For ten years he administered the affairs of that station with great credit to himself and the Company, becoming generally known as “The Great President” or “The Great Pitt.”
Pitt’s memory is associated with the great diamond which was long named after him. It came from the famous Golconda mines* and he bought it from a Deccani merchant* for £12,500.* In 1717 he sold it to the French Regent, the Duke d’Orleans, for £135,000. At the time of the French Revolution the Orleans Diamond, as it was renamed in France, was valued at £500,000, and its value to-day [1926] is at least quadrupled,* as it is deemed the purest and most brilliant gem in the world. At one time Thomas Pitt used to wear the gem fixed in his hat, and his portrait was painted in that costume, but he was too practical a man not to turn it to better account when he got the offer.
* Specifically, it came from the Kollur mine on the south bank of the River Krishna in the Golconda Sultanate of India; the mine (now drowned) lies today within the state of Andhra Pradesh. Many famous stones were found here, including the Darya-e Noor diamond, the lost Great Moghul diamond, the Hope Diamond, the Koh-i-Noor diamond and the Orlov diamond.
* In his diary, Pitt referred to this merchant as Jamchund. How Jamchund came by the stone has been the subject of several romances: for example, that it was once the eye of a Hindu idol, or that a slave of the mines smuggled it out in a wound in his leg only to be murdered for it by an English sea captain who had promised to take him to safety in exchange for a half interest in the diamond. A more humdrum account was given by Thomas Salmon in The Universal Traveller (1752), who declared: ‘I was upon the Spot and thoroughly acquainted with the Transaction in India, and am able to refute the scandalous Stories’. He explained that the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who preferred gold and silver, let many large diamonds pass out of the mines in exchange for a modest percentage of the sale price.
* This figure is much too low and is perhaps a misprint. As Pitt recalled in his diary for July 29th, 1710, Jamchund first visited him in December 1701, and asked 200,000 pagodas for the uncut diamond — a pagoda was an Indian coin minted by the British East India Company at Madras. Then the haggling began; Pitt eventually beat Jamchund down to 48,000 pagodas. Discussing the sale in 1753, jeweller David Jeffries estimated the pagoda at 8s 6d, and Pitt’s payment at £20,400. Thomas Salmon put the figure at £24,000. Assuming 9s to the pagoda, the uncut stone would have cost Pitt £21,600 or more than £3.7m in today’s money.
* Philippe II (1674-1723), Duke of Orléans, nephew and son-in-law of Louis XIV of France, served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723 during the minority of Louis XV, who was only five when he came to the throne. The precious ‘Pitt diamond’ was purchased by the Regent in 1717 for a sum equivalent to about £22m in today’s money.
* The 140.64 carat ‘Regent diamond’ (as it is now known) was tentatively valued at £48m in 2015.
Précis
Pitt proved an able administrator, but his fame rests on his purchase in 1701 of a large diamond, mined at Kollur, for around £21,000. At first he wore it in his hat, but in 1717 he sold it to the French Regent for over six times what he paid for it, and its value has been rising ever since. (59 / 60 words)
Pitt proved an able administrator, but his fame rests on his purchase in 1701 of a large diamond, mined at Kollur, for around £21,000. At first he wore it in his hat, but in 1717 he sold it to the French Regent for over six times what he paid for it, and its value has been rising ever since.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, despite, just, may, otherwise, until, whereas, who.
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Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 But. Leave. Not.
2 Have. Make. Progenitor.
3 Arm. Charter. Offer.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Arm. 2 Trade. 3 Claim. 4 Title. 5 Career. 6 Buy. 7 Make. 8 Offer. 9 Value.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
rsng (6+2)
arising. arousing. erasing. raising. rising. rousing.
arsing. reusing.
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