extract from Tavernier’s voyages.

-240

having to do with a man of honour, they fhould prefent me with fomething as a re-membrance, on which with a good grace they gave me a diamond of near an hundredcrowns value, and the governor himfelf prefented me with a turban and fafh.

Here I have to remark the fingular and curious manner which the Indians, idolatersas well as Mahometans, adopt in difpofing of every fort of merchandize. All paffes inprofound filence, not a word being fpoke. The feller and the buyer are feated oppofiteto each other like two tailors, and one of the two opening his fain, the feller taking theright hand of the buyer covers it with his, under which, in the prefence of perhaps fe-veral other merchants met together in the fame room, the bargain is concluded fecretlywithout any one’s knowledge. The buyer and feller making ufe of neither mouth noreyes, carry on the traffic with their hands only, which is done in the following manner.When the feller takes the whole of the buyer’s hand, that fignifies a thoufand, and asmany times as he preffes it, fo many thoufand pagodas or rupees are required, accordingto the matter in queftion. When he takes the five fingers only, it fignifies five hundred,and if one finger, only one hundred. When he takes hold of half the finger juft bythe middle joint, it ftands for fifty, while the tip of the finger to the firft joint fignifiesten. This is all the myftery ufed by thefe Indians in their traffic, and it oftentimes hap-pens that at a place where there are feveral people together, one article is fold feven oreight times without any of the company knowing at either time what it is.

In regard to the weight of the (tones, they are never deceived except when theybuy them in fecret, for at all public fales there is a man exprefsly employed by theKing, without deriving any private advantage, to weigh the diamonds, who declaringthe weight, the buyer and feller take it at his word, as having no interelt to favoureither party.

Having concluded my bufmefs at the mine, the governor gave me fix horfe foldiersto conduit me in fafety to the confines of his government, which extends as far as theriver that leparates the kingdom of Vifapour from that of Golconda. The paffage ofthis river is very difficult, it being wide, deep, and rapid, and has neither bridge norboats, and in order to pafs it they employ the fame means I have elfewhere fpoken ofin palling other Indian rivers, as well for men, as for their luggage, carriages, cattleand horfes. A circular vefl'el from ten to twelve feet in diameter, made of offer twigslike our bafkets, and covered on the outfide with bull hides, ferves in the place of aboat, and their manner of tranfporting paffengers over I have before obferved. Theycould eafily build good barks or erect a bridge acrofs this river; but the Kings ofGolconda and Vifapour will not allow it, becaufe it divides the two kingdoms. Everyevening the boatmen on both fides the river are obliged to give in to two petty gover-nors, who are ftationed on each fide about a quarter of a league from the river, an ex-act account of all paffengers, beafts of burden, and merchandize that has palled overin the courfe of the day.

When I arrived at Golconda, I found the apothecary Boete had been dead three,days, and the chamber in which I had left him put under two feals, the one of the Cadi,who a£ts as chief juftice, and the other of the Cha-Bander, who acts as provoft of themerchants. An officer of juftice attended day and night at the door of the chamber incompany with the valets I had left with the defunct. Immediately on my arrival, no-tice was fent to the Cadi and Cha-Bender, who prefently fent to fetch me. After la-luting them, the Cadi demanded whether the money found in the chamber of the de-funct belonged to me, and how I could prove it ? I replied, I had no better way ofproving it than by producing the letters of exchange I had brought to the Cheraf, and.that fince my departure he had by my order paid the money to the defunct; that I had

afterwards