Emerald. 2 » Many of the emeralds defcribed by the ancients appear to have been varieties of gen fiuor fpar ; even ln more modern times, fluorfpar has been preferved ° r emerald. Mr Coxe examined the famous emer- table in the abbey of Reichenau near Conltance, Miich he found to be a very fine green coloured Uor fpar. The famous facro cattino di fmeraldo ^entale, preferved at Genoa, and which could only e ken by an order from the fenate, appears to bea *Ws of cellular glafs. Many fine ^Ethiopian emer- as > which were bequeathed to monaftcries, appear to have been fold by the monks, and coloured glafs iu bftituted in their place. 3- Several roineralogifts are of opinion that the emerald was not known in Europe until after 'J4 C0Ilc l ue ^ Mexico and Peru by the Spaniards. e following fads, however, are in oppofition to conjedure. i. In the mitre of Pope Julius the e cond, which is now preferved in the mufeum of nat ural hiftory at Paris, there is a fine deep coloured nier <ild : as he died in 1513, and Peru was not dif fered an d conquered by Pizarro before 1545, it is probable that this emerald was brought from rica - 2. Werner has in his pofi'efiion leveral an- jf Ue em cralds, and Mr Plavvkins informed the Abbe \ v . nCr ^ lat * le ^ a d ken ^ necklace of emeralds, which ds found among the ruins of Portici near Naples, fine" ^' e ^ ra ^' an emcra M is a variety of tounna- S- It is ?s. EIGHTEENTH cio^" ^ * S ° ne ^ ,e an d foftefi; of the pre- Us ftones.
