Sun of the Sea," and the "Moon of Mountains." A few years after returning from his sanguinary campaign laden with spoil, his chariot wheels literally clogged with the blood of his helpless victims, he was murdered, and his ill-gotten treasures plundered and dispersed by his revolted and brutalized troops. This occurred in the year 1747, and a short time afterwards an Afghan soldier, formerly in Nadir's service, made his appearance in Bassorah, a large town on the Shatt-el-Arab, about seventy miles from its mouth in the Persian Gulf. This place has long been a famous emporium for all sorts of Eastern produce, and to it the Afghan warrior brought his wares, consisting of one very large diamond, the "Moon of Mountains," an emerald of rare size and beauty, a fine ruby, a magnificent sapphire, since known to the Persians as the "Eye of Allah," besides many other costly jewels, all of which had doubtless fallen to his share when Nadir's effects were pillaged. At this time Shaffrass, an Armenian merchant, was residing in Bassorah, with his two brothers, and to him the Afghan offered his gems at a very tempting price. Shaffrass, however, who was greatly astonished at the sight of so many sparkling jewels in the hands of a common soldier, evidently unaware of their great value, was obliged to put him off for a few days, in order to find sufficient funds to effect the purchase. Meantime the Afghan became suspicious, and fancying that a snare was being laid for him, suddenly disappeared from Bassorah in the same mysterious way in which he had entered the place.