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 emerged a superb gem which was immediately recognized as one of the finest stones in the world. Pitt, with characteristic acumen, set himself to the task of disposing of his precious possession to the fullest advantage. It was not the kind of article to secure a ready market, and many anxious days and restless nights were spent by the owner ere he found for it a purchaser in the person of an Agent of the Regent of France. The price paid was £135,000, and enormous as the amount is, it fell far below the actual value of the stone which in 1791 was calculated at £480,000. The gem, which after the purchase was placed in the Crown of France, is still preserved amongst the few Royal jewels left by the vicissitudes of time in the national treasure-house in Paris.

In his later years Pitt was a prominent figure in Parliament. He died on April 28, 1726, and was buried at Blandford St. Mary's. Of all the earlier adventurers who were conspicuous in the East he was in many respects the most able. There were in him the qualities which are peculiarly valuable in a field such as India where in administration so much depends upon a prompt and yet calm judgment, resourcefulness and a steadiness of purpose in those who are in positions of power. If he had lived a century later he would probably have ranked amongst the great British rulers of India. Even without the opportunities offered to his successors, he left a name which will ever be associated with the firm building up of British power in Southern India and the organization of the earliest of the English settlements.