That pearl
necklace is worth at least as much. Those rubies are superb. I should
say, lad, that the value of the whole cannot be less than fifteen
thousand pounds.
"The harem must be rich in jewels, indeed, to be able to make such
gifts. Not that I am surprised at that. Tippoo had all the jewels
belonging to the lawful rulers of Mysore. He has captured all those of
Coorg, Travancore, and the other states on the Malabar coast. He and
his father have looted all the Carnatic, from Cape Comorin to the
north of Madras. He has captured many of the Nizam's cities, and
several Mahratta provinces.
"In fact, he has accumulated, at Seringapatam, the spoils of the whole
of southern India, and those of the Hindoo portion of his own people.
The value of the jewels, alone, must be millions of pounds; and as he
himself, as they say, dresses simply, and only wears one or two gems,
of immense value, he may well have bestowed large quantities upon his
harem, especially as these would be, in fact, only loans, as at the
death of their wearers they would revert to him, or, indeed, could be
reclaimed at any moment, in a freak of bad temper.
"I have no doubt they had to ask his permission to give you the
presents, and as you, at the moment, were in high favour with him, I
daresay he suffered them to give what they chose, without inquiring at
all into their value.
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