Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-03-20
INpIA,s PRECIOUS STONES.

Discovered, Sometimes, by Persons Ign0-
rant of Their Value.
An old traveller who has been over
half the world showed a reporter a
handsome uncut ruby the other day.
''This," he said, els from India, and was
given me by a friend who found it while
out shooting
Precious stones, he said, were still
numerous in certain districts in India,
but the rajahs who own the property
were very jealous Of all strangers, and
resented intrusions on their territory by
every means in their power. Neverthe-
less every now and then fine specimen
was found by some sportsman of way
farer.
The traveller told of a party of En-
glish officers who went out shooting one
day on one of these estates, but they
managed to bag very little game. On
their way back in the afternoon one
of them came across a stone resembling
a nodule, which he picked up and
dashed upon a rock. The stone broke
into a dozen piecess and out dropped a
beautiful, brilliant pebble. This peb-
BILE the young Englishman, who was a
tourist, picked up, and, after examin-
ing it, was about to throw it away
it into his pocket, remarking: III keep
this thing as memento of my visit to
this place where a fellow can hardly
find any thing to shoot, you know"
When he arrived at Bombay, this En-
glish tourist dropped into a jewelers.
store to have his watch repaired. In
taking it out he found the stone in the
same pocket, he threw it upon the
counter and remarked to the jeweler:
saw, here's a nice stone 1 came across,
what'n you give me for it?''
The head of the firm took up the
stone, and as he examined it his eyes
opened wider and wider. After hum
ming and having awhile, he said: "I'n
give you 100 rupees for it,
Had the jeweler offered the tourist
shilling for the stone the latter would
simply have told him to take the stone
and keep the shilling and be blowed, as
up to that moment he thought it was
only piece of crystal. But the offer of
100 rupees awolze his suspicious, and he
quickly guessed that it was real, fine
diamond. Taking it from the jewelers.
hand he exclaimed with laugh: ST
dare say you would give me 100 rupees,
and perhaps trife more, but I'm going
to take 1t to England with me-" On his
arrival in London he sold the diamond
for eS, 900.
A fakir walking along one of the
wards in the same district also CHANGED
to pick up a fine large diamond that
had been washed out of the ground by
heavy shower and lay glistening and
blazing in the sun. He tied it up in a
rag and put it into his empty tobacco
pouch and continued on his way to
town. Falkirs in India have little
money as a rule, and this par
ticular falxer had none at all, but
he did have strong craving for quiet
smoke. So he betook himself to a
Parsee tobacconist and asked how much
tobacco he would let him have for pref
ty stone that showed green and red and
blue lights. The dealer asked to see the
stone and Immediately recognized it as
diamond of the first water.
"Uncle," he remarked to the fakir,
''since you are poor man I'll give you
a whole handful of tobacco" and he
falxir's pouch.
"My son." replied the falsir, 81 have
travelled a long distance, and am very
tired. This is beautiful stone, and
you ought to give me at least three
handsful of tobacco
After some further haggling the Par
see agreed to keep the stone, after ex-
acting from the falsir promise to keep
quiet about the matter. The Parsee
sent the stone to an associate in Bonn
bay, where it was sold for So, 000.-N'
Y. Times.