his material was carried on to a great extent in Delhi, there being
much demand for the rich and costly fabric among the Princes and nobles
of Hindostan. Hitherto in our ramblings through the houses we had only
come across a few pieces of this gold brocade; but as luck would have
it, on the last day in which I joined N---- in his duties he had
received information from a native that a large store of kincob was
concealed in the house of a merchant who had dealt in that material.

The man guided us to the house in question; but after searching in every
imaginable place, no signs of the gold cloth could be found. From the
name of the merchant and certain other well-known indications we felt
convinced that his goods were concealed underground, and we commenced
tapping the floor of the largest room with our hammers. Presently, in
the very centre of the apartment, there came a hollow sound, and digging
down about a foot, we found a trap-door. This was lifted, disclosing
a wooden staircase leading down to what seemed to us an apartment
concealed in Cimmerian darkness. Lighting the wax candles we always
carried about with us, we for some distance descended the steps which
seemed to lead into the bowels of the earth. The room turned out to be
about twenty feet square and ten feet high, and ranged around, piled one
on top of the other, were scores of large boxes. One of these we opened,
and found it to contain kincob of the rarest kind; others that we
looked into were full of the same gorgeous material, and we came to the
conclusion that here, spread about, there was a treasure the value of
which amounted to a lakh of rupees. Four large carts were loaded with
the boxes and taken to the prize agents, the contents selling afterwards
for a very large sum.

And thus ended in a most successful find my connection with the loot of
Delhi. Though many years have elapsed, the events of those three weeks
seem as vivid in my memory as though they had happened yesterday--the
brightness of the jewels, the dazzling gold, the nerves wrought to the
highest pitch of tension while waiting in eager expectation for the
result of a search. These episodes of my life appear more like a
fairytale or a legend of the "Arabian Nights" than true history and
sober reality. What opportunities of accumulating a small fortune were
thrown in my way! The treasure lay at my feet, only wanting to be picked
up, and many will say that I was a fool not to take advantag