NOTES AND QUERIES. 55 
Geoghegan for the defendant. The plaintiff's case was that on the 
2oth of September last he met the defendant in the street and 
offered him a pacel of imitation sapphires, known as “beryl 
sapphires.” Mr. Abrahams referred him to his son, who was at 
home, and that gentleman purchased the parcel for the sum now 
sued for, having till the next morning to decide upon the matter. 
He had, however, subsequently refused to pay for them, alleging 
that they were not, as represented, “inferior sapphires.” The 
defendant’s son was called, and said the plaintiff represented at the 
time he brought the parcel to him that the contents were real 
stones, but of an inferior quality. He sold some of them at a 
small profit to his brother-in-law, a jeweller, who gave him a cheque, 
which he stopped two hours later, informing him that the supposed 
stones were nothing but “paste,” and worthless. He thereupon 
refused to complete the bargain for the purchase. Mr. Alfonso 
Nourick, a lapidary, carrying on business at Upper Gloucester- 
street, W., said he had examined the supposed stones. They were 
of the commonest kind of imitation known as “‘ paste,” and sold by 
the gross. Mr. Geoghegan : What does “‘paste” mean? Witness: 
A mixture of lead glass, and borax. (Laughter). Mr. Geoghegan : 
And what are imitations ? Witness: I make imitations, but I make 
them out of real stones. Mr. Innis: How can that be? Witness: 
I will tell you; perhaps I take some pale stones which would not 
be valuable. I split those, introduce the colour desired, and then 
join them again. (Laughter). By that means the public get real 
stones at a cheap rate, representing stones of a greater value. 
(Renewed laughter). I never heard of a “beryl sapphire.” 
“ Beryl” is a valueless crystal of various colours, but would mean 
*‘real,” and therefore I should consider a “ beryl sapphire ” to mean 
a “real” stone. Another witness, Mr. William Jennings, was 
called, who examined the supposed stones and pronounced them 
to be paste. Mr. Innis: Are they well got up? Witness: Yes. 
Mr. Innis: They would take anybody in, would they not? 
Witness: That is exactly what they were intended to do, I should 
think. (Loud laughter). Ultimately the jury found a verdict for 
the defendant. 
MANCHESTER MIcrRoscopicaL SociEty.—At the last meeting of 
the Mounting Section ef the Manchester Microscopical Society, 
there was a large attendance, Mr. J. L. W. Miles presiding. 
The Chairman, referring to the use of Canada balsam as a 
mounting medium, said that, broadly speaking, there were two ways 
of viewing microscopic objects; by reflected light when looking 
at external surfaces, and by transmitted light when investigating 
internal structure. Canada balsam has the property of ren- 
dering most objects, after certain treatment, very transparent, 
and for this reason was largely made use of. Other media, such 
