46 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALLY. 
rived for the probable earliest arrangement of the breastplate, 
we get the following tabulation, which represents a quite pro- 
bable arrangement :— 
Ist Row. 
Carnelian Peridot Amazon Stone 
Reuben Simeon Levi 
2nd Row. 
Carbuncle Lapis Lazuli Chrysophrase 
Judah Dan Napthali 
3rd Row. 
Citrine Agate Amethyst 
Gad Asher Tssacher 
: 4th Row. 
Sapphire Beryl Onyx 
Zebulun Joseph Benjamin 
(Written in Latin form from left to right.) 
Amongst so many conflicting accounts of the details of the 
breastplate it is not possible to state definitely what was the 
original arrangement, we can only endeavour by studying the 
available descriptions, to arrive at what appears most probable, 
and this is what I have tried to do. It is extremely probable 
that differences in arrangement did occur at successive periods, 
and that therefore the original arrangement became more or less 
altered. 
We know the affection which the faithful of the Jewish 
race entertain for the ancient capital city of their forefathers, 
and the peculiar veneration with which they regard its vener- 
able, crumbling walls, a veneration which, owing to hallowed as- 
sociations, is shared by Christians all the world over. 
This being so, we may regard with interest a fragment of 
grey stone picked up at the base of the walls of Jerusalem, 
knocked off mayhap in the course of one of the occasions of 
siege, when nothing but these old limestone walls stood between 
the devoted inhabitants and their cruel rapacious enemies. 
We will now pass on to consider another great collection 
of gems, the ornaments of the King of Tyre, recorded in Hze~ 
kiel 28, 13. The authorised version gives the following read- 
ing of the passage:—“Hyvery precious stone was thy covering, 
the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and 
the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle and 
gold.” We thus see that only nine stones are mentioned, and 
