place, for that in a little time I hope the place will be able to subsist of itself without much dependence upon the country, for that in the late long siege (by Daud Khau) we were not a little pinched for provisions." The spectacle of the arch interloper cultivating his cabbage patch in the vicinity of Fort St. George must have had its diverting side for those who were closely associated with him in his earlier roving career.
Pitt, amongst his less estimable qualities, had a capacity for accumulating wealth which his enemies were not slow to denounce as avarice. His name in this connexion will always be associated with the acquisition of the famous Pitt Diamond which is one of the historic gems of the world. A scandalous story current at the time relative to the circumstances in which the stone came into Pitt's possession suggested the well-known lines of Pope—
"Asleep and naked as an Indian lay.
An honest factor stole a gem away;
He pledged it to the Knight: the Knight had wit,
So kept the diamond and the rogue was bit."
It was clearly proved, however, that the conditions under which the purchase was made reflected no discredit on Pitt. The stone was discovered at the diamond mines on the Kistna by a slave, who secreted it in a wound in his leg. It was stolen from him by an English captain, who disposed of it to a Madras dealer named Jamchand. Pitt, who was an extensive buyer of precious stones, was offered the diamond by Jamchand in the ordinary course of business. After protracted bargaining the gem changed hands for £20,000. It was then sent home and placed in the hands of skilled diamond cutters, who by their processes reduced the weight from 410 carats to 136¾ carats. From the workshop
