I in the meantime went to our former hosts for one night to
pick up Mabelle and the waifs and strays of luggage.
On my way from the station to the house, going over the Satinwood
Bridge, from which there is a lovely view of the Peacock Mountain, I
saw an Englishman whom we had observed before, washing stones in the
bed of the river for gems. He has obtained some rubies and sapphires,
though only of small size, and I suppose he will go on washing for
ever, hoping to find something larger and more valuable. On one part
of the coast of the island near Managgan the sands on the side of one
of the rivers are formed of rubies, sapphires, garnets, and other
precious stones washed down by the current, but they are all ground to
pieces in the process, not one being left as big as a pin's head. The
effect in the sunlight, when this sand is wet with the waves, is
something dazzling, and proves that the accounts of my favourite
Sindbad are not so fabulous as we prosaic mortals try to make out. The
island must be rich in gems, for they seem to be picked up with hardly
any trouble. At Neuera-ellia it is a favourite amusement for picnic
parties to go out gem-hunting, and frequently they meet with very
large and valuable stones by the riverside or near deserted pits,
large garnets, cinnamon-stone, splendid cat's-eyes, amethysts, matura
diamonds, moonstone, aquamarine, tourmaline rubies, and sapphires.
Pages:
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578