Arizona republican., 1910-12-25


 could have looked down upon MandaIay. the capital of Burmah, hesmight have what
 would appear to him aIcircus procession wind
 ing its glitterng way through the streets, past
 the grey bamboo houses, past the glistenng, golden palaces of the King, splendid in their bar barrie magnihcence past the, gay bazaars busy with noisy traffic, out into the country roads and up toward the hills beyond. And the same boy imisht venture many guess before he would aligfr upon the true purpose of this gay train of soldiers and grandces, and great elephants, brightly trapped walking with dignihed and ponderous tread. For just such parade peculiar to Mandalay. that city of the sunshine, and the palm trees, and the tnkling temple bells"
 Around the Burmese capital rise the Ruby Mountains with jungle-covered slopes and wild beast-haunted forests, holding in their cIefts and recesses stores of rich red treasure. The King of Burmah was called the Lord of the Rubes" He owned all the mountain mines of precious stones, and when valuable gem found, from the hills bore the glad news to the palace. Then the King would order out his troops with all the trappngs of state, and the procession would on the mountain road to meet the ruby, welcome it and escort it back to the monarch and the royal treasury. For, next to the sacred white elephant, no possession was so cherished bv the Burmese royalty, as the ruby.
 In lSs6. Burmah annexed to England and the British government took the mines The pro sessions no longer wind their welcoming way to t.o hills; the elephants busy "pin' teak in th- sudgy, squdgy creek and the ruby has lost bit of its charm by becoming merely valuable article of commerce. instead of an almost sacred treasure.
 All through the ages the ruby has been called the of good luck According the old stories. whoever owned ruby would fail in anything he undertook for that beautiful jewel held in its glowing red heart magic power which always brought success. No matter how dangerous the task the ruby sure to give courage and victory. Tn the days of ancient Greece, when a rich man wished to express to friend good wishes wealth or honor, he sent to him ruby engraved with the figure of an orator. To-day. the ruby is considered the luciest of stones, though the good fortune, we sec it, lies in the owning of anything SO precious, for even the diamond is not valuable gem.
 The ruby is the stone of July. and the fire which abides in its red heart truly typical of that burn ing month of summer According to legend, how ever this fire varied with the fortune of the owner popular superstition in regard to the ruby the belief in its power to forete danger disaster by the changing of its color.
 It was favorite taisman and love-token in the time of the Crusaders Many a gallant knight. clothed in armor has borne battle his adys heart in the shape of the burning gem; or has ridden out to wage war with the unbeever, leaving pledge of hi. true love in his sweethearts keepns-a red, and flaming ruby.
 Henry V wore a magnificent ruby at the Battle of Asincourt and it proved to be stone of for him. Queen Elizabeth had weakness for jewels Vaudeville says that she displayed to him "a fair ruby, great like racquet ball" Sir Johns stories however will always bear little pruning. Elizabeth presented ruby ring to each of her fav- orites the Earls of Essex and Suffolk There is a sad little story connected with Lord Essexs ruby. When that noble sentenced for treason. was in the Tower awaiting his death. he sent the ring the gift of happy days to the Queen. Perhaps it would have softened her heart with its memories of old time friendship but she never received it. Instead. it fell into the hands of Lady Nottingham, who. by her husband advice withheld it. When she was dying. Lady Nottingham sent for the Queen and confessed. May God forgive youp cried Elizabeth. T can"
 The Coronation ring of Scotland set with a ruby. It was the custom send this jewel with the messenger who notified the heir of his coming to the throne. When James the Second made his un- kinglv flight across the Channel he had the ring concealed in his person, and it narrowly escaped
 
 royal collection at Edinburgh,
 The finest ruby in the world is owned by the King of Burmah. The largest European ruby is in Russia and is the size of pigeons esG.