LABRADORITE AND OTHER GEMS. 343
consular rank, owned an innumerable collection of murrhine
vessels, which, when seized by this emperor, after the death of
the owner, filled a theatre in his palace garden beyond the
Tiber. As murrhine must have been something more durable
than porcelain, it is reasonable to suppose that some of these
vessels, either entire or in fragments, would be found in
ancient ruins ; but the only articles discovered answering the
description are made of agate, which are so abundant as to
leave no doubt of their extensive use in ancient Rome ; while
there are no fragments of fluor-spar ever known to have been
seen among the remains. The preponderance of evidence,
therefore, seems to be in favor of agate.
Coral. — As a substance employed in art, coral has a very
high antiquity, having been a valuable article of merchandise
with the ancient Tyrians, who imported it from Syria, as stated
by the prophet Ezekiel. It was highly prized among the
Greeks, who consecrated it to Jupiter and Apollo as one of
their richest offerings. They had a tradition that it was
formed from the blood of Medusa, whose head Perseus hung on
a tree near the sea, when the coagulated drops, transferred
to the water by the nymphs, became coral. The name is from
korallion, signifying "maiden daughter of the sea."
The true nature of the coral was not understood until discovered by M. Peysonnel during the first part of the eighteenth
century. Previous to that event, contradictory and absurd
theories prevailed in regard to its source and character.
Corals, like pearls, have an animal origin. It must be
admitted that the precious coral, or that kind used in jewelry,
has a long lineal descent, having been derived from a single
species, if paleontologists can be relied upon, the Corallium
rubrum, family Sargonidae, order Alcyonia, class Actinozoa,
sub-kingdom Coelenterata. The black coral belongs to another
