About the Opal.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXX, Issue XV, 11 April 1903, Page 1022

About the Opal.

The ancients venerated the opal as a stone of good omen, and invested it “with power to banish evil spirits, to inspire pure thoughts, and to induce sweet dreams.” They called it the “lovestone.” The opal possesses a peculiar susceptibility to outside influences. Dullness and brilliancy succeed each other

with the regularity of atmospheric variations. Too much heat will rob the stone of its beauty, and some species are spoiled by too much moisture. Science has discovered that the human body, in certain diseased conditions, emits vapours that are capable of rendering the stone dull and opaque. It is this curious fact that has given rise to superstitious ideas among the ignorant of the present age. Superstitious Spaniards believe that the misfortunes of the present dynasty have been caused by an ill-omened opal, given

by a neglected beauty and adventuress to Alfonso XII., less than a quarter of a century ago. The King gave it to Queen Mercedes, who admired its great beauty, and she died in a few months. The King, not wishing to keep the ring, gave it to bis grandmother, Queen Christina, who only lived a short time after receiving it. It was next bestowed upon the Infanta Maria del Pilar, who died in a few days of a mysterious illness. The King then presented the fatal ring to his sister-in-law, the youngest daughter of the Due

and Duchess de Montpensier, who lived scarcely three months after receiving the jewel. After these fatalities the King decided to keep the ring himself, but, evidently not believing in an evil influence, put the ring on his little finger. He is said to have expired within twenty-four hours. The Queen-Regent, who is not at all superstitious, took possession of the ring, but in deference to the pleadings of her friends not to wear it, she hung it about the neck of her patron saint at Madrid, where it is to-day.