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252 PRECIOUS STONES.
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is
one of the most beautiful gems known : when held between the eye and
the light it appears of a pale, milky, reddish hue, but when seen by
reflected light it displays all the colours of the rainbow, in flakes,
or flashes, or specks ; in fact, all the colours of the most beautiful
gems are here united in one. " There is," according to the Pharmacopwia Londinensis (1696),
"a false Opal, called the Pseudopalum, or Oculum Cati, (Cat's-Eye), and
by Isidore " Ophthalmitis," the Eye-stone ; but it is less glorious
than the true Opal."
Pantherus est alius Lapis, ex Opalorum genere qui, a Pardalio (the Leopard), seu Panthera (Panther), animal variegato colore, nominatur; for, so saith Macer, Pantheram patet esse feram diversicolorem. " The stone is reported to have as many virtues as it has colours : but what they are authors are something silent about."
Opals
are very brittle. Their lustre is, as Mr. Harry Emanuel testifies,
always much more brilliant on a warm day. A dealer in Precious Stones,
being aware of this peculiarity, invariably holds an Opal in his hand
for a little while before showing it, thereby imparting warmth to the
gem.
"
The Opal," says an old writer, " is a precious stone which hath in it
the bright fiery flame of the Carbuncle, the fine refulgent purple of
an Amethyst, and a whole sea of the Emerald's green glory ; and every
one of them shining with an incredible mixture, and exquisite
pleasure." Another writer declares that the delicate colouring, and
tenderness of the Opal remind him ever of a loving, and beautiful child.
Chemically the Opal is a hydrous form of silica.
The only Opal Mines are those of Hungary. These stones are also found in the Island of Sumatra, and in
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