Carbuncle. A beautiful gem of a deep red color (with a mixture of scarlet), found in the East Indies. When held up tot he sun, it loses its deep tinge, and becomes of the color of a burning coal. The carbuncle of the ancients is believed to have been a garnet. The name is now given also to the ruby sapphire and the red spinel. The ordinary carbuncle is a garnet cut en cabochon.

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“Every comfort that the saints have in this world is a promise to them of those eternal mercies which the Lord hath provided for them: as every affliction that the wicked have here, is but the beginning of sorrows.”
–Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment