Ghap.XXIV. 
Malabar and Coromandel 
655 
the River, which is pretty large, and 
runs up into the Country till it joins its 
Waters with the River Meca. 
Petafouli is of no great extent, inha- 
bited by feme Moors and Perfians oi Note, 
but for the moft part by Gentives, Sub- 
jcfts of the King of Golgonda. As here- 
abouts grows a kind of Effctyc Colour, 
exceeding all the reft, call'd TambrcveUe^ 
fo the painted and dy'd Stuffs of Petapouli 
exceed even thofe of Mafulipatan. The 
Root grows like a fniall fprig of a foot 
long, the Colour whereof is fo deep that 
they are oblig'd to mix it with the Effaye 
i of uinical and Ortacour, to make it the 
more lively. This Effaye Root grows in 
the Ifle made by the River over againfl 
the City, whereof theGovernour has the 
Monopoly, and pays a certain yearly 
Sum for it to the King, which as it is 
paid moft commonly in dy'd Stuffs and 
Cloths, fo he employs the Weavers 
himfelf, and for that reafon will not ea- 
fily permit them to be fold to the Mer- 
chants ( at leaft not without his Confent ) 
who tranfport them from thence into 
Per/ia. Here good Indigo is to be bought, 
but much dearer than at Mafulipatan: 
From hence we alfo tranfport Cotton- 
Yarn, white Stuffs,and feveral other Com- 
modities to Holland. 
Mafulipa- Mafulipatan is a City feated near a large 
wa. River, where the Englijh and Dutch have 
their Factories : It is very populous, and 
the Refidence of a Governour, who pays 
a certain yearly Tribute to the King of 
Golcondar^ which he fquee7.es out of the 
Inhabitants, efpecially the Genttves, who rvA^' 
are forely opprefs'd by the Perfram and Saldaus, 
Moors here, who farm all the Weaving O'V^ 
Trade from the Great Perfons ^ where- 
fore there is fcarce any trafficking here 
without Profit^ unlefs you have a Patent 
from the King, which is not eafy to be 
obtain'd, becaufe the Governours (who 
pay 140000 Pagodes of annual Tribute to 
the King) conftantly oppofe it : and it is 
no difficult matter to approach the King 
(who keeps his Court at a great diftance 
thence) without purchafing their Favour, 
or fome other Great Mens at Court. For 
the reft, this City is a Place of great 
Traffick, where moft of our Commodi- 
ties, as alfo thofe tranfported hither from 
the Moluques^ China^ &c. are fold at a 
very good rate. Here is alfo a great 
Concourfe of Merchants from Catnbaja^ 
Suratte, and other Places under the Jurif- 
diaion of the Great Mogul, as alfo from 
Goa, Orixa, Bengak and Pegu, Here is 
likewife a confiderable Traffick in Dia- 
monds and Rubies : The firft are digged 
in the Kingdoms of Golgonda and Decatn^ 
near the City of Byfilaga ht^ond Suratte ? 
Each Stone weighing above 25 Mangely\ 
or Carats, belonging to the King of By- 
filaga,^ the reft to thofe that have farm'd 
the Mines. There is a certain Mountain 
call'd Cotfa Vuytthia, in the Country of 
Df'cdiw, which affords the choiceft Dia- 
monds. Borneo, but efpecially the City 
of Succadana, are likewife very famous 
for Diamonds. 
CHAP. XXIV. 
An Account of mofl forts of prectom Stones, as Didmonds^ Rubies, Smaragds^ 
Saphirs, Amethtfis, Jafpirs^ SardomckSf Achats, Gramtes, 8cc, 
The Dk- T H E moft noble of all precious Stones 
mon(f, X is the Diamond, call'd hStifxa.'i by 
the Greeks, from atfb^^g-(^, i, e. impreg- 
nable. Pliny, and others of the antient 
Naturalifts being of opinion, that it is 
neither to be broken by the force of the 
Hammer, nor penetrable by the violence 
of the Firei which however has fince 
been fufficiently contradicted by Expe- 
rience •, tho the fame is feveral times ufed 
* Zech.7. ^^"^^ ^^"^^ *^ Scripture* It 
V. 12. is likewife call'd Adama/i by the Latins, 
Ezek. 5.9. Deamant by the Germans, Mamanto by 
Jcr^Vi*'"^^ SptJM;>£/f, Almaes by the Arabians, 
Jutan by the Malajars, and Htera and 
by the Indojlhans, The Beauty of a 
Diamond confifts in its Hardnefs, Tranf- 
parency and Luftrcj tho to fpeak the 
truth, there are but few Diamonds with- 
out fome Defeds, which however pafs 
current among thofe who are no nice 
Judges of it. Lead is rcckon'd to be ex- 
adly three times as heavy as a poli/h'd 
Diamond. 
There is a certain kind of Diamonds 
calFd Bofchiers, Which are not by a third 
part fo valuable as the reft, tho fome- 
times they exceed for Brightnefs all the 
other forts i but if they incline to a red- 
difh or yellovV Colour, they are not Worth 
half fo much, they being only valued ac- 
cording to the weight of the Carats with- 
out 
