Morning journal and courier., 1892-06-06

beams. The virtues of the carbuncles sre reslstance to lire, preservation of the evee promotion of pleasant dreams, creation of happy illusions and an antidote against | impure air.
 The ruby is valued highest when it con-
 tains the least azure. The largest ruby that history speaks of belonged to Eliza
 beth of Austria, the wife of Charles Tx. It was almost as big as 8 hens egg. The virtues attributed to rubies are to banish sadness, to repress luxury and to drive away annoying thoughts. At the same time it symbolizes cruelty, anger and car mage, as well as boldness and bravery. A change in its color announces 6 calamity, but when the trouble is over it regains its primitive lustre.. The amethyst, SO called from the Greek Amethustos, meaning "not drunk" wssa fsvorite stone among the Roman ladies. Its principal virtue was to draw away the vapors of inebriety from the brain. It also drove away evil thoughts and attracted to its possessor the fsvors of princes.
 The opal, fallen from It's ancient splen. dor, is to-day called an unlucky stone, even by those who laugh at old supersti- tions, but it once held high rank among precious stones. The belief that it attract ed misfortune was founded on @ Russian legend which found its way into France. The Empress Eugenie had horror of an opal At sight of one in the Tuileries she unaffected terror. That had the effect of lowering the price of the stone.
 The turquoise is considered as & talis: man is Persia, its native soil. It preserves its possessor from accidents and secures constancy in affections. The value of the turquoise depends on it's shade and its size, especially its thickness. Those clsssed as belonging to the old rock are valued very highly. Emblem of youth, of sen. timent and tender recollections, the tur- qucise may be called the forget-ms-not of stones. It breaks on the death of its pro- prietor, and it changes color when he is i'll. This last observation is perfectly true, and is certified to by all lapidsries. The same thing has been remarked of coral. 'tNot only do precious stones ive," says Jerome Cardan, "but they are liable to get sick, to suffer from the inhrmities of old age and at last to die."
 The most precious of all stones, accord ing to Dr. de Lignieres, is the jade, on &C., count of it's rarity, its extraordinary qual- ities and the mystery of its cutting. It was regarded as a sacred stone, and mo- body had right to possess it except 6 prince of imperial blood. Argerius Gu tius. famous physician in Amsterdam at the time of the Renaissance. published work on the jade, or nephritic stone, as it was then called, on account of its action on the renal system. At the same period Italian authors spoke of the jade as osiada and discussed its wonderful powers for healing sciatics. The legends surrounding this stone abound in history. Good speci- mems of jade are extremely rare, and the world is at a loss to know how the Chinese managed to cut it, because it is so extreme ly hard that nothing can make an impres- sion upon it. Splendid specimens of gray and green jade can be seen in the muse um of the Trocadero.
 In conclusion pr. de Lignieres admits the possibility of the soundness of the theory that precious stones may have healing properties. High scientific au- thority, he says. has established beyond dispute the reality of an action wis, vir- tus or vita, exercised by 8 great number of precious stones, leaving out of the question the influence of imagination and all the phenomena of suggestion.