Page:A treatise on diamonds and precious stones including their history Natural and commercial.djvu/125

 color of this gem, when perfect, is, by transmitted light, a cochineal red, presenting a richness of hue the most exquisite and unrivalled; it is however in general more or less pale, and often mixed. with blue, hence it occurs rose red, peach blossom red, and lilac blue, passing into the Amethyst, which we shall notice hereafter.

monarchs of Pegu, Siam, and Ava, monopolize rubies uf the greatest beauty, as the sovereigns of India have done with regard to the largest Diamonds. The finest ruby in the world is in the possession of the first of these potentates, its purity has passed into a proverb, and its worth in Pegu, compared with gold, is said to be inestimable,—The Subah of Decan is also in possession