Some Things Learned from God's Family Record.—No. 5.
By M. M. OSGOOD
The hight of the wall around the city was “an hundred and forty and four cubits.” These, reckoned at twenty-two inches each, make about two hundred and eighty feet. Rev. 21: 18–20: “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.” The following is a description of the different varieties of these precious stones as found in the American Tract Society Bible Dictionary:— “JASPER, a precious stone of various colors, as green, purple, &c., often clouded with white, and beautifully striped with red or yellow. “SAPPHIRE, a gem next in hardness and value to the diamond, and comprising as varieties all those precious stones known by the name of oriental gems; viz., the oriental ruby, the oriental topaz, and oriental emerald. . . . In general, the name of sapphire is given to the blue variety, which is either of a deep indigo blue or of various lighter tints, and sometimes gradually passes into perfectly white or colorless, which when cut may almost pass for a diamond. “CHALCEDONY, a precious stone resembling the agate; of various colors, but often a light brown or blue. . . . Carnelian is said to be one of its varieties. “EMERALD, a precious stone of a fine green color. . . . Josephus, however, and the Seventy, make it a gem like a burning coal,—the Indian ruby. “SARDONYX, a species of gem exhibiting the reddish color of the carnelian and the white of the chalcedony intermingled. “SARDIUS, a species of precious stone of a blood red, or sometimes of a flesh color—more commonly known by the name of carnelian. “CHRYSOLITE, a transparent precious stone, having the color of gold, with a mixture of green, and a fine lustre. “CHRYSOPRASUS, its color is green, inclining to gold. “BERYL, a precious stone of a sea-green color. “TOPAZ, a precious stone of wine yellow color, with occasional pale tinges of green or red. “JACINTH, a gem of a yellowish red, nearly related to the amethyst. It loses its color when heated, becoming like the diamond. “AMETHYST, a precious stone of violet blue, verging toward a bluish or reddish white—is generally clouded and spotted with zigzag stripes. “The oriental ruby is a red variety of the sapphire. Its color is usually between a vivid cochineal and crimson. The true ruby is usually called the agate, or carbuncle. Agate, a precious stone, semi-transparent and often beautifully veined and clouded, presenting in miniature the picture of many natural objects. Carbuncle, a precious stone of a dark, deep red color, said to glitter even in the dark and to sparkle more than the ruby.” Thus much for the adorning of the twelve foundations. Rev. 21: 21: “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; . . . and the street of the city was pure gold.” Verse 23: “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Verse 25: “And there shall be no night there.”