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Show 7 saFBBar-"eBisisaBsssppBs.saBs ONCE OWNED KOH-I-NOOR. I The Mnharajaii or Lahore, cm Whom Kngland Mae Bpent Much SInnej. Dulcrp Sini;li. when a tiny, was tho Miihitriijitli of Lahore, nml the owner of the Koli-1-noor, or the Mountain of Light, now tlio chief nmonj; the crown juwrls of Kngland. Diilocp wns not jut in his teens when thu .aont Sikli dynasty, of which ho wa tho last rcp-rrsontHtivo, rcp-rrsontHtivo, full bcfnru the nrins of England, nml tho little boy lost Ills throne nnd his wonderful diamond. The third clnuso of the treaty of pcaco provided that "tho pent called tho Koh-i-noor slmll be surrendered by tho 7.1 a ha raj uh of Lahore to thu Queen of England." It Is doubtfal It tho English ever spent so much monoy on nny other fallen foe ns on tho Maharajah of Lahore, La-hore, observes the Iiostnu Transcript. Ho was taken to Kngland along with tho Koh-i-noor, nnd no English prince was over tnnro carefully reared and educated. As he grow up to manhood pnrllnmont voted lilin money to buy a magnificent estnte and $125,000 a year to keep the wolf from tho door. He boenmo ostremoly lnvish in his expenditures, ex-penditures, supported a first-class shooting-box and stable ou grand occasions outshone everybody in tho splendor of h!g diamonds, and In fact became ono of tho most stunning young meu In England. He was now nml then a guest nt Iho palaco, and wan a favorite In aristocratic socioty. "I should llko," ho said ono dny, "to nlace tho Koh-i-noor In the queen's hand now that I nm a man. I was only a child when I surrendered it to her by tho treaty, but now I urn old cnoiigli to understand." Tho vorv ucxt day ho was summoned to tho pafacc. The jewel was placed in his hand, nnd for some time ho toy cd with it. Then tho descendant of tastern kings handed back the rich prlzo of many conquests, nnd formally remarked that it gavo him much pleasure pleas-ure to place Iho jewel in the hand of his sovereign. Hut not a great whllo after Dulecp Singh ceased to hold, the queen in -such high regard. He begged to iuqutro how many millions she wns making out ot his old country, tho l'ttnjuh, whllo ho was almost etnrving on the beggarly plttnnce of $126 000 a year. In fact $125,000 was a small sum ot money whon compared with tho alicust fabulous income of his prcdcccssoi on tho throne of Lahore. Ho nppcnlcd to tho govumment to glvo him a larger allowance, but tho request was refused. So Duleop Singh said that if ho could uot have enough money to properly support his dignity he would not tiik'o a penny. He therefore betook himself nnd his gnrgootis diamonds to foreign paru. His gumi. llko tho Koh-1-nour, woro derived from his fathers, and woro worth a goodly fuftnne. Hts departure morod thu British to contemplation. Tliey really did pot know t now much mischief tho e.x-Maharnlith e.x-Maharnlith might stir up among tho dlssatiillcd elements In India. He had hardly crossed over to Franco before the Dritlsh offered htm all ho had asked to como back. Hut he would not stir a peg. Ho was tho Sikli chief again, robbed ot his rights, Ids pcoplo and his splendor by a brutal Invader. From that position ho has unvcr swerved until un-til now. Nearly every qottrt ou tho continent has harbore'd him, anil lie has over boon ready to tell tho story of his wrong to all who would listen. For years ho has periodically Isuietl addresses to thu Sikh pcoplo, urging them to rovolt and promising to appear ap-pear among then, soon to restore tho old regime. In tho proclamation ho issued two years ago to tlio prluccft antl people of India, ho slgnod himself: "Sovereign of the Skilf nations and Implacable foe of the llritUli government." govern-ment." Some of his frieuds In India have always managed to have. IiIh proclamations proclama-tions mystoriously placaided ou the bill board. Of late years, hotvovcr, these effu-alovs effu-alovs have boon hardly mo to than objects ot derisiou. Last year ho wrote a letter to Queen Victoria, telling her that It was high time she restored tho Koli-i-uoor to its rightful owner. Of Ltto years Duleop Singh has lived mostly in Kusiia. Ho attended the Paris Exposition Inst year, and an English newspaper said he was looking look-ing rather seedy and "out of luck." As far ns Is known, liu has had no means of support for many years, ox-cept ox-cept tho gems lie has occasionally sold. He Is now getting old, nnd it is certain that his old spirit is broken, or ho would nover renouueo a jot or title of his regal claims upon thu Punjab for all tho wealth nnd honor England could give him. For many yuars ho had hut to speak the word aud a princely income would havo flowed to li I in from British coders. Itut ho uovcr spoko tho word. |
