CHAPTER XXIV

VARIOUS KINDS OF OPAL

CACHOLONG, THE OPAL OF FRIENDSHIP: FLOAT STONE, THE LOVERS’ OPAL: GIRASOL, THE FIRE OPAL: HYALITE, THE EYE OPAL: HYDROPHANE, THE MAGIC OPAL: MENILITE, THE LIVER OPAL: OPAL JASPER: ROSE OPAL: SEMI-OPAL, THE FOREST OPAL: TABASHEER: MARCO POLO’S ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION OF THE GREAT KAAN: THE OPAL OF INVULNERABILITY AND REMOVER OF DREAD: THE MARVEL OF TRANSFORMATION.

“_Grey years ago a man lived in the east, Who did possess a ring of worth immense, From a beloved hand. Opal the stone, Which flashed a hundred bright and beauteous hues, And had the secret power to make beloved Of God and man the blessed and fortunate Who wore it in this faith and confidence._” “NATHAN THE WISE,” LESSING.

CACHOLONG. An opaque white or bluish-white variety of opal which obtains its name from the river Cach in Bokhara, according to some authorities and from the Tartars according to others. The Easterns set a high value on the stone which glistens with the opalescent gleam of Mother of Pearl. It is associated with chalcedony and being of a porous nature sticks to the tongue when touched by it. The Cacholong is a stone of pure friendship, sincerity and truth.

FLOAT STONE. A porous opal of a fibrous type which floats on water. It occurs in concretionary masses and is esteemed as a stone over which the most sacred promises may be made. Lovers join hands over a Float Stone floating on a vessel of water and pledge their troth with the utmost solemnity, misfortune being bound to dog the footsteps of the faithless one.

GIRASOL. The Girasol is the Mexican Fire Opal which reflects hyacinth and yellow colours. Good specimens are attractive and fairly popular. This is the opal indicated in Scott’s “Anne of Geierstein.”

HYALITE. The name is derived from the Greek word for glass, and the stone—a transparent glass-like opal—has been called Muller’s Glass by Dr. A. G. Werner who is said to have discovered it. It is very like clear gum arabic and is probably one of the esteemed eye stones of the old writers.

HYDROPHANE. This variety of opal is very porous and beautifully translucent and opalescent after being left for a little time in water. It is otherwise of an opaque white or yellow and not very attractive. In the United States it has been termed Magic Stone.

MENILITE. This variety is found in slate not far from the French capital. It is termed also Liver Opal and is said to have talismanic action on that organ. It is a concretionary opal, brown or liver-coloured.

OPAL JASPER. Opal Jasper is a jasper-like resinous, dark red, ferruginous variety of opal, identified as the opal of beautiful wisdom.

ROSE OPAL. A beautiful rose-coloured opal found at Quincy in France. This is the opal of the baby Cupid and is termed the Opal of Childhood.

SEMI-OPAL. A silicified wood-opal of waxy lustre, transparent to opaque. It is found in various colours—white, brown, grey, red, blue, green. It has the appearance of petrified wood. It is a tree-growing charm and is no doubt the Forest Opal.

TABASHEER. Corrupted from Tabixir, is a siliceous aggregation found in the joints of certain bamboo known in the Malay as the Mali Mali, Rotan jer’ nauf (blood of the dragon Rattan) and Buluh Kasap (rough bamboo). In appearance it is generally like clear gum arabic, although sometimes opaque, and is the sap transformed by evaporation. Under reflective light it is a kind of blue and under transmitted light it is either light yellow or amber-red. It is extremely absorptive. In Marco Polo’s account of the expedition of the Great Kaan against Chipangu, we are told that “when the people of the Kaan had landed on the great Island they stormed a tower belonging to some of the islanders who refused to surrender. Resistance being overcome, the Kaan’s soldiers cut off the heads of all the garrison except eight. On these eight they found it impossible to inflict any wound. Now this was by virtue of certain stones which they had in their arms inserted between the skin and flesh with such skill as not to show at all externally. And the charm and virtue of the stones were such that those who wore them would never perish by steel. So when the Kaan’s generals heard this they ordered that the prisoners be beaten to death with clubs. After their death the stones were extracted from their bodies and were greatly prized.” Friar Odoric says that these Stones of Invulnerability were Tabashir specimens which were used by the natives of the Indian Islands where their virtue was esteemed. According to Avicenna the Tabashir was a powerful eye stone and remover of past fears, present dreads and future anxieties.

PSEUDOMORPHIC OPAL. Opalized shells, bones, etc., are found in quantities in opal country. These specimens are unique and of much curious interest. A number of shells from the new fields 150 miles North West of Tarcoola (on the East-West Railway, over 250 miles from Port Augusta) were submitted to the author. In these the silica slowly and progressively took the place of the primary substance until it was completely opalized, the old form of the material being only retained. It is remarkable to contemplate the change of conditions which placed the former substance so completely at the mercy of the consuming opal. Such transformation is continual in Nature, manifesting variously in the mineral world, proving that eternal progress is eternal change. It was the observation of similar material phenomena that led ancient scientists to the conclusion that transformations could be accomplished by the skill, knowledge and wisdom of sincere and gifted men who undaunted by superficial criticism persevered, and the triumphs of the chemist served to indicate how much more could be done by those brave enough to prove the immortality of man by reducing the unknown to terms of the known.

The word PSEUDOMORPH is derived from the Greek PSEUDO and MORPHES, disguising one’s form.