|
268
|
PRECIOUS STONES.
|
||
|
|
|||
|
some of which were, undoubtedly, taken from the Siberian
mines and may possibly be green tourmaline or the splendid green garnet found in this region. Emeralds of surpassing beauty are said to be found in the
rich collection at Constantinople ; one faultless gem, weighing three hundred carats, is set in the handle of a poniard ; another, whose genuineness has been questioned, weighs one hundred and twenty-five ounces, Troy. The uncut Devonshire emerald, taken from the mines of
Muzo, measures two inches in length, and weighs eight ounces eighteen pennyweights, but unfortunately its intrinsic value is greatly marred by flaws. A cluster of these gems, each more than an inch in diameter, perfect in color and brilliancy, and imbedded in white limestone, constituted one of the votive offerings to the celebrated shrine of Loretto, presented by a Spanish ambassador to Rome. Some of the Indian princes are the owners of valuable emeralds which they display upon their persons with other gems on certain occasions, as was related in the public journals when the Prince of Wales made the tour of their country. An emerald of a very large size was presented to the Queen of Great Britain by the Sultan of Oude, while a specimen of this kind, owned by Duleep Singh, is larger than the Devonshire. An emerald of the size of a walnut, engraved with the names of the kings who had owned it, is comprised in the Persian royal treasury. The collection of precious stones at Madrid affords many
emeralds of distinguished size, comparatively exempt from flaws, an occurrence so unusual that the expression " an emerald without a flaw" has passed into a proverb, to denote unattainable perfection. The French, during their invasion of the Spanish peninsula, carried off, with other precious stones, many of these fine emeralds, notably the one which was the |
|||
|
|
|||