142 TUE GREAT DIAMONDS OF THE WORLD.
great
importance to take Gwalior, deemed by the Indian military authorities
impregnable. Popham sat down to consider how to deal with the "
exceeding high rock—scarped nearly all round " and garrisoned by a
thousand men. He saw his point, and actually determined personally to
attempt the capture, and after midnight he was in the fort. This gave
Bombay a respite and a lesson.
Such
bandits as the Mahrattas, are constantly dividing the booty taken in
the expeditions against feebler communities. In a hotly contested
engagement like that of Ahmedabad, the soldiers of the native chiefs
often find valuable loot on the persons of their officers, whom they
rob when dead or severely wounded. These are the occasions which
skilled collectors of valuables improve. We readily believe M.
Tavernier when he says that he purchased this magnificent stone, the "
'Ahmedabad,' for one of his friends, and that it originally weighed
157-1/4 carats, but after being cut on either side the jewel was
reduced to 94-1/2 carats, and that its water was perfect. The flat
side, where there were two flaws below, was about the thickness of a
sheet of stout paper. When I had the stone I caused all this part to be
removed together with a portion of the upper point where little flaws
remained."*
It is strange that nothing further should be known regarding a stone, which, even when reduced by
