to
witness that I am giving you a square deal!" And he dipped the big
shovel into the packing-case and poured a cascade of gems down upon his
silk-hatted client. The loud guffaws of the witnesses to this singular
method of righting a wrong put Tannenbaum beside himself with
excitement. Again he dipped into the box and poured down a stream of
gems, and yet again. Discomfited and a bit battered, Gordon retired
from the scene. It was a Homeric rout.
Even the best Montanas are not of the class of Indian sapphires.
Then
there are the sapphires of Ceylon. Ceylon, Island of Gems, brings forth
sapphires of many colours, including even blue. But Ceylon sapphires,
though often beautiful and brilliant stones, are pale. They are not
beneath the notice of crowned heads, however. For the late tragic
Empress of Russia preferred the light-blue sapphires of Ceylon to any
other.
It
has always struck me that the gem cutters of Ceylon sacrifice quality
for quantity. Probably they argue that since their stones are sold in
the market at so much per carat, it is more politic to preserve as much
weight as possible. It is like the cheap tailor who cuts to the
selvedges to save on material and never mind the look of the finished
article. Small boys argue in the same way when they eat the orange peel
with the orange to make it last longer.
In
an interview which I had some time ago with Dr. P. E. Pierris, C.M.G.,
the Ceylon Trade Commissioner in London, who spares no pains in
bringing the island's products to the notice of the British mercantile
com-
