The newspapers are publishing a strange story about a treasure
of which the Indian Government is in search. A private who died recently at Wandsworth, confessed, on his death-bed, that after the storm of Mandelay he and a comrade entered the King's palace, stumbled on the regalia, the jewels on which are of immense value, and carried them off, but getting frightened, buried them outside the palace grounds. For some reason unexplained, they made no further effort to get the jewels or to sell their secret in Rangoon, but came home leaving the property there. The comrade, who is still alive, confirms this story, and after bargaining for a moderate reward, has gone to Rangoon, with the consent of Lord Kimberley, to show the Chief Commissioner the spot. The story is possible, for things stranger still did happen in the -sack of the Winter Palace near Pekin ; but there are two reasons for distrusting it. If the story is true, what is the India Office about in letting the story get out before the soldier has arrived P Every detail is in Mandelay by this time, and native detectives are a sharp race. And what was Theebaw's sister-Queen doing all that while? She carried off, it was said, all the jewels she could get ; and why should she forget the most valuable of them all ? Still, the Com-
missioner may find some valuable rabies, which, as part to the regalia, did not, we imagine, belong to the Army prize- agents, though that point has never been quite decided. Lord Dalhousie sent the Koh-i-noor to the Queen, it is true ; but then nobody ever questioned Lord Dalhousie's acts, or cavilled at them.
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