Show HOPE DIAMOND IS BLAMED FOR CURSE Misfortunes s of House of Traced to Looting Looting Loot Loot- ing of Indian Temple 8 By The Special News Service LONDON Dec 23 An An extraordinary nary narrative linking Jinking the misfortunes of the house of Hapsburg with the tragic history of the Hope diamond and tracing both to the looting of a temple in Burma acquires special Interest Interest interest In in- terest by reason of the death of the Austrian emperor It has been communicated communicated communicated com com- to the Daily Dally Express by a soldier now on active service and says the Express is presented to students of the time o occult cult for what it may be worth The story says the author who signs himself W B. B was told me meby meby meby by a Buddhist priest when I was in In- Ceylon He was a man of high repute repute re re- in the native community there and he assured me that every word of the narrative was strictly and absolutely ab absolutely absolutely ab- ab ab- ab true Personally I hold no brief for the occult and will not venture venture ven ven- ture to express any opinion on the extraordinary series of or events recounted recounted recounted re re- re- re counted to me by the Buddhist priest I transcribe his strange story for the benefit of th those se who who- understand more than I d do of f these mysterious mat mat- i Many 1 years ago said the priest a member of the house of Hapsburg one Count Hermann in conjunction with a duke of Braganza and a number number number num num- ber of followers set out on an ex expedition expedition eXpedition eX ex- to Burma with the ostensible purpose of converting the natives They sailed from Lisbon and indue in indue indue due course reached Mandalay near which town they speedily became Involved involved involved in In- in a religious controversy which ended ende in the death of more than thana a thousand Burmese worshipers The count and the duke and their followers then made for the great temple temple temple tem tem- of Rama and Sita which was known to contain gold and jewels in enormous abundance and of priceless value They slaughtered the priests and ind all the guardians of the temple and looted its treasures The temple walls were inlaid with gold and inset in almost every inch with precious gems Every stone that could be wrenched from its ts place was stolen by the marauders each each of of whom had his share of the booty Two of the finest stones in the temple formed the eyes of the golden st statue tue of Rama One to be known known later as the Blue Hope diamond was appropriated by Count Hermann and the other fell later Into the possession possession pos pos- session of the late King Leopold Rama Hama continued the priest called down upon the thieves the vengeance of all aU the gods and more than fifty persons of high degree have I already fallen under Ramas Rama's curse and lost their lives by violent means With I their death the curse came to an end I but ut in the house of ot Hapsburg it goes goeson goeson oes I on forever Whatever Whatever- may be thought of the Buddhist priests priest's weird story it Is Is' known that the looted Jewels were scattered by marri marriage ge and inheritance through most of the royal houses of Europe with the exception of those of Df England and Denmark Denmar and stran strangely strange strange- ely e- e ly tragic is the record of many of of these re regal families |