Page:A treatise on diamonds and precious stones including their history Natural and commercial.djvu/89

 knew better how to manage the business— Foreseeing that their government would not long remain indifferent to so splendid a prize, they bought all that were offered, and devised the following ingenious expedient for counteracting the prejudices, which had been so insidiously raised. They secretly transmitted the Brazillian Diamonds to Goa, and thence to Bengal, where they were baptized legitimate Oriental Diamonds (Rocca Velha) bought at high prices, made up in bolsas of a certain weight, and transmitted to England; whence they were disseminated over Europe. They were every where received by the consignees, merchants, and manufacturers of brilliants, as genuine East Indian Diamonds.—Thus brought into fair competition, they were found not at all inferior to the finest gems from Golconda, The former prejudice was soon abandoned by the trade; but it made a lasting impression on persons little acquainted with diamonds, and it still subsists. Pur-