Goncalzes, they discovered some pebbles of
geometric form, and of a peculiar hue and lustre. For some years these
pebbles were given as pretty baubles to children, or used as counters for
marking the points of their favourite game of voltarete. At last an
officer, who had been some years at Goa, in the East Indies, arrived in
the Commarca: he was struck with the peculiar form of these pebbles, and
from several experiments he made, it struck him that they were diamonds.
He immediately collected a few, and sent them to Holland, where, to the
astonishment of the lapidaries, they were found to be brilliants of the
finest water. It will easily be imagined, that on the arrival of this
intelligence in Brazil, the hitherto despised counters suddenly became the
objects of universal research, and almost immediately disappeared.
The government of Portugal now issued a decree, declaring all diamonds a
monopoly of the crown. For a length of time it was considered that
diamonds were confined solely to the district of Serro Frio.
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