oct. — dec. 1856.] Notes on Indian Currencies. 28 



In a supplement to a voyage to the East Indies, written by 

 Monsieur Dillon in 1698, an aecount is given of the wealth of the 

 Great Mogul, and that " he wore upon his arm a diamond of ines- 

 " timable value being as big as a pullet's egg. This diamond was 

 " stolen out of the diamond mines belonging to the king of Bisna- 

 " gar, betwixt Tonquin and Pegu, where every day are 20,000 men 

 " at work. The king reserves all the best diamonds for his own 

 " use, which are not to be sold. The best of those we have in 

 " Europe being only looked upon as inconsiderable, are sold to the 

 " European merchants. 5 ' 



Heyne also in his " Tracts on India" has described his visit in 



1795 to the diamond mines in Ellore, and various parts of the 



Ceded Districts — and we all know Pope's account of Governor 



Pitt and the Golconda diamond he bought from the Brahmin — 



" Asleep and naked as the Indian lay, 

 " An honest factor stole the gem away." 



It is a widely known fact, however, that Indian gold and silver 

 and minerals generally have not hitherto received much attention 

 from scientific men, notwithstanding that their value has been ap- 

 preciated from time immemorial by the Hindoos, and the metals 

 have been in very common use amongst them for ornament and 

 exchange for ages back, as is evident by their own and Grecian 

 writings and consequently indisputable. 



Take for example the Chetri Ganitam written originally in San- 

 scrit "the language of the gods," and quoted by Heyne, one 

 part of which, the Suvarnah Ganitam teaches the art of assaying 

 gold and silver by the touch, and of taking their specific gravities. 

 Heeren vol. i. p. 280. Herodotus also (who wrote about 5 cen- 

 Herodotus iii. 102:106. turies B. C.) tells a pretty story about the 

 way in which the Indians procured their gold in his time — 



" There are other Indians living near the city of Caspatyras and 

 " the country of Pactyica (the city and territory of Cabul) situated 

 " to the North of the rest of the Indian nation, and resembling the 

 " Bactrians their neighbours in their manner of life. These are 

 " the most warlike of all the Indians, and the people who go to 

 " procure the Gold. For in the neighbourhood of this nation is a 



