Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1893-02-03


in a shipwreck they went down off the coas
of Barbary. Napoleon wore an emerald a
Austerlitz.
In the Rremin museum at Moscow ther
are crowns and scepters and outspread mira
cles OF emerald. ireland Is called tn
Emerald Isle not because OF It's vardure. bu
because IL was presented TO Henry III o
England with an emerald ring. Nero had
magnifying glass OF emerald through whicl
he looked at the Rladiatorlal contests a
Rome. But here are 1900 miles OF emerald
sweeping around the heavenly city in on
layer.
But upward still and you put your foot OF
q stratum Of sardonyx, white and rel,
seeming commingling of snow and fire, tn,
snow cooling the fire, the fire melting tn,
snow.
Another climb and you reach the sardius
named after the city OF Sardius. Another
climb and you reach the chrysolIte A
specimen OF this, belonging TO Epiphauus In
the Fourth Century, was said to be sC
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 II
makes the night as bright as the day.
A higher climb and you reach the
beryl Two thousand years ago the Greet
poses. 1t was accounted among the royal
treasures Of Tyre. The hilt OF Murat's
,word was adorned with it. Il glows in the
imperial crown OF Great Britain. Luther
thought the beryls Of the heavenly wall was
surquoisc Kalisch thought it was chrYso-
lite. Josephus thought it n golden colorel
Jewel. The wheels o, Ezekiers vision famed
with beryl and were a revolving fire.
The beryl appears in six sided prisms, and
s set in seals and inta ylios, IN necklaces and
ooronets 1t was the Joy OF ancient jewery.
1t ornamented the atiluent with eardrops.
CharlemaZne presented it TO his favorite
Beautiful beryl Exquisitsly shaped beryl!
Diviuey colored berry,! 1t seems like con-
Eealed color. 1t looks like frozen fire.
But stop not here. Climb higher and you
,ome to topaz, n bewildermeat of beauty
md named after an island Of the Red Sea.
Climb higher and you come TO chrysop-
-asus, OF greenish golden hue and hard as
lint.
Climb higher and you reach the jaciuth,
named after the flower hyacinth an Of red
iish blue
Take one more step and YOU reach the
5cf,-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
mids For color it is violet bloc ming in
stone. For its play OF light, for its deep
mysteries of color, for its unseen Egyptians,
in Etruscan, in Roman art it has been hon
ored. The Greeks thou yht this stone q pre-
ventive OF drunkenness. The Hebrews
thought It source Of pleasant dreams.
For all lovers Of gems it is n subject Of ad-
miration and suggestiveness. Yes, the
word amethyst means prevention of
drunkenness. Long before the New Testa
ment made reference to the amethyst in the
wall Of heaven the Persians thought that
cups NE 10 out of a. 'ethyst would hinder
becoming intoxicating. But OF all the nme.
thystine cups from which the ancients
drank not Que had any such result OF pre-.
yention.
For thousands Of years the world has been
looking in vain for such a preventive anne.
thystine cup Staggering Noah could not
dnd it. COnvivial Ahqsuerus driving Vashti
from the gates could not find it. Nabal
breaking the heart of beautiful Abigail
could not find 1t. Belshazzar, the kingly
reveler, on the night that toe Chaldeans
took Babylon coud not find ii. Not one OF
the millions of inebratcs whose skulls pave
the continents an pave the depths OF the
sea could find it. There is no such cup
brutes the same as stroug drink from pew
ter mug. II Is not the style OF cup we drink
out Of, but that which tho cup contains
which decides the helpful or danning result
of the beverage.
All around the world last night aud to-
day, out OF cups costlier than amethyst men
and women have been drinking their own
doom and the doom OF their children for this
life and the next. Ah, it is the amethystine
cups that do the widest aud worst slaugh-
teri The smash of the filthy goblets Of thu
rummeries would long ago have taken place
by law, but the amethystlDe chaliccs pre-
vent-the chalIces out OF which legislatures,
congresses drink before and after they make
the laws. Amethystine ciallces have been
the friends of intoxication instead OF its
foes. Over the fiery lips OF the amethy stine
chaices is thrust the tongue o; that which
biteth like serpent and stinseth like an
adder.
Drunkenness Is a combination OF apoplexy
and demehtia. The 40). 900. O0l victims OF
opium come out to meet the l5O 00C, 600 VIC
Tins Of alcohol, ani the two agents take the
contract for tumblng tho human race into
perdition, but whether they will succeed in
fulflllin the contract depends on the action
OF the amethystine cups, the amethystine
demijohns, the amethystine ale pitchers the
fagons, the amethystine wine
cellars Oh, Persiansl oh. Assyriansl oh,
Greeks Oh. Egyptiansi you were wrong
in thinking that cup Of amethyst would
prevent inebriation.
But standing on the top OF this amethys.
tine layer of the foundation of the wall OF
heaven bethink myself of the mistake that
many Of the ancient Hebrews made when
thoy thought that the amethyst was pro-
ducer OF pleasant dreams. Just wear piece
OF amethyst over your heart or put IL under
your pillow, and you would have your dreams
filled with everything beautiful and entranc.
ing. No, no. The style OF pillow will not
decide the character OF the dream. The only
recipe for pleasant dreams is to do right aud
think right when you are wide awake. Con.
ditions Of physical disease may give good
man nightmare, but man physically well,
IL he behave himself aright will not be
troubled with bad dreams.
q RNebuchadnezzsr, with eagles down under
his head and Tyrian purple over it, struggled
with bad dream that male him shrek out
for the soothsayers and astrologers to come
and interpret 1t Pharaoh, amid ths marble
palaces OF Memphis, was confounded by
dream in which lean COWS ate up the fat
cows and the small ears OF corn devoured
the seven large ears aud awful famine was
Pilates wife, amid clouds of
richest upholstery, had a startling dream,
because OF which she sent message in hot
haste to courtroom to keep her husband
from enacting a judicial outrage. But
Jacob, at Bethel, with pillow OF mountain
rock, had a blissful dream of the ladder
angel blossoming.
Bunyan, with his head On a hard plank OF
Bedford's jail, saw the gates of the Celes-
tial city. st. John, on the barrsnest island
of the Esean Sea, in his dream heard trum-
pets and saw cavalry men on white horses
and new heaven and a new earth. No
amount Of rough pillow can disturb the
night vision of saint, an no amount OF
amethystine charm can delectate the dream
OF a miscreant.
But, some one will say, why have you
brought us to this amethyst, the top row Of
the foundation OF the heavenly wall, II you
are not able to accept the theory OF the an.
clent Greeks, who said that the amethyst
was charm against intox cation, or if you
are not willing to accept the theory OF the
ancient Hebrews that the amethyst was
producer OF pleasant Greams' My answer is,
l have brought you to the top row, the