WHILE Smithsonian scholar Richard Kurin seeks to debunk the legend of the curse in his fascinating book Hope Diamond, he also raises the possibility that the startling blue gem was good luck for the French and bad for their enemies. As the legend goes, Austrian and Prussian army led by the Duke of Brunswick were poised to invade France and end the revolution. In the revolutionary chaos of Paris the French crown jewels, including a magnificent gem called the French Blue, had been stolen.%%Few years back scientists determined that the Hope was cut from the larger French Blue. The diamond later passed into the hands of wealthy English merchant Henry Philip Hope, from whom it takes its current name. Originally, it was purchased in India, Kurin notes - it was not stolen from the eye of an idol - and became part of the French crown jewels before the Revolution. In time, the stone came into the possession of another famous jeweller, Harry Winston, who donated it to the Smithsonian Institution where, curators say, it has been nothing but good luck, attracting throngs of visitors and inspiring other gifts to the national museum.