The Talmud informs us that Noah had no other light in the ark than that which came from precious stones.  Why do not our modern jewellers take a hint from the ancient safety-boat, and light up accordingly?  We dare say old Tavernier, that knowing French gem-trader of the seventeenth century, had the art of illuminating his chateau at Aubonne in a way wondrous to the beholder.  Among all the jewellers, ancient or modern, Jean Baptiste Tavernier seems to us the most interesting character.  His great knowledge of precious stones, his acute observation and unfailing judgment, stamp him as one of the remarkable men of his day.  Forty years of his life he passed in travelling through Turkey, Persia, and the East Indies, trading in gems of the richest and rarest lustre.  A great fortune was amassed, and a barony in the Canton of Berne, on the Lake of Geneva, was purchased as no bad harbor for the rest of his days.  There he hoped to enjoy the vast wealth he had so industriously acquired.  But, alas! stupid nephews abound everywhere; and one of his, to whom he had intrusted a freight worth two hundred and twenty thousand livres, caused him so great a loss, that, at the age of eighty-four, he felt obliged to sail again for the East in order to retrieve his fortune, or at least repair the ill-luck arising from his unfortunate speculation.  He forgot, poor old man! that youth and strength are necessary to fight against reverses; and he died at Moscow, on his way, in 1689.  When you visit the great Library in Paris, you will find his “Travels,” in three volumes, published in 1677-79, on a shelf among the quartos.  Take them down, and spend a pleasant hour in looking through the pages of the enthusiastic old merchant-jeweller.  His adventures in search of diamonds and other precious commodities are well told; and although he makes the mistakes incident to many other early travellers, he never wilfully romances.  He supposed he was the first European that had explored the mines of Golconda; but an Englishman of the name of Methold visited them as early as 1622, and found thirty thousand laborers working away for the rich Marcandar, who paid three hundred thousand pagodas annually to the king for the privilege of digging in a single mine.  The first mine visited by Tavernier was that of Raolconda, a five-days’ journey from Golconda.  The manner of trading there he thus describes:—­

“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 which is not over sixteen or the youngest under ten, 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