Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-03-14
Georgia boy went fishing one day not

iui, ana Tor that reason he put IL in'o
his pocket. and showed il upon occa-
sion. At last he happened TO show it
TO a man who knew what it was--nsme-
ly, fine specimen Of fire opal. The
stone was offered for sale, and in the
end il proved that the lad. in addition
to all the fish be caught that day, had
dug up the sum Of $1,000 for himself.
II fashion nogleots the.opal because
of a particularly silly superstition,
which is set at defiance b. many own
ers Of these exquisite gems without III
consequences TO themselves, she fayOrs
certain other stones with equal unrea-
son. The true " cat's-eyc" is a good
example Of this. The chrysoberyl,
which has oil the qualities that should
commend a stone--beauty, lustre, hard
ness, and rarity--is not fashionable ;
why, no one knows. But the cats
eye, which, when not merely a
piece Of quartz, is only trans
parent chrysoberyl, and is by
no means particularly beautiful
stone. is extremely fashionable.
and commands prices not to be &C
counted for by the interesting quality
it has of focusing the light in tran
verse ray, which moves as the position
Of the stone is changed. Cat's-eyes
are worth from $500 to $500, and in
one instance at least a single fine speci~
men was sold for s., coo, though Eman-
mel says "0f course such a value
is purely an Illusion" With the ex-
listing demand, these stones are fairly
worth the prices paid for them bu, it
Is not easy to account fully for such a
Geman6-as the stone is curious rather
than beautiful-eXcept upon the theory
that superstition, which declares the
at's-eye TO be lucky. helps to make it
fashionable, just as the supers. il
ticn that the opal is uulucky de-
priyes that stone Of fashionable favor.
Fashion Is very inconsistent in this
matter. however; for it is not the fash h.
ION 10 wear emeralds as 2 safeguard
against Inflammation Of the eyes, or
turQuoiSes to ward of contagion.
Fashion does not prescribe the wearing
of fubies as antidotes 70 poison js-
cinths TO cure sleeplessness and 10
bring to their possessOrs wealth. honor,
and wisdom; or amethystS 20 cure
drunkenness and to sharpen the wits :;
vet these supersttions, and many others
Of q Ike kind, had precisely the same
origin and authority as those respect
ing the opal and the ca,'s-eye.
il must not be supposed, howe er,
that fashion ever really condemns par
ticular stones or groups of stones. No
valuable stone is ever uni4>hionable, ~
the sense that crinoline j.. Certain
precious stones are fashionable; others
are not: but those which IRE no. fash
ionable are not Questionable in any
positive sense. Fashion neglects rather
than condemns them, AM the neglect,
in addition to being unreasonable and
very unwise, is largely the result Of
ignorance. II is chiefly due 10 the fact
that the public generally know nothing
Of the beautiful stones neglected. cou-
pied with the fact that fashion very
rarely enters upon an earnest. unpro.u-
diced search for beauty. 1t does not
object 10 beauty; it simply does no;
care for il.
But ours is a time Of aesthetic revolt
and independence. The love OF beauty
for its own sake has been awakened
throughout society, so that even fash
ion must now look TO it that her de-
ciees DO not offend against the laws OF
good taste, upon pain Of having those
DEGREES set at naught by her formerly
obedient subjects. To stop the meta
phoT, there has been an awakening Of
the aesthetic sense during the last ten
years, which has led to the Independent
exercise Of good taste in The choice Of
colors and forms. and in the use Of deco
ration. to an extent wholly unknown
hitherto. and it is not to be supposed
that the new spirit will fail to NANTES.
itself in the choice and arrangement OF
precious stones. when It shall be seen
how great loss Of beauty, especially
in the matter Of color, has resulted from
the neglect Of number Of the most
beautiful stones knownto lapidaries and
collectors. The independence o. taste,
which has not hesitated to Sc! fashion
al raught in the interest Of beauty,
Will have little trouble il asserting it.
self in the matter Of precious stones,
where fashion has been simply neglectiul,
not actively hostile. Good taste may
there exercise itself freely to the sur.
prise Of fashion, perhaps, but without
having 10 brave fashion froTnS. The
only difference that independence IN this
particular will makeis his Where now
one has choice OF only lew 8ei SHOWN
and much-worn stones. with a narT) e
limited range OF coiors for combination,
perfectly independent taste viii have
the whole of the lap.dary's collection
to choose from. and an almost unlimited
variety Of colors 10 be grouped and dis
posed at Will.
if one must have costly stones, ;hey
are to be found among those neglected
IN considerable variety, in spite Of the
general ignorance of their existence.
Take the alexandria, as an example.
I his is variety Of chrysoberyl, emerald
green by day and red by night, very
lustrous and very beautiful, and the
prices obtained for it are sufficient to
satisfy the most eXacting purchaser Of
its preciousness. IL IS worth all tia,
II brings, both because Of is beauty
and quality, and because Of is scarcity.
Yet the stone Is comparatively little
known to the public, AMI when a good
specimen Is shown half OF It's en,husi-
astic admirers ind is name new 10
them.
On the other hand. the buyer who
values beauty for Us own sake and is
willing 10 buy it al comparatively small
cost has wide range Of choice among
the neraliy-neglected precious stones.
If the alexandria Is beyond MS means,
he may have instead the beautiful
greenish-yellow chrysoboryl. cut in
the form Of brilliant, and 50 lus-
trous as 10 resemble a yellow dia-
mond. Few stones are more pleas