Connecticut western news., 1893-01-26

i.S,>@es7 at certain times. and then 1t will be great object lesson for all eternity, and we will say to our visitor from some other world, as we point toward the wall of heaven, Ut looked like that stratum of foundation next to the lowest" John, twenty-frst chapter and nine teenth verse, "The second, sapphire"
 CHALCEDoNY AND EMERALD.
 A step higher and you come to chal- cedony, another layer in the foundation of the wall and running 1,500 miles around the heavenly city. Chalcedony! Translucent. A divine mixture of agates and opals and comedians. Striped with white and gray. Dashed of pallor blush ing into red and darkening into purple Iceland and the Hebrides hold forth beautiful specimens of chalcedony.
 But now we must make swift ascent to the top of the foundation wall, for we cannot minutely examine all the layers, and so, putting one foot on the chalce- dony of which we have been speaking, we spring to the emerald, and we are one-third of the way to the top of the foundation, for the fourth row is emer- ald. That, would judge, is Gods favor ite among gems, because it holds what seems evident is his favorite color on earth, the green, since that is the color most widely diffused across all the earth's continents-the grass, the foliage, the everyday dress of nature. The emerald! Kings used it as seal to stamp pronun- ciamentos. The rainbow around the throne of God is by St. John compared to it.
 Conquerors have considered it the greatest prize to capture. What ruth lessness when the soldiers of Pizarro pounded it with their hammers! Elmer aids have had much to do with the des- tiny of Mexico. Five of them were pre- sented by Cortez to his bride, one of them cut into the shape of rose, anoth- CT into the shape of a trumpet, another into the shape of bell, with tongue of pearl, and this presentation aroused the jealousy of the throne and caused the consequent downfall of Cortez. But the depths of the sea were decorated with those emeralds, for in shipwreck they went down off the coast of Barbary. Napoleon wore an emerald at Austerlitz. In the Kremlin museum at Moscow there are crowns and scepters and out spread miracles of emerald. Ireland is called the Emerald Isle not because of it's verdure, but because it was presented to Henry II of England with an emerald ring. Nero had 8 magnifying glass of emerald through which he looked at the gladiatorial contests at Rome. But here are 1,5O0 miles of emerald sweeping around the heavenly city in one layer. sARDONYX AND SARDIUs.
 But upward still and you put your foot on stratum of sardonyx, white and red, a seeming commingling of snow and fire, the snow cooling the fire. the fire melting the snow.
 Another climb and you reach the sar- dius, named after the city of Sardius. | Another climb and you reach the chryso- | lite. A specimen of this, belonging to | Epiphanus, in the Fourth century, was | said to be so brilliant that whatever was put over to conceal it was shone through, | and the emperor of China has specimen that is described as having such pene- | trating radiance that it makes the night as bright as the day.
 A higher climb and you reach the beryl. Two thousand years ago the | Greeks used this precious stone for en- l graving purposes. It was accounted among the royal treasures of Tyre. The | hilt of Murat's sword was adorned with it. It glows in the imperial crown of | Great Britain. Luther thought the beryl of the heavenly wall was turquoise. Kalisch thought it was chrysolite. Jose phus thought it golden colored jewel. | The wheels of Ezekiels vision hamed | with beryl and were 8 revolving fire. The beryl appears in six sided prisms, and is set in seals and intaglios, in neck laces and coronets. 1t was the joy of ancient iewelry It ornamented the af- fluent with eardrops. Charlemagne pre- sented it to his favorites. Beautiful beryll Exquisitely shaped beryll Di- vinely colored beryll It seems like con- | gealed color. It looks like frozen fire.
 But stop not here. Climb higher and you come to topaz, bewilderment of beauty and named after an island of the Red sea.
 Climb higher and you come to chrysop- rasus, of greenish golden hue and hard as flint.
 Climb higher and you reach the jacinth, named after the flower hyacinth and of reddish blue.
 | THE FABLE OF THE AMETHYST.
 Take one more step and you reach the top, not of the wal, but the top of the foundations of the wall, and St. John cries out, ''The twelfth an amethyst!' This precious stone when found in Aus tralia or India or Europe stands in col umns and pyramids. For color it is a violet blooming in stone. For its play of light, for it's deep mysteries of color, for it's uses in Egyptian, in Etruscan, in Roman art it has4been honored. The Greeks thought this stone preventive of drunkenness. The Hebrews thought it a source of pleasant dreams.
 For all lovers of gems it is subject of admiration and suggestiveness. Yes, the ward amethyst means a prevention
 of drunkenness. Long before the New
 Testament made reference to the anne
 thyst in the wall of heaven the Persians
 thought that cups made out of amethyst
 would hinder any kind of liquor con.
 tained therein from becoming intoxicat
 ing. But of all the amethystine cups
 from which the ancients drank not ont
 had any such result of prevention.
 For thousands of years the world has
 been looking in vain for such a prevent
 i've amethystine cup. Staggering Noal
 could not find it. Convivial Ahasueru
 driving Vashti from the gates could no
 find it. Nabal breaking the heart O
 beautiful Abigail could not find it. Bel
 shazzar, the hngly reveler, on the nigh
 that the Chaldeans took Babylon could
 not find it. Not one of the millions O
 inebriates whose skulls pave the conti
 nents and pave the depths of the se'
 could find it. There is no such cup
 Strong drink from hollowed amethys imbrutes the same as strong drink iron pewter mug. It is not the style of cul