All Diamonds Found Of A Certain
Size And Above Belong To The King, And All Below That Size To The
Adventurers.
It is a long time since any diamonds have been got there,
owing to the troubles that have distracted the kingdom of Narsinga:
For
the son of Temi rajah having put the imprisoned king to death, the
nobles and great men of the kingdom refused to acknowledge authority of
the tyrant, so that the kingdom has fallen into anarchy, every one
setting up for themselves.
[Footnote 136: The diamond mines of Raolconda are about 90 miles direct
north from the ruins of Bijanagur, on the Kisma. The castle of Penegonde
is not now to be found in the maps of Indostan; but indeed the names of
this ingenious traveller an often unintelligible, and almost always
extremely corrupt. - E.]
The city of Bijanagur is not altogether destroyed, as the houses are
said to be still standing, but entirely void of population, and become
the dwellings of tigers, and other wild beasts. The circuit of this
great city is twenty-four miles round the walls, within which are
several hills. The ordinary dwellings are of earthen walls, and
sufficiently mean, but the three palaces of the tyrant brothers, and the
pagodas or idol temples, are built of fine marble, cemented with lime. I
have seen many kings courts, yet have never seen any thing to compare
with the greatness of the royal palace of Bijanagur, which hath nine
gates. First, when you go into that part where the king lodged, there
are five great gates kept by captains and soldiers: Within these are
four lesser gates, which are kept by porters. On the outer side of the
first gate is a small porch or lodge, where there is a captain and
twenty-five soldiers, who keep watch day and night; and within that
another, with a similar guard. Through this you enter into a very fair
court, at the end of which is another porch like the first, with a
similar guard, and within that another court. Thus the first five gates
are each guarded by their respective captains. Then each of the lesser
gates within are kept by a separate guard of porters. These gates stand
open the greatest part of the night, as it is the custom of the Gentiles
to transact business and make their feasts during the night, rather than
in the day. This city is very safe from thieves, insomuch that the
Portuguese merchants sleep under porches open to the street, and yet
never meet with any injury.
At the end of two months, I determined to go for Goa, in company with
two Portuguese merchants, who were making ready to depart in two
palankins or small litters, which are very convenient vehicles for
travelling, being carried by eight _falchines_, or bearers, four at a
time, and other four as reliefs. For my own use I bought two bullocks,
one to ride upon and the other to carry my provisions.
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