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The Pitt or Regent: Paris

The year after the preparation of this inventory which was made by a commission of the most experienced jewellers in Paris, the whole of the French Regalia disappeared, and with it the "Pitt," now the "Regent," which stood at the head of the list. The remarkable circumstances attending this famous robbery of the Garde-Meuble are thus related by M. Breton, editor of the Gazette des Tribuncaux:-- "The inventory of the Crown diamonds, made in 1791, in virtue of a decree of the Constituent Assembly, had scarcely been completed in the month of August, 1792, at the time of the last public exhibition, which took place on the first Tuesday of every month. After the sanguinary events of August 10th to September 2nd, this rich treasury was naturally closed to the public, and the Paris Commune, as representing the State property, put its seals on the cabinets in which had been placed the crown, the sceptre, and other ornaments of the coronation service. The golden shrine, bequeathed by Cardinal Richelieu to Louis XIII., with all the accompanying diamonds and rubies, and the famous golden vase, weighing 106 marks, besides a vast quantity of other vases in agate, amethyst, and rock crystal. On the morning of September 17th, Sergent and the two other commissioners of the Commune, perceived that during the night robbers had made their way in by scaling the colonnade from the side of the Place Louis XV., and through a window looking in that direction. having thus got access to the vast halls of the Garde-Meuble, they had broken the seals without forcing the locks, carried off the priceless treasures contained in the cabinets, and disappeared without leaving any other traces of their presence. Several persons were arrested, but released after a protracted enquiry. An anonymous letter, addressed to the Commune stated, that some of the stolen objects were in a ditch in the Allee des Veuves, Champs-Elysees. Sergent at once proceeded with his colleagues to the spot, which had been very carefully indicated. Here were found amongst other things the famous "Regent" diamond, and the no less famous agate-onyx cup, known by the name of the Abbe Suger's Chalice, which was afterwards placed in the cabinet of antiques in the National Library. "Notwithstanding the investigations made at the time and subsequently, it remained uncertain whether this robbery had a political object, or whether it was simply the act of ordinary criminals, undertaken at a time when the guardians of the public security were in a state of complete disorganization. Some said that the proceeds of these treasures were intended to maintain the army of the emigrants. Others, on the contrary, pretended that Pethion and Manual had used them to obtain the evacuation of Champagne, by giving up the whole to the King of Prussia. Some even went so far as to assert that the keepers themselves had broken open the cabinets, and Sergent, of whom we have above spoken, was nick-named Agate, in consequence of the mysterious way in which he had found the agate-onyx cup. But none of these more or less absurd surmises ever received any judicial confirmation. "Nevertheless, there was one circumstance of which I was witness, jointly with the others present at the sitting of the special criminal court of Paris, when Bourgeois and others accused of having forged notes on the Bank of France, were put upon their trial in 1804. One of the accused, who had assumed the name of Baba, had at first denied all the charges brought against him. But during the proceedings he made a complete confession, and explained the ingenious devices employed by the forgers. 'It is not the first time,' he added, 'that my revelations have been useful to society, and if I am now condemned, I will implore the emperor's pardon. But for me, Napoleon would never have mounted the throne; to me alone is due the success of the Marengo campaign. I was one of the robbers of the Garde-Meuble. I had assisted my associates to bury in the Allee des Veuves the 'Regent' and the other easily recognized objects, by which they might have been betrayed. On the promise of a free pardon, a promise which was faithfully kept, I disclosed the hiding-place. Here the 'Regent' was recovered, and you are aware, gentlemen, that this magnificent diamond was pledged by the first Consul to the Dutch Government, in order to raise the money, of which he stood in the greatest need after the 18th Brumaire." "The criminals were all condemned to the galleys except Bourgeois and Baba, who were sent to the prison of Bicetre, where they died. I do not know whether Baba made any further revelations beyond what I have reported, and which may also be read in the Journal de Paris of that date."