‘It is—but it’s nice.’
‘I hear voices. There’s some one coming!’
‘Let them come.’
‘And find me in this ridiculous predicament? Never!’
‘Not for worlds,’ assented Mr Dulcimer in his sweetest tones.
Bella gave vent to a little laugh: she could not help it. One of Dick’s arms found its way round her waist. The situation was embarrassing. If she were to push him away, she might slip into the water. Their faces were not far apart. Suddenly she protruded hers and touched his cheek lightly with her lips. ‘Wretch! There, then!’ she said. ‘And there,’ quoth the unabashed suitor, as he returned the toll, twofold. ‘And there!’ she added a moment after, as, with her disengaged hand, she gave him a sounding box on the ear.
Dick laughed and rubbed his ear. ‘For what we have just received’—— he said, and then grasping both her hands, he helped her across the remaining stepping-stones to the opposite bank of the stream.
ARTIFICIAL JEWELS.
The trade in artificial jewels has become very extensive during the last half-century, and the chemical experiments in which various qualities of imitation diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are produced have been recently carried on with an astonishing amount of success. It is becoming more and more difficult, even to the eye of the expert, to distinguish readily between the real and the false gem, when they do not shine in too close proximity.
The most distinctive feature of the real stone is its hardness, though even this quality has been imitated with considerable success. The term ‘hardness’ is used by the lapidary and mineralogist to denote the power of one stone to scratch another; it must not be considered as the power of resisting a blow, for many crystalline stones which are very hard are also easily fractured. The diamond, which will scratch any other stone, can be more easily broken than many stones which are less hard. After the diamond come the ruby and sapphire, which are the next hardest stones; then emeralds, topazes, and quartz or rock-crystal; and finally, a number of other stones, and glass or artificial stones.