The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-10-23

ss F an American boy Of about twenty years ago
M could have looked down upon Mandalay. the
ssa capital of Burnuah, he, might have seen what
would appear to him a circus procession wind
IN, ing its ~glittering way through the streets. past
NJ the grey bamboo houses, past the glistening.
golden palaces of the King, splendid i'm their bar
barrie magnifcence. past the gay bazaars busy with
noisy traffic. out into the country roads and up
coward the hills beyond. And the same boy might
venture many a guess before he would alight upon
the true purpose of this gay train of soldiers and
s~randees. and great elephants. brightly trapped,
walking with dignihed and ponderous tread. For
just such a parade was peculiar to Mandalay, that
city of "the sunshine. and the palm trees. and the
tinkling temple bells"
Around the Burmese capital rise the Ruby
Mountains with jungle-covered slopes and wild
beast-haunted forests. holding in their clefts and
;recesses stores of rich red treasure. The King of
Burmah was called the Lord Of the 'Rubies." He
owned all the mountain mines of precious stones,
and when . valuable gem was found, a runner from
the hills bore the glad news to the palace. Then
the King. would order out his troops with all the
~trappings of state. and the procession would set out
on the mountain road to meet the ruby, welcome
it and escort it back to the monarch aud the royal
treasury. For. next to the sacred white elephant,
no possession was so cherished by the Burmese
royalty, as was the, ruby.
In, 1886, Burmar was annexed to England and
the British government took the mines. The. pro-
eessions no longer wind their welcoming way to the
hills; the elephants are busy "piin' teak, in the
sludgy, squdgy creek and the ruby has lost a bit Of
its charm by becoming merely a valuable article Of
commerce instead of an almost sacred treasure.
All through the ages the ruby has been called
the stone of good luck. According to the old stories,
whoever owned a ruby would never fail in anything
he undertook, for that beautiful jewel held in it.
glowing red heart a magic power which always
brought success. No matter how dangerous the
task. the ruby was sure to give courage and victory.
In the Days of tsneient Greece when a rich man
wished to express to a friend good wishes for wealth
or honor, he sent to him a ruby engraved with the
figure of an orator. To-day, the ruby is considered
the luckiest of stones. though the good fortune, as
we see it, lies in the owning of anything so precious.
for even the diamond is not so valuable a gem.
The ruby is the stone of July, and the fire which
abides in its red heart is truly typical of that burn
Ing month of summer. According to legend, how
ever, this FIRE varied with the fortune of the owner.
A popular superstition in regard to the ruby was
the belief in its power to foretell danger or disaster
by the changing of its color.
It was a favorite talisman and love-token in the
time of the Crusaders. Many a gallant knight.
clothed in armor. has borne to battle his lady's heart
in the shape Of the burning gem; or has ridden out
to wage war with the unbeliever, leaving a pledge of
his true love in his sweetheart's Keeping red, and
flaming ruby.
Henry v wore 4 magnificent ruby at the Battle
of Agineourt and it proved to be a stone of success
for him. Queen Elizabeth had a weakness for
jewels. Vaudeville says that she displayed to him
"a fair ruby. great like a racquet ball." Sir Johns
stories, however, will always bear a little pruning.
Elizabeth presented a ruby ring to each of her fav-
orites. the Earls of Essex and Suffolk. There is q
sad little story connected with Lord Essex's 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
husbands advice, withheld it. When she was dying:
Lady Nottingham sent for the Queen and confessed.
MAY God forgive your cried Elizabeth. II never
san."
The Coronation ring of Scotland was set with a
ruby. 1t was the custom to send this jewel with the
messenger who notified the heir of his coming to
the throne. When James the Second made his I'M
kingly fight across the Channel. he had the ring
concealed in his person. and it narrowly escaped
being taken by the fishermen who searched their
royal passenger for gold. The ring is now in the
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 a pigeons egg.
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