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THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. 165
worthy
" for an enormous emerald seven inches in circumference, a large pearl
and a ruby set in the middle of one of the crosses. This ruby although
not particularized is sure to be the one we have traced thus far. It is
so very much larger than any other ruby belonging to the Crown of
England that whenever we find a pre-eminently large one mentioned in
English history we may safely take it to be the Black Prince's Ruby. It
could be mistaken for no other stone by any one who had ever seen it. A
shining ball of blood-red fire slightly irregular in shape, " great
like a racket-ball," is not so common an object that it could pass
unnoticed by writers who take it upon them to describe crowns and other
royal ornaments.
During
the reign of Charles n. the Crown of England had a narrow escape of
being stolen. This singular adventure happened as follows:
The
Regalia then as now was kept in the Tower and was shown to visitors as
still is the case. The person in charge was an old
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