The alternate and irregular flashing of all these varied hues always presents a harmonious spectacle, such is the wondrous power of Nature in all her arrangements and groupings. The stone, when arranged by the art of the lapidary, is almost always cut with a convex surface. However, when the opal is attached to an opaque substance which serves as a reflector to the rays of light, the stone may then have its surface cut almost flat. The colors displayed by this gem embrace quite all of the tints seen in the solar spectrum, and they are as pure. The shades of green, blue, yellow, and red will bear comparison with the hues of the solar spectrum, and the gems of other minerals are rare that can bear this decisive test. Sometimes but one color is visible in the stone, and then it is called emerald or golden opal, according to the tint exhibited. The purchase of opals in the rough natural state is attended with danger, for often the glittering mass, after being shaped and polished by the lapidary, is transformed into a transparent but hueless stone. The cutting of the opal is always a hazardous operation, from the fragility of the material and the special tact required in determining the shape to be given the gem. We will relate an instance to illustrate the history of the whole. A traveller from Central America brought home a splendid rough fire opal which dazzled the eye with its fiery reflections. We took it to an honest lapidary, who received it with a doubtful look. The next day the opal was returned, having been shaped into the usual oval form, but only a faint gleam of any of the colored rays flashed from its surface, or the interior. “Is this the gem we gave you yesterday?” we demanded of the artisan. With a smile the lapidary took the transparent stone and roughened its finely polished surface upon the wooden wheel. In an instant the lost fire returned as if directed by magic’s wand. The perfect transparency of the gem, with its high polish, had allowed the rays of light to pass directly through it, and there was but little refraction, but on roughening the surface the light was interrupted and the peculiar property of the mineral displayed. Unfortunately the lesson was not concluded here. At the last touch of the wheel the beautiful gem flew into two parts, and its glories departed in an instant. Saddened with the day’s experience, we took the two fragments, cemented them together, and tossed the stone into a drawer which contained other mineral specimens of no great value. Some months after, while searching for a misplaced mineral, a gleam of light suddenly flashed out as we opened the drawer. It was the neglected and abused opal, which now gleamed with the energy of a living coal of fire. It had recovered its beautiful reflections, and still adorns, notwithstanding its fracture, a most cherished jewel.