Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-02-03

JuelT 0dtuiUeTS! bIlSIdtlS utNS u1u fuuCn
to do with the destiny of Mexico. Five ol
them were presented by Cortez to his bride,
one Of them cut into the shape of rose, an
into the shape Of bell, with tongue oi
pee ri, and this presentation aroused the jeal
ously of the throne and caused the conse
quent fall of Cortez But the depths of the
sea were decorated with those emeralds. for
in shipwrecG they went down off the coast
of Barhary. Napoleon wore an emerald al
Austerlitz.
In the Kremin museum at Moscow there
are crowns and scepters and outspread mira
cles of emerald. Ireland is called the
Emerald Isle not because of its verdure. but
because it was presented to Henry III oil
England with an emerald ring. Nero had a
maguifying glass OF emerald through watch
he looked at the gladiatorial contests al
Rome. But here are 1900 miles of emerald
sweeping around the heavenly city in one
layer.
But inward still and you put your foot on
stratum of sardonyx, white and rel, a
seeming commingling OF snow and fire, the
snow cooling the fire, the fire melting the
snow.
Another climb and you reach the sardius,
named after the city of Sardius. Another
climb aud you reach the chrysollte. A
specimen Of this. belonging to EpiDhanus. in
the Fourth Century, was said to be so
brilliant that whatever was put over to con-
ceal it was shone through, and the emperor
of China has specimen that Is described as
having such penetrating radiance that 1T
makes the night as bright as the day.
A higher climb AMI you reach the
bervl Two thousand years agC The Greek S
used this precious stone for engraving pur-
poses, 1t was accounted among the royal
treasures of Tyre. The hilt OF Murats
sword was adorned with it, 1t glows in the
i'm oerial crown OF Great Britain. Luther
thought the beryls Of the heavenly wall was
turquoise. Kalisch thought it was chIryso-
lite Josephus thought it golden colored
Jewel. The wheels o. EzakiePs vision famed
with beryl and were revolving fire.
The beryl appears i'll six sided prisms, and
coronets. 1t was the Joy of ancient jewelry.
1t ornamented the affluent with eardrops.
Charlsmagne pres it to his favorite.
Beautiful beryll Exquisitely shaped beryll !
Divinely colored beryIl 1t seams like con-
gealei .o,or. 1t Looks like frozen fire.
But stop not here. Climb higher and you
come to tooaz, a bewilderment OF beauty
and named after an island of the Rsd Sea.
Climb higher and you come to chrysop.
rasus, of greenish golden hus and hard as
flint
Climb higher and you reach thu jacinth,
named after the flower hyacinta AMI OF red
dish blue
Take one more step anl you reach the
top. not of the wall, but the top OF the
foundation OF the WALL AMI ST. John cries
out The twelfth an AMETHYST This pre-
cious stone when found in Australia or In
dia or Europe stands in columns and pyra-
mids. For color it is violet blooming in
stone. For its plav of lignt for its deep
mysteries of color, for its unseen Egyptians,
in Etruscan, in Roman art it has been hon.
ored The Greeks thought this stone {. pre-
ventive of drunkenness. The Hebrews
thought it q source of pleasant dreams.
For all lovers OF gems it is subject OF ad-
miration and suggestiveness. Yes, the
word amethyst means a prevention OF
drunkenness Long before the New Testa.
meut made reference to the amethyst in the
wall Of heaven the Persians thought that
cups made out OF amethyst would hinder
any kind of liquor contained therein from
becoming intoxicating. But of all the ame-
thystine cups from which the ancients
drank not one had any such result or pre-
ventioD.
For thousands of years the world has been
LOOKING in vain for such preventive anne
thystine cup Staggering Noah could not
find it. Convivial Ahasuerus driving Vashtl
from the gates could not find it. Nabal
breaking the heart of beautiful Abigail
could not find it, BelshaZzar, the kingly
reveler, on the night that tae Chaldeans
took Babylon could not find it. Not one OF
the millions of inebriates whose skulls pave
the continents AMI pave the depths Oh the
sea could find it. There is no such cup.
Strong drink from followed amethyst i'm
brutes the same as strong drink from pew
ter mug 1t is not the style of cup we drink
out of. but that which the cup contains,
which decides the helpful OF damning result
of the beverage.
All around the world last night and to-
dav. out o. cups costier than amethyst, men
and women have been drinking their own
doom AMI the doom of their children for this
life and the next. Alb, it is the amethystine
cups that do the widest and worst slaugh-
teri The smash of the filthy goblets of the
rummeries would long ago have taken place
by law, but the amethystine challccs pre-
vent-the chahces out of which legislatures,
congresses drink before and after they make
the laws. AmethYstine caalices have been
the friends of intoxication Instead OF its
foes. Over the fiery lips OF the amethy stine
chaices is thrust the tongue OF that which
biteth like serpent and stingeth Ike an
adder.
Drunkenness is combination OF apopleXy
ami demehtia. The 400, 900. 00J victims of
opium come out to meet the Is ,00J, 0Oo VIC
Tins of alcohol, and the two agents take the
contract for tum bling the hu nan race into
psrdition, but whether they will succeed IN
fulfllin the contract depends on the action
of the amethystine cups, the amethystine
demiiohns. the amethystine ale pitchers, the
amethvstine fayons, the amethystins wine
csllars' Oh, Persiaps Oh. Assyrians! Oh,
Greeks! Oh, Egyptiansl you were wrong
in thinking that a cup of amethyst would
prevent inebriation.
But standing on the top OF this amethys.
tine layer of tina foundation OF the wall OF
heaven l bethink myself OF the mistake tnat
mauv of the ancient Hebrews made wnen
they thought that the amethyst was pro-
ducer OF pleasant dreams. just wear piece
of amethyst over your heart or put IL unuer
vour pillow. and you would have your dreams
filled with everything beautiful ana entranc.
;ny No. no. The style OF pillow will not
decide the character of the dream. The only
rscine for pleasant dreams is to do right AMI
thing right when you are wide awake. Con.
ditions of physical disease may give gooa
man nightmare, but man physically well,
If he 6enave himself Alright, will not be
troubled with bad dreams.
Nebuchadnezzar with eagles down under
his head and Tyrian purple over it, stru ygled
with a bad dream that maize him Shrek out
for the soothsayers and astrologers to come
and interpret it. Pharaoh, amid tina marble
palaces of Memphis, was confounde1 by
dream in which lean COWS ate up the tat
COWS and the small ears Of corn devoured
the seven large ears, and awful famine was
nre6oured, Pilates wife, amid clouds OF
richest upholstery, had startling dream,
because Of which she sent message In hot
haste to a courtroom to keep her husband
from from enacting a juiicial outrage. But
Jacob. at Bethel, with pillow OF mountain
rock. had blissful dream OF the LADDER