Travels in India (Tavernier) 151.1.5

151.1.5

I said that as regards the purchase of the diamonds I had indeed made it, but that I knew not where they were, because more than six months had elapsed since I had forwarded them to him from Surat by land. Upon that these gentlemen of the law delivered sentence, by which it was affirmed that it was not for M. Faure to mix in the matter, but it was for the Avocat Fiscal to follow it up; that at that time M. Constant was in the Company’s service, and that, without having defrauded, he could not out of his wages have amassed so large a sum. At this mention of his having defrauded the Company I was unable to prevent myself from laughing; this astonished them, and the President of the Council asked me why I laughed. I told him that it was at seeing that he was astonished at the fact that M. Constant had defrauded the Company of 16,000 rupees, and that if he had only carried off so much, it would have been a small matter, adding that there was scarcely a servant of the Company who had held the offices which M. Constant had held, and had enjoyed the opportunity of trading, as he had, without fear of the Fiscal, who had not at least made 100,000 écus. There were two or three in the Council, then present, who were uneasy at hearing me talk in this way, as these remarks particularly affected them.