Physically, the sapphire was thought to effect various cures. The scientist von Helmhont praised its power for patients afflicted with boils. Some thought the sapphire, for ills of the eye, even better than the emerald. Thus Charles V of France had a sapphire set in gold, to which he had a handle attached, like a lorgnette, to hold to his inflamed and painful eyes. Queen Elizabeth I of England attributed more general magical powers to a sapphire that she wore and with which she never parted until her death. With it, she foiled countless plots against her life and in England’s most turbulent times lived out her full allotment of three score years and ten. For the September-born, there is the exultation of the rustle of fall and the sweep of white clouds across a sapphire heaven. Harvest moon beyond the hill. Harvest happiness, and still Watch the hearth’s soft-dying ember. Deep the night with many stars, Love’s the locksmith breaks all bars. Sapphire’s for September. _October: Opal_ Fresh October brings the pheasant; Then to gather nuts is pleasant. But this month’s babe is born for woe And life’s vicissitudes will know Unless an opal on her breast Drives off these woes and keeps her blessed. October, with its sharp contrasts, is the month of the opal. This gem may be white, or black, or of that rare and precious kind, the fire opal. In its dark greyish background are imbedded the most luminous colors of red, yellow, green, blue, and purple, that seem to shoot forth rays. The opal does not refract light, being an opaque stone; but its own colors make fine interplay with light. The Roman historian Pliny called the opal “the captive rainbow.” The wearer of the stone, the same authority assures us, not only will be urbane and courteous but will be free from the spleen of those around. An opal, like a soft answer, turneth away wrath. For a while, especially in the early nineteenth century, the opal was considered a stone of bad luck; it fell from favor like one dismissed by royalty. Two stories, one from life and one in legend, helped produce this aberration; human credulity completed the work. The true-life story is that of Alphonso XII of Spain. He gave a ring, bearing a magnificent opal, to his bride. Shortly after, she succumbed to a mysterious malady. His sister, who next wore the ring, died a few days later. His sister-in-law next put the precious opal on her finger; within the month she died. Hoping to end the series of sudden deaths, Alphonso took back the ring and gave it to no one. Alphonso died. The chain was broken when his heirs placed the ring upon a statue of the Virgin.