The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-21

Y SELECT another subject from the
 language of the exiled duke in the x forest of Arden, in AS You Like It. It Is not my purpose, however, to con- fine myself to the consideration of any such stones as the Duke saw in the for est. I shall write of stones of all sorts as they occur to my mind, without sys- tematic arrangement. Nor shall always be locking out for the sermons contained within the stones.
 The Creator has lavishly beautified the earth with flowers and foliage with lofty mountain ranges and lowly val leys; with brooks, lakes and rivers. all flowing onward towards seas and oceans pulsating with tireless activity and bound ing life. But He has not confined His material gifts to the surface of the earth Within this globe on which we dwell He has stored away a wealth of crystalline splendor which has never been exhaust ed, though men have been digging into the earth since first men came to be. He has studded and fretted the vaults and caverns of the mountains and sea- coasts with precious stones till the earth has become a vast treasurehouse of re- splendent riches.
 In remote periods of history gorgeous palaces of the Orient shone with the light of discovered crystals. while the persons of men and woman were adorned with them. At an early period they be- came associated with religious ceremo- nials and were often supposed to be en- dowed with some mystical power over evil spirits and diseases. In the book of Exodus there is given description of the high priests breastplate. It was composed of twelve precious stones, an aIlusion to the twelve tribes of Israel. In the book of Ezekiel we find this bril- liant paragraph Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy workmanship-th ruby, the topaz. the diamond, the beryl, the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald and the carbuncle." In Isiah we read, Be hold. I will lay thy stones with fair color and thy foundations with sapphires. And will make thy windows of agates and thy gates of carbuncle, and all thy bor- ders of pleasant stones
 The most remarkable of precious stones, however. in the Sacred Scrip lures Is found in the Apocalypse. In the description of the New Jerusalem we read: "Yhe building of the wall of 1t was of jasper; and the city was pure gold. like unto clear glass'- Transparent .gold). And the founda- tions of the wall of the city were gar nfshed with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper (wave-streaked and many hued); the second, sapphire (blue and serene as the sky): the third, chal- cedony (semi-opaque agate); the fourth, emerald Ca deep, calm green); fifth. sardonyx Ca blending of the red of the carnelian and the white of the onyx) ; the sixth, ruby Gin whose core or burning rays thousand crimson sun sets are distilled"D the seventh, chrys- olite (crimson gold); the eighth, bery1 q (changeable sea green); the ninth, topaz. (pale orange); tenth, chrys- oprasus (pale purple); the eleventh, jacinth tfaint violet); the twelfth. amethyst (deep purple as when the sun finally drops into the abyss of the west). If the reader will turn to the celebrated poem, Yesterday, Today and Forever" he will find marvellous de- scription of these precious stones as they appeared to the mind of a devout poet
 The most valuable of all stones is the diamond, not forgetting the ruby. It is thu rarest of minerals. Yet, 1t Is only carbon. A bit. of carbon the size of a, doves egg Is. without value; yet, a diamond of the same size might buy a duchy. What Is the. difference if both be merely .carbon? The differ