386 
DIAMOND. 
well understand the price of stones, that if one of 
them has made any purchase, and is willing to lose 
one half in the hundred, the other will give him his 
money.” 
The secrecy which the Indians observe in their 
dealings with each other is singular enough ; for 
they will contrive to sell the same parcel of dia- 
monds several times to each other, without speak- 
ing a word ; so that no by-stander can possibly tell 
what they have been doing. The manner in which 
this is accomplished has been thus described by 
Tavernier : “ The buyer and seller sit one before 
another like two tailors, and the seller, opening his 
girdle, takes the right hand of the purchaser, and 
conveys it, together with his own, beneath his gir- 
dle, where the bargain is secretly driven in the pre- 
sence of many merchants, without the knowledge 
of any one. The parties never speak or make any 
signs either with their mouths or eyes, but only 
converse with their hands ; and this is managed in 
the following manner : — When the seller takes the 
purchaser by the whole hand it signifies a thousand, 
and as often as he squeezes it, it means so many 
thousand pagodas or rupees, according to the money 
in question. If he takes but half to the knuckle of 
the middle finger, that is as much as to say fifty ; 
the small end of the finger to the first knuckle sig- 
nifies ten. When he grasps five fingers, it signifies 
five hundred ; if but one finger, one hundred.” 
Seven days journey from Golconda towards the 
East there is another diamond mine called Gani, or, 
