Loading...
Zurich Herald, 1957-10-17, Page 2, • • • World's Biggest The panting, brown -skinned diver held on to the side of the boat with one hand, supporting himself in the waters of the Persian Gulf, and with the other hand he tossed a pearl on to the deck of the little Arab dhow. It was 1628 . . and the great Pearl of Asia had been found. The Pearl of Asia weighing 605 carats, is the largest pearl in the world and it has been the centre of many strange and fantastic adventures. Not the least of these took place in Paris in 1942 when France lay under Hitler's jackboot. The pearl was then owned by Father Robert, General Superior of the Foreign Missions in China. it had been bought in Hong Kong from an old Chinese man- darin by one of the Mission's priests. In 1942 as the Missions needed money urgently, Father Robert decided to sell the pearl. His secretary, M. Michelet, con- tacted a big Paris jeweller and was told that the great pearl was worth about $150,000. But the Germans, aware of the existence of the gem, forced ' Michelet to deposit it in a bank and ordered that the pearl be kept there until permission was received to remove it. On May 15th, two German officers made an appointment with Michelet at the Societe Generale where the pearl was being kept. They were given the pearl, and then they) all went off by car to the Avenue d'Iena. A large body of troops was as- sembled in front of the build - Ing to which Michelet was led, Indicating that an important personage was awaiting them. Michelet and his escort were shown to a room where they sat down and waited. Presently a reneral came in and took the pearl. Returninghalf an hour later he gave the pearl back to Michelet and said that a very important German — he indicat- ed with his hands a very fat person — who was a real con- noisseur, was very interested in the pearl and had had a photo- graph taken of it. Michelet would hear from him later. It became known some time later that this personage was Hermann Goering, the gross Luftwaffe chief. But nothing was heard from Goering in the months that followed. In March, 1944, thinking that Goering would have more seri- ous distractions, Michelet asked M. Musseau, a legal adviser, to sell the pearl. Musseau men- tioned it to a man named Piat, who said that he had found a buyer, M. Bonfanti, a rich snanufacturer in the North of France. A rendezvous was fixed tr. M. Musseau's office. Michelet brought the jewel and, in the presence of Musseau, showed it to the intending buyer and Plat. M. Monfanti examined the gone and while they were dis- cussing the price a violent knocking was heard at the front door. The maid opened the door and four men in S.S. uni- forms pushed in brandishing revolvers. "Hands up!" they ordered. They declared that the intending buyers were robbers they had to arrest, adding that anyway Michelet had no right to sell the pearl. They took the pearl and its gold case, removed a revolver Piat was carrying, taking at the same time from Michelet and Musseau all their cash and a number of valuables. M. Musseau protested: "These jewels have nothing to do with the pearl business." "Present yOurself the day after Pearl Blocks Drain tomorrow at the commandant's office—you can explain your case then," the S.S. men said, The four policemen then marched off with the two buyers. When Musseau a n d Michelet turned up at the com- mandant's office the German of- ficials denied all knowledge of the four S.S. men, and the two buyers. The conclusion seemed ob- vious; they had been the dupes cf organized gangsters working on their own account or under the wing of some German pro- tector. A complaint was lodged with the French authorities and the German police. All Paris jewellers were -alerted, and a reward notice was published in the newspapers. Three weeks later, Piat was arrested by the French police in Montmartre. On information Plat revealed under questioning a man named Yvon Colette, a Belgian subject with a known police record. He was arrested with his wife near Chartres by the German police, together with Joseph Klopf, a Luxembourg subject, and another member of the gang. Three of the six ban- dits had been caught, but the three others have never been traced. Some days later Michelet was told to call at Gestapo head- quarters and there he identified Colette, a thick -set, degenerate - looking man of about forty, and the elegant Piat. After a beating -up Colette confessed to the theft of the pearl, but swore he had for- gotten where he had put it. Finally, Colette and his wife were put in prison. The last months of the occupation brought no further news of the Pearl .of Asia. Everybody was convinced that somehow it had left France. In July, 1944, Paris was liber- ated, and Colette and his wife escaped. Madame Colette took refuge in her native Maillebois where she had previously hid- den the pearl in the trunk of an oak tree. Colette, anxious to "whitewash" himself, fought and was wounded on a Paris barricade. A few months later Madame Colette rejoined her husband in Marseilles with the inten- tion of fleeing by the first available boat with the precious pearl. Colette was known in Marseilles under a false name, as a lieutenant in the French Resistance, but a genuine mem- ber of the Resistance caught him one day selling 'foreign ,currency and promptly' denounced him to the police. On December lst, two police inspectors arrived at the hotel where Colette was living with his wife. They examined their indenti- fication papers and searched the room. Five million francs in Belgian and French currency was discovered. Colette was taken to the police station and later sentenced to ten years' im- prisonment. He escaped but was recaptured. The pearl was recovered when the landlord of the hotel, notic- ing a leak in the room that had formerly been occupied by the Colettes, called in a plumber. He traced the trouble to a stopped -up sewer, and then the missing pearl was found in a waste -pipe, having been thrown into a drain by Madame Colette during the police search. Still awaiting a purchaser, the pearl is now back in its gold box at the French Board of Foreign Missions, ISSUE 42 — 1957 ALL TANKED UP—Welder Pete Martin happily rumples .the fur cof his five -week-old kitten "Puddy-totr, which had gotten itself settled up inside a new pressure tank in Pete's shop. Marlin noticed the kitten was missing after welding on the head of The 12 -by -4 -foot tank. Fortunately, the specifications called for et three-inch opening through which Puddy-tat come tumbling to freedom. DOG'S BEST FRIEND — Flash, a blind greyhound, is led across a Southampton, England, street by his own "seeing eye" dog, a fax terrier named Peggy. The small dog's ability to serve as a guide for the greyhound has saved the latter from being destroyed by local authorities. Peggy, in turn, was saved from destruction seven years ago by Mr. G. Corbin of Southampton. It is truly a new life for both dogs. "Fudge That Will Keep — If You Let It" — is the arresting heading on an article in the in- valuable Christian Science Monitor. It was written by a newspaper woman in North Da- kota whose names is Fern E. Lee. So — take it away Mrs. Lee. (If it should be "Miss," this column's sincere apologies.) * * Having been a "Petticoat" editor and manager of a weekly newspaper for the past 14 years I have never found too much time to bend over a hot stove whipping up exotic and unusual dishes to tempt the palates of members of my family. However, a few extra -good recipes, used time and It again through those years, have help- ed to establish my reputation as a good cook. In my family for more than 30 years has been a recipe for an unusually delicious chocolate , fudge with an unsurpassed flav- or and a creamy consistency which makes for the best keep- . 3).0 ." keeping that that .11, "if 'out of sight 'of "candy devour- ers. This fudge recipe was award- ed a prize in a newspaper con- test but brought a letter of re- proach from one reader who Lonely Giant There was a ruggedly epic quality about the tomposer Jean Sibelius which made him seem as eternal and as indestruc- tible as the towering trees and lonely lakes of his beloved Fin- land. At 91, he still smoked the black cigars he called "my food ," and walked along through the countryside near his home at Jarvenpaa, a village some 25 miles north Of Hel- sinki. No one ever knew if he were really bald, for he had shaved his head at 39, when he spotted his first gray hair. It was hard to believe, therefore, that last month a cerebrallsem- orrhage had finally felled this hardy giant, less than three months short of his 92nd birth -- day. As a devoted husband and father who called his daughters "my five symphonies," Sibelius was ever thoughtful and loved to keep in touch with his more than 50 grandchildren and great- grandchildren. As a citizen and patriot he inflamed his people against the Russians in 1899 with his stirring tone poem "Finlanclia " and when the Rus- sians invaded his tiny country again in 1939, he stubbornly re- fused to seek safety elsewhere. He was, not a solitary man when it came to home and country. But as far as his mu- sic went, Jean Silbelius was perhaps the loneliest man it the world. He was influenced by no school of composition, and no school has patterned itself after his model. Just what that mold was has been weighed object- ively for the first time only in recent years, for the romanti- cists called him modern, and the modernists called him romantic. Except for his tone poems, like "Finlandia" and "The Swan of Tuonela," which are frankly romantic, the seven Sibelius symphonies belong to neither school. He is best described quite simply as Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer, And although no new major score appeared from his pen for more than 30 years before his death, his effect on music lovers probably was best reflected in the results of a CBS radio poll taken in 1935, Jean Sibelius, listeners voted, was the world's greatest com- poser living or dead. — From NEWSWEEK. said, "There must be a mistake. Your recipe as printed calls for a sinful waste of butter and you had better have the newspaper make a correction in the amount." It may be a sinful waste but butter is the ingredi- ent which gives this fudge its out -of -this -world goodness. Chocolate Fudge Mix well 3 cups granulated sugar with one envelope (1 tablespoon) of gelatin. Add 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup light syrup, 21/2 squares baking chocolate and 1 cup butter. Use heavy saucepan and stir frequently from the bot- tom to keep the gelatin from sticking. Cook to a rather firm ball (when tested in cold water) or 238° F. when tested on a candy thermometer. Place pan in cold water and allow to cool for several min- utes. Add 136 teaspoons vanilla. Beat with heavy spoon (do not ues electric mixer) until thick and creamy. Add 1 cupful nuts. Turn into buttered pan and cut in squares when cold. * * * Another recipe which always naligger repeats is for a cheese dip to serve with'crackers or po- tato chips. This is especially de- licious for sandwiches made with pumpernickel bread. CHEESE DIP Blend: 1 cup soft cheddar cheese Vs cup butter 8 ounce package softened cream cheese 34 cup salad dressing 1 teaspoon Minced onion l'sa teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 3/4 teaspoon salt 36 teaspoon prepared mustard Mix together until creamy and fluffy. This will keep for a long time in a covered contain- er in the refrigerator. Remove at least half an hour before serv- ing to soften to spreading con- sistency. * Here is a molded salad which goes over well even with men who are usually reluctant to eat salads which look pretty. Molded Salad Heat toaadoolling 1 cup water. Dissolve In water 1 4 -ounce package red cinnamon candies. Pour mixture over 1 package lemon -flavored gelatin powder. Add 1 cup thick, cold applesauce. Chill. When beginning to set, put half in bottom of mold. Blend: 2 3 -ounce packages cream cheese, 1/2 cup mayon- naise, lh cup finely chopped cel- ery, 1/2 cup finely chopped pe- cans. Spread over congealed layer of gelatin mixture. Put rest of gelatin mixture on top and let set. Serve on salad greens withe extra mayonnaise. Wh re ccentrics Are ' le tlful More eccentrics — including royalties — have lived on the Riviera than probably anywhere else on earth. King Leopold II of Belgium, who had an estate at Cap Ferrat, hated creases so much that he insisted on his newspapers being ironed before he read them. Ad- ressing servants he always spoke in the third person, saying "You will wait for him," which mysti- fied people, making them wonder what on earth he was talking about. When he was looking for a villa at Cap Ferrat he noticed, on a drive with his bodyguard, the Villa Passable, surrounded by high walls and apparently abandoned. The gate was open, so he went in to explore, but when the party returned to the gate they found that someone had locked it. A ladder in a shed enabled them to scale the high wall. With the four of them perched on top the ladder toppled and fell. "We look like burglars," commented Leopold laughing. He couldn't jump down owing to a bad leg; so the others did so and formed a human ladder for him; and that's how the King got out. At sixty-five he fell in love with blonde, gay, eighteen -year- old Blanche Caroline Delacroix, whom he later made Baroness de Vaughan and, rumour said, se- cretly married at San Remo. To hide their liaison they pretended to be strangers in public even when they rode on -the same train, alighted at the same station, stayed in adjoining suites at the same hotel and ate at the same restaurants — at different tables. Later, when the friendship was more or less official, he gave her a charming villa which connected with his Chateau Laeken out- side Brussels. On his Cap Ferret estate he built a little house for her and visited her every evening for two hours' card -playing, car- rying a lantern. A strange visitor at Cap Mar- tin was the Empress Elizabeth Of Austria, who slept On a gold- plated bed with a swing above it on which she did a trapeze act to keep her figure. Queen Victoria, after the Prince Consort's death, stayed regularly at hotels at Menton and Cimiez with a large retinue of servants. She always took her own coaches, and horses, furni- ture from Balmoral (including her acanthus -wood bed), table linen, china, glass, cutlery. At the Grand hotel, Cimiez, her apart- ments cost $10,000 for six weeks; at the Regina Excelsior, $20,000 for two months. Recounting these facts in. "Royal Riviera" Charles Graves. says that one scandalous expla- nation of her forsaking Menton for Cimiez was that a high. -rank- ing lady-in-waiting fell madly in love with a horse -tram conductor and frequently spent the day go- ing to and from Cannes on his tram. A likelier explanation is that a royal commission of physi- cians advised the Queen that Cimiez was the healthiest place for her to stay. A haughty Nice visitor was the Grand Duke Constatine's widow, herself a German prin- cess. Deciding to visit Genoa, she Ordered her aide to arrange transport. When he told her that a steamer from Marseilles would soon stop at Nice en route to Genoa, she said: "You must be mad. I, the widow of the Lord High Admiral of the Russian Navy, mingle with the common populace? I shall write to Napo- leon III and demand a man -of war!" She did so, and he duly ordered a frigate to transport her to Nice. It waited for days while the contents of her villa were put on board. On arrival at Genoa the captain informed her that a pinnace would take her and her belongings ashore. "A pinnace," she exploded. "Do you suppose I am going to risk myself and my grand piano upon some Genoese skiff? Certainly not; a pier must be built out to us here. I shall not leave this tub until it is completed." Vainly he argued. It took a fortnight to build the pier. Then she swept off the ship to be met by the Genoese governor. When the old Grand Duke Michael was rodered to Cannes ' for his health he was so frail and ill that his doctors said that his private train of six coaches from St. Petersburg should not exceed twenty-four m.p.h. Sa for two days the Russian, German, Bel- gian and French railway sched- ules were put out of joint while the train steered its stately course, Graves gives us other unusual glimpses of Riviera life. Count von Zernsdorf used to light his cigarettes with 1,000 -franc notes, then worth $250. An American Jack Mackeon, wno the equiva- lent of a million dollars at the Monte Carlo tables. He put all the notes into an umbrella, with the rubber ring round the spokes, and drove to Paris. It was raining hard when he alighted at the Restaurant Fouquet. He opened the umbrella, and the Champs Elysees was suddently white with banknotes, not all of which were retrieved! When three bandits held up the Aga Khan's car, snatched the 1Begum's jewel -box and made off, he called out. "Hi, come back! You've forgotten your tip!" — and handed one of them a num- ber of 1,000 franc notes. After going to see Janos, one of Italy's most popular circus horses, perform, an admirer ex- pressed his gratitude by writing a cheque for 1,500 lire ($2.50) and making it payable through a bank in Turin to Janos, so that he would buy himself an extra ration of sugar, BUT DOES IT RUN?—The ultimate in stripped -down hot rods, this contraption, made of two-by- fours and one-in'ch boards, is readied for a small trip by its builders. Peter Katz, 13, left, start- ing the engine, and Dennis La Hiff, 14, bought the lown-mower engine from a repair shop for $20 and spent another $15 to rig up the rest of the rope -steered vehicle. It'll do 15 miles an hour, but not on town streets. The kids have been warned to keep out of traffic and drive only in the park. ., •