Bad Luck for Hitler?
N historical sapphire of more than ordinary interest is the stone that Charlemagne wore set in the clasp of his mantle. The great emperor of the Franks was buried at Aix. After the conquest of
Germany by Napoleon, the clasp with the sapphire-which was supposed to give its wearer dominion over the whole world -was taken from the mantle covering his remains and presented to Napoleon. But he in turn gave it to his brother Joseph, to whom it brought bad luck. It passed into the hands of Napoleon III., who gave it to
his wife, Empress Eugenie. As you know, the FrancoGerman War of 1870-71 brought Napoleon III. to
utter defeat. The Empress came to desolation and loneliness in a foreign land, and their son was killed by the Zulus in battle. With the death of Eugenie the stone became the property of the Spanish Duke of Alva, who was her nephew. He, wise man, got rid of it by giving it to the Cathedral of Rheims, where it is to this day-that is if it has not caught the eye of the present invader of France.-("Ebor" on "Precious Stones and Gems," in 2YA’s Children’s Hour, August 12).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 62, 30 August 1940, Page 6
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203Bad Luck for Hitler? New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 62, 30 August 1940, Page 6
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