The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-20


the stones of the high priests vestrHay.
by means OF the blood of the worm San,ta-
Which had the power of dissolving 49,,
hardest stones. When Solomon desired -
bulld the temple with stones upon wbicb
no tool was to be used he was naturau,.
anxious to obtain this potent solvent M,
method of securing it would hardly 49,
occurred to the lesser wisdom of TOD,
He enclosed the chick Of an ostrich a.,
glass bottle and placed trusty persons -
watch it. The parent bird, finding itseIs
unable to force its way through the gIass
flew of to the desert. and, returning viii
the marvellous worm, dissolved thu i
prisoning glass. By repeating this AZ
pertinent, Solomon obtained a suficie1.
number Of worms for his purpose.
The diamond among the ancients ~
the symbol OF severe and answering inc
tice; the judges in Hades had heard -
adamant. 1t was believed to nraser,,o - ~
owner from Illness, a property proved a.
was considered, in the time of the plagra
when the disease spread rapidly amor,
the poor, and the rich who wore diamonds
escaped The stone gave victory IL tbs
cause espoused were just; 1t acted as
talisman against wltchcraft, but lost lie
power If It's owner sinned. 1t becalmed
anger, bestowed fortitude, and strsngtb-
ened welded love. 1t was a favorite SIN.
perstition, frequently repeated in the ia
books on the Subject-thFough the want
one would imagine. of any experimental
ardor-that the diamond could be Wrouebt
upon the goats blood. THE diamond
which neither iron nor fer will daunt tba
blood of the cote softeneth to the break.
ing" Pliny adds that, since mortal inge-
nuity could not have discovered the fact.
1t must have been revealed to man from
heaven
The gem was held to be able to renro-
duce Itself De Boot, in his treatise, re-
lates story of lady who had two her
editary diamonds which produced a M
merous progeny and Sir John Mandeville
who accepts the theory of reproduction
declares further that by personal exDerl
ment he convinced himself that diamonds
grew in size. Most precious stones were
used incidentally in a pounded state, bur
the diamond was held to be a deadly
poison. 1t is enumerated among the pois-
ons administered to Sir Thomas over
bury in the Tower, and Benvenuto CeIini.
in his fascinating autobiography, relates
how his life was spared through the dis
honesty of an apothecary, who, engaged
to poison him by pulverizing a diamond
and putting 1t into his salad, substituted
a beryl for the more costly stone. MANY
OF the most potent gems were obtained
from animals. Best known, perhaps. Of
these IS the toad-stone, to which Shake
sDeare alludes: The toad, ugly and VEN
omous, wears yet a precious Jewel in its
head" This stone warned of poison by
its change of color, and might be used
to allay the pain of an envenomed bite:
1t was a preventive of the burning OF
houses and the sinking of ships. To test p
the genuineness of the gem, Lupton in
structs the owner to "holde the stone be-
fore tode so that he may see it, and il
it be right and true stone the tode will
leape towarde it and make as though he
would snatch it. He envieth so much
a
Serpents were supposed to possess prec-
ious stones of inestimable value. In the
Travels of Two English Travellers pub
lished in 1911, there is an account of a
jewel taken from a serpents head and
used in conjuring. Alexander was said to
have seen serpents in the Vale of Jor-
dan with collars of huge emeraids. A
stone found in the head of the vulture be-
slowed health and success. The eagle
stone, to be sought for in the nests OF
eagles, rendered its possessor amiable.
rich, and sober. 1t might further be Of
service in the detection of theft. Two
stones were possessed by the swallow a
red one for curing insanity. and a black
one which brought good luck, and which,
tied about the neck, prevented fevers and
cured the jaundice The swallow was
further able to find a stone on the sea-
shore which restored sight to the blind.
The tears of the crocodile had their value
for the ancients, since they crystalized in
to gems. In the old legends birds We're
frequently endowed with the power, denied
TO human beings, to distinguish thes5
magic stones from common pebbles
Amusing instructions are given by Ca
millus in his Mirror of Stones as TO how
to obtain the corvia from a crows nest.
On the Calends of April, crows egg must
be boiled and replaced when cold in the
nest. The crow finding it in this condition
will fly a long distance to find the corvia,
and with this will touch the egg, which
Immediately becomes once more fresh and
prolific. At this moment the corvia must
be snatched away. To its human owner
it is valuable as bringing increase of riches
and honors. together with the power to
read the future.
The opal at the present day is considered
unlucky, but in the middle ages it was
highly priced as it was held to unite the
special virtues of every stone whose copy
it simulated. The emerald strengthen
ed the eyesight Nero, who was extremely
short-sighted, was accustomed to view the
combats of the gladiators in the arena
through an emerald. The supposition is
that 1t formed a concave lens, but the help
it afforded him was considered due to the
virtue of the gem. Worn in a ring, the
stone was a preventive of epilepsy. A ruby,
by its darkening of color warned the own
er Of disaster. According to other author
ltleS IL NOilAtllGu the DONtI VI ScVih6 -
the dark If the four corners of a house
were touched with it, it preserved from
lightning and tempest. The strength OF
the topaz was said to wax and wane with
the moon. 1t had the popularity Of at
once boiling water, If thrown into it, The
crystal dissolved all spells of witchcraft,
while the onyx was a dangerous ornament
since it exposed the wearer to the as
saults Of demons and gave him bad
dreams. The faith in the efficacy OF certain
stones to cure disease continued to a late
period. In old ST. Paul's was a sapphire
given by Richard de Preston, citizen and
grocer of London, for the cure
of all infirmities of the eye. Ana,
even in our own day, we must remember
the widespread faith among nurses in co.
raj and amber necklaces as preventiyes OIL
commissions and other infahtlle disorders;
Royalties naturally have always hau
more than their fair share of gems, mas
ical or otherwise. The late Shah OF fei
STA possessed a casket which was heiu
under certain conditions to have the pow
er Of rendering the royal wearer inVi"-
BILE. A diamond set I'm a scimtar ana
dagger made him invincible, while talls-
manic star in his possession forced con-