may be seen the scar made by the keen blade of the tomahawk
in the rail.

YOUNG DIAMOND MERCHANTS.

A noted traveller, who wrote about the diamond mines of India a very
long time ago, describes the work done by the children. In speaking of a
visit to the principal mine of Golconda, he says:

"A very pretty sight is that presented every morning by the children of
the master-miners and of other inhabitants of the district. The
boys--the eldest of whom is not yet over sixteen, or the youngest under
ten years of age--assemble, and sit under a large tree in the public
square of the village. Each has his diamond weight in a bag, hung on one
side of his girdle, and on the other a purse, containing sometimes as
much as five or six hundred pagodas.

"Here they wait for such persons as have diamonds to sell, either from
the vicinity or from any other mine. When a diamond is brought to them,
it is immediately handed to the eldest boy, who is tacitly acknowledged
as the head of this little band. By him it is carefully examined, and
then passed to his next neighbor, who, having also inspected it, gives
it to the next boy. The diamond is thus passed from hand to hand, amidst
unbroken silence, until it returns to that of the eldest, who then asks
the price, and makes the bargain. If the eldest boy is thought by his
comrades to have given too high a price, he must keep the stone on his
own account.

"In the evening the children take an account of their stock, examine
their purchases, and class the diamonds according to their water, size,
and purity, putting on each stone the price they expect to get for it.
These children are so perfectly acquainted with the value of all sorts
of gems, that if one of them, after buying a stone, is willing to lose
one-half per cent, upon it, a companion is always ready to take it."

The diamond mines of Brazil were discovered by a curious circumstance in
1730. Some miners in searching for gold found some curious pebbles,
which they carried home to their masters as curiosities. Not being
considered of any value, they were given to the children to play with.
An officer who had spent some years in the East Indies saw these
pebbles, and sent a handful to a friend in Lisbon to be examined. They
proved to be diamonds. A few were collected and sent to Holland, and
were pronounced to be equal to those of Golconda. The news soon reached
Brazil, and those who possessed any of the "pebbles" soon rea