"
"At a stroke their fortune was made?" asked Fragoso.
"No," replied Torres; "the diamond was handed over to the
governor-general of the mines. The value of the stone was recognized,
and King John VI., of Portugal, had it cut, and wore it on his neck
on great occasions. As for the convicts, they got their pardon, but
that was all, and the cleverest could not get much of an income out
of that!"
"You, doubtless?" said Benito very dryly.
"Yes--I? Why not?" answered Torres. "Have you ever been to the
diamond district?" added he, this time addressing Joam Garral.
"Never!" said Joam, looking straight at him.
"That is a pity!" replied he. "You should go there one day. It is a
very curious place, I assure you. The diamond valley is an isolated
spot in the vast empire of Brazil, something like a park of a dozen
leagues in circumference, which in the nature of its soil, its
vegetation, and its sandy rocks surrounded by a circle of high
mountains, differs considerably from the neighboring provinces. But,
as I have told you, it is one of the richest places in the world, for
from 1807 to 1817 the annual return was about eighteen thousand
carats.
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