The sun., 1889-02-07
A MYSTERIOUS GEN.
FSNclsS AND POPULAR SuPERSTt
TONS ABOUT THE Opal

The sUperstitious breads and fancieS sur,
rounding the beautiful opal date back to an,
"ient times, hut the cause for placing this
wonderful stone, possessing such brilliant
nutss, undar the han, rs well as the origin of
the dread, is unknown Scott, in his "Anne
Of CeirS,ein, "allutes to the foolish fancy that
has affected the popularity of gem possess
ing the Gaories OF the rainbow The Turks
tr'lIeVs that II falls from heaven In the light
a!ns's fash II is 6 matter of history that
the opal was the favorite gem among the
Romans and 50 far from being feared or
IsmEeSi upon with suspicion and aversion, it
WAS eagerly sought for. as it was supposed to
possess the power of warning against disaster
and het'al,ling to it's owner ti,lings of good
fortune The ArGbians ascrihed to 1t super
natural powers their ardent hnaginations
swayod and stimulated by the flashing play
Of ever changing colors emannting from the
magnificent mineral
WHERE THE OPAL ra FOUND.
The records regarding old opal mines are
lost, but it is supposed that the oncients de-
rived their supply from Arabia and Syria
Tue famous Hungarian mines were not dis
covered until late in the Fifteenth century,
| and were of course unkl,Own TO the Romans.
The principal mines from whence opais ere
obtained today are situated in hungary and
Honduras The American CpaI lacks the
hardness Of the Hungarian gem, but it is
fully as brilliant, and withStands atmospheric
inroads upon the coIors quite as we'll The
magnificent characteristic Of the gem. which
gives it value and renown, Is the brilliant
combination of colorcd reflections which it
displays, and, when the stone Is held in the
sunlight, the Latin philosopher was correct
| IN stating that it was made up of the glories
Of the most precious stones,
| The gem is found not only In porcelain
earth, but also in tiSSures and scaius Of Old
| iS1leotIS rocks. Quartz, when fiaweI in tho
interior. sometimes exhibits a remarkable
iridescence, and resembles the opal, especially
when viewed at distance Such specimens
are called iris The elegant iris ornaments
worn by the Empress Josephine were of re-
markable brilliancy and the wonder and envy
of the imperial court. She also possessed the
! finest opal of modern times, which was only
displayed when arrayed in all the grandeur
Of full imperial splondor 1t was indeed q
! fitting ornament for so beautiful woman.
Its flashing rays of light were 50 powerful
and vivid as to give the appearance Of living
flames of fire, and from that it received its
| title "lincenlr de Troie"-the burning Of
Troy. The fate of the gem is unknown, but
with the history Of the fair owner the most
casual reader is familiar.
Empress Eugenie had a superstitious dread
amounting to positive aversion for the bead
| tiful opal and the stone was a stranger at the
brilliant court, It is possible that Eugenie
may have been Influenced in her hatred of
the gem from Josephine's fondneSs for the
same, and attributed to the mysterious work
| ings Of the fiery mineral some subtle, nlalign
influence that conspired to bring about her
downfall But the fact remains inscribed
upon the pages Of history that although the
opal was vigorously banished from Versailles
anti the Tuilerias, Eugene fed from Paris
under cover Of darkness, covering with terror
in the dusty depths of O shabby vehicle, as
the roar Of a raging populacs reached her
ears
In deep contrast is the sterling good sense
Of Englands queen, who adn1ires and values
the gem to such degree that she numbers
them among her choicest family gifta
HIGH PRICED GEas.
! The famous opal Of history WIS that which
WIS worn in ring by the Roman senator
! Eonius in the days Of the triunvirata Its
size scarcely exceeded that of hazel nut,
| DC, c,,1 h-ilI F< rs
marvel among the dilettanti of Rome, and it
was valued at nearly 81 100000 Marc Antony,
bearing in mind the sacrifice of Cleopatras
incompatible pearl and still enslaved by the
Egyptian queens irresistible charms, made
eHert.zes for the opal, intending to present
1t to the dusky beauty but Nonius refused to
part with his cherished gem and sought
safety in Fight The extreme beauty and
charm ray be estimated when it is known
that to a Roman bsnishlnent was worse than
death History makes no further mention
of this wonderful opal 1t has disappeared
from the worlds collection of gems, and its
glories have probably yielded to the deStruc-
tive effects of time.
The fire opal is found in its greatest per
fection in the porphyritic rocks at Zinapan,
Mexico. 1t is generally of hyacinth rcd
color, and CLEANS forth with flashes of bril-
liant carmine with yellow and green scintu-
lations The Mexican production, surpasses
all other varieties in the intensity and gor.
geousness of its hues, but it will not bear OK
posure and the sensitive surface soon loses itG
flashing beauties They bring exorbitant
prices in Mexico when sold to the unwary
who learn all too soon upon returning to the
haunts of civilization that they had pait
nearly 50 per cent too much for the gems
The Spanish historians, in their marvelou
stories of the wonders seen in Mexico at thu
time Of the conquest, descEibe the image o.
the mystic idol Quetyalcoatl god Of the air.
on the great pyramid of Cholula, as wearing
inter waving with piumes Of fire, anc
which was supposed to have been produced
by masses Of the fire opal.
The colors displayed By the opal embrac
aI the tints In the solar spectrum Th
shades of green, blue, yellow and red or
vivid and clear.
The grandest specimen of the gem ever dis
covered was unearthed in the mines Of Hun
gary in ITO and purchased by the Austria
government Its weight was seventies
ounces, and it was three and three-quarte
inches In length. It rests in the iTperia
cabinet at Vienna and is valued at $500, ,G0t
, The opal Is not sold by weight, but it's valu
4 depends upon its size and the intensity of it
fire and combination Of colors. An opal hal
: an inch In diameter may have value OF Q;
and another, no larger, but possessing bril-
fancy Of hues, may sell readily for $1,000 @
more. San Francisco Chronicle
Despite the reports to the contrary, Seer
. tary Bayard is a comparatively rich MAJ
He Is worth more than $500, COO He inherite
from his father, the late Senator Bayarc
$4,000. From bis wife he acquired thre
times that amount. By judicious investment
in Baltimore real estate he has added at ii
very least. 100000 to all this, and is now
receipt of a handsome and assured incom