Diamonds have been discovered since in many parts of the world, and particularly in Brazil, South Africa and West Africa; and in almost all cases by accident. Each discovery has been a romance, but these stories and those of the wonderful methods and results of diamond-mining in South Africa belong to the romance of mining. In each of these discoveries, however, the earth has shown signs of previous volcanic activity. But while the author was in West Africa diamond-bearing blue clay was found in a region which bears no such trace.

A woman who was digging out blue clay for pottery-making at Ikotobo picked out a little ” star,” as she called it, and placed it in the mud figure of a household god, as the Hindus placed their dia¬monds in the eyes of their temple images.