For many ages the shrine of the Abbey of St. Denys, at Paris, received rare and valuable gems as offerings; and at the time of the French Revolution the collection had become very valuable. The iconoclasts ordered it to be separated and sold. It brought 80,000 francs, and was scattered along the commercial highways of the world, never again to be reunited. One of the finest aqua-marines, mounted in sapphires and pearls, and engraved with the portrait of Julia, the daughter of Titus, was fortunately rescued, and may now be seen in the collection of the National Library of France. This splendid gem is of the unusual magnitude of 2¹⁄₂ inches by 2¹⁄₈. For quite a thousand years it formed a part of a golden reliquary celebrated as “l’escrain de Charlemagne.” History relates that it was presented by the great Emperor before his death to the Abbey of St. Denys. This is one of the finest specimens of an ancient intaglio carved upon beryl that has survived the destructive pillage of armies and the wreck of time since the early days of the Roman Empire. It is said that specimens of antique engraving upon this gem are about as rare as those carved upon the emerald, and their rarity is believed to be due to their great value, as well as to their scarcity in the gem markets in ancient times. Several royal relics of the lower Empire containing emeralds are still preserved, to attest the use of the gem in those days as well as the esteem in which it was held. The famous Iron Crown of Lombardy, made perhaps before the sixth century, contains several emeralds. This renowned relic is simply a circlet of gold, covering an iron nail of the cross, beaten out thin. The crown of the queen of one of the Gothic kings of Spain, of the seventh century, was recently exhumed at Toledo, and also exhibits emeralds among other gems. And there are other examples to prove the use of the emerald in mediæval times for ornamental purposes.