"I could not but observe, whilst Tippoo related all this, the great
agitation of his looks and voice, which showed me the strong hold the
passion for diamonds had upon his soul; on which I should perhaps have
made some wise reflections, but that people have seldom leisure or
inclination to make wise reflections when standing in the presence of a
prince as powerful and as despotic as Tippoo Sultan.

"The service that he required from me was a very dangerous one; no
less than to visit the mines secretly by night, to search those small
cisterns in which the workmen leave the diamonds mixed with the sand,
gravelly stuff, and red earth, to sink and drain off during their
absence. I by no means relished this undertaking: besides that it would
expose me to imminent danger, it was odious to my feelings to become a
spy and an informer. This I stated to the sultan, but he gave no credit
to this motive; and, attributing my reluctance wholly to fear, he
promised that he would take effectual measures to secure my safety; and
that, after I had executed this commission, he would immediately send a
guard with me to Madras. I saw that a dark frown lowered on his brow,
when I persisted in declining this office; but I fortunately bethought
myself at this moment of a method of escaping the effects of his anger,
without giving up my own principles.

"I represented to him that the seizure of the diamonds in the cisterns,
which he proposed, even should it afford him any convincing proofs of
the dishonesty of the slaves and diamond merchants, and even if he
could in future take effectual precautions to secure himself from their
frauds, would not be a source of wealth to him equal to one which I
could propose. His avarice fixed his attention, and he eagerly commanded
me to proceed. I then explained to him that one of his richest
diamond-mines had been for some time abandoned; because the workmen,