Travels in India (Tavernier) 151.1.1

151.1.1

Concerning an affair which was raised unseasonably for the Author in the Council at Batavia There are two Councils in Batavia, the Council of the fort, at which the General presides, where the affairs of the Company are discussed ; and the Council that sits in the Town Hall, and deals with the police and the minor disputes which arise among the citizens. M. Faure, one of the members of this Town Council, was among the number of those who came to visit me on my arrival, and during the space of nine or ten days he, together with one of his friends, was with me four times. Both spoke frequently of M. Constant, who had been commander at Gombroon, and was for many years the second person of the factory at Surat, where he had amassed much wealth. He had often trusted me with a part of it, and we had always been good friends. One day, as I was about leaving Surat in order to go to the diamond mine, he asked me to purchase (diamonds) on his account to the extent of 16,000 rupees worth, giving me a letter of credit for that sum at Golconda, where it was paid to me, and I invested it as he desired. I expected on my return to find him at Surat; but during my journey he had received orders to start for Batavia at once, and as soon as he got there he married the widow of General Vandime and went with her to Holland.