of the cross in the royal crown of England, while a fine specimen, the purchase of George IV., is displayed upon the front.
It was a sapphire ring taken from the finger of Elizabeth,
just after she expired, which was sent to James VI. of Scotland as a token of his accession to the English throne.
It is reported that a remarkable specimen weighing nine
hundred and fifty-one carats, of a beautiful blue tint and without a flaw, belongs to the royal treasury of Ava, Burmah ; but
as these jewels are guarded with jealous care, the statement
must be accepted with caution, as the size is without a parallel.
An exquisite Indian sapphire, of one hundred and thirty-two
and one-half carats, is seen in the collection at the Jardin des
Plantes, Paris, while the British Museum is graced with a
small statue of Buddha cut from a single gem of this kind.
The Hope collection numbers among its treasures a specimen
which exhibits varying colors under different kinds of light ;
and a sapphire owned by Louis XIV. presented the curious
phenomenon of having a stripe of yellow topaz pass through
its centre, which is said to have afforded Mme. Genlis the
foundation of one of her novels. The most celebrated of the
antique sapphires is the signet of the Emperor Constantius II.,
weighing fifty-three carats, and found in the Rinuccini collection.
Engravings on this gem before the Roman Empire are said
to be exceedingly rare, but they occasionally occur, dating from
the later empire, more especially during the fifth century. The
pendants in the votive crowns of the Gothic kings, and the
specimens in the Church of St. Ambrogio, Milan, are said to
be of Indian origin. It is admitted that most of the engravings of the Renaissance, supposed to be on diamonds, are
really on white sapphire or white topaz. A portrait of
Matthew Paris engraved on sapphire is regarded by connois-
