Morning journal and courier., 1880-02-06
Royal Gems.
[From the Pall Mall Gazette

STN-SNNO'4
 The pearl is the only gem that is reckoned worthy of companionship with the diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald The opal and catseye, costly and beautiful as they are are but as duke and marquis to the royalty of these others. As for amethyst and onyx, jaspar and chrysolite, turquoise and topaz hyacinth and agate and selenite-ali these and their like have come to be of scant account. As a diamond, the famous 'Braganza" gem, brand new from Brazil as it is, is worth .e52,- $50, ,O00; white topaz, which 1t IS shrewdly thought to be, it is of no interest at all. It weighs ], 680 carats and is as large as an egg but what is 1t in comparason with the blue Hope diamond, which only weighs Al carats, is absolutely unique, and has a legend of it's own, like any knight errant? :? The peridot, once more valuable than the imperial diamond is now a mere seetarian jewel, affected by the members of the Society of Friends. As the diamond is superior to all the fashions of the world, and still retains its place at the head of the mineral kingdom, it is not unpleasant to find that diamond cutting, invented for Europe by Louis de Barquem, and perfected by the great Venetian, Vincent Peruzzi, who invented the brilliant-was better done in London once upon time than anywhere and that though there are 22,o00 Jews at work in Amsterdam-cut polishing and setting-the craftsmanship of the old London lapidaries has never been surpassed.
 Total Abstinence i'm tEe White House. EThe Rev. Lyman Abbott's Washington Letter in tine
 Christian Union.l
 The ladies would generally vote for Mrs. Hayes for second term. It is safe to say that no lady in the present generation has produced more favorable impression by the grace and simplicity of her manners in pre- siding at the White House than has she. It is worth journey to Washington to see so sim pie and unconventional a lady at the very head of the best American society. Her DOT Auask sk1 I< !, sr,1kS LI1- %o1 derfully mobile; it constantly expresses her own genuine enjoyment in the enjoyment of her guests. Her laugh is contagious; and it | would be as impossible for photograph or even portrait to picture the life that spark | les in her face for picture to portray the | sunshine that dances on the dimpled surface of a lake which ever and anon breaks out in to quite rippled laughter.
 Her social victory is complete, and has been won after hard battle. The story has | been told before but it is worth retelling. She | came to Washington determined not to offer wine to her guests; this was the determina- ton of 8 lifetime, and she would not and could not abandon it. To give State dinner with out wine was declared impossible all Wash 1ngton society was opposed to her; believe it even became Cabinet question. For year she was a target for the sort of arrows l which it is so hard for any woman to bear un- | finchingly. But she bore 1t all; by her pa- | tient persistence and her tact she carried the day and conquered Mrs. Grundy in her own field. She never has offered wine; Wash | ington follows her lead and doubt wheth- | CT any State capital, not including the capital of Maine, is more thoroughly temperance l city than Washington to-day.
 The exclusion of wines and liquors from the Capitol dates from the days of Senator Wilson, but judge that public sentiment has grown stronger, and that the exclusion is i more complete now than ever before. As you go to Capitol Hill along Pennsylvania ave. you come to liquor shop with sign extending out over the sidewalk. On it are the words ''The Last Chance" On tn reverse side, seen as you come back from the Capitol, are the words: ''The First Chance" Possibly 8 man who understands the appropriate signals can find a chance for drink at the House Senate restaurant; but nothing stronger than lager is drank publicly.