which
weighs 331 carats. Here is also the finest specimen of blue beryl ever
cut in the United States. It was found in Stoneham, Maine, is rich
sea-green color in one direction and sea-blue in another. It weighs 133
carats. Numerous other Maine localities have furnished gem beryls.
Golden beryls are found in Maine, Connecticut, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, and other United States localities, as well as in Siberia
and Ceylon. From them are obtained gems of rich golden color
resembling topaz or citrine.
Beryl
of a pale rose color is sometimes found, and when of good quality is
cut for gem purposes, but it is of too rare occurrence to be important.
A variety of beryl containing two to three per cent of the metal
caesium is found at Hebron, Maine, which affords transparent, colorless
stones of a brilliant luster.
Aquamarine
and other varieties of beryl seem not to have been as highly esteemed
as emerald by the ancients, although beryl is mentioned in the Bible,
and early writers describe gems evidently belonging to the species. A
notable biblical mention is that found in the Song of Solomon, where it
is said:
" 0 daughters of Jerusalem, This is my beloved and this is my friend, His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl."
The
beryl was believed, in the Middle Ages, to give its wearer insight,
second sight, and foresight, to induce sleep and compose the heart and
mind. It was called " the sweet-tempered stone." It was especially used
in the seventeenth century for divination, the method being to suspend
a ring containing a beryl in a bowl filled with water. The edges of the
bowl being marked with the letters of the alphabet, the beryl gave
answers to questions asked by stopping before certain letters. It was
also supposed to possess special power over evil spirits, and it was
said that a man might call a devil out of hell and receive answers to
such questions as he might ask if he but held a beryl in his mouth. The
globe in the English crown is surmounted by a blue beryl, in allusion
perhaps to the supposed magical power of the stone.
