The Louisiana Democrat., 1891-09-09
A WORD FOR THE OPAL.
Not Regarded With Fear by the People
of Ancient Times.

NV heSardeu Win rear Dy the People
of Ancient Times.
The precious stones are the flowers
of the mineral world-iust one glance
at their glorious husss Twill warm and
and their flashing. and their thousands
colored rays, they have charmed
us from all tima, and around
them we have entwined wealth
OF loving legends and host
OF curious belief. Not stone
bears an evil reputation by right; It
is only such mythical gems as lie hid
den in the heads of toads and other rep
tiles that have been suspected of any
malicious traits.
And yet unaccountably, but with
ridiculous persistence, there clings a
silly superstition to the most bewitch-
ing of them all. 1t is really inexplica-
BILE how the opal, the precious, noble
opal, could be thus maligned. A very
meteor OF gems, it delights the eye as
no other substance can. In one fiery
glow it holds entangled the richest and
the most delicate colors. In forming
the opal nature gathered all the Won
drous hues of earth and sky and sea.
She condensed moonbeam, filled it
with the fire of the setting sun and
bathed it in the early morning light.
In the veins of this magical crystal,
beneath a milky veil of pearly sheen,
she hid the fiery, sparkling fash of all
other precious stones-the gorgeous
hues and colors of all the fowers-all
the lovely, liquid radiance of the
rainbow, the sky and the clouds.
Only by gazing upon this gloriors gem
can man imagine yet greater magnifi-
cence. 1t drinks in the morning light
to flash it back enriched thousand
fold by the irridescent sparkling of
thousand cleaning colors. Held to the
sun it becomes alive, and from out its
glowing heart stream tongues of fire
and floods of radiant corrnscating light.
Living greens and golden glitters; en-
erald, violet and crimson flames pulsate
and fluctuate, CLEAN and glimmer, flash
and fade-then mingle i'll such a blaze
of soul-satisfying effulgence that the
eyes seem swimming in sea of splen-
DOR Every instant it throws off new
and more gorgeous tints, and playing
all through it, ascending and descend
ing along it's veins, darts mosaic, in
candescent radiance that the Orientals
can only lilSen to the flashing of houri
eyes amid the raptures of Islam's para
disc.
No wonder they imagined it lighting
up enchanted halls with streams of
eolored fire and surrounded it with all
the wonderful fantastic embroidery of
the eastern mind and endowed it with
magic virtues more powerful than those
of any other charms. But then they
always loved it and never thought of
attaching to it any harmful properties.
With them it was the gem of gems;
they called it Pederos-the child OF
love. For them it banished all sadness
and every form of sin and vice; itward-
ed off dangers, defended from enchant-
ments, cured diseases, drove away all
grief and care and exhilarated the
mind. We find, 500 b. c., Onomacri-
tus saying that its delicate col
ors and tenderness reminded him
of loving and beautiful child. Car
danus goes on record with statement
that an opal costing fifteen crowns gave
him more pleasure than diamond
worth five hundred. All the old writ
ers declare it to be the fairest and most
pleasing of gems. The Romans adored
it, and Mark Antony offered to exempt
Nonnius from exile if he would only
surrender splendid opal. But Non
MUS preferred that one gem to all his
other possessions and fled with it to
Egypt. There he lost it, and for seven
teen hundred years it never saw the
light.
The people of the middle ages, igno-
rant and superstitious us they were,
never thought of accusing it of any evil
power. They actually believed it united
all the special virtues of all those gems
whose colors were to be found in it's
cheerful, glowing heart. Detroit FREQ
Press.