Ball — Description of Uco large Spinel Bubies. 389 



one of the saddles struck me as particularly worthy of remark, having- 

 u ruby two inches square, bearing on it the name of Jahangir. Dow, 

 in his 'History of Hindostan,' tells us that when Jahangir had his 

 name engraved on this beautiful stone, the celebrated Empress Nur 

 Jahan told him that she thought it a pity : to which he answered, 

 ' This jewel will more assuredly hand down my name to posterity 

 than any written history. The house of Timur, may fall, but, as long 

 as there is a king, this jewel will have its price.' Many other names 

 are now engraven on it, the best known being Ahmad Shah's, who 

 found it in the famous peacock throne (Takht-i-Taus), made by Shah 

 Jahan in 1635 in Agra. This stone was stolen from Timur in the 

 year 1398 at Delhi, and Jahangir repurchased it." (The statements 

 italicized are mistakes apparently due to a misreading of Dow), 



The mention of Ahmad Shah (if the King of Kabul is meant) 

 prevents the identification of this ruby with the one wrung from 

 Shah E,ukh by Aga Mahommed in 1796, as described above, for 

 Ahmad could not have possessed that stone, as he died in 1773. 

 Ahmad's name, as we have seen, does not occur on either of the rubies 

 now described, although Nadir's does on one of them ; but as we have 

 a figure of this ruby of Eanjit's by Miss Eden,^ it may be pointed out 

 that, making allowance for the drawing possibly not being a close 

 representation of the form, there is some resemblance between it and 

 Nadir's ruby, which has been above described, and has the names of 

 four emperors and of Nadir engraved upon it. Eanjit's ruby may 

 very possibly have been sold in 1850, when the Koh-i-nur was sent to 

 England, and the publication of this notice may perhaps lead to 

 further information. 



Miss Eden's description, which accompanies the figure, merely says 

 that "it is an uncut ruby on which some Persian characters were 

 engraved." 



Schonberg speaks of an emerald (? mistake for ruby), on which 

 several names were engraved, as being in the treasury at Lahore.^ 



I have recently been informed that there is a large engraved ruby, 

 called the six-latch ruby, held in pledge for a debt by the Indian 

 Government. It is, or was some years ago, lodged for safety in a 

 bank at Lucknow. The name Sulaiman is said to be engraved 

 on it. 



' " Portraits of the Princes and People of India," pL xiv. 



2 "Travels in India and Kashmir," Lond., 1853, vol. i., p. 322. 



