{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_57980/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_57980","id":"gutenberg_57980","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57980","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: History - Other","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Science - Chemistry/Biochemistry","Gems -- Miscellanea","Occultism -- Miscellanea","Precious stones -- Psychic aspects"],"text":"Produced by KD Weeks, Chris Curnow and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n Transcriber\u2019s Note:\n\nThis version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects.\nItalics are delimited with the \u2018_\u2019 character as _italic_.\n\nFull page images have been moved slightly to the nearest paragraph\nbreak. They were not included in the pagination of the original.\n\nMinor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please\nsee the transcriber\u2019s note at the end of this text for details regarding\nthe handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n The Great Opal \u201cThe Flame Queen\u201d\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection\n]\n\n THE MAGIC AND SCIENCE\n OF\n JEWELS AND STONES\n\n BY\n\n ISIDORE KOZMINSKY\n\n\n\n\n\n FULLY ILLUSTRATED\n\n 39 SPECIMENS IN COLOR AND 22 OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n G. P. PUTNAM\u2019S SONS\n NEW YORK AND LONDON\n =The Knickerbocker Press=\n\n 1922\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Copyright, 1922, by\n G. P. Putnam\u2019s Sons\n\n ---\n\n _Made in the United States of America_\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n To My Dear Wife\n This Book is\n Affectionately Dedicated\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE\n\n\nIn these pages a sincere attempt is made to blend modern science with\nthe ancient and occult philosophy of the precious, semi-precious and\ncommon stones of the earth. It will be shown that many of the seemingly\nabsurd narratives of old authors are but cunningly concealed truths, the\nunravelling of which can be followed with interest and profit along the\nlines herein indicated. The ancient masters held that the influences\nexerted by the heavenly bodies entered into harmonious relations with\nvarious terrestrial substances. Hence we have the venerable philosophy\nof fortunate stones, planetary gems and \u201cstones of power,\u201d which form a\npart of the vast department known as talismanic magic. It is the\nphilosophy of sympathy and antipathy prevailing through nature\u2014atom for\natom, stone for stone, plant for plant, animal for animal, man for man.\nThis observation was subjected to an orderly scientific arrangement\nwhich for completeness of detail would compare, in some cases, more than\nfavorably with the most careful synthesis of modern science. In order to\nmake easily understood the matter treated and to secure pronunciations\nas nearly correct as possible, it has been considered advisable to\nrender _all foreign words_, ancient and modern, in familiar letters.\n\nI have to express my grateful thanks to the friends who have, in various\nways, been helpful to me in regard to this work.\n\nTo Mr. Kelsey I. Newman, for the use of his unique collection of opals\nand precious stones, including the wonderful opal, \u201cThe Flame Queen,\u201d\nand especially for his co-operation, without which this book could not\nhave been published.\n\nLikewise to The Right Honorable the Viscountess Astor, M.P.; Lieutenant\nSir Edward Mackenzie-Mackenzie, Bart., for his original Heraldic\ndrawings of the horoscopes of royal and notable persons from my charts;\nProfessor Sir William Ridgeway, Sc.D., LL.D., Litt.D., F.B.A., of\nCambridge University, England; Miss Kathleen Watkins, for her help in\npreparing the sheets for the press; Mrs. Beatrix Colquhoun, for her\npaintings of the Flame Queen and other gems from Mr. Kelsey I. Newman\u2019s\ncollection; Mr. and Mrs. C. G. King, Melbourne, Australia; Mr. and Mrs.\nHenry T. Seymour, New York City; Mr. William Howat, Melbourne,\nAustralia; Mrs. S. Kozminsky, Melbourne, Australia; Mrs. Alice Walker,\nMelbourne, Australia; Mr. G. S. Brown, Melbourne, Australia; Mr. G. A.\nOsboldstone, Melbourne, Australia; Mr. James Mackenzie, Adelaide,\nAustralia; Mr. M. Susman, Hobart, Tasmania, and to my wife to whom this\nbook is dedicated.\n\n ISIDORE KOZMINSKY.\n\nMELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA,\n\nJanuary, 1922.\n\n\n\n\n \u201c_Another, ere she slept, was stringing stones\n To make a necklet\u2014agate, onyx, sard,\n Coral, and moonstone\u2014round her wrist it gleamed\n A coil of splendid colour, while she held\n Unthreaded yet, the bead to close it up\u2014\n Green turkis, carved with golden gods and scripts._\u201d\n\n EDWIN ARNOLD\u2014\u201cThe Light of Asia.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS\n\n\n CHAPTER PAGE\n\n I.\u2014 STUDY OF PRECIOUS STONES IN EARLY TIMES 3\n\n II.\u2014 THE MOST ANCIENT SCIENCE 6\n\n III.\u2014 THE EPHOD OF THE HIGH PRIEST 9\n\n IV.\u2014 THE BREASTPLATE OF JUDGMENT 12\n\n V.\u2014 INTERPRETATION OF THE BREASTPLATE ACCORDING TO ANCIENT 18\n PHILOSOPHY\n\n VI.\u2014 THE STONES OF THE BREASTPLATE AND THE ZODIAC 57\n\n VII.\u2014 OLD LEGENDS 61\n\n VIII.\u2014 STONES IN VARIOUS MYTHOLOGIES 72\n\n IX.\u2014 STONES AND THEIR STORIES 83\n\n X.\u2014 THE GREATEST CHARMS IN THE WORLD 104\n\n\n PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS GEMS ARRANGED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER\n\n XI.\u2014 AGATE-AMAZONITE 111\n\n XII.\u2014 AMBER-AZURITE 121\n\n XIII.\u2014 THE BERYL FAMILY 137\n\n XIV.\u2014 BALAS-CRYSOCOLLA 151\n\n XV.\u2014 CHRYSOLITE-CRYSTAL 166\n\n XVI.\u2014 THE DIAMOND 184\n\n XVII.\u2014 SOME FAMOUS AND WONDERFUL DIAMONDS AND THEIR STORIES 204\n\n XVIII.\u2014 DICHROITE-IOLITE 226\n\n XIX.\u2014 JACINTH-LODESTONE 242\n\n XX.\u2014 MALACHITE-NEPHRITE 260\n\n XXI.\u2014 OBSIDIAN-ONYX 276\n\n XXII.\u2014 THE OPAL 286\n\n\n THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN OPAL\n\n XXIII.\u2014 THE FLAME QUEEN 300\n\n XXIV.\u2014 VARIOUS KINDS OF OPAL 302\n\n XXV.\u2014 PEARL 307\n\n XXVI.\u2014 PEARL 322\n\n XXVII.\u2014 PERIDOT-RUBY 333\n\n XXVIII.\u2014 RUTILE-SAPPHIRE 351\n\n XXIX.\u2014 SARDONYX-SUCCINITE 362\n\n XXX.\u2014 TITANITE-TOPAZ 374\n\n XXXI.\u2014 TOURMALINE-ZIRCON 382\n\n XXXII.\u2014 STONES IN SHAKESPEARE\u2019S PLAYS 396\n\n XXXIII.\u2014 FORMS, COMPOSITIONS, CHARACTERISTICS, ZODIACAL 412\n CLASSIFICATION, AND PLACES OF ORIGIN\n\n XXXIV.\u2014 GEMS IN HERALDRY, MAGICAL SQUARES OF ABRA MELIN THE 420\n MAGE, CHARUBEL\u2019S GEM INFLUENCES, GEMS OF COUNTRIES\n\n XXXV.\u2014 THE INEVITABLE LAW OF TRANSMUTATION 431\n\n\n\n\n ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n PAGE\n\n THE GREAT OPAL\u2014THE FLAME QUEEN (_In colour_) _Frontispiece_\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection.\n\n RARE OPALS (_In colour_) 40\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection.\n\n HIEROGLYPHICS 55\n\n A PERFECT SPECIMEN OF THE ENGLISH GOLD NOBLE (1344) 96\n\n In the Kelsey I. Newman Collection. Traditionally\n stated to have been made from Alchemical Gold.\n\n LARGE SCARAB 106\n\n William Howat Collection.\n\n RARE SCARAB OF RAMESES II\u2014A FAMOUS PHARAOH OF THE BIBLE 106\n\n Mrs. C. G. King\u2019s Collection.\n\n RARE ANTIQUE SCARAB OF BLACK JASPER 106\n\n Talismanic Charm\u2014Mercury, Guardian of Sailors.\n\n Mrs. C. G. King\u2019s Collection.\n\n _TABELL\u00c6 CORELLAT\u00c6_ 177\n\n GAZING CRYSTAL ON DRAGON STAND 180\n\n Presented to the Author by the late Judge Casey of\n Victoria, Australia.\n\n HOROSCOPE OF KRUGER 198\n\n HOROSCOPE OF ISABELLA II 199\n\n HOROSCOPE OF NICHOLAS II 208\n\n HOROSCOPE OF JAMES II 212\n\n \u201cINSPIRATION\u201d 262\n\n Marble group in Central Hall, Art Institute,\n Chicago. Signed\u2014Kathleen Beverly Robinson.\n Memorial to Florence Jane Adams. Presented by\n Friends and Pupils of Mrs. Adams, 1915.\n\n By Kind Permission of The Art Institute of\n Chicago.\n\n ANTIQUE MOSS AGATE PATCH BOX 268\n\n Mrs. W. R. Furlong\u2019s Collection.\n\n MOSS AGATE BASKET 268\n\n William Howat Collection.\n\n OLD MAIORI CHARM OF GREENSTONE KNOWN AS HEI TIKI 274\n\n VENUS, CUPID, AND THE GRACES\u2014A SARDONYX CAMEO BY CERBARA 284\n\n Newton Robinson Collection.\n\n Sold at Christie\u2019s, London, in 1909.\n\n THE ARGONAUTS CONSULTING HYGIEA 284\n\n Large and Rare Cameo.\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection.\n\n OPALS OF WONDERFUL COLOUR (_In colour_) 288\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection.\n\n HOROSCOPE OF ALFONZO XII 297\n\n OTHER ASPECTS OF THE GREAT OPAL\u2014THE FLAME QUEEN (_In colour_) 300\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection.\n\n SMALL NECKLET OF PERFECT ORIENTAL PEARLS 310\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection.\n\n HOROSCOPE OF MARY OF SCOTLAND 318\n\n HOROSCOPE OF ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND 319\n\n HOROSCOPE OF HENRY VIII OF ENGLAND 349\n\n BEAUTIFUL COLOUR GEMS (_In colour_) 360\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection.\n\n SPECIMEN OF ROUGH TURQUOISE (_In colour_) 390\n\n Victoria, Australia\n\n HOROSCOPE OF SHAKESPEARE 402\n\n\n\n\n The Magic and Science\n of\n Jewels and Stones\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I\n STUDY OF PRECIOUS STONES IN\n EARLY TIMES\n\n \u201c_A thing of beauty is a joy forever;\n Its loveliness increases; it will never\n Pass into nothingness._\u201d\n KEATS.\n\nINSPIRATION AND KNOWLEDGE: EXPERIMENTS ON SENSITIVES: GEMS AND COLOUR\n ATTRACTIONS: ANCIENT GEM CLASSIFICATION: SCIENCE HERMETIC AMONG\n ANCIENT NATIONS: PUNISHMENT OF THE PEACH TREE: MODERN\n CLASSIFICATION.\n\n\nThe study of the precious and semi-precious stones of the earth has\ncommanded the attention of man from the mists of ages when, according to\nEnoch, the angel Azazzel came to the earth plane to teach him the use of\nthem. Hence man considered the actual benefit to himself of these stones\nuntil his natural curiosity led him to study more deeply the marvel of\ntheir existence. There can be little doubt that the indicated use was\ntalismanic, and that the pure wisdom of divine inspiration and a clear\nfaith rendered man\u2019s intuition so keen that he was quite able to know\nthe virtue of various stones without chemical analysis. Dr. Ennemoser\nhas recorded the effects of precious stones on certain psychic subjects,\ngiving the opinion that \u201cit is not improbable that in the early ages the\nbelief in the virtues of talismans was induced by similar observations.\u201d\nThis, no doubt, is true and indicates to us that certain observed\nphenomena compelled a closer study. We are then reminded of the\nexperiments which have been attributed to the schools of Pythagoras and\nof the observed effects of certain stones in the hands of sensitives by\nBaron Reichenbach in the middle of the nineteenth century and of the\nstill more recent experiments in the schools at Nancy. There are records\nof these experiments being carried out on magnetic somnambulists when\ndiamonds, emeralds, rubies, loadstones, beryls, jaspers and other stones\nwere found to produce varied and strange effects. Gems in common with\nall manifestations of nature have the power of attracting certain\ncolours to themselves: and so persistent are these colours that it has\nbeen observed that when they are changed by art they are liable to\nrevert slowly (for the action of the stone world is slow) to their\noriginal colours. This can be noticed especially with Topaz which may on\nthis account alone have been identified with the stubborn and\nindomitable Mars. The attraction of diverse colours by the various\nchemical compounds which are cohesive in the various stones must be a\ncertain indication of vibratory power. Indeed, the ancients have\nindicated that the rates of vibration in the gems differ with the needs\nof the chemical entities composing them, and it may as well be\nemphasized here that life exists in a gem just as it does in another\nform in a plant or an animal. It need scarcely be repeated that colour\nis vibration. Colour is crystallized in a gem and immense vibration\ndefies the material senses of man. A violet amethyst vibrates at the\nenormous rate of 750 trillions per second whilst a red ruby vibrates at\n460 trillions. Hence we can scientifically demonstrate distinct powers\nby the evidence of known vibratory action. The people of antiquity\nclassified gems in a manner different from that of the people of to-day,\nfor they regarded colour of primary importance and bracketed stones of\nsimilar shades thus establishing the first points of agreement in the\ndepartment of vibratory power. It is inconceivable however, that the\ngreat masters were unacquainted with chemical components, for chemistry\nwas one of the secret arts, and it is well known that the priests of\nEgypt experimented secretly in their temples and that the betrayal of\nscientific secrets was followed by the mysterious \u201cpunishment of the\npeach tree\u201d (supposed to be death from prussic acid). Modern groupings\nare arranged with regard to chemical affinities so far as can be traced\nby close analytical investigations and experiments.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II\n THE MOST ANCIENT SCIENCE\n\n \u201c_And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the Heaven to\n divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for\n seasons, and for days, and years._\u201d Genesis 1:14.\n\n ASTROLOGY: COLOURS OF THE HEAVENS.\n\n\nThe old science of Astrology was known amongst the Hebrews as the Wisdom\nof Foreknowledge (HOK MAT HA NISSAYON), and with it was included\nAstronomy or Star Knowledge (HOK MAT HA HOZZAYON). It is spoken of as of\nheavenly origin having been communicated to man by the angels after he\nhad lost Eden. It was written that:\n\nKOKABEL communicated Astrology, Wisdom of the Stars.\n\nRAKIEL or BARAKEL communicated Astronomy, Star Gazing.\n\nSHEHAKEEL communicated The Wisdom of the Clouds.\n\nARKIEL communicated The Symbols of the Earth.\n\nSAMSIEL communicated The Symbols of the Sun.\n\nSCURIEL or SAHRIEL communicated The Symbols of the Moon.\n\nFrom the observed influences of the Sun and Moon the old scholars were\nenabled to classify the influence of these orbs in the various parts of\nthe heavens and to formulate special rules, which extended observation\nrendered more convincing and complete. The simple consideration of the\nlunar phases brought grains of knowledge, which included the calculation\nof tidal action, eclipses, etc. The unity of the forces of Nature was\nthen demonstrated in the actions and influences of the planets and\nstars, and the blending of such influences with their zodiacal positions\nand aspects. Universal unity was insisted on and the statements of the\nancient scholars have not been discredited by the revelations of modern\nscientific discoveries. The Talmud calls the planets \u201cmoving stars\u201d and\nsets down that Alexander of Macedon was pictured with a ball in his hand\nto symbolize the spherical shape of the Earth. The planets were\nindicated as follows:\n\n Mercury the Planet of Mind is _The_ Star\n Venus the Planet of Beauty is Splendour\n Mars the Planet of Contention is Ruddiness\n Jupiter the Planet of Prosperity is Benevolence\n Saturn the Planet of Restraint is The Star of Sabbath\n\nComets are represented as arrows of flame bearing messages to mankind.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe various colours ascribed to the planets are:\n\n Sun Yellow, Golden, Orange\n Moon White, Silvery, pale opalescent Green\n Mercury Dove Grey\n Venus Delicate Colour Tints, Shades of Green, pale Blue, etc.\n Mars Red\n Jupiter Purple\n Saturn Black\n Uranus Mixed Colours\n Neptune Doubtful\n\nThe colours ascribed to the 12 Signs of the Zodiac and the planets\nassociated with them are:\n\n Aries White and Red Mixed Mars\n Taurus White and Lemon Mixed Venus\n Gemini White and Red Mixed Mercury\n Cancer Green or Russet Moon\n Leo Red and Green Sun\n Virgo Black and Blue Mercury\n Libra Dark Crimson Venus\n Scorpio Dark Brown Mars\n Sagittarius Sanguine Green Jupiter\n Capricorn Black Saturn\n Aquarius Sky Blue Uranus\n Pisces Glistening White Neptune\n\nThe approximate date of the Sun\u2019s entry into the various zodiacal signs\nenabled astrologers to select the Solar Talismanic Gem.\n\n The Sun enters Aries about March 21\n The Sun enters Taurus about April 21\n The Sun enters Gemini about May 22\n The Sun enters Cancer about June 22\n The Sun enters Leo about July 23\n The Sun enters Virgo about August 24\n The Sun enters Libra about September 24\n The Sun enters Scorpio about October 24\n The Sun enters Sagittarius about November 23\n The Sun enters Capricorn about December 20\n The Sun enters Aquarius about January 20\n The Sun enters Pisces about February 19\n\nThis brief statement of the most ancient science must suffice. It will\nenable the reader to understand the philosophy on which the wearing of\ntalismanic jewels rests and may induce him to delve a little into the\n\u201cwisdom of the fathers.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III\n THE EPHOD OF THE HIGH PRIEST\n\n \u201c_And yet, as angels in some brighter dreams\n Call to the soul when men doth sleep,\n So may some strange thoughts transcend our wonted themes\n And into glory peep._\u201d\n HENRY VAUGHAN.\n\n\n THE EPHOD OF THE HIGH PRIEST: THE HEAVENS, THE GATES, THE CAVES: THE\n FOUR WORLDS.\n\nIn the 28th chapter of Exodus we learn that those that are \u201cwise\nhearted\u201d and \u201cfilled with the spirit of wisdom\u201d were selected to make\nfor Aaron consecrated garments\u2014a breastplate and an ephod, a broidered\ncoat, a mitre and a girdle. On the shoulders of the Ephod (Hebrew,\nHepod) which was to be made \u201cof gold, of blue, and of purple, of\nscarlet\u201d\u2014these being the colours of divinity\u2014\u201cand fine twined linen,\nwith cunning work\u201d were to be placed two stones, each to be engraved\nafter the manner of a signet, with six names of the children of Israel.\nAuthorities generally agree with the translations in classifying these\ntwo stones as Onyx, and there are very important reasons from an occult\npoint of view why they should be so identified even though Josephus\naccounts them Sardonyx which, he says, represents the sun and the moon.\nThese onyx stones were to be worn \u201cfor stones of memorial unto the\nchildren of Israel.\u201d The ephod was similar to an upper body-garment of\nthe Greeks (Josephus says it resembled the Epomis) and may be described\nas a kind of waistcoat held by straps which passed over the shoulders\nand were twined round the waist with the cunningly woven band. The two\nlarge onyx stones were set on the shoulder-straps, and on each stone\nwere engraved the names of the children of Israel\u2014\u201cSix of their names on\none stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone,\naccording to their birth.\u201d In astrology, to which science perhaps on its\nmore esoteric side we are impelled, we can quickly recognize the twelve\nsigns of the Zodiac\u2014six Northern and six Southern\u2014in the twelve tribes\nof the children of Israel, more distinctly emphasized on the breastplate\nof the High Priest. The engraving on the two onyx stones, one of which\nwould necessarily be somewhat lighter in colour than the other, can\nnever be explained in our prosaic terms for they were attuned to the\nwhisperings of the Heavenly Hosts and typified the eternal wanderings of\nthe Soul.\n\nIn my later remarks on the Onyx I have noted the ancient philosophy\nregarding the descent of the Soul through the Gate of Cancer and its\nascent through the Gate of Capricorn. Peter symbolically represented at\nthe Gate of Heaven, is a veiled allusion to the stone (Petros) gateway\nthrough which the departing spirits of Earth pass on their everlasting\npilgrimage in search of the pearl above price\u2014the hidden knowledge of\nperfect truth\u2014a stone so gloriously brilliant that mortal eyes can never\ngaze on it.\n\nIn earlier Egyptian symbolic lore it is assumed that the Heavens were of\nstone, the goddess Hathor being the Lady of the Turquoise Stones and\nother deities being represented by stones cut to forms and in their\nnatural state. In rabbinical allegory the Creator, vibrating through the\nrays of sunrise, is reverenced as \u201cThe Opener of the Gates,\u201d and\nfrequent allusions are made to the gates of tears, of prayer, of praise,\nand of repentance. There is an old Hebrew tradition that one Messiah\nwill come through the Gate of Capricorn and another through the Gate of\nCancer. Plato writes of the two gateways\u2014one through which the Soul\ndescends, the other through which the soul ascends, and Porphyry says\nthat on this account the Egyptians did not begin the year like the\nRomans with Aquarius but with the Moon Sign Cancer.\n\nThe Quabalistic Books say that the soul of man passed through the four\ncelestial worlds in its descent, receiving from Aziluth, the Chaiah,\nspiritual animation: from Briah, Neshamah, understanding: from Jezirah,\nRuach, the passions: from Nephesch, material desires. He enters the\nworld by the Gate of Generation (the Moon), the watery sign, the colour\nof which is indicated as green, and he leaves the world of Matter for\nthe land of the Immortals by the Gate of Material Death (Saturn), the\nEarth sign Capricorn, the colour of which is black. The Su\u2019n passage\nthrough the tribal signs expressed on the onyx stones of the Ephod\nsymbolizes eternally the descent and ascent of immortal man.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV\n THE BREASTPLATE OF JUDGMENT\n\n \u201c_The future things and those which are to happen, let them foretell\n unto thee._\u201d Isaiah XLIV. 7.\n\n\nATTACHED to the Ephod was the famous HOSHEN-HA-MISHPAT or Breastplate of\nJudgment which was of \u201ccunning work,\u201d fashioned like the Ephod \u201cof gold,\nof blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen.\u201d It\nwas a square pouch when doubled, a span in length and a span in breadth.\nJosephus writes that there were \u201ctwelve stones upon the Breastplate,\nextraordinary in largeness and beauty: and they were an ornament not to\nbe purchased by men because of their immense value. The names of all\nthose sons of Jacob were engraven in these stones, whom we esteem the\nheads of our tribes, each in the order according to which they were\nborn.\u201d\n\nWe are told in the 28th chapter of the Book of Exodus that the Urim and\nThummim were put into the Breastplate. Dummelow believes that these were\ntwo jewels or images engraved with distinctive characters employed in\ncasting lots. Josephus and the Septuagint imply that the gems on the\nBreastplate constituted the Urim and Thummim. Gensenius says that the\nUrim and Thummim were two little images which were placed between the\nfolds of the Breastplate. Dr. Chambers indicates the Urim and Thummim as\na mysterious contrivance consisting either of the four rows of precious\nstones bearing the tribal signets, or of two images. It is pointed out\nthat the images of Isis and Osiris, worked in precious stones, hung on\nthe breast of the Egyptian High Priest to symbolize truth and justice.\nThe Urim and Thummim may be identical with the Babylonian \u201cTablets of\nDestiny\u201d which were the instruments by which the seers of Babylon\nconveyed the \u201curtu\u201d or answer of the gods to the people. In Babylon the\n\u201cTablets of Destiny\u201d were only effective when on the breast of the god,\nwhile amongst the children of Israel the Urim and Thummim were only\npotent when on the breast of the High Priest. Josephus says that the\nanswer of the Urim and Thummim was revealed by rays of light, and the\nTalmudic account is in harmony with this statement.\n\nIt was necessary for accuracy that the oracle should only be approached\nby one on whom the Shekinah or Radiance rested: one filled with the\nsplendour of inspiration, naturally gifted in the art of prophecy, and\nfitted by the beauty of his thoughts and his life to draw unto himself\nthe divine Shekinah: he must be \u201ccovered with the robe of virtue as the\nbridegroom decketh himself with ornaments and as a bride adorneth\nherself with her jewels.\u201d The Rabbis identified Urim and Thummim as the\n\u201cgrand and sacred name of God,\u201d Urim indicating \u201cThose whose words\ncommunicate light\u201d and Thummin, \u201cThose whose words are realised,\u201d while\nthe Septuagint renders them as \u201cRevelation\u201d and \u201cTruth.\u201d The generally\naccepted meaning of Urim and Thummim is \u201cLights and Perfections.\u201d\n\nThe connection of the twelve zodiacal signs with the twelve tribes of\nIsrael and the twelve stones of the Breastplate is remarked by Josephus,\nand the Targum upon Canticles also links them together. Wilson in\n\u201cLights and Shadows of Northern Mythology\u201d draws attention to the\nlife-sized white marble figure of Aaron robed, wearing the Breastplate\nshowing a sign of the Zodiac sculptured on each of the twelve precious\nstones, which figure is placed on the right side of the High Altar in S.\nPietro, Piazza Bianchi, Genoa.\n\nThe Matsebah of Babylon are black pillar stones on which in three\nelemental divisions are sculptured the twelve zodiacal signs by which\nthe twelve Assyrian gods are symbolized, and the twelve lions on either\nside of the steps leading to Solomon\u2019s throne represent the Sun in its\nprogress through the signs of Heaven. Josephus mentions that he had seen\nthe remains of an ancient pillar of stone on which Seth, foreseeing the\ngreat Flood, had engraved the elements of Astrology which \u201cAdam had\nreceived from the Creator.\u201d\n\n\u201cMoses was willing,\u201d writes Josephus, \u201cthat the power of the Breastplate\nshould be known not only to the Hebrews but to all the world. When God\nwas present the stone on the right shoulder of the High Priest (the\nstone symbolizing the soul\u2019s descent) shone with a brilliancy not\nnatural to it. This has appeared a wonderful thing to such as have not\nso far indulged themselves in philosophy as to despise Divine\nRevelation. Yet will I mention what is more wonderful than this: for God\ndeclared beforehand by those twelve stones which the High Priest bare on\nhis breast and which were inserted into his Breastplate, when they\nshould be victorious in battle: for so great a splendour shone forth\nfrom them before the army began to march that all the people were\nsensible of God\u2019s being present for their assistance. Whence it came to\npass that those Greeks who had a veneration for our laws, because they\ncould not possibly contradict this called the Breastplate \u2018the Oracle.\u2019\nNow this Breastplate left off shining 200 years before I composed this\nbook, God having been displeased at the transgression of the laws.\u201d\n\nFather Kircher in \u201cOedipus Egyptianus\u201d gives an engraving of the\nTabernacle with the Sun, Moon, and Planets in the centre and Ephraim\nwith a bull, Menasses with two infants, Benjamin with a Centaur, Dan\nwith a scorpion, Gad with a ram, Assehr with scales, Simeon with fishes,\nReuben with a water-bearer, Zebulon with a fish-goat, Issachar with a\nlobster, and Judah with a lion.\n\nThe standards of the twelve tribes were given in the middle ages as\nfollows:\n\n Issachar Sun or Full Moon\n Reuben Man\u2019s Head or Bust\n Judah A Lion\n Gad An Army of Men\n Zebulon A Ship\n Simeon A Citadel\n Manassah A Unicorn\n Dan An Eagle\n Napthali Deer\n Benjamin A Horse\n Assher A Tree\n\nThe Rabbinical writers generally favour the following tribal order:\nReuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Napthali, Gad, Assher, Issachar,\nZebulon, Joseph, Benjamin. Tobias ben Eliezer quotes an old Baraita\nwhich said that Zebulon was followed by Dan. Marbodus places them as\nfollows:\n\n 1. Reuben placed 3rd of the 3rd row in the Breastplate\n 2. Simeon placed 3rd of the 2nd row in the Breastplate\n 3. Levi placed 3rd of the 1st row in the Breastplate\n 4. Judah placed 2nd of the 1st row in the Breastplate\n 5. Zebulon placed 1st of the 1st row in the Breastplate\n 6. Issachar placed 1st of the 2nd row in the Breastplate\n 7. Dan placed 1st of the 3rd row in the Breastplate\n 8. Gad placed 1st of the 4th row in the Breastplate\n 9. Assher placed 2nd of the 2nd row in the Breastplate\n 10. Napthali placed 2nd of the 3rd row in the Breastplate\n 11. Joseph placed 2nd of the 4th row in the Breastplate\n 12. Benjamin placed 3rd of the 4th row in the Breastplate\n\nAnother old list gives the order as follows:\n\nReuben, Dan, Judah, Levi, Issachar, Zebulon, Assher, Napthali, Gad,\nSimeon, Joseph, Benjamin.\n\nSwedenborg groups the tribes thus:\n\nJudah, Reuben and Gad; Assher, Napthali and Manasseh; Simeon, Levi and\nIssachar; Zebulon, Joseph and Benjamin.\n\nIt is unnecessary to quote further lists as I believe that the one I am\nnow producing will be sufficient to redeem the confusion. It is in\ncomplete harmony with the order of Jacob\u2019s blessings (Genesis XLIX) and\nthe signs of the Zodiac. It will be noted that Taurus with the tribe of\nReuben leads the Zodiac, and it is related that under this sign the\nhuman race came to earth. On ancient zodiacs the Bull as a solar\nconception is shown wending his way through the stars.\n\n 1. Reuben the Defiler Taurus\n 2. Simeon and Levi the Slayers Gemini\n 3. Levi \u201cHeld to\u201d (_i. e._, Cancer\n to the altar)\n 4. Judah the Lion\u2019s Whelp Leo\n 5. Zebulon the Haven Virgo (Argo, the ship, is\n in the constellation\n Virgo).\n 6. Issachar the Bender Libra\n 7. Dan the Adder Scorpio\n 8. Gad the Victor Sagittarius\n 9. Assher the Producer Capricorn\n 10. Naphthali the Comforter Aquarius\n 11. Joseph the Redeemer Pisces\n 12. Benjamin the Devourer Aries\n\nThe sign Cancer is that of the tribe of Levi as servants and guardians\nof the Tabernacle, the name indicating \u201cheld to,\u201d i. e., held to the\naltar.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V\n INTERPRETATION OF THE BREASTPLATE\n ACCORDING TO ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY\n\n\nIt is apparent that the identification of the stones in the Breastplate\nmust present many difficulties. Lord Arthur C. Hervey in his Dictionary\nof the Bible, says: \u201cWhether the order followed the ages of the sons of\nIsrael or, as seems most probable, the order of the encampment, may be\ndoubted; but unless any appropriate distinct symbolism of the different\ntribes be found in the names of the precious stones, the question can\nscarcely be decided.\u201d Dr. C. Keil in \u201cBiblical Archaeology\u201d says: \u201cThe\norder of the rows of the precious stones is given in Exodus 28:17-20 and\n39:10-13, but owing to the vacillating manner in which the early writers\ndesignate and describe the stones we are at a loss to know how it should\nbe explained.\u201d Dr. Deane is of the opinion that in many cases it is a\ndifficult task to identify the Hebrew and Greek names used in these\npassages with the names of modern mineralogy. The Rev. J. R. Dummelow\ncomments on the difficulties of identifying the stones, the meaning of\nthe Hebrew words being doubtful. Josephus saw the Breastplate frequently\nin his day, and in his description the position of certain stones is\nchanged. The Hebrew Bible translation also presents differences.\nRosenmuller, the Orientalist, argues as to the position of the 6th and\n12th stones, placing the 12th in the 6th and the 6th in the 12th. It may\neasily be assumed that in its wanderings stones were lost from the\nBreastplate and that the replacing of these stones was not always\ncarried out by men with a knowledge of the quabalistical import of Urim\nand Thummim or even of the stones themselves.\n\nTo quote from Dr. Deane: \u201cThe variation in the order of the stones\nprompts the enquiry whether the Breastplate which Josephus repeatedly\nsaw and which Jerome might have seen in the Temple of Concord was\nidentical with that of ancient times. If the whole of the original\nstones were preserved, the order must have been kept in consequence of\nthe names engraved upon them. But it is not by any means unlikely that\nin the great vicissitudes of the Hebrew nation some of the original\nstones may have been lost and have been replaced by others.\u201d More\nevidences of this kind would be superfluous.\n\n=The First Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nNow, the first stone of the Breastplate is a Red stone. According to\nastrology the Red stone vibrates to the planet Mars and the zodiacal\nAries, therefore its position as the first stone of the Breastplate is\nnatural. In the mystic philosophy of the Hebrews the Ram \u201ccaught in a\nthicket by his horns,\u201d the blood of the lamb upon the lintel and\nside-posts, etc., and in mystic Christian philosophy the blood of the\nLamb which redeems from worldly sin are expressed symbolically by the\nsign Aries, into which the Sun enters in the month of Nisan,\napproximately 21st March, the time of the Passover and of Easter. Not\nonly then must the stone be a red one, it must be red of the colour of\nblood. But again one must not lose sight of the fact that the first\nstone on the Plate was engraved not with the name of the tribe of\nBenjamin, the true Aries tribe, but with the name Reuben, a tribe under\nthe lordship of the second sign of the Zodiac, Taurus. This may be\nexplained by the fact that the earlier Breastplate of the two began with\nthe sign Taurus. Agnes Mary Clerke, writing on the Old Zodiac, says: \u201cSo\nfar as positive records go Aries was always the first sign. But the\narrangement is, on the face of it, a comparatively modern one. None of\nthe brighter stars of the constellation could be said even roughly to\nmark the Equinox much before 1800 B.C.; therefore during a long stretch\nof previous time the leading position belongs to the stars of Taurus.\nNumerous indications accordingly point to a corresponding primate\nzodiac. Setting aside as doubtful, evidence derived from interpretation\nof cuniform inscriptions we meet in connection with Mithraic and\nMylittic legends reminiscences of a Zodiac and religious calendar in\nwhich the Bull led the way. Virgil\u2019s \u201cCandidus auratis aperit cum\ncornibus anum Taurus\u201d perpetuates the tradition, and the Pleiades\ncontinued within historical memory to be the first asterism of the lunar\nzodiac.\u201d\n\nThe Egyptian worship of Serapis who is frequently symbolized by the head\nof a bull surmounted by a ur\u00e6us and disc, and whose colour was of a\nblood red, may be noted. The worship of this god was introduced into\nEgypt by the Ptolemies, but his name is derived from Ausar-Hapi\n(Osiris-Apis) and he represents a blending of the older worship of\nOsiris with the Bull Apis which, says Herodotus, is a fair and sublime\nreflection of the soul of Osiris. In this connection Diodorus says that\nthe soul of Osiris migrated into Apis and thus revealed himself to men\nthrough the ages. Attention is drawn to this worship to show that in\nEgypt a bull god was associated with the colour red, and the \u201cholding a\nred rag to a bull\u201d may have its origin in the bull-fights of old, in\nwhich case however it is clear that the Martial Red is the colour of\nirritation.\n\nWe can see in the placing of Taurus, the Bull\u2014or the tribal name\nReuben\u2014in the first section of the Breastplate a desire to harmonize it\nas far as possible with an older one, whilst the gem and its colour\nrepresented the sign Aries\u2014the sign of the Ram\u2014symbolically the tribe of\nBenjamin, engraved as of old in the last division of the Plate.\n\nThe Hebrew word ODEM, signifying redness, is connected with the Hebrew\nword DOM, blood, and the stone to meet these requirements is the Red\nH\u00e6matite, the true bloodstone of antiquity, which is further described\nin the section of this book dealing more generally with the scientific\nand romantic aspects of precious stones.\n\nThe H\u00e6matite is a true iron stone and in old astrology Iron is a metal\nplaced directly under the rulership of the planet Mars and the sign\nAries. We have direct evidence of the use of this stone by the ancient\nBabylonians, who wore it as an engraved signet cut in cylinder form. We\ntherefore identify the first stone of the Breastplate as the Red\nH\u00e6matite on which was engraved the name of the first tribe, Reuben.\n\n=The Second Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nThe second stone of the Breastplate is given as PITDAH, variously\ninterpreted as a Topaz, Peridot, Yellowish-green Serpentine, Diamond and\nChrysolite. The Targums agree that a green stone is implied and some\nauthorities seek to clear the mystery by advancing that the stone was of\na yellowish-green.\n\nThe topaz of the ancients is not the topaz of today, but is identified\nwith the stone known to us as the chrysolite or peridot. Traditionally\nthe emerald is associated with the second sign of the zodiac, and Apion\nwho wrote much concerning ancient Egypt and whose story of Androclus and\nthe Lion echoes through the ages, tells of a gigantic figure of Serapis\nseen at Alexandra; this figure, the height of which was about fifteen\nfeet, was probably composed of glass resembling emerald. The emerald was\nsacred to Serapis who\u2014as indicated in the previous chapter\u2014was a Bull\ngod associated naturally with the zodiacal Taurus. This sign and the\ncolour green blend truly for green is the symbol of life, of agriculture\nand of abundant nature, and amongst nations of antiquity holy festivals\nheralded the return of Spring whose praises are sung by the poets in the\nmagical language of mythology. The many references to \u201cgreen trees\u201d in\nthe Bible need only be noticed in passing.\n\nThe Veneralia of old was held once a year amidst budding plants and\nflowers, in gardens and on green lawns in honour of Venus to welcome\nAdonis returning in radiant beauty from the under-world. The ceremony\ntook place towards the end of April, when the Sun had entered the Earth\nsign of Venus, Taurus, and it survives in the later May Day rejoicings.\n\nThe gem needed is therefore a green one, and this is traditionally the\ncorrect one for the sign Shor or Taurus in which Nogah or Venus delights\nand in which Lavanah or the Moon exalts. The emerald was sacred to this\nperiod of the year. This gem was well-known amongst ancient nations,\nespecially those of Egypt and Ethiopia where the chief emerald mines\nwere. The children of Israel must certainly have known of the existence\nof the emerald which is mentioned in the Wisdom of Ptah-Hotep who lived\nages before the time of Solomon and more than 1000 years before\nHammurabi, the Wise, of Babylon. \u201cCourtesy in Speech,\u201d says this sage,\n\u201cis rarer than the emeralds which slave girls find in the stones.\u201d\n\nIt is recorded that the Egyptians employed many women at the emerald\nmines on account of the keenness of their vision, and it is highly\nprobable that Israelitish women were selected for this work with\ncaptives of other nations. Specimens of emeralds collected by Sir G.\nWilkinson from Mount Zabarah in Upper Egypt now lie in the British\nMuseum. Evidence is not wanting to prove that the ancients knew well how\nto engrave on an emerald, Pliny states that Ptolemy offered Lucullus at\nAlexandra an emerald with his portrait engraved on it.\n\nThe tribe Simeon corresponding to the zodiacal Gemini was engraved on\nthe second gem of the Breastplate\u2014although it has no connection with\nit\u2014for the reason before noted.\n\nIt should be understood that by \u201cemerald\u201d is meant the precious emerald\nas we know it or its varieties Beryl and Aquamarine. It may be noted\nthat the Topaz, a gem most generally favoured as the second stone on the\nBreastplate, is traditionally assigned to the opposite sign of the\nZodiac, Scorpio.\n\nThe hero Gilgames in Babylonian story sees by the gates of the Ocean a\nwondrous magical tree which bore as fruit most precious emeralds. The\nemerald as a love stone was closely identified with Venus and was\nregarded as particularly fortunate for women, bringing happiness in\nlove, comfort in domestic affairs, and safety in childbirth. The evil\neffects of the luminaries afflicted or of malefic planets in the sign\nTaurus, the latter degrees especially, have been shown to affect the\nsight; hence the employment of the emerald as an eye charm.\n\nHathor, the Egyptian Venus, who carries in her left hand the potent Crux\nAnsata was saluted as \u201cThe Lady of the Southern Sycamore,\u201d a tree which\nstood for the living body of Hathor on earth and which was called the\nSycamore of the Emerald.\n\nThe Rosicrucian John Heydon of the 17th Century describes his meeting\nwith the spirit Euterpe on the plains of Bulverton Hill one sweet summer\nevening. He describes her as \u201ca most exquisite divine beauty of decent\nstature; attired, she was in thin loose silks, but so green that I never\nsaw the like for the colour was not earthly.... Her rings were pure\nentire emeralds for she valued no metal.\u201d\n\nSimilar legends of green fairies, green fields, and green lights are\nconnected with the sign of Venus terrestrial, Taurus.\n\nThe emerald, then, is the second stone of the Breastplate, and on it was\nengraved the name of the tribe of Simeon.\n\n=The Third Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nThe third stone of the Breastplate is simply expressed by the word\nBAREKETH which has been variously rendered as Emerald, Ruby, Carbuncle,\nAmethyst, Rock Crystal, Green Olivine, Green Feldspar. Its true meaning\nis \u201cflashing,\u201d which the Targumic translators express as \u201cbrilliant.\u201d\nThe Hebrew BARUK corresponds to an Arabic word meaning \u201cto gleam, to\nflash;\u201d the Assyrian word BARAKU and the Aramic BURUK have the same\nmeaning, with which may be identified the Punic BARCAR, surname of the\nCarthaginian general Hamilcar; the Syriac BORKO and the Chaldean BARKAN\ncan only be rendered \u201cbrilliant.\u201d There is a Sanskrit word MARKATA,\nmeaning \u201cflashing, sparkling,\u201d which corresponds to our word \u201cmarble,\u201d\nliterally, \u201cthe sparkling stone,\u201d Latin MARMOR, cognate with the Greek\nMARMAROS from MARMAIRO to flash, shine, sparkle. Hence the Flashing\nStone may be identified as marble, and this traditionally answers the\nrequired conditions. In astro-philosophy marble is connected with the\nsign of the columns, Gemini\u2014Simeon in association with Levi\u2014and is known\nas the Day House of the planet Mercury. The Midrash Bemidbah gives the\ncolour of this sign as white, and Francis Barrett expresses it as\n\u201cglittering.\u201d\n\nThe author remembers long ago taking some really glittering specimens of\nwhite marble, unstained by the hand of time, from an Egyptian\nmummy-case. Even at the present day pieces of white marble are buried\nwith the dead body in some countries of the world, and the marble\ntombstone is universally used as a monument over the buried ashes which\nthe ascending man has thrown aside as the serpent throws his old skin.\n\nThe shining marble is the emblem of spiritual resurrection which is\nsymbolized in the sign of the Twins (Gemini). Mercury as the Egyptian\nTehuti or Thoth, or the Greek Hermes, is ever connected with the spirits\nof the dead in the Hall of Judgment and, in harmony with the brilliant\nflashing white stone, the everlasting uplifting and spiritual progress.\nThe sign Gemini but lightly veils the peculiar occult meaning associated\nwith twins and connected names in hermetic philosophy. From Cain and\nAbel many may be enumerated including Simeon and Levi whom we find\nimplicated in the massacre of the defenceless people of Shihem for which\ncrime they drew upon themselves their father\u2019s curse. Greek legend gives\nAmphion, skilled in music and learning, and Zeuthus, who labours and\nfollows the chase. The latter by hard labour rolled huge boulders\ntogether to build up the walls of Troy, whilst the former but struck the\nstrings of the lyre given to him by Hermes and the great rocks followed\nhim\u2014a symbol of the triumph of mind which Hermes promises to his\ndisciples. Simeon and Levi killed the Shechemites to avenge their sister\nDinah; Amphion and Zeuthus drove Dirce, bound to a bull, to her death to\navenge their mother Antiope. In the legend of the Roman twins, Romulus\nkills his brother Remus as Cain killed Abel.\n\nThe twin stories are well illustrated in the legend of Castor and\nPollux, the \u201cgreat twin brethren,\u201d sons of Jupiter and Leda. The former\nwas mortal, the latter immortal, but so attached were they to each other\nthat none ever saw them apart.\n\nIn these stories the mysterious union of the Soul and the Body is being\ncontinually forced forward, and sleep\u2014which the old masters called a\ntenth part of death\u2014is indicated in this legend of the Dioscuri when\nPollux divides his immortality with his brother. Sanchoniatho or\nSanchuniathon\u2014who lived when Gideon judged Israel, says that Thoth of\nthe Egyptians, Taaut of the Ph\u0153nicians, Thoyth of the Alexandrians,\nHermes or Mercurius, was the inventor of letters, and took religion from\nthe unskilful management of the vulgar forming it into a rational\nsystem; and \"when Saturn came from the southern parts of the Earth he\nmade Taaut, the son of Miser (identified as the Mizraim of the Bible),\nKing of all Egypt, and the month Thoth began the Egyptian year and\ncoincides with Tisri or Thishri which began the Jewish year and with\nTisritu which began the Chaldean.\n\nTo continue further might lead outside the province of this book, and\nthe plea for this digression is the endeavour to elucidate the hidden\nimport of the various departments of the sacred Breastplate by the\nsearchlight of the philosophical stories of our antique fathers.\n\nThoth or Hermes engraved all knowledge on two pillars or columns, and\nthe Hermetic schools say that all knowledge is contained in the words,\nletters and continuations engraved on the two tables of stone. This\nwriting of God graven upon the tables constituted the Commandments, five\nof which, and five is the number of Mercury, were written on each stone,\nthe complete ten indicating the Hidden Power of God\u2014identified in the\nSepher Yetzirah as the Path of Resplendent Intelligence and the Light\nwhich, too intense for the material eye of man, is around the Throne of\nthe Supreme.\n\nThe association of marble with Hermes, the Guide of the Human Race, is\ntraditional, and evidence favours it as the third stone of the\nBreastplate engraved with the name of the tribe of Levi.\n\n=The Fourth Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nNofek the fourth stone of the Breastplate, has been identified with the\nemerald, carbuncle, jasper, red garnet, ruby carbuncle, almandine garnet\nand ruby. Two of the Targums classify it as emerald, possibly referring\nto a stone similar in colour to the emerald. It is well known that all\ngreen stones were called emeralds by a large section of the ancient\npublic, just as all red stones were called rubies, etc., hence much\nconfusion followed. Dr. Emil Hirsch says that Nofek (the correctness of\nwhich word has been doubted in some quarters) must have belonged to the\ngreen stones. In corresponding chrysoprase with \u201ccelestial love of\ntruth\u201d Emanuel Swedenborg draws attention to Exodus XXVIII. 18,\nindicating his identification of that gem as the fourth stone of the\nPlate. This gem which is of a soft green colour resembles the tender hue\nof moonlight. The Midrash Bemidbah gives the colour of Nofek as sky\nblue, the Egyptians according to M\u00fcller as green, and the astrological,\nin considering Cancer the Mansion of the Moon, a moonlight green. The\nchrysoprase was anciently translated as \u201causterity directed against\nvice\u201d which harmonizes agreeably with the traditional attitude of chaste\nDiana against evil-doers.\n\nThe Boat of the Moon in ancient Egypt is pictured as a disc within a\ncrescent, and the association of the moon (which was said to be in its\nMansion in the watery Cancer) with the waters of the Earth was well\nknown to the ancients and is referred to frequently in works on magic\nand astrology. In this connection may be mentioned the Egyptian story of\na few thousands of years ago which is known as \u201cThe Legend of the Green\nJewel\u201d told to the Pharaoh Khufu by the Prince Khafra:\n\nPharaoh Sneferu, weary and sighing for amusement or relaxation from\naffairs of State, was advised by his scribe to go rowing with the\nloveliest women of his harem on the lake. \u201cI will go with thee, august\nOne,\u201d said the scribe, \u201cthe green banks with the trees and flowers, the\nsplash of the water under the oars will charm thine eyes and bring thee\nhappiness.\u201d For the excursion twenty beautiful young women were selected\n(twenty was a number of the negative or female side of the Moon,\nquabalistically expressed as \u201cthe Awakening\u201d). They rowed the Pharaoh\u2019s\nboat with oars of ebony and gold, singing sweetly as they went, and his\nheart was glad. But with the turning of the boat the helmswoman\u2019s hair\nwas touched by her steering oar and a green jewel she wore fell into the\nwater. She became silent and raised her oar from the water, the other\nwomen doing likewise. \u201cWhy cease?\u201d asked the Pharaoh. \u201cLet us continue.\u201d\nThey answered: \u201cO Pharaoh, the steerer has stopped and her oar is raised\nfrom the water.\u201d \u201cWhy is this so?\u201d questioned the Pharaoh. \u201cO Majesty,\nmy beautiful green jewel has sunk beneath the waters.\u201d \u201cWhat of that?\u201d\nhe replied. \u201cContinue. I will present you with a new jewel.\u201d \u201cO\nMajesty,\u201d said the girl, \u201cno jewel can replace my own green jewel.\u201d So\nthe Pharaoh turned to his scribe. \u201cWhat can we do?\u201d he asked. \u201cThis girl\nhas lost her green jewel and will have no other.\u201d The scribe uttered\nmagical words over the lake and the waters divided as two walls. Between\nthese walls the scribe descended and, having found the jewel, came up\nagain into the boat, gave the green jewel to the helmswoman and spoke to\nthe waters which closed up again. The Pharaoh was gratified, giving rich\ngifts to the scribe at whose power all marvelled.\n\nWhen the Pharaoh Khufu heard this legend from Prince Khafra he enjoined\nthat offerings should grace the sepulchres of the Pharaoh Sneferu and\nhis great scribe, the magician. This allegorical story, like many others\nof the kind, is full of hidden meaning and the connection of this boat\nwith its twenty female rowers, its two (unit of the Moon) Illustrious\nOnes, the Pharaoh and the Scribe, the green vegetation on the banks of\nthe lake, the lake itself, the division of the waters and the green\njewel make the meaning especially clear to students of symbology.\n\nIn astrological enumeration from the earliest time the sign Cancer was\nsaid to rule the great oceans, the deep blue of which may have\ninfluenced the Midrash Bemidbah in its allotment of colour, and in\ncertain hermetic ceremonies connected with the soul\u2019s entry into matter\nthrough the Gate of Cancer from the blue ocean of the incorruptible\nHeavens.\n\nThe zodiacal Cancer, the Mansion of the Moon, is associated with the\nworship of Diana in her varied forms, and Diana\u2014at one time a plebeian\ngoddess only\u2014was for a long period worshipped by the plebeian\npopulations who used to hang her image to trees to increase their\ngrowth. Cancer is the sign of the people, and the Moon \u201cwhich delights\nin this sign\u201d represents their varying moods. In the Acts of the\nApostles it is related that Demetrius, a silversmith, and others made\nsilver shrines of Diana (silver astrologically is the metal of the Moon)\nresenting the attempt of Paul to prejudice her worship, with the famous\ncry \u201cGreat is Diana of the Ephesians.\u201d Diana was worshipped as the\ngoddess of Light by the Romans and whether as Artemis in her changing\nattributes, Selene, Luna, Leucophryne, Petamia, Munychia or Amarynthea,\nher influence as a moon deity remains. Her face resembles that of her\ntwin brother Apollo to a very marked degree, and her hair like his is\ncaught up in a knot above the forehead indicating the influence exerted\nby the Moon in its relation to the Sun, in the movements of the waters\nof the Earth.\n\nThat chrysoprase as we know it today was used in very early times is\nclearly proved by the Egyptian jewellery discovered in excavations. Hard\nas the stone is, the ancients knew how to cut it, various intagli of\nancient origin existing today to prove their skill. The apple-green hue\nof the chrysoprase is attractive, and it is probable that it was the\nstone of which fifty specimens were sent to Ashkalon as part of the\ntribute. Its inclusion in this department of the Breastplate is the\nresult of much research, and it harmonizes with astrological tradition.\nThis stone was inscribed with the name of the tribe of Judah.\n\n=The Fifth Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nIn placing Shoham in the position of Sapir in the fifth division of the\nBreastplate, traditional philosophy is harmonized. The fifth zodiacal\nsign Leo is not blue. It is the mansion of the Sun, and old almanacs\nsymbolize it as a raging lion. The Midrash Bemidbah gives the colour as\nblack but generally authorities agree that it is a shade of red,\nespecially during sunrise and sunset, and a yellowish-red at noonday.\nThe eleventh zodiacal sign Aquarius is given as sky blue by most\nauthorities, and it is generally accepted. It has a mystic connection\nwith the heavens, and without doubt its gem is the Sapir. In the Zodiac\nthe signs Leo and Aquarius are exactly opposite, and on the Breastplate\nthe stone for the former is second of the second row, and for the latter\nsecond of the last row. Accepting this view no difficulty will be\nexperienced. It might also be considered that the tribe of Judah is the\ntribe of the Lion, although for reasons previously stated, the name of\nthis tribe is engraved on the fourth stone.\n\nAccepting the Shoham then as the fifth stone of the Breastplate we have\nyet to identify it. The Hebrew Bible, the Authorized Version, Josephus,\nthe Vulgate, Marbodus, Dr. Deane all translate it as Onyx, and Dr.\nGinzberg half agrees with them. Dr. Emil A. Braun, the arch\u00e6ologist,\ntraced Shoham to the Arabic SACHMA, blackness. \u201cOf such a colour,\u201d he\nwrites, \u201care the Arabian Sardonyx which have a black ground colour.\u201d\nHowever, this species can hardly be called true Sardonyx defined by\nPliny as \u201ccandor in sarda,\u201d graphically rendered by King as \u201ca white\nopaque layer superimposed upon a red transparent stratum of the true red\nSard.\u201d The ancient and modern methods of imitating this gem are\nidentical: A Sard is put upon a red-hot iron block with the result that\nthe part nearest the heated mass is transmuted into a white hazy layer\nupon which the Cameo artist works.\n\nIt seems that the name Onyx amongst ancient peoples was indifferently\napplied to both Onyx and Sardonyx, but in the case of the fifth stone of\nthe Breastplate there seems to be no doubt that the Sardonyx is the\nStone. The sign Leo astrologically rules the Heart in the human body,\nwhich in the Grand Man is symbolically the Sun, and the Sard is of the\ncolour of the Heart. By ancient correspondence then the Heart, Leo, the\nSun, the Sard, the Sardonyx, and the fifth department of the Breastplate\nare clearly connected.\n\nThe Carnelian, Sard, and Sardonyx were most extensively used by the\nEgyptians, Greeks, Romans and other peoples of antiquity, and many\nspecimens have been found engraved with various devices: finely worked\nEgyptian scarabei, antique Intagli and Camei. The Sardonyx has been\ncalled a \u201croyal stone,\u201d and the sign of the Lion is intimately connected\nwith royalty. The winged, human-headed lions of Nineveh are emblematical\nof the Sun, and Daniel describing his vision connects the Winged Lion\nwith the heart of Man:\u2014(Ch. VII. 4).\n\nIn the Egyptian texts frequent allusion is made to the heart or HATI of\nOsiris. The HATI represented vitality, warmth, control, and silently\nwithin it were impressed the actions of its owner during his earth-life.\nIt was to his HATI, lying on the Balance before the \u201cShining God,\u201d the\nattendant deities and the forty and two gods in the great Judgment Hall,\nthat the shuddering soul cried out of the intense silence: \u201cO heart of\nmine, testify not against me,\u201d words frequently impressed on Scarabei\nand regarded as magically potent.\n\nA symbolic image constructed by the Magi at the period of the Sun\u2019s\npassage through the sign of the Lion, took the form of a crowned king\nenthroned, wearing a deep yellow robe, a globe at his feet and a raven\nby his heart. The crowned king, his yellow robe, the raven and the globe\nsymbolize the Sun and its manifestations, and the Heart\u2014the Sun of\nMan\u2014symbolizes the Solar sign Leo. Another symbol of the Magi, shows a\ncrowned woman in a four-horsed chariot (four being the negative or\nfemale side of the Sun), a mirror in her right hand, a staff in her\nleft, and a burning flame on her head. These emblems were directed to be\nengraved in the Hour of the Sun, the Sun being in Leo, on a carnelian\nstone. The famous seal of Solomon and David\u2014the Mogan Dovid\u2014was most\npotent when engraved on a Sardonyx, a Carnelian or a plate of gold\n(metal of the Sun).\n\nAll conditions necessary for this stone of the breastplate are fulfilled\nin the Sardonyx stone which, engraved with the tribe of Zebulun, filled\nthe fifth place.\n\n=The Sixth Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nThe sixth stone of the Breastplate is, without doubt, the Jashpeh\naccepted by the Vulgate, Marbodus, Dr. Emil Hirsch and Dr. G. Deane.\nTranslated correctly enough as Jasper, it is placed in the twelfth\ndivision in the Hebrew and Authorized Versions.\n\nFrom an astrological point of view the Yaholom has no claim on the sixth\nHouse whilst Jashpeh undoubtedly has. The latter is the third stone of\nthe second row of the Breastplate and the former is the third stone of\nthe fourth row. In astrological science they are opposite in the Zodiac,\nthe Jashpeh belonging to the celestial Virgo and the Yahalom to the\ncelestial Pisces. The colours are given in the Midrash Bemidbah as\n\u201cMixed,\u201d and this is more correct than the \u201cblack speckled with blue,\u201d\nset down sometimes for the sign Virgo, but which scarcely expresses the\naspect of Nature personified in the goddess Ceres. The Jasper stone has\nnot lost its identity in the march of time, and there is no reason to\ndoubt that the Aspu of the Assyrians, the Jashpeh of the Hebrews, the\nJaspis of the Greek, or the Yash of the Arabs is any other than the\nJasper, as we know it today. The Panther stone of the Targums of Onkelos\nand Jonathan is the well-known and very beautiful Egyptian Mottled\nJasper so greatly esteemed in the ancient world. The Jasper takes a very\nbrilliant polish and is quite of the crystal brilliance indicated in the\nsacred books. It was the gem of the angel Raphael, emblematic of\nstrength, courage, virtue and wisdom, and it is associated with a\nvariety called the Graminatias, the markings of which resemble\u2014to a very\nmarked degree in some specimens\u2014the letters of the Alphabet. Thus, it is\nthe stone of Hermes or Thoth, the mercurial god who, possessed of\nillimitable knowledge, communicated it to the earth-bound spirit known\nas Man, by signs in the Heavens, in the air, in the sea, on the earth,\nin the flowers and stones of the earth, by omens, by hints and by\nincidents, but never\u2014on account of his promise to Apollo\u2014by spoken\nwords. Jerome calls the Jasper \u201cthe stone of spiritual graces,\u201d and from\nHermes to Christ called Son of the Virgin, this stone descends with all\nits spiritual attributes. It is associated with the Virgins of Egypt who\nprovoked the words set down in the eighth chapter of Jeremiah: \u201cThe\nchildren gather wood and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women\nknead their dough to make cakes to the Queen of Heaven.\u201d\n\nThe Jasper was a stone sacred to the Virgin Mary in Christian mysticism,\nand to the Son of the Virgin; and symbolically the Virgin of the Skies\nis ever immaculate, ever sublime and pure. The association of the sixth\nsign of the Zodiac with all virginity is further exemplified in the cult\nof the Virgins of Vesta. Corresponding with the sixth sign of the Zodiac\nthese virgins were six in number, and the age of girls selected for the\nservice could not be less than six years. The poets tell the story of\nthe beautiful Astr\u00e6a, the holy Virgin, who in pity remained with men\nafter the gods, provoked by man\u2019s wickedness, had departed in anger;\nremained with them until she was forbidden to gaze on a world defiled\nwith crime and misery, and with bandaged eyes was led away to Heaven\nwhere her symbolic form stands eternally, scales in one hand, sword in\nthe other. One gift she left with man\u2014the gift of Hope which has as its\nemblem the unpretentious Jasper stone. The Virgin Astr\u00e6a is familiar as\nthe goddess of Justice, and her connection with Mercury\u2014astrologically\nknown as Lord of the Virgin\u2014is apparent. Her special degree of the\nZodiac is given as the twenty-third (\u201cZodiacal Symbology,\u201d page 96),\nwhich is a degree of sympathy, and for the correct administration of\njustice, deep and generous sympathy is surely necessary.\n\nAccording to Swedenborg and other mystical writers the Virgin symbolizes\nall chaste love, \u201caffection for good, charity towards others, lovers of\ntruth, spirituality and sympathy, and the kindness of men to one\nanother, as opposed to the cruel malice of war and destruction which is\nlikened to false reasonings, lies and opposed to Divine Providence.\u201d\n\nThe Zebulon is the Haven into which they \u201cwho are weary and heavy laden\u201d\nmay enter, and it is significant that the Son of the Virgin dwelt in\nCapernaum which is upon the sea coast in the borders of Zebulon and\nNephthalim (Matt. 4. 13).\n\nLeah thanks God for \u201ca good dowry,\u201d and saying that now her husband will\ndwell with her because of her six sons, called his name Zebulun. In\nseveral ways a good dowry is associated with the sign Virgo, which is\nrelated to learning and commerce, will, patience, persistence and the\nreward of honest work. About the constellation of Virgo is the Argo or\nShip of the Heavens, which star-lighted is ever gliding on the blue\nwaters of the Celestial Harbour. A story of the loss of the Jasper from\nthe Breastplate is told in the Talmud, and after a long search for\nanother to replace it one was found in the possession of Dama, son of\nNethinah, and purchased from him for about \u00a360 in our money.\n\nIt is quite conceivable that stones were lost from the breastplate, and\nit was no doubt the replacing of them that caused so much confusion.\nJasper as the sixth stone of the Breastplate is easily identified and\nthe tribe of Issachar was inscribed upon it.\n\n=The Seventh Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nThe seventh stone of the Breastplate is given as Lesham, variously\nrendered as Ligure, Agate, Jacinth, Hyacinth, Amber, Sapphire,\nTurquoise, Opal. The gem needed must, according to Dr. E. G. Hirsch, be\n\u201cbrilliant and of intense lustre.\u201d The Midrash says that the stone was\n\u201cwhite like the colour of antimony.\u201d The colour in the Midrash Bemidbah\nis given as sapphire blue, and by astrological authorities generally as\ndark crimson or tawny. The sign is the airy home of the planet Venus:\nand its colour can be more correctly gauged from the colours identified\nwith the planet itself, which are given as follows: yellow, lemon yellow\nand pale blue, art tints in general, white and purple, white and\nshining, white in the morning, reddish in the evening, changeable, etc.,\nGesenius translates LESHAM as Opal, and Dr. M. H. Breslau accepts his\nreading as correct. The Opal is given for the seventh stone in\ntranslations from the Hebrew Bible, and this is most probably the\ncorrect one. This beautiful gem was in great repute in ancient times,\nand Pliny in lauding its charms tells us that it was found in India,\nEgypt, Cyprus, Thasos and other places. It is found recorded on Antique\nClay Tablets whereon is impressed catalogues of treasures taken from\nconquered cities. Its softness and delicacy rendered it easy to cut and\ncarve, and specimens of opal intagli have been found. Mr. King mentions\none in the Praun collection, of mediocre antique Roman work which was\nengraved with the heads of Jupiter, Apollo and Diana surrounded by nine\nstars. The same author mentions a big opal set in a quabalistically\ninscribed ring of gold with astrological symbols. The midrashic \u201cwhite\nlike the colour of antimony\u201d may fairly describe a common variety of\nopal. Antimony is a brittle flaky metal of bluish-white colour and\ncrystalline texture. No gem can exhibit \u201cthe brilliant and intense\nlustres\u201d more than the precious opal which is not only brilliant and\nlusterful but beautiful, tender and comprehensive of all the colours of\nthe rainbow. What gem can answer so to the Talmudic identification of\nthe qualities of Venus, viz., Splendour? The Venus of Libra is more\nethereal than the Venus of Taurus and is well presented in the charming\nstatue of the Venus of Medici, that of Taurus being expressed in the\nfigure known as the Venus of Milo. This ethereal Venus is the immaculate\nglorious woman whose absolute beauty the greatest poets, writers,\npainters, sculptors and musicians have striven to express in words, in\nform, in colour and in sound. Thus is Venus the noble cogency of divine\npure love which has been striving through all the ages to make the world\na paradise and to bring man back again to the Eden he has lost. No blood\nsacrifices stained the altars of this lovely goddess, and the ancients\ndelighted in bringing to her temples sweet blossoms and fragrant spices\nfor incense. So great was the charm and wonder of this Heavenly One that\nMomus, the god of Sarcasm, who spared neither god nor man, died of\nvexation because he could find in her nothing to ridicule, nothing to\nblame, nothing to jeer at, for before such pure beauty criticism and\nridicule must be mute. As Venus Urania she arises amidst the foam of the\nsea (the occult import serving but to intensify the beauty of the\nlegend) with a blue sky above her head and peaceful sunlit waters at her\nfeet, a symbol of that eternal love which unites the elements and\nspreads the lustre of true harmony wherever are to be found those wise\nenough to know it. Socrates wrote that he was uncertain whether there\nwas one Aphrodite or two, and doubtless the philosopher recognized the\nvarious phases of the goddess when blended with, or corrupted by,\nanything less than the conception of pure idealism in all its\nexpressions. The ancients called the opal \u201cCupid\u201d\u2014a worthy tribute to\nthe sublime beauty of his glorious mother. One might compare the opal to\nthe union of Thaumas (Wonder), the Son of the Earth, with Electra\n(Brightness), a daughter of Oceanus, and with their child Iris\n(Rainbow).\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Rare Opals\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection\n]\n\nIssachar is the tribe of the Balance, \u201can ass bending between two\nburdens.\u201d The ass in the East today as it was in the days of the Bible\nis regarded as an emblem of constancy, patience, endurance and\nstolidity, and frequent allusion is made to it in sacred writings:\n\u201cSpeak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk\nby the way.\u201d (Judges 5. 10.) Josephus replies with vigour to the\nassertion of Apion that the Jews worshipped an ass\u2019s head. In the\nmythology of the Egyptians the good and evil essences are symbolised by\ntwo wild asses, and mention is made in \u201cThe Book of the Dead\u201d of the\nduel between the ass and its \u201ceater,\u201d the night serpent. The ass also as\na symbolic animal of Jupiter represented Justice in the ancient world,\nhence its association with the Balance becomes clear. The tribe\nIssachar, this \u201cservant of tribute,\u201d is symbolic of absolute truth for\n\u201ca false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his\ndelight.\u201d (Prov. 11. 1.), and \u201cHe that speaketh truth showeth forth\nrighteousness: but a false witness deceit.\u201d (Prov. 12. 17.) The entry of\nthe Son of the Virgin into Jerusalem\u2014the city of Virgo\u2014riding on an ass,\nas told in that chapter of parables, Matthew 21, is not devoid of\nsymbolic meaning. Hermes or Thoth is the recorder of the scales in the\nEgyptian Hall of Judgment and he may also be said to ride upon the\nscales for the sign Libra follows the sign of the Virgin. Libra has been\ndescribed as the most sensitive sign of the Zodiac, the opal is its\nideal gem and the opal is the gem for the seventh division of the\nBreastplate and on it was engraved the tribe of Dan.\n\n=The Eighth Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nThe eighth stone of the Breastplate is Shebo, rendered as Agate by the\nAuthorised Version, the Vulgate, Marbodus and others.\n\nGesenius gives the derivation of Shebo from a root which means \u201cto take\nprisoner,\u201d and his illustrious pupil, Julius F\u00fcrst, connects it with a\nroot meaning \u201cto glitter.\u201d Dr. Deane derives it from another meaning \u201cto\nobscure, to dull,\u201d and expresses the opinion that the problem \u201ccannot be\nsolved by etymology alone.\u201d He believes SHEBO to be some variety of\ncrystallised quartz. Dr. Breslau in translating SHEBO as Agate has good\nsupporters. The variety known as Banded agreeably fits in with the\ndemands of the planet Mars through the sign of its expression Scorpio,\ntermed the sign of the Serpent. Its wavy lines typify the undulations of\nthe serpent, the lines of a fortress or the restless waves of the sea.\nThe opinion has been expressed that SHEBO may have some connection with\nthe Indian Serpent of the Underworld\u2014Sesha or Shesha, and the connection\nmay be further extended to the huge serpent which slays and is slain by\nThor as told in the Song of Vala.\n\nThe sign Scorpio is in astrology the sign of death, the dead and all\nconnected therewith. It is expressed by the Serpent of Eden in that\nmagical third chapter of Genesis, a chapter that has demanded the\nspecial study of mystical philosophers for ages. The sign Scorpio is\nalso symbolized in the person of the goddess Serket, pictured as a\nhuman-headed scorpion or as a goddess with scorpion head-dress. She\nprotected the Canopic Jars which contained the embalmed viscera of the\ndeparted. Aesculapius, the god of medicine, was worshipped under the\nform of a serpent at Epidaurus, and in the Vatican statue he is\nrepresented leaning on a staff around which is coiled a serpent; statues\nof his daughter Hygieia show her with a serpent in different attitudes.\nIn those and numerous other serpent stories all associated with the sign\nScorpio to a greater or lesser degree, the majesty and the mystery of\nlife and death are philosophically implied.\n\nThe traditional colour of the sign Scorpio is given as brown, a shade of\nbrown well describes the agate stone. The Midrash Bemidbah gives gray\nwhich, though not in agreement with other authorities, certainly does\nindicate a species of Agate.\n\nDan is described in the Book of Genesis as \u201ca serpent by the way, an\nadder in the path, that biteth the horses\u2019 heels\u201d (the sign following\nScorpio, Sagittarius\u2014the sign of Gad) \u201cso that his rider shall fall\nbackward.\u201d The tribe was a mystical tribe possessing the knowledge of\nwhite magic and of black (Judges XVIII. 30). The wisdom of the serpent\nis symbolized in it\u2014\u201cDan shall judge his people.\u201d\n\nThe eighth stone of the Breastplate was the Banded Agate, and on it was\nengraved the tribe of Gad.\n\n=The Ninth Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nThe ninth stone of the Breastplate is Achlamah which, with few\nexceptions, is identified as the Amethyst\u2014beyond doubt the correct\nidentification.\n\nThe Midrash Bemidbah gives the colour as purple which is the dominant\nshade of this beautiful gem. Purple is also one of the chief colours\nassociated with the planet Jupiter which in astrology is termed the Lord\nof Sagittarius, the ninth sign of the Zodiac. This sign is connected\nwith rulers and people in authority from very early times; Josephus\nmentions that Joseph wore \u201cpurple and drove in his chariot through all\nthe land of Egypt.\u201d The Amethyst was a royal stone and purple a royal\ncolour the right to wear which was bestowed by the King on inspired men\nwho, like Joseph, were revealers of dreams. In the Book of Daniel also\nBelshazzar promises that the man who reads for him the \u201cwriting on the\nwall\u201d shall be clothed with purple, shall have a chain of gold about his\nneck and shall rule as the third in the kingdom. This promise he\nfulfills when Daniel, \u201cthe prince of astrologers,\u201d told him what he\nwould know. A similar promise is made by Darius, the son of Hystaspes,\nas a reward for the solving of his questions regarding the strength of\nWine, Kings and Women. It is related in the Book of Esther that the same\nhonour is bestowed on Mordecai by the King Artaxerxes.\n\nIn old Hebraic philosophy it was held that whoso honoureth the prophet\nhonoureth God. Purple is the colour signifying royal dignity and\nimperial power: \u201cto be born in the purple\u201d is to be born essentially\nfortunate and, under the elevating influence of the planet Jupiter,\nAclamah\u2014according to Dr. Hirsch\u2014seems etymologically to imply the idea\nof being strong. Lord Arthur Hervey and several other writers hold that\nthe Hebrew word is a verbal one from the root HALOM, to dream. In\nastrological deductions Sagittarius is the sign of dreams, prophecy and\nphilosophy, and in its divine aspect it is referred to the wise centaur\nChiron who tended the young hero Achilles. Sagittarius is the sign of\nthe Horse and of Horsemen, and its connection with the tribe of Gad is\nnot hard to understand. Aben Ezra writes on Targum authority that\nJupiter is best expressed by the name Gad, and Dr. Alfred Pearce remarks\nthat in modern Hebrew TZEDEK, justice, was also translated as Jupiter\n\u201cbecause of the just character of persons born under his influence.\u201d\nGad, David\u2019s seer, is mentioned in 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and the\nprophetic nature of this son of Jupiter may well stand as a living\nsymbol. Gad is heralded by Leah thus: \u201cA troop cometh,\u201d and \u201cshe called\nhis name Gad.\u201d\n\nThe Amethyst has ever been a gem symbolizing spirituality in its highest\ndegree, and by the virtue of its power it opposed evils, drunkenness,\nand the sin of distorted appetites. Indeed, the Amethyst was considered\na sign of such holiness that evil was always courted by one wearing it\nwhilst overindulging in eating and drinking. It was cut into sacred\nscarabei by the Egyptians and Etruscans and is frequently found\nengraved. Pliny writes of its fitness as a sealstone, and Mr. King\nmentions a large pale Amethyst, signed, in the Pulsky collection, on\nwhich is engraved the head of a Syrian King.\n\nThe Amethyst has been frequently quoted as a stone of the celestial\nAries, even ancient writers commenting on its sympathetic Aries\nvibration. The mistake arose from confounding the Babylonian Mars with\nthe Mars of the Greeks and Romans. The Babylonian Mars of Centaur form\nis clearly identified with the sign Sagittarius.\n\nThe Amethyst was the ninth stone of the Breastplate, and on it was\nengraved the name of the tribe of Asher.\n\n=The Tenth Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nRegarding the tenth stone of the Breastplate there is a general\ndisagreement amongst authorities, some preferring simply to give its\nHebraic name THARSHISH without attempting its meaning.\n\nThe tenth division of the Breastplate is the division of the zodiacal\nCapricorn, the colour of which is generally regarded as black, the\ncolour of the planet Saturn, and which according to Dr. Simmonite,\nWilliam Lilly, Madame Blavatsky and others, is, esoterically, green. The\nTargums describe the stone Tharshish as of the colour of the Great Sea,\nor sea colour. This is found in the Serpentine variety of a translucent\ndeep green, oily colour capable of receiving a high polish. The colour\nof the Egyptian and Arabian Serpentine (or HYDRINUS) is deep and a\nlittle heavy. Many intagli and camei of antique origin are found cut in\nSerpentine; these specimens include Egyptian scarabei and Babylonian\ncylinders of about 5,000 years ago, clear evidence that the ancients\nknew the stone, appreciated it and worked it.\n\nThe sign Capricorn is a strange one, symbolizing the Gateway of Heaven\nthrough which men pass when life on earth is done. Hence it expresses\nthe mystery of the deep seas which were compared with the seas of space\nin sacred philosophy. Amongst others, Manilius recognizes Capricorn as a\nsailor\u2019s sign:\n\n _But when receding Capricornus shows\n The star that in his tail\u2019s bright summit glows,\n Then shall the native dare the angry seas,\n A hardy sailor live, spurning inglorious ease._\n\nRev. Mr. King writes of a cast from a gem engraved with a \u201cdouble-headed\nCapricorn with an owl\u2019s body standing upon and holding in his forefoot a\nrudder: in allusion to the doctrine laid down by Manilius that the star\nin the sign\u2019s tail is the proper horoscope of mariners and pilots. Or it\nmay typify the usually fickle temper of one born under the sign. This\nsign likewise presided over all the space within tide-mark, the\nalternate domain of sea and land; a dominion expressed by the half\nterrestrial, half marine composition of the figure. The region\npeculiarly under him\u201d (that is, the region astrologically ruled by\nCapricorn) \u201cwas the West of Europe.\u201d (This is speaking very generally.)\n\u201cThe owl\u2019s body is given him perhaps as the attribute of Pallas, the\ndesigner of that prototype of navigation, the Argo.\u201d\n\nGodfrey Higgins writes of the \u201cwhimsical sign called Capricorn which in\nthe Indian Zodiac is an entire goat and an entire fish: in the Greek and\nthe Egyptian the two are united and form one animal.\u201d\n\nThe place of dazzling brilliancy, called by the Greeks \u201cThe Milky Way\u201d\nis the path of the souls, and is referred to by Macrobius, Cicero and\nother writers. The author of the \u201cAnacalypsis\u201d writes: \"The Milky Way is\nplaced immediately under that degree of North Latitude which is called\nthe Tropic of Cancer, and the two tropics of Cancer and Capricorn have\nbeen called by the astrologers \u201cThe Gates of Heaven or the Sun,\u201d at each\nof which the Sun arrives in his annual progress. The Southern Gate is\ncalled the Tropic of Capricorn, an amphibious animal, half goat, half\nfish in our present zodiacs, but in the most ancient zodiacs of India it\nis described as two entire beings\u2014a goat and a fish. Here, in this\ngoat-fish sign Capricorn, are the mermen and mermaids, and the\nhalf-animal, half-fish beings of the sea. Of the tribe of Asher it is\nsaid: \u201cOut of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal\ndainties,\u201d (Gen. 49. 20), a statement very much in agreement with the\nsign Capricorn. Again in Deuteronomy (33. 24) we have, according to the\nAuthorized Version, \u201cLet Asher be blessed with children: let him be\nacceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil\u201d; this\npassage, however, may be closer translated as follows: \u201cMore than all\nthe children be Asher blessed: he shall be the most favoured of his\nbrethren and bathe his feet in oil.\u201d\n\nThe tenth Mansion of the Zodiac, the natural \u201cHome\u201d of Capricorn, is the\nHouse of fame, honour, reputation, credit, authority and dignity.\n\nHis mother called him Asher because she said, \u201cthe daughters will call\nme blessed,\u201d Asher being the Hebrew word for \u201cblessed.\u201d A close\ntranslation of verse 17, Chapter 5 Judges, would read: \u201cAsher remained\non the seashore and abode near his bays.\u201d\n\nIn all these Biblical allusions to the tribe of Asher there is nothing\nout of harmony with the sign Capricorn; in fact, in every line the\nconnection is clearly marked.\n\nThe tenth stone in the Breastplate is the Serpentine and on it was\nengraved the tribe Naphtali.\n\n=The Eleventh Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nFor reasons stated the Sapir is placed in the eleventh division of the\nBreastplate instead of the SHOHAM, and we thus have complete harmony\nbetween the eleventh sign of the zodiac, Aquarius, the eleventh division\nof the Breastplate and the Sapir stone which is translated as Sapphire\nin the Hebrew Bible, the Authorized Version, the Vulgate; as Lapis\nLazuli or Sapphire by Mr. Wodiska; and as Lapis Lazuli by Dr. Hirsch,\nRev. J. R. Dummelow, and others. The Targums indicate a stone of blue\ncolour, and that this is the Lapis Lazuli there is no reason to doubt.\nIn ancient times the Lapis Lazuli was termed SAPPHIRUS; Pliny describes\nit accurately as \u201copaque, sprinkled with specks of gold,\u201d and many\nantique intagli in this stone have been found. The Lapis Lazuli was a\nvery highly esteemed stone amongst the old world peoples, who called it\n\u201cThe Stone of Heaven,\u201d \u201cThe Gem of the Stars,\u201d and the Zemech Stone\nconnected with all things heavenly. Traditionally it is the stone on\nwhich was engraved the law of Moses. In a quabalistic \u201cPiut\u201d is written:\n\u201cO, how dreadful is the place of the heavenly abode; for there the light\ndwelleth with him: and above the firmament is a precious stone, as the\nappearance of the Sapphire stone which forms the glorious throne, and\nthereon He who is clothed with light is seated.\u201d A close translation of\nEzekiel 1. 26, reads: \u201cAnd above, the vault that was over their head was\nlike the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne: and\nupon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a\nman above it.\u201d Chapter X. 1, similarly treated, reads: \u201cThen I saw and\nbehold, on the vault that was above the head of the Cherubim, there\nappeared over them something like a sapphire stone, something similar in\nappearance to the likeness of a throne.\u201d\n\nThe connection of a blue stone with the blue heavens is consistent with\nancient philosophy, and authorities agree in connecting this colour with\nthe sign of the mighty heavens\u2014Aquarius. According to tradition Moses,\nthe law-giver, was born under this sign. Akers in his \u201cIntroduction to\nBiblical Chronology\u201d gives the date of this event as A. M. 3319, Adar\nthird, year of the Julian period 2987, which answers to Thursday,\nFebruary 13th, 1727 B. C. At that time the sun would be in the Celestial\nAquarius. Aquarius is the water-bearer, and the incident of the striking\nof the rock from which water gushed forth is mystically associated with\nit. In the Mythologies this waterbearer is Ganymedes, son of Tros, King\nof Troy, whom the gods, impressed by his beauty, carried away whilst he\nwas tending the flocks on Mount Ida, in order that the Lord of Olympus\nmight have a lovely cup-bearer.\n\nIn astrological deductions Aquarius is the sign of friendship\u2014\u201cNaphtali\nbringeth pleasant words.\u201d It is also the sign of hopes and desires: Of\nNaphtali he said, \u201cO Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full of the\nblessing of the Lord, take thou possession of the West and the South.\u201d\n(Deut. 33. 23). Then again, in the Septuagint Naphtali is referred to as\n\u201ca spreading tree yielding leafy branches\u201d and the tree raising branches\nheavenwards is an Aquarian symbol.\n\nThe law of Moses is spoken of as the \u201ctree of Life\u201d which contains the\nsecret of actual and absolute immortality.\n\nNow we are, according to periodic astrological deductions, at the Gate\nof the age of Aquarius, all the world is undergoing the process of\nchange, and finally all the humanitarianism of Aquarius will replace the\naccumulation of evil thoughts that lay by the Gateway. Then will\nNaphtali prevail, his captivity will be over, and the slaves will hang\nup their chains amongst the sacred cypresses, for the Comforter will\ncome.\n\nThe Lapis Lazuli then, is the stone of the eleventh division of the\nBreastplate and on it was engraved the name Joseph.\n\n=The Twelfth Stone of the Breastplate=\n\nRegarding the classification which places Jashpeh in the twelfth\ndivision of the Breastplate much controversy has arisen, and the\nconsensus of opinion is against it.\n\nDr. Emil Hirsch holds the opinion that Jahalom should replace JASHPEH,\nand in this surmise he is by no means alone. Astrologically Jashpeh has\nnothing in common with the last sign of the Zodiac\u2014Pisces\u2014the colour of\nwhich is given as \u201cglistening white\u201d by the Midrash Bemidbah. It has\nbeen more minutely described as \u201ca white glistening colour like a fish\njust taken out of the water\u201d by William Lilly and Dr. Simmonite. There\nis little doubt that the stone was of a white glistening colour. YAHALOM\nis rendered as Diamond by the translations of the Hebrew Bible, the\nAuthorized Version, by Mr. Cattelle, Dr. Ginzberg and others; but\nalthough the Diamond is mentioned by Pliny, it could not have found a\nplace among the stones of the Breastplate as they were large stones all\nengraved with tribal names. To this treatment the diamond is not\nadapted. The YAHALOM is without doubt white crystal which is of a\nglistening colour and traditionally associated with the twelfth sign of\nthe Zodiac.\n\nDiodorus writes that an artist named Satyreius cut on a small crystal a\nmost exquisite and lifelike portrait of Queen Arsinoe, the beauty of the\nwork amply excusing the miniature stone on which it was engraved. It is\nrelated that Nero, his star falling, in his rage against the world and\nmankind, smashed to pieces two costly crystal cyphi or bowls on which\nHomeric subjects were wonderfully engraved. Articles in crystal still\nexist to demonstrate its extensive use by ancient nations. Fauno, in his\n1553 edition of \u201cRoman Antiquities,\u201d mentions that during the building\nof a chapel of the King of France in St. Peter\u2019s, the marble coffin of\nMaria, wife of the Emperor Honorius, was discovered. Little remained of\nthe body, but the jewels of the Empress were there, and amongst them\nwere a talismanic plate of gold engraved with the names of the\nArchangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel), in Greek letters, about\nthirty vases and other articles in crystal, and an exquisite Nautilus\nshell lamp of pure crystal mounted on gold\u2014no doubt the special charm of\nthe Empress. The sign Pisces, the sign of \u201cthe fish with the glittering\ntails,\u201d is symbolically represented by two fishes, which ancient story\ntells us were Venus and Cupid thus metamorphosed to escape the giant\nTyphon in his fury. In Babylonian story it is told that the fish-god\nOannes\u2014the Dagon of the Book of Samuel\u2014came out of the Erythraean Sea\n\u201cwhich borders upon Babylonia\u201d to teach men how to live, to make laws,\nto worship, to soften their manners and to humanize their lives. Thus,\nthe fish-god was the teacher of the hidden mysteries, and the sign\nPisces has always been associated with occult science and hidden things.\nMummified fish have been found in the Egyptian tombs, and Clermont\nGanneau describes a pair of fish-gods keeping watch over a mummy. Isis\nas the Great Mother is symbolized with a fish on her head. The old\nEgyptian town of Esna, nearly 500 miles from Cairo, was called by the\nGreeks Latopolis on account of the worship of the Latus fish by the\ninhabitants, and an interesting old Zodiac can still be seen there\namongst the famous ruins. The Babylonians accepted the fish as the\nsymbol of the Resurrection, and the ninth chapter of the Book of Luke\ndescribes how 5000 people were fed by 5 loaves of bread (symbolical of\nVirgo) and two small fishes (symbolical of Pisces), a connection clear\nenough to the student of the mysteries. The fish was the symbol of the\nMessiah, and was adopted by the early Christians as the sign of Christ.\nThe Roman Catholic church today has its fish days, and the Piscina is\nthe basin that holds the Holy Water.\n\nThe tribe of Joseph is the tribe of the twelfth division of the\nBreastplate and the twelfth zodiacal sign, Pisces. Joseph in the Book of\nGenesis is the inspired prophet who reads the meaning of the famous\nsymbolic dreams of The Butler, The Baker and The Pharaoh; who has his\ndivining cup, and who was named by the Pharaoh, ZAPHENATH-PA\u2019NEACH,\nwhich has been translated as \u201cSaviour of the World\u201d by one writer, but\nmore nearly as \u201cGod, the Living One has spoken\u201d by Dr. Dummelow, and as\n\u201cGod spake and he came into Life,\u201d by Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge.\n\n[Illustration: hieroglyphs]\n\nAccording to Talmudic story it was this Pharaoh who said that he saw the\ncolours of rulership about Joseph. Joseph and his brethren are\nsymbolical of the complete Zodiac. JOSHUA is the Son of the Fish (NUN\nthe Hebrew word for \u201cfish\u201d is probably connected with the Egyptian NAR),\nand Jesus has his fishermen, \u201cfishers of men.\u201d The sign Pisces is the\nsign of hidden secrets and is mystically symbolized by a key. On the\nexternal plane it is the sign of increase, in which is concealed the\nmandate \u201cIncrease and multiply.\u201d\n\nThe connection of the sign Pisces with the twelfth division of the\nBreastplate is, as in the previous cases, beyond argument. The stone is\nthe glistening crystal on which was engraved the name of the tribe of\nBenjamin.\n\nIn reference to Joseph\u2019s Dream of the Sun, Moon and Eleven Stars which\nmade obeisance to him, Philo Judaeus says:\n\n\u201cThe students of sublime wisdom now say that the Zodiac, the greatest of\nall the circles in Heaven, is studded with twelve animals from which it\nhas derived its name. And that the Sun and the Moon are always revolving\naround it and go through each of the animals, not indeed with equal\nrapidity, but in unequal numbers and periods, the one doing so in 30\ndays and the other in as near as may be a twelfth part of that time.\nTherefore he who saw this Heaven-sent vision thought that he was being\nworshipped by eleven stars, ranking himself among them as the twelfth so\nas to complete the whole circle of the Zodiac.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI\n THE STONES OF THE BREASTPLATE AND\n THE ZODIAC\n\n \u201c_Heaven\u2019s golden alphabet\u2014\n And he that runs may read._\u201d\n YOUNG.\n\n\nThe foregoing chapter dealing with the identification of the stones of\nthe Breastplate has necessitated study and research, and the\nclassification reproduced in the table following rests on a secure base.\nMany of the scholars of the past when endeavoring to render Hebrew stone\nnames into our own language were hampered by a none too technical\nknowledge of the gems themselves, whilst many of the later writers were\nhandicapped by lack of astrological knowledge so essential in a matter\nof this kind. This will be sufficient to explain the numerous\ncontradictions regarding the identification and allotment of the famous\nstones by whose agency the psychic priests communicated with the angels\nof God.\n\nIt has already been explained in Chapter V why the tribal names do not\nagree with the signs of the Zodiac and the stones on which they were\nengraved. Some remarks of Philo Judaeus may with advantage be re-quoted\nhere: In reference to the Breastplate he writes: \"Then on his chest\nthere are twelve precious stones of different colours, arranged in four\nrows of three stones in each row, being fashioned so as an emblem of the\nZodiac. For the Zodiac also consists of twelve animals and so divides\nthe four seasons of the year, allotting three animals to each season.\nAnd the whole place is very correctly called the Logeum since everything\nin Heaven has been created and arranged in accordance with right reason\nand proportion: for there is absolutely nothing there which is devoid of\nreason. And on the Logeum he embroiders two woven pieces of cloth,\ncalling the one Manifestation and the other Truth. And by the one which\nhe calls Truth he expresses figuratively that it is absolutely\nimpossible for falsehood to enter any part of Heaven but that it is\nentirely banished to the parts around the Earth dwelling amongst the\nsouls of impious men.\n\n THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE BREASTPLATE.\n\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Hebrew Name of \u2502 Modern Name of \u2502 Equivalent Sign of\n Stone \u2502 Stone \u2502 Zodiac\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n 1. Odem \u2502Red Haematite \u2502Aries\n 2. Pitdah \u2502Emerald \u2502Taurus\n 3. Bareketh \u2502Marble \u2502Gemini\n 4. Nofek \u2502Chrysoprase \u2502Cancer\n 5. Shoham \u2502Sardonyx \u2502Leo\n 6. Jashpeh \u2502Jasper \u2502Virgo\n 7. Lesham \u2502Opal \u2502Libra\n 8. Shebo \u2502Banded Agate \u2502Scorpio\n 9. Achlamah \u2502Amethyst \u2502Sagittarius\n 10. Tharshish \u2502Serpentine \u2502Capricorn\n 11. Sapir \u2502Lapis Lazuli \u2502Aquarius\n 12. Jaholom \u2502Crystal \u2502Pisces\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Name Engraved on \u2502 Colour \u2502 Approximate Date of\n Stone \u2502 \u2502Sun\u2019s Entry into the\n \u2502 \u2502 Zodiacal Signs\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n 1. Reuben \u2502Red \u2502March 21st\n 2. Simeon \u2502Green \u2502April 21st\n 3. Levi \u2502White \u2502May 22nd\n 4. Judah \u2502Green \u2502June 22nd\n 5. Zebulun \u2502Red \u2502July 23rd\n 6. Issacher \u2502Mixed \u2502August 24th\n 7. Dan \u2502White and Purple \u2502September 24th\n 8. Gad \u2502Brown \u2502October 24th\n 9. Asher \u2502Purple \u2502November 23rd\n 10. Naphtali \u2502Sea colour \u2502December 20th\n 11. Joseph \u2502Blue \u2502January 20th\n 12. Benjamin \u2502Glistening White \u2502February 19th\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\nThe Baraita of Samuel deals with astronomical and astrological\nphilosophies, and in the 6th Chapter there is a detailed account of the\ninstruction of scholars of Egypt on the original places of the planets\nand the zodiacal divisions. This Samuel was a physician and astrologer,\nand his remarks on the administration of medicines, the times for\noperations, etc., are much the same as those given in the best\nastrological treatises of today. He considers the last four days of the\nmoon as an especially risky period for important operations. This\nBaraita of Samuel is a work of the 8th Century.\n\nTalmudic writers say that besides the twelve tribal names, those of the\npatriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were at the top of the Breastplate,\nand at the end the words, \u201cThe tribes of Jeshurun.\u201d Others say that the\nfinal words were \u201cThe tribes of Israel;\u201d Maimonides says, \u201cThe tribes of\nGod.\u201d The reason given for these additions was that it was necessary for\nthe entire alphabet to be employed so that the officiating High Priest\ncould construct words from the letters, names and colours of the stones\nof the Breastplate, and reply in this way to all questions asked. Some\nof the Rabbis say that six letters were on each stone, made up of the\ntribal names, the names Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the words \u201cTribes\nof Jeshurun.\u201d Thus the whole of the stones contained 72 letters\u2014the\nnumber of Shem Ha Meforash. The number 72 is employed in the mysteries,\nand is given in \u201cNumbers, their Magic and Meaning\u201d as the number of the\nAngels and of Mercy. In verses 19-21 of 14th Chapter of Exodus the names\nof the 72 Angels of the name of God are concealed. It is a martial\ntalismanic number, lightly cloaking the waxing and waning of the Moon.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII\n OLD LEGENDS\n\n \u201c_Within that awful volume lies\n The mystery of mysteries._\u201d\n SCOTT.\n\nTHE LEGEND OF THE SHAMIR: THE RING OF SOLOMON: RABBI LOW BEN BEZALEL:\n AND HIS GOLEM: THE AUTOMATON OF ALBERTUS MAGNUS: DIOCLETIAN AND THE\n OSTRICH: PRECIOUS STONES AS GIFTS: MAGICAL STONES: METEORITES:\n PRECIOUS STONES OF THE BUDDHISTS.\n\n\nIt was forbidden to use metal in the engraving of the stones of the\nBreastplate, neither was it permitted to mark them with pigments or\npaint. The work was done by the magical Shamir which had the power of\neating into the hardest substances at the will of its holder. In the\nevening light of the first Friday this seventh of the ten marvels of\nCreation followed closely by the Stylus, the knowledge of writing, and\nthe two tablets of stone destined to bear the commandments of God, was\ngiven to mankind. It was no larger than a barley grain, yet its power\nwas intense: iron lying near it was shattered and stones were sliced\nlike the leaves of a book. Moses, after tracing the tribal names with\nhis forefinger on the Breastplate, simply held the Shamir over them and\nthe letters were as by magic cut clearly into the stones without trace\nof fracture or flaw. The Shamir disappeared with the earth-death of\nMoses, and was not heard of again until the time of Solomon. When the\noccasion came to build the temple the priests reminded the King that it\nwas not lawful to fashion the stones for the Holy Building with\ninstruments of iron. \u201cWhat then shall I do?\u201d enquired the King. To this\none of the priests answered: \u201cO, great King, when the world was created\nthe Shamir was created also, and with it Moses was enabled to fashion\nand engrave the stones of the HOSHEN-HA-MISHPAT.\u201d \u201cBut how can I obtain\nthis wonderful Shamir?\u201d asked Solomon. \u201cWhat is there difficult for thee\nwho knowest the secrets of Heaven and Earth?\u201d replied the priest, at the\nsame time asking Solomon to compel two demons, a male and a female, to\ncome before him. The King, taking this advice, conjured the demons and\nbade them declare unto him the hiding-place of the Shamir. This they\nwere unable to do, and they begged the Master-Magician to release them\nand obtain the secret from the Prince of the demons, Ashmadai. Further\nthey told the King that amongst certain mountain ranges Ashmadai had\nsunk a deep hole which he filled with water and screened with a great\nstone sealed with his magical seal. In the dawn of each day he raised\nhimself to Heaven where he learned heavenly wisdom, descending in the\nevening as the light faded to learn the wisdom of earth. Then he would\nbreak the seal, drink of the water, rebind the seal and go his way\nagain.\n\nHaving dismissed the demons, Solomon sent his disciple Benaiah (the son\nof Jehoiada) with his own magical chain and ring on both of which was\nengraved the Divine Name, and some skins full of wine. Benaiah skilfully\nreleased the water from the pit of Ashmadai, leaving the wine in its\nplace. As evening was falling the Prince of the Demons returned; the\nseal being intact, he raised the stone and to his surprise found wine\nwhere water had been. Murmuring, \u201cIs it not set down, \u2018Wine is a mocker,\nstrong drink is noisy; and whosoever indulgeth therein will never be\nwise\u2019?\u201d, he drank deeply and fell asleep. Then Benaiah, stealing forth\nfrom his hiding place, bound him with King Solomon\u2019s chain. Ashmadai\nawoke and in rage attempted to break the chain; Benaiah called to him:\n\u201cDesist, for the holy name of God binds you, and you are compelled to\ncome with me to Solomon the King.\u201d Brought before Solomon, Ashmadai\nasked: \u201cWhy have you brought me to you? Is not the whole world big\nenough for you that you would have me also?\u201d \u201cOf thee I want nothing,\u201d\nanswered the King, \u201cbut for the building of the Temple I must have the\nShamir.\u201d \u201cThen ask the Prince of the Sea and his servant the Moorfowl,\u201d\ncame the answer. \u201cAnd what does the Moorfowl with the Shamir?\u201d asked the\nKing. \u201cSplits the barren mountain rocklands in order that the seeds of\nthe trees and plants which he drops into the crevices may mature and\nrender these places beautiful and agreeable to the wants of man; and\nthen he brings it back to the Prince of the Sea who trusts his oath.\u201d\nArmed with this information a search was made for the moor fowl\u2019s nest,\nand this when discovered was found to contain the bird\u2019s young. The\nsearchers covered the young birds with glass so that the mother-bird\nmight see but not reach them. The ruse succeeded. The bird flew away and\nshortly afterwards returned with the Shamir, placing it on the glass\nwhich split asunder. At that moment the emissary of King Solomon rushed\nfrom his hiding place and took the Shamir from the nest of the\nfrightened bird, which thereupon killed itself because it had broken its\noath to the Prince of the Sea.\n\nThere is another legend which states that the Shamir was brought from\nParadise\u2014where it had rested since the time of Moses\u2014by an eagle, for\nMoses specially intended that the Shamir should be employed in the\nbuilding of Solomon\u2019s temple. When the building of the temple was\ncompleted Solomon released Ashmadai, having proved his power over him.\nSolomon thus acquired authority over the world of Demons, and in the\n\u201cArabian Nights\u201d the \u201cStory of the Fisherman and the Genii\u201d tells of a\ndemon who was bottled and bound for ages by this Magician King. The\nArabs say that King Solomon received instructions from the archangel\nGabriel regarding the place where the Shamir was hidden. These and other\nlegends connected with this wonderful Shamir have attracted the\nscientific philosopher. The traditional belief that it was a worm can be\naccepted if we connect the Greek SMIRIS, the emery of the ancient\nglyptic artists, with the Hebrew SHAMIR, for then the worm would be\nregarded as minute worms or grains so tough as to be capable of abrading\nand polishing hard substances. The word SHAMIR does not imply the common\nor garden variety of worm which is expressed in Hebrew by other words.\nIt is traditionally related that the four angels of Earth, Air, Fire and\nWater came to King Solomon, each giving him a jewel, with the\ninstruction that the jewels be set in a magical ring which would\nsymbolize and define his power over the elements. The Arabians say that\nthe metals used in the construction of the magical ring were brass and\niron\u2014metals of Venus and Mars. Solomon summoned the good genii by\ntracing his command with the brass or Venus portion of the ring, and he\ncompelled the evil genii to attend him with the Mars or iron portion.\nAstrologically Venus and Mars are the two planetary principles which\ncontrol the emotions and passions of all the world. It is further\nassumed that the four jewels of the ring were set on the famous double\ntriangles called the Shield of David and of Solomon, which symbolically\nrepresented things of earth in relation to things of Heaven. When\nSolomon went to bathe, it was his custom to give the ring to Amina, one\nof his wives, for safe keeping, for it is not permitted to wear the\ntalisman when washing the body. One day Sakhr, a powerful evil spirit,\nappeared in the form of Solomon and thus obtained from Amina the magical\nring. Thereupon Sakhr sat on the throne of Solomon and ruled for forty\ndays and forty nights while the King wandered about, unknown and\nforlorn. However, the evil spirit could not maintain the form of King\nSolomon for longer than forty days and forty nights, so he threw the\nring into the sea, thinking as he saw it sink that Solomon was deprived\nforever of his power over the elements. But he had forgotten that water\nwas one of the elements, and the Angel of the Waters caused the ring to\nbe swallowed by a fish, which was later caught by some fishermen who,\nsurprised at its exceptional beauty, carried it to King Solomon. The\nKing, acting on impulse, cut the fish open, and finding the ring,\nregained his power over the elements once more.\n\nPassing on to the 16th Century of the Christian era we come to one of\nthe great masters of the Quabalah\u2014Rabbi Low Ben Bezalel of Prague. He is\nspoken of in the ancient capital of Bohemia as the greatest Bal Shem of\nhis time. Many legends concerning him are extant in Bohemia. He made a\nGolem, an automaton figure to which he gave life by the simple act of\nplacing under the tongue a charm or Kemea which was exactly like the\nSHEM HAMPHORASCH engraved on King Solomon\u2019s ring. It was the Rabbi\u2019s\ncustom to take the Kemea from under the tongue of the Golem every Friday\nat sunset. Once he neglected to do this, and the Golem becoming furious\nand swelling to a gigantic size, rushed to the old synagogue, spreading\ndestruction all around. The hymn welcoming the Bride of the Sabbath had\nnot been sung. The Golem entered the Synagogue, stalked towards the Ark\nand was about to destroy it when Rabbi Low Ben Bazalel ran to the figure\nand tore the Kemea from beneath the tongue. The Golem trembled, quivered\nand fell in atoms to the ground. An automaton similar to that of the\nRabbi was made by Albertus and destroyed in terror by his pupil, Thomas\nAquinas.\n\nIt is related that the Roman Emperor, Diocletian, while on a hunting\nexpedition, came upon a young ostrich. He had it put in a glass case and\ntaken to his palace. For three days the mother-bird followed, trying in\nvain to break the glass and release her young. After many fruitless\nattempts she went away and returned with what is described as a THUMARE\n(a name easily identified with SHAMIR) or magical worm. This she dropped\non the glass cage which split into fragments in the same way as the\nglass which covered the nest holding the young of the moor fowl.\n\nThe belief that the gift of a precious stone brought great good to the\nreceiver was, and still is, a popular Eastern conviction. It echoes from\nthe Book of Proverbs to the great new age into which the world is now\nentering: \u201cAs a precious stone appeareth a prize in the eyes of him that\nobtaineth it: whithersoever it turneth it prospereth.\u201d (Proverbs XVII.\n8.) The blessedness of giving has always been lauded by the masters who\nconstantly enlarge on the magical power gained by the act, for, say\nthey, \u201cGod gives.\u201d\n\nThe gem given should always be carefully considered especially in\naccordance with the philosophy laid down in these pages which is held to\nbe a true presentation of ancient laws. The wish of the giver then, it\nis assumed, is translated into the gem which expresses the wish,\ntranslated in concrete form so that whenever the receiver gazes on it,\nrealizes it, the wish of good fortune begins to bear fruit and\n\u201cwhithersoever it turneth it prospereth.\u201d The Talmud relates that\nAbraham had a magical jewel which he wore suspended about his neck; some\nwriters state that it was a pearl that would re-appear at the time of\nthe Messiah; it was however his own natal stone which, when worn,\nenabled him by the touch of his hand to heal the sick\u2014a practice which\nhas endured, naturally with varied success, through the ages.\n\nThe gem in the ring of Aaron was said to shine out brilliantly when the\nElohim favoured the nation; and we are told that when the gem and the\nwearer were in harmony the brightness or otherwise of the stone would\nindicate faithfully the conditions surrounding him. In the writings of\nBishop Epiphanius a fourth century ecclesiastic of Jewish descent, there\nis a passage commenting on the Breastplate in which he repeats a still\nolder belief that the stones all turned red when war and defeat faced\nthe Children of Israel. Some Quabalistical writers maintain that various\ncolours indicating answers to the many questions asked were reflected\nfrom the stones over the whole plate; others say that the stone having\nreference to the tribe or to the direct question alone, gleamed out its\nspecial colour; thus, for military triumph the symbol would be expressed\nby the beaming of the Haematite; for bountiful production of the fruits\nof the earth the Emerald would flash its message of comfort; for success\nin matters connected with education the Marble would shine; for promise\nof a good water supply the sparkle of the Chrysoprase would suffice; for\nthe well-being of royalty the illumination of the Sardonyx would promise\nwell; for a good harvest the Jasper would glisten; for success in\nnegotiations with neighbouring nations the gleaming of the Opal would\naugur well; for protection from epidemics the glaring of the agate would\nbe accepted as a favourable omen; for prophetic truth the radiation of\nthe Amethyst would stand; for the welfare of cattle the Serpentine would\nvibrate; for the realization of hopes the Lapis Lazuli would electrify\nlike the deep blue of the Heavens in serene weather; for success in\nsecret negotiations the Crystal would throw off its flashes of light.\n\nAccording to the legends in the Targumin, Noah lit up the Ark with a\nstone of marvellous brilliancy; this is considered by some students to\ndenote the Sun at noonday, by others it is called a Carbuncle. The Manna\nof the wilderness, it is said, fell from Heaven accompanied by a rain of\nthe most precious and beautiful stones: this is merely an allegorical\nexpression of the \u201copening of the Heavens,\u201d although some more material\nwriters indicate a fall of meteorites. Meteorites were held in especial\nreverence and were termed BETHEL or House of God by the old Jews, and\nBaetylus by the Greeks and Romans. They were assumed to carry all\nglorious influences from the Heavenly spheres and to bear the blessings\nof God. Pliny mentions a curious stone which he terms AMIANTHUS and\nwhich is not affected by the action of fire. This substance, he says,\neffectually counteracts all noxious spells, especially those wrought by\nmagicians. It was considered a bad mistake to barter for a talismanic\ngem, that being in itself a crystallization of the sublime forces, and\nbeing holy does not admit of barter. Pliny tells of Ismenius the great\nfluteplayer of his time, who loved to display numbers of gems: he set\nhis heart on obtaining a beautiful emerald\u2014his talismanic gem\u2014on which\nwas engraved a figure of Amymone (one of the Danaides), the gem being\noffered for sale in Cyprus for six golden denarii; he sent his messenger\nto purchase it for him, and this man on his return informed Ismenius\nthat the jeweller had agreed to take two golden denarii less than was\noriginally asked; on learning this the musician exclaimed: \u201cBy Hercules,\nhe has done me a bad turn in this, for the merit of the stone has been\ngreatly impaired by this reduction in price.\u201d\n\nThe seven precious minerals of the Buddhists are stated by Sir\nMoiner-Williams K. C. I. E. to be:\n\n 1. Gold.\n 2. Silver.\n 3. Pearls.\n 4. Sapphires or Rubies.\n 5. Catseyes.\n 6. Diamonds.\n 7. Corals.\n\nThe list varies and Lapis Lazuli is given instead of pearls by some\nauthors. There are also seven royal treasures amongst which is the jewel\nstone NORBU which throws its rays for several miles on the darkest\nnights.\n\nApollonius of Tyana, described by Barrett as one of the most\nextraordinary persons that ever appeared in the world, received during\nhis travels in India from the sage Iarchus seven rings each of which\ncontained a jewel symbolical of one of the planets. One of these he wore\nevery day, according to the planetary order of the days of the week, and\nto the virtue of these gems\u2014which Iarchus is stated to have received\nfrom Heaven\u2014Philostratus, the biographer of Apollonius, attributes his\nlong life, his strength and his attractions. The following were the gems\ninset in the rings which Apollonius wore, one on each day of the week:\n\n Sunday Day of the Sun Diamond (In a ring of gold)\n\n Monday Day of the Moon Cloudy Crystal (? Moonstone) (In a ring of\n silver)\n\n Tuesday Day of Mars H\u00e6matite (In a ring of iron)\n\n Wednesday Day of Mercury Pink Jasper (In a ring of silver)\n\n Thursday Day of Jupiter Carbuncle (In a ring of tin)\n\n Friday Day of Venus Coral (In a ring of bronze)\n\n Saturday Day of Saturn Onyx (In a ring of lead)\n\nJustin Martyr had a deep reverence for this great disciple of Pythagoras\nand in his writings he expresses wonder at the potency of the talismans\nof Apollonius, which calm the fury of the sea, hold back the winds of\nHeaven, cause wild animals to become tame;\u2014\u201cOur Lord\u2019s miracles are held\nto us only by tradition, but the miracles of Apollonius are uncountable\nalmost, and truly were evident enough to charm all those who saw them.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII\n STONES IN VARIOUS MYTHOLOGIES\n\nTHE DWELLING PLACE OF INDRA: THE SERPENT KING: THE CHARIOT OF SURYA:\n SURYA\u2019s TEMPLE: RAMA AND THE BRIDGE OF ADAM: THE AVATARAS: THE\n TEMPLE CAVES OF KANHARI: NECKLACE OF THE KING OF MAABAR: JAIPAL\u2019s\n NECKLACE: THE BUDDHIST TWELVE HEAVENLY JEWELS: THE TREASURES: THE\n OFFERINGS OF THE FOUR DEVA SAGAS: THE BLACK STONE OF MECCA: ROLAND\n AND THE JEWEL OF THE FOREST KNIGHT: IRISH CHARM STONES: DENDRITES:\n GARDEN CHARMS.\n\n\nMeru or the North Pole, the abode of the great Indra who, according to\nthe Rigveda, \u201cfixed firm the moving Earth, made tranquil the incensed\nmountains, who spread the wide firmament, who consolidated the Heavens,\u201d\nis symbolically presented as a shining mountain of jewels and precious\nmetals.\n\nThe Lord of Patala (the infernal regions), Seshanaga, known as the King\nof the Serpents, is pictured in the Bhagavad-Gita (Revelations) as:\n\n \"Of appearance gorgeous and brilliant. He has a thousand heads and on\n each of them is set a crown of glittering gem stones. His neck is\n black, his body is black and black are his tongues.\n\n \u201cLike torches gleam his eyes: yellow-coloured are the borders of his\n robe: from each ear hangs a sparkling gem stone: his extended arms are\n adorned with jewelled bracelets: his hands hold the holy shell, the\n radiant weapon, the war mace and the lotus.\u201d\n\nSurya is the great Sun to whose chariot is harnessed seven green horses\ndriven by the charioteer Arun, the Dawn. In his account of the Temple of\nSurya, Hort quotes the following from a very old traveller: \u201cThe walls\nwere of red marble interspersed with streaks of gold. On the pavement\nwas an image of the radiant Divinity, hardly inferior to himself in\nsplendour: his rays being imitated by a boundless profusion of rubies,\npearls and diamonds of inestimable value, arranged in a most judicious\nmanner and diffusing a lustre scarcely endurable by the sight.\u201d The\nHindu work AYEEN AKBERY is also quoted by the same author. In it the\ntemple of Surya is thus described: \u201cNear to Jaggernaut is the Temple of\nthe Sun in the erecting of which was expended the whole revenue of\nOrissa for twelve years. The wall which surrounds the edifice is one\nhundred and fifty cubits high and nineteen cubits thick: having three\nentrances. At the Eastern Gate are two very fine figures of elephants,\neach with a man upon his trunk. On the West are two surprising figures\nof horsemen completely armed, who having killed two elephants are seated\nupon them. In front of that gate is an octagonal pillar of black stone\nfifty cubits high. Nine flights of steps lead to an extensive enclosure,\nin which is a large dome constructed of stone, upon which are carved the\nSun and the Stars: and around them is a border on which is represented a\nvariety of human figures expressive of different passions: some\nkneeling, others prostrate: together with a number of imaginary strange\nanimals.\u201d\n\nRama\u2019s monkey army is said to have built a bridge of rocks, called the\nBridge of Adam, from the western point of India to Ceylon. Krishna, the\neighth Avatara or incarnation of Vishnu, is represented in magnificent\ndress adorned with garlands of wild flowers and with strings of costly\npearls around his ankles. His complexion is blue, as is also the large\nbee usually depicted flying above his head. The Avataras are all adorned\nwith gems, flowers and loose gauze cloaks interwoven with gold and\nsilver and colours, while they hold various symbols such as the Holy\nShell, the axe, rings, etc.\n\nThe antique Temple Caves of Kanhari at Salsette contain remarkable stone\ncarvings, some of the statues cut from the main rock being fifteen feet\nhigh. Of these sacred figures some are adorned with helmets, others have\njewelled crowns, others great masses of hair. The famous necklace of the\nKing of Maabar was composed of rubies, sapphires and emeralds, and the\nnecklace taken from Jaipal, the Hindu King, by Mahmud (1001 A.D.) was\nmade up of pearls, rubies and various precious stones, the whole being\nvalued at over 500,000 dollars. These necklaces were regarded as\nreligious objects. Buddha was worshipped symbolically as a black square\nstone, and the ancient Zodiac of the Buddhist has been known as the\nTwelve Heavenly Jewels. This is symbolized as:\n\nAn antelope or horse (in the place of Aries)\n\n A bull\n Twins\n Crab\n Lion\n Virgin\n Scales\n Scorpion\n Bow and arrow (in the place of Sagittarius)\n Elephant (in the place of Capricorn)\n Waterbearer\n Swastika (in the place of Pisces)\n\n The Zodiacal Treasures of the King are:\n\n The Elephant equalling Capricorn\n The Horse equalling Aries\n The Beautiful Jewel equalling Libra\n The Wife equalling Virgo\n Holy Guide of the House equalling Aquarius\n The General equalling Sagittarius\n The Swastika equalling Pisces\n\nMr. Samuel Beal, B.A.R.N., etc., gives the following account of the\noffering of the Alms Dish in his \u201cBuddhist Records of the Western\nWorld\u201d: \u201cThe four Deva Sagas coming from the four quarters each brought\na golden dish and offered it. The Lord sat silently and accepted not the\nofferings on the ground that such a costly dish became not the character\nof a hermit. The four Kings casting away the golden dishes offered\nsilver ones. Afterwards they offered vessels of Po-Chi (crystal), Liu-Li\n(Lapis Lazuli), Ma-Nao (Carnelian), Ku-Chi (amber), Chin-Chu (ruby), and\nso on. The Lord of the World would accept none of them. The four Kings\nthen returned to their palaces and brought as an offering stone patras\nof a deep blue colour and translucent. On their again presenting these\nthe Lord to avoid accepting one and rejecting the others joined them all\nin one and thus accepted them. Putting them one within the other the\nLord made one vessel of the four. Therefore four borders are to be seen\non the outside of the rim of the dish.\u201d\n\nBlack stones have been repeatedly mentioned in the history of man. We\nhave seen them in the transition of Aglauros, in the Buddhistic\ndevotion, and in the Biblical narratives. These Matsebah have been found\nengraved with the twelve signs of the Zodiac, sometimes symbolized as\nthe twelve Gods of Assyria. Gramaldi in \u201cZodiacs and Planispheres\u201d\nmentions a black stone which exhibited ten out of the twelve zodiacal\nsigns and ten decans out of the thirty-six. It was found near the Tigris\nin Bagdad, and is perhaps the oldest zodiacal monument extant, its date\nbeing set down at 1320 years before the Christian era. But the most\nfamous of all black stones is the HAJER-ALASVAD which is now set into\nthe south-east corner of the KA\u2019BAH. The story of this sacred relic is\ntold very completely by Hadji Khan and Wilfred Sparrey in \u201cWith the\nPilgrims to Mecca\u201d: Having determined to form man in his own image, the\nCreator called the angels Gabriel, Michael and Israfil, each at a\ndifferent time, requesting that they should bring for his purpose seven\nhandfuls of earth from seven earth strata, and seven colours. But the\nEarth cried out that the anger of God would one day fall on her through\nthe wickedness and folly of man, and so the angel departed without\naccomplishing the work. God then sent the Angel Azrail who, listening to\nno appeal, remorselessly carried out his divinely appointed task. God\nthen made Azrail the Angel of Death, who ever after separated the souls\nof men from their useless bodies. The Earth was then set down between\nMecca and Tayef where, having been pressed to a proper degree by the\nangels, it was shaped as a man by the Creator. The mass was then left\nfor 40 years, being visited only by the Angels. But the angel Edris who,\n\u201cfrom being of those that are nearest to God, became the Devil,\u201d grew\nfurious because he knew that man was designed to be his master. So with\na vow that he would always oppose him, Edris kicked the image of earth\nwhich responded with an empty sound. Then the Creator breathed into the\nimage His own Spirit and Man arose. He was given Paradise to inhabit,\nand out of his left side Eve was taken. When Man fell and was found no\nlonger worthy of Eden, a peculiar stone fell too and, says the\nnarrative, \u201cthis stone became the most cherished possession of the\nMuhammadan world.\u201d The story continues: \"It (the stone) was restored to\nParadise at the Deluge, after which it was brought back to earth by\nGabriel and given to Abraham who set it in the south-eastern corner of\nthe Ka\u2019bah which he is said to have built. There it remained till the\nKarmatians overturned the fundamental points of Islam, bearing it away\nin triumph to their capital. The citizens of Mecca sought to redeem the\nstone by offering no less than 5000 pieces of gold for it. The ransom\nwas scornfully rejected by the impious sectaries. Some 22 years later,\nhowever, they sent back the stone voluntarily, covering their\ndiscomfiture by declaring it to be a counterfeit. The dismay of the\nMeccans was allayed when they discovered that the stone would swim on\nwater, that being the peculiar quality of the stone they had lost; so\nthey were satisfied that the true one had been returned to them. At\nfirst the stone was whiter than milk, but it grew to be black by the\nsins of mankind. All believers, whatever may be the cause to which they\nattribute the change of colour, agree that the defilement is purely\nsuperficial, the inside of the stone being still as white as the driven\nsnow. The silver box wherein it lies is about twenty inches square and\nis raised a little more than five feet from the ground. A round window\nhaving a diameter of some nine inches is kept open to enable the\npilgrims to kiss or touch the treasure within, the treasure being known\nas \u201cthe right hand of God on Earth.\u201d In colour it is a shining black; in\nshape hollow like a saucer, presumably the result of the pressure of\ndevoted lips. If a pilgrim fails to touch the Stone he must make a\nreverential salaam before it and pass on. Special prayers are also said.\nThe guide accompanying the authors recited the following lines from the\nFortuhul Haremeyn before leaving:\n\n \u201cThink not that the KA\u2019BAH was made from the earth: in the body of the\n world it took the place of the heart. And the stone you call the Black\n Stone was itself a ball of dazzling light. In ages past the Prophet\n said it shone like the crescent moon until at last the shadows falling\n from the sinful hearts of those that gazed on it turned its surface\n black. Now since the amber gem that came to the earth from Paradise\n with the Holy Ghost, has received such impressions on itself what\n should be the impressions which our hearts receive? Verily, whosoever\n shall touch it being pure of conscience, is like unto him that has\n shaken hands with God.\u201d\n\nOther accounts state that the stone is about seven inches in diameter,\noval and irregular, made up of a number of smaller and variously sized\npieces, which inclines one to the opinion that it was at one time\nshattered by some hard blow and afterwards put together again. The most\nrecent descriptions of the stone of Mecca agree that it is of a dark\nreddish-brown colour with a brown border seemingly of pitch and small\nsand stones, the whole being set in a band of silver.\n\nThe most wonderful thing regarding the history of this relic of Islam is\nthat one little stone, the Black Stone of Mecca, should have such\npowerful attraction for over 222,000,000 of the inhabitants of the\nworld.\n\nIncluded in Guerber\u2019s \u201cMyths and Legends of the Middle Ages\u201d is the\nfollowing story of Roland and the Jewel:\n\n\u201cCharlemagne learning that the Robber Knight of the Ardennes had a\nprecious jewel set in his shield called all his bravest noblemen\ntogether and bade them sally forth separately with only a page as escort\nin quest of the knight. Once found they were to challenge him in true\nknightly fashion, and at the point of the lance win the jewel he wore. A\nday was appointed when, successful or not, the courtiers were to return,\nand, beginning with the lowest in rank, were to give a truthful account\nof their adventures while on the quest. All the knights departed and\nscoured the Forest of the Ardennes, each hoping to meet the robber\nknight and win the jewel. Among them was Milon, accompanied by his son\nRoland, a lad of fifteen, whom he had taken as page and armour-bearer.\nMilon had spent many days in vain search for the knight when, exhausted\nby his long ride, he dismounted, removed his heavy armour and lay down\nunder a tree to sleep, bidding Roland keep close watch during his\nslumbers. For a while Roland watched faithfully: then, fired by a desire\nto distinguish himself he donned his father\u2019s armour, sprang on his\nsteed and rode off into the forest in search of adventures. He had not\ngone very far when he saw a gigantic horseman coming to meet him and by\nthe dazzling glitter of a large stone set in his shield he recognized\nhim to be the invincible Knight of the Ardennes. Afraid of nothing,\nhowever, the lad laid his lance in rest when challenged to fight, and\ncharged so bravely that he unhorsed his opponent. A fearful battle on\nfoot ensued, each striving hard to accomplish the death of the other.\nBut at last the fresh young energy of Roland conquered and his terrible\nfoe fell to the ground in agony. Hastily wrenching the coveted jewel\nfrom the shield of the dead warrior, the boy hid it in his breast. Then\nriding rapidly back to his sleeping father he laid aside the armour and\nremoved all traces of a bloody encounter. Soon after Milon awoke and\nresumed the quest, when he came upon the body of the dead knight. He was\ndisappointed indeed to find that another had won the jewel, and rode\nsadly back to court to be present on the appointed day. In much pomp,\nCharlemagne ascended his throne amid the deafening sound of trumpets.\nThen seating himself he bade the knights appear before him. Each in turn\ntold of finding the knight slain and the jewel gone. Last of all came\nMilon. Gloomily he made his way to the throne to repeat the story that\nhad already been told so often. But as he went there followed behind him\nwith a radiant face young Roland, proudly bearing his father\u2019s shield in\nthe centre of which shone the precious jewel. At the sight of this all\nthe nobles started and whispered that Milon had done the deed. Then when\nhe dismally told how he too had found the knight dead, a shout of\nincredulity greeted him. Turning his head he saw to his amazement that\nhis own shield bore the gem. At the sight of it he appeared so amazed\nthat Charlemagne set himself to question Roland, and thus soon learned\nhow it had been obtained. In reward for his bravery in this encounter\nRoland was knighted and allowed to take his place among the paladins of\nthe Emperor. Nor was it long before he further distinguished himself,\nbecoming to his father\u2019s delight the most renowned among all that famous\ncompany.\u201d\n\nThe Irish Charm stones used to charm away vermin, are about one inch in\nthickness and about four inches long. The Australian natives carried\nmagical stones which could never be seen by women.\n\nCertain stones known as Dendrites exhibit markings which take the _form\nof trees_, grass, moss, etc. (see Moss Agate). The ancients considered\nthem fortunate for prosperity in farming and in general affairs of life.\nBrigadier General Kenneth Mackay mentions in his book, \u201cAcross Papua,\u201d\nvarious carved stones which were employed by the natives as garden\ncharms.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IX\n STONES AND THEIR STORIES\n\n\nABRAXAS STONES. These were stones used by the Gnostics or Knowers who\nexisted in the early ages of Christianity. \u201cAmongst this Christian\nphilosophic sect,\u201d writes King, \u201cthe figure of Abraxas was held in high\nesteem. They used it as a teacher in obedience to whom they directed\ntheir own peculiar transcendental inquiries and mystic doctrines: as a\ntoken or password amongst the initiated to show that they belonged to\nthe same sect: as an amulet and talisman: and lastly as a seal for their\ndocuments.\u201d The figure of Abraxas was composed as follows: Cock\u2019s Head,\nHuman Body, legs formed like serpents. In one hand he holds the whip of\npower, in the other the shield of wisdom. These are the five mystical\nemanations symbolically expressed\u2014the Sun, the Inward Feelings, Awakened\nUnderstanding, Dynamis (Force), Sophia (Wisdom). Basilides, the Egyptian\nwho is supposed to have founded the sect, is criticized in the writings\nof Augustine because he \u201cpretended the number of the Heavens to be 365,\nthe number of days in the year.\u201d Hence he glorified a \u201csacred name\u201d as\nit were, namely the word ABRAXAS, the letters in which name, according\nto the Greek methods of enumeration, make up that number. The principal\nAbraxas stones were of Jasper, Plasma, Sard, Loadstone and Chalcedony.\n\nALECTORIUS. The Alectorius or as Camillus Leonardus has it, the\nALECTORIA, is said to be a stone never bigger than a large bean, which\nstone is taken from a cock. When this stone becomes perfect, says\nLeonardus, the bird will not drink.\n\nThe Alectorus is said to be a stone like Crystal, and very bright. It is\nrelated that Milo of Croton, the great wrestler and strong man of the\nancients who lived in the year 520 B. C., carried a specimen with him\nalways and only lost his strength when he lost the stone. Its virtues\nwere many: it gave a wife favour in her husband\u2019s eyes; it banished\nthirst, bestowed eloquence and persuasive power, brought domestic peace,\nharmony, victory and honour. As the stone is attached to the zodiacal\nScorpio it may have been a white topaz but identification is uncertain.\n\nBEZOAR STONES\n\n \u201c_Everything that frees the body from any ailment is called the Bezoar\n of that ailment._\u201d\n\n LEONARDUS, \u201cMirror of Stones.\u201d\n\nThese stones the name of which is derived from the Persian PAD-ZAHR,\npoison-expelling (Zahr, poison; Pad, to dislodge) are concretions found\nin the stomach of the stag or goat, and are credited with great\nmedicinal virtues, being said to dislodge poisons and to remove\npoisonous diseases. In India and Persia the belief in the virtue of\nBezoars is very widespread; it is said that those taken from the stomach\nof the wild goat of Persia (Caprea Acyagros), especially if large\nspecimens, are sold for their weight in gold. Dr. Anthony Todd Thomson,\nM.D., quotes Garner, an old writer, who gives the following curious\norigin of the Bezoar which he obtained from the Arabians: \u201cWhen the hart\nis sick and hath eaten many serpents for his recoverie, he is brought\ninto so great a heate that he hasteth to the water and there covereth\nhis body unto the very ears and eyes at which distilleth many tears from\nwhich the stone (the Bezoar) gendered.\u201d These Calculi are composed\nchiefly of superphosphate of lime, but concretions of phosphate of\nammonia or magnesia are also found. The Bezoar was highly esteemed as a\nremedy for diseases of the bladder and kidneys. Dr. Anthony Todd Thomson\nsays that the belief in the curative power of these Bezoars \u201caffords an\naddition to the many thousand proofs of the influence of mind over body,\nand how truly efficacious Imagination may prove in removing disease.\u201d\n\nIt was usual to bind the Bezoar to the part affected where that was\npossible. In China the MO-SOH or Bezoar was credited with the power of\nrenewing youth and bestowing beauty, and similar beliefs prevail in\nparts of India. The Malays obtain this stone from monkeys and\nporcupines, and its magical virtues are held in great esteem. Known as\nthe GULIGA the Bezoar is exported in great quantities from Sarawak to\nHindustan especially, where it is used as a remedy for asthma. It is\nsaid that the Guliga is procured from a red-coloured monkey of the\nSemnopithecus species, and the Guliga Landak which is rarer and more\nhighly valued from the porcupine. Jean Baptiste Tavernier (Baron\nd\u2019Aubonne) during his travels in the East in the 17th century became\nacquainted with the Bezoar stone which he describes in his writings.\n\u201cGenuine stones,\u201d it is stated, \u201cif placed in the mouth spring up and\nattach themselves to the palate, or if placed in water will make the\nwater boil.\u201d\n\nDRACONITE. The Draconite is described as a white brilliant gem which\nmust be cut from the head of a living dragon if its lustre and virtue\nare to be retained. Philostrates writes that the seekers for the\nDraconite weave certain letters in gold into a robe of scarlet and\ninfuse opiates into the letters. The Dragon lured out of his cave by\nmusical charm succumbs to the power of the soporific robe. Immediately\nhe does so the Indians rush on him and cutting off his head take from it\ngems of bright hues and indescribable virtues. But a dragon has often\nseized the man and his weapons and drawn him into his den. The Draconite\nis associated with the zodiacal Scorpio and is partly, if not wholly,\nsymbolic.\n\nENHYDROS or HYDROLITE. This is a well-known water stone and within its\ncrystal cover water can usually be seen clearly. Marbodus says that this\nstone \u201cceaseless tears distils.\u201d The Enhydros is said to be a cure for\ngout and affections of the feet, and a charm for bestowing inspiration\nand clearness of thought. The water contained within the Enhydros is\nsaid to be highly poisonous if taken internally. The stone is under the\nzodiacal Pisces.\n\nGNOSTIC STONES. Besides the figure of the mystic Abraxas the talismanic\nstones of the Gnostics were engraved with various devices. A large\nloadstone in the King collection is engraved with a figure of Venus\ndressing her long hair. Venus stands for the mystic Sophia or Achamoth\nand as such represents Truth.\n\nIRIS. The \u201cIris resplendent with the crystal\u2019s sheen\u201d which the \u201cswarthy\nArabs glean\u201d is now known as Rainbow Quartz. The iridescence is produced\nby the reflection of light from the cracks in the stone. The same effect\nis produced if the crystal is first subjected to heat and then plunged\nquickly into cold water. The Iris obtained its name from the beautiful\ncompanion of Juno, who travelled on the rainbow with wings extended\nclothed in glorious colours, radiant lights around her head. She was the\nguide and helper of the souls of women released from their bodies.\n\nLAPIS ARMENUS, or Armenian Stone, is a copper carbonite used as a\nmedicine against infection. It is related in Arab books that a solution\nof this substance will retain its power for 10 years. In the East copper\nhas been long used as a safeguard against cholera, and it has been\nobserved that workers in copper mines have enjoyed immunity from the\ndisease. Dr. Richard Hughes notes the value of copper in Asiatic\ncholera, adding: \u201cThere is now abundant evidence of its efficacy both\namong the workers in the metal and in those who have worn a plate of it\nnext the body during the prevalence of the epidemic.\u201d The Lapis Armenus,\nlike all copper compositions, is under the rulership of the planet\nVenus.\n\nLAPIDES FULMONIS. These Thunder stones which are believed to be formed\nby the lightning in the clouds (see Obsidian) are known by the peasants\nof Calabria as CUOGNI DI TRUONI. The traditional belief is that they are\nplunged by the lightning stroke six feet into the earth and that every\ntime it thunders they are drawn one foot nearer the surface. After the\nsixth or seventh thunder storm it is said that the stones are raised to\nthe surface. The peasants test them by suspending them above a fire,\nattached to a blue thread; if the thread does not burn the stone is\nadjudged a true thunder stone and is carefully treasured as a potent\ntalisman against the lightning stroke.\n\nLAPIS MEMPHITICUS. This stone of Memphis is described as a sparkling\nround body of about the size of a hazel-nut. It is mentioned by Pliny as\ndeadening the pain of surgical operations if taken in wine and water\nbeforehand. If it be reduced to powder and applied, according to\nDioscorides, as an ointment to that part of the body to which a surgeon\nwas about to apply either fire or the knife, it produced insensibility\nto pain. This is an early instance of the recorded action of a local\nanaesthetic.\n\nLUZ or LUEZ. This is said to be a stone or indestructible bone in the\nhuman backbone. Dr. John Lightfoot, a great Hebraic scholar of the 17th\ncentury, details the following legend:\n\n \u201cHow doth a man revive in the world to come?\u201d was asked by the Emperor\n Hadrian of Rabbi Joshua Ben Hananiah. \u201cFrom Luz in the backbone,\u201d he\n made reply and then went on to demonstrate this to the Emperor. He\n took the bone Luz and put it into water, but the water had no action\n on it. He put it in the fire but the fire consumed it not. He placed\n it in a mill, but could not grind it. He laid it on an anvil, but the\n hammer crushed it not.\"\n\nMANDARIN\u2019S JEWELS. Each of the nine Khioupings or Mandarins of China\nproclaims his rank by a distinctive button of about an inch in diameter\nworn at the top of his cap and distinguishing dress and insignia. The\nchief officers wear a ruby on the cap. They are divided into civilian\nand military sections.\n\nThe military wear a robe on which is embroidered a unicorn, the girdle\nbeing adorned with a jade clasp set in rubies. The civilian mandarin is\ndistinguished by a crane embroidered on both back and front of the robe.\n\nThose of the second order wear a coral button in their caps. The\nmilitary are distinguished by an embroidered lion and a gold girdle\nclasp inset with rubies, the civilian by a golden pheasant.\n\nThose of the Third Order wear a sapphire in the cap. The Military\ndisplay a leopard and a clasp of wrought gold, the Civilian a peacock.\n\nThose of the Fourth Order wear an opaque blue stone in the cap. The\nMilitary display on their robes a tiger and silver button clasp, the\nCivilian a wild goose.\n\nThose of the Fifth Order have their caps adorned with a crystal, the\nMilitary their robes with a bear and a plain gold clasp with silver\nbutton, the Civilian a silver pheasant.\n\nThose of the Sixth Order wear on their caps an opaque white shell. The\nMilitary adorn their robes with a tiger-cat and clasp of\nmother-of-pearl, the Civilian with an egret.\n\nThose of the Seventh Order wear on their caps a wrought gold button. The\nMilitary robe displays a bear and has a silver clasp, the Civilian a\nMandarin duck.\n\nThose of the Eighth Order wear a plain gold button on their caps. The\nMilitary have on their robes a seal and a horn clasp, the Civilian a\nquail.\n\nThose of the Ninth Order wear on their caps a silver button. The\nMilitary are distinguished by a rhinoceros and a clasp of buffalo horn,\nthe Civilian by a long-tailed jay.\n\nMEDIAN STONE. This is a mysterious gem, possibly symbolic, which is\ndescribed as of black colour. Marbodus says \u201c\u2019Tis white to heal us,\nblack to slay our foes.\u201d It would then be symbolical of Black and White\nMagic.\n\nMOLOCHITE. Mr. King is of the opinion that the Molochite is clear green\njade, and so he agrees with Pliny\u2019s description of the stone, \u201copaque of\nhue with the vivid green of the emerald.\u201d Its virtue protected babies\nfrom harm, gave luck and beauty and opposed the spite of witchcraft.\n\nOPHITES. Ophites or Snake Stones are stones of black or grey colour\ndescribed by Orpheus as \u201cblack, hard, weighty, portentous balls\nsurrounded by furrowed lines in many a mazy bend.\u201d It is variously\ndescribed. There are in India snake charmers called Sampoori who assert\nthat they can extract the snake stone from the head of a snake, but\nthese assertions are unfavourably commented upon by some Indian authors.\nStill, it has been shown by Sir J. Tennent in his work on \u201cCeylon\u201d and\nby Buckland in \u201cCuriosities of Natural History\u201d that some striking cures\nfrom snake bite have ostensibly been effected by the use of a so-termed\nsnake stone which is said to absorb the poison if applied to the bite\nwith a little blood before the poison has had time to invade the system.\nSome authentic cures are quoted, notably that of a man bitten by a\nCobra; in this case the man was saved by \u201ctwo small snake stones the\nsize of a large pea.\u201d The snake stone, it is said, clings for a short\ntime to the wound and then drops off. It is reported to be composed of\nsome vegetable substance; the Cobra stone, according to Farraday, the\ndistinguished chemist, is but charred bone filled with blood a number of\ntimes and then again charred. In England and Scotland snake stones\nstrung together used to be given to cattle to chew if bitten by vipers.\nThe stone was considered to be a very potent charm against the evil\nblasts of occult forces. Albertus Magnus carried a stone which guarded\nagainst epidemics, evil magic and the bites of serpents, and by the aid\nof which he was able to attract serpents.\n\nORITE. This stone is described as black and round. If mixed with the oil\nof roses it will cure fatal wounds, protect from wild animals and\nprevent childbirth.\n\nOVUM ANGUINUM. The Ovum Anguinum is described by Pliny as a Druidic\nbadge the size of an apple, surrounded by a gristly crust covered with\nprotuberances like the suckers on the arms of a cuttle fish. The story\ngoes that at a certain season of the year a crowd of snakes are found\nintertwined and bearing above them the magical Ovum, which the hunter\nhad to catch in some soft material before it tumbled to earth, for if it\ndid so it would lose its power. As soon as the hunter seized the magic\nstone the serpents rushed after him and his fate was sealed if they\nreached him before he crossed a flowing stream.\n\nPANDARBES. Philostratus relates how Chariclea escaped unharmed from the\nfuneral pyre on which she was condemned to perish by the jealous Arsace\nby secretly wearing the wonderful ring of King Hydrastes. In this ring\nwas set a stone called Pandarbes which was engraved as a talismanic\ncharm against the fury of fire.\n\nPANTHEROS. It is probable from the description, given by old writers,\nthat it was a mottled brown Egyptian Jasper Opal. It was said to protect\nthe wearer from enemies, wild animals and fear, which last, according to\nthe healthy philosophy of the Rosicrucians, is the greatest of the vices\nand the gateway of weakness and failure.\n\nPHILOSOPHER\u2019S STONE. The Philosopher\u2019s Stone is also known as Lapis\nPhilosophorum, the Eye of the Philosophers, the Egg of the Philosophers.\nFrench writers call it \u201cPierre Philosophale,\u201d and German writers \u201cDer\nStein der Weisen.\u201d In the Rosicrucian mysteries it is known as \u201cThe\nStone of the Wise,\u201d \u201cThe Sacred Stone,\u201d \u201cThe Stone of Wisdom,\u201d etc. In\nspite of the assertions made by over-sanguine critics as to the fallacy\nof the Philosopher\u2019s Stone on the material plane, scientists\u2014mystic and\nmaterial\u2014have never ceased to search for a substance so precious.\nPhillips (Transmutation of Metals, 1702) says that \u201cthis transmutation\nis what the Alchymists call the Grand Operation or Secret of finding the\nPhilosopher\u2019s Stone which they give out to be so curious an Universal\nseed of all metals. If any metal be liquefied in a vessel, and this\n\u2018Power of Perfection\u2019 be thrown into the mass it will transform it into\ngold or silver.\u201d\n\nSome of the philosophers call it \u201cThe Stone,\u201d Noster Lapis, \u201cThe Sublime\nStone,\u201d \u201cOur Stone.\u201d It is related that King Henry VI granted \u201c4\nsuccessive Patents and Commissions\u201d to several knights and Mass Priests\nto find \u201cThe Philosopher\u2019s Stone.\u201d In his recent work on Alchemy, H.\nStanley Redgrove, B.Sc., F.C.S., etc., writes: \u201cWe must not assume that\nbecause we know not the method now, real transmutations have never taken\nplace. Modern research indicates that it may be possible to transmute\nother metals (more especially silver) into gold, and consequently we\nmust admit the possibility that, amongst the many experiments carried\nout, a real transmutation was effected.\u201d Timbs (Alchemy and Chemistry)\nemphasizes the fact that many of the opinions of the alchemists have\nbeen vindicated. He specially notes the condition of Allotropism or the\nquality which certain bodies possess of assuming two marked phases of\nchemical and physical existence. \u201cThis shatters the opinion,\u201d he writes,\n\u201con which our absolute repudiation of the doctrine of transmutation was\nbased.\u201d Dr. Colange explains Allotropy as that branch of chemical\nscience which takes account of the different sets of properties possible\nto one and the same body. Organic solids occur under one of the three\nconditions, viz., the crystalline, as the diamond; the vitreous, as\nglass; the amorphous or shapeless, as clay, chalk, etc. But there are\nmany bodies any one of which without undergoing a change in chemical\ncomposition may yet appear under one of the above three conditions with\nstriking changes in physical and even chemical properties while still\nretaining, so to speak, its chemical identity. Thus, ordinary white\nphosphorus may by the application of heat be converted into a hard\namorphous substance which is its allotrophic form. An excellent paper on\n\u201cAllotrophy or Transmutation\u201d was read before the British Association at\nSheffield, England, a few years ago by Dr. Henry M. Howe. In it Dr. Howe\ndealt at greater length with what has been previously advanced on the\nsubject. Since the discovery of Radium and the extensive experiments of\nthe late Sir William Ramsay, Mr. Cameron and others in the department of\ntransmutation and disintegration, modern science has projected itself\ninto the Halls of Alchemy and has joined hands with its parent science\nto search for that which the world of a few years back regarded with\nignorant ridicule. In the space at disposal it is impossible to enter\ninto details of the numerous accounts of successful alchemy recorded. A\nnumber of these will be found in Dr. Franz Hartmann\u2019s works and in the\nexcellent works on the subject by H. Stanley Redgrove and others.\nPerhaps the case noticed by Dr. Franz Hartmann is one of the most\nromantic. It came before the court at Leipsig on August 9th, 1715 and is\nreported in the acts of the judicial faculty of that town. A gentleman\ncame late one night to the Castle of Tankerstein where the Countess of\nErbach resided. He said that having accidentally killed a deer which\nbelonged to the Palatine of Palatia he was being pursued, and therefore\nhe asked protection. The Countess hesitated, but being impressed with\nthe stranger\u2019s appearance she ordered that a room be given him. He\nremained in the castle several days, and then being granted an interview\nwith the Countess, he thanked her for her protection in return for which\nhe offered to transmute all her silver into gold. The lady was\nincredulous but, her curiosity overcoming her, she gave the stranger a\nsilver tankard which he melted and with a stone transmuted into gold.\nThe Countess sent the gold to a goldsmith in the town, who having tested\nit pronounced it to be the purest gold. After this she asked the adept\nto transmute all her silver into gold. This he did and receiving the\nlady\u2019s thanks as he tendered his own, departed. The Countess\u2019s husband,\na great spendthrift, serving as an officer abroad, hearing that his wife\nby some means had suddenly become wealthy returned home quickly. He\ndemanded the gold for himself but the Countess would not surrender it.\nThereupon the Count brought his wife before the Court, claiming that as\nLord of the territory (Dominus Territorii) on which the Castle belonging\nto his wife was built, all treasure found upon the land was his. He\nasked that the Court should order the gold to be sold and that after new\nsilver had been purchased for his wife the balance of the money be paid\nto him. The defence urged that as the gold had been artificially\nproduced it could not come under a law relating to buried treasure;\nagain that the silver had been transmuted into gold for the sole benefit\nof the Countess. The Court was asked to allow the lady to retain the\ngold thus obtained and judgment was given in her favour.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n A Perfect Specimen of the English Gold Noble (1344) in the Kelsey I.\n Newman Collection. Traditionally Stated to have been Made from\n Alchemical Gold]\n]\n\nSome years ago a medal was exhibited in the Imperial Treasury in Vienna,\nwhich had been partly transmuted into gold by the stone used by the monk\nWenzel Seiler who had been ennobled by Leopold I with the title\nWenzeslaus Ritter von Reinburg. Recent tragic events make its present\nwhereabouts doubtful. It is traditionally stated that the true\nPhilosopher\u2019s Stone was hung in the Ark by Noah to give light to life\nand radiance to the world after the Flood-darkness. This legend is a\nparable expressing the highest truth, for the Philosopher\u2019s Stone that\ncarries light into the darkness of materialism is the true Stone of the\nWise. Among the discoveries made in the search for the Philosopher\u2019s\nStone the following are given by Dr. Brewer; the invention of Dresden\nporcelain by Botticher, that of gun powder by Roger Bacon, of the\nproperties of acids and various substances by Prince Geber, of the\nnature of gases by Van Helmont, of salts by Dr. Glauber, etc.\n\nPOLISH STONES, POLAND STONES, POLES\u2019 STONES. It has frequently been\nstated that the Poles originated the wearing of birth stones, but this\npractice is a very remote one and was recommended by ancient\nphilosophers long before the Polani came to Polska. The Poles are\nnaturally gifted with fine imagination and psychic intuition, therefore\nthey readily absorbed the spiritual philosophies of the Jewish wanderers\nwho received asylum in Poland. The fondness of the Poles for beautiful\ngems is proverbial and the spread of the knowledge of the occult virtues\nfound to exist in these beautiful crystallizations was more marked in\nPolska than in any other country. It is also not to be wondered at that\nso many of the lists given are incorrect. In this book an endeavour is\nmade to set right the many errors that have so naturally crept in.\nUsually the Poland Stones are doubtfully classified as follows:\n\n THE MONTHS\n January Garnet, emblem of constancy.\n February Amethyst, emblem of sincerity.\n March Bloodstone, emblem of courage.\n April Diamond, emblem of innocence.\n May Emerald, emblem of love success.\n June Agate, emblem of health and longevity.\n July Carnelian, emblem of contentment.\n August Sardonyx, emblem of married happiness.\n September Chrysolite, emblem of protection from insanity.\n October Opal, emblem of hope.\n November Topaz, emblem of fidelity.\n December Turquoise, emblem of prosperity.\n\nThe emblems of the stones are fairly correct.\n\n THE PLANETS\n Saturn Lead Turquoise\n Jupiter Tin Carnelian\n Mars Iron Emerald\n Sun Gold Diamond\n Venus Copper Amethyst\n Mercury Quicksilver Loadstone\n Moon Silver Crystal\n\nThe metals of the planets are correctly given and do not appear ever to\nhave been disputed. The Turquoise of Saturn is correctly the Odontolite\nor Bone Turquoise. The Emerald is a stone of Venus, the Amethyst a stone\nof Jupiter, the Loadstone a stone of Mars. The Crystal has often been\nadmitted as influenced by the Moon although it is more acceptable for\nquabalistic considerations to identify it with Neptune.\n\n THE ZODIAC\n 1. Aries Ruby\n 2. Taurus Topaz\n 3. Gemini Carbuncle\n 4. Cancer Emerald\n 5. Leo Sapphire\n 6. Virgo Diamond\n 7. Libra Jacinth\n 8. Scorpio Agate\n 9. Sagittarius Amethyst\n 10. Capricorn Beryl\n 11. Aquarius Onyx\n 12. Pisces Jasper\n\nThe confusion here is very marked and the reader is referred to the\nchapters dealing with the High Priest\u2019s Breastplate.\n\nRINGS BEARING STONES OF INVISIBILITY. Perhaps the most famous of these\nrings is the ring of Gyges, the shepherd King of Lydia, described by\nPlato and Herodotus. When the stone was turned inwards the wearer was\nrendered invisible. By its aid Gyges assassinated King Candaules and\nseized his wife and children. It is related that Otnit, King of\nLombardy, wore a ring given him by his mother, which had power similar\nto the ring of Gyges, as well as the special virtue of preventing the\nwearer from losing his way. Nizami, the poet of Persia in the early 13th\ncentury, tells the story of a shepherd, a story similar to that of King\nGyges. Another ring of invisibility is the ring of Eluned or Sunet in\nthe old romance of Ywaine and Gawaine.\n\nRING OF POPE INNOCENT III. It is related by Matthew Paris that Pope\nInnocent III, well knowing the love that the English King John had for\njewels, sent to him four gold rings set with precious stones. The Pope\ncomments on the emblematical character of the gift, saying: \u201cThe\nrotundity of the rings signifies eternity, for we pass through time to\neternity. The number four which is a square number indicates the\nfirmness of mind which is neither depressed in adversity nor elated in\nprosperity. It signifies the four virtues which make up constancy of\nmind, viz., justice, fortitude, prudence, temperance. The material\nsignifies wisdom from on high which is as gold purified in the fire. The\ngreenness of the Emerald moreover denotes faith; the blueness of the\nSapphire, hope; the redness of the Garnet, charity; the brightness of\nthe Topaz, good works. In the Emerald, therefore, you have what to\nbelieve, in the Sapphire what to hope for, in the Garnet what to love,\nand in the Topaz what to practise. So that you ascend from one virtue to\nanother until you see the Lord in Zion.\u201d\n\nRING OF REYNARD. In the story of Reynard the Fox, said to have been\nwritten by Hinreck van Alckmer though in reality it was written in the\n15th century by Hermann Barkhusan of Rostock, Reynard believes himself\npossessed of a famous ring set with stones of red, white and green. The\nwhite stone cured all diseases, the red rendered night as bright as day,\nand the green made the wearer invincible. The story introduces Rabbi\nAbron of Trent who was wise above men, who spoke every language and knew\nthe nature of every kind of herb, animal, and precious stone.\n\nRING OF SOLOMON. Solomon, according to Rabbinical tradition, gazed on\nthe stone of his ring and immediately knew everything concerning worldly\naffairs and much concerning heavenly. This ring is the subject of many\nlegends.\n\nROCK CRYSTALLIZATIONS. Certain hair-like substances are found enclosed\nin crystals. They are also termed \u201cpenetrating minerals\u201d and comprise\nRutile, Asbestus, Actinolite and Tourmaline. These acicular crystals are\ncalled in France Fl\u00e8ches d\u2019Amour (Love\u2019s Arrows). They are also known as\nVenus\u2019s Hair Stone, Thetis\u2019s Hair Stone, Pencils of Venus, Cupid\u2019s\nArrows, Cupid\u2019s Net, The Goddess\u2019s Tresses, etc. These specimens cut and\npolished are interesting and beautiful, and have always been esteemed as\ncharm stones for ensuring a growth of beautiful hair, for beauty, for\ngrace, for skill and fascination in dancing, etc.\n\nSAGDA. A mysterious ocean stone which fixes itself to the keels of\nships. A protection against shipwreck, it will cling to the ship so long\nas the timbers are not cut. It is said to be of dark green colour,\nsimilar to Prase.\n\nSAKHRAT. The Mohammedans say that the Sakhrat is a marvelous stone of\ngreen colour which reflects the deep blue tints on the crystal vapours\nof the heavens. The possession of the merest fragment of this holy stone\nbestows on the possessor the knowledge of all the secrets of the\nUniverse.\n\nSALAMANDER\u2019S WOOL. Asbestos is so termed. It is also known as Mountain\nFlax, and is believed by the Tartars to be the root of a tree.\n\nSARCOPHAGUS. The word is derived from the Greek SARX, SARKOS, flesh, and\nPHAGO, to eat. A stone found at Assos in Troas. Used by the ancients, it\nwas said to consume an entire dead human body with the exception of the\nteeth in 40 days. It was known as Lapis Assius, and is noted by Pliny.\nSarcophagi were generally employed throughout the ancient world.\n\nSAURITE. The Saurite is said to be a stone cut from a green lizard with\na sharp reed knife.\n\nSCORPION STONE. This may have been a stone of the agate class but its\ncomposition is obscure. It is mentioned by Orpheus who says that if the\nhunter Orion had known of its existence he would have given all the\nstars to gain this remedy for his fiery pain. It healed the wounds of\narrows, the stings of insects and the bite of the scorpion.\n\nTOAD STONE. That the toad \u201cwears a precious jewel in his head\u201d was a\nprofound belief in the Middle Ages, and a belief much commented upon in\nthe works of writers of that period. Francis Barrett states that the\nstone of the toad was a cure for toothache. It was also given as an\nantidote for poison. In this latter connection it is said that if set in\nan open setting and worn on the finger it burnt the skin if poison were\nnear. According to Fenton, a writer of the 16th century, \u201cThere is to be\nfound in the heads of old and great toads a stone they call Borax or\nStelon, which being used as rings gives forewarning against venom.\u201d The\ntoad was believed to have a natural fear of man, throwing out poison at\nthe sight of him. In some parts of the world the stone is said to be\nextracted from the head by numerous cunning means. It is generally\ndescribed as a species of black pebble. One of the special virtues of\nthe Toadstone was to protect children from molestation by the fairies.\nIt was also a cure for diseased kidneys and stomach disorders. According\nto Praetorius, the Prince of Alveschleben was given a ring of this land\nby a Kobold Brownie or Nixe as a house talisman to safeguard the\nfortunes of his family. A large toad is said to have dropped a black\nstone on to the bed of the wife of the Elector of Brandenburg after the\nbirth of her son. Friedrich Wilhelm I ordered his jeweller to set the\nstone in a ring, which ring has always been worn by the head of the\nHouse of Hohenzollern as a symbol of prosperity, protection and good\nfortune. It was recently stated that the loss of this toadstone during\nthe war was regarded as an evil omen for the ruling house.\n\nWORLD STONE. The World Stone or Axial Loadstone of the Earth is included\nin the philosophic mysteries of the old Rosicrucians.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER X\n THE GREATEST CHARMS IN THE WORLD\n\n \u201c_A deceased King is said to have entered the boat of the Sun in the\n form of the scarab._\u201d\n\n DR. WALLIS BUDGE.\n\n\nWe will now turn to the ancient land of Egypt and dwell awhile on the\nsacred Scarabaeus which was, without doubt, the most popular and\nvenerated charm of antiquity. The Scarab was a copy in steatite,\nfaience, obsidian, gold, beryl, crystal, haematite, cornelian, jasper,\namethyst, turquoise, lapis lazuli, granite, serpentine and other stones,\nof the large black beetle, scarabaeus sacer. It was known in ancient\nEgypt as Khepera (he who turns), and besides symbolizing the eternal\nreturn of the Sun after the passing of the night reign, it represented\nthe everlasting progress of life and as such was not only inserted in\nthe position of the heart in the bodies of the dead but was placed in\nthe tombs also. It was worn by those living on earth as a symbol of\neverlasting life and good luck, being specially prepared as a talisman\nby the priests of the various temples. The Greeks called it the\nCantharus or Heliocantharus, the Latins the Scarabaeus. Throughout Egypt\nthis sign of immortality was ever before the people. It was used in\ngovernment offices bearing the Pharaoh\u2019s cartouche (oval case in which\nhis name was inscribed), was carried in battle by soldiers, was worn by\nthe people generally throughout the land. It entered into their very\nlives, reminding them of the power of the deathless spirit, ever\nprogressive, active and vital, moulding dull matter to its will. Hence\nthe scarab was the ideal luck charm, the mere sight of which reminded\nman of his divine origin, and it was said that the soul of Ra impressed\nthe seemingly inert matter which made up the scarab, giving it a life\nwhich ages could not destroy.\n\nGenerally strange stories connected with scarabs are explained in every\nway but the correct one. The ancient Egyptians were until the time of\ntheir decline essentially a religious people, and their knowledge of the\ncontinuity of life may be one reason for their existence as a nation for\nso many thousands of years\u2014an existence only terminated by excess of\nluxury and the dominance of materialism by which so many great nations\nhave been destroyed.\n\nFour diverse species of the scarabaeus or Ateuchus Sacer have been\nidentified in the hieroglyphical inscriptions, viz., 1. Ateuchus\nSemipunctatus; 2. Ateuchus Laticollis; 3. Ateuchus Morbillosus; 4.\nAteuchus Puncticollis. Professor Flinders Petrie recognizes other\nvarieties of beetles. Misses Brodrick and Norton, in their useful and\nconcise \u201cDictionary of Egyptian Archaeology,\u201d observe: \u201cThe Scarabaeus\nis remarkable for the peculiar position and shape of its hind legs which\nare placed very far apart and at the extreme end of the body. This is to\nenable the insect to roll the ball of refuse containing its eggs into\nsome place of safety. At first these balls are soft and shapeless, but\nas they are pushed along by the scarab\u2019s hind legs they become firm and\nround, and increase in size until they are sometimes an inch and a half\nin diameter. This insect is looked upon by the Arabs as an emblem of\nfertility.\u201d\n\nThe Egyptians saw in the number of its toes (thirty) the days of the\nmonth; and the time it took to deposit its ball was compared to a lunar\nmonth. The passage of the ball was compared to the sun and its operation\non the earth. Being regarded as of the male sex only, the scarabaeus\nsymbolized, according to Horapollo, the self-begotten, the self-created.\nThe god Khepera is the father of all the gods, the self-created one\nidentified with the god NEB-ER-TCHER. A hieratic papyrus in the British\nMuseum is thus translated by Dr. Wallis Budge: \u201cI developed myself from\nthe primeval matter which I made. My name is Osiris, the germ of\nprimeval matter. I have worked my will to its full extent in this earth,\nI have spread abroad and filled it.... I uttered my name as a word of\npower from my own mouth and I straightway developed myself by\nevolutions. I evolved myself under the form of the evolutions of the god\nKhepera and I developed myself out of the primeval matter which has\nevolved multitudes of evolutions from the beginning of time. Nothing\nexisted in this earth (before me). I made all things. There was none\nother who worked with me at that time. I made all evolutions by means of\nthat soul which I raised up there from inertness out of the watery\nmatter.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Large Scarab\n William Howat Collection\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Rare Scarab of Rameses II, a Famous Pharaoh of the Bible\n Mrs. C. G. King\u2019s Collection\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Rare Antique Scarab of Black Jasper\n Talismanic Charm\u2014Mercury, Guardian\n of Sailors\n Mrs. C. G. King\u2019s Collection\n]\n\nLarge numbers of funereal scarabs have been discovered in different\nsubstances, the best being formed from a hard green basalt or a\nserpentine. These were suspended on a gold wire from the neck of the\nmummy, or attached to a heart on which were the symbols for life,\nimmovability, preservation.\n\nOrnamental scarabs were very largely worn. Dr. Wallis Budge says of\nthese: \u201cBy an easy transition the custom of placing scarabs on the\nbodies of the dead passed to the living, and men and women wore the\nscarab probably as a silent act of homage to the Creator of the world\nwho was not only the god of the dead but of the living also.\u201d\n\nIt has been suggested that scarabs were used for exchange or barter, but\nMr. Percy E. Newbury (\u201cScarabs\u201d) points out that such contention \u201cis not\nsupported by the inscriptions or by any of the scenes depicted in the\nmonuments.\u201d He continues: \u201cBut we do find that during the Hyksos period\n(circa 1700 B.C.) and later under Amenhetep III (circa 1400 B.C.), the\nKhetem or \u2018seal\u2019 is given as a measure of value, although here it is\nprobable that it was not the seal itself that is meant but the\n_impression_ of it upon another substance. Polyaemus relates that the\nAthenian general Timotheus, being in want of money to pay his troops,\nissued his own \u2018seal\u2019 for coin, this substitute being accepted by the\ntraders and market people, trusting in his honour. This can only mean\nthat _impressions_ of his signet on clay or some other substance were\nput into circulation as representatives of value and were so received by\nthe sellers. It is in the impression of a seal or stamp upon a piece of\ngold or other metal that we have the origin of coined money.\u201d The\ninscriptions, mottoes and symbols on the Egyptian scarabs are diverse\nand numerous. A large number have the names of the Kings, Queens,\nmembers of the Royal Household, Public Officers, etc. One rare specimen\nin the British Museum is adorned with the name of the very ancient King\nNEB-KA-RA; another has the name KHUFU. M. de Morgan describes one of\nLapis Lazuli bearing the name NE-MAAT-RA (Amanemhat III) found at\nDahshur. The Cairo Museum has a beautiful Queen\u2019s scarab, found also at\nDahshur, on which is \u201cThe Royal Wife who is joined to the Beauty of the\nWhite Crown.\u201d Many bear the seal of the famous Thothmes III\n(MEN-KHEPER-RA), the Rameses, Shashanq, and all the kings of Egypt. The\nQueen of Amenhetep is called on the scarabs \u201cThe Royal Wife Thyi,\u201d and\n\u201cThe Great Divine Wife Thyi beloved of Isis.\u201d Amenhetep IV is inscribed\n\u201cLord of the Sweet Wind.\u201d The Queen of Rameses II is immortalized as\n\u201cThe Royal Wife UR-MAAT-NEFERU-RA, daughter of the Great Chief of the\nKheta.\u201d The horse of Amenhetep II is shown in a scarab of yellow jasper\nwith his name \u201cFirm of Heart\u201d; this scarab is now in the British Museum.\nMany have inscriptions denoting office, such as \u201cThe Royal Sealer and\nGeneral, SA-NAB,\u201d \u201cThe Superintendent of the Meat Department, HOR-ANKH,\u201d\n\u201cThe Scribe of the Army, NEFER-IU,\u201d \u201cThe Director of Stores,\nSEHETEP-AB-RA,\u201d \u201cThe Chief Secretary of the Great Prison, SA-SEBEK,\u201d\n\u201cThe Superintendent of the Labour Bureau, ANTEF,\u201d \u201cThe Superintendent of\nthe Royal Temple, AAHMES,\u201d \u201cThe Mayor of Heliopolis, BEN son of MA,\u201d\n\u201cThe Superintendent of the Gold Workers, HAAIU,\u201d \u201cThe Superintendent of\nthe Granary of Amen, AAHMES,\u201d \u201cThe Hereditary Mayor and Priest,\u201d \u201cThe\nGovernor of the Royal City,\u201d \u201cThe Vezir Paser.\u201d\n\nOn some motto and charm scarabs are ANKH NEFER, Life and Beauty; NEFER\nMAA, Beauty and Truth; An Eye; Two Fish; A Fish and a Scorpion (perhaps\nastrological); The Lotus; Flowers; Monkeys; Uraei, etc. Besides these\nthere are the famous Heart Scarabs, Mystic Scarabs, and those known as\nHunting and Historical Scarabs. But whatever the Scarab has stood for,\nit was primarily a symbol of good fortune, long life and divine\nprotection. Its universal popularity has made it the greatest charm in\nthe world. So great was its fame that it travelled beyond the Egyptian\nborders to other lands.\n\nNext to Egyptian, the most famous scarabs were those of Phoenicia\n(especially in green jasper), those of Greece, and those of the\nEtruscans who carved them out of hard stones such as the Sard, Agate and\nCarnelian, engraving them with exquisite figures, in fine intaglio\nstyle, usually of the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, sometimes\naccompanied by Etruscan inscriptions or words and encircled with an\nengrailed or guilloche margin. When we consider the Egyptian Priests\u2019\npractice of speaking \u201cwords of power\u201d into these scarabs, we have cause\nfor additional wonder at the recorded act of the great Law-Giver in\nstriking the rock instead of speaking to it, as he had been commanded.\n\n\n\n\n PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS GEMS\n ARRANGED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XI\n AGATE-AMAZONITE\n\nAGATE\n\n \u201c_By the rushing fringed bank\n Where grows the willow and the osier dank\n My sliding chariot stays,\n Thick set with agate._\u201d\n MILTON.\n\nThe name occurs as agath, agget, agot, agat, agett, agott, aggat, aggot,\nachate, etc. The great Greek philosopher and scientist, Theophrastus, in\nhis writings \u201cOf stones,\u201d says that the agate obtained its name from the\nriver Achates\u2014now known as the Drillo\u2014in Sicily, because near its banks\nthe first specimens were found. Dr. Bochart derived the name from the\nHebrew word NAKAD, meaning \u201cspotted.\u201d Most authorities agree that this\nstone was the eighth stone in the Breastplate of the High Priest and\nthat it was known in Hebrew as SHEBO. In Rabbinical writings there is an\nallegorical story of the discussion in Heaven of the import of the lines\nin Isaiah (Chap. 54 v. 12) \u201cAnd I will make thy windows of agates,\u201d but\nit is a matter of considerable doubt if the Hebrew word KADKOD can\ncorrectly be rendered agate. In the controversy between Judah and\nEzekiel, sons of Rabbi Hayya, in the same writings the former calls it a\nberyl, the latter a jasper, and the voice of God said \u201cKadkod will\ninclude both of these,\u201d in allusion to the unity of all things.\n\nThe agate is a variegated chalcedonic variety of quartz, formed of\nsuccessively attracted coloured layers, and is remarkable for the beauty\nand peculiarity of the patterns. Lines or bands run through the stone:\nwhen these are straight or ribbony the agate is called the \u201cribbon\nagate\u201d; when they are zigzag it is known as the \u201cfortification agate\u201d\nbecause of its resemblance to a fortification; when the lines follow the\nform of an eye the term \u201ceye agate\u201d is often employed. In this last form\nit was considered an excellent instrument for the seer or prophet to\nhold, as it symbolized the third eye now known as the Pineal Body.\nClearly the gray tint of the eye of stone approaches in colour the\nmatter of the human eye. The importance of this peculiar organ, which\nlies upon the corpora quadrigemina of the brain in front of the\ncerebellum, was held in great respect by ancient scholars who regarded\nit as the organ of occult sight, of inner perception and intuition. This\nhidden eye is bigger in a child than in an adult, and in the woman it is\nbigger than in the man. There is little doubt that the ancients regarded\nthese markings on the agate stone as symbolic of the faculties of the\nhigh spirit of man, of prosperity in peace, and protection in war. The\nring of Pyrrhus is recorded by Pliny as representing in its natural\ncolours Apollo with his lyre standing amongst the nine Muses, each with\nher correct attribute. The Muses and their attributes as indicated in\ntheir statues are as follows:\n\n 1. Calliope, the muse of epic poetry. A tablet and stylus, or a\n roll of paper.\n 2. Clio, the muse of history. An open scroll.\n 3. Euterpe, the muse of lyric poetry. A flute.\n 4. Melpomene, the muse of tragedy. A tragic mask, the club of\n Hercules or a sword.\n 5. Terpsichore, the muse of choral dance and song. A lyre and the\n plectrum.\n 6. Erato, the muse of erotic poetry. The lyre.\n 7. Polyhymnia, the muse of sublime hymn. Pensive and meditative,\n carries no attribute.\n 8. Urania, the muse of astronomy. Staff and globe.\n 9. Thalia, the muse of comedy or idyllic poetry. A comic mask, a\n shepherd\u2019s staff or a wreath of ivy.\n\nThe Rev. C. W. King mentions that agates are still found \u201cadorned with\ndesigns which one feels the greatest difficulty in admitting to be the\nmere fortuitous result of the arrangement of their shaded strata, so\nexactly does that result imitate the finished production of art.\u201d He\ninstances the \u201cEgyptian Pebble\u201d in the British Museum which shows the\nhead of the poet Chaucer covered with the hood, a faithful portrait even\nmore remarkable when it is considered that the specimen was just broken\nin two pieces and not even polished. A specimen in the Galleria of\nFlorence shows in the markings of yellow and red a running Cupid. Such\ncurious markings are continually exhibiting the silent, magical symbols\nof Nature by the aid of which the great but humble philosophers of\nancient days read the messages of the Divine. Many and various are the\nvirtues ascribed to the agate by the ancient masters, and when\nconsidering these it is well to remember their passion for making\nmeanings obscure in order that the hidden secrets might be successfully\nguarded. The \u201cpleasant scent of the agate\u201d\u2014obtainable most truly by\nrubbing together two polished specimens\u2014is lauded by Pliny, and Orpheus\nrecommends that the \u201cchangeful agate\u201d be steeped in wine to improve the\nflavour. Powdered and bound on wounds, it healed them, and Rabbi Benoni\nof 14th century fame advised that an agate be held in the mouth to\nquench thirst and soothe fever. It was regarded as a charm against\npoisons, which no doubt accounts for its being used to form vases,\nbowls, cups, and vessels for holding foodstuffs, specimens of which are\nstill found in more or less perfect state in the excavations. Mr. King\nmentions the Carchesium or two-handled agate cup of Charles the Bold\n(presented by that King to the Abbey of St. Denis) which was used to\nhold the wine at the ceremony associated with the coronations of the\nkings of France. It was stolen in 1804, the year Napoleon Buonaparte was\ncrowned Emperor at Paris, and was not used, therefore, at his\ncoronation\u2014a significant circumstance in the career of this man of\nDestiny who, with his innate love for the occult must have known long\nbefore this event that the agate was his birthstone. Shortly after the\nvase was recovered uninjured, but its jewelled setting had been removed\nfrom it, never to be seen again.\n\nThe agate, especially the eye agate, was reputed as a cure for tired\neyes, also bestowing on the wearer strength and health, and inclining\nhim to grace and eloquence. As one of the seven sea gems, a banded agate\nwas credited with the power of taking away the terrors of the ocean,\nwhile to dream of one was held to denote a sea journey. Being\nastrologically connected with the death sign Scorpio, it was potent in\nseeking divine aid in this life and in the life to come. It rendered the\nwearer agreeable, gave him the favour of God, if he employed it as a\nholy instrument it turned the words of his enemies against themselves,\nrendered him\u2014symbolically speaking\u2014invisible, gave him victory and\ninduced happy dreams. It was a charm against lightning, thunder,\ntempests, and all wars of the elements. Albertus Magnus gives it\nefficacy against eruptive skin diseases; the Mohammedans engraved on it\nthe symbols of Hassan and Hussein, the grandsons of the Prophet of\nIslam, and placed it round the necks of children to protect them from\nfalls and accident. They also mixed it, in powdered form, with certain\nfruit juices and administered it as a cure for insanity. It was also\nprescribed for haemorrhage, the spitting of blood, boils, ulcers, gravel\nand affections of the spleen and kidneys. Used as a powder it hardened\ntender gums and arrested bleedings. Some Arabian writers advise against\nthe use of powdered agate as an internal medicine unless carefully\nblended with other substances. An agate worn about the neck banished\nfear, indigestion and lung troubles. It was recommended by Dioscorides\nas a charm against epidemics and pestilential diseases. It protected\nfrom the bites of serpents and insects, and was bound to the horns of\noxen to induce a good harvest. It was said to have been the \u201cfortune\nstone\u201d of the Trojan hero \u00c6neas, protecting him in war, voyages and\nstorms.\n\nThe agate is always adorned with a system of bands which exhibit variety\nin hue, shade and tint. The Chalcedony (See Chalcedony) is more compact\nand regular in colour, the two stones therefore being easily\ndistinguishable. Swedenborg sets the agate down as the symbol of the\nspiritual love of good. It is astrologically attached to the martial\nsign Scorpio.\n\nALABASTER\n\n \u201c_Why should a man whose blood is warm within,\n Sit like his grandsire, cut in alabaster?_\u201d\n SHAKESPEARE.\n\nThe Greek ALABASTROS was derived from Alabastron, a town in Upper Egypt\nwhere this beautiful white massive variety of gypsum was found. It was\nused by the ancients for fashioning perfume bottles, the vials to hold\noil for anointing kings, priests, initiates into the mysteries, etc.\nThese articles were commonly called alabastra, and the name continued in\nuse long after other materials had replaced alabaster in their\nmanufacture. The quarries of Hat Nub and those near Minieh supplied\nancient Egypt with the material which was compared by ancient masters to\nthe purity of the soul. No doubt this accounts for its use in holy\nworks, and in the making of sarcophagi, statues, etc. In the Book of\nMatthew we read of the woman having an alabaster box of very precious\nointment. In Mark \u201cshe brake the box and poured it (the ointment) on his\nhead.\u201d In Luke we are told that \u201ca woman in the city brought an\nalabaster box of ointment,\u201d etc. \u201cBox\u201d is a mistranslation; the \u201cbox\u201d\nholding the oil was an alabastrum, and this \u201coil of holy ointment\ncompound after the art of the apothecary,\u201d as set down in the Book of\nExodus, was put in the alabaster vases which were sealed in such a way\nthat the tops had to be broken in order to release the liquid. This was\nseemingly done to prevent evaporation. Many of these vases have been\nfound amongst the ruins, together with other Egyptian vases called\nCanopic jars in which were placed the embalmed viscera of the departed.\nOn the covers of these canopi were drawings of the heads of the genii of\nthe dead known as the four children of Horus\u2014Kesta, Hapi, Tuamutef, and\nQebhsennuf. A vessel surrounded by receptacles for holding a number of\nalabastra was called an ALABASTRO-THECA.\n\nPure specimens of alabaster were also employed as milk-stone talismans.\nOriental alabaster, known as the Algerian onyx, is a solid crystalline\ncarbonate of lime, precipitated from water in stalagmitic form. This\nOriental alabaster is considerably harder than true alabaster which is\neasily scratched. Pliny writes of columns of alabaster over thirty feet\nin height. In ancient times it was regarded as a species of onyx, and\nwas made into cups, vases and other utensils. Pliny says that it was \u201cof\nthe colour of honey, opaque and spirally spotted.\u201d There are also\nspecimens in colour brown mixed with lemon, and others of the colour of\nthe finger-nail.\n\nLeonardus regards alabaster as the right substance for preserving\nunguents, and Dioscorides employed it in medicine. It was used as a\ncharm against accidents, especially whilst travelling, for securing\npublic favour, for success in legal affairs, etc.\n\nIt may be mentioned that the beautiful sarcophagus of alabaster which\nwas found by Giovanni Belzoni in 1817 in the tomb of Seti I (circa 1400\nB. C.) and purchased by Sir John Soane for \u00a32000 sterling, now rests in\nthe Soane Museum in Lincoln\u2019s Inn Fields, London. It is adorned with\ntexts and scenes from the Book of the Gates. In this old Book the names\nof the Twelve Gates of the Tuat, or underworld, and of the Guardians of\nthe Gates are given. The denizens of each section are identified, as\nwell as their petition to Ra and his responses. The Book of the Gates,\nrich in magical formulae, is one of the oldest books in the world.\n\nAlabaster proper and Oriental alabaster are under the zodiacal Cancer.\n\nALEXANDRITE. The Alexandrite is a variety of the chrysoberyl. This\nremarkable gem was discovered about 60 miles from Ekaterinburg, on the\nbirthday of Czar Alexander II of Russia, from whom it obtains its\nname\u2014The Horoscope of that Emperor indicates the stone as a symbol of\nmisfortune to him.\n\nThe alexandrite presents the curious phenomenon of changing its colour\naccording to the different rays of light to which it is exposed. By\ndaylight the gem is of a charming olive or emerald green tint, which\nchanges in artificial light to a columbine or raspberry red. The stone\nis favoured by Russians on account of its blend of national colours, red\nand green. These mixed colours are distinctly Aquarian. No mention seems\nto have been made of this peculiar variety of chrysoberyl in ancient\nwritings, and it stands as a herald of the new Aquarian Age into which\nwe are now moving. The Alexandrite has been described as an emblem of\nloyal regard, and to dream of it is a symbol of struggle and progress.\nIt is under the zodiacal Aquarius.\n\nAMAZONITE OR AMAZON STONE. The Amazon Stone is a green variety of\nFeldspar. The name is said to have been derived from the Amazon River,\nbut no specimens have been found there. The meagre evidence available\nabout this stone certainly does not favour its connection with the\nAmazon River in any way. This river was named the Amazon in the 16th\ncentury by the Spanish explorer Orellana in consequence, it is said, of\nan encounter he had with a band of women warriors on its banks. He\ncalled the mighty stream the Amazon after the women described by\nHerodotus, Diodorus, etc., and the Amazon stone also was named after\nthem. In a letter to the author (1905) the late Comte de Glenstrae\nwrote: \"It is to the Amazons led by Myrina (Diodorus Siculus) that we\nowe the establishment of the Samothracian mysteries which their Queen\nfounded after aiding Isis and Horus in the war against Typhon, as the\nAmazons of an earlier date had aided Neith (Athene) and Amoun against\nthe usurpation of Chronos. I have always had a great admiration for the\nAmazons, and few again have noticed that the coins of the seven cities\nof Asia (Apocalypse) bore generally the figure of an Amazon as each of\nthose cities was said to have been founded by one of their Queens. There\nis much in their symbolism. That story of their breasts being amputated\nis nonsense, being refuted by every monument. As Sanchoniathon says,\n\u201cthe Greeks confused nearly every legend.\u201d It was said that the Amazons\nhad their right breasts singed off, the better to enable them to draw\ntheir bows; but the word Amazon does not mean \u201cwithout breast,\u201d nor does\nit appear to have any connection with the word \u201cmazos\u201d meaning \u201ca\nbreast.\u201d There does not seem to be any reason to doubt that the\nCircassian word \u201cMaza,\u201d the moon, explains its origin. The Amazons of\nThermodoon in Asia Minor are termed \u201cworshippers of the moon.\u201d The\nAmazons were votaries of the \u201cchaste Diana\u201d in one of her attributes,\nand no male was allowed to live among them. No matter by what name she\nis called, Diana is a moon goddess and a woman\u2019s goddess, and no male\nwas allowed to offend her modesty. Actaeon who saw her bathing was\ncharmed into a stag, and fell a victim to his own hunting dogs, while\nthe hunter Orion, ardent in his passion for Eos, the Morning, was slain\nby the \u201csweet arrows\u201d of Diana.\n\nThus, the Amazon stone received its name from the romantic Amazons or\nworshippers of Maza, the moon. It is under the Zodiacal Cancer.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XII\n AMBER\u2014AZURITE\n\n\nAMBER\n\n \u201c_Pretty, in amber to observe the forms\n Of hairs, or straws, or dirt, or grubs, or worms!\n The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare,\n But wonder how the devil they got there._\u201d\n POPE.\n\nAmber is a fossil vegetable resin which has undergone change owing to\nchemical action. The name is derived from the Arabic word AMBAR. Amber\nis also known as Succinum (a word derived from the Greek Succum, juice)\non account of its vegetable origin. At one time it was also known by the\nOriental word Karabe, straw-attractor. Hash-mal was its name in Hebrew\nand by the Greeks it was known as ELEKTRON, from which our word\nelectricity has been derived. That painstaking scholar of the 17th\ncentury, Dr. Philemon Holland, thus translates from the 37th Book of\nPliny: \u201cTo come into the properties that amber hath; if it bee well\nrubbed and chaufed between the fingers, the potentiall faculty that hath\nwithin is set on work and brought into actuall operation whereby you\nshall see it to draw chaffe, strawes, drie leaves, yea and thin rinds of\nthe Linden or Tillet tree after the same sort as the loadstone draweth\nyron.\u201d According to Callistratus it is good as a preventative of\ndelirium, and as a cure for strangury if taken in drink or attached as\nan amulet to the body. This last author gives the name CHRYSELECTRUM to\nan amber of golden colour which presents most beautiful tints in the\nmorning, attracts flame with the greatest rapidity, igniting the moment\nit approaches fire. Worn upon the neck, he says, it is a cure for fever\nand other diseases, \u201cand the powder of it either taken by itself or with\ngum mastick in water is remedial for disease of the stomach.\u201d\n\nThe writer has had strong evidence of the efficacy of amber in the cure\nof asthma, hay fever, croup and various diseases of the throat, and\nknows a number of medical practitioners who are convinced of its\nbeneficial action. A well-known chemist also assured him that his wife\nhad suffered from asthma all her life until five years ago, when she\nexpressed a desire to wear a string of amber; since wearing this she has\nnot experienced the slightest symptom of her former trouble. The writer\nhas an amber necklet, the beads of which are mud-coloured and cracked\nafter having been worn for a few months by a lady suffering from hay\nfever. There is no doubt of its curative influence, no doubt that\nancient observation was correct, and the statement in some modern\nmedical text books that amber has \u201cabsolutely no curative value\u201d is\ndifficult indeed to follow. It is remarkable that distilled amber\nyielding a pungent, acrid but not unpleasant oil, known as Oil of Amber\nor Oil of Succinite, is recognized as a potent ingredient in various\nembrocations. It is, therefore, hard to reconcile the statements that\nwhile amber has \u201cabsolutely no curative value,\u201d Oil of Amber has. Mr. C.\nW. King says: \u201cRepeated experiments have proved beyond doubt that the\nwearing of an amber necklace has been known to prevent attacks of\nerysipelas in a person subject to them.\u201d He also writes of its efficacy\n\u201cas a defender of the throat against chills.\u201d\n\nAncient writers said that amber eased stomach pains, cured jaundice and\ngoitre, and acted against certain poisons, Camillus Leonardus\nrecommending it as a cure for toothache and affections of the teeth. In\nthe Middle Ages it was used as a charm against fits, dysentery,\njaundice, scrofula and nervous affections. Thomas Nicols, a 17th century\nwriter, says: \u201cAmber is esteemed the best for physic use, and is thought\nto be of great power and force against many diseases, as against the\nvertigo and asthmatic paroxysmes, against catarrhes and anthreticall\npains, against diseases of the stomach and to free it from sufferings\nand putrefactions and against diseases of the heart, against plagues,\nvenoms and contagions. It is used either in powder or in troches, either\nin distempers of men or of women, married or unmarried, or in the\ndistempers of children.\u201d The dose formerly administered for coughs,\nhysteria, etc., was from ten to sixty grains.\n\nAmber cut in various magical forms was extensively used as a charm\nagainst the evil eye, witchcraft and sorcery. It was and still is used\nas a mouthpiece for cigar and cigarette holders and smoking pipes, etc.\nIts employment in this capacity was originally talismanic, for it was\nimplicitly believed that amber would not only prevent infection, but\nwould act as a charm against it. Francis Barrett, in his work on Natural\nMagic, says that amber attracts all things to it but garden basil or\nsubstances smeared with oil. In China today amber is greatly esteemed,\nbeing used in the making of certain medicines, perfumes, and as an\nincense which use dates back to the Bible times. In such esteem is amber\nheld in the East that the Shah of Persia is said to wear a block of\namber on his neck to protect him against assassination. Perhaps no\nlegend has been more ridiculed than the one which relates that amber was\nthe solidified urine of the lynx; but the old writers Sudines and\nMetrodorus show that the lynx was not an animal but a tree from which\namber is exuded, and which was known in Etruria as a Lynx. Pliny repeats\nfrom Ovid\u2019s Metamorphoses the tradition among the Greeks that amber was\nthe tears of the Heliades (Phaethusa, \u00c6gle, Lampetia), the Sun Maidens,\nwho harnessed the steeds of the Sun to the chariot when their rash\nbrother Phaethon set forth on his fatal journey. The horses of the Sun\nwere wild and strong, fire flew from their nostrils, and the youthful\ncharioteer was not strong enough to keep them to their rightful course.\nThe chariot, as its speed grew faster, became luminous, electric and\nfiery, the hair of the driver caught fire, the earth began to smoke and\nburn, Libya was parched into a waste of sand, Africa was afire, rivers\nwere dried up, vegetation was destroyed, and the heat was so intense\nthat the inhabitants of the stricken countries changed from white to\nblack. Gaea, in fear for the earth, called on Jupiter for protection,\nwho, with a lightning-bolt, struck the chariot, hurling the \u201cstricken\nwaggoner,\u201d as Shakespeare calls him, lifeless into the River\nEridanus\u2014(the Padus or Po)\u2014at the mouth of which river were found the\nElectrides Insulae (Amber Islands). The three sad sisters were\ntransformed into poplars, and their tears of amber never ceased to flow.\n\u201cTo these tears,\u201d says Pliny, \u201cwas given the name of Electrum, from the\ncircumstance that the Sun was usually called Elector.\u201d It requires but\nlittle thought to unveil this beautiful allegory which told the exact\ntruth even while the nature of amber was disturbing the minds of\nscholars, its vegetable origin being doubted.\n\nThe old story that amber was a concretion formed by the tears of the\nbirds is a variation of the Ph\u00e6thon legend which Thomas Moore has so\ngracefully rendered in \u201cThe Fire Worshippers.\u201d\n\n \u201c_Around thee shall glisten the loveliest amber\n That ever the sorrowing sea-bird hath wept._\u201d\n\nThat amber is found containing the material remains of extinct insects,\netc., is alluded to by Pope in his lines quoted at the head of this\nchapter. That it was especially well known and esteemed in the ancient\nworld can be accepted without the slightest doubt. Amber beads have been\nfound in the tombs of Egypt as far back as the 6th dynasty (B. C. 3200),\nof the ancient Empire, a dynasty which ruled in old Chem long before the\ntime of Joseph. HASHMAL as the Hebrew for amber has been doubted by some\nscholars who take it to signify the metal electrum, a substance\ncombination of 4 parts of silver and one of gold, used by the Greeks,\nand from which some of their coins were struck; but other authorities\naccept it as indicating amber which was known long before electrum was\ncompounded. Delitzsch believes the Hebrew HASHMAL to be derived from the\nold Assyrian word ESHMARU, and the connection is a very probable one.\nThe Rabbis employ other words to express amber, as for example, KEPOS\nHAYA-RUDIN, amber of the Jordan. This occurs in a curious passage in\nwhich Rabbi Nathan states that if honey were mixed with the amber of the\nJordan it became \u201cprofane.\u201d Honey, according to Porphyry, is a symbol of\ndeath, and hence could not be mixed with amber which is a symbol of\nlife. This would be as repulsive to the Rabbinical mind as the violation\nof the command: \u201cThou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother\u2019s milk\u201d would\nbe. Libations of honey could only, according to Porphyry, be offered to\nthe terrestrial gods. Philo Jud\u00e6us in Book III explains the matter as\nfollows: \u201cMoreover it also ordains that every sacrifice shall be offered\nup without any leaven or honey, not thinking it fit that either of these\nthings should be brought to altar. The honey perhaps because the bee\nwhich collects it is not a clean animal, inasmuch as it derives its\nbirth, as the story goes, from the putrefaction and corruption of dead\noxen, or else this may be forbidden as a figurative declaration that all\nsuperfluous pleasure is unholy, making indeed the things which are eaten\nsweet to the taste but inflicting bitter pains difficult to be cured at\na subsequent period, by which the soul must of necessity, be agitated\nand thrown in confusion not being able to settle on any resting-place.\u201d\nIn addition, the lines of Virgil, Georgic IV, may be considered:\n\n \u201c_His mother\u2019s precepts he performs with care:\n The temple visits, and adores with prayer:\n Four altars, raises: from his herd he culls\n For slaughter, four the fairest of his bulls:\n Four heifers from his female store he took,\n All fair and all unknowing of the yoke.\n Nine mornings thence, with sacrifice and prayers,\n The powers atoned, he to the grave repairs.\n Behold a prodigy! for, from within\n The broken bowels and the bloated skin,\n A buzzing noise of bees his ears alarms:\n Straight issue through the sides assembling swarms.\n Dark as a cloud, they make a wheeling flight,\n Then on a neighboring tree, descending, light:\n Like a large cluster of black grapes they show,\n And make a large dependence from the bough._\u201d\n DRYDEN\u2019S TRANSLATION.\n\nWe must again look to symbology if we desire to understand the meaning.\nOf old the Bee was a symbol of the Soul, and by the laws of Mohammed\nbees were admitted to the joys of Heaven. The votaries of Ceres adored\nthe Moon under the symbol of a bee\u2014a symbol appearing on some of the\nGreek coins, notably on those of Ephesus where Diana, goddess of the\nMoon, was worshipped and whence the cry, \u201cGreat is Diana of the\nEphesians,\u201d reached the ears of Paul (Acts XIX). Porphyry writes: \u201cThe\nMoon presiding over generation was called a bee and also a bull, and\nTaurus is the exaltation of the Moon.\u201d He adds symbolically: \u201cBut bees\nare oxbegotten, and this appellation is also given to soul proceeding to\ngeneration.\u201d (\u201cCave of the Nymphs.\u201d) The explanation of the veiled\nmystery is that the Moon at the full is the symbol of the soul, the\nemblem of which is a bee. It comes from the body of a bull or Taurus,\nthe second sign of the zodiac, in which as Porphyry observes she is in\nher exaltation and powerful; Taurus is the earth sign of the planet\nVenus in the guise of the goddess of Generation, and as the soul enters\nthe world, new born, the waters of the Jordan are needed to purify it\nas, when it leaves the body, water was left for it to wash off the\nemanations of its deserted covering. Further into the mysteries it is\nunnecessary to go. The veil of Isis hides the truth, and only he who\nwill strive to understand heavenly wisdom can hope to pierce that veil.\n\nAmber has been placed under the sign Leo, the sign of the Sun, by some\nof the old masters, while others have allotted it to the sign of Venus\n(Taurus), to which it more probably belongs. It is very soft, is easily\ncut with a knife, and burns freely. Large quantities are found on the\ncoast of the Baltic, which the Greeks called in consequence the Amber\nSea. In Oriental story Amberabad (Amber City) was a city of Jinnistan\n(Fairy Land).\n\nTo dream of amber was said to denote a voyage, and according to the\nphilosophy of the Quabalah the indication was of some kind of movement\nor change.\n\nAmber has been imitated in preparations of Mellite, Copal and Anine,\nalso by a blending of sulphur and gutta percha at high temperature,\netc., but Mellite is infusible by heat, burning white. Copal catches\nfire and falls from the instrument on which it is heated in flat drops,\nwhile the general attracting power of most substitutes falls far short\nof the true substance.\n\nAMETHYST\n\n \u201c_The purple streaming amethyst is thine._\u201d\n TENNYSON.\n\nThe amethyst is a species of transparent, violet-coloured quartz, the\nname of which is derived from the Greek AMETHYSTOS, from the traditional\nbelief that this stone possessed the power to oppose the effect of the\nfumes of intoxicants, an opinion not entirely shared by Plutarch.\nAmongst the Greeks and Persians an amethyst bound on the navel was said\nto counteract the evil effects of wine. The amethyst is described by\nTrevisa in the 15th century as \u201cpurple red in colour medelyd wyth colour\nof uyolette,\u201d and in Sir Philip Sidney\u2019s \u201cArcadia,\u201d we read:\n\n \u201c_The bloodie shafts of Cupid\u2019s war\n With amatists they headed are._\u201d\n\nThe stone is found under the names ametist, ametiste, amatites,\namaethist, and it was not until about the middle of the 17th century\nthat its present form began to be adopted. To enjoy the full vibrations\nof the amethyst an old custom recommended that it be worn on the third\nfinger of the left hand\u2014a practice at one time followed by medical\npractitioners\u2014and some form of ancient belief demanded that the amethyst\nmust come in contact with the left hand before its action could be\nappreciated and understood.\n\nIt is well known that the magic of the ancient Egyptian temples included\nthe art of magnetism, and the action of various mineral substances on\nthe magnetized patient has also been noted by the more modern\ninvestigators including Dr. Babbitt, Baron Reichenbach, Dr. Ennemoser,\nDr. Edmonson and Dr. de Lignieres. Stones of the earth have been\nespecially employed by these scholars with results of such marked\nimportance that the contention of the ancients regarding the amethyst as\na charm against drunkenness, deserves respect. To be effective in the\ninduced magnetic sleep, stones had to be placed in the left hand.\nConnected with the ancient belief in the sobering power of the amethyst\nis the beautiful allegorical legend telling that Dionysius, enamoured of\na graceful nymph, pressed his love upon her, but Diana intervened,\ntransforming her into a purple amethyst. In respect for the transformed\nnymph Dionysius vowed that whosoever wore the amethyst would be\nprotected from the evils of intoxicating wines.\n\nThe amethyst was worn in ancient Egypt, and a scarab cut from a specimen\nwas held in great esteem by soldiers who carried it on the field of\nbattle as a charm against death by the shafts and swords of war. This\npractice was carried far into the Middle Ages, and many amethysts were\nworn for the same purpose in this last terrible war of nations. When\nworn by a Bishop of the Church, the amethyst is a glyptic symbol of\nheavenly understanding. Swedenborg likens it to a \u201cspiritual love of\ngood,\u201d and Dr. Brewer writes of purple shades, indicating \u201clove of truth\neven unto martyrdom.\u201d It is stated by Patrick in \u201cDevotions of the Roman\nChurch,\u201d that the wedding ring of the Virgin Mary and Joseph was of\namethyst or onyx. Mr. King writes that this ring, exhibited in the Abbey\nSt. Germain des Pr\u00e9s, is engraved \u201cwith two nobodies\u2014probably\nliberti\u2014whose votive legend: \u2018Alpheus with Aretho\u2019 is but too plainly\nlegible in our Greek-reading times.\u201d The ring, having been saved at the\nburning of the Abbey in 1795, was secured by General Hydrow and given to\nthe Imperial Russian Cabinet.\n\nIn what is described by Camillus Leonardus of the 16th century as one of\nthe magical books of King Solomon, a charm for gaining influence over\nprinces and nobles is a rider on horseback holding a sceptre, engraved\non an amethyst and set in double its own weight in gold or silver.\n\nThe amethyst has always been regarded as symbolical of the pioneer in\nthought and action on the philosophical, religious, spiritual and\nmaterial planes. The virtues ascribed to this stone are many. It was\nregarded as a charm against witchcraft, poison and evil thoughts; it was\nan aid to chastity, a power against all forms of over-indulgence and a\nstrengthener of the mind; it was a charm for securing the favour of\nprinces, rulers, churchmen, people of wealth, influence and power,\npeople with prophetic ability, poets, travellers, publishers, etc. It\nwould strengthen the wisdom, faith and religion of the wearer and aid in\nprayer and in dreaming. If bound to the left wrist the amethyst enabled\nthe wearer to see the future in dreams; to dream of the stone itself\nindicated success to a traveller, clergyman, sailor, philosopher,\nteacher or mystic, also protection, faith and fruitful thoughts. For\npains in the head (headache, toothache, etc.), it was recommended that\nan amethyst be immersed in hot water for a few minutes, taken out, dried\ncarefully and gently rubbed over the parts affected and the back of the\nneck.\n\nAlmost all authorities agree in translating the Hebrew ACHLAMAH as\namethyst and in identifying it as the ninth stone of the High Priest\u2019s\nBreastplate. It was the seventh precious stone which the sage Iachus\ngave to Apollonius of Tyana as an emblem of piety and dignity.\n\nMany writers on the subject of planetary influences have placed this gem\nunder the celestial Pisces, the fishes, because anciently Pisces was one\nof the mansions of Jupiter; but the sign of the Fishes is transparent\nand glistening in hue whilst in the nature of kinship a fiery gem\nbelongs to a fiery zodiacal sign. In this direction the fiery Mars, as\nruler of the sign Aries, has been confused with the Babylonian and\nAssyrian MARDUK or MERODACH. Marduk or Merodach represented the planet\nJupiter, and to him Nebuchadnezzar addresses his songs of praise:\n\u201cMerodach, the great lord, the senior of the gods, the most ancient has\ngiven all nations and people to my care.\u201d \u201cI supplicate the king of\ngods, the lord of lords in Borsippa, the city of his loftiness.\u201d \u201cO, god\nMerodach, great lord, lord of the house of the gods, light of the gods,\nfather, even for thy high honour, which changes not, a temple have I\nbuilt,\u201d etc. The \u201chouse of the gods\u201d is the ninth celestial house,\nnaturally the sign Sagittarius, and in the Quabalah the ninth heavenly\nsphere is the Primum Mobile, the star-decked Heaven. (See \u201cNumbers,\ntheir Meaning and Magic.\u201d) The name Merodach or Marduk is a corruption\nof Mardugga (the sacred son), and because they saw the life-giving orb\nrising from the sea, the ancient Chaldean masters accounted Jupiter his\nfirst offshoot, hailing him as \u201cMarduk:\u201d\u2014\u201cMarduk, first born of the\nmighty deep, make us pure and prosperous.\u201d The giving of prosperity is\never an attribute of Jupiter, and the measure and the source of the gift\nare shown in the nativity or map of the heavens at a person\u2019s birth.\n\nAn effective talisman for the protection of horses and their riders was\na winged horse cut on an amethyst. The ancients connected the amethyst\nwith the ninth celestial mansion\u2014the mansion of Sagittarius\u2014and there is\nno reason for allotting it to any other.\n\nANATASE. The name is derived from the Latin ANATASES, elevation. It was\nso named from the length of its chief axis. This mineral is composed of\nTitanic acid which crystallizes in fine, transparent stones of brown,\ndark blue or black, of adamantine lustre. The anatase, which equals the\nopal in hardness, cannot be traced in ancient writings. It is rarely\nused in jewellery. In harmony with the philosophy of gem influence it is\nconnected with the sign Sagittarius.\n\nANDALUSITE. This stone, first discovered in Andalusia, derives its name\nfrom that rich mineral province of Spain\u2014the Tarshish of the Bible, the\nTartessus of ancient geography, the B\u00e6tica of the Romans. Its colours\nare light bottle-green, pearl grey, flesh and pink. It is extremely\ndichroic, showing the twin colours red and leaf-green\u2014the red gleaming\nfrom the stone in antithesis to its common hue. The Andalusite is as\nhard as the garnet or zircon. Professor Dana moistened specimens with\nnitrate of cobalt, after which they assumed a blue colour. This mineral\nmay have been known to the ancients, but identification is difficult.\nAncient philosophy would connect it with the zodiacal Aquarius.\n\nAPATITE. Apatite is a mineral which obtained its name from the Greek\nword APATAO, to deceive, because it deceived old students who confounded\nit with aquamarine, chrysolite, tourmaline, etc. Abraham Werner (the\nauthor of the Neptunian theory that all mineral substances were once\ncontained in watery solution), first demonstrated in the 18th century\nthe true nature of apatite which is a phosphate of lime with fluorite\nand chloride of calcium. The lustre varies from transparent to opaque,\nand is vitreous to sub-resinous. It is much softer than tourmaline, its\ndegree of hardness being but 5; for this reason it is but little used in\nthe manufacture of jewellery. Its colours are pale sea-green, blue-green\n(in which colouring it is sometimes called Moroxite), yellowish-green\n(in which colouring it is often called Asparagus stone), yellow, violet,\nwhite, grey, brown, red, colourless, and transparent. Professor Judd,\nF.R.S., found a concretion specimen of apatite when cutting a mass of\nteak wood\u2014a particularly rare find. In agreement with the ancient system\nthe apatite is astrologically under the zodiacal Pisces.\n\nAPOPHYLLITE. Apophyllite is a hydrous silicate of potassium and calcium\nwhich obtains its name from the Greek word APOPHULLIZO, to exfoliate,\nbecause it falls in leaves before the blowpipe. It is extremely soft,\nbeing from between 4 and 5 in Mohs\u2019s scale. The stone is found in a\nvariety of colours\u2014milk-white, greyish, green, yellow, red, pink. It is\nseldom used by jewellers. The apophyllite is under the sign Taurus.\n\nAQUAMARINE. (See BERYL.)\n\nASBESTOS. The word is derived from the Greek ASBESTOS, inconsumable, and\nis identified with the Amianthus (impollutible) of the ancients. It is a\nvariety of hornblende, of a fine and fibrous texture, of which Marbodus\nwrote:\n\n _\u201cKindled once it no extinction knows\n But with eternal flame increasing glows.\n Hence with good cause the Greeks Asbestos name,\n Because once kindled nought can quench its flame.\u201d_\n\nThe incombustibility and weak heat conducting qualities of asbestos\nrender it extremely useful as a protection against fire. The ancients\nused it for the wicks of their temple lamps, and in order to preserve\nthe ashes of the departed their dead bodies were laid on asbestos before\nbeing placed on the funeral pyre. Cloths of asbestos were thrown in the\nflames for the purpose of cleaning them. So fine and flaxy is the\nmineral that gloves have been made of it. Asbestos is under the zodiacal\nGemini.\n\nAVENTURINE. Aventurine or goldstone is a quartz of a brownish,\nsemi-transparent character, spangled with spots of golden-yellow mica.\nThis stone is identified with the stone called by Pliny the\n\u201cSandaresus\u201d\u2014\u201cof stars of gold gleaming from within.\u201d The name\nAventurine (_per adventura_, by accident), arose, it is said, from an\naccident in a Venetian glass factory, where a workman found that eight\nparts of ground glass, one part protoxide of copper and two parts of\noxide of iron well heated and allowed to cool slowly, produced the\npeculiar appearance admired in the real gem to even better effect. The\naventurine variety of quartz is under the zodiacal Leo.\n\nAXINITE. The name Axinite is derived from the Greek AXINE, an axe, on\naccount of the sharp and axe-like form of the crystals. The axinite is\nabout the same degree of hardness as the Spodumene or the demantoid\ngarnet (6.5 to 7). It is pyro-electric and highly vitreous. The colours\nvary between pearly-grey, clove, brown, honey-yellow, violet, plum-blue.\nThe axinite is under the zodiacal Sagittarius.\n\nAZURITE. Azurite is a blue copper carbonate obtaining its name from its\ncolour. It is kindred with malachite, from which it differs but\nslightly. Some mineralogists call it blue malachite. It is under the\nzodiacal Libra.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIII\n THE BERYL FAMILY\n\nTHE BERYL FAMILY: SOME LARGE SPECIMENS: VAUQUELIN\u2019S DISCOVERY: THE\n CELESTIAL SIGN OF THE BERYL FAMILY: OLD MINES OF KLEOPATRA: WOMEN\n SEARCHERS OF EGYPT: THE CANOPY OF HOLOFERNES: STARS OF THE PLEIADES:\n EMERALD AND THE EYES: POPE JOHN XXI AND HIS ASSERTION: THE SERPENT\u2019S\n GAZE: TAURUS, SCORPIO AND THE STORY OF EDEN: THE TRUE VENUS:\n REPTILES OF OVER-INDULGENCE: CIRCE AND THE SWINE: DIANA, GODDESS OF\n THE MOON: VIRTUES ASCRIBED TO THE EMERALD: ESMERALDA: THE DRAGON OF\n THE EMERALD MINE: PRESCOTT\u2019S STORY: PIZARRO\u2019S LARGEf EMERALD: THE\n TRICK OF PEDRAZA: INDIAN BELIEF: APOLLONIUS OF TYANA AND THE EMERALD\n OF IARCHUS: THE EMERALD IN ROSICRUCIAN PHILOSOPHY: SWEATING\n EMERALDS: EMERALDS IN OLD EXCAVATIONS: ESTEEM OF THE ROMANS: PERSIAN\n BELIEFS: ALBERTUS MAGNUS, CARDANUS AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE\n MASTERS: MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS\u2019 STONE IN BRAZIL: HINDOO BELIEFS: THE\n HEAVEN OF THE MUSLIMS: THE INHABITANTS OF PARADISE: PARACELSUS AND\n THE EMERALD: EARLY CHRISTIAN EMBLEM: BERYL IN MAGICAL RITES: \u201cTHE\n TEMPEST\u201d: RECOMMENDATION OF LEONARDUS: WATER DIVINATION: STORY OF\n THE RING OF POLYCRATES: FISH AND RING STORIES: HERODOTUS AND OLD\n WRITERS ON THE RING OF POLYCRATES: PHILIP II AND THE FATAL RING OF\n SPAIN: SPAIN\u2019S DEFEAT BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE BURIAL\n OF THE ILL-OMENED RING: GIFT OF POPE ADRIAN VIII TO HENRY II:\n EMERALD OF KING ARTHUR: POPE INNOCENT\u2019S PRESENT TO KING JOHN:\n SWEDENBORG\u2019S EMERALD CORRESPONDENCE: THE FALSE AQUAMARINE AMONGST\n THE BRITISH CROWN JEWELS: THE FATAL EMERALD OF RUSSIA.\n\n\nBERYL\n\n \u201c_What rings of Eastern price his fingers hold.\n Gold decks the fingers, beryl decks the gold._\u201d\n PARNELL.\n\nThe name beryl is derived from the Greek and Latin BERYLLUS; some say\nalso from the Persian BELUR. Some of the old fashions of writing the\nname are included in the following: beril, beryll, berall, birrall,\nbyral, byrrall, byralle, berial, beryall, bureall, beryl stone.\n\nDr. Holland\u2019s rendering of Pliny\u2019s remarks on the beryl (Chapter 36) is\ninteresting: \u201cMany are of the opinion that beryls are of the same nature\nthat the emeraud, or leastwise verie like: from India they came as from\ntheir native place, for seldom are they to be found elsewhere.\u201d\n\nBeryls are pale green stones coloured by iron. Some very large crystals\nhave been found. Professor Rutley mentions one specimen found at\nRoyalston in Massachusetts, which weighed nearly 2\u00bd tons.\n\nEMERALD\n\n \u201c_As when an emerald green enchas\u2019d\n In flaming gold, from the bright mass acquires\n A nobler hue, more delicate to sight._\u201d\n J. PHILIPS.\n\nThe name in days of old was variously written: emeraud, emeraude,\nemraud, emeroyde, emmorant, emerant, ameraud, emerode, emrade,\nhemerauld, smaragdus. The derivation is from the old French word\nESMERALDA, through the modern French EMERAUDE; Greek SMARAGDOS, Latin\nSMARAGDUS.\n\nAmongst some large sized emeralds Professor Dana notes one in the\ncabinet of the Duke of Devonshire, which specimen is 2\u00bc inches long by\nabout 2 inches in diameter; a finer specimen weighing six ounces, once\nin the possession of Mr. Harry Thomas Hope; one formerly in the Royal\nRussian collection, 4\u00bd in. in length, 12 in. in breadth, 16\u00be pounds troy\nin weight; another weighing six pounds, which is 7 in. long and 4 in.\nbroad.\n\nDr. Holland\u2019s translation of Pliny (Book 37) is as follows:\n\n \u201cTrue it is that we take great delight to behold green hearbes and\n leaves of trees but this is nothing to the pleasure we have in looking\n upon the emeraud, for compare it with other things, be they never so\n green, it surpasseth them all in pleasant verdure.\u201d\n\nThe Emerald is the beautiful green variety of the beryl family, coloured\nby chromium.\n\nAQUAMARINE\n\n \u201c_One entire stone of a sea-water green known by the name of agmarine._\u201d\n STOW. CHRON.\n 1598.\n\nThe word is derived from the Latin AQUA, water, and MARE, the sea. It\nwas known under various forms: aigue marine, ague marine, aque marine,\nagmarine, etc. In colour the aquamarine is pale blue, bluish green and\nlight sea-green.\n\nHere may be mentioned the Golden Emerald\u2014an emerald of charming golden\ncolour, and the Rose Beryl named Morganite after the late J. Pierpont\nMorgan.\n\nThe whole beryl family is classified under the sign Taurus. Their\ncrystalline form is hexagonal (six-sided), and six is the traditional\nnumber of Venus, whose earth house or mansion in astrology is the\nheavenly Taurus. Beryllium enters largely into their composition, and\nbecause of the sweetness of its salts this element is also termed\nGlucinum (Greek GLYKYS, sweet). Glycina was first discovered by the\ngreat chemist Vauquelin while experimenting with emeralds in 1797. Much\nconfusion has arisen amongst authors on the subject of gems and the\nHeavens, from confounding the beryl with the tourmaline\u2014a distinctly\nMercurial gem. The beryl, aquamarine and emerald present only colour\nshade differences. It is more difficult, however, to find really fine\nemeralds than it is to find other varieties of the same family. The\nemeralds found in the workings of the old Kleopatra mines, whose very\nexistence was at one time doubted, are of the lighter or beryl variety.\nThese gems were much sought after in ancient times, the Egyptian women\nbeing esteemed the best searchers \u201cbecause of their superior eyesight.\u201d\nThere is no doubt, as before noted, that the sex was considered as well\nas the sight, and the selection of women \u201cdaughters of Venus\u201d for this\nwork was not without design.\n\nThe splendour of the canopy of purple and gold under which Holofernes,\nthe Assyrian general, rested was enriched according to the Apochrypha\nwith emeralds and precious stones (Judith X. 21). This symbol of\nAssyrian luxury\u2014considering the accredited virtue of the emerald amongst\nthe ancients\u2014was of evil import to the leader of the army of\nNabuchodonosor, the \u201cKing of all the earth.\u201d\n\nAstrology notes that a person born in the sign Taurus, especially from\nthe 20\u00b0 to the 30\u00b0 amongst the nebulous stars of the Pleiades, or with\nviolent stars in that sign at birth, has his sight always affected to a\ngreater or lesser extent, hence the accredited virtues of the emerald as\nan eye stone, and no pharmacy of the Middle Ages would have thought of\nomitting it from its dispensary. As eye stones the stones of the beryl\nfamily have always been held in high esteem, Pope John XXI affirming\nthat a diseased eye treated with an emerald became sound again. It was\nnot claimed that the emerald would restore lost sight, but it was\nregarded as extremely potent in eye disease, injury or trouble of any\nkind. Sometimes it was sufficient, especially in the case of inflamed\neyes, to bathe the eye in water in which emeralds had been steeped for\nsix hours; at other times the stone was reduced to the finest powder, an\nextremely small quantity of which was placed in the eye at stated\nintervals, Tom Moore sings in Lalla Rookh:\n\n \u201c_Blinded like serpents when they gaze\n Upon the emerald\u2019s virgin blaze._\u201d\n\nThe tradition that when a serpent fixes its eyes on an emerald it\nbecomes blind is echoed from Hebrew philosophy, and Ahmed Ben Abdalaziz\nin his \u201cTreatise on Jewels\u201d has it that the lustre of emeralds makes\nserpents blind. As this ancient statement has occasioned some mirth and\nridicule amongst those swayed by surface considerations it may be as\nwell to consider the matter from another point of understanding. The\nsymbolist will at once perceive the hidden parable: in astrology,\nserpents have been classed under the Scorpion of the zodiac, and the\nVenusian Taurus in the zodiac is opposite to the Scorpion. In the story\nof the Garden of Eden it is the Scorpion (snake) who tempts Eve, and her\nfall is held by occult students as a symbol to compel Man to exert his\nhighest strength to enable his triumph over the lowest to be complete.\nThe zodiacal Scorpio is accursed on its lower expression, and is\nsymbolical then of the corruption which can menace virgin purity. Man on\nthe lowest borderlands to which over-indulgence will ever draw him has\nbeen faced by serpents and reptiles whose immaterial lives exist only in\nthose dark realms. The story of Circe and the Swine finds its parallel\nin the power of the pure and beautiful Venus to expel even by her\nsymbolic emerald lust, envy, malice and grossness, to destroy the\nserpent\u2019s gaze and to call the blind and suffering Man back to his\npeaceful Heaven again. So, as the Moon in astrological philosophy is\nexalted in Taurus, Diana the goddess of the Moon is the friend of chaste\nwomen. In Cutwode\u2019s \u201cCaltha Poetarium, or the Humble Bee,\u201d written in\n1599, Diana adorns the heroine with an emerald ring.\n\nIt can easily be seen why the emerald is the emblem of true happiness\nand the preserver of chastity, and why it was said to fracture if\nchastity were violated: to one taking vows of chastity and breaking\nthem, the emerald could never appear the same again\u2014before his spiritual\nvision it would be broken and shattered. Leonardus said that the emerald\nprotected women in childbirth, and most old writers are impressive in\nwarning men to wear one as a charm against spiritual and mental\nweakness.\n\nThe Peruvian goddess Esmeralda was said to reside in an emerald as big\nas an ostrich egg, and it was the custom of this little Venus in her\nsymbolic emerald egg to receive emeralds as offerings from her devotees\nwho also, it was said, sacrificed their daughters to her.\n\nStevenson (\u201cResidence in South America\u201d), writing of the emerald mine of\nLas Emeraldas, says: \u201cI never visited it owing to the superstitious\ndread of the natives who assured me that it was enchanted and guarded by\nan enormous dragon who poured forth thunder and lightning on those who\ndared to ascend the river.\u201d It is peculiar how the symbols of mankind\ncoincide: the dragon is another of the zodiacal Scorpio varieties ever\nopposite Taurus, and was of old regarded as the agitator of thunders,\nlightnings and earth commotions. Prescott, in his \u201cHistory of Peru,\u201d\ntells us how the Spaniards after murdering the trusting Indians raided\ntheir dwellings and seized their ornaments and precious stones, for this\nwas the region of the esmeraldas or emeralds. One of the jewels that\nfell into the hands of Pizarro was as large as a pigeon\u2019s egg. Fra\nReginaldo di Pedraza, one of the Dominican missionaries, told the\nSpaniards that the method of proving the genuineness or otherwise of\nemeralds was to try if they could be broken with a hammer; Prescott\nadding: \u201cThe good Father did not subject his own jewels to this wise\nexperiment, but as the stones in consequence of it fell in value, being\nmerely regarded as coloured glass, he carried back a considerable store\nof them to Panama.\u201d The Indians held that the emerald protected against\npoisons and cleansed man from sin.\n\nAs an emblem of Eternal Spring, Iarchus included the emerald in the\nmystic necklace of Apollonius of Tyana. In Rosicrucian philosophy it is\nadvised that if an emerald set in a ring of gold be placed on the solar\nfinger of the left hand when the Sun entered Taurus, the wearer would\nattain his cherished aim and be enabled by the sweating of the stone to\ndetect poisons. Experiment has shown that heat causes the emerald to\nlose water but does not affect its colour, hence the reports of the\n\u201csweating\u201d emerald cannot be set aside as mythical. Specimens of the\nberyl family have been found in tombs and in old excavations, and there\nis little doubt that the stones \u201cof the colour of transparent sea-water\u201d\nfound by the old Romans at Cyprus belonged to it. The Romans greatly\nesteemed the emerald as an eye stone and a natural specific for\nophthalmia, holding that what healed and calmed the spiritual eye would\nheal and calm the natural eye. The Persians applied ashes of burnt\nemeralds to ulcers with curative effect. They said that the emerald\nbrought mental tranquility, cured unnatural thirst, stomach troubles,\njaundice, liver troubles, obstructions, gravel, stricture, bodily pains\nand epilepsy. Albertus Magnus also recommends it as a cure for epileptic\nattacks. Mystics have always regarded the emerald as of the highest\nworth. It is spoken of by Cardanus as an ideal gem for divinatory\npurposes\u2014no doubt because of its pure spiritual import. Aristotle writes\nthat an emerald hung from the neck or worn on the finger protects from\nthe \u201cfalling sickness.\u201d\n\nThe ancient writers held that all kinds of divination were helped by the\nemerald, and when worn during the transaction of honest business it gave\nfavour to the wearer. In Brazil, medical students on becoming doctors of\nmedicine wore on their fingers rings of emeralds as an indication that\nthey had received their diploma. The lighter emerald, or beryl, bound\nman and wife together in mutual love, and raised the wearer to success\nand honour.\n\nAmong the Hindoo philosophers the emerald held its place as a gem of the\nzodiacal Taurus, and in the First Heaven of the Muslims the tents of the\nfaithful are represented as studded with emeralds, pearls and jacinths.\n\nMr. E. W. Lane (\u201cModern Egyptians\u201d) writes that the inhabitants of\nParadise are said to be clothed \u201cin the richest silk, chiefly of green,\nand all superfluities from their bodies will be carried off by\nperspiration which will diffuse an odour like that of musk\u201d\u2014a plant\nrecognized by old astrologers as belonging to the sign Taurus.\nParacelsus wrote that the emerald was in sympathy with the metal\ncopper\u2014also recognized as the chief metal of Venus. Mr. King notes a\nfine emerald, a quarter inch square, belonging to the earliest Christian\nperiods, on which is cut a fish, which besides being an early Christian\nemblem is symbolical of Venus and later of the Virgin. Venus is exalted\nin the Zodiacal sign of the Fishes which enters largely into the\nChristian mysteries. The beryl was used in magical rites as an\ninstrument for foretelling future happenings. For special magical\npurposes the stone was held in the mouth when\u2014says Freeman, writing in\nthe early part of the 18th century\u2014a person may call an elemental and\nreceive satisfaction for any question he might ask. In this connection\none is tempted to think of the delightful Venusian spirit Ariel in\nShakespeare\u2019s \u201cTempest.\u201d Again the beryl is recommended by Leonardus as\na charm against diseases of the throat and jaws. In the \u201cwater\ndivination\u201d of the Middle Ages a beryl stone was suspended just to touch\nthe surface of the water in the bowl, and it answered questions by\nautomatically striking the edges of the vessel. It was also thrown into\na shallow dish of water, information being gathered from the reflections\nseen in sunlight in the water.\n\nHerodotus tells the story of the Thalassokrat (Sea-king) Polycrates of\nSamos whose never-failing fortune so alarmed his friend and ally, the\nPharaoh Amasis of Egypt, that he wrote to him begging him to sacrifice\nsomething he valued most highly to propitiate the fateful Nemesis,\ngoddess of retribution. In obedience to this request Polycrates, with\nmany regrets, threw from a boat his precious emerald ring into the sea\nfar from the shore. Some few days afterwards a fisherman caught a fish\nso large and shapely that, thinking it a prize for the King, he took it\nto the palace of Polycrates. When the cook was preparing the fish for\nthe King\u2019s table he found within it his master\u2019s emerald ring. Amasis,\nwhen informed of the incident by Polycrates, was greatly concerned as it\nforetold to him a fatal end for the Thalassokrat, with whom he broke off\nnegotiations and alliances. Polycrates, being induced by his crafty\nenemy the Persian satrap Oroetes to visit him, was seized and crucified.\nThe story is discredited by some historians\u2014notably Grote\u2014but this is\nnot the only story of a fish swallowing a ring or some other article of\nvalue. The legend of Solomon\u2019s ring has been already alluded to. Mr.\nKing collecting evidence from Herodotus, Pausanius, and other old\nwriters finds that the ring of Polycrates was a \u201csignet of emerald set\nin gold, the work of Theodorus of Samos.\u201d That famous father of the\nchurch, Titus Flavius Clemens, better known as Clemens Alexandrinus,\nsays that on the emerald ring of Polycrates was engraved \u201ca musical\nlyre.\u201d A fine quality emerald bearing a similar device was found about\nfifty years ago in a vineyard at Aricia, and that this may have been the\nfamous ring is not impossible.\n\nIn the reign of Philip II, of Spanish Armada repute, there appeared in\nSpain a strange ring of gold, in the centre of which was an emerald cut\nso as to contain a ruby surrounded by diamonds. This curious ring is\nsaid to have been the symbol of misfortune wherever it came. The church\nwhich received it as a gift from the King was destroyed by fire; the\nfatal ring, rescued from the fire, was placed in a museum that was badly\ndamaged by lightning; whilst again in the possession of the King of\nSpain, Spain was defeated in the war with the United States of America.\nThen this ring of ill-omen was buried in an iron coffin in a secret\nplace. Its evil influence can readily be accounted for in the light of\noccult philosophy\u2014the ruby is a stone under the Celestial Leo, the\nemerald is under Taurus. These signs form the evil square, being counted\nin astrological science 90\u00b0 apart. A square aspect is always accounted\nan evil one. The admixture of the beautiful crystal symbols was\nunfortunate. Spain again is under the celestial Sagittarius, and would\nnot hold gems of Taurus. Philip II himself had an evil influence on\nSpain. Astrologically neither the emerald nor the ruby would be in\nharmony with his nativity and the diamond would be fatal.\n\nJohn of Salisbury states that Pope Adrian VIII confirmed the right to\nhold and govern Ireland on Henry II of England with the gift of a rare\nemerald set in a ring of gold, and the Papal bull or seal. The right to\nbestow all islands was claimed by the Pope by virtue of the laws of\nConstantine. It is curious in connection with this historical\ntransaction that Ireland and the emerald come under Taurus, and that the\nright of Henry II as sovereign of Ireland is confirmed by the Papal\nBull!\n\nTennyson in \u201cElaine\u201d says that Arthur, \u201cthe glorious King\u201d\n\n \u201c_Had on his cuirass worn our Lady\u2019s Head,\n Carved of one emerald centred in a sun\n Of silver rays, that lighten\u2019d as he breathed._\u201d\n\nThe beryl was the symbol of undying youth, the emerald of\nincorruptibility and triumph over sin, the aquamarine of social\nuplifting. One of the four rings sent by Pope Innocent III in the year\n1205 to King John of England was an emerald which, wrote the donor, is\nthe emblem of faith. To dream of beryls is said to denote happy news to\ncome; to dream of aquamarines is interpreted as symbolical of loving\nfriendships; to dream of emeralds is set down as a sign of worldly\nbenefit and goodness. The Angel of the beryl family is the inexpressibly\nbeautiful and tender Anael. Emanuel Swedenborg says that the beryl\nsignifies \u201cthe good of charity and faith or the spiritual love of truth;\nthe emerald the appearance of the divine sphere of the Lord in the\nlowest heavens; the emerald family as indicating the sphere of divine\nlove and wisdom.\u201d\n\nThe wonderful aquamarine which adorned the crown of James II of England\nhas been recently found to be merely a piece of coloured glass. This\nfact was recently communicated by Sir George Younghusband, so well known\nas the keeper of the Jewel House in the Tower of London. It is presumed\nthat the real stone was replaced by this imitation, but how and when is\na matter of speculation. The whole emerald family were regarded as\nstones of fortune for King James II.\n\nBefore closing this account of the beryl family it may be interesting to\nrecall the fatal emerald of Russia. This large and beautiful gem was\ngiven to Peter of Holstein-Gottorp (afterwards Peter III), by Empress\nElizabeth Petrovna. Peter was assassinated. Emperor Paul wore it next\nand was strangled. Alexander II then had the stone newly set and it fell\nfrom his finger after his assassination. Alexander III would not wear\nit, but Nicholas II, allured by its beauty, did. Who now has the fatal\nemerald?\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIV\n BALAS\u2014CRYSOCOLLA\n\nBALAS: BLOODSTONE: BONE TURQUOISE: CAIRNGORM, AN ANCIENT CAUTERISER:\n CARBUNCLE: THE PATHWAY OF THE FOURTH HEAVEN ILLUMINATED THE ARK OF\n NOAH: \u201cA BURNING GEM\u201d: THE MAGICIAN OF KING KAJATA: THE LUSTROUS\n CARBUNCLE OF CEYLON: NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE\u2019S STORY: VIRTUES OF THE\n STONE: A CAPTAIN\u2019S TALISMAN AT GALLIPOLI: CARNELIAN AND THE SARD:\n SENSITIVENESS OF THESE STONES: SARD INTAGLI: ALARIC THE GOTH AND HIS\n CARNELIAN: MADAME BLAVATSKY AND THE SHAMANS OF TARTARY: OCCULT\n VIRTUES OF THE CARNELIAN: MEANING IN ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES: MOSLEM\n TRADITION. CATSEYE, ITS CURIOUS OPALESCENCE: LORE OF THE CATSEYE:\n RABBI BEN ADOULAH\u2019S ASSERTION: THE EYE OF BELUS: CEYLINITE:\n CHALCEDONY: PERSIAN CYLINDERS: SIGNET OF DARIUS: EARLY\n IDENTIFICATION BY ALBERTUS MAGNUS: PLINY\u2019S DESCRIPTION: STONE OF ST.\n STEPHEN: VIRTUES OF THE CHALCEDONY: CHALCEDONYX: CHERT: CHIASTOLITE:\n STONE OF ST. JAMES: PEDRO THE CRUEL: MIGUEL PEREZ AND THE BLOOD-RED\n CROSS: MARSHAL SOULT\u2019S PLUNDER: THE STONE OF COLUMBUS: CHRYSOBERYL,\n ITS VIRTUES: CRYSOCOLLA, A MUSICAL CHARM.\n\n\nBALAS. See SPINEL.\n\nBLOODSTONE. See HAEMATITE and JASPER.\n\nBONE TURQUOISE or Odontolite. Bone turquoise is often mistaken for true\nturquoise. It is really fossil teeth or bones coloured blue by the\naction of phosphate of iron. Its organic difference can easily be seen\nunder a good glass. ODONTOLITE is under the influence of the zodiacal\nCapricorn; it is a degree less in hardness than the true turquoise,\nbeing in this respect equal to apatite and lapis lazuli.\n\nBORT. (See DIAMOND.)\n\nCAIRNGORM or SCOTCH TOPAZ.\n\n \u201c_O Caledonia, stern and wild!_\u201d\n SCOTT.\n\nThe mountain cairngorm, the name of which comes from the Gaelic\nCARNGORM, meaning Blue Cairn, is between the shires of Aberdeen, Banff\nand Inverness, and it is there that the cairngorm stones are mostly\nfound. The stone is a variety of quartz of a fine smoky yellow or brown\ncolour. It is found in other places than the Cairngorm Mountains, and\nhas usurped many of the attributes of the true topaz. It is remarkable\nfor its brilliance and beauty, and was known to the ancients. According\nto Pliny, this stone was used by old physicians for cauterizing affected\nparts of the body by directing the sun\u2019s rays through it after the\nmanner of a \u201cburning glass.\u201d It was carried in times of epidemics as a\nprotective charm, and it was held to bestow a degree of craft and\nsubtlety on the wearer. As a martial stone in harmony with Scotland, it\nwas set in the head of dirks and other knives, and adorned the Highland\ndress. The Cairngorm was considered a talisman against venereal\ndiseases, sore throats, etc.\n\nIt is under the zodiacal Scorpio.\n\nCARBUNCLE\n\n \u201c_The Carbuncle\n Which from it such a flaming light\n And radiancy ejecteth\n That in the very darkest night\n The eye\u2019s to it directed._\u201d\n DRAYTON.\n\nThe name Carbuncle is derived from the Latin CARBUNCULUS, diminutive of\nCARBO, a coal. During the past centuries it has been written as\ncharbucle, charbokel, charbokll, cherbukkill, carbokyl, charboncle,\ncarbunculum, karboncle, carbunacle, carbuncle stone. Of it Dr. Wilkins\nwrites: \u201cIt is believed that a carbuncle does shine in the dark like a\nburning coal, from whence it has its name.\u201d\n\nThe carbuncle is the Iron Alumina Garnet known as Almandine or\nAlmandite, which varies in colour shades from red, ruby red, columbine\nred to brownish red. The name is said to be derived from the town of\nAlabanda in Asia Minor where, according to Pliny, the Carbunculi\nAmethystozontes were cut. Dr. Holland\u2019s translation of the passage\nrelating to the carbuncle in Pliny, Book XXXVII, is as follows: \u201cAmongst\nthese red gems the rubies otherwise called carbuncles challenge the\nprincipall place and are esteemed richest; they have their name in Greek\nof the likenesse unto fire, and yet fire hath no power of them which is\nthe reason that some call them apyroti.\u201d The apyroti is our pyrope which\nindicates \u201cfiery\u201d in Greek. It is a magnesia alumina garnet and was, as\nit now is, cut en cabochon. Specimens chosen for this purpose are from\ndeep to black red.\n\nAlmandines form the pathways of the Fourth Heaven (Dar as-Salam) of the\nMuhammedans; and the traditional symbol of the Ark illuminated by a\nlarge carbuncle stone occurs in the Rabbinical writings. To students of\nthe mysteries this must ever appeal as a forceful and subtle symbol of\nman\u2019s immortality and sublime power. Leonardus writes of the carbuncle\n\u201cbrandishing its fiery rays on every side and in the dark appearing like\na fiery coal.\u201d \u201cIt is regarded,\u201d he says, \u201cas the first among \u2018burning\ngems.\u2019\u201d That the carbuncle gave out a glowing light without reflection\nis frequently repeated by ancient authors, and the Palace of the\nMagician in the Russian story of King Kajata was hewn out of a single\ncarbuncle which lit up the whole surrounding district. Sir E. Tennant\nquotes from a Chinese work a narrative which tells that \u201cearly in the\n14th century the Emperor sent an officer to Ceylon to purchase a\ncarbuncle of unusual lustre which was fitted as a ball to the cap of the\nEmperor of that country. It was upwards of an ounce in weight and cost\n100,000 strings of cash. Each time a grand levee was held at night the\nred lustre filled the palace, and hence it was designated the Red Palace\nIlluminator.\u201d\n\nNathaniel Hawthorne\u2019s beautiful story of \u201cThe Great Carbuncle\u201d in his\n\u201cTwice-told Tales\u201d is based on the Indian tradition which is, he says,\n\u201ctoo wild and too beautiful to be adequately wrought up in prose.\u201d\nNevertheless the author does so with old-world charm: \u201cSome few believe\nthat this inestimable stone is blazing as of old, and say that they have\ncaught its radiance like a flash of summer lightning, far down the\nvalley of the Saco. And be it owned that many a mile from the Crystal\nHills I saw a wondrous light around their summits and was lured by the\nfaith of poesy to be the last pilgrim of the Great Carbuncle.\u201d\n\nIn the Middle Ages the carbuncle was worn as a charm to protect the\nwearer against the plague, and it was said to protect travellers on long\nvoyages by sea from drowning, and by land from accidents. It was also\ncredited with the power of resisting poisons, of averting evil thoughts\nand dreams. It was an up-lifter of the soul and a preserver of the\nhealth of the body. When its lustre changed, the death of the wearer was\nindicated. In addition to being the stone of undying hope and the\ndispeller of sadness, the Indians and Arabs credit it with protecting\nfrom wounds and harm in the midst of battle. A story was told to the\nauthor by the mother of an Australian Captain born, according to\nastrology, with the Sun rising in the sign of the Archer. This officer\nwore at the author\u2019s suggestion a ring of carbuncle. At Gallipoli he,\nwith a few men, was cut off by incessant gunfire which, although\ndirected their way, did not injure them and from which they were\neventually rescued. During this ordeal the Captain looked often at his\ncalm, flame-burning ring, the unearthly brightness of which seemed to\nhim an emblem of salvation.\n\nEmanuel Swedenborg compared the carbuncle with the good of celestial\nlove, and it was regarded as a heart stimulant by some old medical\nwriters. It represents the red arterial blood and is connected with the\nfiery sign of the zodiac Sagittarius. A great part of Australia is much\ninfluenced by this sign according to astrology and large quantities of\nextremely beautiful almandines\u2014which were at one time mistaken for\nrubies and termed \u201cAustralian rubies\u201d\u2014have been already found.\n\nTo dream of the carbuncle was said to indicate acquirement of wisdom.\n\nThe carbuncle is under the zodiacal Sagittarius.\n\nCARNELIAN\n\n \u201c_Let not the Muse the dull Carnelian slight,\n Although it shine with but a feeble light._\u201d\n MARBODUS.\n\nThe Carnelian obtains its name from the Latin word Carnis, flesh, which\ndescribes its colour. The Sard (Greek, Sarx, flesh) called by Swedenborg\nand the ancients the \u201csardine Stone,\u201d of a deeper brownish red is said\nby Pliny to have been named from Sardis in Asia Minor. Carnelian is also\nwritten cornelian, cornelien, and carnelion. Woodward in his \u201cNatural\nHistory\u201d (1695) alludes to the ancient Roman tradition that the pale red\ncarnelians were called females and the deeper colours males. The yellow\ncarnelian was anciently regarded as the female loved by the Sun. These\ngems are extremely sensitive, being affected by oils and acids. It has\nbeen demonstrated from olden times that carnelians exposed to the rays\nof the sun were brightened and heightened in colour, a result which\ncould not be obtained by ordinary heat. The carnelian and sard were\ngreatly used in all ages, and many beads, charms and ornaments have been\nfound in the old lands. The writer had in his possession two beautiful\nEtruscan scarabs of sard\u2014one bearing a portrait of \u00c6sculapius and the\nsnake, the other portraying Venus disrobing\u2014neither of which had\nsuffered much from the attacks of time.\n\nMr. King describes a sard intaglio showing an Ibis stepping out of a\nnautilus shell, seizing a snake\u2014a symbol of the eternal war between the\nSun, represented by the Ibis, on the stone of the Sun, and the earth\nmoistures, represented by the snake. Another from the Rhodes collection\nrepresents Venus showing Cupid how to use the bow, appropriately cut on\na sard or heart stone; another, also cut on sard, shows Cupid riding on\na lion\u2014symbol of the Sun and the heart (organ of the Sun in\nastrophilosophy).\n\nAlaric the Goth entered the city of Rome with his victorious army August\n27th in the year 410 A. D. His birthday cannot be ascertained with any\ndegree of certainty, but it may have been somewhere near that time for\nhe wore on his finger a large carnelian talismanic ring on which was\nengraved: \u201cAlaricus Rex Gothorum.\u201d\n\nMadame Blavatsky relates stories of the Shamans of Tartary who carried\ncarnelians under their left arms, and by employing these stones in\ncertain ways they were enabled to separate the astral from the physical\nbody. The carnelian was used by them in certain magical work and was\nreputed to be a stone of wonderful power. It is significant that these\nShamans carried the carnelians on their left sides, near the great Sun\nof the human body\u2014the heart. Madame Blavatsky herself possessed a\ncarnelian to which special virtue was attached. She was born when the\nSun was in the sign of the Lion, and the carnelian was therefore one of\nher chief talismanic gems. The carnelian was called the Stone of the\nMartyrs. It is said to bestow the power to see into the astral plane if,\nwhen placed before a light for about four minutes, it is steadily gazed\nupon. Considering the powerful effect the Sun has on the carnelian, it\nwere best that, if phenomena of this order are to be obtained through\nthe agency of such an instrument, the stone be first exposed to the rays\nof the Sun. It is inadvisable, however, to look directly at the sun with\nthe naked eye.\n\nThe carnelian is said to bring content to the wearer, and Albertus\nMagnus said that it made the soul happy, drove away the evil effects of\nsorcery, witchcraft, enchantment and fear. It was the stone of the\nvictor and of victory, and was used as a charm against bad temper\u2014for\nbad temper according to the masters is a form of black magic. Black\nmagic was evilly directed in the light of a waning moon, and it was\ndetected by the varying sheen of the protective carnelian or sard. Also\nin dreams the stone was a symbol that evil thoughts were being directed\nagainst the dreamer. It represented the magical force of Faith and the\nweakening folly of scepticism in the Rosicrucian mysteries. Medicinally\nthe stone was used to stop bleedings, and in the Middle Ages it was\nadministered in powdered form. At this period it was stated that the\nyellow variety was the gem for Dies Solis or Sunday. Both the carnelian\nand sard are attached to the zodiacal Leo, the Mansion of the Sun, and\nthe connection apart from tradition is proven scientifically by the\neffect of the solar rays on the stone itself. It is said to promote\ncoolness in argument and dignity in dispute, and the Muhammedan\ntradition tells that Muhammad held that to procure contentment and\nblessings, it was necessary with right mind to Allah, to wear a\ncarnelian.\n\nCATSEYE\n\n \u201c_The Catseye is one of the jewels of which the Singhalese are\n especially proud._\u201d\n TENNENT\u2019S \u201cCEYLON.\u201d\n\nThe catseye is a chalcedonic quartz, translucent, of various\ncolours\u2014yellow-green, yellow-brown, hyacinth-red, grey, green-grey, etc.\nIt is of a peculiar opalescence, resembling the eye of a cat, when cut\nen cabochon, an effect produced by amianthoid asbestos filaments which\nrun parallel through the stone. The virtues ascribed to the catseye are\nmany. It was said to put colour into pale faces, to give pleasure to the\nmind, to relieve the soul of melancholy, to cure chronic disorders and\nwasting diseases, and to keep the wearer from financial distress and\nruin. It is said to have been successfully employed in relieving croup\nand asthma. Pressed on to the forehead between the eyes it aided thought\nand helped foresight. Carried by those with Capricorn rising in the\nhoroscope, or with the Sun, Jupiter or Venus in Capricorn, it is\ncredited with especial value as a charm for success in speculative\nventures. Enwrapped in women\u2019s hair, it was employed as a birth charm,\nand if calcined and applied to wounds, said Rabbi Ben Adoulah, it healed\nthem. Further, it cured inflammations of the eyes, if lightly rubbed on\nthe closed lids. To dream of a catseye was said to warn of treachery. It\nwas the Eye of Belus in old Assyria, and a talisman which made the\nwearer invisible to his enemies. Old Indian masters advise that the\nspecimen worn be as perfect as possible, saying that bad stones should\nnot be worn at all.\n\nThe Catseye is attached to the sign Capricorn.\n\nCEYLONITE. (See SPINEL.)\n\nCHALCEDONY\n\n \u201c_With lustre fair is the Calcedon graced._\u201d\n MARBODUS.\n\nThe chalcedony obtains its name from Chalkedon in Asia Minor, and\nappears written as calcedony, calsydoyne, calcidoine, chalcedun,\ncalcideny, chalcidonye, calcedon, calchedonie.\n\nThis stone includes a number of varieties such as carnelian, sard,\nagate, catseye, prase, plasma, heliotrope, chrysoprase, moss agate,\nonyx, sardonyx, hornstone or Chert, and flint. Chalcedony is classed\nunder the great Silica family. It is translucent, waxy, white, pale\ngrey, light brown or bluish.\n\nThe Blue Chalcedony is identified with the ancient Sapphirine\u2014a stone\nconfused with our sapphire. Mr. King says that the \u201cfinest Persian\ncylinder known, engraved with the usual type of the King fighting with\nthe lion, was formed out of this variety: the signet doubtless that once\ngraced the wrist of some Darius or Artaxerxes of the latter days of the\nPersian monarchy.\u201d\n\nIt is said that Albertus Magnus first identified the chalcedony of today\nin the 13th century, although according to many authorities this was not\ndone until the 15th century at the very earliest. The ancient chalcedony\nis classed amongst such stones as the Leucachates and Cerachates. Pliny\ndescribes the ancient chalcedony as of \u201cgreen mixed with blue as the\nfeathers of the peacock\u2019s tail or of the pigeon\u2019s neck,\u201d and Holme\nquoting from Pliny in the Armoury, 1688, says: \u201cThe chalcedon or\ncalchedoine, being well chafed and warmed, will draw a straw or a rush\nto it.\u201d The calcedon described by Pliny was not found in his time, but\nour chalcedony was greatly used in fine art work in all ages. A\nchalcedony showing tiny red and brown spots has been termed the stone of\nSt. Stephen, in allusion to the martyrdom of that Saint as described in\nChapter 7 of the Acts.\n\nThe chalcedony is a symbol of enthusiasm, and is the emblem of Victory\nDivine amongst the jewels of the Rosicrucians. It has also been termed\nthe Mother Stone, and under the name of Leucachate was sacred to Diana.\nIt protected the voyager on the ocean tracts from tempests and terrors,\ndrove away evil spirits, banished sadness and melancholy, secured public\nfavour and protected the wearer in times of political revolutions.\n\nThe chalcedony is under the zodiacal Cancer.\n\nCHALCEDONYX. The chalcedonyx is really a chalcedony adorned with lines\nof white and grey. It is included in the zodiacal Cancer.\n\nCHIASTOLITE\n\n \u201c_On her white breast a sparkling cross she wore._\u201d\n POPE.\n\nThe Chiastolite obtains its name from the Greek word CHIASTOS, crossed.\nIt is also known as Macle, from the Latin Macula, a spot. It is a form\nof Andalusite found in certain metamorphic rock. During the process of\ncrystallization certain impurities of a carbonaceous nature are\ndispersed across the stone which displays from this cause different\nforms of cross, tessellated or lozenge-shaped markings, which show out\ncuriously when the stone is cut or broken. The hardness of the stone is\nnot great\u2014specimens sometimes being as low as 3 in Mohs\u2019 scale. The\ncolour varies from grey to yellow, pink, red, white, and deep brown.\n\nThe chiastolite is reported to have been first found in Andalusia in\nSpain, at which place legend says St. James suffered martyrdom. A\nfurther amplification of this legend tells that the origin of the\nchiastolite dates back to that time when it sprang into being just where\nthe Apostle laid his hands on the rocks. At the time of Pedro the Cruel\nof Spain (14th Century), a peasant, by name Miguel Perez, found a rare\nspecimen of this stone over an inch in diameter, exhibiting two crosses,\nthe most marked being of a rich dark red hue. Wishing to obtain this\nremarkable gem as a present for his ally Edward the Black Prince (whose\ntitle, be it said, was not bestowed from the colour of his armour but as\nFroissart says, \u201cfrom the terror his arms inspired\u201d), Pedro ordered the\npeasant to bring it to him. When Perez was ushered into his presence the\nKing demanded the gem under pain of death. The terrified peasant, after\nfaltering for a few moments in nervous fear, at length held out the gem\nfor the King to take. As Pedro was about to seize it, the blood-red\ncross met his gaze and he fell in a swoon on the palace floor. The stone\nseems to have disappeared for a long period, and it is believed to have\nbeen discovered in the possession of Philip V of Spain who carried it as\na jewel charm till his death when it was hung about the neck of the\nstatue of St. James in the St. Jago di Compostella. Marshal Soult,\nhaving plundered the Cathedral during the Peninsular War, gave the\nstolen stone to Napoleon Bonaparte, who presented it to Murat.\nAstrologically, the chiastolite would not be a fortunate stone for\nPedro, Soult, Napoleon, Murat or the Black Prince\u2014notwithstanding the\nlatter\u2019s name. It would be a fortunate stone for Philip V.\n\nIt is quoted as a fact that when Columbus sailed on his voyage of\ndiscovery to America he wore a charm of chiastolite. The historical\nChiastolite of Spain is said to be at the present time in the possession\nof the French family De Bodts.\n\nThe chiastolite is a symbol of prudence, faith, caution and sincerity.\nTo dream of one is a sign of struggle, delay or limitation. It is a\nstone of the zodiacal Capricorn. Chiastolite is also written as\nchiastolith and chiastolithe. The name was bestowed on it in the year\n1800. Some very fine specimens have recently been found in South\nAustralia.\n\nCHRYSOBERYL\n\n \u201c_Time will run back and fetch the Age of Gold._\u201d\n MILTON.\n\nThe name is derived from CHRYSOS, golden, and BERYLLOS, beryl. Suitable\nstones are cut into catseyes of opalescent gleam. The chrysoberyl is\nharder than the topaz, and is composed of alumina and glucina. The\ncolours of the stone are asparagus green, grass green, greenish white.\nThe Alexandrite variety changes its colours in real and artificial\nlight.\n\nThe chrysoberyl was credited as a charm against evil spirits and a\ndisordered imagination, against deceit, craft and conspiracy. To dream\nof a chrysoberyl was a warning against waste. It is under the zodiacal\nPisces.\n\nCRYSOCOLLA. This hydros copper silicate derives its name from the Greek\nCHRYSOS, gold, and KOLLA, cement. It obtained its name from its\nresemblance to a gold solder known and used by the ancient Greeks. It is\na very soft, light substance, varying in colour from a blue-green to a\nsky or turquoise blue. The texture is enamellike, and the occurrence is\nearthy and massive. Chrysocolla is a musical charm, to dream of which\nwas favourable for musicians, florists and singers. It is under the\nzodiacal Taurus.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XV\n CHRYSOLITE\u2014CRYSTAL\n\nCHRYSOLITE: \u201cEVENING EMERALD\u201d: THE ANCIENT AMIANTHUS: BANISHER OF EVIL\n INFLUENCES: STONE OF INSPIRATION: \u201cTHE PRECIOUS STONE\u201d: CHRYSOPRASE:\n STONE OF DREAMS AND HAPPINESS: BAD EFFECT OF EXCESSIVE LIGHT:\n CINNAMON STONE: CITRINE OR FALSE TOPAZ: ITS TALISMANIC VIRTUES:\n COAL: BLACK DIAMONDS: \u201cHAULING OVER THE COALS\u201d: TAX ON COAL: FIRST\n COAL LICENCES: PROCLAMATION AGAINST THE USE OF COAL: FIRST COAL\n EXPORTED TO PARIS: THE NATURE OF CORAL: OLD BELIEF: TREVISA ON THE\n CORAL: CORAL SPECIES: PERSEUS AND THE MEDUSA: THE WORK OF THE\n SEA-NYMPHS: THE RISING OF THE LOVE GODDESS: THE EVIL EYE:\n FASCINATION: ROMAN CUSTOM: CORAL AND HEALTH: DISPELLER OF EVIL\n SPIRITS: INCUBI AND SUCCUBI: DR. HARTMANN\u2019S TESTIMONY: BARTHOLOMEUS\n AND THE WYTCHES\u2019 STONE: MYSTICAL PROPERTIES ASCRIBED TO CORAL:\n CUSTOM OF OLD GREEK SAILORS: LEMNIUS AND CORAL: THE GEM OF THE\n GARDEN OF EVERLASTING LIFE: A 17TH CENTURY PRESCRIPTION: THE STONE\n OF THE DANCERS: CORUNDUM: CORDIERITE: CROCIDOLITE: CRYSTAL: EARLY\n USE ON SCARABEI, ETC.: TRIAL OF PSYCHE: THE ETHIOPIAN KING AND THE\n CRYSTAL TOMBS: THE HAPSBURG CRYSTAL VASES: CRYSTAL IN CHINA AND\n JAPAN: THE TALISMAN OF CONCENTRATION: THE MEDICINE INDIANS:\n AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINALS AND THE CRYSTAL: RAIN STONE: THE CORADGEE:\n CRYSTALLOMANCY AMONGST THE NATIVES OF AUSTRALIA: CRYSTAL BALLS AND\n THE SUN\u2019S RAYS: DR. BABBITT\u2019S REMARKS ON THE CONVEX LENS:\n HYDROLITES: THE THIRD EYE: AN ANTIQUE SEAL RING: CRYSTALS IN THE\n HIGHLANDS: SIR WILLIAM RIDGEWAY ON CRYSTALS: SWEDENBORG\u2019S STONE OF\n TRUTH.\n\n\nCHRYSOLITE\n\n \u201c_When morning rose, to land\n We haul\u2019d our bark, and moored it on the strand,\n Where in a beauteous grotto\u2019s cool recess\n Dance the green Nereids of the neighboring seas._\u201d\n HOMER. (Pope\u2019s Translation.)\n\nThe Chrysolite obtains its name from the Greek CHRYSOS, gold, and\nLITHOS, a stone. This gem is of a light greeny-yellow; when deep olive\ngreen it is known as a Peridot, when yellowish-green as True Olivine.\nAmong the ancients the Chrysolite was our topaz. Its name, literally\n\u201cGolden Stone,\u201d indicates the beautiful golden topaz so highly esteemed\nby gem-lovers, which, we are told, derives its name from that mysterious\nIsland of the Mists which Pliny calls Topazion. Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith\nwrites of the variety peridot as bearing the pretty name of \u201cthe evening\nemerald,\u201d and the most charming specimens resemble the light green of\nthe sea waters near the shore, illuminated by the setting sun. This gem\nappears to be the Amianthus of post-Biblical writers, known as \u201cthe gem\nof miracles,\u201d which drove away the spirits and influences of evil,\nprotected against obsession, dissolved enchantments, and the phantoms of\nthe night, gladdened the heart with hope, strengthened the soul,\ninspired thought, banished illusion, despair, madness, aided the\nfaculties of inspiration and prophecy.\n\nIn the History of Monsieur Oufle\u2014quoted by Brand\u2014it is advised: \u201cTo\nexpel phantoms and rid people of folly, take the precious stone\nchrysolite, set it in gold, and let them wear it about \u2019em.\u201d Francis\nBarrett says that it is good for the lungs and cures asthmatical\ncomplaints; also that when held under the tongue it cures fevers, aids\nprophecy, bestows eloquence and inspiration. The peridot was known as\n\u201c_the_\u201d precious stone, and was often valued more than the diamond.\n\nThe hardness of the chrysolite is from 6 to 7 on Mohs\u2019 scale. It is\nunder the zodiacal Pisces.\n\nCHRYSOPRASE\n\nThe chrysoprase derives its name from the Greek CHRYSOS, golden, and\nPRASON, a leek. It is an apple-green chalcedony, the colour being caused\nby oxide of nickel. The chrysoprase was esteemed the perfect stone of\ndreams in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. It was believed that if one\ncondemned for any offence whatever held a chrysoprase in his mouth he\nwould escape punishment. It was a stone for the voyager on deep seas, a\nkindler of the imaginative faculties, a banisher of greed, selfishness\nand carelessness. It was the stone of happiness and enterprise,\nawakening slumbering faculties. It calmed irritability, the pains of\ngout, and, bound to the left arm, it prevented or cured the stone. It\nwas the stone of prudence, adaptability and versatility, rousing to\naction, progress and adventure. To gaze into the chrysoprase was said to\nstrengthen the eyes, especially when the Moon was passing through Taurus\nand Cancer. In many ways the chrysoprase was a religious symbol. In its\nHebrew name of NOFEK it was the fourth stone of the Breastplate, and as\nthe tenth jewel of the Rosicrucians it was the symbol of strength, moral\nand physical, and of invisible power. Swedenborg sees in it \u201cthe supreme\nheavenly love of truth,\u201d and the Fathers see \u201ctriumph over sin.\u201d Its\nsymbology is reflected to the gateway through which the soul passed when\nentering the sphere of earth, and its dream influence was like an\nangel\u2019s smile. Light in excess has an unfavourable effect on this stone,\nrobbing it of its colour. Introduced into England in the reign of Ann,\nit was much loved by the Queen. It enjoyed great popularity during the\ntimes of the 3 Georges, and was a favorite gem of Queen Victoria.\n\nThe chrysoprase is under the zodiacal Cancer.\n\nCINNAMON STONE. (See ESSONITE.)\n\nCITRINE\n\nCitrine is a clear light yellow quartz crystal, obtaining its name from\nits citron tint. It is correctly called False Topaz, and incorrectly\nBrazilian Topaz. It presents no cleavage like the topaz. It is also\nknown as Spanish topaz and Occidental topaz. The citrine was carried as\na protective talisman against miasmatic exhalations, plague epidemics,\neruptive diseases, evil thought forms, alcoholic and other forms of\nindulgence. It was also employed as a charm against the bites of snakes,\nvenomous reptiles and insects, and against scandal, libel and treachery.\n\nThe Citrine is under the zodiacal Scorpio.\n\nCOAL\n\n \u201c_A live coal from the altar (Is. VI. 6) signifies divine love from\n which all purification is derived._\u201d\n\n SWEDENBORG.\n\nCoal derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon word KOL, to kindle. It is a\nwell-known solid black combustible substance, the remains of old forests\nand earth vegetation which chemical action has changed chiefly by the\nelimination of oxygen and hydrogen. Many dyes, acids, gases,\nflavourings, etc., are obtained from this important product. Amongst\nthese are tar, coke, creosote, carbolic acid, naphtha, sal-ammoniac,\nammonia, various explosives, drugs, mineral vanilla, etc. Dr. Brewer\nexplains that to \u201chaul over the coals\u201d is historically and literally\ntrue: \u201cAt one time,\u201d he says, \u201cthe Jews were \u2018bled\u2019 whenever the Kings\nor barons wanted money, and one very common torture, if they resisted,\nwas to haul them over the coals of a slow fire to give them a roasting.\u201d\nSir Walter Scott alludes to this practice in \u201cIvanhoe.\u201d Professor John\nHenry Pepper, writing, on \u201cCoal and Coal Mines,\u201d introduces the\nfollowing interesting details: \"In olden time, before a cargo of coals\ncould be discharged from a collier, it was necessary to obtain the\npermission of the Lord Mayor who, for a certain consideration, granted\nthe required permission. This much honoured magistrate and his worthy\ncoadjutors, the aldermen, with the common councilmen and livery called\nthe Corporation were permitted to lay a tax upon the \u201cblack diamonds\u201d\nthat amounted to something like \u00a350,000 per annum. In 1830 the heaviest\nof the coal duties were abolished: and since that time the trade has\nassumed gigantic proportions which have made it the marvel of the\ncivilized world. The first licences to dig coals were granted to the\nburgesses of Newcastle by Henry III and in 1281 a very good trade\nexisted in that fuel. A proclamation in the reign of King Edward I shows\nthe introduction of coal as a substitute for wood, and a charter of\nEdward II indicates that Derbyshire coal was used in London. In the same\nreign coals were first sent from Newcastle for the benefit of those\ntrades which required fuel: and in 1316 a petition was made from\nParliament to the King praying His Majesty to forbid all use of the new\nand pestilent fuel called \u201ccoals,\u201d which was acceded to, and a\nproclamation made, commanding all use of coals to cease and determine,\nand threatening all who burnt coals to be mulcted, and on a second\noffence to have their furnaces demolished. In the reign of Queen\nElizabeth the burning of stone coal was again prohibited during the\nsitting of Parliament. At a subsequent period, about 1648, coals were\nonce more placed under a ban.... In 1520 Newcastle coal was first\nexported into Paris.\"\n\nA piece of coal was carried by thieves in the belief that it would\nprotect them from detection, and help them to escape when pursued. To\ndream of coals is indicated as a symbol of disappointment, trouble,\naffliction and losses, except if the coals be burning brightly when the\nsymbol gives promises of uplifting and advancement, for the fire symbol\nof Mars is rousing to action the coal symbol of Saturn. Coal is under\nthe celestial Capricorn.\n\nCORAL\n\n \u201c_In the pleased infant see its power expand\n When first the coral fills his little hand._\u201d\n SPRAGUE.\n\nCoral is a carbonate of lime effected by gelatinous marine mollusks\nknown as \u201cpolypi.\u201d\n\nFor long ages coral was supposed to be a marine plant of which Trevisa\nwrote in 1495: \u201cCorall is gendred in the Red See, and is a tree as long\nas it is coveryd with water, but as it is drawen out it torneth into\nstone,\u201d and Jordan in 1699 tells us that \u201ccoral also being a plant and\nnourished with this juice, turns to a stone.\u201d The name is derived from\nthe Greek word Korallion, and is found written as corale, corral,\ncorreil, curalle, curroll, quyral, etc.\n\nThe various species have been set down as follows:\n\n Pink Coral\n Red Coral\n White Coral\n Black Coral\n Blue Coral\n Yellow Coral, etc.\n\nIn more modern times species have obtained names from their appearance.\nThus:\n\n Brain Coral\n Cup Coral\n Mushroom Coral\n Organpipe Coral\n Star Coral\n\nThe appeal of coral to the poet finds expression in some charming\nlegends:\n\nOvid (Metamorphoses) wrote that Perseus, after he had cut the head from\nthe body of the dreadful Medusa, laid it on the branches of the trees\nwhich grew by the sea shore; but the power never departing, turned these\nbranches, as it had turned every other living thing, into stone. The sea\nnymphs drew these fossils beneath the waves and they became the coral\nseeds. A variation of this legend tells that the blood which fell from\nthe bleeding head on to the shrubs, flowers and trees turned them into\nseeds of coral which the sea nymphs drew beneath the waves. It arose\nagain in flower-like beauty with Venus when she emerged in all her glory\nfrom the sea, symbolical of the exaltation of Venus in the zodiacal\nPisces, and in this connection also concealing a deeper meaning. No gem\nhas been more employed as a charm for averting the fell spell of the\nevil eye than the innocent coral which was credited with the power of\ndestroying the first stroke of the glance, after which it\u2014like the drawn\nfang of the serpent\u2014was rendered incapable of injury. Scot writes in\n\u201cDiscovery of Witchcraft:\u201d \u201cThe coral preserveth such as bear it from\nfascination or bewitching and in this respect corals are hanged about\nchildren\u2019s necks.\u201d Pliny mentions that the Romans hung on babies\u2019\ncradles and around their necks pieces of red coral as an aid in teething\nand an influence against the falling sickness and infantile diseases.\nPlato says: \u201cCoral is good to be hanged about children\u2019s necks, as well\nto rub their gums as to preserve them from the falling sickness. It hath\nalso some special sympathy with Nature, for the best coral, being worn\nabout the neck, will turn pale and wan if the party that wears it be\nsick, and comes to its former colour again as they recover health.\u201d\nBrand mentions a similar idea in the \u201cThree Ladies of London,\u201d 1584:\n\u201cCoral will look pale when you be sick.\u201d Little bells were also attached\nin the Middle Ages to children\u2019s coral charms in order to ward off evil\nspirits, storms and pestilence, and scare away the Furies; this same\nbelief exists in Japan, China and other countries. It is a fact that\ncoral is affected by the health of the wearer; some writers say that it\nbecomes spotted or stained when the illness is of a serious nature. It\nwas regarded as a very potent charm for women. In Italy the coral was\nalso called the Witch Stone, because it was said to protect women from\nthe wizards and men from the witches. In connection with these\nParacelsus writes: \u201cThey are the outgrowths of an intense and sensual\nimagination of men and women, and which Rabbinical traditions relate in\nan allegorical manner, are connected with Adam (the animal Man), and\nLilith, his first wife. They are afraid of red corals as dogs are afraid\nof a whip: but the brown corals attract them. Red corals are\ndisagreeable to monsters, Incubi, Succubi, Phantasmata and all evil\nspirits, but brown corals are not, and they delight in them.\u201d In\ncommenting on this Dr. Franz Hartmann, a physician of note and\ndistinguished writer, says that he knew of cases of melancholy,\ndepression of mind, hypochondria, etc., that had been successfully\ntreated by the wearing of red corals, while other articles employed for\nthe same purpose had no effect, the cure therefore not being merely\nattributable to the belief of the patient. He concludes: \u201cThe ignorant\nwill find it easier to ridicule such things than to explain them.\u201d\n\nA curious passage in Bartholomeus (\u201cDe Proprietatibus Rerum,\u201d 1536) is\nof interest: \u201cWytches tell that this stone withstondeth lyghtnyng,\nwhirlewynde, tempeste and stormes fro shyppes and houses that it is in.\nThe Red Corall helpeth ayenst the feudes, gyle and scorne, and ayenst\ndivers wonderous doyng and multiplieth frute, and spedeth begynnyng and\nending of causes and of nedes.\u201d Oriental mystics warn against the\nwearing of dull, dirty or discoloured specimens. The pure coral was\ndeemed a protection from plague, poison, storm and tempest. In a house\nit charmed away disharmony, envy and evil influences. It banished evil\ndreams and the \u201cterrors of the night,\u201d wild animals, the lightning\nstroke, witchcraft, epilepsy, stomach complaints, night sweats, etc. It\nwas a cure for sores, diseased gums, whooping cough, disorders of the\nspleen, teething troubles, troubles of the feet and toes, madness, etc.\n\nIt is interesting to note that natural corals in the form of vegetable\ngrowths were, and in some places still are, tied to fruit trees to\nensure their fertility, and that women of ancient times wore such\nspecimens as charms against sterility. Thus, \u201cshe who hath risen from\nthe sea foam,\u201d Venus, was regarded as employing the moistures so needed\nin perfecting the material dresses of the animal, mineral and vegetable\nworlds when entering earth conditions: and the ancient masters held that\nsuch examples of the doctrine of Sympathies, Similitudes, Signatures and\nCorrespondences guide man to a correct knowledge and understanding of\nthe mysteries of Nature. The ancient Greeks attached coral to the prows\nof their ships to protect them from the onslaughts of sea and storm.\nLemnius says: \u201cBind corall to the neck, it takes off turbulent dreams\nand allays the nightly fears of children.\u201d The gem of the Arabian Garden\nof the Everlasting Life\u2014Jannat al Khuld\u2014is the yellow coral.\n\nTo dream of red, pink and coral of beautiful lustre is said to denote\nrecovery to the sick and good health to any one, but ill-conditioned\nspecimens symbolize the opposite. As a cardiac stimulant, for stopping\nh\u00e6morrhages, warding off contagion, etc., the old physician Rulandus\n(Medicina Practica, 1564) prescribed half a drachm of powdered coral.\n\nThe following 17th century prescription was administered as a cure for\ncolic, purging and vomiting, and is given here as of especial interest:\n\n[Illustration]\n\n Tabell\u00e6 Corallat\u00e6:\n \u211e Corallorum rubeorum pr\u00e6paratorum\n \u0292ij margaritar pr\u00e6parator\n \u0292i boli armeni\n \u02928 ligni aloes\n \u2108i sacch. albissimi dissoluti in aqu\u00e2\n rosaru cinnamonie tenuioris\n quantum sufficit: fiat confectes in\n tabellis.\n\nAmongst the Spaniards it was usual at one time for conjurers and\njugglers especially to wear tight-fitting coral-coloured costumes. Good\nspecimens of coral are greatly esteemed by dancers. It is especially a\nluck gem of the ballet, the sign Pisces of the Zodiac, under which all\ncorals are placed\u2014ruling the feet.\n\nCORUNDUM. Also written at earlier periods as coriundum, corundon,\ncorindon. (See under Ruby, Sapphire.)\n\nCORDIERITE. See IOLITE.\n\nCROCIDOLITE. Also written Krokydolite, krocidolite. This stone was named\nin the year 1831, from the Greek KROKIS, a variation of KROKUS, the nap\nof woollen cloth, and LITHOS, a stone. It is well described as an\nasbestiform variety of hornblend of indigo-blue, leek-green or\ngolden-brown colour\u2014the latter variety being also known as Tiger\u2019s Eye.\nWhen cut en cabochon this stone has a fine chatoyant effect. There is\nlittle doubt that the ancients knew of this stone of the asbestos family\nunder the zodiacal Gemini. It was regarded as a fortunate stone for\npeople of literary or mercurial tendencies, and as a nerve and lung\nsoother. Held against the temple when the Moon is passing through the\nsign Gemini, in good aspect to Mercury, it would assist thought and\nmental speculation.\n\nCRYSTAL\n\nThe crystal obtains its name from the Greek word KRUSTALLOS, ice. It is\na pure and transparent variety of Quartz, so called because of its\nresemblance to clear ice. In literature it appears as cristalla,\ncristal, crestal, kristall, cristalle, christall, chrystal. Webster\nwrites that the English spelling was gradually changed to CRYSTAL\nbetween the 15th and 17th centuries. We have evidence of its early use\nby man, Egyptian scarabei and Babylonian cylinders having been found,\ndating back as far as 1500 B.C. In the trial of Psyche\u2014that beautifully\nsymbolic legend\u2014Venus gives this graceful lover of Eros the magical vase\nof pure crystal with the request that it be filled with the waters from\nthe Fountain of Forgetfulness. The Fountain waters flowed through a\nnarrow channel at the summit of a steep mountain, and they murmured: \u201cTo\nattempt is to perish. Be warned. Be warned. To attempt is to perish; fly\nfrom us.\u201d Psyche saw two caves, one on each side of these icy waters,\nand in these caves were two terrible dragons. With the precious vase in\nher trembling hands, the faithful lover prayed for help in her perilous\ntask. Jupiter heard her prayer in pity, for love had been kind to him,\nand he sent his eagle to her. The eagle drew the vase from Psyche and,\nfilling it with the waters, brought it to her. Then she ran to Venus,\nthinking that pitying love would exact no more. \u201cThy witchery has gained\nthee these waters,\u201d said the Goddess, \u201cI have another test for thee.\u201d\n\nThe King of the Ethiopians showed the messengers of Cambyses amongst\nother wonders the tombs of pure crystal in which could be seen the\nbodies of the departed, perfect in form and feature. In the imperial\nvault of the Hapsburgs in the Church of the Capucins, Vienna, there are\n150 crystal vases, gold mounted, with a crown on the top of each, which\ncontain the hearts of the Royal members of the Family. This practice\ndates from Duke Francis who, dying in Switzerland, directed that his\nheart should be preserved and sent to Vienna.\n\nIn China and Japan the crystal is called SINSHO. The Japanese know it\nalso as Tama or Jewel of Perfection, and it is used by them for making\ncrystal balls and beautiful objects of art. It is cut in the shape of a\nball, esteemed in Japan as the Stone of Concentration, and several in a\nfamily will sit round gazing at a specimen in which they see guidance\nand help in the path of life. In China it is also known as CHING, and\nsymbolized as an upright triangle of three suns, it has always been\nhighly esteemed. It is cut with great patience into figures of deities\nand sacred objects. The Chinese regard it as a talisman of concentration\nand perseverance; it recalls to them the magnificence and immensity of\nwhat man calls space, this \u201cjewel of perfection\u201d which the Japanese also\nterm \u201cBreath of the White Dragon.\u201d\n\nThe Medicine Indians of South America say that a holy spirit is in the\ncrystal, and for this reason the sacred stones must not be seen except\nby initiates. The aboriginals of Australia and Tasmania regarded the\ncrystal in a mystic way. It was known by the Murray tribes as Katto and\nMaako. The South Australians generally termed large crystals Kanwenmuka,\nand smaller specimens Kanyappa. It is the Teyl of the West Australian,\nthe Leeka and Heka of the Tasmanian and it is called Tendeagh by the\nEast tribe and Mughramallee by the South. The late Mr. James Bonwick\nsays that the natives usually wore the crystal in its bag, suspended\nfrom the neck; he gives their song of magic as follows:\n\n Kano Kano wimmari (lizard)\n Kano Kano Kanwemuka (crystal)\n Kano Kano Makkitya (flint)\n Kano yeruka Makkitya\n Makkitya mulyeria.\n\n[Illustration: Gazing Crystal on Dragon Stand. Presented to the Author\nby the Late Judge Casey of Victoria, Australia.]\n\nMr. Bonwick also gives instances of the prevalence of Crystallomancy\namongst the aboriginals, the use of the Rain Stone, the Coradgee Stone\nwhich was wrapped in hair and was not to be seen by a female, \u201cnot\nalways a simple white stone, it was more commonly a quartz crystal.\u201d He\nsays further \u201cSome men, by proper use of this magical agency (the\ncrystal) could work wonders.\u201d Thus, the crystal has been employed by\nsavage and civilized man in all ages. It was said to enclose within its\nbright form all the knowledge and secrets that have ever been; if worn\nduring sleep it banishes evil dreams and spells, and guards the wearer\nagainst sorcery, witchcraft, secret enemies and evil thoughts. It was\nsaid to indicate the presence of poison by clouding or by breaking\u2014hence\nits employment in the manufacture of precious goblets by the ancients.\nIt was employed as a preventive of watery, wasting and infectious\ndiseases, tumourous complaints, blood impurities, heart, bowel and feet\ntroubles, renal affections, etc. Pliny recommends it as an external\nmedicine for women when in the form of fine powder mixed with honey.\nWith regard to the employment of crystal balls and lenses for medical\npurposes, this venerable author says: \u201cI find it asserted by physicians\nthat when any part of the body requires to be cauterized it cannot be\nbetter done than by means of a crystal ball held against the sun\u2019s\nrays\u201d; it is interesting to compare this statement with a more recent\none made by the late Dr. E. D. Babbitt, M.D.:\n\n\u201cSunlight can lubricate and even vesicate the skin without causing much\npain or without leaving any permanent scars like those formed by\nsinapisms, moxas, lancings, etc. Many a tumour which under the old\nsystem is cut out without even reaching the cause, is destroyed by\nconcentrating the light upon it through a convex lens.\u201d\n\nMany beautiful crystals bearing intagli of a large size have been\ndiscovered. Mr. King mentions two choice specimens of Valerio il\nVicentino and his rival Geo. del Castel Bolognese. Some crystals have\nbeen found encasing drops of water very much like the spirit in the\nspirit-level. These are known as Hydrolites or, as Pliny writes them,\nEnhydros. They are mentioned by the poet Claudian as\u2014\n\n \u201c_A stream unfettered pent in crystal round,\n A truant fount by hardened waters bound._\u201d\n\nMr. King received information that miners in California have died from\ndrinking the water from a hydrolite, and this circumstance exhibits the\nsubtle action of some of the stones attached to the sign of the Fishes.\nThe crystal, wrongly but frequently termed \u201cberyl\u201d stone, is highly\nesteemed as an instrument for heightening the imagination and bringing\nout the gazing power of the third eye previously mentioned. Mr. William\nJones gives an illustration of the seal of a divination ring from\nLicini\u2019s \u201cAntiqua Schemata.\u201d It shows a half nude woman holding a\nserpent in her left hand, the head of which is bending towards a crystal\nball held by a nude man, his right leg resting on a wooden stand, his\nleft stretching towards an altar on which the sacred fire is burning.\nThe female bends over the male who gazes intently into the crystal ball.\nThe work is full of expression and force.\n\nIn the Highlands of Scotland large pieces of crystal were used for\ncharms, and cattle were given to drink water which had been poured over\ncrystals. Similar crystals were employed for the protection of cattle in\nIreland, a fine specimen being still kept by the Tyrone family.\n\nThe sign Pisces is the natural 12th celestial House, ruling large\ncattle. It is also the sign of occult and mysterious things and of the\nelevation of Venus. Thus, all the legends, stories and philosophies\nconnected with this bright stone of the sign Pisces are easily\nunderstood. Professor Sir William Ridgeway, of Cambridge, England, in\nhis work, \u201cThe Drama and Dramatic Dances of Non-European Races,\u201d draws\nattention to the fact that \u201ccrystals have always been and are still\nregarded as the most amuletic of precious stones, and comedians also are\nfrequently cut into faceted shapes by the Arabs and others. The diamond\nand spinel are both octahedral. The Japanese are especially fond of rock\ncrystal, one of their favorite amulets being a double gourd cut out of\nsuch a crystal.\u201d Swedenborg recognized in the crystal \u201cDivine Truth in\nall its brightness\u201d and truth certainly has its correspondence in the\nclear glistening magnetic crystal.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XVI\n THE DIAMOND\n\nARNOTT\u2019S OBSERVATION: EXTREME HARDNESS: BOYLE AND DU FAY PROVE\n ELECTRICAL QUALITIES: DR. KUNZ AND PHOSPHORESCENCE: SIR WILLIAM\n CROOKS ON RADIUM AND THE DIAMOND: EXPERIMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL\n PRODUCTION BY MARDEN, MOISSAN AND CROOKS: SIR CHARLES PARSONS\u2019\n CONCLUSIONS: \u201cSEARCH FOR THE ABSOLUTE\u201d: DISCOVERY OF A LARGE DIAMOND\n AT JACOB\u2019S FARM ON THE ORANGE RIVER: SIR WILLIAM WODEHOUSE\u2019S\n PURCHASE: DIAMONDS IN MUD BRICKS: AUSTRALIAN DIAMONDS: FIRST DIAMOND\n BROUGHT TO EUROPE: GOLCONDA: BRAZIL: FLORENTINE DEMONSTRATION OF THE\n TRUTH OF BOETIUS\u2019S BELIEF AND NEWTON\u2019S DEDUCTIONS: BOYLE\u2019S\n EXPERIMENTS AT HIGH TEMPERATURE: AVERANI PROVES THE FORCE OF THE\n SUN\u2019S RAYS ON A DIAMOND: EASILY BURNED BUT UNAFFECTED BY ACIDS: THE\n GNOMES OF THE ROSICRUCIANS: GNOME LEGENDS: SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE ON\n THE DIAMOND: RABBI BENONI, BOETIUS DE BOODT AND THE HINDU WRITERS:\n ES-SINDIBAD OF THE SEA AND THE VALLEY OF DIAMONDS: SIMILAR STORIES:\n EL-KAZWEENEE: MARCO POLO: MR. MARSDEN\u2019S OBSERVATIONS: GOLCONDA:\n LITTLE PRINCESS MARY\u2019S DIAMOND MARRIAGE RING: LORD LISLE\u2019S DEATH\n DIAMOND: THE DIAMOND HEART RING OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS: QUEEN\n ELIZABETH AND SIR WALTER RALEIGH: DIAMOND SAVES THE LIFE OF QUEEN\n ISABELLA OF SPAIN: EX-PRESIDENT KRUGER\u2019S UNLUCKY DIAMOND: KING\n ARTHUR AND THE DIAMOND JOUSTS: THE AFFAIR OF THE DIAMOND NECKLACE:\n INDIAN DIAMOND CUTTERS: LOUIS VAN BERGHEM: CHARLESMAGNE\u2019S DIAMOND\n CLASP: HERMAN THE LAPIDARY: PERUZZI: CLEMENT BIRAGO AND JACOPO DA\n TREZZO ENTER THE SERVICE OF PHILIP II: POPE HILDEBRAND SENDS A\n DIAMOND RING TO WILLIAM OF NORMANDY: THE DIAMOND SWORD IN THE TALE\n OF THE YELLOW DWARF: THE ZODIACAL SIGNS OF THE DIAMOND: THE DIAMOND\n IN LOVE AND MARRIAGE: BORT.\n\n\nDIAMOND\n\n \u201c_The lively diamond drinks thy purest rays._\u201d\n THOMSON.\n\nThe diamond derives its name from the Greek ADAMAS, ADAMANTOS, adamant.\nIt has been written at various times as dyamawnte, dyamamaunt, dyamant,\ndiamant, diamownde, dyamonde, dyamount, diamonde, diamont, dimond,\ndymauntz, and adamant stone. It is but pure crystallized carbon, and\nArnott (Physics, 1830), writes: \u201cThe diamond has nearly the greatest\nlight-bending power of any known substances, and hence comes in part its\nbrilliancy as a jewel.\u201d It is remarkable also for its extreme hardness\nand for its variety of colours\u2014steel, white, blue, yellow, orange, red,\ngreen, pink and black. This \u201cprince of gems\u201d in days of old was\nconsidered the royal stone which only a prince was privileged to wear.\nThe highly electrical properties ascribed by the ancients to the diamond\nwere proved in the 17th and 18th centuries by the chemists Boyle and Du\nFay, and Dr. Kunz has demonstrated today that all diamonds \u201cphosphoresce\nwhen exposed to the rays of radium, polonium, or actinum, even when\nglass is interposed.\u201d In a paper read to the Royal Society, London,\nNovember 5th, 1914, the late Sir William Crooks said: \u201cMany substances\nbecome coloured by direct exposure to radium, the colour depending on\nthe substance. Diamond takes a full sage-green, the depth of tint\ndepending on the time of exposure to the radium. In addition to the\nchange of colour the diamond also becomes radio-active, continuously\ngiving off \u03b1, \u03b2, \u03b3 rays. The acquired colour and activity withstand the\naction of powerful chemical agents and continue for years with\napparently undiminished activity. Removing the surface by mechanical\nmeans removes both colour and radio-activity. The appearance of an\nauto-radiograph made by placing an active diamond crystal on a sensitive\nphotographic plate and the visual examination of its scintillating\nluminosity suggest that there is a special discharge of energy from the\ncorners and points of the crystal.\u201d\n\nThe several experiments for the production of diamonds by artificial\nmeans have since 1880 been conducted by some eminent scientists, notably\nProfessor Marden, Professor Henri Moissan and Sir William Crooks. For\nmany years Sir Charles Parsons has been working closely at the problem,\nand the main conclusions arrived at by this scholar were communicated to\nthe Royal Society, London, in 1918. They were as follows:\n\nThat graphite cannot be converted into diamond by heat and pressure\nalone within the limits reached in the experiments;\n\nThat there is no distinct evidence that any of the chemical reactions\nunder pressure have yielded diamond;\n\nThat the only undoubted source of diamond is from iron previously heated\nto high temperature and then cooled.\n\nThat diamond is not produced by bulk pressure as previously supposed,\nbut by the action of gases occluded in the metal and condensed into the\ncentre on quick cooling.\n\nIn connection with these experiments it will be found interesting to\nread Balzac\u2019s \u201cSearch for the Absolute,\u201d in which it is told how after\nmany ruinous attempts to produce a diamond by artificial means one,\nself-formed, is found in the old chemist\u2019s laboratory after his death.\nThe worth and romance of the old mines of Brazil and India are dwelt on\nby many of the writers of the past, and although diamonds were\ndiscovered in South Africa in the 18th Century, yet no important\ndiscoveries were made until 1867, when a large stone was found by\nchildren of a Dutch farmer, Mr. Jacobs, not far from their farm near\nHopetown on the Orange River. Not knowing what the stone really was and\nattaching no value to it, Mrs. Jacobs gave it to Mr. Schalk van Niekerk,\na neighbour, who entrusted it to Mr. O\u2019Reilly, a hunter and trader,\nasking him to submit it to some mineralogist for an opinion. Mr.\nO\u2019Reilly took the stone to Colesberg and showed it to Mr. Boyes, the\nacting commissioner for that district, at whose suggestion it was\nsubmitted to Dr. W. G. Atherstone of Graham\u2019s Town. Thanks to his\nmineralogical knowledge, Dr. Atherstone proved the stone to be a\ndiamond. It was exhibited in Paris in March, 1867, as \u201cThe First African\nDiamond Discovered,\u201d and was purchased by the Cape Governor, Sir Philip\nWodehouse, for \u00a3500. Sir Philip sold it to Garrards and it has changed\nhands several times since then. The weight of this stone was 21 carats.\nThe famous Du Toit\u2019s Pan was found through a Boer farmer actually\ndiscovering diamonds in the mud bricks of which his house was built.\n\nAs early as 1866, Mr. C. W. King expected that quantities of diamonds\nfrom Australia would reach the world\u2019s markets, and there is no doubt\nthat this expectation will be realized when those parts of the vast\nCommonwealth from which many diamonds have already come, have been\nthoroughly tested and proved. In 1885 several companies were working at\nBingera, a township in New South Wales, 350 miles from Sydney, and many\nsmall but pure hard stones were found. The writer has handled some few\nspecimens of fine blue white from Bingera, ranging from a quarter to\nhalf a carat after cutting. The hardness of the Australian gem\u2014which may\nwell add another point to Mohs\u2019s scale\u2014has counted against it, but\nmodern cutters will not consider this a bar especially if sufficient\nquantities be submitted for treatment. Gold has also been found at\nBingera and, as Mr. King writes: \u201cThe observation made of old by Pliny\nthat the diamond always accompanies gold has been fully borne out by the\nexperience of succeeding ages.\u201d The first Australian diamonds were found\nin New South Wales, at Reedy Creek, near Bathurst, in 1851. In 1869\nduring a gold rush near Mudgee some fair diamonds were found by the\nminers. Professor Liversidge of Sydney describes the occurrence of\ndiamonds at Bingera \u201cas being situated in a sort of basin about four\nmiles long and four miles wide, hemmed in by hills on all sides, save on\nthe North. An old river-drift, probably an ancient bed of the river\nHorton, rests upon rocks of Devonian or Carboniferous age, and is\nassociated with basalt by which it appears to be overlain. In some\nplaces the materials of the drift are compacted together into a\nconglomerate, so that the mode of occurrence of the diamond at Bingera\nstrikingly resembles that at Mudgee. The minerals composing the gravels\nare also generally similar in the two cases, though points of difference\nare not wanting. Some of the diamonds are clear and colourless, others\nhave a pale straw tint. Thousands have been found in this district, as\nwell as in many other localities of New South Wales.\u201d The gravels\nenclosed agate, sapphire, ruby, zircon, jasper, rock crystal, garnets,\ngrey corundum, ilmenite, tourmaline, gold and tin. Mr. A. R. Pike who,\nwith his partner, Mr. John O\u2019Donnell, has had much experience with\nAustralian diamonds at Inverell, New South Wales, writes interestingly\nconcerning them. \u201cWith slates and diorites from the bed-rock, gold is\nfound in the wash, in addition to its diamond output. Rich yields of\nalluvial gold have been won from the Gulgong district. The wash deposit\nof this field also carries diamonds and a special class of semi-precious\ngems. They embrace sapphires in large numbers and various tints;\ncornflower, blue, green, dark blue, straw, yellow, and blood-red are\nplentiful. The red sapphires in many cases are true rubies of the\ndesired pigeon-blood colour. Unfortunately all the sapphires represent\nsmall flat fragments and are too small for cutting purposes.\u201d A few\nmonths ago the writer picked out about a dozen fair but small diamonds\nfor a \u201cfossicker\u201d from a little bag of different stones that he had\nfound in Spring Creek, Beechworth, Victoria.\n\nIt is recorded that diamonds were first brought to Europe from the first\nknown of the mines of Golconda, the mine of Sumbulpour, in 1584. The\nmines of Brazil were discovered in 1728. Boetius de Boodt asserted in\nthe year 1609, his belief in the inflammability of the diamond, and in\n1694 the Florentine academicians demonstrated the truth of Boetius\u2019\nbelief and Newton\u2019s deductions\u2014Sir Isaac Newton having based his similar\nconclusions on the refracting power of the diamond in 1675. Boyle\ndiscovered in 1673 that when the diamond was submitted to high\ntemperature it ejected a pungent vapour in which a part of it was\nconsumed. In 1695 Averani experimenting with the concentrated rays of\nthe sun on the diamond demonstrated that \u201cit was exhaled in vapour and\nentirely disappeared while other precious stones only grew softer.\u201d That\nthe diamond can be burned is easy of proof, as is also the fact that\nacids have no effect upon it.\n\nThe gnomes figure in the elemental system of Rosicrucian philosophy,\nbeing described as small people who guard the mines and treasures of the\nearth, the precious stones and the metals. They are robust little\nfellows of a brown colour, and their sympathy extends to philosophic\nminds amongst both miners and scholars. They hate frivolity, for they\nare serious little fairies. Comte de Gabalis details an argument with\ntheir Prince who came to the upper earth in respect to the will of the\nIrish sage Macnamara. Macnamara has sympathy for the gnomes whom he\ncalls \u201cthe unhappy guardians of treasures,\u201d in the mystical chapters on\n\u201cThe Irreconcilable.\u201d There are numerous legends of the Gnomes, the\nmeanings of which are not difficult to interpret if the mind of the\nstudent is filled with the desire to know. It is said that these little\nfairies suffer much, and that when they grieve for those they have loved\nand lost their tears change into diamonds, which remain as the jewel\nemblems of pure and unselfish grief. That great old English traveller of\nthe 14th Century, Sir John Mandeville\u2014a copy of whose MS., said to date\nfrom the time of the author, is in the Cottonian Library\u2014wrote that the\ndiamond should always be worn on the left or heart side of the body, and\nthat it is possible for a diamond to lose its occult virtue after being\nhandled by evil people: for in the human body there is more potency for\ngood or ill than is generally understood. There are many stories of\nmisfortune and discord following the possessors of stolen diamonds.\nAmple evidence exists that substances handled by diseased persons are\nquite capable of conveying their symptoms to others. The Diamond, ever a\nsymbol of purity, was regarded as a charm against all evil, but\u2014said the\nphilosophers\u2014it must not be touched by evil, by lemures, incubi, succubi\nor by the formed or formless devils of the material and super-material\nspheres. In this philosophy it is advised that a woman about to give\nbirth to a child should refrain from wearing diamonds. Rabbi Benoni\nwrote in the 14th Century that the diamond was capable of producing\nsomnambulism and spiritual ecstasy, a suggestion which was acted on in\nthe last century by experimenters at Nancy. According to Boetius de\nBoodt, diamonds were of different sexes, and some Hindu writers\nclassified them as masculine, feminine or neuter.\n\nIn the Mani Mali it is stated that:\n\n an ill-shaped diamond carries danger\n a dirty diamond carries grief\n a rough diamond carries unhappiness\n a black diamond carries trouble\n a 3-cornered diamond carries quarrels\n a 4-cornered diamond carries fear\n a 5-cornered diamond carries death\n a 6-cornered diamond carries fortune\n\nHowever, the three, four and five cornered diamond would not be reckoned\nevil in a flawless stone of good colour. It is asserted by some of the\nHindu masters that diamonds, according to their colours and qualities,\nappealed to the taste as sweet, sour and salty. Marbodus calls the\ndiamond a potent magical charm for protecting the sleeper from evil\ndreams and the child from the dreaded goblin. The fifth Arabian Heaven,\nthe Garden of Delights, Jannat al-Naim, is said to be composed of the\npurest diamonds.\n\nIn the second voyage of Es-Sindibad of the Sea (commonly known as Sinbad\nthe Sailor) in the \u201cThousand and One Nights,\u201d E. W. Lane\u2019s translation,\nthe hero finds himself in the Valley of the Serpents: \u201cThen I arose and\nemboldened myself and walked in that valley: and I beheld its ground to\nbe composed of diamonds, with which they perforate minerals and jewels,\nand with which also they perforate porcelain and the onyx: and it is a\nstone so hard that neither iron nor rock have any effect upon it, nor\ncan anyone cut off aught from it or break it, unless by means of the\nlead stone.... I then walked along the Valley, and while I was thus\noccupied, lo, a great slaughtered animal fell before me, and I found no\none. So I wondered thereat extremely: and I remembered a story that I\nhad heard long before ... that in the mountains of the diamonds are\nexperienced great terrors, and that no one can gain access to the\ndiamonds, but that the merchants who import them know a stratagem by\nmeans of which to obtain them: that they take a sheep and slaughter it,\nand skin it, and cut up its flesh which they throw down from the\nmountain to the bottom of the Valley: so descending, fresh and moist,\nsome of these stones stick to it. Then the merchants leave it until\nmidday, and birds of the large kind of vulture and the aquiline vulture\ndescend to that meat, and, taking it in their talons, fly up to the top\nof the mountain: whereupon the merchants come to them and cry out at\nthem and they fly away from the meat. The merchants then advance to that\nmeat, and take from it the stones sticking to it: after which they leave\nthe meat for the birds and the wild beasts and carry the stones to their\ncountries. And no one can procure the stones but by means of this\nstratagem.\u201d In his notes and comments on this passage, Mr. Lane says:\n\"Though I believe that there is no known substance with which the\ndiamond can be cut or ground except its own substance, I think it not\nimprobable that the Eastern lapidaries may be acquainted with some ore,\nreally\u2014or supposed by them to be\u2014an ore of lead, by which it may be\nbroken, and that this is what is here called \u201cthe lead stone\u201d or \u201cthe\nstone of lead.\u201d It is well known that those diamonds unfit for any other\npurpose than that of cutting or grinding others, are broken in a steel\n\u201cmortar.\u201d In further notes on \u201cThe Valley of Diamonds,\u201d Mr. Lane added\nthe following: \u201cEl-Kaz-weenee after describing the diamond, saying \u2018It\nbreaketh all other stones except that of lead (el-usrub, a bad kind of\nlead): for if it be struck with this the diamond breaketh,\u2019\u201d\u2014relates as\nfollows: \u201cTo the place in which the diamond is found no one can gain\naccess. It is a valley in the land of India, the bottom of which the\nsight reacheth not: and in it are venomous serpents which no one seeth\nbut he dieth: and they have a summer abode for six months, and a winter\nabode (where they hide themselves) for the like period. El-Iskender\n(either Alexander the Great or the first Zu-l-Karneyn) commanded his men\nto take some mirrors and to throw them into the Valley that the serpents\nmight see in them their forms and die in consequence. It is said also\nthat he watched for the time of their absenting themselves (or retiring\ninto their winter quarters) and threw down pieces of meat, and diamonds\nstuck to these: then the birds came from the sky and took pieces of that\nmeat, and brought them up out of the valley whereupon El-Iskender\nordered his companions to follow the birds and to pick up what they\neasily could of the meat.\u201d The valley or valleys of diamonds we also\nfind described by other writers, among them Marco Polo, in his account\nof the Kingdom of Murphili or Monsul. Mr. Marsden observes: \u201cThis is no\nother than Muchli-patan or, as it is more commonly named, Masuli-patam:\nthe name of a principal town by a mistake not unusual, being substituted\nfor that of the country.... It belongs to what was at one period termed\nthe Kingdom of Golconda, more anciently named Teligana. Golconda, of\nwhich Masulipatam is the principal seaport, is celebrated for the\nproduction of diamonds.\u201d In the astronomical observations of Mr.\nTopping, printed in Dalrymple\u2019s Oriental Repertory, mention is made of\nthe famous diamond mines of Golconda at a place named Malvellee, not far\nfrom Ellore. Caesar Fredericke who was at Bijanagar in 1567 mentions\nthat the diamond mines were six days\u2019 journey from that city.\nEs-Sindibad\u2019s adventure in the Valley of Diamonds has been amply\nillustrated by the learned writer from whom the above remarks are\nborrowed, and by Hole. The following is an extract from Marco Polo\u2019s\nTravels: \u201cIn the mountains of this Kingdom (Murphila) it is that\ndiamonds are found. During the rainy season the water descends in\nviolent torrents amongst the rocks and caverns, and when these have\nsubsided the people go to search for diamonds in the beds of the rivers,\nwhere they find many. In the summer, when the heat is excessive and\nthere is no rain, they ascend the mountains with great fatigue as well\nas with considerable danger from the number of snakes with which they\nare infested. Near the summit, it is said, there are deep valleys full\nof caverns and surrounded by precipices amongst which the diamonds are\nfound, and here many eagles and white storks, attracted by the snakes on\nwhich they feed, are accustomed to make their nests. The persons who are\nin quest of the diamonds take their stand near the mouths of the caverns\nand from thence cast down several pieces of flesh which the eagles and\nstorks pursue into the valleys and carry off with them to the tops of\nthe rocks. Thither the men immediately ascend, drive the birds away, and\nrecovering the pieces of meat frequently find diamonds sticking to\nthem.\u201d Mr. Marsden transcribes from Hole\u2019s ingenious work part of a\nquotation from Epiphanius, upon which he remarks: \u201cThus it appears\nincontrovertibly that, so early as the fourth century of our era, the\ntale of the valley of diamonds and the mode of procuring the precious\nstones from it was current, divested, it is true, of the extraordinary\nincident of the adventurous sailor\u2019s escape, but in conformity with what\nwas related to Marco Polo\u2014with the exception of the scene being laid in\nScythia or Western Tartary where, in fact, diamonds are not found. The\nquestion of locality,\u201d he adds, \u201cis however determined by another\nOriental navigator Nicoli di Conti, who visited the coast of the\npeninsula in the 15th Century....\u201d Hole observes that a story somewhat\nresembling this of the Valley of Diamonds is recorded in the travels of\nBenjamin of Tudela and that the translator supposes it to have been\nborrowed from \u201cThe Thousand and One Nights.\u201d \u201cHowever,\u201d he adds with\nbetter judgment, \u201cI rather suspect that the account of Benjamin of\nTudela and of Es-Sindibad were derived from some common origin.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HOROSCOPE OF KRUGER\n Kruger\u2019s Diamond was once in the possession of Chaka, the Zulu chief,\n killed by his brother who was in turn murdered. It is stated that\n this stone changed owners 15 times, tragedy following each\n possessor.\n]\n\nPerhaps the smallest diamond ring mentioned was placed by Cardinal\nWolsey on the tiny finger of the little Princess Mary, aged just two\nyears, daughter of Henry VIII, on October 5th, 1518, on the occasion of\nher marriage with the baby Dauphin of France, son of Francis I. The baby\nbride\u2019s dress was of cloth of gold and her black velvet cap sparkled\nwith jewels. Another historical diamond ring was that sent to the\nimprisoned Lord Lisle, giving freedom and forgiveness\u2014an act so\nunexpected that it caused the unfortunate man to die of joy. The ring\nsent by Mary, Queen of Scots, to Queen Elizabeth, is described by Mr.\nWilliam Jones, quoting from Aubrey, as \u201ca delicate piece of mechanism\nconsisting of several joints which, when united, formed the quaint\ndevice of two right hands supporting a heart between them. This heart\nwas composed of two separate diamonds held together by a central spring\nwhich, when opened, would allow either of the hearts to be detached.\nQueen Elizabeth kept one moietie and sent the other as a token of her\nconstant friendship to Mary, Queen of Scots, but she cut off her head\nfor all that.\u201d Another story of Elizabeth, quoted by Fairholt, is that\nSir Walter Raleigh wrote on a window with his pointed diamond ring:\n\u201cFain would I rise, but that I fear to fall,\u201d the Queen writing beneath\nwith her ring: \u201cIf thy heart fail thee, do not rise at all.\u201d Very\ndifferent was the experience of Queen Isabella who was saved from death\nby a diamond. Ex-President Kruger\u2019s diamond had a bad history that did\nnot change with its different holders. In allusion to the Diamond Jousts\ninstituted by King Arthur, Dr. Brewer says: \u201cHe named them by that name\nsince a diamond was the prize. Ere he was King he came by accident to a\nglen in Lyonnesse, where two brothers had met in combat. Each was slain,\nbut one had worn a crown of diamonds which Arthur picked up, and when he\nbecame King offered the nine diamonds as the prize of nine several\njousts\u2014\u2018one every year, a joust for one.\u2019 Lancelot had won eight and\nintended to present them all to the Queen when all were won. When the\nknight laid them before the Queen, Guinevere in a fit of jealousy flung\nthem out of the palace window into the river which ran below.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HOROSCOPE OF ISABELLA II\n\n This Queen was saved from assassination when the dagger of her\n would-be murderer glanced off the diamond she wore.\n]\n\nThe affair of the Diamond Necklace is familiar to readers of history and\nromance. It attracted the perceptive mind of Dumas who moulded it into\nan interesting story, but of its reality no doubt has ever been\nentertained. The Prince Cardinal de Rohan, having entertained a secret\naffection for Queen Marie Antoinette, the Countess de Lamotte to forward\nher own nefarious designs persuaded him that the Queen reciprocated his\npassion. By thus working on the Cardinal\u2019s feelings, Madame de Lamotte\nmanaged to relieve him of some sums of money, and succeeding so well in\nthis way, she and her husband resolved on a more imposing venture. Louis\nXV had had made a wonderful diamond necklace which he intended as a\npresent for his favorite Madame Du Barry. Before it was finished Louis\nhad passed away, and his favourite had been driven from court. The\nnecklace which was made by Boehmer consisted of 500 magnificent\ndiamonds, the whole when completed being valued at 1,800,000 livres.\nMadame de Lamotte represented to the Cardinal the Queen\u2019s desire for\nthis handsome necklace, asking him as Her Majesty was at the time unable\nto pay the amount of the purchase money, which she said amounted to\n\u00a3700,000 sterling, to become security for her for this amount. This he\ngladly consented to do, and added his name to the forged signature of\nthe Queen. On February 1st, 1786, the Cardinal carried the precious\njewel to Versailles, whence by arrangement a messenger from the Queen\nwas to take it. The next day, as arranged by Madame de Lamotte\u2019s\nhusband, an accomplice dressed in the uniform of a court official\nentered the Cardinal\u2019s apartments at Versailles and muttering several\ntimes \u201cDe par la Reine\u201d (in the Queen\u2019s name) relieved the trusting\nCardinal of the necklace. It was afterwards broken up and disposed of by\nthese three conspirators, in England it is believed. Some time\nafterwards Boehmer, not receiving his payment, applied to Marie\nAntoinette for his money. She denied all knowledge of the affair.\nBoehmer thereupon brought the case before the Parlement de Paris in\n1785, and in May, 1786, after a trial of 9 months, the Cardinal,\nMonsieur de Lamotte and his accomplice were acquitted, but Madame de\nLamotte was sent to prison for life, each shoulder being branded with\nthe letter V (Voleuse, thief).\n\nThe Indians were the first to polish a diamond with its own dust, but\ntheir cutting only consisted in burnishing the original facets or\nconcealing defects by a number of new and smaller ones. Louis van\nBerghem is credited with being the first to cut and polish diamonds with\ntheir own dust in 1456, but both Emanuel and King refer to four large\ndiamonds which adorned the clasp of the Emperor Charlemagne 1373, and to\nnumerous cut specimens of older date set in church monuments. Emanuel\nmentions the skillful Herman who worked in the year 1407. Towards the\nend of the 16th Century, Peruzzi invented the double cutting known as\n\u201cBrillants recoupes,\u201d and of late years the modern cutters have reached\na high degree of artistic excellence, producing the most beautifully cut\nspecimens the world has seen. Clement Birago and Jacopo da Trezzo were\nthe first to engrave upon the diamond, and both \u201cenriched in the service\nof Philip II.\u201d In giving the Papal Sacred Banner and Blessing to William\nof Normandy when about to invade England after the excommunication of\nHarold, Pope Hildebrand sent a diamond ring, said to enclose a hair from\nthe head of Peter the Apostle. In the Comtesse d\u2019Anois\u2019 pretty fairy\nstory, \u201cThe Yellow Dwarf,\u201d the mermaid gives the captive King an\nall-conquering sword made from a single diamond, which rendered\ninvincible anyone who carried it.\n\nThe diamond is astrologically under the sign of the Sun Leo, and has\npower especially in Aries and Libra. To dream of diamonds was considered\nsymbolical of success, wealth, happiness and victory, and its reputed\npower of binding man and woman together in happy wedlock has made it a\nfavourite stone for engagement rings, and in some countries for wedding\nrings.\n\nBORT or BOART is the name applied to imperfect greyish or blackish\nspecimens which are powdered and used for cutting and polishing diamonds\nand hard gems, among other purposes.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XVII\n SOME FAMOUS AND WONDERFUL DIAMONDS\n AND THEIR STORIES\n\nTHE KOH-I-NOOR: PITT OR REGENT: THE ORLOFF: THE SANCY: THE BLUE HOPE:\n THE PAUL THE FIRST: THE DRESDEN: THE NIZAM: THE CUMBERLAND: THE\n NAPOLEON: THE EUGENIE: THE POLAR STAR: THE SHAH: THE MOON OF THE\n MOUNTAINS: AKBAR SHAH, OR THE SHEPHERD\u2019S STONE: THE RIVER OF LIGHT:\n THE GRAND MOGUL: THE GRAND TABLE: THE NASSAK: THE PIGOTT: THE PACHA:\n THE TUSCANY: THE STAR OF ESTE: THE WHITE SAXON: THE GREAT WHITE: THE\n MATTAM: THE STAR OF THE SOUTH: THE ENGLISH DRESDEN: THE DE BEERS\n DIAMONDS: THE STAR OF SOUTH AFRICA: THE JUBILEE: THE STAR OF AFRICA\n OR THE CULLINAN: THE BRAGANZA: THE TIFFANY: STAR OF MINAS: THE\n ARABIAN \u201cDEATH\u201d: THE MOONSTONE.\n\n \u201c_Jewels\n Of rich and exquisite form: their value great._\u201d\n SHAKESPEARE.\n\n\n THE KOH-I-NOOR\n\n\nThis famous stone is said by Dr. Brewer to have been found in the\nGolconda mine in the year 1550, but Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith states that\nit was known as far back as 1304, \u201cwhen it fell into the hands of the\nMogul emperors, and legend traces it back some four thousand years\npreviously.\u201d Mr. Emanuel says that the Hindu accounts \u201cdeduce it from\nthe time of the God Krischna,\u201d while Mr. King states that it was turned\nup by a peasant when ploughing in a field 40 miles distant from\nGolconda, \u201cand was in its rough state fully as large as a hen\u2019s egg.\u201d\nThe traveller Tavernier saw it amongst the jewels of the great Mogul\nKing Aurungzebe. This was after it had been badly cut and unskillfully\nreduced by Hortensio Borgio from 793 carats to 186-1/16 carats.\nAccording to Tavernier its original weight was 787\u00bd carats. Borgio\u2019s\nwork so angered Aurungzebe that he deprived the unfortunate cutter of\nall his possessions, grudgingly allowing him to escape with his life.\nThe Koh-i-Noor had an evil reputation amongst the Hindus who held that\nit \u201cproduced inordinate greed, viciousness and various misfortunes on\nthe King who possessed it.\u201d In 1739 Nadir Shah sacked Delhi and took the\ngem from Mohammed Shah, naming it the \u201cKoh-i-Noor,\u201d or \u201cMountain of\nLight.\u201d Returning victorious to Persia, Nadir Shah was murdered by his\nofficers. One of these, Ahmed Shah Doorannee, founded the Afghan\nkingdom, and the last of his dynasty Shah Sujah was starved into\nsurrendering the stone to Runjeet Singh. The latter when dying sent it\nto the Temple of Juggernaut. His successors, however, would not let it\nremain there, and when the British annexed the Punjaub in 1849 it was\npresented by Lord Dalhousie on behalf of the East India Company to Queen\nVictoria and, writes Mr. King, \u201cwithin ten years the usual consequences\nof its possession were manifested in the Sepoy revolt and the all but\ntotal loss of India to the British Crown in which beams its malignant\nlustre, lighting up a very inauspicious future for that region, fated\never apparently to be disturbed by the measures of ignorant zealots at\nhome and the plots of discontented and over-powerful allies in the\ncountry itself.\u201d The Koh-i-Noor was recut in 1862 by Mr. Coster of\nAmsterdam, losing 80 carats in the cutting. The weight of the stone is\nnow given as 106-1/16 carats, and its value is estimated at \u00a3100,000\nsterling, by Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith, and at \u00a3120,664 Sterling by Dr.\nBrewer. It was believed that all diseases could be cured by the water in\nwhich the Koh-i-Noor had been placed. The stone could never be fortunate\nfor India according to astro-philosophy because India is a Saturnine\ncountry ruled by the celestial Capricorn. It is more fortunate for\nEngland because England is a martial country ruled by the celestial\nAries.\n\n PITT OR REGENT DIAMOND\n\nThis famous gem, bought in Golconda from an Indian merchant by William\nPitt, grandfather of the Earl of Chatham, and said to have been\noriginally stolen, was found at Gani-Puteal, 150 miles from Golconda in\n1701. Mr. Pitt gave \u00a320,400 sterling for the gem which weighed 410\ncarats, and returning to England he had it recut at a cost of \u00a35,000 and\ntwo years\u2019 work. In this process the weight of the stone was reduced to\n163\u215e carats, the fragments when sold returning \u00a32,000 over the cost of\ncutting. Possession of this gem worried Mr. Pitt who sold it to the Duc\nd\u2019Orleans, regent of France, whence it obtained the name \u201cRegent,\u201d for\n\u00a3135,000 sterling. It was stolen from the Garde-Meuble when the Sun was\nin the Diamond sign Leo, August 17th, 1792, and was mysteriously\nreturned. Napoleon Bonaparte, who had the Sun in the sign Leo\u2014the sign\nof France\u2014at his birth, had the Regent set in the pommel of his sword.\nIt was exhibited at the French Exhibition in 1855, and is now shown in\nthe Apollo Gallery of the Louvre, Paris. During the attempted advance on\nParis in the late war, it is stated that one of the French ministers\ntook the Regent with him to Bordeaux whence the danger being passed, it\nwas afterwards returned to its honoured place in the capital city of\nFrance. Its value is stated at \u00a3480,000 sterling.\n\n THE ORLOFF DIAMOND\n\nThis gem was stolen by a French soldier from a temple near Trichinopoli\nin Mysore, where it was set as an eye stone in the statue of Brahma. The\nweight of the stone, which is rose cut, is 194\u00be carats. The soldier sold\nit to an English ship\u2019s captain for \u00a32,000\u2014Mr. Emanuel says \u00a32,800\u2014and\nthe captain sold it to a London dealer for \u00a312,000 sterling. It was\nafterwards sold to Prince Orloff, whence it obtained its name, for\n\u00a390,000 sterling, and an annual pension of \u00a34,000. The Prince presented\nit to Empress Katherine who had it set as an ornament at the top of the\nimperial sceptre. This large diamond was a stone of ill omen for Russia,\na country ruled by the celestial Aquarius and opposed to the diamond\nsign Leo. When we reflect, in harmony with celestial philosophy, that\nthe late Czar Nicholas II, the last of the Romanoffs, had the sign Leo\nin the 12th heavenly mansion at birth we can only see in the Orloff\ndiamond the symbol of sorrow and restraint.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HOROSCOPE OF NICHOLAS II\n\n The last of the Czar\u2019s to whom the ancients would consider the diamond\n a symbol of ill omen.\n]\n\n THE SANCY DIAMOND\n\nFew historical objects surpass the beautiful Sancy Diamond in romance\nand importance. Its origin is involved in uncertainty prior to the early\n15th Century. The first definite account concerning the famous gem\nstates that after the battle of Nancy, January 5th, 1477, it was taken\nfrom the dead body of Charles the Bold, by a Swiss soldier. Charles\nadorned his dress with many diamonds, the Sancy holding the place of\nhonour. The soldier not knowing the value of the gem he had stolen sold\nit to a minister of religion for a gulden. The minister sold it some\nyears later to a dealer in Lucerne for 5,000 ducats. King Manoel, known\nas the Fortunate, of Portugal, purchased it in 1495, two years before he\ndispatched the navigator Vasco da Gama, on his voyage of discovery. Don\nAntonio, known as Prince of Crato and King of Portugal in partibus, sold\nthe gem to Nicolas de Harlai Sieur de Sancy, whence it obtained its\nname. As the friend and treasurer of Henry IV of France, the Sieur in\norder to aid the King to protect his crown, raised a loan for him on the\nsecurity of the stone, from the bankers of Metz. The servant entrusted\nwith the safe delivery of the diamond being waylaid by robbers,\nswallowed his master\u2019s precious gem to protect it; the thieves in fury\nat being unable to discover the stone, on the person or in the baggage,\nof the loyal servant, murdered him. The Sieur evidently knew what his\nmessenger would do in an extremity, and he afterwards recovered the gem\nfrom the body of the murdered man. It was next sold to the English Crown\nwhen it was worn by Queen Elizabeth. It remained in possession of the\nCrown, and is mentioned in the Tower inventory of March 22nd, 1605,\nuntil the reign of James II, who took it when he fled to France to seek\nasylum at the court of the Grand Monarque. James then sold the Sancy to\nhis sympathetic friend Louis, for \u00a325,000 sterling. Another account\nstates that the Sancy came into the possession of Cardinal Mazarin who\nhad it recut and included amongst the twelve famous diamonds in the\nCrown of France, known as the Mazarins. Robert de Berquem says that\nQueen Henrietta Maria proudly wore it (\u201cMerveilles des Indes,\u201d 1669).\nLouis XV it is recorded, wore the Sancy at his coronation in 1715, and\nhis Queen, Maria Lesczynska, daughter of the dethroned Polish King,\nStanislas, afterwards wore it as a necklace pendant. When Marie\nAntoinette became Queen of France she had this royal pendant taken from\nthe necklace and mounted in brooch form. With the tragic end of the\nunhappy Queen some uncertainty follows the wanderings of the Sancy. It\nis stated that the widow of Charles IV of Spain gave it to the \u201cPrince\nof Peace,\u201d Manuel de Godoi, Duke of Alcudia. One account states that\nGodoi sold it to Napoleon, another that Godoi\u2019s son after vainly\nendeavouring to induce Louis XVIII to purchase it in 1822, sold it to\nPrince Demidoff. The Prince sold it to Monsieur Levrat, Director of the\nSociety of Mines and Forges of Grisons, Switzerland, for \u00a324,000. A\ndispute over the price led to an action at law and a verdict in favour\nof the Prince on June 1st, 1832.\n\nThe stone was afterwards purchased by Sir Jamisetjee Jeejeebhoy in 1865,\nfrom the family of Prince Demidoff. It was sent from Bombay to London by\nMessrs. Forbes & Co., the agents for Sir Jamisetjee Jeejeebhoy, and was\nexhibited by M. M. Bapst at the Paris Exposition of 1867. During the\ntour of King George (when Prince of Wales) in India, the Sancy is said\nto have been worn at the Great Durba by the Marajah of Puttiali. In 1892\nthe beautiful gem passed into the possession of the Astor family it\nhaving been purchased by the Hon. William Waldorf Astor for his wife,\nMary, daughter of James W. Paul, Esq., of Philadelphia, U. S. A. It now\npasses into the hands of the Right Hon. Viscountess Astor who wore it on\ntaking her seat as the first lady elected as a member of the House of\nCommons. The writer is indebted to Lady Astor for her kindly interest in\nthis book, and for a presentation of a handsome volume on the Sancy\nDiamond by William Waldorf Astor, published in 1892. The Sancy Diamond\nis described by Dr. Smith as of an almond shape, covered all over with\ntiny facets by Indian lapidaries. The weight is given as 53\u00bd to 53\u00be\ncarats.\n\nConsidered astrologically a diamond would be unfortunate for Charles the\nBold who was born at Dijon 10th November, 1435. It would be considered\nfortunate for Henry IV of France in whose horoscope the planet Jupiter\nwas ascending in the sign Libra. Jupiter being in the 12th Heavenly\nMansion would be considered fortunate for secret negotiations and\ndiplomacy, and it is worthy of notice that the Sancy Diamond should be\nemployed as a powerful helper in these very matters. The sign of the\nLion, the sign of France, is also on the Mid Heaven of the King\u2019s\nnativity, and Leo is distinctly a diamond and Royal sign. It was a truly\nfortunate gem for King James II of England whose horoscope is here shown\nwith the Royal Lion ascending.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HOROSCOPE OF JAMES II\n The ancients would consider the diamond a symbol of fortune and\n adventure for this King.\n]\n\n THE HOPE DIAMOND\n\nDr. G. F. Herbert Smith says of this gem that it is of \u201ca steely or\ngreenish blue, not the royal blue colour of the glass models supposed to\nrepresent it.\u201d If the accepted history of the stone be true, it must be\nregarded as a strange specimen. It was stated to have been discovered at\nthe Kollur mines, and to have been purchased by Tavernier in 1642. In\n1668, Tavernier interested Louis XIV in the gem so much that he\npurchased it. After this the fortunes of the great traveller began to\nchange. His son defrauded him of a large sum of money, and he was later,\nbeing a Protestant, compelled by the Edict of Nantes (1685) to fly from\nFrance and seek protection in Switzerland. Thence he went to Berlin,\nwhere the Elector of Brandenburg offered him the Directorship in a\nprojected East India Company. In the endeavor to find a road through\nRussia to India, Tavernier left Berlin, but he succumbed to fatigue and\nfinancial worry soon after, dying, it is said, in want, in his 84th year\nat Moscow. After wearing this diamond at a Court Ball, Madame de\nMontespan lost the favour of her Royal lover. It was a stone of ill\nfortune for Marie Antoinette, to whom, however, all diamonds were\nunfortunate. After the tragic death of Louis XVI and his Queen, the\nstone was stolen with the French regalia. Afterwards it is stated to\nhave been stolen from Fals, the Dutch gem cutter, by his son. Fals died\na broken-hearted man, and his son, after selling the gem to Francois\nBeaulieu, went insane and killed himself. Beaulieu, after selling the\nstone to Daniel Eliason, a London dealer, died suddenly the following\nday. Mr. Eliason sold it to Mr. Thomas Philip Hope, the banker, in 1830\nfor \u00a318,000 sterling. Mr. Hope\u2019s grandson, Lord Henry Francis Hope,\nmarried the Australian actress, Miss May Yohe, in 1894. This lady wore\nthe diamond and misfortune followed her. In 1901 Lord Hope was glad to\nsell the stone to Mr. Weil, a London diamond merchant, who, without\nwaiting for its influence to affect him, sold it immediately to Mr.\nSimon Frankel, jeweller, of New York, who suffered financial hardships\nconsequent on the difficulty of finding a purchaser. At last he sold it\nto Mr. Jacques Colot, a French dealer in gems, and with it went his\ntroubles also. Monsieur Colot quickly sold the gem to the Russian\nPrince, Kanitovski, and, it is stated, became insane and died\nmysteriously a few weeks afterwards. The Prince lent it to Mademoiselle\nLorens Laduc of the Folies Bergeres, with whom he was in love. As she\nwore it one night on the stage the Prince in a mad fit shot her. A few\ndays later he was himself stabbed to death by some members of a secret\npolitical club. The Blue Terror next came into the possession of the\nGreek jeweller, Simon Montharides, who, after having sold it to the\nSultan, Adbul Hamid, was killed by accident with his wife and two\nchildren whilst driving. Abu Sabir, the Sultan\u2019s lapidary, was entrusted\nwith the polishing of the jewel, and whilst he had it he accidentally\ndestroyed a large pearl belonging to Abdul Hamid, who ordered him to be\nseverely flogged and cast into prison. A little later the keeper of the\nSultan\u2019s jewels was found murdered, and his successor was hanged by a\nmob in a street of Constantinople. The Sultan\u2019s favourite, Salama\nZubayba, incurred his anger by wearing the blue gem and the infuriated\nruler shot her as Prince Kanitovski had shot Lorens Laduc. All diamonds,\nhowever, would be unfortunate for Abdul Hamid. The diamond then fell\ninto the hands of the Turkish revolutionary party and was sold by them\nto Senor Habib, a rich Spaniard, who was drowned in the wreck of the\nFrench mail steamer, Seyne, off Singapore. The gem was not lost with its\nowner, and was later sold to Messrs. Cartier Bros, of Paris and New York\nby Monsieur Rosenau, a well-known diamond merchant. In 1911 it was\nbought by Mr. Edward McLean, proprietor of the \u201cWashington Post,\u201d for\n\u00a352,000 sterling, from Cartier Bros. It is said that both Mr. and Mrs.\nMcLean were doubtful about the wisdom of purchasing this stone of ill\nomen which, according to report, had been previously refused by the\nCourt of England on account of its evil reputation. Misfortunes quickly\nfollowed the new owners, culminating with the tragic death of little\nVinson Walsh McLean, their only son, who was knocked down and killed by\na motor car close to his father\u2019s estate. After leaving the possession\nof the McLean family this stone found a purchaser in Monsieur de\nHautville. Within three months the same peculiar misfortune which had\nbefallen its previous owners befell them. Madame de Hautville, sharing\nthe same fate as little Vinson McLean, was killed by a motor car whilst\ncrossing a street in Paris. Following on this the eldest son, having\ntaken poison by mistake, died in terrible agony. Mademoiselle de\nHautville was accidentally drowned and the younger son whilst out\nshooting was blinded by the explosion of his gun. Quickly the de\nHautvilles parted with this peculiar gem of ill omen. Where will it next\nfind a home? The weight of the Hope diamond when sold by Tavernier to\nLouis XIV was 67 carats; its present weight is 44\u00bd carats. It presents a\ncurious psychical study and an undeniable evidence of fatal influence\nwhich it would indeed be difficult to explain away.\n\n THE PAUL THE FIRST\n\nThis diamond is described as a brilliant red, weighing 10 carats. It was\none of the Russian Crown jewels, being purchased by Emperor Paul the\nFirst for 100,000 roubles. It was a stone of ill omen for both Paul and\nRussia. He was murdered in 1801, and in his nativity the planet Neptune\nwas, as in that of Marie Antoinette, in the sign Leo, accompanied by\nunfortunate planetary afflictions.\n\n THE DRESDEN\n\nThe Dresden diamond which is in the Green Vaults at Dresden is described\nas of the purest apple-green colour. Authorities differ as to its\nweight, which is variously given at 40 and 48\u00bd carats. It is stated that\nthe gem was purchased by Augustus the Strong in 1743 for 60,000 thalers,\nbut this Augustus died of an old wound in 1733. It was probably his son\nFrederick Augustus III who died at Dresden in 1763.\n\n THE NIZAM\n\nThis gem which belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad was, to judge by its\nparticular native cutting, probably employed in certain sex mysteries.\nIts weight is 340 carats, and strangely enough, it fractured just before\nthe Indian Mutiny. The diamond is not a stone of harmony for India.\n\n THE CUMBERLAND\n\nAfter the battle of Culloden (1746) the city of London presented this\ndiamond, which weighed 32 carats and cost \u00a310,000, to the Duke of\nCumberland. During Queen Victoria\u2019s reign the stone was claimed by the\nCity of Hanover, to which place it was sent by the Queen\u2019s command.\n\n THE NAPOLEON\n\nThis diamond which was bought by Napoleon Buonaparte for \u00a38,000 sterling\nwas worn by him when he married Josephine in 1796.\n\n EUGENIE\n\nThis gem was purchased by Katherine II of Russia, who gave it to\nPotemkin. It is a very pure gem of 51 carats. Napoleon III gave it to\nEugenie as a wedding gift. Afterwards it came into the possession of the\nGaekwar of Baroda.\n\n THE POLAR STAR\n\nThis brilliant jewel formed one of the chief ornaments in the Russian\nregalia. The weight is given as 40 carats.\n\n THE SHAH\n\nThe Shah diamond was given to the Czar of Russia by the Persian prince\nChosroes in 1843. It is a flawless, pure gem which originally weighed 95\ncarats and was engraved with the names of three distinguished Shahs of\nPersia. In the recutting this engraving was eliminated and the stone\nreduced to 86 carats.\n\n MOON OF THE MOUNTAINS\n\nNadir Shah, having stolen this gem from Delhi, it was after his\nassassination taken by a soldier who sold it to Shaffras, an Armenian.\nIt was included in the Russian Crown jewels. Many diamonds adorned the\nregalias of Russia, but they are no more fortunate to Russia than they\nare to India.\n\n AKBAR SHAH, SHEPHERD\u2019S STONE\n\nThis gem belonged to Akbar, the Great Mogul, and was formerly engraved\nwith Arabic writing. After having been lost for some years it was\nidentified as the Turkish Shepherd\u2019s Stone. It originally weighed 116\ncarats, and was reduced by cutting in the elimination of the engraving\nto 71 carats. It was purchased by the Gaekwar of Baroda for \u00a323,330\nsterling.\n\n RIVER OF LIGHT\n\nThis beautiful rose diamond of 186 carats was seized by Nadir Shah at\nDelhi. It adorns the Persian regalia and is known as the Darya-i-Nor, or\nRiver of Light.\n\n GRAND MOGUL\n\nThis remarkable diamond was seen by Tavernier amongst the jewels of the\nEmperor Auranzeb in 1665, five years after its recorded discovery in the\nGolconda mines. Its original weight is given as 787 carats by some\nrecords and as 787\u00bd by others. This was greatly reduced in cutting to a\nrose shape by Hortensio Borgio when, it is said on account of numerous\nflaws, it lost 547 carats. Tavernier describes it as \u201crounded rose cut,\ntaller on one side.\u201d The present whereabouts of the \u201cGrand Mogul\u201d is\nunknown.\n\n THE GRAND TABLE\n\nThis gem is also recorded by Tavernier who saw it at Golconda in 1642.\nIts weight is given at somewhat over 242 carats. Where it now is, is not\nknown.\n\n THE NASSAK\n\nThis gem which came from the Deccan loot was sold in London in 1837. Mr.\nEmanuel, into whose possession it came, sold it later to the Duke of\nWestminster for \u00a37,200 sterling. Its original pear-shaped form was\naltered to triangular, an operation which left the weight at 78\u215d carats.\n\n THE PIGOTT\n\nLord Pigott obtained this stone in India in 1775, and disposed of it for\n\u00a330,000 sterling. The weight is given as 47\u00bd carats. Ali Pacha, the last\nowner of the gem, left instructions to destroy it at his death, and his\nwishes are said to have been respected.\n\n THE PACHA\n\nThis brilliant of 40 carats is mentioned as having been acquired by\nIbrahim Pacha for \u00a328,000 sterling. Very little seems to be known about\nit.\n\n THE TUSCANY\n\nThis yellow-tinged stone, of double rose cut and 133\u00be carats, was\nformerly in the possession of the Dukes of Tuscany. Mr. King states\nthat, being mistaken for a piece of yellow quartz, it was purchased for\na trifle at a bric-a-bric stall in Florence.\n\n STAR OF ESTE\n\nThis diamond which weighs 25\u00bd carats is mentioned by Dr. Smith \u201cfor its\nperfection of form and quality.\u201d It belonged to the ill-starred Archduke\nFranz Ferdinand.\n\n WHITE SAXON\n\nThe White Saxon is a square gem, 48\u00be carats in weight, for which\nAugustus the Strong is said to have given a million thalers.\n\n THE GREAT WHITE\n\nThis large, clear diamond is also known as the Imperial or Victoria. Its\nweight before cutting is given as 457 carats, and after cutting at 180\ncarats. The Nizam of Hyderabad purchased it for \u00a320,000 sterling in\n1884.\n\n THE MATTAM\n\nThe Mattam is a pear-shaped diamond of the purest water, recently\u2014and\nprobably still\u2014in the possession of the Rajah of Mattam. Found in\n1760\u2014Dr. Smith says 1787\u2014at Landak, Borneo, it is held responsible for\nmuch worldly trouble. Its weight is stated as 367 carats. Mr. Emanuel\nsays: \u201cThe Dutch Governor of Batavia offered two gun-boats with stores\nand ammunition complete and \u00a350,000 sterling for it: but the offer was\nrefused, the Rajah replying that on its possession depended the fortunes\nof his family.\u201d Its genuineness is doubted by Dr. Smith.\n\n THE STAR OF THE SOUTH\n\nThis most perfect brilliant was discovered at Bagagem in July, 1853. It\nis said to be the largest Brazilian diamond yet found. It weighed 254\u00bd\ncarats in the rough, and 125\u00bd carats when cut by Mr. Coster of\nAmsterdam. Although not perfectly white, it is regarded as one of the\nfinest large diamonds of the day. \u00a340,000 sterling was paid for it\nbefore cutting.\n\n THE ENGLISH DRESDEN\n\nThis brilliant was also found at Bagagem in Brazil four years after the\n\u201cStar of the South.\u201d Its weight before cutting was 119\u00bd carats, which\nwas reduced in cutting to 76\u00bd carats. Its present form is an egg-like\noval drop.\n\n THE DE BEERS DIAMONDS\n\nThese were discovered in the famous De Beers mine; the first, a pale\nyellow, 428\u00bd carats in the rough, 228\u00bd when cut, in 1888; the next 503\u00bc\ncarats, of similar hue, in 1896. Some others weigh 302, 409 carats, etc.\n\n THE STAR OF SOUTH AFRICA\n\nThis gem was found in the Vaal River diggings in 1869. Weight before\ncutting was 83\u00bd carats, after cutting 46\u00bd carats. It is triangular in\nshape, and was bought by the Countess of Dudley for \u00a325,000 sterling.\n\n THE JUBILEE\n\nThis faultless brilliant was found in the Jagersfontein mine in 1895.\nBefore cutting, its weight was 634 carats; after cutting, 239 carats.\nThe Jubilee was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1900.\n\n THE STAR OF AFRICA\n\nThis remarkable stone was discovered in the Premier mine near Pretoria,\nJanuary 25th, 1905. It was named the \u201cCullinan,\u201d after the chairman of\nthe Premier Company, Sir T. M. Cullinan. It was renamed the \u201cStar of\nAfrica,\u201d at the desire of King George V. Dr. Smith writes as follows\nwith regard to it: \u201cThe rough stone weighed 3025\u00be carats (about 1\u2153\nlbs.): it displayed three natural faces and one large cleavage face, and\nits shape suggested that it was a portion of an enormous stone more than\ndouble its size: it is transparent, colourless, and has only one small\nflaw near the surface. This magnificent diamond was purchased by the\nTransvaal Government for \u00a3150,000 sterling and presented to King Edward\nVII on his birthday, November 9th, 1907. Messrs. I. J. Asscher & Co. of\nAmsterdam, cut from this a drop brilliant 516\u00bd carats, a square\nbrilliant 309-3/16 carats, another drop brilliant 92 carats, a\nsquare-shaped brilliant 62 carats, a heart-shaped stone 18\u215c carats, two\nmarquises 8-9/16 and 11\u00bccarats, an oblong stone 6\u215d carats, a drop\nbrilliant 4-9/32 carats, and 96 small brilliants weighing together 7\u215c\ncarats: the total weight of the cut stones amounts to 1036-5/32 carats.\u201d\nThe large drop brilliant adorns the sceptre, the large square brilliant\nthe crown. The \u201cStar of Africa\u201d comes from the mine to adorn the regalia\nof the British sovereigns. It has no record of evil, no doubtful past,\nnor is it tainted with evil desires, violence or sorrow.\n\n THE BRAGANZA\n\nThis stone, the weight of which is given as 1680 carats, is in the\nPortuguese regalia. It is believed, on good grounds, to be a large white\ntopaz.\n\n THE TIFFANY\n\nThis orange-tinted brilliant which was found at Kimberley, South Africa,\nin 1878, is in the possession of Messrs. Tiffany. Its weight is given as\n125\u215c carats.\n\n STAR OF MINAS\n\nThis stone was discovered at Bagagem in Brazil, in 1911. Its weight in\nthe rough is given as 174\u00be carats.\n\n THE ARABIAN DEATH\n\nThe first Earl Lytton became possessed of a fine diamond on which were\nengraved certain Arabic words, and his death which took place soon after\nhe had obtained possession of it has been attributed to its malignant\ninfluence. The gem was bequeathed by Earl Lytton to Madame la Comtesse\nGreffuhle, who showed it to a learned Indian Prince who was in Paris at\nthe time. After reading the mysterious Arab words the Prince told the\nComtesse that it was a stone of death, and advised her not to keep it.\nThe lady, desiring to end the power of the stone for mischief, threw it\ninto the river Seine from the Pont Neuf.\n\n THE MOONSTONE\n\nThe famous novel by Mr. Wilkie Collins entitled \u201cThe Moonstone,\u201d is\nbased on the histories of \u201cthe magnificent stone which adorns the top of\nthe Russian imperial sceptre, once the eye of an Indian Idol,\u201d and the\nKoh-i-Noor. Some writers confuse this Moonstone with the well-known\northoclase feld-spar. The following extract from the Prologue of Mr.\nCollins\u2019s book states: \u201cThe earliest known traditions describe the stone\nas having been set in the forehead of the four-handed Indian God who\ntypifies the Moon. Partly from its peculiar colour, partly from a\nsuperstition which represents it as feeling the influence of the Deity\nwhom it adorned, and growing and lessening in lustre with the waxing and\nwaning of the Moon, it first gained the name by which it continues to be\nknown in India to this day\u2014the name of the Moonstone. A similar\nsuperstition was once prevalent, as I have heard, in ancient Greece and\nRome: not applying, however, as in India to a diamond devoted to the\nservice of a god, but to a semi-transparent stone of the inferior order\nof gems supposed to be affected by the lunar influences\u2014the Moon, in\nthis latter case also, giving the name by which the stone is still\nknown. The adventures of the Yellow Diamond began with the 11th century\nof the Christian era. At that date the Mohammedan conqueror Mahmoud of\nGhizni crossed India: seized on the holy city of Somnauth and stripped\nof its treasures the famous temple ... the Moon God alone escaped the\nrapacity of the conquering Mohammedans.... An age followed another until\nthe first years of the 8th Christian century saw the reign of\nAurungzebe, Emperor of the Moguls. At his command havoc and rapine were\nlet loose.... The shrine of the four-handed God was polluted ... and the\nMoonstone was seized by an officer of rank in the army of Aurungzebe ...\nThe warrior who had committed the sacrilege perished miserably. The\nDiamond fell into the possession of Tippo, Sultan of Seringapatam, who\ncaused it to be placed as an ornament in the handle of his dagger\u2014and\nafter, General Baird himself found the dead body of Tippo under a heap\nof slain.\u201d (See Koh-i-Noor, Regent, Orloff.)\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XVIII\n DICHROITE\u2014IOLITE\n\nDICHROITE: DIOPTASE: DISTHENE: EMERALD: ENSTATITE: EPIDOTE: ESSONITE:\n EUCLASE: FLINT, THE STONE OF EARLY MAN: ITS USE IN ANCIENT EGYPT:\n ETHIOPIAN ARROWS: THE ELF DART: FAIRY STONE: CHIAS, THE FIRST TO\n PROVE THE FLASHING OF STRUCK FLINT: ITS USE IN THE PREVENTION OF\n NIGHTMARE: \u201cHOLEY\u201d STONES: BUTLER AND THE HOLLOW FLINT: THE MARA:\n THE GARNET: PECULIARITIES: DANA\u2019S CLASSIFICATION: SUCCINITE, A\n HARMONY CHARM: GROSSULARITE, A HEALTH CHARM: PYROPE OR BOHEMIAN\n GARNET: LARGE SPECIMEN IN SAXON REGALIA: EMPEROR RUDOLPH\u2019S SPECIMEN:\n A TALISMAN OF FRIENDSHIP: HOPE AND PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT: SPESSARTITE,\n A PRAYER CHARM: ANDRADITE, A BANISHER OF UNWORTHY THOUGHTS:\n SPECIMENS FOUND ENGRAVED WITH ANGELS\u2019 NAMES: OUVAROVITE: GARNETS\n AFFECT MAGNETIC NEEDLE: GREENSTONE: GROSSULARITE: HAEMATITE:\n SOTACUS\u2019S CLASSIFICATION OF HAEMATITE VARIETIES AND THEIR ACCREDITED\n VIRTUES: DANA\u2019S CLASSIFICATION: PLINY\u2019S RECOMMENDATION: USE IN\n ANCIENT TIMES: MUMMY\u2019S HEAD-REST: ANDREAS BALVANCENSIS\u2019 IDEA: STENCH\n STONE: GALEN\u2019S PRESCRIPTION: HIDDENITE: HORNSTONE: HYACINTH: VIRTUES\n OF THE HYACINTH: THE JACINTH VARIETY: THOMAS DE CANTEMPRE\u2019S\n DESCRIPTION: OPINIONS OF LEONARDUS AND DE BOODT: FRANCIS BARRETT\u2019S\n COMMENTS: OBSERVED CHANGES IN THE STONE: AVICENNA\u2019S COMPARISON: THE\n HYACINTH IN THE GARDEN OF PEACE AND AMONGST THE ROSICRUCIAN JEWELS:\n HYDROPHANE: HYPERSTHENE: IOLITE.\n\nDICHROITE. (See IOLITE.)\n\nDIOPTASE. The name is derived from the Greek DIA, through, and OPTOMAI,\nto see. This pretty emerald-green copper silicate was named in 1801 by\nHauy, who found on looking through it cleavage directions. As the\ncrystals are usually so small Dioptase, which is of about the same\ndegree of hardness as lapis lazuli, is seldom used in jewellery.\nAccording to ancient philosophy, dioptase would strengthen the sight of\nthose who gazed upon it, and benefit if worn on the neck in throat\ntroubles. Astrologically, dioptase is under the celestial Taurus.\n\nDISTHENE. (See KYANITE.)\n\nEMERALD. (See BERYL.)\n\nENSTATITE. Named from the Greek ENSTATES, an opponent, because of its\ninfusibility before the blow-pipe and its resisting power against acids.\nIt occurs in various colours\u2014grey, brown, yellow, colourless, and\nchiefly green; hence it has been erroneously called the Green Garnet.\nThe Enstatite is a silicate of magnesium, and is scarcely as hard as the\nopal, yet it is found with the diamond, hardest of stones. It is\nesteemed as a talisman in examinations, arguments, debates and all\ncontests in which the mind is employed. The Enstatite is under the\ncelestial Gemini.\n\nEPIDOTE. This stone is named from the Greek EPIDOSIS, increase. It was\nfirst used by Hauy (\u201cMineralogie,\u201d 1801), as \u201clit qui a recu un\naccroissement,\u201d but\u2014writes Dr. Smith\u2014\u201cnot on very precise\ncrystallographical grounds.\u201d There are several varieties, chief among\nwhich is the Pistacite, or true Epidote, of a yellow-green colour like\nthe nut of the Pistachio. The epidote is nearly as hard as the garnet.\nAccording to ancient philosophy it may be used as a charm for fruit and\ncereal growers. The epidote is under the celestial Taurus.\n\nESSONITE. From the Greek ESSON; also, known as Hessonite and more\nfamiliarly amongst jewellers as Cinnamon Stone. It is a garnet of the\nLime Alumina order, of a reddish brown or cinnamon colour, and granular\nstructure. This stone is often confounded with the Hyacinth and other\nvarieties of the Zircon with which it is found. It is regarded amongst\nancient philosophers as a protective talisman for virgins born between\nAugust 24th and September 23rd. The Essonite is a gem under the\ncelestial Virgo.\n\nEUCLASE. The name is derived from the Greek EU KLASIS, easily fractured.\nIt is a silicate of aluminium and beryllium and is related to the\nemerald. Westropp says: \u201cThe euclase is of the same chemical composition\nas the emerald.\u201d (\u201cManual of Precious Stones.\u201d) It is a very rare and\nexpensive mineral, glassy and extremely brittle. The euclase closely\nresembles the aquamarine in its varying shades of pale blue and pale\ngreen. Sometimes it is found quite colourless. It is frequently found\nwith topaz, and is of the hardness of the beryl. As a love talisman it\nis advised that it be worn in the rough. The euclase is under the\ncelestial Taurus.\n\nFLINT\n\n \u201c_So stubborn flints their inward heart conceal\n Till art and force th\u2019 unwilling sparks reveal._\u201d\n CONGREVE TO DRYDEN.\n\nFlint derives its name from the Greek PLINTHOS, a brick. It has been\nwritten at various times as vlint, vlynt, flent, flend, flynd, flynt,\nflynte. Flint is described as an \u201cintermediate between quartz and opal,\nconsisting almost entirely of silica with a little lime, oxide of iron,\nwater, carbon and sometimes traces of organic matter.\u201d Mr. G. R. Porter\nsays that flint is silica \u201cin a state nearly approaching to purity.\u201d\n(\u201cPorcelain and Glass,\u201d 1832.) Today it is classed amongst the varieties\nof chalcedony and is found in various colours\u2014greyish white, grey,\nblack, light brown, red and yellow. It is semi-translucent, breaking\nwith a well-defined shell-like fracture. This mineral was extensively\nused by aboriginal man in the making of implements, weapons, magical\ninstruments, etc., and many fine worked specimens are still found in all\nparts of the world. Mystery and magic are associated with the flint\nwhich was used in ancient Egypt for fashioning scarabs and making the\nfirst incision in a dead body, prior to embalming. The Ethiopian Arrows\nnoted by Herodotus were, as discovery has proved, arrow heads of flint.\nThe Elf Arrow-head or Elf Dart with a hole drilled through it was\nregarded especially in Scotland and Ireland as an effective talisman\nagainst poison, witchcraft, and the evil wishes of enemies. Sir Edward\nMackenzie, Bart. built his charming little story \u201cThe Romance of the Elf\nArrow\u201d on these beliefs. Robert Gordon, of Straloch, who wrote in the\nyear 1654, relates that a friend of his while out riding on horseback\nwas struck on the top of his riding boot by one of these fairy stones.\nIn this case there is no doubt that the horse\u2019s hoof caused the\nincident, but chance was not admitted by the old masters who would\nregard the hoof of the horse as the instrument made use of by the\nmischievous fairies.\n\nPliny relates that Chias being the first to demonstrate the fire\nflashing of struck flint, was given the name of Pyrodes. Aubrey states\nthat it was an old custom to hang on a string a flint with a hole in it\n\u201cto hinder the nightmare.\u201d \u201cIt is best of all, they say, hung about\ntheir necks, and a flint will do it that hath a hole in it. It is to\nprevent the night mare, viz., the Hag, from riding their horses which\nwill sometimes sweat at night. The flint thus hung does hinder it.\u201d\nAnother writer, Grose, quoted in Brand\u2019s \u201cAntiquities,\u201d says: \u201cA stone\nwith a hole in it hung at the bed\u2019s head will prevent the nightmare. It\nis therefore called a Hag Stone from that disorder which is occasioned\nby a Hag or Witch sitting on the stomach of the party afflicted. It also\nprevents witches riding horses: for which purpose it is often tied to a\nstable key.\u201d\n\n \u201c_Hang up Hooks and Sheers to scare\n Hence the Hag that rides the mare._\u201d\n HERRICK.\n\nThese flints were called Holy or Holey Stones in the North of England,\nalso Ephialtes stones, Night Mare or Witch Riding Stones, and Butler\nmentions the chasing away of evil spirits by hollow flint. The \u201cMare\u201d of\nNight Mare is derived from the Saxon Mara, an incubus, which attacked\nduring sleep, depriving the victim of movement and speech. The Mara or\nMare is an order of vampires. Hebrew MARIA, an evil spirit against which\nthe flint is a charm. As a correspondent of flint, Emanuel Swedenborg\ngives Truth. Its connection with the ninth heavenly mansion is well\ndefined. Flint is under the celestial Sagittarius.\n\nGARNET\n\n \u201c_Without the aid of yonder golden globe\n Lost were the garnet\u2019s lustre._\u201d\n SMART.\n\nThe garnet derives its name from the Latin GRANATUS, grain-like. Mr.\nKing gives Granatici, from its resemblance to the scarlet pomegranate\nblossom. It is found written as garnet, gernet, garnette, garnat, garnet\nor garnat stone.\n\nThe mineral group passing under the general name of garnet exhibits some\ndistinct peculiarities which, adopting the classification given by\nProfessor James Dana, can be considered under three heads, as follows:\n\n Alumina Garnet Iron Garnet Chrome Garnet\n\n ALUMINA GARNET\n\nThe sesquioxide base is chiefly aluminium.\n\n (_a_) IRON ALUMINA GARNET\n\nShades of colour: Red, ruby red, hyacinth red, columbine red, brownish\nred. Precious garnet is translucent, common is not. Example, Almandine\nor Carbuncle. Astrologically classed under the celestial Sagittarius.\n\n (_b_) LIME ALUMINA GARNET\n\nShades of colour: Pale green, cinnamon, amber. Example: Essonite or\nCinnamon Stone is cinnamon coloured; Grossularite (Latin GROSSULARIA, a\ngooseberry), is pale green; Succinite (Latin SUCCINUM, amber), is of the\ncolour of amber. The Grossularite is a health talisman, the Succinite a\ncharm for securing harmony and success in dealing with employees. They\nare both under the Celestial Virgo.\n\n (_c_) MAGNESIA ALUMINA GARNET\n\nShades of colour: Deep red changing to black and green. Example: Pyrope.\nUnder the celestial Aquarius.\n\nThe Pyrope or Bohemian Garnet derives its name from the Greek word\nPUROPOS, fiery, and is known to Pliny as Apyroti. It is a stone of the\nsame hardness as the beryl and is commonly called the \u201cCape Ruby,\u201d or\nthe \u201cArizona Ruby.\u201d In the regalia of Saxony, set in the Order of the\nGolden Fleece, is a large pyrope, 468\u00bd carats in weight, and that\nstrange Emperor Rudolph II under whose patronage Tycho and Kepler worked\nat the Rudolphine (Astronomical) Tables, is said by De Boodt to have\npossessed a specimen worth 45,000 thalers. One as big as the egg of a\npigeon lies in the Green Vaults at Dresden. Large pyropes are, however,\nrare. Swedenborg corresponds Pyrope to \u201cgood,\u201d and it is regarded as a\ntalisman of faithfulness and stability, of hope, of happiness and true\nfriendship. Its influence is said to aid psychic development and occult\nunderstanding. It is a health stone, and in the East is regarded as a\nbanisher of plagues and poison, changing colour, it is said, when danger\nor mishap of any kind threaten the wearer.\n\n (_d_) MANGANESE ALUMINA GARNET\n\nShades of colour: Red, brownish red, hyacinth red. Example: Spessartite\nor Spessatine. Under the celestial Virgo.\n\nThe Spessartite obtains its name from SPESSART in Germany. It is\nsometimes called the Brown Garnet, but is little used in jewellery. The\nSpessartite is a prayer charm for the uplifted soul.\n\nIRON GARNET\n\nThe sesquioxide base is chiefly iron.\n\n LIME IRON GARNET\n\nShades of colour: Various.\n\nExample: Andradite, named after the Portuguese mineralogist D\u2019Andrada.\nIn the variety called Topazolite (so named after the topaz), the colour\nis wine yellow, in Jelletite it is green, and in Melinite and Pyreneite\nit is black or grey-black. The Aplome (named by Hauy after the Greek\nword APLOOS, simple), is red. The Kolophonite, named after Kolophon in\nIonia, is coarse, granular, resinous and frequently iridescent. Green\nAndradite has been termed the \u201cUralian Emerald\u201d and the Olivine (wrongly\nso-called under this head). Brilliant specimens have been named by\njewellers DEMANTOID. A dark, almost black, andradite showing a gleam of\nred was much used in mourning jewellery. This is the stone which\nLeonardus said drove away pestilential airs and banished unworthy\nthoughts. It was a binding charm for friends. It protected from\nepidemics and the lightning-stroke, and lent favour to the desires of\nthe native. Specimens have been found engraved with the names of angels\nin Chaldaic, Hebrew, Greek and other ancient languages. It is under the\ncelestial Aquarius.\n\nCHROME GARNET\n\nThe sesquioxide base is chiefly Chromium.\n\nShades of colour: Emerald green.\n\nExample: Ouvarovite, Uvarovite or Uwarowite, after the Professor of that\nname of the late Russian Imperial Academy at Petrograd. This variety\nwill not, like other varieties, yield to the blow-pipe. It is a hard\nstone and few specimens large enough for cutting have been discovered.\nIt is under the celestial Aquarius.\n\nMany specimens of ancient engraved garnets have been found. Friction\nproduces in the stone a positive order of electricity which has a\nperceptible effect on the magnetic needle.\n\nGREENSTONE. (See JADE.)\n\nGROSSULARITE. (See GARNET.)\n\nHAEMATITE\n\n \u201c_The Haematite, named by the Greeks from blood,\n Benignant Nature formed for mortals\u2019 good._\u201d\n MARBODUS.\n\nThe Haematite obtains its name from the Greek HAIMATITES, blood-like. It\nis a specular iron ore of reddish, brown, steely gray, and iron black\ncolours. Commercially it is spelt Hematite, though it is also written as\nEmatite, Emathites, Emathitis.\n\nSotacus, described by Pliny as one of the most ancient writers,\nclassified five varieties of haematite, as follows:\n\n1. _Ethiopic_, which he said was a remedy for burns and inflamed eyes.\nIt is probable that this is the Ethiopian Stone, a hard species of\nflint. (See under FLINT.)\n\n2. Androdamus, or Conquerer of Man, which is given as a remedy for\nbilious attacks. This stone is described by Sotacus as \u201cvery black and\nheavy,\u201d and by Marbodus as \u201csilvery white with the hardness of a\ndiamond.\u201d It would seem that each writer is describing a different\nstone. Sotacus\u2019 description would imply a species of iron stone, that of\nMarbodus may stand for a corundum or even a diamond, and man may be\nsubdued by either the iron stone or the diamond.\n\n3. Arabian, recommended for stomach troubles and burns.\n\n4. Elatite, or when burned Melitite.\n\n5. Mixed stone for eye troubles.\n\nThe varieties given by Professor James D. Dana are:\n\n1. Specular Iron. Lustre perfectly metallic.\n\n2. Micaceous Iron. Structure foliated.\n\n3. Red Hematite. Submetallic or unmetallic brownish red.\n\n4. Red Ochre. Soft and earthy and often containing clay.\n\n5. Red Chalk. Firmer and more compact than red ochre and of fine\ntexture.\n\n6. Jaspery Clay Iron. A hard, impure, siliceous, clayey ore, having a\nbrownish-red jaspery look and compactness.\n\n7. Clay Iron Stone. The same as the last, the colour and appearance less\nlike jasper.\n\n8. Lenticular Argillaceous Ore. An oolitic red ore consisting of small\nflattened grains.\n\n9. Martite. Martite is hematite in octahedrons, derived, it is supposed,\nfrom the oxidation of magnetite.\n\nPliny says that Haematites are found in mines and when burned have the\ncolour of Minium. (Minium of today is our red lead of commerce, Red\nOxide of Lead). He recommends it for affections of the bladder and for\nthe healing of dangerous wounds, bites of serpents and as a check to\nfemale disorders. It seems probable in these enumerations that he refers\nto Loadstone (q.v.), for he says \u201cthe sanguine Loadstone called\nHaematite.\u201d The Haematite and the Loadstone were used in Babylon,\nAssyria and other ancient lands as far back as 2000 B.C. Amongst the\nspecimens handled by the author was one notable Haematite intaglio\ncylinder of very fine workmanship\u2014an old magistrate\u2019s seal of great\nantiquity. The ancient Egyptians generally selected Haematite as a\nfitting pillow (Urs) for the head of the Mummy to rest upon. On it were\noften cut verses from Chap. CLXVI of the \u201cBook of the Dead\u201d\u2014the Per em\nHru or Coming forth by Day.\n\nAn old 17th century writer, Andreas Balvacensis, advances the curious\nidea that the Haematite was made of \u201cdragon\u2019s bloud,\u201d and Holme in his\n\u201cArmoury\u201d says that it is called a Stench stone, for its accredited\nvirtue of stopping the flow of blood. Generally the old writers of the\nMiddle and later ages followed Galen in prescribing Haematite for\ninflamed eyes and headaches, and he was undoubtedly learned in the\nwisdom of the Egyptians and the old medical philosophies mentioned by\nSotacus. Several modes of use are mentioned; one was to mix the powdered\nstone with honey and apply it to the eyelids, another was to rub the\nsmoothed stone lightly over the lids. The Kidney Ore Haematite which has\na strong metallic silky lustre and is formed somewhat like a kidney, was\nrecommended for external application over the region of that organ when\nill conditions prevailed. This application of a Mars substance for the\ncure of a Venus affection is technically dealt with in works devoted to\nmedical astrology, ancient and modern. The Haematite is under the\ncelestial Aries.\n\nHIDDENITE. (See Spodumene.)\n\nHORNSTONE. Hornstone obtains its name from the Anglo-Saxon STAN. It is a\nfragile variety of flint, and is known in its more impure state as\nChert. It had some reputation as an eye stone in certain parts, and is\nregarded as under the celestial Taurus.\n\nHYACINTH\n\n \u201c_The island of Sandareeb ... containeth varieties of jacinths and\n different kinds of minerals._\u201d\n\n __The 6th Voyage of Es-Sindabad of the Sea.__\n\nThe name of this stone is derived from the youth Hyakinthos. It has been\nwritten at various times as hiacinth, hiacinthe, hyacint, hiacynth,\nhyacinthe, hiacint, etc. The true hyacinth, which is not to be\nconfounded with the sapphire, the hyacinthus of the ancients, is a\nbrilliant zircon (q.v.) of a transparent red or ruddy cinnamon colour.\nIt is found with a garnet of similar hue which is also called hyacinth\nbut which shows structural differences and is classified under the name\nESSONITE (q.v.). The peculiar granular nature of this hyacinth can be\nseen, even when cut, under an ordinary lens. It is said in ancient story\nthat Apollo caused the death of the lovely and beloved youth Hyakinthos\nwhen throwing his disc, and that from the blood which fell to the ground\na lovely flower sprang. The myth symbolizes the fertility of Nature and\nwas celebrated by the festival Hyakinthia, which expresses the grief of\nApollo over the precious life he had taken and the subsequent joy when\nthe flower gave promise of the return of the slain one in harmony with\nNature\u2019s immortal moods. The gem hyacinth was considered a charm against\nbowel disorders, as a mental tonic and a strengthener of the mind\nagainst all kinds of temptation. It promised bountiful harvests to the\nfarmer and filled the Cornu Copia of the Virgin Goddess. The name\nJACINTH, usually applied to the yellow variety of the gem, is a\ncontraction of hyacinth, and appears as Iacincte, Iacynkte, Iassink,\nJacounce, Jagounce, Jacincte, Jacynct, Jacynth, etc. Like all the Zircon\nfamily these stones are electric and attract fluff and exhibit\nphosphorescence. Thomas de Cantempre describes the jacinth as a stone of\nyellow colour which protected the wearer from melancholy and poison,\ndrawing to him the love of God and man. Leonardus said that it brought\nsleep to the tired brain and gave wisdom and protection in times of\npestilence. De Boodt also recommends the gem as a cure for insomnia,\nadvising that it be worn enclosed in a small bag of brown material\nsuspended just over the solar plexus. Francis Barrett in the section of\nhis book devoted to Natural Magic says: \u201cThe jacinth also possesses\nvirtue from the sun against poisons, pestilences and pestiferous\nvapours: likewise it renders the wearer pleasant and acceptable:\nconduces also to gain money: being simply held in the mouth it\nwonderfully cheers the heart and strengthens the mind.\u201d\n\nSo in ancient astrology these stones which are under the celestial Virgo\nhave these powers: Wisdom and Prudence, Worldly Gain, Wealth. It is said\nthat so powerful were these gems of the zircon family that one wearing\nthem could pass unharmed through places infected with fever and\npestilence. Mystic authors wrote that the jacinth grew dull when stormy\nweather was approaching, and bright with the promise of fine weather;\nsimilarly it indicated the degrees of health of the wearer (Virgo is a\nsign of health and sickness). Cardanus says that in tempestuous weather\nthe hyacinth assumes \u201cthe ruddy tint of a glowing coal.\u201d As an amulet\nagainst plague it was said to change colour when touched by affected\npersons. Avicenna (Ibn Sina), the famous Arabian philosopher of the 10th\ncentury compared the action of the jacinth with that of the magnet.\nParacelsus says that it is distinctly under the government of the planet\nMercury. In old Polish pharmacies a jacinth was kept set in a mount of\nsilver, ready to be used to avert mortification in cases of accident.\nHeld against the forehead it was reputed to give clearness of thought\nand calmness of mind. Swedenborg corresponds it to \u201cintelligence from\nspiritual love and in an opposite sense, intelligence from infernal love\nwhich is self-derived intelligence.\u201d To dream of the hyacinth is\ninterpreted as protection in approaching worries; to dream of the\njacinth indicates triumph. Jacinths are placed with almandines in the\nDar as Salam, the Arabian Garden of Peace, and amongst the Rosicrucian\njewels the hyacinth represents the true knowledge of absolute love and\nthe triumph over the crude elements of earthly understanding. These two\nzircon varieties are under the celestial Virgo.\n\nHYDROPHANE. (See OPAL.)\n\nHYPERSTHENE. The name is derived from the Greek HYPER, over, and\nSTHENOS, strength. It is also written as Hyperstene. It is a stone of\nthe Pyroxene group, a silicate of magnesium and iron. Its colours are\nbrown-green, grey or green-black, pinchbeck brown. Its hardness is about\nthe hardness of lapis lazuli. The hypersthene is under the celestial\nScorpio.\n\nIOLITE. The iolite derives its name from the Greek ION, violet and\nLITHOS, a stone. Hauy named it the DICHROITE (DIO, twice, CHROA,\ncolour). It was known also as the Cordierite, and more familiarly as the\nwater sapphire. It is a silicate of alumina magnesia and protoxide of\niron. It possesses extraordinary dichroism, the smoky blue and\nyellowish-grey being easily seen with the naked eye. This circumstance\ninduced Hauy to name it DICHROITE. Viewed in two directions it presented\ndifferent colours. These colours are shown to advantage in stones cut\nfor ornament. In 1758, Sir James Hill wrote a \u201cHistory of the Iolithos\nor Violet Stone,\u201d a work now most difficult to obtain. The iolite is a\nstone of friendship and friendly help. It benefits the eyesight and is\nan aid to high thoughts. It was also written as yolite, iolithe. It is\nof about the hardness of quartz. The iolite is under the celestial\nAquarius.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIX\n JACINTH\u2014LODESTONE\n\nJACINTH: JADE: JARGOON: MATURAN DIAMOND: JASPER: THE LYDIAN STONE OF THE\n ANCIENTS: THE HELIOTROPE OR BLOODSTONE VARIETY: THOMAS NICOLS AND\n ARTIFICIAL INFUSIONS: ST. ISIDORE ON THE JASPER: LEGEND OF THE\n CROSS: NUMBER FIVE AND THE STONE OF THE VIRGIN: RARE WORKS IN\n JASPER: GALENUS ON ITS VIRTUES: THE ANODYNE NECKLACE: THE JASPER\n AMULET OF NECHEPSOS: THE WHEEL OF EZEKIEL: JASPER SIGILS: TRALLIANUS\n AND THE JASPER: MOTTLED JASPER, A CHARM TO PROTECT FROM DROWNING:\n ZODIACAL REFLECTIONS: THE STONE OF VICTORY: VAN HELMONT\u2019S\n EXPERIMENTS: THE JASPER AMONGST THE JEWELS OF THE ROSICRUCIANS: JET:\n KAURI GUM: KOLOPHONITE: KUNZITE: KYANITE: LABRADORITE: LAPIS LAZULI:\n COLOURS AND NAMES: PERSIAN LAJWARD, ITS VIRTUES: ITS PLACE IN THE\n BOOK OF THE DEAD: COMMANDMENT STONES: LAPIS LAZULI IN CHINA:\n KATHERINE II AND HER PALACE ROOM: A STONE OF THE ALCHEMISTS:\n LIMONITE: LODESTONE: PLINY\u2019S STORY OF ITS DISCOVERY: HOW TERMED BY\n TITUS CARUS LUCRETIUS: THE STONE OF HERCULES: LEGEND OF THE\n PHOENICIANS: THE AGE OF THE MARINER\u2019S COMPASS: CONSTRUCTION OF ONE\n BY THE CHINESE EMPEROR HOUANGTI: PAUSANIAS AND THE STONE IMAGE OF\n HERCULES: A CRAMP STONE: A DIVINATORY INSTRUMENT: THE PLAN OF\n PTOLEMY PHILADELPHUS: PROFESSOR NOAD AND THE POWER OF THE LODESTONE:\n BARRETT\u2019S \u201cANTIPATHIES\u201d: STORY OF CLAUDIANUS: MAGNET AND THE ONION.\n\n\nJACINTH. (See HYACINTH.)\n\nJADE. See (NEPHRITE.)\n\nJARGOON. The Jargoon or Jargon, by which name it is known in France, is\nderived from the Italian GIACONE. It is a greyish or smoky variety of\nthe zircon (q.v.), which so closely resembles the diamond that it is\noften sold by unscrupulous dealers for the more precious gem. In\nallusion to this, Sir A. H. Church in his work on \u201cPrecious Stones\u201d\nsays: \u201cThe diamond and the jargoon do not improve or bring out each\nother\u2019s qualities for they have too many points in common.\u201d The jargoon,\nhowever, is nearly three degrees softer than the diamond and more easily\ninjured. It is usually brilliant and rose-cut. At Matura in Ceylon where\nit is found in fair quantities it is frequently termed the \u201cMaturan\nDiamond.\u201d The jargoon is frequently used set as a talismanic charm\nagainst plagues and disease, for which purpose it was esteemed greatly\nin the Middle Ages in the East and in Europe. Worn on the little finger,\nset in a ring of silver, it was reputed to help the physician to correct\ndiagnoses especially if, when in doubt, he held the stone against his\nforehead, at a point between the eyes. The jargoon is under the\ncelestial Virgo.\n\nJASPER.\n\n \u201c_Jasper stone signifies the divine truth of the Word in its literal\n sense, translucent from the divine truth in its spiritual sense._\u201d\n\n SWEDENBORG.\n\nJasper derives its name from the Hebrew YASHPHEH, Greek IASPIS, Arabic\nYASB. It is found written as jasp, jaspre, iaspere, iaspar. It is a hard\nsiliceous mineral of dark, dull colours, chiefly red, green, yellow and\nblack. In the variety termed RIBAND the mixed and striped colours form\nin concentric irregular zones. Ruin Jasper occurs in darker shades of\nbrowns and yellows, giving the appearance of venerable ruins. The lapis\nLydius or Lydian Stone of the ancients\u2014our basanite, commonly known as\nTouchstone\u2014is a velvety black flinty jasper, used as much today as ever\nit was, for ascertaining the fineness and quality of gold and precious\nmetals, and says Bacon, \u201cGold is tried by the touchstone and men by\ngold.\u201d Its connection with Mercury is shown in the Greek story of the\ntransformation of the betrayer Battus into Touchstone by the God. The\nHeliotrope or so-called Bloodstone variety is green with spots of red.\nPliny enumerates ten varieties, giving preference to the purple and\nrose-coloured. Marbodus in the Lapidarium writes of seventeen species\nall differing in colour, the best of all being the bright translucent\ngreen. The jasper was held in high favour by the ancients and Babylonian\nseals as old as 1,000 years before the Christian era have been found.\nThe THET or Buckle of Isis was made chiefly of jasper. In those times\nthe stone was found in quantities in the vicinity of the historic town\nof On or Heliopolis. Thomas Nicols, writing in the 17th century,\nprotests that the Egyptians knew how to infuse artificial colours into\nthis gem: \u201cIt is ascribed by way of glory to the King of Egypt that the\nfirst adulteration of jasper by tincture was from him, but the glory of\nthis praise, if I be not mistaken, doth even become his shame.\u201d St.\nIsidore of Seville (16th century) writes of the green jasper as \u201cshining\nwith the greenness of glory,\u201d and this variety\u2014commonly known as\nbloodstone because it is spotted with red specks resembling drops of\nblood\u2014is regarded as an essentially religious substance, and is\nassociated with the old Easter ceremonies. There is an old legend,\nfrequently retold, that the green jasper lying at the foot of the Cross\nat the Crucifixion received the blood drops from the five wounds of the\ndying Christ, which drops were forever impregnated in the stone. Five is\nthe number which in mystic writings is identified with the planet\nMercury, and the significance of the blood of the Son of the Virgin in\nthe stone of the Virgin will be understood by those who search for truth\nbeneath the mantle of parable. Mr. William Jones in \u201cFinger Ring Lore\u201d\ngives an illustration of a Christian octagonal-shaped ring of the 3rd or\n4th century, set with a red jasper in which is cut in intaglio a\nshepherd and his flocks: the import of this is clear enough. A jasper\nbust of Christ in which the red spots are so manipulated by the skilful\nartist as to represent drops of blood is mentioned by Professor James\nDana as being in the royal collection at Paris. \u201cSome indeed assert,\u201d\nwrites Claudius Galenus, the famous physician of the second Christian\ncentury, \u201cthat a virtue such as is possessed by the green jasper which\nbenefits the chest and mouth of the stomach if tied upon it, is inherent\nin precious stones.... I have had ample experience having made a\nnecklace out of such gems (jaspers), and hung it round the neck,\ndescending so low that the stones might touch the mouth of the stomach,\nand they appeared to be of no less service than if they had been\nengraved in the way laid down by King Nechepsos.\u201d This is the famous\nanodyne necklace so valued, especially in England, and the source of\nwhich the distinguished physician Dr. William Cullen ascribes to\nGalenus. Several books are credited to King Nechepsos (circa 600 B. C.).\nGalenus alludes to this King\u2019s jasper amulet which took the form of a\nrayed dragon. This dragon form symbolizes the mystery of the three\nzodiacal signs\u2014Virgo, Libra and Scorpio\u2014known to students of Rosicrucian\nphilosophy as the Wheel of Ezekiel, and personified in Pallas Athene or\nMinerva, the embodiment of wisdom, sympathy and strength. Galenus\ncarried as his talismanic gem a jasper engraved with a man carrying a\nbundle of herbs, as an aid to his judgment in indicating various\ndiseases\u2014a power long ascribed to stones under the celestial Virgo. A\nsimilar sigil is given by the ancient Israelitish Rabbi Chael: \u201cA man\nwith broad shoulders and thick loins, standing and holding in his right\nhand a bundle of herbs engraved on a green jasper is good against fevers\nand if a physician carries it about with him it will give him skill in\ndistinguishing diseases and knowing the proper remedies. It is also good\nfor h\u00e6morrhoids and quickly stops the flow of blood.\u201d The same authority\nrecommends for good luck in buying and selling \u201cAquarius cut on a green\njasper,\u201d which is also termed \u201ca stone of good counsel for traders\u201d (all\ntrade is under Mercury, the ruler in astrology of the signs Gemini and\nVirgo). A man\u2019s head facing and a bird holding a leaf in its beak, cut\nin jasper, was held to give riches and favour; a hare cut in jasper\nprotected from evil spiritual forces. The green jasper, as before\nstated, was also known as the Heliotropion (Heliotrope), a word derived\nfrom Greek HELIOS, the sun, and TROPOS, a turn\u2014probably in allusion to\nthe planet Mercury which turns nearest the Sun. It is stated that if\nthis stone were placed in water it would reflect the blood-red disc of\nthe sun, and if held before the eyes it would assist in the observation\nof the Solar and Lunar eclipses. Trallianus, a 6th century philosopher,\nrecommends the jasper for pains of an acute nature in the stomach or\nbowels\u2014a use for which it was especially esteemed by all ancient\nscholars. Mottled jasper was worn to protect from death by drowning, or\nfrom death whilst on or near the water, and this presents one of the\nmany instances of what astrologers term \u201csign reflection,\u201d for the water\nsign of the Fishes (Pisces) is opposite to the earthy sign Virgo and\nserves as an apt illustration of antipathetic action. Another virtue\nascribed to jasper was the calming of uneasy minds and the securing of\nvictory in battle. In this latter connection, Cardanus, physician,\nphilosopher and astrologer of the 16th century, says that it has action\non the feelings, causing something akin to timidity which induces\ncaution and the evading of needless risks\u2014a distinctly Mercurial\nattribute. De Boodt advises the wearing of jasper to check h\u00e6morrhage\nand relieve stomach pains. The stomach was regarded as the seat of the\nsoul by the remarkable Baptista van Helmont. Deleuze credits him with\n\u201ccreating epochs in the histories of medicine and physiology, and of\nfirst giving the name of \u2018gas\u2019 to aerial fluids,\u201d adding that without\nhim, \u201cit is probable that steel would have given no new impulse to\nscience.\u201d Van Helmont writes: \u201cIn the pit of the stomach there is a more\npowerful sensation than even in the eye or in the fingers. The stomach\noften will not tolerate a hand to be laid upon it because there is there\nthe most acute and positive feeling which at other times is only\nperceived in the fingers.\u201d For purposes of experiment Van Helmont\ntouched a root of aconite with the tip of his tongue\u2014a risky\naction\u2014taking care, however, not to swallow any of it. \u201cImmediately,\u201d he\nsays, \u201cmy head seemed tied tightly with a string and soon after there\nhappened to me a singular circumstance such as I had never before\nexperienced. I observed with astonishment that I no longer felt and\nthought with the head but with the _region of the stomach_, as if\nconsciousness had now taken up its seat there. Terrified by this unusual\nphenomenon, I asked myself and enquired unto myself carefully, but I\nonly became the more convinced that my power of perception had become\ngreater and more comprehensive. This intellectual clearness was\nassociated with great pleasure. I did not sleep, nor did I dream.... I\nhad occasionally had ecstasies but these had nothing in common with this\ncondition of the stomach in which it thought and felt and almost\nexcluded all co-operation of the head. This state continued for two\nhours after which I had some dizziness.\u201d Van Helmont writes of the \u201cSun\ntissue\u201d in the region of the stomach which from the earliest recorded\ntimes has been identified with the zodiacal Virgo around which so many\nmyths, parables and legends cluster. Jasper is associated with this part\nof the body of man, and to dream of it is said to symbolise love\u2019s\nfaithfulness known to the mind before the heart:\n\n \u201c_Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind,\n And therefore is Dan Cupid painted blind._\u201d\n\nAmongst the symbolic jewels of the Rosicrucians this stone was regarded\nas the centre stone of the vibrations of light and of its penetrating\ndiffusions. All varieties of jasper are under the celestial Virgo.\n\nJET\n\n \u201c_Your lustre too \u2019ll draw courtship to you as a iet (jet) doth\n straws._\u201d\n BEN JONSON.\n\nThe name jet is derived from the Greek GAGATES, from GAGAS, a river in\nSyria. It is also written as jesstone, and jeetstone. Dr. Murray gives\nthe following forms gete, geet, get, geete, geyte, geitt, gett, gette,\ngeytt, gate, giette, geate, ieet, iete, ieit, ieate, iet, jeat, jett,\njette. It is a variety of coal resembling cannel coal, but harder, of\ndeeper colour and with a higher degree of lustre. Pliny writes that\n\u201cGagates is a stone so-called from Gages, the name of a town and river\nin Lycia.\u201d When burnt it gives out a sulphureous smell which, according\nto the Venerable Bede (7th century), drove away serpents. Its virtue was\nesteemed in cases of hysteria, in detecting epileptic tendencies and in\nloss of virginity. A decoction of jet in wine was esteemed as a cure for\ntoothache, and in combination with wax it was used in cases of scrofula.\nMagicians, it is said, make use of Gagates in the practice of what is\nknown as \u201cAxinomancy\u201d\u2014a form of magic in which a piece of jet is placed\non a red-hot axe\u2014prophesying events according to the burning of the\nsubstance. Jet is highly electrical and will attract fluff in the same\nway as amber does, hence it was known as Black Amber, especially in the\n16th century, by the people of the Baltic coast. It was much used in\nmagical ceremonies, especially those in connection with the dead, as a\ncharm against evil magic, spells and envy, and as a cure for dropsy,\ncolds, chills and loss of hair. The fumes from burning jet are no doubt\nvery relieving in what is commonly known as cold in the head, the action\nbeing hom\u0153opathic in this case, as such discomforts are Saturnine and\nthe employment of jet is the employment of a saturnine substance for the\nremoving of a saturnine affliction. The use of jet for rosaries is noted\nby Cardan: it cooled the passions and protected the wearer against evil\ninfluences. Its fumes were considered potent in female disorders.\nBoetius says that it protected the wearer against nightmares and night\nterrors. Mr. King mentions the discovery of a number of jet ornaments at\nCologne in 1846 which were believed to have belonged to the ancient\npriestesses of Cybele or Rhea, the goddess of the mountain-forests and\ncaves of the earth. Her worship was wild and weird, her votaries with\ntorches ablaze rushing through the trees in the darkness of the night,\nfighting and wounding each other to the accompaniment of the screeching\nof the pipes, the clashing of cymbals and the mad uproar of drunken\nsong. Cybele was associated as a mountain goddess with the forest-god\nPan, the goat-god, who is identified with the Zodiacal Capricornus, and\njet was used in her worship. It was regarded as a banisher of\nmelancholia and a protective badge for travellers. To dream of it was\nsaid to signify sadness. In the form of a shield against the bites of\nserpents it was advised that powdered jet be taken and mixed with the\nmarrow of a stag. To many writers this has seemed ridiculous but beneath\nthe surface the true meaning may be detected. Astrologically jet is\nunder the zodiacal Capricorn and the planet Saturn, the stag is under\nGemini and the planet Mercury, the marrow of the stag is ruled by Venus\nand in this case signifies the essence supreme, the serpent is under the\nplanet Mars. Interpreted, this symbolic passage would read: Use wisdom\nand caution (Jet) knowledge (stag) and love (marrow) then wilt thou\novercome, subdue and defeat the lower self (serpent) and the sting of\nsin. Crypts of this kind were very frequently employed by Hermetic\nbrotherhoods for conveying their teachings to each other. The use of\nparables, secret signs, tokens and symbols was the real method of\nconveying truths employed by the ancient masters. By this means\nconcentration was impelled and the soul prepared to receive great\ntruths.\n\nKAURI GUM\n\n \u201c_As some tall Kauri soars in lonely pride._\u201d\n RENWICK.\n\nKauri obtains its name from the Maoris and appears in various forms:\nkowrie, cowry, courie, coudie. It is gum of a light amber colour which\nhas exuded from the Kauri pine (Dammara Australis) a species of Dammar\ngrowing in New Zealand. The gum is obtained by digging over spots where\nthe trees once grew, and it is found sometimes in lumps the size of a\nfootball. Kauri gum is electric and much softer and less durable than\namber. It has been suggested as a useful substitute for amber in throat\ntroubles, asthma, hay fever and glandular swellings. It is under the\ncelestial Taurus.\n\nKOLOPHONITE. (See GARNET.)\n\nKUNZITE. (See SPODUMENE.)\n\nKYANITE. Kyanite derives its name from the Greek KUANOS, blue. It is\nalso written as Cyanite and, because of its unequal hardness, Disthene\n(twice strong). White specimens are termed RHOETIZITE. Chemically\nkyanite harmonizes with andalusite (q. v.) for both are silicates of\naluminium, but as Dr. Smith writes, \u201cpoints of difference show how large\na share the molecular grouping has in determining the aspect of\ncrystallized substances.\u201d Usually kyanite is found in long, thin\nblade-like crystals and more rarely in short, full crystals. Its colours\nare light blue, blue and white, white, grey-green and, more rarely,\nblack. Its hardness varies from 5 to a little over 7 in Mohs\u2019 scale.\nWhen cut the blue variety resembles the light sapphire although it\ncannot display the same brilliancy. The stone is, however, very little\nemployed in jewellery. The peculiarities of kyanite place it under the\ncelestial Aquarius.\n\nLABRADORITE\n\n \u201c_The beautiful opalised kind of felspar called Labrador stone._\u201d\n PINKERTON.\n\nAlso written Labrador, is an opalescent grey-blue felspar of\nextraordinary gleam, often reflecting green, yellow and red. It obtains\nits name from the place of its origin, as it was first found by Moravian\nmissionaries in 1770 at St. Paul Island off the coast of Labrador.\nSpecimens have also been found in stones of meteoric origin. The stone\nis effective and might with advantage be more extensively used in\njewellery. Its hardness is the same as the opal. Labradorite is under\nthe celestial Aquarius.\n\nLAPIS LAZULI\n\n \u201c_The appearance of the Lord\u2019s divine sphere in the spiritual\n Heavens._\u201d\n\n SWEDENBORG.\n\nLAPIS LAZULI derives its name from the Latin word Lapis, a stone, and\nthe Arabic Azul, blue. It has been variously written as Zumemo Lazuli,\nZemech Lazarilli, Stellatus, Lapis Lazary, Lapis Coelestus, the Azure\nGem, the Armenian Stone, Lapis Lazari. Its composition includes for the\ngreater part silica and alumina, with soda, lime, iron, sulphuric acid,\nsulphur, chlorine and water. It is assumed to be a product of contact\nmetamorphism, and is described by Pliny as \u201copaque and sprinkled with\nspecks of gold\u201d (yellow pyrites). It is found in Persia, Tartary, China,\nThibet and Siberia. Badakhshan or Budukhshan in Central Asia is famous\nfor its Lapis Lazuli mines in which, it is recorded, the rock is split\nwith the help of fire. The stone is often found in tints of green, red,\nviolet, or colourless, but these may be termed varieties. The miners of\nBudukhshan call the blue Lapis \u201cNili,\u201d the sky-blue \u201cAsmani,\u201d and the\nblue-green tints \u201cSabzi.\u201d Some of the finest lajward (lapis lazuli) is\nsent from the Persian markets whence formerly specimens of rare beauty\nwere exposed for sale at the fairs of Nijni-Novgorod. From very remote\ntimes Persia supplied the ancient world with the greatest quantities of\nlajward. The \u201csapphirus\u201d of old is the Lapis Lazuli of today, and it is\nrecommended that the 26th chapter of The Book of the Dead should be\nrecited before a deific figure cut from this stone. As early as 1500\nyears before Christ we have a record that the Lapis Lazuli placed on the\nneck of a sick child reduced fever. Many of the Egyptian priests wore\nimages formed from the stone which was regarded as an emblem of the\nheavens. Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, at the latter part\nof the 4th century, quotes from older sources the tradition that the\ntables of the Law of Moses were written on two blocks of Lapis Lazuli,\nwhich is identified as the eleventh stone of the magic Breastplate. In\nthe ceremonies of the Temple of Heaven in China, ornaments of LIU-LI\n(Lapis Lazuli) were used, and the Chinese sacred writings record how at\none time the priest-kings bore it as an offering to the Lord of the\nUniverse. In accordance with the desire of Catherine II of Russia her\nfavourite room in the Zarskoe Selo palace was adorned with lapis lazuli,\nsymbolic of the country she governed, and amber, as a symbol of herself.\nThe ancient Greeks and Romans considered a piece of Lapis Lazuli\u2014the\nstone of Heaven\u2014as the most fitting distinction to bestow for personal\nbravery. It was regarded as a true stone of friendship and of the\naffection arising from friendship. Ancient physicians regarded this gem\nas of potent value in eye troubles, one old prescription advising that a\nspecimen be placed in a bowl of water, warm but not hot, for the space\nof some few minutes, and then that the eye affected be bathed in the\nwater which must be as pure as can be obtained. The stone was also\nvalued if placed, just warm, on swellings or seats of pain. It was also\nregarded as a cure for ague, melancholia, disorders of the blood,\nneuralgic affections and spasmodic action. As a talisman it was worn to\nprotect against injuries, especially to the ankles, to attract friends,\ngain favours and realize hopes. Lapis Lazuli was used by many of the old\nalchemists in special work of an esoteric nature and is frequently\nalluded to as the Stone of Heaven in which the stars are held. It is\nunder the zodiacal Aquarius.\n\nLIMONITE. This stone was named Limonite by Professor Hausmann in 1813\nfrom the Greek word LEIMON, a meadow. It is a species of brown haematite\n(scarcely as hard as the opal) which according to Professor Dana appears\nto have been the result in all cases of the decomposition of other\niron-bearing rocks or minerals. It is under the celestial Aries.\n\nLODESTONE\n\n \u201c_The magnet weds the steel, the secret rites\n Nature attends and th\u2019 heavenly pair unites._\u201d\n (CLAUDIANUS OF ALEXANDRA.)\n\nThe lodestone, which is also written though not so correctly, Loadstone,\nobtains its name from the Anglo-Saxon LAD, a course, LITHAN, to lead,\nand STAN. Another form is Lodysshestone, the stone that shows the way.\nIt is also known as Magnetite or the ancient Magnet, from the Greek\nMAGNES. The lodestone or magnetite is a black iron ore of high magnetic\nquality, and this peculiar attracting force is said to have first\nindicated what we now term magnetism. According to Pliny a Greek\nshepherd\u2014Magnes, by name\u2014whilst tending his sheep on Mount Ida, found\npieces of lodestone clinging to the ferrule of his shepherd\u2019s staff.\nTitus Carus Lucretius, in his great philosophical work \u201cDe Rerum Natura\u201d\n(about 55 B. C.), calls the Magnetite the Magnesium Stone, which he said\nobtained its name from Magnesia, a town in Thessaly. Another name\napplied to this stone is SIDERIT, but its best-known appellation in the\nancient world was HERACLION, or stone of Hercules. It is interesting to\nrecall the legend of the old Phoenician mariners, which tells that\nHercules, admiring their daring and skill, desired to help them in the\nscience of navigation. For this purpose he obtained from Helios a cup of\nHeraclion which always turned to the North. This seems to indicate that\nthe mariners\u2019 compass is of older date than the 11th century; indeed the\nChinese assert that in the year 2634 B.C. the Emperor Houangti first\nconstructed a magnetic compass. The Greek traveller and historian\nPausanias in his \u201cHelbados Periegesis\u201d published in the second century,\nwrites of the rough stone image of Hercules in the Temple at Hyettos,\nwhich the sick came but to touch in order to be healed of their\ndisorders. As a stone of healing the lodestone was highly esteemed as a\ncure for gout, rheumatism, cramp, disorders which frequently yield to\ntreatment wherein iron is employed. It was used during childbirth and in\ndiseases of the generative organs. Finely powdered and mixed with oil or\ngrease it was regarded by ancient writers as a preventive of or cure for\nbaldness. In the Orphic Lythica it is stated that holding this stone to\nthe head, the voices of the gods could be heard, heavenly knowledge\ngained and divine things seen. It is here advised that one should sit\nalone in earnest meditation asking the celestial powers for guidance or\nhelp in some particular trouble, when the reply flowing through the\nstone would be quickly sensed and understood by the sincere petitioner.\nA woman\u2019s moral character was said to be betrayed by the lodestone which\nendowed strength, will and the ability to look into the future. It was\nalso carried as a charm to protect against shipwreck. It is related that\nafter the death of his sister-wife Arsinoe, Ptolemy II (Philadelphus)\nplanned with his architect Dinochares a temple to be built of lodestone\nin order that her iron statue would be held for ever in suspension,\nseemingly in space, but death defeated the plan. In referring to the\npower of lodestones Professor Noad (\u201cElectricity\u201d) states: \u201cThe smallest\nstones have greater attractive force in proportion to their size than\nlarger ones.\u201d Francis Barrett under the heading of \u201cAntipathies\u201d writes\nthat a diamond disagrees with a lodestone and being present suffers no\niron to be drawn to it. However, it is as a lovers\u2019 token that the\nlodestone is most extolled; it is often found set in lovers\u2019 rings of\nthe Middle Ages. Claudianus in his \u201cIdyl\u201d published in the latter part\nof the 4th century gives a record of a temple wherein was a statue of\nVenus in lodestone, and another of Mars in iron\u2014symbols of the\nattraction of the wife for the husband and of the husband for the wife.\nThere is an old belief that the magnet was affected by the onion, and in\nthis connection the following extract from \u201cNotes and Queries,\u201d\nDecember, 1917, is interesting: \u201cThe notorious Count de Benyowsky at the\nend of Chapter III of his \u2018Memoirs and Travels\u2019 mentions the stratagem\nwhich he tried at sea to falsify the compass by the use of iron and\ngarlic. I now find that in the 17th century the belief actually\nprevailed in England that an onion would destroy the power of the\nmagnet. Thus Sir John Pettus of Suffolk, Kt., after describing his visit\nas a youth to the lead mines of Derbyshire in company with Sir Thomas\nBendish says that having magnetized the blade of his knife and hearing\nthat contact with an onion would utterly destroy that power, he\npreferred to believe rather than risk losing his magnet. The passage\noccurs in a rambling note on \u2018Mineralls\u2019 in the second part of his\n\u2018Fleta Minor.\u2019\u201d It might be considered in connection with such stories\nthat the onion as well as the lodestone is of the zodiacal Scorpio. To\ndream of the lodestone warns of subtle dealings and contentions. It is\nunder the celestial Scorpion.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XX\n MALACHITE\u2014NEPHRITE\n\nMALACHITE: ROSICRUCIAN SYMBOL OF ETERNAL SPRING: USED IN ANTIQUE CAMEI\n AND INTAGLI: VIRTUES: A SLEEP STONE: MARBLE, THE STONE OF STATUES:\n VARIETIES: EMBLEM OF IMMORTALITY: THE SYMBOL OF MERCURY: THE IMAGE\n OF SILENUS: MEERSCHAUM: KAVOL KOWATES MAKES A MEERSCHAUM PIPE:\n MELANITE: MOONSTONE OR CEYLON OPAL: INDIAN BELIEFS: STONE OF\n PROPHECY AND LOVE: SPECIMEN OF POPE LEO X: MOSS AGATE: AN EMBLEM OF\n RESURRECTION: ORPHEUS\u2019S ADVICE: MOTHER OF EMERALD: MOTHER OF PEARL:\n NACRE: EMBLEM OF WOMEN: CUSTOM OF THE WEST AUSTRALIAN NATIVE:\n NEPHRITE: LAPIS NEPHRITICUS OR KIDNEY STONE: SIR WALTER RALEIGH\u2019S\n DESCRIPTION: JADE AND JADEITE: CAMPHOR JADE: BURMESE JADE: NEPHRITE\n CHARMS: CHINESE AND JADE: FIND NEAR PEKING: THE NINE ACCOMPLISHMENTS\n AND THE FIVE CARDINAL VIRTUES: JADE AS A PREVENTIVE OF DECAY:\n MUSICAL JADE STONES: THE LUNAR FESTIVALS: JADE OF THE NORTH, SOUTH,\n EAST AND WEST: ITS HEALING VIRTUES: BUDDHA\u2019S FOOTMARK: SYMBOL OF\n RULERSHIP: ADADU-NEPHROS OR KIDNEY OF ADONIS: THE 6 VARIETIES OF THE\n MAORIS: THE HEI TIKI: THE TAHUNGA STONE AND THE MERE OR PATTOO\n PATTOO: DAMOUR\u2019S CHLOROMELANITE: P\u00c2T\u00c9 DE RIZ: PINK JADE: IONAN JADE:\n THE HYSTERIA STONE AT THE NEW YORK MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.\n\n\nMALACHITE\n\n \u201c_Melochites is a grene stone lyke to Smaragdus and hath that name of\n the colour of Malawes._\u201d\n\n TREVISA.\n\n\nThe Malachite derives its name from the Greek MALACHE, marsh mallow,\nfrom its resemblance to the soft green leaves of this plant. It is\nvariously written as melochite, malachquite, etc. It is a green\ncarbonate of copper which comes to us through the ages as a symbol of\nchildren and of the child of the year\u2014eternal Spring. It has been\nconfused with the Molochite of Pliny, but it is more likely the\nsmaragdus medicus, as identified by Mr. King, and the chrysocolla of\nTheophrastus. In Rosicrucian philosophy it was the symbol of the vernal\nequinox and the arising of the spiritual man. Malachite and azurite\n(q.v.) have been found together in single specimens. Malachite is much\nemployed for decorative purposes by the Russians, who have produced some\nexcellent works of art in this material. It was greatly favoured by the\nEgyptians and antique camei and intagli have been frequently found\npatinated by the hard hand of age. The virtues ascribed to this stone\nare many. It strengthened the stomach, head and kidneys, prevented\nvertigo and rupture and saved the wearer from evil magic, seduction,\nfalls and accidents. The Egyptians held it to be efficacious in cholera\nand rheumatism. It was said to bestow strength on children, to aid them\nduring dentition, to ward off convulsions, all harm, witchcraft and the\nevil eye. Some old writers give directions for swallowing powdered\nmalachite, especially for cardiac affections\u2014a practice dangerous and\nundesirable. The action of stones and gems is subtle and the intense\nvibratory action is so gentle as to be usually quite unfelt by the\nmaterial senses. Powdering a specimen disturbs the cohesive molecules\nand deprives them of their insidious action. A stone multiplies from\nwithout and by the laws of correspondence its action on man is always\nfrom external to internal. The Malachite was also called the Sleep Stone\nfrom its reputation of charming the wearer to sleep. It was also\nregarded as a protection from lightning. Massive malachite bears a close\nresemblance to the kidneys in the human body. It is under the zodiacal\nLibra.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n \u201cInspiration\u201d\n\n Marble Group in Central Hall, Art Institute, Chicago. Signed\u2014Kathleen\n Beverly Robinson. Memorial to Florence Jane Adams. Presented by\n Friends and Pupils of Mrs. Adams, 1915\n\n By kind permission of The Art Institute of Chicago\n]\n\nMARBLE\n\n \u201c_And the cold marble leapt to life, a god._\u201d\n MILMAN.\n\nMarble derives its name from the Latin MARMOR, cognate with the Greek\nMARMOROS, from MARMAIRO to sparkle. It has been variously written in\nEngland as marbre, marbyr, marbel, marbal, marboll, marbelle, merbyl,\nmarbill, marbyll, marbull, marbell, etc. It is carbonate of lime, pure\nwhen the colour is white and of various shades of colour when combined\nwith oxide of iron and other substances. The marble favoured by the\nancients was the Parian which is finely granular, waxy when polished,\nand lasting. The beautiful Venus de Medici and other exquisite Greek\nstatues were formed of Parian. Another favourite variety was the more\nfinely grained and whiter marble of Pentelicus from which the Parthenon\nwas built. The Pyramid of Cheops and other famous structures of the kind\nwere built of a variety known as nummilitic limestone, which is composed\nof numerous disk-shaped fossils known as nummilites. Portor is a deep\nblack Genoese marble with yellow veinings. The deep black marble of\nantiquity is known as Nero-antico; Rosso antico is a deep blood-red\nbesprinkled with white minute marks; Verde antico is a misty green;\nGiallo antico a deep yellow with yellow or black rings. Carrara marble\nis greatly used by modern sculptors and was well-known to the ancients;\nit is a fine-grained pure white marble traversed by grey veins. Pure\nwhite marble was an emblem of purity and as such has always been\nregarded as fitting for tombstones and other sepulchral monuments. As an\nemblem of immortality it is expressed by the triform symbol of the\nplanet Mercury (the cross, the circle and the crescent), with which is\nassociated the Christ resurrection in Christian mysticism. Amongst\nRosicrucian students the cross is symbolical of the pain of matter, for\non it matter is fixed;\u2014the circle the ascent of the soul which is above\nmatter and never ending; the semi-circle which surmounts the whole, the\nspirit which is over all everlastingly. Evidences of the old\ncustom\u2014still followed in many countries\u2014of placing pieces of white\nmarble in the grave with dead bodies was some few years ago brought to\nlight in Ireland. Dr. Holland\u2019s translations from Pliny record \u201ca\nstrange thing of the quarries of the island Paros, namely, that in one\nquarter thereof there was a vein of marble found which when it was\ncloven in twaine with wedges shewed naturally within the true image and\nperfect portraiture of Silenus imprinted on it.\u201d All marble is under the\ncelestial Gemini.\n\nMARCASITE. See PYRITE.\n\nMEERSCHAUM\n\n \u201c_A meerschaum pipe nearly black with smoking is considered a\n treasure._\u201d\n J. NOTT. DEKKER\u2019S GULL\u2019S HORN\n BOOK.\n\nMeerschaum obtains its name from the German Meer, sea, and Schaum, foam,\nwhich is, according to Dr. Murray, a literal translation of the Persian\nKEF-I-DARYA (foam of the sea). It is also called keffekill and\nkiffekiefe, which has been credited with meaning the \u201cearth of the town\nof Keffe or Kaffe,\u201d the Crimean town whence it is exported. Its\ntechnical name is Sepiolite, and its various forms are given as myrsen,\nmeershaum, meerchum, mereschaum, merschaum, meerschaum. It is a hydrous\nsilicate of magnesia, extremely soft and light, smooth to the touch and\nin colour of white, grey-white, yellow and sometimes pinkish. Kirwan,\nthe mineralogist, writing in the latter part of the 18th century says,\n\u201cKefferkill or Myrsen is said, when recently dug, to be of a yellow\ncolour and as tenacious as cheese or wax.\u201d It is well-known that the\nTartars use newly dug meerschaum as we use soap, on account of its\nexcellent lather. The peasantry at one time really believed it to be the\npetrified foam of the sea. The Meerschaum is included amongst the\nGalactites or Milk Stones. On account of its lightness it was first\nfashioned into a smoking pipe by a Hungarian shoemaker, Kavol Kowates,\nskilled in wood carving and metal work, in the old town of Pesth, in the\nmuseum of which town it now rests. The piece of meerschaum from which\nKowates made his pipe was brought to Hungary by his patron Count\nAndrassy on his return from a diplomatic mission to Turkey. The\nMeerschaum is under the celestial Gemini.\n\nMELANITE. See GARNET.\n\nMOONSTONE\n\n \u201c_Soon as the evening shades prevail,\n The Moon takes up the wondrous tale.\n And nightly to the listening earth\n Repeats the story of her birth._\u201d\n ADDISON.\n\nThe Moonstone is an orthoclase feldspar of the opalescent variety of\nAdularia, of a pearly moon-like lustre\u2014hence the name Stone of the Moon.\nIt appears under the forms of moona, mone, mon, mowne, moone, moyne,\nmione, mune and muni; it is known in France as Pierre de la Lune. Its\nabundance in Ceylon has earned for it the name of \u201cCeylon Opal.\u201d The\nIndians call it \u201cChandra Kanta,\u201d and according to them it grows under\nthe rays of the moon and absorbs in the process of formation an\natmospheric ether which impregnates it with peculiar occult and magical\nproperties. These properties once infused into the stone never leave it.\nThey are said to have a remarkable effect on the psychic nature of man,\nenabling him to prophesy\u2014according to Leonardus\u2014in the waning of the\nmoon and to love in the waxing. The natives of Ceylon have a story that\nevery third seventh year moonstones of opalescent blue are, by the\ninfluence of the moon, hurled on the island shore by the waves. Pliny\nsays that in the stone an image of the moon is impressed, which waxes\nand wanes in harmony with the luminary. It is related that Pope Leo X\npossessed a wonderful specimen which, obscure and dull when the moon was\nold, increased in brilliance as that orb grew from new to full. It is\nrecommended that in order to know the future and to obtain spiritual\nguidance a moonstone be held in the mouth, under a waning moon. It is\nalso necessary to be quite alone and to send out a mental prayer to the\nangel Gabriel (angel of the Moon) asking help by God\u2019s grace. The\nMoonstone was considered as a charm against cancer, dropsy and\naffections of a watery nature. In fever, if applied to the temples it\nreduced the temperature and protected the patient. It also cooled heated\nimaginations and protected against moonstrokes and lunacy. The moonstone\nis said to protect the wearer from danger on the ocean and to give good\nfortune whilst travelling. As a symbol it signifies Hope, and as a dream\nsymbol it indicates travelling and health\u2014good when the stone is bright\nand clear, and bad when it is dark and lustreless. It is under the\ncelestial Cancer.\n\nMOSS AGATE or MOCHA STONE\n\n \u201c_Whilst on that agate which dark Indians praise\n The woods arise, the sylvan monster strays._\u201d\n MARBODUS.\n\nThe Mocha stone is said to have obtained its name from the Arabian city\nof Mocha whence it was exported. It has been written in various ways:\nmocus, mocoe, mocoa, mochoe, mochoa, mocha, mocho. It is called Piedra\nde Moca in Spain, Pierre de Mocka in France, and Mokkastein in Germany.\nThe Mocha stone is called Dendritic because of the plant and moss-like\ninfiltrations exhibited. These are like frost crystals often formed by\nthe magic hand of Nature, and often also by plants held in hollows\nwherein the siliceous mineral was composed. The Mocha Stone besides\nbeing called Moss Agate is also called Tree Agate in common with\nsilicified trees in which the original structural details are accurately\npreserved. Remarkable pictures formed by Nature in the Agate have\nalready been noticed. Pliny hints at the employment of artifice in the\nproduction of many of these stones, and the secret was long a cherished\nknowledge of the Italian workers in gems. Early in the 19th century,\nhowever, some German scientists obtained possession of the secret and\nwithin the past few years artificial productions from Oberstein have\nreached the gem markets. The Mocha stone was accounted a most fortunate\nstone. It is associated with the influences of the planet Venus and was\nalways noted as a sign of fertility. For this reason farmers tied\nspecimens to their fruit trees, to the harness of their horses and to\nthe horns of their cattle. In the early 19th century it was highly\nesteemed in Europe, and in England especially it was used for luck\nrings, oftentimes surrounded with rubies (stones of the sun). It was\nalso used for mourning jewellery as an emblem of the resurrection and of\nthe eternal life which alone is permanently manifest throughout Nature.\nOrpheus advises that to secure the smiles of the gods a piece of the\nstone should be worn, also that the ploughman carrying it would receive\nheavenly bounty. It was greatly esteemed by physicians and apothecaries\nas a base on which to prepare their medicines. As a symbol it stood for\ngood health and long life and to dream of it, increase of possessions.\nIt is under the celestial Taurus.\n\nMOTHER OF EMERALD. See PLASMA.\n\nMOTHER OF PEARL. See NACRE.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Antique Moss Agate Patch Box\n\n Mrs. W. R. Furlong\u2019s Collection\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Moss Agate Basket\n\n William Howat Collection\n]\n\nNACRE\n\n \u201c_\u2019Tis a valley paved with golden sands,\n With pearls and nacre shells._\u201d\n SYLVESTER (1605) Trans. Du Bartas.\n\nNacre or Mother of Pearl is the inner layer of various molluscs and is\nmore particularly applied to the Meleagrina Margaritifera or large\noyster shell in which the precious pearl is formed. The French call it\nM\u00e8re Perle, and it is found written as Moder Perl, Mother Perle, Mother\nPearle. Nacre is said to have derived its name from the Persian word\nNIGAR, painting, because of the iridescent colours displayed, but Dr.\nMurray, although remarking on its probable Oriental origin, regards its\nderivation as uncertain. Various forms are noted, as: nackre, nacker,\nnakre, naker, and there is no doubt of its antique application. Hoole in\n1658 wrote that \u201cthe oyster affordeth sweet meat\u2014the nacre pearls.\u201d\nMythologically the Mother of Pearl shell is symbolical of Latona or Leto\n\u201cgoddess of the dark night,\u201d mother of the Sun god Apollo and the Moon\ngoddess Artemis or Diana. She, as ancient story tells, whilst fleeing\nfrom the fury of Hera, Queen of Heaven, reached an island rock, driven\nabout by the restless waves, which when solidly fixed by Neptune became\nthe famous island of the \u00c6gean Sea\u2014Delos. Here were born the radiant\ntwins Apollo and Artemis in a flood of golden light whilst the sacred\nswans encircled the island seven times. The golden light, so powerful at\nthis event, is the light which at conjunction (new moon) blends with the\nsilvery light of the night orb. The Pearl Shell like its child, the\npearl, is always associated with female life which in astro-philosophy\nis moon-ruled. The natives of Western Australia, hidden in the bushes,\ncharmed women by the aid of the reflected light from the shell of the\nmother of pearl. These big shells are thick, flat and roundish, in size\noften as much as a foot in diameter. The two varieties are known as\nblack-lipped and silver-lipped, and within them rests the protected\npearl. The pearl shell is greatly in demand for the manufacture of many\nand varied articles of commerce. It is under the celestial Cancer\u2014the\nmansion of the moon and the sign of the deep ocean.\n\nNEPHRITE\n\n \u201c_Many of the Indians wore pieces of Greenstone round their necks\n which were transparent and resembled an emerald. These being examined,\n appeared to be a species of nephrite stone._\u201d\n\n COOK\u2019S VOYAGES, 1790.\n\nIn ancient times the minerals comprising or included in this important\ngroup were commonly known by the name Lapis Nephriticus or Kidney Stone,\nand from this name in the 18th century Dr. A. G. Werner suggested the\nterm Nephrite. To the Nephrite varieties the general term Jade is\nuniversally applied. The name occurs in old writings as jad and jadde,\nand is derived from the Spanish Hijada, kidney. Sir Walter Raleigh in\n1595 wrote of this \u201ckinde of stones which the Spaniards call Piedras\nHijadas and we use for spleene stones.\u201d Chemically the species included\nunder the name \u201cjade\u201d are not the same, the nephrite jade being a\nsilicate of lime and magnesia and the jadeite a silicate of sodium and\nalumina, but the modern scientist in common with the ancient scientist\nbinds them together under the one denomination\u2014kidney stone. In the 19th\ncentury Professor A. Damour demonstrated the chemical difference between\njade and jadeite. The well-known Camphor Jade of China is a white\njadeite, some specimens containing certain percentages of Chromium\nexhibiting those apple-green patches so highly praised by gem\ncollectors. Burmese Jade, known as Chauk-Sen, (which since the 13th\ncentury has been principally exported to China) is chiefly jadeite, and\nthe Imperial Jade of charming pale or apple-green colour, known as\nFeitsui and set down by some writers as chrysoprase, is more properly\nPrehnite. The nephrite charms\u2014Piedras Hijadas\u2014known in Mexico as\nChalchihuith when the Spanish invaded that country were probably\njadeites. The Chinese have held the jade family in the highest esteem\nand reverence for many centuries, and it poetically expresses to them\nall the virtues of many precious stones blended together. It is said\nthat most of the nephrite used by them came from the Kuen-lun mountains\nin Turkestan, but the discovery of the mineral at no great distance from\nPeking in 1891 helped to make that city a great working centre. The\nChinese word for jade is YU, expressed in their hieroglyph as a cross\nover a kind of semi-circle. Jade stone they know as YU-CHI, and precious\nobjects of jade as OUAN YU. The words KHITCHINJOU-YU indicates a gem\nrare as jade, and the Imperial Academy was known as Jade Hall. The\nTurkestan name for jade closely resembles the Chinese YU in its form\nYASHM, YUSHM or YESHM.\n\nAges before the Christian era the jade was said to indicate the nine\naccomplishments, Charity, Goodness, Virtue, Knowledge, Skill, Morality,\nDivination, Rectitude, Harmony. YU may also be rendered \u201ccourage,\u201d and\nin its connection with the jade stone or YU-CHI it included the five\ncardinal virtues\u2014YU, bravery, JIU charity, JI modesty, KETSU equity, CHI\ndiscrimination. In her \u201cWanderings in China\u201d Mrs. C. F. Gordon Cummings\nsays: \u201cThe Chinese name for jade is YU-SHEK\u2014(it may also be written\nYU-CHI) and that by which we call it is said to be a corruption of a\nSpanish word referring to a superstition of the Mexican Indians who\ndeemed that to wear a bracelet of this stone was the surest protection\nagainst all diseases of the loins: hence the Spanish named the mineral\nPiedra di Hijada (stone of the loins) by which name it became known in\nEurope.\u201d Jade is the concentrated element of love which protected the\ninfant and the adult and preserved the bodies of the dead from decay.\nDr. Kunz quotes the Chinese mystical writer Ko Kei who asserted that the\nbody of a man who had consumed 5 pounds weight of jade powdered did not\nchange colour when he died, and that when several years later it was\nexhumed no evidences of change or decay were visible. When vibrated this\nstone produces musical notes, and it was regarded as expressive of music\nand harmony, poets singing its praises. It was the emblem of love,\nbeauty, protection and charm, and it graced the holy altars. For the\naltar of earth the symbolic jade stone was of yellowish hue, whilst\nduring lunar festivals white jade was employed. Black\u2014mentioned, but\ndoubtful indeed\u2014was the North Jade, and red the South. White was the\nWest and green the East. It was said that in sickness the heat of the\nbody drew out virtues from the jade, healing virtues soothing and life\nprotecting. In \u201cBuddhist Records of the Western World\u201d Mr. Samuel Beal\nwrites that \u201cin the kingdom of Kuichi or Kuche in the Eastern Convent\nknown as the Buddha Pavilion, there is a large yellowish-white jade\nstone shaped like a sea shell which bears on its surface what is said to\nbe Buddha\u2019s footmark. This footmark is one foot 8 inches long and 8\ninches in breadth. It is said that the relic emits a bright sparkling\nlight at the conclusion of each fast day.\u201d Professor E. H. Parkes, M.A.\nin \u201cAncient China Simplified\u201d mentions a custom of burying a jade symbol\nof rulership in the ancestral temple to protect the fortunes of the\nfamily, and jade symbols adorned private family insignia. Strangely\nenough the world\u2019s people have always reverenced the nephrite as the\nkidney stone\u2014the use of it goes further back than the knowledge of man.\nIt was used in old Egypt as in old China, and Pliny mentions the\nAdadu-nephros or kidney of Adonis. This is an early identification of\njade with the Venusian Adonis and the parts of the body over which Venus\nastrologically presides. The Indians call it the Divine Stone which is\ncredited with being a cure for gravel and epilepsy and as a charm\nagainst the bites of animals and poisonous reptiles. It was also said to\nremove thirst and hunger, to cure heartburn and asthma and to affect\nfavourably the voice, organs of the throat, the liver and the blood. Its\ngreasy surface led to its employment as a hair improver, but its chief\nexcellence was in nephritic disorders and specimens worn over the region\nof the kidneys or on the arm are said to have acted in a wonderful and\nunexpected manner in the banishing of these troubles. It is claimed also\nas a power for the removal of gravel. The Maoris of New Zealand\naccording to the best authorities noted six varieties of jade. Punamu is\ntheir name for the whole species termed by authors of the last decade\n\u201cgreen talc of the Maoris.\u201d The well-known greenstone variety is termed\nKawakawa by the Maoris, the paler and more precious Kahurangi, the\ngreyish Inanga. The Tangiwai stone is a pellucid serpentine or variety\nof Bowenite. The Nephrite is a sacred stone to these sturdy New\nZealanders who use it in the construction of their offensive and\ndefensive weapons and sacred objects. These greenstone weapons are\namongst the finest of known stone tools. The sacred and curiously formed\ncharm, the Hei Tiki, is an esoteric symbol which is worn as a precious\nemblem and never parted with except for very weighty reasons. For\nexample, a Hei Tiki recently handled by the author was given by an old\nchief on his deathbed to an English officer who had saved his life in\nthe Maori war. The Tahunga stone\u2014the stone of the magicians by the aid\nof which the flashes of light were directed by the Medicine Man to\nbewildered eyes, was usually formed from a Kahurangi type of greenstone,\nand the Mere or Pattoo Pattoo, a club of dark Punamu, was said to send\nits victims to the world of Spirits.\n\n[Illustration: Old Maori Charm of Greenstone Known as \u201cHei Tiki\u201d]\n\nA variety of jade of dark green colour, discovered in the Swiss Lake\ndwellings and the dolmens of France usually in the form of Celts was\ntermed Chloromelanite by Professor Damour. This Nephrite has also been\ndiscovered in New Guinea where it was fashioned by the natives into\nclubs and other implements. Other Nephrites have been termed Fibrolite\nor Sillimanite. The P\u00e2t\u00e9 de Riz is merely a fine white glass, and Pink\nJade is usually a piece of quartz. Some beautiful specimens of\ntranslucent green jade are collected by children on the Island of Iona\nand many specimens have been unearthed in various parts of Europe.\nProfessor Max Muller discovered in old Egypt a remarkable green stone\nused as a charm against hysteria; this interesting specimen is now in\nthe Museum of Natural History, New York.\n\nThe Nephrite family is under the celestial Libra.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXI\n OBSIDIAN\u2014ONYX\n\nOBSIDIAN, A NATURAL VOLCANIC GLASS: ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CUSTOMS: MEXICAN\n ITZTLI: STATUES IN OBSIDIAN: USED BY GREEKS AND ROMANS: \u201cOBSIDIANS\u201d:\n OBSIDIAN \u201cBOMBS\u201d: BOTTLE STONE: MR. R. H. WALCOTT AND HIS TERM\n OBSIDIANITES: AUSTRALITES: BILLITONITES: MR. F. CHAPMAN\u2019S THEORY:\n SUPERSTITIONS OF THE NATIVES: OLIVINE: DERIVATION: LEGEND OF THE\n SLEEPING VENUS: THE GATES: THE ONYX STONES OF THE HIGH PRIEST: LIFE\n AND EARTH DEATH: ANTIQUE BELIEF NOTED BY MR. PHILLIPS AND ITS\n MEANING: RABBI BENONI AND THE MASTER RAGIEL: EYE STONES: A CHARM OF\n BEAUTY: CASTOR AT THE TOMB OF APHAREUS: NICOLO THE \u00c6GYPTILLA OF THE\n ANCIENTS: GIBRALTAR STONE: THE MANTUAN VASE: EL JAZA OR STONE OF\n SADNESS: 5 TYPES OF ONYX: AN ONYX STAIRCASE: SYMBOLICAL MEANING OF\n THE STRATA: AS ROSICRUCIAN STONES: THE SAINTE CHAPELLE OR GRAND\n CAMAHIEU KNOWN AS THE \u201cAPOTHEOSIS OF AUGUSTUS\u201d: PEIRESC CORRECTS A\n FALSE BELIEF: THE CARPEGNA CAMEO: THE CORONATION CAMEO OF AUGUSTUS:\n TRUE MEANING AND DERIVATION OF THE WORD CAMEO.\n\n\nOBSIDIAN\n\n \u201c_There may be ranged among the kinds of glasses those which they call\n obsidiana for that they carry some resemblance of that stone which one\n Obsidius found in \u00c6thyopia._\u201d\n\n HOLLAND\u2019S PLINY.\n\nThis natural volcanic glass obtains its name, according to Pliny, from\nObsidius or, as he is sometimes called, Obsius, who discovered it in\nEthiopia. It is very hard, brittle and remarkably vitreous, and is\nvariously coloured black, pink, green, grey, striped and spotted. It was\nearly discovered to be a useful material from which to fashion knives,\nmirrors and other objects of ornament and use. An ancient Egyptian\ncustom of cutting the dead bodies of their kings and priests with knives\nof obsidian was followed by the Guanchos of the Canary Islands. The\nancient Mexicans used ITZTLI as they called it very generally in the\nmanufacture of various implements. They quarried it from the Cerro de\nles Navajas or Hill of the Knives not far from Timapau. Pliny, noting\nthat genuine gem stones could not be cut or scratched with obsidian,\nrecommended the use of splinters of the substance for testing purposes.\nThe same author, attesting the report that statues were made of\nobsidian, says: \u201cI myself have seen solid statues in the material of the\nlate Emperor Augustus of very considerable thickness.\u201d The Greeks and\nRomans found it an easy material for fashioning into camei and intagli\nwhich later were copied in glass. In the 18th century connoisseurs\napplied the term \u201cobsidians\u201d to all antique pastes. The so-called\n\u201cObsidian Bomb\u201d has been much discussed and written about. Professor F.\nW. Rudley says: \u201cIt was believed for a long time to be a variety of\nobsidian but its different fusibility and its chemical composition are\nrather against its volcanic origin.\u201d It is known as Moldavite, so-called\nby Mr. A. Dufrenoy from Moldanthein in Bohemia, where quantities have\nbeen found. On account of its olive-like or bottle-green colour it is\nalso called Bottle Stone or Bouteillenstein. Dr. F. G. Suess suggested\nTectite from the Greek TEKTOS, melted. Mr. R. H. Walcott called them\nobsidianites. They have also been termed Australites, Billitonites (from\nBilliton Island) etc. They were highly regarded by the Australian\naboriginal as charm stones in sickness and trouble. Mr. W. F. Chapman,\nA. L. S., of the Melbourne Museum agrees with Professor Rutley as to the\nnon-volcanic origin of the Obsidianite, and indicates the action of\nlightning in their formation. In this he would have the support of the\nancient student who connects the obsidian with the heavenly Aquarius,\nthe \u201csign of air.\u201d\n\nOLIVINE. So-called by Werner in 1790. (See CHRYSOLITE.)\n\nONYX\n\n \u201c_Called by the onyx round the sleeper stand\n Black dreams; and phantoms rise, a grisly band._\u201d\n MARBODUS.\n\nThe onyx derives its name from the Greek ONYX, ONYCHOS a finger-nail,\nand is as previously stated a variety of chalcedony. It has been\nvariously written as onyx stone, onyx, onix, oniche, onice, onyse. The\nname of the stone is said to have sprung from the legend which tells\nthat Cupid, finding Venus asleep on the river bank, cut her nails with\nthe sharp point of his arrow. In this story is enwrapped the mystery of\nearth birth which through love enters the gate of Cancer and with the\naid of the moistures, materializes. The same parallel is expressed in\nthe Book of Genesis where it is written that previous to the birth of\nthe world the \u201cSpirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.\u201d This\noccult philosophy is stressed by the Platonist Macrobius who writes that\nthe soul, descending to the sphere of its spiritual death, the Earth,\npasses through Cancer, the Gate of Man, and enters under the planetary\nconditions that influence earth matters, receiving on the way the souls\nof the planets to whose influence it is exposed whilst manifesting in an\nearth body. As the soul descends it gathers sensation and earthy\nfeelings from the celestial Leo, and long before its absolutely material\nbirth obtains its first breath of matter. Herein is the mystery of the\n\u201ctwo onyx stones enclosed in mountings of gold graven with the names of\nthe twelve tribes of Israel which he put on the shoulders of the ephod\nthat they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel, as\nthe Lord commanded Moses.\u201d As previously noted, on one onyx the names of\nsix tribes were engraved, on the other the names of the remaining six,\nand each tribe was symbolized by a sign of the zodiac. The two onyx\nstones are the material emblems of the two Gates\u2014the Gate of Cancer and\nthe Gate of Capricorn\u2014through which the self or soul enters and leaves\nthe earth sphere, gathering first and throwing off afterwards, the earth\nelements from ethereal to gross, from gross to ethereal, as described by\nMacrobius. Many of the writers of the Middle Ages place the onyx under\nthe signs Cancer and Capricorn and there is no reason to oppose them.\nThe onyx of Cancer is white and light-coloured whilst that of Capricorn\nis black, the birth of the child is white and bright, and with black and\nsombre colours those on earth mourn for the earth loss of the departed.\nSo the \u201ccoming in\u201d and the \u201cgoing out\u201d symbolized by the two stones of\nonyx set in gold, the metal of the Sun, in true talismanic style was the\nmemorial to the children of Israel, as it is to the world\u2019s children\nforever. Phillips, an author of the middle 17th century, notes an old\nbelief that the onyx is the congealed juice of a tree called Onycha,\nwhich is commanded to be used in a sacred way in the 34th verse of the\n30th chapter of Exodus, and which Emanuel Swedenborg corresponds to\n\u201cinterior natural truth.\u201d The statement, then, that the onyx is the\ncongealed juice of the onycha is but a cryptic way of expressing the\ncongealing of the waters of generation\u2014a method followed by the occult\nmasters through the ages. Old Rabbi Benoni sees in the onyx a bound\nspirit which, wakeful by night only, disturbs the wearer in sleep, and\nthe master Ragiel in his \u201cBook of Wings\u201d recommends that a camel\u2019s head\nor the heads of two goats among myrtles be cut on an onyx to control and\nconstrain demons and to make the wearer see the terrors of the night\nduring sleeping hours. This refers to the dark or Saturnine onyx which\nis also recommended to be enclosed in a setting of lead (metal of\nSaturn) and engraved with the figure of a king crowned or a witch seated\non a dragon especially in the practice of dark or doubtful occult\nthings. Certain varieties of onyx presenting the appearance of an eye\nwere largely employed as eye stones and it was recommended that such\nspecimens be lightly rubbed over the closed eyelids after work wherein\nthe eyes have been employed. Leonardus of the 16th century says that\nthis onyx enters the eye of its own accord and if it find anything\nwithin that is noxious it drives it out and tempers the hurtful and\ncontrary humours. As a higher Saturnine stone the onyx aids spiritual\ninspirations and helps the wearer to restrain excessive passion. In the\nwriter\u2019s book on \u201cZodiacal Symbology and its Planetary Power\u201d the first\ndegree of the sign Cancer is symbolized as \u201ca curious ring set with a\nlarge heart of white onyx.\u201d The 1st, 2nd, 10th, 11th, 12th, 28th, 29th\ndegrees of Cancer are much influenced by the planet Venus and to these\ndegrees especially applied the white onyx engraved with a figure of\nVenus, a charm recommended by old masters as a talisman of beauty and\nstrength. It was considered ideal for a baby girl born under those\ndegrees of Cancer according to astro-philosophy. Mr. King mentions a\nbeautifully executed onyx intaglio showing Castor naked, in his hand a\nlarge broadsword, weeping over the tomb of Aphareus. The onyx in this\ncase would be of a more sombre hue and would be classed amongst the\nSaturnine or mourning varieties. The famous Nicolo\u2014known as \u00c6gyptilla by\nthe ancient Romans\u2014was obtained by cutting a blue section surrounded by\nblack out of the stone which then presented a fine turquoise blue with a\ndeep black base. On this stone some of the finest ancient work is found.\nIt is supposed to have obtained its name from the Greek word NIKOLAUS:\n\u201cIts strange derivation,\u201d wrote Mr. King, \"from the Greek was to suit\nthe virtue ascribed to it, as if it meant Victor of Nations. Its modern\nderivation is from ONICOLO, an Italian word signifying a little onyx. A\nvariety of onyx marble with bands of brown found in the cavern limestone\nof Gibraltar is known as Gibraltar Stone. Professor Dana mentions the\nfamous Mantuan vase at Brunswick which, cut from a single stone 7 inches\nhigh by 2\u00bd broad, takes the form of a cream pot. The colour is brown on\nwhich are raised figures of white and yellow, illustrating Ceres and\nTriptolemus searching for the lost Proserpine. The Saturn side of the\nonyx is taken by the Arabs who call it El Jaza or Sadness, but the\ncolour was always considered and the varieties were thus identified:\u2014\n\n1. Those resembling the human finger nail, under Cancer.\n\n2. White striped with red, under Cancer.\n\n3. White striped with black, under Capricorn.\n\n4. Black, unstriped, under Capricorn (probably the true El Jaza).\n\n5. Black with white stripes, under Capricorn.\n\nOne of the most remarkable pieces of modern work in onyx is said to be\nthe staircase of a New York millionaire. The cost of this is set down as\n300,000 dollars.\n\nThe sardonyx or Sardian onyx as it is sometimes called was written at\nvarious periods as sardonyse, sardony, sardonix, sardonice, sardonyches,\nsarderyk, sardonique, sardonick. Swedenborg corresponds it to Love of\nGood and Light. It exhibits sard and white chalcedony in layers, but\nsome ancient authors account as fine only those specimens which exhibit\nthree layers at least, a black base, a white zone and a layer of red or\nbrown\u2014the black symbolizing humility, the white virtue, and the red\nfearlessness. The sardonyx is under the heavenly Leo, the sign of\nsensation, feeling, \u201cthe first aspect of its (the soul\u2019s) future\ncondition here below.\u201d In the Rosicrucian jewels the sardonyx appears as\nthe gem of victorious ecstasy and rapture which flow from the eternal\nfont of delight, banishing grief and woe. It was said to give\nself-control, conjugal happiness and good fortune, and it is said that\nif the woman whose talismanic stone it is neglects to wear it she will\nnever marry. It was frequently engraved with an eagle or a hawk as a\ntalisman of fortune and it is under the celestial Leo. The \u201cSainte\nChapelle,\u201d the second largest cameo known, is stated by Sir William\nSmith and others to measure 12 \u00d7 10\u00bd inches. Mr. C. W. King gives the\nmeasurements as about 13 \u00d7 11 inches and states that it is a sardonyx of\nfive layers. The central carving of this \u201cGrand Camahieu,\u201d as it was\ncalled, represents the return of Germanicus from Germany in the year 17\nA.D., Tiberius and Livia enthroned receiving him. In exergue, the\ngrief-stricken captives are shown. Above is the apotheosis of Augustus\nby which the whole work is now known. This remarkable cameo was for a\nlong time believed to typify \u201cthe triumph of Joseph in Egypt,\u201d and was\nregarded as a sacred relic. The learned Nicholas Claude Fabri de\nPeiresc, the great antiquary of France, proved in 1619 the falsity of\nthis inconceivable belief, and was the first to classify correctly the\nsubject of this massive gem. By pawning this sardonyx to Louis X of\nFrance for 10,000 silver marks the unfortunate Baldwin II, Emperor of\nConstantinople, was able to save his throne a little longer. This cameo\nis in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. Another five strata sardonyx\ncameo\u2014the largest known\u2014is the Carpegna cameo, formerly in the\npossession of Cardinal Carpegna and now in the Vatican. This large\nspecimen is 16 inches long by 12 inches. \u201cThe subject,\u201d writes Mr. King,\n\u201cis the Pompa di Bacco, or Bacchus and Ceres,\u201d Virgil\u2019s \u201cduo clarissima\nmundi lumina,\u201d as symbolizing the Sun and Moon, standing upon a\nmagnificent car: the god holding a vase and a thyrsus, the goddess her\nbunch of wheat ears. On his right stands winged Comus. The car is drawn\nby 4 centaurs, two male and two female: the first bears a rhyton and a\nthyrsus, the second a torch whilst he snaps the fingers of his right\nhand: one female centaur plays the double flute, the other a tambourine.\nOn the ground lie the mystic basket and two huge vases. The large cameo,\n9 \u00d7 8 inches, known as the \u201cCoronation of Augustus\u201d shows that Emperor\nenthroned, holding a sceptre in his right hand with Livia by his side as\nRoma, etc. Between Augustus and Livia is the zodiacal sign Capricorn,\nunder the third degree of which Augustus was born according to Firmicus.\nBeneath the various figures (Neptune, Cybele, Drusus, Tiberius, Victory,\nAntonia, wife of Drusus as Abundantia, and her children Germanicus and\nClaudius), are Roman soldiers erecting trophies, their unhappy captives\nin the foreground.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Venus, Cupid and the Graces\n A Sardonyx Cameo by Cerbara\n\n Newton Robinson Collection\n Sold at Christie\u2019s, London, in 1909\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Large and Rare Cameo. The Argonauts Consulting Hygiea\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection\n]\n\nThe word \u201ccameo\u201d is said to be of unknown derivation. Dr. Brewer says it\nmeans \u201conyx\u201d and there seems evidence enough to indicate that on account\nof the great use of onyx and sardonyx for cutting symbolic figures in\nrelief, the term onyx was usually accepted as indicating the completed\nwork. The derivation from the Arabic CHEMEIA, a charm, is noted by Mr.\nKing who draws attention to the light in which such relics were\nuniversally considered in those ages by Orientals and Europeans alike.\nThe Arabic word has affinity with the Talmudical Hebrew word KHEMEIA, an\namulet, and there seems little reason to doubt that Chemeia or Khemeia\nis the parent of our word \u201ccameo,\u201d known in the ancient world as an\nonyx, meaning a charm, an amulet or a talisman.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXII\n THE OPAL\n\nTHE OPAL IN ASTRO-PHILOSOPHY: PETRUS ARLENSIS DESCRIBES THE OPAL:\n PLINY\u2019S POETICAL OPINION: THE PAEDEROS CHILD BEAUTIFUL AS LOVE: THE\n ORPHAN: ROMAN SENATOR AND HIS OPAL: OPHTHALMIOS THE EYE STONE:\n OPINION OF MEDIAEVAL WRITERS: THE BAY TREE: ALBERTUS MAGNUS AND THE\n OPALS THAT SPARKLED IN DARKNESS: THE ZODIACAL SIGN OF ROYALTY AND\n THE OPAL: KERAUNIOS OR THE THUNDER STONE: THE BEAUTY STONE: THE\n STONE OF HOPE, ACHIEVEMENT AND LOVE: THE LARGE HUNGARIAN OPAL:\n AUSTRALIAN OPAL FIELDS: SIR DAVID BREWSTER\u2019S THEORY OF COLOURS IN\n OPALS: DR. G. F. H. SMITH\u2019S EXPLANATION: SENSITIVENESS OF THE OPAL:\n SUPERSTITION AGAINST OPAL: THE PLAGUE AT VENICE: THE \u201cBURNING OF\n TROY\u201d: THE CRIMEAN WAR: SCOTT\u2019S ANNE OF GEIERSTEIN: COMBINATIONS OF\n DIAMONDS AND OPALS: DESTRUCTION OF THE VANITIES AT FLORENCE: STORY\n OF THE OPAL OF ALFONZO XII OF SPAIN: A CHOLERA STONE FATAL TO THE\n KING AND TO ALL WHO RECEIVED IT FROM HIM ACCORDING TO ASTROLOGICAL\n SCIENCE: THE BARON\u2019S OPAL OF FORTUNE.\n\n\nOPAL\n\n \u201c_Everyone knows how capriciously the colours of a fine opal vary from\n day to day and how rare the lights are which fully bring them out._\u201d\n\n RUSKIN.\n\nThe word \u201copal\u201d is derived from the Latin OPALUS, and is identified with\nthe Sanscrit UPALA, a precious stone. It appears under the forms opale,\nopall, opalle, opalis, ophal.\n\nThis beautiful inimitable gem is a hydrous silica, and is allied to the\nnon-metallic minerals of the agate family from which, however, it\ndiffers in brilliancy, lustre and degree of hardness. It is sensitive to\nthe action of strong chemicals and does not present, like other\nminerals, crystalline form. As a gem of the Sun it exhibits flows of\nfire like the sun at midsummer\u2014as a gem of Venus its delicate beauty\nradiates her colourful charms, and as a gem of Uranus its refusal to\nsubmit to the all-embracing law of mineral structure harmonizes with the\niconoclastic character of that planet according to astro-philosophy.\nAncient and modern poets unite in singing the praises of the opal.\nOnomacritus, known as the religious poet of the ancient Greeks, over\n2,400 years ago wrote that \u201cthe delicate colour and tenderness of the\nopal reminded him of a loving and beautiful child.\u201d Joshua Sylvester\n(16th century) writes of \u201cthe opal-coloured morn,\u201d and the poet Campbell\nof a time when \u201cthe opal morn just flushed the sky,\u201d thus echoing\nWilliam Drummond of Hawthornden\u2019s:\n\n \u201c_Aurora ... with her opal light\n Night\u2019s horrours checketh, putting stars to flight._\u201d\n\nEmerson writes of the \u201copal-coloured days,\u201d and Poe with true poetic\nfancy sees even the air opal tinted:\n\n \u201c_A wreath that twined each starry form around\n And all the opal\u2019d air in colour bound._\u201d\n\nShakespeare in \u201cTwelfth Night\u201d links the mind of the Duke with the opal\n(written \u201copall\u201d in early editions). Boetius, Cardanus and a host of\nwriters pay their tributes to the \u201corphan\u201d of the Greeks, and Petrus\nArlensis writes: \u201cThe various colours in the opal tend greatly to the\ndelectation of the sight; nay, more, they have the greatest efficacy in\ncheering the heart, and the inward parts especially rejoice the eyes of\nthe beholders. One in particular came into my hands in which such\nbeauty, loveliness and grace shone forth that it could truly boast that\nit forcibly drew all other gems to itself, while it surprised,\nastonished and held captive without escape or intermission the hearts of\nall who beheld it. It was of the size of a filbert and clasped in the\nclaws of a golden eagle wrought with wonderful art; and had such vivid\nand various colours that all the beauties of the heavens might be viewed\nwithin it. Grace went out from it, majesty shot forth from its almost\ndivine splendour. It sent forth such bright and piercing rays that it\nstruck terror into all beholders. In a word it bestowed upon the wearer\nthe qualities granted by Nature to itself, for by an invisible dart it\npenetrated the souls and dazzled the eyes of all who saw it: appalled\nall hearts, however bold and courageous: in fine, it filled with\ntrembling the bodies of the bystanders and forced them by a fatal\nimpulse to love, honour and worship it. I have seen, I have felt, I call\nGod to witness: of a truth such a stone is to be valued at an\ninestimable amount.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Opals of Wonderful Colour\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection\n]\n\nTurning back again, we read Pliny\u2019s poetical opinion that \u201cthe opal is\nmade up of the glories of the most precious gems which make description\nso difficult. For amongst them is the gentler fire of the ruby, the rich\npurple of the amethyst, the sea-green of the emerald, glittering\ntogether in union indescribable. Others by the intensity of their hues\nequal all the painter\u2019s colours, others the flame of burning brimstone\nor of fire quickened by oil.\u201d In admiration the Romans called the gem\nCupid-Paederos, child beautiful as love, and it was also known as\nOrphanus, the orphan, because of its isolated glory. Leonardus wrote\nthat it partook of all the virtues of those stones whose colours it\nshowed, and Porta said that it not only drove away despondency but\nmalignant affections also. So highly valued was the stone in the ancient\nworld that the Roman Senator Nonius, who wore an opal ring worth 20,000\nsesterces, preferred to be exiled by Marcus Antonius, who wished to\npurchase it to present to the Egyptian Queen Kleopatra, to giving it up.\nThis famous ring was some few years back discovered in the tomb of the\nfirm-willed senator of old Rome.\n\nOpal was called OPTHALMIOS or Eye Stone in the Middle Ages, and in the\ntime of Queen Elizabeth it was written ophal and opall. Our \u201cRare\u201d Ben\nJonson writes of an opal \u201cwrapped in a bay leaf in my left fist to charm\ntheir eyes with.\u201d The opal\u2014ophthalmis lapis\u2014was famous as an eyestone,\ntaking precedence over the emerald and all gems credited with such\nvirtue. It was advised by mediaeval writers that it be wrapped in a bay\nleaf to sharpen the sight of the owner and to blunt that of others with\nwhom he came in contact: hence also its reputed virtue of bestowing the\ngift of invisibility which earned it the name \u201cPatronus furum,\u201d the\npatron of thieves.\n\nThe Bay tree is identified in astro-philosophy as a tree of the Sun and\nthe zodiacal Leo (House of the Sun), and is an ancient recognized charm\nagainst evil forces, thunder, lightning and the afflictions of Saturn\nwhich is the heavenly symbol of darkness, as the Sun is the heavenly\nsymbol of light. Albertus Magnus, regarding the opal as a symbol of the\nloveliness of light, says that \u201cat one time, but not in our age, it\nsparkled in the dark.\u201d The zodiacal Leo or Lion is the ancient\nrecognized sign of royalty and old writers say that kingly government\nwas established on the earth in the Leonine age. Alluding to the great\ntranslucent opal in the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, Albertus said\nthat it safeguarded the honour of the kings. The stone was always\nconsidered to protect the wearer from cholera, kidney troubles, and\nsimilar diseases, to soothe the heart, the eyes and the nerves, and to\nprotect from the lightning stroke. The belief in its power to ward off\nlightning was universal in the ancient world when amongst the people it\nwas believed to have fallen from the heavens during thunder storms\u2014hence\nits old name, KERAUNIOS, Thunder Stone, amongst the Greeks, and\nCERAUNIUM amongst the Romans. The opal was essentially the stone of\nbeauty, which coveted gift it bestowed upon the wearer who, however,\nmust have entered earth life with the Sun in Leo (approximately between\nJuly 24th and August 24th), Libra (September 24th to October 24th) or\nAquarius (January 21st to February 19th). It favoured children, the\ntheatre, amusements, friendships, and the feelings. Held between the\neyes it gave proper direction to the thoughts. Held in the left hand and\ngazed upon it favoured the desires. It is the stone of hope and\nachievement and has been truly described as the \u201cgem of the gods.\u201d Above\nall, it is a stone of love, but if the lover be false its influence is\nreversed, and the opal proves a sorry gem for faithless lovers. Mr.\nEmanuel comments on the two fine opals which were amongst the imperial\njewels of France, one of which was set in the clasp of the royal cloak.\nThe opal, astrologically considered, is one of the fortunate gems for\nFrance. A beautiful uncut opal discovered at Czernovitza in Hungary has\nbeen valued at over \u00a350,000 sterling; this specimen, in length 5 inches\nby 2\u00bd and weighing 3,000 carats, was placed in the Museum of Natural\nHistory at Vienna. The mines at Czernovitza are known to have been\nworked over 500 years ago, and at a more remote period they no doubt\nsupplied the ancient world. There is little doubt, however, that the\nwonderful opals from Australia\u2019s fields have eclipsed anything yet\nfound. The White Cliffs, the Lightning Ridge, and the newer field out\nNorth West are responsible for some of the most beautiful gems that have\never been unearthed. A kangaroo hunter accidentally discovered the White\nCliffs field in New South Wales over 40 years ago whilst following the\ntrail of a kangaroo. Rich \u201cblacks\u201d were discovered later in the iron\nsandstone of Lightning Ridge (New South Wales) and the new fields North\nWest of Tarcoola are yielding white and light varieties. Opal country is\ndry and dreary and the diggers deserve all they find. Sir David\nBrewster\u2019s theory of the colour blends which flash from an opal is that\n\u201cthe stone is internally traversed with undulating fissures of\nmicroscopic minuteness upon which refraction and decomposition of light\ntakes place. The variations in the nature of these minute cavities cause\nthe appearance of the opal to vary considerably, and the different\neffects of colour thus produced are technically known as the pattern of\nthe gem.\u201d Hauy held that colour in the opal is caused by thin films of\nair which fill the interior cavities. Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith writes\n\u201cthat the colouration is not due to ordinary absorption but to the\naction of cracks in the stone. This is shown by the fact that the\ntransmitted light is complementary to the reflected light; the blue\nopal, for instance, is a yellow when held up so that light has passed\nthrough it.... Opal differs,\u201d he says, \u201cfrom the rest of the principal\ngem stones in being not a crystalline body but a solidified jelly, and\nit depends for its attractiveness upon the characteristic play of colour\nknown, in consequence, as opalescence which arises from a peculiarity in\nthe structure. Opal is mainly silica (SiO_{2}) in composition, but it\ncontains in addition an amount of water, thereby differing slightly in\nrefractivity from the original substance. The structure not being quite\nhomogeneous, each crack has the same action upon light as a soap-film\nand gives rise to precisely similar phenomena: the thinner and more\nuniform the cracks, the greater the splendour of the chromatic display,\nthe particular tint depending upon the direction in which the stone is\nviewed. The cracks in certain opals are not filled up, and therefore\ncontain air.\u201d The opal is a very sensitive gem and should not be put\nnear strong acids nor greasy substances. The heat of the body improves\nits lustre for the opal is essentially a stone to be worn, but it is\nunsafe to put these gems near liquids or to submit them to fire.\n\n \u201c_Truth is as impossible to be soiled by any outward touch as the\n sunbeam._\u201d\n\n MILTON.\n\nPerhaps against no other gem has the bigotry of superstitious ignorance\nso prevailed as against the wonderful opal. The reason for it dates no\nfurther back apparently than the 14th century. It was at this time that\nthe dreaded \u201cBlack Death\u201d was carrying off thousands of people in\nEurope. The year 1348, an astrological Martial sub-cycle, saw Venice\nassailed by destructive earthquakes, tidal waves and the Plague. The\nepidemic in a few months carried off two-fifths of the population of the\ncity, sparing neither rich nor poor, young nor old. It is said that at\nthis time the opal was a favourite gem with Italian jewellers, being\nmuch used in their work. It is further said that opals worn by those\nstricken became suddenly brilliant and that the lustre entirely departed\nwith the death of the wearer. Story further tells that the opal then\nbecame an object of dread and was associated with the death of the\nvictim. On the astrological side it might be considered that the city of\nVenice comes under the watery Cancer, and can not, therefore, claim the\nopal as its jewel. But, admitting that under special and rare conditions\ncertain diseases can influence the opal if worn on the body, the truth\nof the Venice story can be reasonably doubted. Another theory of the\norigin of the superstition is traced to the rigorous order of Jerome\nSavonarola for the destruction of the vanities in the year 1497. This\nremarkable ascetic caused great bonfires to be lighted in various parts\nof the city of Florence, the largest in the Piazza Signoria. Into these\nbonfires were thrown works of art and beauty, pictures, statues, jewels\nand beautiful raiment. The fanatical spirit so gained ground owing to\nthe impassioned preaching of Savonarola that women threw into the flames\ntheir costliest jewels, authors their books, students their manuscripts\nand poets their love songs. It is assumed that the opal, the gem and\nsymbol of the beauties of Venus came under the ban and history relates\nthat the most direct onslaughts were made on the pictures and statues of\nthe goddess. Astrologers show that the year 1497 was dominated by the\nplanet of war and destruction, Mars, and it is deplorable that so many\nwonderful works were sacrificed during that unhappy period. The artist\nF. W. W. Topham, R. I., has illustrated this event in his well-known\npainting \u201cRenouncing the Vanities by Order of Savonarola,\u201d which picture\nnow hangs in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. There is also a story\nwhich tells that during the Crimean War the gem was popular with the\nEnglish army and navy and that it was found in quantities on the bodies\nof the slain. Sir Walter Scott\u2019s romantic story \u201cAnne of Geierstein,\u201d\nwas a powerful influence in advancing the superstition against the opal,\nalthough Sir Walter alluded to the Mexican Opal known as Girasol and not\nto the better known precious opal. Even whilst these superstitions were\ngrowing, to dream of an opal was regarded as an indication of great\npossessions, of the favour of ladies and people of influence, and\u2014if the\nstone be dark\u2014of sudden happenings of a beneficial nature. Another\nmodern superstition says that it is not fortunate to set opals and\ndiamonds together in jewels. Quabalistically, opals and diamonds are set\ndown as particularly harmonious stones which, in combination, have a\nfortunate and positive-negative influence. Astrologically the diamond is\nattached to the zodiacal signs Aries, Leo and Libra, and the opal to\nLeo, Libra and Aquarius, and astrology is absolutely the special guide\nto talismanic construction. The fine fiery opal known as the \u201cBurning of\nTroy\u201d given by Napoleon to Josephine, is sometimes quoted as evidence of\nthe evil power of opals. It rather provides peculiar testimony in favour\nof old talismanic lore. This opal was lost and has never since been\nfound\u2014opals would be regarded as unfavourable for Josephine. Passing\nover trivial superstitions containing neither truth nor interest, we may\nconclude this section with the story of the Grand Opal of Spain which is\nsaid to have brought disaster to the Royal House:\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HOROSCOPE OF ALFONZO XII\n\n Astrologically the opal would be accounted unfortunate for this King.\n]\n\nWhen Alfonzo XII of Spain was a wanderer he was deeply attracted by, and\nfell in love with the Comtesse de Castiglione, then a reigning beauty.\nImmediately Alfonzo became King the Comtesse hastened to greet him with\nthe fond desire to become his queen. However, when she found that he had\nset her aside and married the Princess Mercedes her anger knew no\nbounds. Resolving on revenge, she sent Alfonzo \u201cin memory of the old\nfriendship\u201d a wedding present of a magnificent opal set in a filagree\nring of gold\u2014a style of mounting in great favour with the jewellers of\nSpain. The delicacy of the jewel so attracted Queen Mercedes that she\nasked the King to grace her finger with it. A few months afterwards she\ndied of a mysterious illness and Alfonzo gave the ring so admired by her\nto Queen Christina, his grandmother, whose death shortly followed. The\nKing then presented the ring to his sister the Infanta Maria del Pilar,\nwho was in turn carried off by the same mysterious illness. A few weeks\nafterwards the King\u2019s sister-in-law, the youngest daughter of the Duc\nand Duchesse de Montpensier, who had asked the King for the ring also\ndied. The King then placed it on his own finger and in a little time the\nsame illness which had affected his wife and kindred ended his troubled\nearth-life. After these calamities Queen Christina attached the ring to\na chain of gold and set it about the neck of the patron saint of Madrid,\nthe Virgin of Alumdena. Ancient philosophy would have depreciated the\nwearing or giving of an opal by Alfonzo XII of Spain. At this time it\nmust be remembered that cholera was raging throughout Spain\u2014over 100,000\npeople died of it during the summer and autumn of 1885. It attacked all\nclasses from the palace of the King to the hut of the peasant, some\naccounts giving the death estimate at 50% of the population. It would be\nas obviously ridiculous to hold the opal responsible for this scourge as\nit was to do so in the case of the previously noted plague at Venice.\nAll that may be said is that in this case the opal was not a talisman of\ngood for King Alfonzo XII of Spain and to those who received it from his\nhand, and that in the philosophy of sympathetic attraction and apathetic\nrepulsion man, stones, metals and all natural objects come under the\nsame law. We may wonder why the King gave this opal from one of his\nrelatives to another, but the reputation of the opal as a charm against\ncholera (noted in the previous chapter) must have reached the King who,\nin the intensity of his worry, used a charm which according to the\nancients would act in his hands fatally instead of beneficially.\n\nIn the month of October, 1908, a French Baron sitting in the stalls of\nthe London Pavilion during Mr. and Mrs. Marriott\u2019s thought-reading\nexhibition, handed an opal of uncommon form to Mr. Marriott. Mrs.\nMarriott seated on the stage with bandaged eyes gave an accurate\ndescription of it, saying further that it was a stone of fortune to the\nowner who was about to become the possessor of over half a million of\nmoney. The Baron, who resided in London for the past 18 years, when\ninterviewed by a representative of the \u201cEvening News\u201d on the following\nday, communicated the fact that a few days before, he had, through the\ndeath of a relative in Mexico become heir to property worth over\n\u00a3500,000, yielding an income of \u00a325,000 per annum. The Baron who\ncherished the opal as his sympathetic luck stone, told the newspaper man\nthat:\n\n \"It is an uncut stone which has been in the possession of my family\n since the twelfth century. We have always had the tradition that it\n will bring good fortune to any direct descendant of the family in the\n male line who holds it.\n\n \"A curious stipulation, however, of the tradition is that the person\n who has it must possess qualities which have a sympathetic attraction\n to the stone in order that its beneficent effect may be felt. On a\n flat surface of the opal is a word in old Spanish, now only dimly\n seen, which means in English \u2018good luck.\u2019\n\n \"I have treasured the gem as an heirloom, but have thought little of\n the tradition until lately, when a member of the cadet branch of the\n family died and left me the immense fortune I have mentioned to you. I\n can hardly realize all that it means to me as yet. Up to now my income\n has not been much more than \u00a3500, and to suddenly find \u00a325,000 a year\n at one\u2019s disposal is a little staggering.\n\n \u201cThere have been one or two previous instances where my ancestors\n while holding the opal have experienced exceptionally good luck, but,\n personally, I have not ever paid much regard to the old tradition. You\n may imagine, however, that the gem will be most carefully preserved by\n me.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN OPAL\n\n CHAPTER XXIII\n THE FLAME QUEEN\n\n \u201c_But who can paint\n Like Nature? Can imagination boast\n Amid its gay creation hues like hers?_\u201d\n THOMSON.\n\n\nThe Flame Queen, the rarest stone yet won from the barren sun-baked opal\nfields of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, near the borders of\nQueensland, Australia\u2014takes its place amongst the famous gems of the\nworld.\n\nIt is a large oval-shaped stone measuring 2.8 inches by 2.3 inches and\nweighing 253 carats. In structure and colour phenomena it is unique\u2014the\ncentre slightly in relief whilst the surrounding border stands out\nboldly as a frame to a picture. Looking directly on to the stone the\ninspiration of the name becomes manifest. The centre, a deep flame,\nburns scarlet, and two slight depressions almost parallel to each other\ngive the impression of fire mountains in eruptive action, the lower of\nwhich flings two triangular shafts towards the enclosing green frame.\nViewed from another angle the burning centre yields as if by magic to a\nfield of cool yet vivid emerald, and the frame to a royal blue. Another\nangle shows a bronze centre touched with points of darker hue within a\nframe of changing blue and amethyst. The stone is chameleon-like,\nbewildering in its living beauty.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Other Aspects of the Great Opal \u201cThe Flame Queen\u201d\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection\n _See also Frontispiece_\n]\n\nThis stone is the choicest gem in the Kelsey I. Newman collection of\nrare opals and precious stones. On the 6th of March, 1916, Mr. Allan\nHarris of Brisbane submitted the gem to the Queensland Geological\nSurvey. In the course of his report Mr. B. Dunstan, the chief Government\nGeologist, mentions that the back of the stone \u201cis impressed with what\nappears to be a fossil plant called GINKO, which occurs in the Jurassic\nricks of Queensland but not in association with any opal deposits. The\nstone is a wonderful specimen and much the largest gem of its class that\nhas ever come under my notice.\u201d This beautiful opal\u2014unlike some other\nfamous gems mentioned in this book\u2014is said to have brought good fortune\nto all who have been associated with it.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIV\n VARIOUS KINDS OF OPAL\n\nCACHOLONG, THE OPAL OF FRIENDSHIP: FLOAT STONE, THE LOVERS\u2019 OPAL:\n GIRASOL, THE FIRE OPAL: HYALITE, THE EYE OPAL: HYDROPHANE, THE MAGIC\n OPAL: MENILITE, THE LIVER OPAL: OPAL JASPER: ROSE OPAL: SEMI-OPAL,\n THE FOREST OPAL: TABASHEER: MARCO POLO\u2019S ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION\n OF THE GREAT KAAN: THE OPAL OF INVULNERABILITY AND REMOVER OF DREAD:\n THE MARVEL OF TRANSFORMATION.\n\n \u201c_Grey years ago a man lived in the east,\n Who did possess a ring of worth immense,\n From a beloved hand. Opal the stone,\n Which flashed a hundred bright and beauteous hues,\n And had the secret power to make beloved\n Of God and man the blessed and fortunate\n Who wore it in this faith and confidence._\u201d\n \u201cNATHAN THE WISE,\u201d LESSING.\n\n\nCACHOLONG. An opaque white or bluish-white variety of opal which obtains\nits name from the river Cach in Bokhara, according to some authorities\nand from the Tartars according to others. The Easterns set a high value\non the stone which glistens with the opalescent gleam of Mother of\nPearl. It is associated with chalcedony and being of a porous nature\nsticks to the tongue when touched by it. The Cacholong is a stone of\npure friendship, sincerity and truth.\n\nFLOAT STONE. A porous opal of a fibrous type which floats on water. It\noccurs in concretionary masses and is esteemed as a stone over which the\nmost sacred promises may be made. Lovers join hands over a Float Stone\nfloating on a vessel of water and pledge their troth with the utmost\nsolemnity, misfortune being bound to dog the footsteps of the faithless\none.\n\nGIRASOL. The Girasol is the Mexican Fire Opal which reflects hyacinth\nand yellow colours. Good specimens are attractive and fairly popular.\nThis is the opal indicated in Scott\u2019s \u201cAnne of Geierstein.\u201d\n\nHYALITE. The name is derived from the Greek word for glass, and the\nstone\u2014a transparent glass-like opal\u2014has been called Muller\u2019s Glass by\nDr. A. G. Werner who is said to have discovered it. It is very like\nclear gum arabic and is probably one of the esteemed eye stones of the\nold writers.\n\nHYDROPHANE. This variety of opal is very porous and beautifully\ntranslucent and opalescent after being left for a little time in water.\nIt is otherwise of an opaque white or yellow and not very attractive. In\nthe United States it has been termed Magic Stone.\n\nMENILITE. This variety is found in slate not far from the French\ncapital. It is termed also Liver Opal and is said to have talismanic\naction on that organ. It is a concretionary opal, brown or\nliver-coloured.\n\nOPAL JASPER. Opal Jasper is a jasper-like resinous, dark red,\nferruginous variety of opal, identified as the opal of beautiful wisdom.\n\nROSE OPAL. A beautiful rose-coloured opal found at Quincy in France.\nThis is the opal of the baby Cupid and is termed the Opal of Childhood.\n\nSEMI-OPAL. A silicified wood-opal of waxy lustre, transparent to opaque.\nIt is found in various colours\u2014white, brown, grey, red, blue, green. It\nhas the appearance of petrified wood. It is a tree-growing charm and is\nno doubt the Forest Opal.\n\nTABASHEER. Corrupted from Tabixir, is a siliceous aggregation found in\nthe joints of certain bamboo known in the Malay as the Mali Mali, Rotan\njer\u2019 nauf (blood of the dragon Rattan) and Buluh Kasap (rough bamboo).\nIn appearance it is generally like clear gum arabic, although sometimes\nopaque, and is the sap transformed by evaporation. Under reflective\nlight it is a kind of blue and under transmitted light it is either\nlight yellow or amber-red. It is extremely absorptive. In Marco Polo\u2019s\naccount of the expedition of the Great Kaan against Chipangu, we are\ntold that \u201cwhen the people of the Kaan had landed on the great Island\nthey stormed a tower belonging to some of the islanders who refused to\nsurrender. Resistance being overcome, the Kaan\u2019s soldiers cut off the\nheads of all the garrison except eight. On these eight they found it\nimpossible to inflict any wound. Now this was by virtue of certain\nstones which they had in their arms inserted between the skin and flesh\nwith such skill as not to show at all externally. And the charm and\nvirtue of the stones were such that those who wore them would never\nperish by steel. So when the Kaan\u2019s generals heard this they ordered\nthat the prisoners be beaten to death with clubs. After their death the\nstones were extracted from their bodies and were greatly prized.\u201d Friar\nOdoric says that these Stones of Invulnerability were Tabashir specimens\nwhich were used by the natives of the Indian Islands where their virtue\nwas esteemed. According to Avicenna the Tabashir was a powerful eye\nstone and remover of past fears, present dreads and future anxieties.\n\nPSEUDOMORPHIC OPAL. Opalized shells, bones, etc., are found in\nquantities in opal country. These specimens are unique and of much\ncurious interest. A number of shells from the new fields 150 miles North\nWest of Tarcoola (on the East-West Railway, over 250 miles from Port\nAugusta) were submitted to the author. In these the silica slowly and\nprogressively took the place of the primary substance until it was\ncompletely opalized, the old form of the material being only retained.\nIt is remarkable to contemplate the change of conditions which placed\nthe former substance so completely at the mercy of the consuming opal.\nSuch transformation is continual in Nature, manifesting variously in the\nmineral world, proving that eternal progress is eternal change. It was\nthe observation of similar material phenomena that led ancient\nscientists to the conclusion that transformations could be accomplished\nby the skill, knowledge and wisdom of sincere and gifted men who\nundaunted by superficial criticism persevered, and the triumphs of the\nchemist served to indicate how much more could be done by those brave\nenough to prove the immortality of man by reducing the unknown to terms\nof the known.\n\nThe word PSEUDOMORPH is derived from the Greek PSEUDO and MORPHES,\ndisguising one\u2019s form.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXV\n PEARL\n\nPEARL: HOW PRODUCED: SYMBOLIC STORIES OF THE ANCIENTS: BOETHIUS AND THE\n RIVER PEARLS: VISHNU CREATES PEARLS: PEARLS ON THE RAMAYANA:\n SANDIUS\u2019S CONTRIBUTION TO THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON IN 1673: SIR\n EVERARD HOME AND DARWIN ON THE FORMATION OF PEARLS: MR. KELAART\u2019S\n REPORTS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF CEYLON: RESEARCHES OF PROFESSORS\n HERDMANN, HORNEL AND SEURAT: THE TIME OF PEARL MATURITY: HOME ON THE\n LUSTER OF THE PEARL: THE FORM OF A PEARL: THE PROCESS OF \u201cSKINNING\u201d:\n JEROME AND THE STORY OF THE DOVES: THE PEARL OF PRINCE IMENHEIT: THE\n GREAT PERSIAN PEARL: THE HOPE PEARL: THE AUSTRIAN IMPERIAL PEARL: LA\n PELLEGRINA: THE GREAT SOUTHERN CROSS: THE PEARL OF PHILLIP II OF\n SPAIN: THE PEARL OF THE KING OF MAABAR: THE TIBETAN PRAYER OF\n VICTORY: KING JAIPAL\u2019S NECKLACE: THE FAMINE IN EGYPT: EBU HESHAM\u2019S\n ACCOUNT OF THE TOMB OF PRINCESS TAJAH: BENVENUTO CELLINI AND THE\n PEARL NECKLACE OF THE DUCHESS OF FLORENCE: THE PEARL ROPE OF MARIE\n ALEXANDROVNA: PINK PEARLS: RED PEARLS: A DEATH RITE MENTIONED BY\n MARCO POLO: PEARLS USED IN BUDDHIST CEREMONIES: JULIUS C\u00c6SAR, AN\n EXPERT IN PEARLS: THE BREASTPLATE OF VENUS GENETRIX: C\u00c6SAR\u2019S GIFT TO\n SERVILLA: PEARLS IN THE TIMES OF THE C\u00c6SARS: SENECA\u2019S CYNICISM:\n KLEOPATRA\u2019S PEARLS: OTHER PEARL SWALLOWERS: PEARLS AND JEWELS OF\n MARY QUEEN OF SCOTLAND: PEARLS IN HEBRAIC AND ARABIAN LEGEND: THE\n PEARL IN CHINA: THE PEARL IN MEDICINE: THE ANGEL GABRIEL AND THE\n PEARL: THE PEARL OF PARADISE.\n\n\nPEARL\n\n \u201c_Searching the wave I won therefrom a pearl\n Moonlike and glorious, such as kings might buy\n Emptying their treasury._\u201d\n ARNOLD.\n\nThe name \u201cpearl\u201d is derived from the Latin Pilula, diminutive of Pila, a\nball, and some of the forms of the word noted are perle, peerle, perl,\nperll, perill, pearel, peirle, pearle. The pearl is a product of certain\nsalt and fresh water shell-fish of the Aviculidae family. It is formed\nby the efforts of the mollusc to rid itself of irritating substances by\nthe iridescent fluid secretion with which he lines his shell. The effect\nof this irritation is shown in a number of irregular tubercules inside\nthe shell, and within these coverings is the securely protected pearl.\nFrequently pearls of most beautiful lustre and form are found detached\nfrom the shell in the fleshy folds of the oyster, and these are said to\nbe the most perfect. It is now quite certain that disease is not the\ncause, as has so generally been believed. Amongst the ancient writers so\nmuch of the purely symbolic was set down in perfectly plain,\nmatter-of-fact language that it is difficult to make assertions as to\nwhat was really known of the material truth. Both Pliny and Discorides\npoetically state that dew or rain from Heaven fell into the open pearl\nshells and were transformed by the secretions of the oyster into\nprecious pearls. There is an old legend which tells that the tears of\njoy shed by the angels for the ultimate destiny of man were the tears\nthat fell into the pearl oyster shell to be transformed into beautiful\npearls. Moore delightfully refers to this story:\n\n \u201c_Precious the tear as that rain from the sky\n Which turns into pearls as it falls in the sea._\u201d\n\nThe philosopher Anicius Boethius, of the 5th and 6th centuries, A.D.,\nwrites that the fresh water pearl mussels of the Scotch rivers, the sky\nbeing clear and the weather temperate, open their mouths just a little\nabove water to catch the heavenly dews, which, when swallowed, cause the\nbreeding of pearls. These mussels, continues the philosopher, are so\nsensitive that the slightest noise causes them to sink to the bottom of\nthe river. He credits them with \u201cknowing well in what estimation the\nfruit of their womb is to all people.\u201d Vishnu, according to Indian\nmythology, created pearls MOTI by his word, and consequently these gems\nare foremost in the adornment of Indian deities. The Ramayana, perhaps\nthe greatest poem of ancient India, narrates the story of the death of\nMaha Bali, telling that pearls sprung from the teeth of the slain god.\n\nIn the winter of 1673 the naturalist Sandius sent\u2014on the authority of\n\u201cHenricus Arnoldi, an ingenious Dane\u201d\u2014a letter from which the following\nis extracted to the newly formed Royal Society of London:\n\n\u201cPearl shells in Norway do breed in sweet waters: their shells are like\nmussels but larger: the fish is like an oyster, it produces clusters of\neggs: these, when ripe, are cast out and become like those that cast\nthem: but sometimes it appears that one or two of these eggs stick fast\nto the side of the matrix and are not voided with the rest. These are\nfed by the oyster against her will, and they do grow, according to the\nlength of time, into pearls of different bigness, and do imprint a mark\nboth on fish and shell by the situation conform to its figure.\u201d\n\nThe eminent surgeon, Sir Everard Home, unaware of the letter of Sandius,\narrived at the same conclusion independently. He writes that this, \u201cthe\nrichest jewel in a monarch\u2019s crown which cannot be imitated by any art\nof man, either in beauty of form or brilliancy of lustre is the abortive\negg of an oyster enveloped in its own nacre.\u201d\n\nDarwin (Economy of Vegetation) writes that pearls are formed \u201clike those\ncalcareous productions of crabs known by the name of \u2018crabs\u2019 eyes\u2019 which\nare always near the stomach of the creature. In both cases the substance\nis probably a natural provision either for the reparation or enlargement\nof the shell.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Small Necklet of Perfect Oriental Pearls\n\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection\n]\n\nMr. Kelaart in his reports to the Government of Ceylon (1857-1859),\nseems to be the first to allude to the part played by parasites in the\nproduction of pearls in tropical seas. The researches of Professors\nHerdman and Hornel confirmed the deductions of Kelaart that the larva of\na Cestoid was the identified pearl parasite. Monsieur Seurat, the French\nnaturalist, who made a long study of the pearl oyster of the Pacific,\nwas also convinced that pearl formation was caused by a parasite.\nWhatever the cause of the irritability which brings into action the\nnacreous secretion of the tortured oyster, it is evident that the\nprotective process is a long one. The pearl culture industry of the\nChinese and Japanese has shown that it takes twelve months for the\nirritant to be covered with a coat of a tenth of a millimetre. A new\nlayer is formed over the old one about once a year. Pearlers say that an\noyster must be at least four years old before pearls begin to form\nproperly, and that it does not mature for from 7 to 9 years. The\nbeautiful lustre of the pearl Sir Everard Home held to arise from a\ncentral cell of bright nacre, the diaphanous substance admitting the\nlight rays. \u201cUpon taking a split pearl,\u201d he writes, \u201cand putting a\ncandle behind the cell, the surface of the pearl became immediately\nilluminated; and upon mounting one with coloured foil behind the cell,\nand by putting a candle behind the foil, the outer convex surface became\nuniversally of a beautiful pink colour.\u201d The examination of a half pearl\nwill show the concentric formation which is like an onion, and the\nprocess called \u201cskinning\u201d is often resorted to in the endeavour to gain\na more lustrous jewel by removing the outer layer. The translucency of\nthe perfect pearl has not been correctly reproduced by any artificial\nproduction. A curious passage in Jerome Cardan\u2019s \u201cDe Rerum Varietate\u201d\n(16th century), repeats an old saying that the lustre and polish on\npearls arises from doves playing with them. To understand this seemingly\nabsurd story it is necessary to carry our minds far back to the famous\nGreek oracle at Dodona in Epirus. According to Herodotus the\nPh\u0153nicians carried off the sacred women from Thebes in Egypt to the\nLibian oracle of Zeus Ammon and to Dodona\u2014the legend at Dodona saying\nthat they came in the form of two doves. The Greek word for \u201cdoves\u201d is\nthe same as that for \u201cpriestesses,\u201d namely, PELEIAI. The connection can\nbe carried further, if necessary, but it is sufficient to establish the\ntie between women and the doves. The word PELEIAI was freely used for\nboth and came to be employed as an endearing term for wise women just as\nwe today call a woman of talent \u201cDiva.\u201d It is a proven fact and an\nextremely ancient one that pearls worn near the skin of a\nwoman\u2014especially, according to ancient philosophy, near one in whose\nhoroscope the moon was powerfully placed at birth\u2014are improved in lustre\nand tone. So let the \u201cDoves\u201d (peleiai) be wise and play with their\npearls.\n\nTavernier writes of \u201cthe most beautiful pearl in the world\u201d which\nbelonged to Imenheit, Prince of Muscat. After a lavish entertainment\nwhich the Khan of Ormus gave in honor of the Prince, the latter took off\na chain which he wore round his neck and to which was attached a small\nbag. From the bag he drew forth this wonderful pearl of perfect\nsphericity, so translucent that the light could almost be seen through\nit. The weight of this gem was 12 carats and so high a value did Prince\nImenheit place on it that he refused 2000 tomans for it from his host,\nthe Khan of Ormus, who coveted it as a present for the King of Persia,\nand 40,000 crowns with which he was later tempted by an agent of the\nGrand Mogul. This pearl was discovered off the Persian coast. Another\ngreat pearl which, according to Tavernier, was the most perfect ever\ndiscovered, was found at Catifa, a famous fishery in Pliny\u2019s time. The\ngreat traveller says that the King of Persia obtained it from an Arabian\nmerchant in 1633. It was a pearl of great size and a \u201cpearl of great\nprice,\u201d the King giving 1,400,000 livres (about $550,000) for it. It was\npear-shaped, and of perfect colour and symmetry. The weight is not\nstated, but it was said to be about 1\u00bd inches in length and 63 inches in\ndiameter at its greatest part. The \u201cHope\u201d pearl of cylindrical form\nweighs 454 carats. This gem belonged to Mr. Henry Thomas Hope, so\nwell-known in connection with the \u201cHope\u201d diamond. Another famous pearl\nof 300 carats once adorned the Imperial crown of Austria. \u201cLa\nPellegrina,\u201d an Indian white circular pearl of 28 carats, said to be the\nmost perfect specimen in the world today, was in the Zosima Museum,\nMoscow. Nine large pearls interlinked so as to naturally form a true\nrepresentation of the Southern Cross were discovered in a pearl oyster\noff the West Australian Coast by Mr. Kelly, of Roeburn, who was\nfamiliarly known as \u201cShiner\u201d Kelly. The crew of his lugger viewed it\nwith superstitious fear and it was buried for some years. It was\nafterwards resurrected and exhibited at the Colonial and Indian\nexhibition, London, in 1886, where it caused some sensation. The pearls\nwhich formed the cross were at first thought by many to be joined\ntogether by craft, but experts with powerful magnifying glasses speedily\ndispelled this illusion and proved that nature, not man, was the artist\nwho reproduced the Star Cross of the Heavens\u2014the Cross of Australian\nUnity\u2014in pearls in a sea oyster.\n\nIn the year 1579 a pearl of 250 carats was obtained amongst others by\nthe agents of Philip II, of Spain, from the Island of Margarita in the\nWest Indies. It was said to be worth 150,000 dollars. Marco Polo writes\nthat the King of Maabar wears pearls and gems worth more than a city\u2019s\nransom. \u201cNobody is permitted to take out of his kingdom a pearl weighing\nmore than half a saggio (a Venetian weight, the sixth of an onze),\nunless he manages to do it secretly. The King every year proclaims\nthrough the realm that if anyone possesses a pearl of great worth and\nwill bring it to him, he (the King), will pay three times as much as its\nvalue. Everybody is glad to do this and thus the King gets all into his\nown hands, giving every man his price.\u201d This King wore a necklace on\nwhich 104 pearls and rubies of great size were strung on fine silk, and\nevery day, following the custom of his ancestors, he had to say 104\nprayers to the gods. The number is disputed but in an occult sense the\nTibetan prayer of Victory over the 104 devils seems to confirm it. The\npearl necklace which Muhammed forced the Hindu King Jaipal to surrender\nto him (1001 A. D.), is said to have been made of great pearls. It was\nvalued at 20,000 dinars (more than 500,000 dollars). We read in the Book\nof Genesis of the terrible famine which affected the peoples of the\nearth and drove them to seek corn in the land of Egypt where doubtless,\nowing to the great pull on her stocks, some anxiety was beginning to be\nfelt. The Arabian writer, Ebn Hesham, describes a sepulchre in Yemen\nwhich had been discovered after some heavy floods. In this sepulchre lay\nthe embalmed body of an Arabian princess around whose neck were 7\nstrands of pearls, age-stained and lustreless. There were rings set with\nprecious stones on her fingers and toes, 7 jewelled armlets on each of\nher arms and 7 jewelled anklets about each ankle. In the tomb treasure\nwas found, and on a tablet at her head she had caused to be written the\nfollowing inscription, the translation of which by Mr. Forster is\nreproduced by Mr. William Jones, F.S.A.:\n\n \u201c_In thy name, O God, the God of Himyar,\n I, Tajah, the daughter of Dzu Shefarr, sent my servant to Joseph,\n And he, delaying to return to me, I sent my handmaid,\n With a measure of silver, to bring me back a measure of flour:\n And not being able to procure it, I sent her with a measure of gold:\n And not being able to procure it, I commanded them to the ground:\n And finding no profit in them, I am shut up here.\n Whosoever may hear of it, let him pity me:\n And should any woman adorn herself with an ornament\n From my ornaments, may she die with no other than my death._\u201d\n\nIt would be very unlikely that after understanding these last words of\nthe Princess Tajah (a name which quabalistically would imply \u201cthe\nSacrifice\u201d) any woman would be bold enough to attempt to put on the\nseven ropes of dead pearls and the other jewels that adorned the mortal\nremains of the famine-stricken princess.\n\nTurning to later times Benvenuto Cellini tells in his interesting\nmemoirs rather an amusing story of a string of pearls which the Duke of\nFlorence purchased for the Duchess from \u201cthat scoundrel Bernardini\u201d for\nseveral thousand crowns. Princess Catherine Radziwill whose intimacy\nwith the old Courts of Europe is well known, tells of the love of the\nRussian Empress Marie Alexandrovna (grandmother of the unfortunate\nNicholas II), for pearls which she never tired of buying. She wore ropes\nof from 25 to 30 which, being of varied lengths, would when worn extend\nfrom the top to the hem of her dress. She was reputed to have had some\nof the largest pear-shaped pearls in the world. James Bruce, the famous\ntraveller (\u201cTravels to discover the Sources of the Nile,\u201d 1768-1773),\nwrites that the pinna or wing shell mentioned by Pliny which is found\nwith its fibre-like rope on the bed of the Red Sea yields the beautiful\npink-tinted pearl so highly prized in ancient and modern times. Red or\nrose coloured pearls are termed by the natives SOHIT-AMUKTI. Marco Polo\nmentions that they are found off the island of Chipangu, \u201cbig, round and\nrosy, and quite as valuable as white ones.\u201d He also writes that when a\ndead body is burnt one of these pearls is always put in the mouth, \u201cfor\nsuch is their custom.\u201d Pearls of this tint are accounted as precious\nobjects and were used in Buddhist ceremonial and worship. Julius C\u00e6sar\nwas extremely fond of pearls. Caius Suetonius (\u201cLives of the C\u00e6sars\u201d),\ntells us that he was a great expert and knew so much about them that he\ncould estimate their exact weights \u201cby his hand alone.\u201d The same writer\ntells us that C\u00e6sar\u2019s love of pearls was the cause of his expedition\nagainst Britain, the pearls he obtained there being, greatly to his\nchagrin, of poor quality and little lustre. Nevertheless, we are told he\nconsecrated a breastplate set with British pearls to the temple of Venus\nGenetrix. It is recorded that C\u00e6sar gave Servilia, the mother of Brutus,\na pearl worth nearly \u00a350,000 sterling. Pearls in the time of the C\u00e6sars\nwere the rage in Rome and women adorned themselves lavishly with them, a\ncustom which drew violent protests from the philosopher Seneca who,\nalluding to a lady who wore several pearls dangling from each ear, told\nher husband that his wife \u201ccarried all the wealth of his house in her\nears.\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HOROSCOPE OF MARY OF SCOTLAND\n\n Pearls would be considered unfortunate for these rival Queens.\n]\n\nIn the extravagant intoxication of the rich banquet which Kleopatra VII\n(Tryphena the Great) gave to the honour of Mark Anthony, it is related\nthat this queen\u2014the last of the Ptolemies\u2014throwing one of her valuable\npearls into a vinegar solution, swallowed it. The value of this gem is\nset down as \u00a380,729 sterling. Its companion afterwards graced the statue\nof the Pantheon Venus at Rome. Kleopatra was not alone in this act of\nfolly for we are informed that Clodius, son of \u00c6sopus the actor,\nswallowed a pearl valued at \u00a38072 sterling. Caligual, the Roman Emperor,\nadded this act also to his many acts of stupidity. He too enjoyed the\nreputation of a \u201cpearl swallower,\u201d which title in the reign of Queen\nElizabeth was also coveted by Sir Thomas Gresham who quaffed off a large\npearl at a banquet which the Queen attended after visiting the Royal\nExchange. The poet Hey wood alludes to this act in the lines:\n\n \u201c_Here \u00a315,000 at one clap goes\n Instead of sugar: Gresham drinks the pearl\n Unto his Queen and mistress._\u201d\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HOROSCOPE OF ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND\n\n Pearls would be considered unfortunate for these rival Queens.\n]\n\nNeither pearls nor diamonds were fortunate for Mary Queen of Scots, yet\nshe wore both in profusion. Her wedding dress at her marriage with\nPhilip of Spain is described as being \u201crichly bordered with great pearls\nand diamonds,\u201d whilst she wore the great diamond which Philip had sent\nto her by the Marquis de las Traves. Mary\u2019s nativity favours few jewels\nbut none less than diamonds, pearls and rubies. History relates that,\nwhen in the days of her sorrows the Scottish Queen was held captive by\nthe rapacious Earl of Moray, this man who owed her so much sent her\nexquisite parure of pearls with other costly jewels by his agent, Sir\nNicholas Elphinstone to Queen Elizabeth at London.\n\nMadame de Barrera gives the following extract, copy from a letter of\nBodutel la Forrest, French ambassador at the English court, describing\nthe pearl parure: \u201cThere are six cordons of large pearls strung as pater\nnosters: but there are five and twenty separate from the rest, much\nfiner and larger than those which are strung: these are for the most\npart like black muscades.\u201d Elizabeth, after obtaining various expert\nopinions as to the value of this ornament, eventually purchased it at\nher own price. But if pearls, fortunate for Scotland, were unfortunate\nfor Mary (for whom Scotland itself was unfortunate), they were doubly so\nfor Elizabeth who had the dark planet Saturn and the subtle Uranus in\nthe sign Cancer at her birth. The two famous diamond rings of Mary and\nElizabeth and Elizabeth and Essex are stated to have been the indirect\ncause of the death of both Mary and Elizabeth.\n\nOld Hebraic legend tells that the manna fell from Heaven, accompanied by\nshowers of pearls and precious stones, and in ancient Judaea it was\nbelieved that a pearl wrapped in a bag of leather and tied round the\nneck of oxen would benefit them and increase their fruitfulness. The\nArabs sang that \u201cNisan\u2019s Ram (Sun in Aries) brings pearls to the sea and\nwheat to the land.\u201d In China the pearl was regarded as the true symbol\nof ability and so the Chinese character for Pearl (Tchm) was placed on\nthe vases used by artists, poets, scientists and writers, and the term\nTCHM ONAN is translated as indicating a rare pearl object. Great virtues\nwere ascribed to the pearl by the Chinese and it was, and still is, used\nmedicinally by them chiefly as a remedy for blood disorders, swooning,\nheart troubles, digestive irregularities and stomach complaints. The\nancients used pearls, we are told, as absorbents or antacids and they\nwere given to the weak-minded Charles VI of France in distilled water to\ncure his insanity. Dissolved in acids they were taken as an absorbent\nmedicine and, as one writer puts it, \u201cfor the purpose of displaying the\ncareless opulence and luxury of their possessors.\u201d\n\nThe Pearl was sacred to the angel Gabriel in the East, and amongst the\nMohammedans a great white pearl\u2014the pearl of Paradise\u2014reached from East\nto West, from Heaven to Earth. This is the Eternal Table of the Koran on\nwhich Allah has written all that has been, all that is, and all that is\nto come. The Arabian Heavenly Home of Glory and the Everlasting Eden of\nWonder is, it is related, rich with red pearls.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVI\n PEARL\n\nTHE BISHOP OF CHIAPA CHAMPIONS THE INDIAN PEARL DIVERS: SIZE OF THE OLD\n PEARL FIELDS: VALUE OF EXPORTS TO EUROPE IN 16TH CENTURY: THE\n PERSIAN GULF: THE CEYLON FISHERIES: THE \u201cBINDER OF SHARKS\u201d: THE\n PEARL CHARM OF THE DIVERS: CLASSIFICATION OF PEARLS IN CEYLON: THE\n RED SEA FISHERIES, THE SOURCE OF KLEOPATRA\u2019S PEARLS: THE AUSTRALIAN\n FISHERIES: NEED FOR THEIR PROTECTION: OTHER FISHERIES: STORY OF THE\n DISCOVERY OF NEW GUINEA PEARLS: TOWN OF THE NYMPHS: RIVER FISHERIES:\n A RIVER PEARL IN THE BRITISH CROWN: \u201cSHELLS OF THE FLOOD\u201d: DIVERS\n BENEATH THE SEA: THE FOLK LORE OF THE PEARL: VISHNU\u2019S NECKLACE OF 5\n PRECIOUS STONES: EMBLEMS OF PEARLS: PEARLS AND PERSONS: PEARLS AND\n LUNAR NUMBERS: A MADAGASCAR BIRTH CUSTOM: THE ANGEL, DAY, SIGN AND\n PLANET OF THE PEARL: AS A DREAM SYMBOL: PREJUDICE AND ITS VALUE: THE\n PEARLS OF LINNAEUS: CHINESE AND JAPANESE CULTURE PEARLS: PEARL\n \u201cFAKING\u201d: COCOANUT PEARLS.\n\n \u201c_Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand\n Showers on her Kings barbaric pearl and gold._\u201d\n MILTON.\n\n\nThe benevolent Bishop of Chiapa, Mexico, Bartolome de las Casas, came\nforth as the protector of the Indians in the cruel times of their\noppression. On their behalf he crossed the Atlantic sixteen times, and\nhe tells of the hellish tortures to which they were subjected by their\nSpanish conquerors: \u201cNothing,\u201d says this good man, \u201cnothing could be\nmore cruel and more detestable.\u201d (\u201cBrevissima Relacion de la Destruccion\nde las Indias,\u201d1539). The story he writes of the Indian pearl divers is\na sad one; as soon as the diver came up from the depths the brutal\noverseer, scarcely allowing him time to breathe the pure air, beat him\nsavagely and compelled him to go down again. His food was poor and\nscanty, and Mother Earth his bed; his glossy black hair turned\nprematurely gray, his lungs became diseased, he spat blood freely and\nthe ravenous shark ended his tragic life on earth. The natural result of\ngreed and oppression practically exhausted these fisheries from the\nneighborhood of which the ancient kings of Mexico drew so much wealth.\nIndeed, it was the sight of the poor natives adorned with ropes of\npearls which excited the cupidity of the first Spaniards who adventured\nto their shores. There being no provision made for the protection of the\noysters in this fishery, it \u201cgave out\u201d almost entirely towards the end\nof the 17th century. An idea of the magnitude of these fisheries (which\nincluded the ancient grounds between Acapulco and the Gulf of\nTehuantepec on the West Mexican coast, and the Caribbean Sea by the\nislands of Coche, Cubagua, and Margarita) can be gathered from the value\nof the export to Europe up to the first half of the 16th century. The\nannual value exported was stated to exceed 800,000 Spanish dollars,\nthose famous \u201cPieces of Eight\u201d which bring us back to the time of\n\u201cTreasure Island\u201d and the buccaneers of the Spanish Main. As much as 700\nlbs. weight of pearls was sent to Seville in the year 1587, amongst\nthem, it is stated, being specimens of rare worth and beauty. Fine\nquality pearls are still found at Panama and the Gulf of Mexico. The\npoor progress of these fisheries is said to be due to the wretched pay\noffered to the Indian and negro divers in the past. It is a strange fact\nthat progress and prosperity are gained only by the pursuance of an\nenlightened policy towards employees, and this is nowhere so clearly\nindicated as in the history of the pearl.\n\nPearls from the Persian Gulf are amongst the most esteemed of the\npresent day. The fisheries of the Great Pearl Bank extend along the West\nfrom Ras Hassan half way up the Gulf. To the Eastern no pearl is so\nbeautiful and full of colour as the pearl from the Persian Gulf. The\ncolour is very enduring and improves by being worn next the\nskin\u2014especially of a person whose jewel it is. The Ceylon fisheries have\nnot been yielding so well of late years, but with wisdom will no doubt\nregain their old place. The main oyster bank is near Condatchy, about\ntwenty miles from the shore. Twenty men, ten of whom are divers, under a\ntindal or captain, comprise the crew of each boat. The divers are quick\nand expert at their work, and although remaining under water seldom more\nthan a minute, have been known to bring to the surface as many as 150\nshells. The pearl diver\u2019s greatest dread is the ground shark, and all\nthe time the boats are out the conjurer, termed the \u201cBinder of Sharks\u201d\nor \u201cPillal Harras,\u201d stands on the shore muttering prayers and\nconjurations. The divers wear also a pearl about their bodies as a charm\nagainst their dreaded enemy. The beautiful island of Ceylon\u2014the\nTaprobane of the old Greeks and Romans and the Serendib of the Arabian\nNights\u2014is itself shaped like a great drop pearl and is believed by the\nIndians to be a \u201cpart of Paradise.\u201d\n\nPerfectly round and fine lustre pearls are called by the Ceylonese\n\u201cAnnees,\u201d next in grade are called \u201cAnnadaree.\u201d Irregular pearls of\nlesser lustre are called \u201cKayarel,\u201d generally known amongst us as\n\u201cBaroques.\u201d Pearl-shaped inferior specimens are called \u201cSamadiem,\u201d those\nduller and irregular are termed \u201cKallipoo,\u201d a poorer grade again is\nknown as \u201cKoorwell,\u201d and the lowest type is \u201cPesul.\u201d Small seed pearls\nare known as \u201cTool.\u201d\n\nKleopatra\u2019s famous pearls no doubt came from the Red Sea fisheries which\nare believed to have been the property of the Egyptian rulers. The\nWestern Australian fisheries, especially those at Broome and Shark\u2019s\nBay, are yearly becoming of greater importance and value, although\njudicious and scientific means should be taken to prevent these valuable\nfields from sharing the fate of some of the older ones. The fisheries at\nThursday Island and Northern Australia are important and the author was\ntold that pearls were discovered in New Guinea through a sailors\u2019 row\nwith the natives, who pelted the offending lugger with pearl-bearing\nshells which, when broken on the decks of the vessel, revealed their\nprecious prizes. The remarkable Town of the Nymphs near the Japanese\ncity of Ishinomonsky on the Pacific coast, obtains its name from the\nwomen who support their families by diving for pearls. It is a place of\nmany centuries old and the nymphs begin their strenuous work at the age\nof 14, continuing until they are 40. Pearl shells abound in Sebiam Bay\nand the work of the nymphs occupy 10 hours a day in summer time. The\nlength of each immersion is from 2 to 3 minutes. When the baby girl is\nfour years of age she is taken to the sea and taught to swim and dive.\nThese lessons continue until the time comes for the serious practice of\nthe pearl seekers\u2019 profession. This work is all done by women whilst the\nmen attend to the training of the children and the duties of the\nhousehold.\n\nMention may also be made of the River fisheries of England, Scotland,\nWales, Ireland and various parts of Europe where the pearls found are as\na rule not of great importance, although it is stated that Sir Richard\nWynn of Gwydyr, Chamberlain to Catherine, wife of Charles II, sent a\npearl from the river Conway in North Wales as a present to the Queen,\nwhich pearl is today in the King of England\u2019s crown. In Wales these\nriver pearl shells are called by the poetic name Cregin y Dylu, shells\nof the Flood.\n\nThe gradual replacement of naked divers by those in diving dress may\ntend to make the yields more effective, but the work is not without its\ndangers, the toiler beneath the sea having still to meet the challenge\nof its denizens\u2014the shark, the diamond fish and the deadly octopus.\n\n \u201c_The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchantman seeking goodly\n pearls._\u201d\n\n BOOK OF MATTHEW.\n\nThe pearl was esteemed as the emblem of purity, innocence and peace, and\nwas sacred to the Moon and Diana. For this reason in ancient times it\nwas worn by young girls and virgins on whom the protection of \u201cchaste\nDiana\u201d was invoked. Generally as an emblem of chastity the pearl was\nworn on the neck. As a cure for irritability it was ground to a fine\npowder and a quantity, seldom more than a grain, was drunk in new milk.\nIn doses of the same quantity mixed with sugar it was recommended to be\ntaken as a charm against the pestilence.\n\nThe Hindus included the pearl amongst the five precious stones in the\nmagical necklace of Vishnu, the other four being the diamond, ruby,\nemerald, and sapphire.\n\nThe golden pearl was the emblem of wealth, the white of idealism, the\nblack of philosophy, the pink of beauty, the red of health and energy,\nthe grey of thought. Lustreless pearls are considered unfortunate, as\nalso are pearls that have lost their sheen when on a dying person\u2019s\nfinger, as sometimes happens. It is curious how pearls improve in lustre\nwhen worn by some persons and how they deteriorate when worn by others.\nA recent writer commenting on this advised that if \u201cpearls turned colour\ntemporarily when worn by certain persons they should be put away for a\nfew days and the detrimental effects of constitutional acids will be\nfound to have entirely disappeared.\u201d To an extent this is correct, but\nit is equally certain that if the person by whom the pearls were\naffected were to continue wearing them they would be destroyed\naltogether. This is quite in accord with the occult philosophy of the\nancient masters who held that only people who had favourable planets in\nCancer\u2014the Celestial sign of the Ocean\u2014or in whose nativities the lunar\naspects were favourable could wear pearls. The Moon, however, in the\nsign Capricorn was not considered favourable for wearing pearls, and\nsome writers also include the sign Scorpio. A half-moon shaped whitish\nstone of about 25 lbs. weight was oftentimes used by the Ceylonese pearl\ndivers, tied around their waists, when making the plunge for the pearl\noyster, and the crew of 20\u2014a lunar number\u2014which made up the Ceylon\npearling boat company may have traditional authority, and may be\nsomething more than mere coincidence.\n\nThe Princess of Yemen, previously mentioned, wore seven strands of\npearls. Seven is the positive number of the Moon or the Moon\u2019s number\nwhen going from new to full. This was recognized by ancient nations and\nit may be well assumed that the symbolic meaning was understood by the\nadvisers to the Princess.\n\nA custom exists in Madagascar which finds a parallel amongst the\nancients: it is believed that if at an afflicted birth pearls be buried\ngood will come to the child and will continue to come unless the pearls\nbe unearthed.\n\nThe Pearl was sacred to the angel Gabriel and Monday was its special day\nof the week, the Moon was its planet and the zodiacal Cancer its sign.\nTo dream of pearls is considered a favourable omen, being held to\nindicate wealth and honour gained by personal exertion. To the poor the\npearl denotes riches. It is the symbol of happy marriage and popularity.\nThat pearls are unfortunate is as untrue as that opals or any other gems\nare. That they are unfavourable to some is as true as that they are\nfavourable to others, but prejudice being narrow and self-centred is\nhard to kill. A young lady of good family actually told the author that\nshe would never wear pearls because she was unfortunate whenever she\nwore her necklace. Upon examining this terrible necklace the author saw\nthat the alleged pearls were merely imitation! As imitation pearls\nscarcely come within the province of this book it may be sufficient to\nmention that in the year 1748 Linnaeus wrote to Dr. Haller, the\nphysiologist, telling him that he had ascertained how pearls grow in\nshells. \u201cI am able to produce in any mother of pearl shell that can be\nheld in the hand, in the course of 4 or 5 years, a pearl as large as the\nseed of a common vetch.\u201d This discovery by the great naturalist was\nregarded as of such importance by the Swedish Government that they\nennobled Linnaeus, rewarded him with a gift of \u00a3450, and began to\nmanufacture pearls under his direction with great secrecy. Linnaeus\u2019\nmethod had long been anticipated by the Chinese who used to throw pieces\nof mother of pearl, grit, etc., into the live oyster. It is said that in\na year the coating over a piece of mother of pearl would be sufficient.\nOf late years the Japanese have acted on these practices with\nconsiderable skill, producing by mechanical means some beautiful\nspecimens. Still, beautiful as they are, they are not _real_ pearls.\n\nA good deal of pearl \u201cfaking\u201d is practised, and a short time ago a pearl\nbroker in Paris was sentenced to imprisonment for tampering with the\ncolour of a pearl. But whenever chemical means are employed in tinting a\npearl the false colours invariably fade and leave the specimen worse off\nthan before, more especially if a lady with a \u201cgood pearl skin\u201d wears\nit.\n\nIn his book on \u201cMalay Magic,\u201d Mr. W. W. Satek gives the following\ninteresting account of Cocoa Nut Pearls, quoting from Dr. Deny\u2019s\n\u201cDescriptive Dictionary of British Malaya,\u201d with acknowledgments to\n\u201cNature\u201d:\u2014\n\n\u201cDuring my recent travels,\u201d Dr. Sidney Hickson writes to a scientific\ncontemporary, \u201cI was frequently asked by Dutch planters and others if I\nhad ever seen a \u2018cocoanut stone.\u2019 These stones are said to be rarely\nfound (one in two thousand or more) in the perisperm of the cocoanut,\nand when found are kept by the natives as a charm against disease and\nevil spirits. This story of the cocoanut stone was so constantly told\nme, and in every case without variations in its details, that I made\nevery effort before leaving to obtain some specimens and eventually\nsucceeded in obtaining two. One of these is nearly a perfect sphere, 14\nmm. in diameter, and the other, rather smaller in size, is irregularly\npear-shaped. In both specimens the surface is worn nearly smooth by\nfriction. The spherical one I have had cut into two halves but I can\nfind no concentric or other markings on the polished cut surface. Dr.\nKimmins has kindly submitted a half to a careful chemical analysis and\nfinds that it consists of pure carbonate of lime without any trace of\nother salts or vegetable tissue.\u201d On this letter Mr. Thistleton Dyer\nremarks:\u2014\n\n\u201cDr. Hickson\u2019s account of the calcareous concretions occasionally found\nin the central hollow\u2014filled with fluid\u2014of the endosperm of the seed of\nthe cocoanut is extremely interesting. The circumstances of the\noccurrence of these stones or pearls are in many respects parallel to\nthose which attend the formation of tabasheer. In both cases mineral\nmatter in palpable masses is withdrawn from solution in considerable\nvolumes of flint contained in tolerably large cavities in living plants\nand in both instances they are monocotyledons. In the case of cocoanut\npearls the material is calcium carbonate and this is well known to\nconcrete in a peculiar manner from solutions in which organic matter is\nalso present. In my note on Tabasheer I referred to the reported\noccurrence of mineral concretions in the wood of various tropical\ndicotyledonous trees. Tabasheer is too well known to be pooh-poohed, but\nsome of my scientific friends express a polite incredulity in the other\ncases.\u201d The specimen presented by Mr. Skeat to the Cambridge\nEthnological Museum is encircled by a black ring which is caused, it is\nsaid, by its adherence to the shell of the cocoanut. These cocoanut\npearls are of much interest and may perhaps be included amongst the\nmineral curiosities which comprehend tabasheer, apatite, etc. Ancient\nphilosophy would probably associate them with the sign Cancer as is the\ncase with pearls found in seas and rivers. Swedenborg writes that pearls\nare Truth and the knowledge of Truth, celestial and spiritual knowledge,\nfaith and charity.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVII\n PERIDOT\u2014RUBY\n\nPERIDOT: PLASMA: THE REWARDING HERMES: PORPHYRY, ITS INTRODUCTION INTO\n ROME BY VITRASIUS POLLIO: PRASE OR MOTHER OF EMERALD: PYRITE: THE\n PYRITES LITHOS OF ISIDORE OF SEVILLE: A PRIMITIVE FIRESTONE: USED\n FOR FIREARMS: THE \u201cSEED OF MINERALS\u201d: MUNDIC OF THE MINERS: ITS\n CHANGE TO VITRIOL IN MINING DISTRICTS: SPINON OF THEOPHRASTUS:\n FRENCH \u201cPIERRE DE SANT\u00c9\u201d: MARCASITE USED AS A JEWEL ORNAMENT: EDEN\u2019S\n FLOWERS OF METALS: PYROPE: QUARTZ: RUBELLITE: RUBICELLE: RUBY, THE\n CORUNDUM FAMILY: THE TERM \u201cORIENTAL\u201d: THE MOGOK MINES: \u201cLORD OF THE\n RUBIES\u201d: THE MINE EATERS: \u201cTHE DRAGON LORD\u201d: THE KING OF SCILAN\u2019S\n RUBY: COSMAS INDICOPLEUSTES: A CORONATION CUSTOM DESCRIBED BY\n HATYON: TEARS OF BUDDHA: THE RUBY BOWL OF ARYA CHAKRAVARTI: COLONEL\n ALEXANDER GARDENER AND THE FAKIR\u2019S RUBY: THE KING OF VISHAPOOR\u2019S\n RUBY: RUBIES PLACED UNDER THE FOUNDATIONS OF BUILDINGS: RUBIES IN\n THE CHO KENG SU: PLINY\u2019S ACAUSTI: PRACTICE OF THE ETHIOPIANS:\n ANTHRAX OF THEOPHRASTUS: DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE\u2019S RUBY: RUBIES MENTIONED\n BY MR. C. W. KING: RABBI RAGIEL\u2019S TALISMAN: DRAGONS GUARDIANS OF\n RUBY MINES: M. ROCHEFORT\u2019S STORY AND THE RUBY IN THE DRAGON\u2019S HEAD:\n ST. MARGARET AND THE DRAGON: SHEIKH EL MOHDY AND THE RUBY-JEWELLED\n DRAGON: BARTHOVERI AND THE SERPENT: DIEUDONN\u00c9 OF GOZON AND THE\n DRAGON OF RHODES: THE IMPORT OF THESE LEGENDS: ST. GEORGE AND ST.\n MICHAEL AND THE DRAGONS: SHRINE OF THE MAGI IN COLOGNE CATHEDRAL:\n THE SUN AND CHRISTIANITY: THE NAMES OF THE MAGI: THE ROSICRUCIAN\n CLASSIFICATION: THE \u201cR\u00c9GALE\u201d OF FRANCE, FROM THE TOMB OF ST. THOMAS\n A\u2019BECKET, WORN BY HENRY VIII: VOW OF LOUIS VII OF FRANCE AND ITS\n FULFILMENT AT CANTERBURY: SWEDENBORG\u2019S CORRESPONDENCE OF THE RUBY:\n COMTESSE D\u2019ANOIS\u2019 STORY OF THE RUBY SINGING APPLE: THE ARABS AND THE\n ANGEL OF THE WORLD: PERSIAN CHARM AGAINST THE FORCES OF EVIL: THE\n 4TH STONE OF THE NAO-RATTAN: BURMESE SYMBOL OF REINCARNATION: A RUBY\n WHICH NEARLY DESTROYED A NATIVE STATE IN INDIA: JEWELLED RINGS ON\n THE STATUE OF ST. LAMBERT AT LI\u00c8GE CATHEDRAL: CATHARINE OF ARAGON\n READS MISFORTUNE IN HER RUBY\u2019S CHANGE OF COLOUR: OCCULT VIRTUES OF\n THE RUBY: SYMBOL OF THE RUBY IN DREAMS: COLOUR PHENOMENA DISPLAYED\n BY A RUBY: THE STAR RUBY: THE HUNTER AND THE RUBY.\n\n\nPERIDOT. (See CHRYSOLITE.)\n\nPLASMA. This variety of leek-green jasper is derived from the Greek word\nPLASMA, an image. It was a favourite stone among the ancients who\nemployed it in gem engraving and for important talismans. In the Rhodes\ncollection there is a beautiful oval specimen on which is engraved a\nnude figure of Hermes holding a caduceus in his left hand, whilst on his\nright above a purse is perched a cock; a scorpion is on his left side, a\nlittle above his knee. He wears the winged cap on his head. Mr. King\nclasses this piece as astrological. It symbolizes the wisdom and rewards\nof the well-starred subject of Mercury. Plasma was largely used in\nAbraxes charms by the Gnostics who employed the substance always for\nspecial talismans. Astrologically Plasma is under the zodiacal Virgin.\n\nPORPHYRY. The name is derived from the Greek word for\npurple\u2014PORPHYRA\u2014and we find it written at various periods in many ways,\nfor example: porfurie, porphurye, purphire, porpherie, porphiry. It is a\nhard purple and white stone, said to have been introduced into Rome by\nVitrasisus Pollio in the form of statues of Claudius. The quarries\nwhence the ancients obtained their supplies of porphyry were found at\nGebel Dokhan, near the Red Sea, by Wilkinson and Burton. It has always\nbeen a favourite stone with sculptors, glyptic artists, and architects,\nand was chiefly esteemed in the forming of columns. Porphyry was\nregarded as a stone to promote eloquence in speaking. Astrologically it\nwas placed under \u201cthe sign of the Columns\u201d\u2014Gemini.\n\nPRASE. The name is derived from the Greek PRASON, a leek. Leonardus\ncalls it Prassius, and he says it is so termed from a herb of its own\nname. It is also written as prasius, prasium. It is thus described by\nMarbodus:\n\n \u201c_Midst precious stones a place the Prase may claim,\n Of value small, content with beauty\u2019s fame.\n No virtue has it: but it brightly gleams\n With emerald green, and well the gold beseems;\n Or blood-red spots diversify its green,\n Or crossed with three white lines its face is seen._\u201d\n\nOther authors, however, endow the prase with a virtue. It was regarded\nby some as a beauty charm for married women and for the mothers of\nbrides. It resembles the beryl in its clear form, but it is duller. It\nis translucent and, as its name indicates, leek-green in colour. At one\ntime it was believed to be the matrix of the emerald, whence it was\ncalled \u201cMother of Emerald.\u201d It is under the zodiacal Taurus.\n\nPYRITE\n\n \u201c_Named from the fire the yellow pyrite spurns\n The touch of man, and to be handled scorns:\n Touch it with trembling hand and cautious arm\n For, tightly grasped, it burns the closed palm._\u201d\n\nThe word is found also as pyrit, pirrite, and old writers of the 16th\ncentury were especially fond of using pyrit stone. It is derived from\nthe Greek PUR, fire, and is allied to the fire stone family (Pyrites\nLithos) noted by Isidore of Seville (6th and 7th centuries) in his\nphilosophical fragments from the more ancient writers. He identifies the\nblack pyrites of Pliny in a black Persian stone which, if fractured, and\nheld in the hand, burns. It is assumed from the frequent occurrence of\npieces of pyrites in prehistoric mounds that primitive man used the\nsubstance for kindling fires. Later we find it employed before the\nintroduction of flint in wheel lock fire arms when, in the same manner,\nit threw out sparks of fire when energetically struck on steel. The\nancients had a theory that pyrite was the seed or original matter of\nminerals, and we find it in rocks of every age. To mining people it is\nknown as Mundic. Auriferous pyrite which occurs in auriferous countries\ncontains certain quantities of gold, sometimes worth winning, and was\nknown as King of the Pyrites. The action of water and air makes it\ntroublesome in coal-mining districts. It is then changed into sulphate\nof iron (vitriol) and fires the mines. Chambers (1866) mentions that \u201cat\nQuarreltown in Renfrewshire a deep hollow may still be seen where about\na century ago the ground fell in in consequence of a subterranean fire\nthus kindled.\u201d Theophrastus, the great Greek naturalist and philosopher\nof the 3rd century, before the Christian era, mentions in his work on\nstones the burning pyrite under the name Spinon which, he says, is\ncontained in certain mines and which, if crushed, watered and exposed to\nthe rays of the sun, bursts into flame. The French call this stone\nPierre de Sant\u00e9 (Stone of Health), because it was said that it is\naffected by the health of the wearer. The white iron pyrites, known as\nMarcasite, is of similar composition to the ordinary pyrite (Iron\nDisulphide) but it takes on the orthorhombic form of crystallization\ninstead of the usual cube form. This word is also found written as\nmarkasit, marquesite. The stone was largely used for jewel\nornamentation. Oliver Goldsmith, in \u201cShe Stoops to Conquer,\u201d says: \u201cHalf\nthe ladies of our acquaintance carry their jewels to town and bring\nnothing but paste and marcasites back.\u201d Eden in 1555 wrote that\n\u201cMarchasites are flowers of metals by the colours whereof the kyndes of\nmetals are known.\u201d Mr. William Jones mentions a ring in the possession\nof a clergyman which is made of two hearts surmounted by a crown set\nwith marcasites. Rabbi Chael says that a man on horseback holding a\nbridle and bent bow engraved on pyrites makes the wearer irresistible in\nwar. These stones are martial according to astrology and are attached to\nthe zodiacal Scorpio.\n\nPYROPE. (See GARNET.)\n\nQUARTZ. In 1772 Cronstedt wrote in his work on Mineralogy: \u201cI shall\nadopt the name of Quartz in English as it has already general access in\nother European Languages.\u201d There seems to be little doubt regarding the\norigin of the word which comes from the German QUARZ. Professor James D.\nDana gives the Quartz varieties under the following heads:\u2014\n\n1. _Vitreous._ Distinguished by their glassy fracture.\n\n2. _Chalcedonic._ Having a sub-vitreous or a waxy lustre and generally\ntranslucent.\n\n3. _Jaspery Cryptocrystalline._ Having barely a glimmering lustre or\nnone, and opaque.\n\nTo the first belong: Amethyst, Aventurine Quartz, Cairngorm, Citrine,\nFerruginous Quartz, False or Spanish Topaz, Milk Quartz, Prase, Rock\nCrystal, Rose Quartz, Smoky Quartz.\n\nTo the second belong: Chalcedony, Chrysoprase, Sard, Carnelian, Agate,\nOnyx, Cat\u2019s Eye, Flint, Hornstone, Chert, Plasma.\n\nTo the third belong: Jasper, Heliotrope or Bloodstone, Lydian Stone,\nTouchstone, Basanite, Silicified Wood, Pseudomorphous Quartz, etc.\n\nOpal is a near ally to Quartz which is a most useful as well as an\nornamental substance.\n\nRUBELLITE. (See TOURMALINE.)\n\nRUBICELLE. (See SPINEL.)\n\nRUBY\n\n \u201c_He that has once the flower of the Sunne\n The perfect ruby which we call elixir._\u201d\n BEN JOHNSON.\n\nThe ruby derives its name from the Latin RUBER, red, and some of its\nforms at various periods are given by Dr. Murray as rubye, rubie, rubey,\nroby, rooby, rube, rubu, rybe, rybee, rybwe, ribe, riby. The stone is of\nthe corundum family which includes the sapphire, oriental amethyst,\noriental topaz, oriental chrysoberyl, oriental emerald, oriental\ncats-eye, oriental moonstone, adamantine spar of hair-brown colour and\nthe well-known emery. The term \u201coriental\u201d is also applied to the ruby\nand serves to distinguish it from the spinel, ruby garnet and a number\nof other red stones. The definition \u201coriental\u201d is applied only to the\ncorundum family and was, according to Dr. G. F. H. Smith, attached to\nthese hard coloured stones which in early days reached Europe by way of\nthe East. The name CORUNDUM is derived from a Sanscrit word of doubtful\nmeaning, and the minerals included in it come next in hardness to the\ndiamond. The ruby therefore is a red sapphire, and the sapphire a blue\nruby, and it is no infrequent thing to find the two stones combined in\none specimen. Mr. Emanuel has drawn attention to the fact that rubies\nand sapphires are always found in gold-bearing country. It has been\nstated that whilst sapphires have been found in Australia the red\nsapphire or ruby has not. This is incorrect. At the Anakie sapphire\nfields in Central Queensland rubies are also found, and some specimens\nexhibit blended colours. It is true, however, that rubies have not up to\nthe present been found in Australia in great quantities. The most\ncelebrated ruby mines in the world are the Mogok mines in Upper Burma.\nHere the stones are found in Calcite deposits occurring in granular\nlimestone on the hill sides and in the clayey alluvial deposits of the\nriver beds. These workings are of very great age and until 1885 were the\nmonopoly of the Burmese Crown, the King being known as Lord of the\nRubies. In this country the ruby fields are called \u201cByon,\u201d and the\nminers \u201cTwin-tsas\u201d (mine eaters). These Twin-tsas were forced to\nsurrender to the monarch all big stones found by them, which stones were\ncarefully guarded in the Royal Treasure House. One of the mine eaters\nfound a large and beautiful gem which, in order to escape the selfish\nconditions imposed, he divided into two parts; one of these he handed\nover to the officers of the King, the other he endeavoured to conceal.\nThe plot it seems failed, with what result to the unfortunate \u201cEater\u201d is\nnot told. The weight of these two sections after the cutter had exerted\nhis skill on them was 98 and 74 carats. A fine Burma ruby called \u201cGnaga\nBoh,\u201d or the Dragon Lord (the folklore of the East connects rubies and\ndragons)\u2014weighed when found over 40 carats, losing about half in the\ncutting. The uncut part of the Great Burmese Ruby (a stone that weighed\n400 carats and was split into three parts, two of which were cut) was\nsold in Calcutta for 7 lakhs of rupees (at the exchange rate of two\nshillings English for the rupee a lakh would equal \u00a310,000). Marco Polo\nwrites of the great ruby possessed by the King of the Island of Seilan\n(Ceylon), \u201cThe finest and biggest in the world\u201d: \u201cIt is about a palm in\nlength and as thick as a man\u2019s arm: to look at, it is the most\nresplendent object upon earth: it is quite free from flaw and is as red\nas fire. Its value is so great that a price for it in money could not be\nnamed. The great Kaan sent an embassy and begged the King as a favour to\nsell this to him offering to give for it the ransom of a city or, in\nfact, what the King would. But the King replied that on no account\nwhatever would he sell it for it had come to him from his ancestors.\u201d\n\nThe great merchant-traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes, of Alexandria,\nwrites in his \u201cVoyages\u201d (1666) of this stone, which \u201cthey say is of\ngreat size and brilliant ruddy hue, as large as a giant pine cone. When\nseen flashing from afar\u2014especially if the Sun\u2019s rays flood upon it\u2014it is\na sight both marvellous and unequalled.\u201d Hayton, his contemporary, also\nwrites of this wonderful stone: \u201cAt the King of the Island of Ceylon\u2019s\ncoronation he places this ruby in his left hand and rides thus with it\nthroughout his city, after which all know him as their King and obey him\nas such.\u201d The Chinese writer Hyuen Tsang also writes of this great\nstone, as does Odoric. Friar Jordamus discourses not only of this but of\nthe great and wonderful rubies in the possession of the Island King.\nAndrea Corsali (1515) also writes of the King of Sylen\u2019s (Ceylon) two\ngreat rubies\u2014\u201cso shining and sparkling as to seem like flames of fire.\u201d\nIn the Ceylon river beds fine rubies are discovered, and old writers say\nthat many are washed down from the mountain \u201cwhich they call Adam\u2019s\nPeak.\u201d There was superstitious belief in the beautiful Island of Ceylon\nthat rubies are the consolidated tears of Buddha. One of the great\nmediaeval Tamul chiefs, Arya Chakravarti, had, it is said, a ruby bowl\nthe size of the palm of a man\u2019s hand, which was remarkable for its\nbrilliant colour. Colonel Alexander Gardner, Colonel of Artillery in the\nservice of Maharaja Ranyit Singh, describes a visit he made with the Bai\nor Baron of the Kirghiz to a venerable aged fakir whose worldly\npossessions seemed to consist of earthen pots of grain placed in a hole\nin the middle of his hut. The old philosopher was the reputed possessor\nof a rare and beautiful ruby. For this the Bai entreated the silent and\nunmoved fakir, declaring that with it alone could he induce the robber\nchief he was travelling to see to spare \u201cthe lives, property and honour\nof all the innocent families around.\u201d At last the fakir quietly arose,\nand after a little fumbling produced the gem which, with a dignified\ngesture, he placed softly in the Bai\u2019s hands, giving him his blessing\nand expressing the hope that the offering might have the desired result,\nafter which he relapsed into silent reverie. He declined money for the\ngem, asking only that some grain might be sent him so \u201cthat he might be\nable to relieve way-worn and destitute travellers.\u201d The Colonel examined\nthe gem and found cut in high relief on the centre of the oblong face of\nthe stone a small Zoroastrian altar. Round this altar were double\ncordons of letters similar to those appearing on the Scytho Bactrian\ncoins. The Colonel describes the gem as pure and lustrous, of great\nvalue, and from 150 to 200 carats in weight. This rare gem was\ndiscovered at the time of Timur by an ancestor of the fakir in a cave\nnear the famous shrine of the city of Esh or Oosh on the Bolor Ranges.\n\nA fine ruby of 50 carats which belonged to the King of Vishapoor is\nmentioned by Tavernier. In China the ruby has always been esteemed and\nits primary importance as a distinguishing emblem in the cap of the\nChief Mandarin had already been noted. A specimen was also placed under\nthe foundations of a building of importance \u201cto give it a good destiny.\u201d\nIn the Chinese work CHO KENG LU which relates to various affairs up to\nthe Mongol dynasty, deep red rubies are termed \u201cSi-la-ni\u201d; scholars\ntranslate this word as \u201cfrom Ceylon.\u201d They are also known as \u201cHung Pao\nShi\u201d (precious red stone) and \u201cChin Chu.\u201d It has a sacred meaning and\ntalismanic virtue and is attached to the dress set in rare jade and\nemployed as a precious ornament. Pliny calls rubies \u201cAcausti\u201d and says\nthat they are not injured by fire. He relates a practice of the\nmerchants of Ethiopia of placing a ruby in a vinegar solution for two\nweeks to improve its lustre. The effect was, it is said, good for a\nshort period of time but ultimately the stones became soft and fragile.\nThe ANTHRAX or \u201cglowing coals\u201d of Theophrastus is identified as the ruby\nas we know it today. He gives us an idea of the money value of this\nstone by stating that a very small specimen would sell for forty golden\nstaters (a gold stater is worth about a 5-dollar gold piece of the\nUnited States). Amongst the gems collected in the 18th century by\nWilliam, third Duke of Devonshire, there is a ruby of about three carats\nweight, described by Mr. King as of \u201cthe most delicious cerise colour\u201d\non which are cut deeply the figures of Venus and Cupid. The work is of\nthe middle Roman Period and Mr. King deplores the fact that the great\nvalue of the gem was in his opinion injured by the inferiority of the\nworkmanship. A Faun\u2019s Head on an inferior ruby in the same collection is\nsuperior from an art point of view and of greater age. Mr. King mentions\na beautiful rose-coloured ruby of irregular form on which is a\nmagnificent head of Thetis wearing a crab\u2019s shell helmet of most\nexquisite Greek work. Rabbi Ragiel (\u201cBook of Wings\u201d) writes that the\nfigure of a dragon cut on a ruby increases the worldly possessions of\nthe wearer, giving happiness and ease. Old legends say that the ruby\nmines as well as the emerald mines were guarded by dragons and the\nsymbolic connection between the dragon and the ruby has the virtue of\nfar-reaching antiquity. M. Rochefort in his \u201cNatural History of the\nAntilles,\u201d says that the Caribbees of Dominica speak of a dragon which\nlives in a declivity of the rocks and in whose head is a giant ruby so\nbrilliant that the surrounding country is illuminated by it. These\npeople believed that the Son of God came out of the heavens to slay the\ndragon. St. Margaret is said to have subdued a dragon and to have taken\na wonderful ruby from its head. The Arabian writer Sheikh El Mohdy has\namongst his stories one telling of a terrible dragon which inhabited the\nisland of Ceylon and carried in his head a large ruby which shone for\nmany miles amidst the darkness of night. The Indian philosopher\nBarthoveri said that \u201cthe serpent is malefic although it carries a ruby\nin its head.\u201d Dieudonn\u00e9 of Goyon is said to have killed a terrible\ndragon at Rhodes and to have drawn from its head a wonderful iridescent\nstone the size of an olive. Some few writers substitute the diamond for\nthe ruby, but whether we take the many-coloured stone of Dieudonn\u00e9\n(which it has been said was a diamond) or the stones of the Sun, the\nruby and the diamond, the import of the legends are similar. The dragon\nas the symbol of the lower forces whether as the poisonous emanations of\nstagnant waters or as the Serpent of Eden\u2014the planet Mars and one of his\nheavenly Houses, Scorpio, or the planet Saturn and his heavenly House,\nCapricorn\u2014is continually exposed to the benefic rays of the Sun. These\nrays are personified by the contests between the Sun-Angel Michael and\nthe Dragon and our well-known St. George.\n\nThe three skulls, said to be the skulls of the \u201cThree Kings\u201d in the\njewelled \u201cShrine of the Magi\u201d in Cologne Cathedral, have their names\nMelchior, Gaspar and Balthazar worked on them in rubies, perhaps because\nthe Sun, planet of the ruby, was the accredited planet of Christianity\nas noted by Albertus Magnus and the Cardinal Dailly. The names of the\nMagi have also been given as Megalath, Galgalath and Sarasin\u2014Apellius,\nAmerus and Damascus\u2014Ator, Sator and Peratoras. In their allegories the\nRosicrucians follow very nearly the names on the skulls in the 12th\ncentury Shrine at Cologne, viz.:\n\n _Jasper or Gaspar, the white lord with a diamond\n Melchior, the bright lord with a diamond\n Belshazzar or Balthazar, the treasure lord with a ruby._\n\nIt is said that Henry VIII wore on his thumb a ring in which was set a\nruby\u2014some say a diamond\u2014from the tomb of St. Thomas A\u2019Becket. This ruby,\nknown as the \u201cR\u00e9gale of France,\u201d was the talismanic gem of the French\nKing Louis VII who, in accordance with a battle-vow, visited the tomb at\nCanterbury in the year 1179. Whilst offering his devotions he was asked\nby the priests at the shrine to give as an offering this beautiful\njewel. Being loath to part with his talisman, the King agreed to give\none hundred thousand florins in its stead, to which generous\nsubstitution the Canterbury fathers humbly agreed. But the precious ruby\nwhich dazzled all with its brightness, turning night into day, refused\nto be thus protected and, flying from the setting of the ring on the\nKing\u2019s finger, fixed itself on the Saint\u2019s tomb.\n\nSwedenborg recognizes in the ruby a gem of passionate devotion and\nlikens it to the appearance of the Lord\u2019s Divine Sphere represented in\nthe celestial Heavens.\n\nIn Comtesse d\u2019Anois\u2019 fairy story \u201cChery and Fairstar\u201d there is a\nnarrative of a ruby apple on an amber stem which is known as the\n\u201cSinging Apple.\u201d This apple gave forth a perfume so weirdly sweet that\nit caused people to laugh or to cry, to write poems or to sing songs;\nbut when it sang itself the hearers were transported with ecstasy.\nGuarded by a great three-headed dragon with twelve feet, the apple\nrested in the Libyan desert whence it was secured by Prince Chery in his\nglass armour, the reflections of which drove the terrified dragon into a\ncave, the entrance to which was securely shut up by the victor.\n\nThe Arabs say that the Angel Bearer of the World stands on a rock of\npure ruby, and amongst the Persians the gem was used in magical rites as\na charm against the Black Forces. It was the fourth stone of the\nNao-Rattan which Iarchus gave to Apollonius, representing Benevolence,\nCharity, Divine Power, and Dignity. The Burmese value the ruby as an\nespecially sacred stone which to them is a symbol of the last\nincarnation which precedes the final embrace of Divinity. The beautiful\nruby is likened to rich ripe fruit, and its magical power is matured. It\nhas been stated that the ruby is unfortunate for India\u2014a country under\nthe Celestial Capricorn\u2014and one great specimen nearly destroyed a native\nstate, after which event it was buried with solemn ceremonies in the\nheart of the Himalayas.\n\nIt was an ancient custom to adorn sacred statues with precious stones\nand the practice has survived into Christian times. Mr. William Jones\ndescribes a large shrine in the Li\u00e8ge Cathedral whereon was a figure,\nmore than life size, of St. Lambert. On each hand were three jewelled\nrings, the most brilliant of which was set with a rare 10-carat ruby.\nThe shrine was of the latter 15th and early 16th centuries. Many similar\nvotive offerings are recorded.\n\nFor a ruby to change its colour was regarded as a forerunner of\nmisfortune, and it is said that the unhappy wife of Henry VIII,\nCatharine of Aragon, observing a change in her ruby ring, foretold her\nown fall. After danger has passed, old writers say, the ruby returns to\nits colour again, if it is the true gem of the wearer.\n\nThe ruby is an emblem of passion, affection, power and majesty. It had\nthe reputation of attracting and retaining material love. It was\nprobably for this reason that the amorous Henry VIII of England wore the\n\u201cR\u00e9gale of France.\u201d It removed obstacles, gave victory, and revealed the\nhidden places of stolen treasure. It signified vitality, life and\nhappiness, and was an amulet against plagues, poison, sorrow and evil\nspirits, who dreaded the flashing of the stone from the hand of a good\nperson.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HOROSCOPE OF HENRY VIII OF ENGLAND\n The Ruby was considered the fortunate gem for this King.\n]\n\nTo dream of a ruby indicated to the business man rich patronage and\nsuccess in trade, to the farmer a successful harvest and to the\nprofessional man elevation or fame and success in different degrees. It\nwas always considered more fortunate to wear the ruby on the left hand\nor left side of the body. The colours of the gem vary from a light rose\nto a deep red, the most expensive colour being that nearest to pigeon\u2019s\nblood. Submitted to a high temperature it turns green but when cooling\nreturns to its original colour. A particularly fortunate and rare\nvariety is the Star or Asteriated ruby which exhibits a perfect star on\nits beautifully rounded cabochon surface, coming as it were from a\nchatoyant interior. Messrs. Jerningham and Bettany in their Bargain Book\nrelate how a traveller in Amazonia found in the crop of a bird which he\nhad shot, a large and handsome ruby which he had cut and set in a ring\nas a souvenir of this uncommon event.\n\nThe ruby is under the Celestial sign Leo.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVIII\n RUTILE\u2014SAPPHIRE\n\nRUTILE, VENERIS CRINIS OR HAIR OF VENUS, NET OF THETIS, FL\u00c9CHES D\u2019AMOUR\n OR LOVE\u2019S ARROWS: ITS COMPOSITION AND PLACE IN THE ZODIAC: SAPPHIRE:\n ITS ANCIENT NAME: MALE AND FEMALE: FAVOURED COLOURS: THE SAPPHIRE\n FIELDS: MESSRS. RAND AND DUNSTAN ON THE CENTRAL QUEENSLAND FIELDS AT\n ANAKIE: MINERALS FOUND ASSOCIATED WITH SAPPHIRE: DISHONEST TRADE\n CLASSIFICATION: LARGE SAPPHIRES: A HOLY GEM: SACRED TO PH[OE]BUS:\n SOLINUS AND THE SIGN AQUARIUS: THE SAPPHIRE AND THE EYES: MEDICINE\n ADMINISTERED ASTROLOGICALLY: PORTA ON THE SAPPHIRE: BOETIUS AND THE\n PRIESTLY STONE: POPE INNOCENT III RECOMMENDS IT AS A BISHOP\u2019S STONE:\n INTAGLIO OF POPE PAUL III: ST. JEROME ON THE SAPPHIRE: A STONE OF\n THE PEOPLE WORN BY THE KING: KING SOLOMON\u2019S SAPPHIRE: SAVED FROM THE\n SACK OF JERUSALEM: THE STONE OF MOSES: CONSTANTINE\u2019S SAPPHIRE:\n BUDDHISTS AND THE SAPPHIRE: ITS PLACE IN THE NAO-RATTAN AND THE\n NECKLACE OF VISHNU: FALLS FROM THE DEAD EYES OF MAHA BALI: LADY\n SCROOPE THROWS THE SAPPHIRE RING FROM THE WINDOW OF QUEEN\n ELIZABETH\u2019S DEATH CHAMBER: THE SEPHER OF SOLOMON: THE BOOK OF WINGS:\n TALISMANIC SAPPHIRES: THE SAPPHIRE DREAM: THE ASTERIATED SAPPHIRE:\n THE SAPPHIRE AND THE ZODIAC.\n\n\nRUTILE\n\n \u201c_Fair tresses man\u2019s imperial race ensnare,\n And beauty draws us with a single hair._\u201d\n POPE.\n\nThe name Rutile is derived from the Latin RUTILUS, red, and it appeared\nunder the form RUTIL in 1803 when it was first applied to the mineral by\nDr. A. G. Werner. The mineral occurs in brown, red, yellow and black\ncolours and is composed of oxygen and Titanium. In hardness it is about\nthe same as a peridot. The name Veneris Crinis (Hair of Venus) was first\ngiven to fibrillous rutile in quartz crystal known as Sagenite, from a\nGreek word meaning \u201ca net.\u201d The Hair of Venus was suggested by the\nbeautiful hair-like effect which in good specimens is truly Titian. It\nis also known as The Net of Thetis and the Hair of Thetis. The French\ncall it \u201cFl\u00e9ches d\u2019Amour\u201d (Love\u2019s Arrows). The Veneris Crinis was worn\nby the ancients as a charm to favour the growth of hair and to give\nforeknowledge. Rutile is under the celestial Sagittarius.\n\nSAPPHIRE\n\n \u201c_The living throne, the sapphire blaze,\n Where angels tremble while they gaze._\u201d\n GRAY.\n\nThe Sapphire derives its name from the Greek SAPPHEIROS and the\nfollowing are some of the many forms of the word: saphyr, saphir, safir,\nsafire, zaphire, safere, saffere, safyre, sapher, saphyre, saphire,\nsaffyr, saffre, safeur, safour, safur, sapheir, saphere, safure,\nsaffure, saffoure, saufir, sapphier, saiffer, sapphyr.\n\nThe sapphire which may be said to lead the Corundum family is slightly\nharder than the ruby. The name, which varies but little in ancient\nlanguages, was without doubt applied to the blue lapis lazuli\u2014the\nHyacinthus of the ancients being the true sapphire of our days. Sapphire\nis the name given to the blue corundum, and the shades of colour vary\nfrom very light to very dark, the light specimens being anciently termed\nfemale, the dark, male. This blue tinge will, however, be detected in\nseveral light varieties of the corundum family. The velvety blue\nsapphire termed the \u201cbleu du roi\u201d has held its popularity for ages and\nis likely to continue to do so, although the pretty light specimens\nknown as \u201ccornflower blue\u201d are fast coming into favour. Sapphires are\nfound in Ceylon, India and Siam in considerable quantity and some good\nstones have been found in the United States. Large specimens come from\nNewton, New Jersey and also from the rich country round Montana. The\nsapphire fields at Anakie, Central Queensland, bid fair to become one of\nthe biggest in the world, and in a highly instructive report, Messrs.\nWilliam Rands and B. Dunstan, Government Geologists of Queensland, give\na detailed account of the fields. The authors of the report give the\nfollowing list of minerals found in the sapphire deposits:\n\n Diamonds\n Sapphire (blue)\n Oriental Ruby (red)\n Oriental Topaz (yellow)\n Oriental Peridot (green)\n Oriental Chrysoberyl (yellowish green)\n Oriental Amethyst (purple)\n Cats\u2019 Eye (smoky, etc.)\n Oriental Moonstone (pearly)\n Spinel varieties\n Spinel Ruby\n Pleonaste\n Garnet Pyrope\n Zircon varieties\n Jargoon (white and yellow)\n Hyacinth (brown and red)\n Quartz varieties\n Rock Crystal (colourless)\n Amethyst (purple)\n Cairngorm (smoky)\n Chalcedony varieties\n Carnelian (red and yellow)\n Jasper varieties: Black (Lydian Stone), red and brown\n Rutile (in quartz pebbles)\n Topaz (white)\n Magnetite\n Titanic Iron\n Magnesite\n Tourmaline\n Hornblende\n\nThe report emphasises the facts that \u201cthe field is a large one, that the\nextent of sapphire wash is second to none in the world and that a\nconstant supply of stones could be maintained.\u201d It seems that these\nAustralian gems have not met with the fair treatment so necessary in the\ndevelopment of the fields, and in their report Messrs. Rands and Dunstan\nsubmit an extract from a letter received from an important firm of\nlapidaries and gem merchants in Geneva: \u201cFine sapphires equal to those\nfrom Burma have been found amongst the Australian gem stones. Most of\nthese are sent to Germany by dealers where they are sorted. The best\ngems are afterwards sold separately under another name, and the inferior\nlots sold as Australian.\u201d\n\nLarge sapphires are more frequently found than large rubies and Dr.\nChambers mentions one discovered in 1853 in the alluvium a few miles\nfrom Ratnapoora, which was valued at over \u00a34000 sterling. A large\nspecimen, three inches long, is mentioned by Professor J. D. Dana as\nbeing in the possession of Sir Abram Hume. In the Green Vaults at\nDresden several great specimens are shown. The large \u201cSaphir\nmerveilleux\u201d which Mr. Hope exhibited at the London Exhibition in\n1851\u2014known as the \u201cHope Sapphire\u201d\u2014was blue by day-light and amethyst\ncolour by nightlight. This gem was last said to be in the Russian\nTreasury. This sapphire has nothing in common with the blue\ncobalt-coloured artificial spinels known as \u201cHope Sapphires.\u201d Dr. G. F.\nH. Smith mentions several large stones, the most notable being one of\n950 carats which was reported to be in the King of Ava\u2019s treasury in\n1827. The weight of the Rospoli rough sapphire in the Jardin des Plantes\nis 132 carats. The Duke of Devonshire has a fine sapphire of 100 carats,\nbrilliant cut above the girdle of the stone, and step cut below. From\nthe earliest times the sapphire had the reputation of a holy gem.\nSolinus says that \u201cit feels the air and sympathizes with the heavens,\nshining not the same if the sky be bright or obscured.\u201d The ancients\nheld the gem sacred to Ph\u0153bus, not as a personification of the Sun,\nbut rather as explained by Dr. Alexander S. Murray (Department of Greek\nand Roman Antiquities in the British Museum) as follows:\n\n\u201cFrom the sun comes our physical light, but that light is at the same\ntime an emblem of mental illumination, of knowledge, truth and right, of\nall moral purity: and in this respect a distinction was made between it\nas a mental and a physical phenomenon\u2014a distinction which placed\nPh\u0153bus Apollo on one side and Helios on the other. Accordingly\nPh\u0153bus Apollo is the oracular god who throws light on the dark ways\nof the future, who slays the Python\u2014that monster of darkness which made\nthe oracle at Delphi inaccessible. He is the god of music and song which\nare only heard where light and security reign and the possession of\nherds is free from danger.\u201d This is the ideal of the sign Aquarius,\nastrologically considered, and students of the old science well know\nwhat Solinus implies when he says that the gem of the sign Aquarius\n\u201cfeels the air and sympathizes with the heavens\u201d for this sign of \u201cair,\u201d\nof fine ethereal forces, of \u201couter airs,\u201d of fine subtle substances,\netc., is also the sign of Heaven and the Heavens.\n\nThe great physician Galen used the sapphire \u201cfor expelling the hot\nhumours of the body,\u201d which unfavourable health condition is included in\nastrological philosophy on the evils of the sign Aquarius. The sign\nalso, as the astrologer Raphael says, \u201chas particular rule over the\neyesight, and the Sun conjoined with Saturn therein is a sure sign of\nblindness.\u201d Ancient writers say that he who gazes into a sapphire will\ncharm away all threatened injury to his eyes, and Marbodus recommends\nthat a sapphire \u201cdissolved in milk\u201d takes the sting from \u201cdimmed eyes.\u201d\nFor removing foreign bodies from the eye, specks of dust, sand, etc., it\nwas recommended that a sapphire be held a while on the closed eyelid and\nthen drawn gently and slowly several times across from the nose to the\ncorner of the eye. It is one of the old principles in medicine,\nastrologically administered, that the cause of the disease can also be\nused as a cure, whilst another rule advises the virtue of opposites. In\nthis latter connection it was said that a sapphire placed near the heart\nwould fortify that organ\u2014the sign of Heaven \u201cruling\u201d the heart is Leo,\nand Aquarius is exactly opposite to Leo in the Zodiac. In hom\u0153opathic\nmedicine aconite in proper proportion is administered to reduce fevers\nand inflamed conditions. Astrologically, aconite is a herb of Saturn.\nSaturn is, like the herb, cold and contracting whilst Mars is warm and\nexpanding. The blood and mental faculties are liable to disorder in\ncertain people born with Aquarius rising at birth or with the Sun\ntherein: and the sapphire was the panacea which also, it was said,\nstopped bleeding of the nose if held against the temples. In old\npharmacies the sapphire held a place of importance and its reputed\ncurative virtue led to its employment as a charm against swellings,\nboils, ruptures, profuse perspirations, poisons, melancholy, flatulence\nand other bodily inharmonies. It was also employed as a charm against\nenchantment, danger, treachery, quarrels between friends, evil\nsuggestions and undue influence. Porta in his work on \u201cNatural Magic,\u201d\n1561, writes of the value of the sapphire in all magical and religious\nceremonies, protecting the wearer from the Larvae of the lower spiritual\nworld and from the snakes and poisonous reptiles of the world of matter.\nIt was considered intensely powerful as a destroyer of poisonous insects\nwhich it was said to kill if placed at the mouth of a vessel in which\nthey were imprisoned. Boetius (\u201cDe Natura Gemmarum\u201d) writes that the\nsapphire was worn by priests as an emblem of chastity, for none of evil\nthoughts, bad minds or vicious habits dare wear this gem of pure\nheavenly love which was used of old by those consulting the sacred\noracles. In his messages to the Bishops of the 12th century Pope\nInnocent III asked that they should have their pure gold rings set with\n\u201cthat stone which is the true seal of secrecy.\u201d When the Roman Catholic\nchurch received her novices into the Sisterhood a sapphire ring blessed\nby a Bishop was given as a holy symbol of the mystical marriage. In the\nfamous Pulsky Collection\u2014mentioned by Mr. C. W. King\u2014there is a\nwonderful intaglio on a fine sapphire of Pope Paul III by the great\nAlessandro Cesati, three-quarters of an inch square. St. Jerome (4th and\n5th centuries) wrote that the sapphire saved its wearer from captivity\nand pacified his enemies, also that it gained the favour of princes.\nSome old authors recommend the sapphire as a stone for the hands of\nKings. It is a stone rather of Democracy. Perhaps, however, the symbolic\nidea was that the King as the servant of the people could adorn his hand\nwith no more fitting emblem. It is traditionally reported that the ring\nof King Solomon was a sapphire, which stone was believed by some of the\nmasters to be the special talisman of the Jews. One kept in the Holy of\nHolies as a holy emblem is said to have been saved and concealed for the\npeople of Israel when Titus sacked Jerusalem. Moses was born with the\nSun rising in the ascending Aquarius, hence the adoption of either the\nsapphire as we know it today or the lapis lazuli as national gems is\nperfectly natural. The sapphire in the signet of Constantine, weighing\n53 carats, which now lies amongst the treasures in the Rinuccini Cabinet\nat Florence, is cut in intaglio with a portrait of the Emperor in the\nguise of Nimrod attacking a great boar with his spear in the C\u00e6sarean\nplains. As a gem of heavenly and beautiful thoughts the sapphire was\nregarded as a scare against devils, evil forces, witchcraft, sorcery and\nall forms of villainy. The Buddhists symbolically say that a sapphire\nopens a closed door, brings prayerful feelings and sounds the sweet\nbells of peace. It is a stone of truth, constancy, friendship, goodness\nand angelic help; it warns against hidden dangers and heightens the\nimagination and psychic forces. It rebels against intoxication and\nrefuses to adorn the hand of a drunkard; it helps hopes and wishes that\nare truly just and right. It was the third stone of the Nao-rattan and\nthe fourth of the seven rings which Iarchus brought down from the\nangelic spheres as a gift to Apollonius of Tyana. It was the fourth\nstone of the magical necklace of Vishnu, and according to the Ramayana\nsapphires fell from the eyes of the slain god Maha Bali.\n\nAn Irish Countess lent for exhibition to the South Kensington Loan\nCollection in 1872 the sapphire ring which Lady Scroope threw from the\nwindow of the death chamber of Queen Elizabeth to Sir Robert Carey who\nwas waiting below for this signal of the Queen\u2019s passing in order to\nconvey the news post haste to James. In the Sepher of Solomon \u201cwhich was\nset together in the desert by the Children of Israel in the Holy Name of\nGod, following the influences of the stars,\u201d a charm for favouring\ndesires, for procuring invisibility, and certain benefits was a light\ncoloured sapphire on which was engraved a mermaid holding a twig in one\nhand and a mirror in the other. The times for the construction of this\ntalisman (which was to be set in a ring and worn inwards for escaping\nthe eyes of others) was when the moon well aspected, was passing through\nthe 5th, 6th and 7th degrees of the sign Aquarius. Another charm from\nthe same source is the figure of a young man crowned, a circle round his\nneck, his hands raised in prayer, seated on a four-legged throne\nsupported on the back of their necks by four men standing. The charm is\nto be cut on a \u201ccornflower\u201d sapphire for purifying the mind and\nobtaining favours from rulers, scholars, priests and people of wisdom,\nwhen the well-aspected moon was passing through the 1st, 2nd, 28th and\n29th degrees of Aquarius. In the \u201cBook of Wings,\u201d a charm advised for\ngaining wealth and prophetic foresight is an astrolabe cut on a\nsapphire, especially when the moon, well aspected, passes through the\n1st, 2nd, 28th and 29th degrees of Aquarius. Another for health,\nprotection from poison, poisonous airs, and tyranny was the Bearded Head\nof a man or a ram engraved on a sapphire, constructed when the\nwell-aspected moon was passing through 8th, 9th, 25th and 26th degrees\nof Aquarius. Dreaming of sapphires is said to denote protection, social\nsuccess, and favour generally.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Beautiful Colour Gems\n Kelsey I. Newman Collection\n\n .in 2\n .ta r:3 r:2\n 1. | |BERYL | | 17\u00bc carats\n 2. | |AQUAMARINE | | 59\u215b \"\n 3. | |PINK SAPPHIRE | | 3\u00bd \"\n 4. | |AMETHYST | | 28 \"\n 5. |{| |}| 14 \"\n 6. |{| ORANGE SAPPHIRES |}| 4 \"\n 7. |}| |{| 20 \"\n 8. |}| GOLDEN SAPPHIRES |{| \u00be \"\n 9. |}| |{| 2\u00bd \"\n 10. | | SUNLIGHT SAPPHIRE| | 44-1/16 \"\n .ta-\n .in\n]\n\nThe Asteriated or Star Sapphire, displaying like the Star Ruby, an\nopalescent star, is a valued charm for procuring the love of friends,\nfor constancy and harmony.\n\nAll shades of blue and green sapphires are under the zodiacal Aquarius.\nWhite sapphires (called Leucos sapphires) are under the sign Pisces.\nYellow sapphires are under the sign Leo. Amethyst sapphires are under\nthe sign Sagittarius.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIX\n SARDONYX\u2014SUCCINITE\n\nSARDONYX: SCHORL: SELENITE: COMPARISONS BY MARBODUS AND MALPLEAT:\n PLINY\u2019S ACCOUNT: ANCIENT USE OF SELENITE: USED IN THE PALACE AT\n PEKIN: DR. JOHN GOAD AND THE SELENITE OF POPE CLEMENT VIII: SELENITE\n AMONGST THE GREEKS: TREVISA\u2019S NARRATIVE: SELENITES OR LUNARY MEN: A\n LOVE ATTRACTOR: A CURIOUS TALISMAN: SELENITE AND PEARLS: SERPENTINE\n OR HYDRINUS: IDENTIFIED WITH THE TARSHISH STONE: THE OPHITE STONE OF\n DIOSCORIDES AND PLINY: AGRICOLA KNOWS IT AS LAPIS SERPENTIUS: THE\n RANOCHIA OF ITALIAN ARTISTS: A CURE FOR RHEUMATIC AFFECTIONS, ETC.:\n USED BY THE ANCIENTS FOR FASHIONING ORNAMENTS AND CHARMS: A TALISMAN\n OF CAPRICORN: USED IN THE MAKING OF SCARABS AND CYLINDERS: SOAPSTONE\n OR STEATITE: ITS EXTENSIVE USE IN ANCIENT EGYPT: PINITE: THE\n AGALMATOLITE OR PAGODITE CALLED BY THE CHINESE HAO-CHI: LUCKY\n FIGURES AND EMBLEMS: A SAVAGE FOOD: SPHENE OR TITANITE SPINEL OR\n BALAS RUBY: VARIETIES: PHENOMENA OF THE SPINEL: ALBERTUS MAGNUS:\n ANDREA BACCI: THE PALACE OF THE RUBY: MARCO POLO\u2019S STORY: LAL RUMANI\n OF THE INDIANS: THE KING OF OUDE\u2019S SPECIMEN: THE LAL-I-JALADI: THE\n BLACK PRINCE\u2019S RUBY AND ITS STORY: SIR JAMES MELVILLE AND QUEEN\n ELIZABETH\u2019S \u201cFAIR, GREAT RUBY\u201d: LOVE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH FOR SPINELS:\n ROBERT DE BERQUEN AT THE COURT OF THE KING OF PERSIA: SPINELS AND\n CORUNDUMS IN RIVER GRAVELS: ELIANUS AND THE STORY OF THE STORK: ITS\n SYMBOLIC IMPORT: AN ANCIENT MEDICAL CUSTOM: A HEALTH STONE: A GARDEN\n CHARM: SPODUMENE: HIDDENITE: KUNZITE: RADIUM INFLUENCE ON SPODUMENE\n AND KUNZITE: SUCCINITE.\n\n\nSARDONYX. (See ONYX.)\n\nSCHORL. (See TOURMALINE.)\n\nSELENITE\n\n \u201c_This stone, a remedy for human ills,\n Springs, as they tell, from famous Persia\u2019s hills._\u201d\n MARBODUS.\n\nThe word SELENITE is derived from the Greek SELENE, the moon, and is\nfound also written as silenite, silonite, silenitis. The stone which is\na crystallized variety of gypsum is in pearly white, green, yellow and\ngray colours. Marbodus compares it with soft grass or verdant jasper,\nand Malpleat, in 1567, says it is like a fresh and flourishing green\nherb. The moon-like lustres whether in pearl-white or light green are\nthe most esteemed, and Pliny writes that it is frequently employed in\nthe construction of beehives to enable the curious to watch the little\ninsects at their wonderful work. The ancients employed it in much the\nsame way as we do glass, and it formed an item of considerable trade\nimportance between Rome, Spain, Cyprus, Africa, Cappadocia and other\nparts of the ancient world. Slightly coarser varieties were used by\nTiberius to cover his hot-houses, for it is susceptible of being split\ninto comparatively thin sheets. A finer variety of very great value was\nat one time to be seen in the palace at Pekin. Dr. John Goad, who wrote\nthe Astro-Meteorologia, a book on the natures and influences of the\ncelestial bodies, mentions the Selenite which Pope Clement VIII had\namongst his treasures. It was a natural moon dial, of which Cocheram\nsaid in 1623, \u201cit decreaseth and encreaseth as the moon groweth.\u201d This\nDr. Goad was a famous scholar who, wrote Cooper, \u201cgained a reputation\nfor his astrological knowledge founded on reason and experiment.\u201d The\nGreeks called the stone Selenitis Lithos, because they said it waxed and\nwaned with the moon, a belief quaintly expressed by Trevisa in 1398 as\nfollows: \u201cSelenites is a stone of Perse, grene as grasse. It shineth\nwith a white specke and foloweth the moon and waxyth and waneth as the\nmoon doeth.\u201d Some old stories tell of a belief that little Moon men\nwhich Howell, a 17th century writer, calls \u201cSelenites or Lunary Men,\u201d\nflung these stones deep in the earth. The Selenite was regarded as a\nlove attractor and a stone to restore harmony between quarrelsome\nlovers. If engraved with a figure of Diana with bow and arrow when the\nmoon was passing through the 3rd, 16th and 17th degrees of Cancer it\nincreased, say old writers, the power of imagination and helped the\nwearer to realize future movements. If the Selenite be burned and\ncarefully powdered it is said to be of great use in cleaning pearls\n(which also are moon-ruled according to astrology). The Selenite is\nunder the sign Cancer like the moonstone, with which it is frequently\nconfounded.\n\nSERPENTINE OR HYDRINUS\n\nThe name Serpentine appears at different periods as serpentyn,\nserpentyne, sarpentene, sarpentin, scharpentyn. It is derived from the\nLatin SERPENS, and its more ancient term HYDRINUS indicates exactly the\nSea Serpent family (Hydrid\u00e6), so well known to ancient and modern\nwriters. Precious serpentine is translucent\u2014or about so\u2014and of a rich\noily green colour. Common serpentine is opaque. The precious serpentine\nis called \u201cnoble,\u201d the impure \u201ccommon.\u201d The colours are dark oily green,\nlight green, olive green, black green, brown yellow, green yellow,\nsometimes almost white. The Serpentine is identified with the Tarshish\nstone, the 10th stone of the High Priest\u2019s Breastplate. It was known as\n\u201cOphite Stone\u201d by Dioscorides and Pliny, and Agricola writing in the 16\nth century calls it \u201cLapis Serpentinus.\u201d Other writers called it\n\u201cSerpentinum,\u201d hence the modern name \u201cSerpentine.\u201d In Italy, especially\namongst artists, some specimens of the stone are known as \u201cRanochia,\u201d\nbecause of its similarity to a frog\u2019s skin.\n\nIt was recommended of old as a cure for rheumatism and rheumatic pains\nin the limbs, and for that purpose specimens were carried on the body\nnext the skin, attached to the arms or legs. It was believed to cure\ndropsy and all moist complaints, especially if the sufferer held a\nspecimen in each hand whilst resting in the sunlight. The wearer was\nalso warned not to overdo this sun-bathing with Serpentine in his hands\nbecause of its affinity with all natural bodily fluids. It was said to\nbe a charm against serpent bites or stings and to scare away poisonous\ninsects and reptiles of the sea and land. Serpentine was much esteemed\nby the ancients for its healing virtues and peculiar beauty. They\neffectively employed it in the manufacture of vases, pillars, boxes,\netc., and for the making of special charms and talismans. The figure of\na goat with a fish\u2019s tail cut on a serpentine when the moon, well\naspected, was passing through the 3rd and 4th degrees of the sign\nCapricorn, was a charm against rheumatism, skin troubles, gout, stiff\nlimbs, accidents to the limbs, falls or hurts.\n\nThe Serpentine was largely used by the ancient Egyptians in the making\nof sacred scarabs, and the Persians favoured it especially for shaping\ninto cylinders of authority, one of which is described by Mr. C. W.\nKing, as follows:\n\n\u201cA King contending with two andro-sphinxes, Ormuzd hovering above on the\nTree of Life\u201d\u2014a very symbolic cylinder.\n\nThe Serpentine or Hydrinus is under the celestial Capricorn.\n\nSOAPSTONE OR STEATITE\n\nSteatite derives its name from the Greek word STEAR, fat, which well\ndescribes the greasy feel of this soft magnesian rock\u2014a massive variety\nof talc. It was extensively used by the ancient Egyptians who cut it\ninto scarabs which in many cases they first burnt and then coated with a\nvitreous blue or green glaze. The substance is extremely soft and can\neasily be cut with a knife. Soapstone figures are cut from a variety\nknown as PINITE\u2014the Agalmatolite or Pagodite of China, called by them\nHoa-chi. Many of these are very beautifully cut, a number being lucky\nfigures presented in the guise of gods and goddesses, flowers, fruits,\netc. This custom reminds of the \u201cHousehold gods\u201d of the ancients. A kind\nof soft steatite earth is still eaten by the savages of New Caledonia\nand other places.\n\nAll varieties of Steatite are under the zodiacal Taurus.\n\nSPHENE OR TITANITE\n\nSphene derives its name from the Greek SPHEN, a wedge. As the name\nindicates the form of the crystals is wedge-shaped. The lustre is very\nbrilliant but the stone is scarcely as hard as the opal and therefore is\nlittle used in jewellery.\n\nSphene is under the zodiacal Sagittarius.\n\nSPINEL OR BALAS RUBY\n\nSpinel, which derives its name from the Greek word SPINOS, a spark, is\nfound written in a variety of ways, chief amongst which are spinell,\nspinele, spinel. Its colours are red, brown, green, yellow and blue. The\nred varieties are clear and glittering and the dark generally more dense\nor opaque.\n\n The name Spinel is applied to those of bright red colour\n The name Balas is applied to those of rose red\n The name Rubicelle is applied to those of orange red\n The name Almandine Ruby is applied to those of violet\n The name Chloro Spinel is applied to those of green\n The name Ceylonite or Pleonaste is applied to those of black\n The name Sapphirine is applied to those of blue\n\nSpinel and Balas are often intermixed and both terms are accepted as\ndenoting this Aluminate of Magnesium, whose hardness is just a little\ninferior to the Corundum and whose crystalline form is isometric, like\nthe diamond. The spinel, however, is non-electric, no matter if\nsubmitted to heat or friction, whilst the ruby (Corundum), and garnet\nare highly so. Hence it is not a difficult matter to distinguish these\nstones from each other even if their outward similarities tend to\nconfuse the eye. The spinel, submitted to trial by heat, first changes\nfrom red to brown; if left to cool it becomes dark; then it changes to\ngreen; then, as if exhausted, it seems to lose its colour which,\nhowever, slowly reappears in its red expression.\n\nThe word BALAS has been written as balace, baless, balays, balais,\nbalass. It is derived from the Arabic BALAKHSH which, says Albertus\nMagnus, is the female of the real ruby \u201cand some say it is his house.\u201d\nThat prolific writer on precious stones, Andrea Bacci (16th and 17th\ncenturies), echoes older thought also when he writes that \u201cBalas is\nderived from PALATIUS, a palace, which is the palace where the ruby\nlives.\u201d He echoes the symbolic ideas of the old Greek writers who said\nthat the true ruby resided in a palace\u2014clearly showing that they knew\nthe difference between rubies and spinels. Marco Polo\u2019s remarks are as\nfollows: \u201cIn this Provence (Badachschan), those fine and valuable gems\nthe Balas rubies are found. They are got in certain rocks among the\nmountains and in the search for them the people dig great caves beneath\nthe earth just as is done by miners for silver. There is but one special\nmountain that produces them and it is called Syghinan. The stones are\ndug on the King\u2019s account and no one else dares dig on pain of death as\nwell as of seizure of worldly possessions, nor may any take the gems out\nof the Kingdom. The King collects them all and sends them to other kings\nas tribute or as presents. He so acts in order to keep the Balas at a\ngreat value for if he allowed all persons to mine for them the world\nwould be filled with them and they would be valueless.\u201d In Persia there\nis a story which tells that they were found in a destroyed mountain\nafter an earthquake. The Indians know the stone as the \u201cPomegranate\nRuby\u201d (Lal Rumani), and the King of Oude is said to have had a\nremarkable and beautiful specimen as big as the egg of a pigeon, which\nwas known as \u201cLal-i-jaladi.\u201d The beautiful heart-shaped Balass which is\nset in the British Crown under the Black Cross known as the \u201cBlack\nPrince\u2019s Ruby,\u201d is said to have been obtained in Spain by Prince Edward\nwhen he was aiding Don Pedro of Castillo to hold his throne. It is\nreported that this was the gem worn by King Henry V at the Battle of\nAgincourt. This may have been the \u201cfair great ruby\u201d which Sir James\nMelville says Queen Elizabeth valued so highly. Elizabeth was very fond\nof spinels of which she possessed some splendid specimens, as shown in\nthe still extant inventories of the personal effects of the Queen. An\ninspection of her nativity will show that they were gems of good omen\nfor her. Madame de Barrera gives an extract from Robert de Berquen\u2019s\n\u201cMerveilles des Indes Orientales et Occidentales\u201d wherein it is stated\nthat \u201cJosephus Barbaro, a Venetian gentleman, says in a report made to\nthe Signori of Venice that when he was ambassador for the Republic at\nthe court of Yussum Cassan, King of Persia, on a certain day of the year\n1472 when he was received in solemn audience, that prince showed him a\nhandkerchief filled with the rarest and most inestimable precious\nstones. Among others there was a table-cut Balass ruby, of a beautiful\nshape, of at least a finger\u2019s breadth, weighing two ounces and a half,\nand of a most peerless colour: in fact, it was a most perfect paragon,\nso exquisite that when the King asked what he valued it at, he replied\nthat he thought a city or even a kingdom would scarcely pay for it.\u201d\n\nSpinels and corundum are always found together, and Dr. G. F. H. Smith\ncomments on the fact that although harder stones, rubies in the river\ngravels are usually waterworn whilst spinels are found in perfect\ncrystals. The ancient Zoologist Elianus repeats an old story that a\nstork brought a spinel as a present to the woman-nurse Heraclis for\nhealing his wounded leg. Here again it is necessary to look beneath the\nfable for true understanding of it. The stork is one of the birds of\nJupiter and its legs are astrologically under the zodiacal Sagittarius\n(the house or mansion of Jupiter). The woman symbolizes the moon and in\nher name the afternoon sun is concealed. The nurse is under Virgo, the\nsign to which the Spinel is attached. The 4 toes of the stork symbolize\nthe negative or afternoon sun, the 3 front toes webbed to the first\njoint, Jupiter. Again, the stork has no voice and tells no secrets.\nHence we have a cryptic prescription illustrating the method employed by\nthe ancient medical brethren to convey their meaning to each other. The\nspinel is here an active mineral employed in the treatment, together\nwith the moon and negative or afternoon sun, of certain afflictions of\nthe legs. Even today it is a custom amongst medical men to preface their\nprescriptions with the symbol of Jupiter. The stork is also greatly\nesteemed as a bird of good fortune and happy omen, and in many countries\nit is protected against destruction.\n\nThe spinel was esteemed as a perfect health stone and was especially\nvalued as a charm to be worn over the solar plexus. It was a fortunate\ngem for doctors of medicine, scholars, writers, clerks, secretaries,\nmanufacturers, business people, hospital attendants, nurses, etc. It\nraised the thoughts and purified the imagination. A specimen placed at\neach corner of a house was considered a protection against calamity, and\nrough pieces placed at the 4 angles of a garden, orchard or corn field\nwere said not only to protect the products from storms and lightning,\nbut also to carry the symbolic influence of rich returns for the farmer.\n\nThe spinel or balas, rubicelle, almandine ruby and the Sapphirine are\nunder the Zodiacal Virgo. The Chloro-spinel and the pleonaste are under\nthe zodiacal Capricorn.\n\nSPODUMENE\n\nSpodumene derives its name from the Greek word SPODIOS, ash-coloured. It\nis a stone resembling Feldspar, but has a lustre more pearl-like. In\ngeneral appearance spodumene is of a pale yellow tint, sometimes gray or\nas its name suggests, ash-coloured. It is about the hardness of quartz.\nThe emerald green variety which is exceedingly rare, is called\nHiddenite, after its discoverer, Mr. M. G. Hidden, and it is said by\nProfessor Dana to rival the emerald as a gem. It was discovered in 1881\nin North Carolina, which seems to be the only place of its occurrence.\nComparatively few specimens have been distributed and amongst them no\nstones of any considerable size. A pretty example of 2\u00bd carats is in the\nNatural History section of the British Museum. Perhaps the most\nbeautiful examples of this mineral were discovered in the San Diego\ndistrict of California in 1903 and named Kunzite, after Dr. G. F. Kunz.\nThese stones range in colour from pale violet to deep lilac and large\nspecimens have already been unearthed, that in the British Museum\nweighing 60 carats. Dr. G. F. H. Smith remarks that under the influence\nof Radium Kunzite is phosphorescent, thus presenting some difference\nfrom spodumene in general. In analysis it is shown that spodumene\ncontains 7.5 per cent of lithia. It would be, in harmony with ancient\nphilosophy, under the zodiacal Libra, although the variety Hiddenite may\nbe connected with the zodiacal Taurus. All varieties of spodumene would\nbe regarded as powerful eye charms and as beneficial to the kidneys and\nlumbar regions.\n\nSUCCINITE (See GARNET.)\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXX\n TITANITE\u2014TOPAZ\n\nTITANITE: TOPAZ: THE MYSTERY OF THE \u201cISLAND OF THE MISTS\u201d: THE RING OF\n THOMAS A\u2019 BECKET CALLED A PERITOT BY THE ABBOT OF GLASTONBURY: THE\n MEANING OF THE WORD TOPAZ: TOPAZ REMARKABLE FOR ITS CLEAVAGE: ITS\n USE IN ANCIENT AND MODERN MEDICINE: TOPAZ RHOMBICUS OF THE\n MINERALOGISTS: M. DUMELLE DISCOVERS HOW TO CHANGE THE COLOUR OF A\n TOPAZ: \u201cPINGOS D\u2019AGOA,\u201d \u201cGOUTTES D\u2019EAU,\u201d \u201cMINAS NOVAS\u201d: \u201cDIAMOND OF\n SLAVES\u201d: 12 LBS. OF TOPAZ FOR THREE SHILLINGS: HOW QUEEN MARY\u2019S\n GREAT BLUE TOPAZ WAS FOUND: THE TOPAZION STATUE OF PTOLEMY\n PHILADELPHUS: THE PTOLEMAIC BADGE: HADRIAN\u2019S TOPAZ: TOPAZ OF THE\n GRAND MOGUL AND RUNYEET SINGH: A GIANT EMPEROR\u2019S PLEASURE: SOME OLD\n INTAGLI: PLINY\u2019S STONE OF STRENGTH: A STONE AGAINST DEATH AND\n TERROR: SYMBOL OF BOILING WATER: A CHARM AGAINST DROWNING: A MODERN\n ILLUSTRATION: RABBI BENONI: \u201cBOOK OF WINDS\u201d: TOPAZ CHARMS.\n\n\nTITANITE. (See SPHENE.)\n\nTOPAZ\n\n \u201c_The flaming topaz with its golden beam._\u201d\n GLOVER.\n\nAt various times the word has been rendered tupase, tupace, topace,\ntopas, thopas, topaze, topasie, topazius, topasius. In the traditional\nderivation of the word a mystery is concealed. Pliny says that the stone\nwas found in an island difficult for mariners to locate on account of\nthe fogs and mists surrounding it, and Marbodus seems to indicate the\ntrue topaz when he says:\n\n \u201c_From seas remote the yellow topaz came,\n Found in the island of the self-same name._\u201d\n\nThe Island was known as Topazios, which owes its origin to the Greek\nword meaning \u201cto divine, guess, conjecture.\u201d The misty island is the\ncelestial Scorpio which is accounted in astro-philosophy the death sign\nand the sign of the serpent, the wounder of the heel of man. It also\nconcerns the goods of the departed, their abode in the world to come,\netc., hence the Island of the Mists, the place of guess, conjecture or\nphilosophical speculation which the traveller in the flesh can dimly see\nthrough the strange cloudy lights of the spirit. The name was originally\ngiven to the stone known to us as the Chrysolite which gem is now\nidentified with the occult sign of the Fishes employed in the mysteries\nin ancient and modern times. The classification as we at present know\nit, is of very ancient date, and specimens of the modern topaz have been\nfound adorned with various intagli of proven antiquity. Although it has\nbeen stated that Thomas A\u2019 Becket wore a topaz ring, there is no doubt\nthat Adam Sodbury, Abbot of Glastonbury, was correct when he says it was\na peridot, for the peridot or chrysolite was the stone of the Churchmen\nand intimately associated with the mystic sign of Christianity\u2014Pisces,\nthe Fishes. The old Abbot wrote that \u201ca gold ring in which was set the\nstone peritot (an old form of peridot) encircled the finger of our\nMartyr St. Thomas when he was killed by the swords of evil men.\u201d At that\ntime it is certain that the topaz and the peridot were the stones known\nas such today and as such they had been known for many centuries before.\n\nThe Sanscrit word TOPAS, meaning heat, may well describe the topaz, the\ncolour of which can be changed readily by heat, and which, under heat\npressure and friction, exhibits strong electric phenomena.\n\nScorpio, as before remarked, is the sign of the snake or serpent so\nintimately connected with the mysteries of life and death, and the topaz\nis remarkable for its cleavage, for when struck with a hammer it breaks\ninto flakes like the backbone of a serpent. The topaz was considered as\nof wonderful potency in the treatment of sexual disorders, which\nastrologically are considered as disorders of the sign Scorpio. It\ncontains from 55 to 58 per cent of Alumina, which substance has been\nused in modern times by Dr. Richard Hughes, Dr. Teste, Dr. Peters, Dr.\nMarcy and others in troubles of the sexual system and the mucous\nmembranes. The drug has been used hom\u0153opathically in such morbid\nconditions and in chronic pharyngitis and diseases of the nose and\nthroat. The nose is ruled by Scorpio in astrological deductions, and the\nthroat by Taurus, its opposite sign. Alumina is most strongly expressed\nin Corundums, which include the Oriental Topaz, next the chrysoberyl,\nnext the spinel, and next the topaz, but there are certain\ncharacteristics of the Topaz which in some way render it distinct from\nother gems, and these would have been considered by the hermetic schools\nwhence such philosophy originated. Amongst mineralogists the topaz is\nknown as Topaz Rhombicus. It is found in colours golden, yellow,\nreddish, white, greenish, wine colour and blue. A charming pink is\nproduced artificially by subjecting the real stone to heat, the best\nresults being procured from a golden-brown variety. This process was\nfirst discovered by M. Dumelle, a Paris jeweller, in the year 1750. The\ncolour thus obtained is doubtless permanent, the shade being manifest\nwhen the stone cools. Great care must be observed in this simple\nexperiment because the stone is so sensitive that unless properly\nhandled it is likely to split under the various degrees of heat and\ncold.\n\nTranslucent achromatic topaz is called Pingos d\u2019Agoa (drops of water) by\nthe Brazilians, and Gouttes d\u2019Eau by the French. In England the variety\nis called Minas Novas, after the Minas Novas in the State of Minas\nGeraes in Brazil where it is extensively found. In Portugal this type of\ntopaz is called the \u201cDiamond of Slaves.\u201d The large British Museum\nspecimen of this White Topaz which, according to Mr. Emanuel, weighs\nover 12 lbs. (avoirdupois), was sold for three shillings by a marine\nstore dealer who used it to hold open his door. The great blue\nQueensland topaz in the possession of Queen Mary of Great Britain is\nsaid to have been discovered by a shepherd who, thinking it was a common\nstone, threw it at a howling dog during the night and wakened in the\nmorning to discover the precious nature of his missile. The Topazion\nStatue of 4 cubits high which Pliny mentions as having been made by the\norder of Ptolemy Philadelphus to the memory of his sister-wife Arsinoe,\nhas puzzled investigators. It has been set down as indicating a statue\nof jasper, agate, prase, chrysoprase or rock crystal of the Citrine or\nthe Smoky Quartz varieties. Probably this latter suggestion is right but\nthe real meaning will no doubt lie in the sign Scorpio, which was known\nin old Egypt as the Eagle\u2014(the symbolic badge of the Ptolemaic\ndynasty)\u2014and was the sign of material death and spiritual life. The\nEmperor Hadrian is said to have had a large topaz ring on which was\nengraved:\n\n \u201c_Natura deficit,\n Fortuna mutatur,\n Deus omnia cernit._\u201d\n\nTavernier writes of a great topaz in the possession of the Grand Mogul\nweighing 157 carats and worth about 100,000 dollars. Runyeet Singh\u2019s\ntopaz, half the size of a billiard ball, was worth 200,000 rupees. The\nGreat Braganza, 1680 carats, which adorned the crown of Portugal and was\nsupposed to be a diamond, is a white topaz. One of the pleasures of the\ngiant Emperor Maximilian, of whose strength so many stories are told,\nwas to crush topazes to powder in his fingers. Why he indulged in this\nform of sport is unknown; probably he found it recreation after killing\nan ox at a blow or knocking out the teeth of an unfortunate horse. Mr.\nKing mentions a Head of M\u00e6cenas on topaz attributed to Solon at\nFlorence, and another\u2014wrongly attributed to Dioscorides\u2014of a girl\u2019s head\nin the Marlborough collection. The Topaz was called \u201cStone of Strength\u201d\nby Pliny for the martial Scorpio is the wrestler\u2019s sign and the sign of\nstrong people. The power of the topaz was said to increase as the moon\nincreased, especially if the night orb was at new or full in the sign\nScorpio. It banished the terrors of the night, protected the wearer\nduring epidemics, soothed the wild passions and gave a glimpse of the\nbeyond. It banished the fear of death and secured a painless passing\nfrom this life to the next; it gave strength to the intellect and\nenabled the wearer to receive impressions from astral sources. It\npreserved from miasmatic conditions and lost its colour when in the\npresence of poisons. The power attributed to it of quenching boiling\nwater is symbolic of the fiery Mars, planet of power in the watery\nScorpio. It was also said by the old masters that the topaz preserved\nagainst drowning, and a curious illustration of this belief came\nrecently under the writer\u2019s notice. He advised the wife of a well-known\nAustralian to purchase a very beautiful topaz, which was mounted under\nhis direction as a charm of the sign Scorpio. During the late war this\nlady and her daughter had need to travel to England. The voyage was\nabout half accomplished when the vessel was submarined. The boat in\nwhich the lady and her daughter were, capsized and all the struggling\npassengers were thrown into the sea. She seized a piece of wreckage and\nsupported her daughter and herself until they were both dragged into a\nboat some considerable time after. The lady had clutched the topaz charm\nfrom her neck and was holding it tightly in her hand while struggling in\nthe water. Just as they got into the boat she felt someone give a heavy\nblow on her hand and take the gem from her. She grieved for the loss of\nher beautiful topaz charm which she regarded as the symbol of her own\nand her daughter\u2019s salvation.\n\nLeonardus said that the topaz was a charm against asthma and Rabbi\nBenoni calls it the emblem of strength and the easer of h\u00e6morrhage. In\nthe \u201cBook of Wings\u201d it is recommended that to secure favour with kings,\nprinces, nobles and important personages a topaz engraved with the\nfigure of a flying falcon should be worn. This charm was to be\nconstructed as a charm of power when the well aspected moon was passing\nthrough the 5th, 6th and 7th degrees of the heavenly Scorpion. Another\ntopaz charm given is for acquiring riches: this takes the form of a man\nholding a lamp. It had to be mounted in gold and constructed when the\nincreasing moon, in good aspect to the direct Jupiter and the Sun, was\npassing through the 5th, 6th, 7th, 26th and 27th degrees of Scorpio.\n\nIn a dream the topaz is a symbol of movement, protection from harm,\npoisons, etc. The symbolic dream introducing this stone is a symbolic\nmessage from the departed.\n\nThe topaz and its varieties are under the celestial Scorpio.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXI\n TOURMALINE\u2014ZIRCON\n\nTOURMALINE: ARRIVAL OF SPECIMENS IN LONDON: THE ASH ATTRACTOR: THE\n \u201cELECTRIC STONE\u201d OF LINN\u00c6US: THE \u201cMAGNETIC\u201d OF LEMERY: EXPERIMENTS\n OF \u00c6PINUS AND LEHMANN: PROFESSOR GOODCHILD\u2019S EXPERIMENT: SUSPECTED\n CONNECTION OF THE TOURMALINE WITH ORIENTAL ALCHEMY: COLOURS OF THE\n TOURMALINE: THE TOURMALINE AND THE TOPAZ IN METHYLENE IODIDE:\n IDENTIFICATION SUGGESTIONS: PLINY\u2019S LYCHNIS: THE CADUCEUS OF HERMES:\n TURQUOISE: SAXO AND ALBERTUS MAGNUS ON ITS VIRTUES: THE PIRUZEH OF\n THE ARABIANS: THE CHALCHIHUITL OF THE MEXICANS: IDENTIFIED WITH\n PLINY\u2019S CALLAIS: A FAVOURITE ORIENTAL CHARM STONE: A SYMBOLIC THEORY\n OF ORIGIN: STONE OF THE HORSE AND RIDER: A RELIGIOUS GEM OF JUPITER:\n A CHARM AGAINST THE EVIL EYE: A SENSITIVE STONE: MISTAKES OF\n WRITERS: MEDICINAL VALUES: TURQUOISE SET IN STATUES OF BUDDHA: THE\n GOLDEN BOW AND TURQUOISE ARROW: GEM OF THE GODS: COLOUR CHANGES IN\n TURQUOISE: TURQUOISE AND THE WEATHER: INDIAN RAIN-STONE: KING\n TOHESER AND THE TURQUOISE MINES: MAJOR C. MAC DONALD AND PROFESSOR\n FLINDERS PETRIE DISCOVER THE OLD TURQUOISE WORKINGS: LOVE OF THE\n TURQUOISE IN OLD EGYPT: SOME UNIQUE STONES: THE GEM IN PERSIA: THE\n KHORASSAN MINES: STONE OF FASHION IN 17TH CENTURY EUROPE: DEATH\n STONE OF JAMES IV OF SCOTLAND: HENRY VIII SENDS A LAST GIFT TO\n CARDINAL WOLSEY: MARBODUS\u2019S TURQUOISE TALISMAN OF FREEDOM:\n DIFFERENCE BETWEEN \u201cDE VIELLE ROCHE\u201d AND \u201cDE NOUVELLE ROCHE\u201d:\n VARISCITE: IDENTIFIED AS THE CALLAINA OF PLINY: MAN\u00c9 ER H\u2019ROCK OR\n FAIRY ROCK OF BRITTANY: ZIRCON: STONE OF THE MOON\u2019S NODES: THE\n SNAKES OF THE CADUCEUS.\n\n\nTOURMALINE\n\n \u201c_This black thing, one of the prettiest of the very few pretty black\n things in the world, is called Tourmaline._\u201d\n\n RUSKIN.\n\n\nThe Tourmaline, written in the 18th century in England as Tumalin, is\nderived from the Ceylonese TURMALI or TORAMALLI. The first specimens to\narrive in London were known as \u201cBrazilian Emeralds,\u201d and they came from\nBrazil in the 17th century only to meet with an unfavorable reception.\nIn the beginning of the 18th century Dutch merchants began to bring from\nAmsterdam specimens obtained by them from Ceylon. The Dutch cutters,\nobserving how straw and other particles were attracted to specimens\nwhich had been lying in the sunlight, called the stone in consequence\nAschentrekker (ash attractor). The Germans called it Azchenzieher, and\nthe French Tire-cendre.\n\nThe Swedish scholar Linn\u00e6us experimented with the Tourmaline, calling it\nthe \u201cElectric Stone.\u201d M. Lemery, the French Professor, called it the\n\u201cMagnetic.\u201d The experiments of \u00c6pinus and Lehmann were concerned with\nthe positive and negative energies exhibited by the Tourmaline. These\n18th century scholars held that its power of repulsion exceeded its\npower of attraction. This sensitive stone is affected by weather\nchanges, and it exhibits considerable power when heated\u2014the electricity\nthen developed being termed pyro-electric. Professor W. Goodchild, M.B.,\netc., details an interesting experiment in dealing with the Physical\nProperties of Gem Stones:\n\n\"A crystal of tourmaline, in heating to 150\u00b0 C., becomes positively\nelectrified at one terminature and negatively at the other. If now it be\nsuspended by a non-conducting thread it will act as a magnet: on\ncooling, the charges on the poles reverse, positive becoming negative.\nIf a crystal with such a charge be dusted with a fine mixture of sulphur\nand red lead, the yellow sulphur will be attracted to the portions\ncharged with positive electricity, while the red lead goes to the\nnegatively charged portions.\"\n\nThis experiment serves to illustrate the attraction of the mind\n(represented by yellow sulphur), towards the positive pole, and matter\n(represented by red lead), towards the negative pole, as noted in the\nphilosophical researches of the old alchemists. If in a heated state,\nthe tourmaline be shattered all the little pieces will exhibit the\nforces of attraction and repulsion so marked in this strange stone. It\nhas been suspected, not without reason, that tourmaline specimens were\nused by some of the Eastern students of alchemy who held primarily that\nthe substance of the Philosopher\u2019s Stone is Mercurial and that it should\nbe treated with heat, for by that means alone would its use be shown,\nwarmth coming from the Heavens to bless Man, Nature, and the Kingdoms of\nNature.\n\nThe tourmaline is remarkable also for the variety of its colours,\nindicated by various and not always appropriate names. SCHORL, the black\nvariety spoken of by Ruskin, was so called according to De Costa (1761)\nby the German miners. The same writer says \u201cour English miners call them\n\u2018bockle\u2019 and \u2018ball\u2019.\u201d The name appears as shirl, schirl (so spelt by De\nCosta), schoerl, shorl. In the 16th century it was known in Germany as\nSCHRUL, but later in the 18th century it appears as SCHORL. The name is\nnow becoming unpopular, the simple term Black Tourmaline being\npreferred. The colourless variety is termed ACHROITE, from a Greek word\nmeaning colourless; pink and rosy red are termed RUBELLITE; indigo blue,\nINDICOLITE; blue, BRAZILIAN SAPPHIRE; green, BRAZILIAN EMERALD;\nyellow-green, BRAZILIAN PERIDOT; honey-yellow, CEYLON PERIDOT; red\nviolet, SIBERITE. The brown variety is usually known as Brown\nTourmaline, although it has been known and still is known as Brazilian\nTopaz or Ceylonese Topaz. It is not so hard as the topaz, however,\nranging in the scale somewhere between quartz and zircon. The refractive\npowers are likewise not in agreement, and in Methylene Dioxide the topaz\n(stone of Mars) sinks, whilst the Tourmaline (stone of Mercury) floats.\nThere are also amber-coloured, cinnamon, lilac, grey, blue-grey,\nwater-green and many beautiful parti-coloured specimens.\n\nIt is believed by some students that this gem was known to the ancients\nby the name LYNCURIUM, which Mr. King believes to be a species of\njacinth, Dr. Brotero an orange-coloured hyacinth. Professor Ajasson,\nbelieving the name to refer to Tourmaline, suggests that LYN may be\nderived from the Sanscrit word LANKA, the name of Ceylon, a place where\nthe stone is plentifully found. The general opinion now is that the\nstone described by Pliny under the name of LYCHNIS is our tourmaline.\nPliny writes in his 37th Book on Natural History of the power of the\nLYCHNIS of drawing straws and fluff towards it when heated by the sun or\nby the friction of the hand.\n\nThe peculiar attractive and repulsive properties of the tourmaline may\nbe compared with the mysteries contained in the caduceus of the wise and\never-restless Hermes. The symbolical snakes which adorn the rod\nrepresent knowledge received and knowledge imparted in the hermetic\nscheme of the Rosicrucians. The tourmaline is symbolical of wisdom,\nstrength of mind, eloquence, learning and the power of knowledge. It is\nthe stone for the author, poet, editor, and teacher. To dream of it\nmeans\u2014in harmony with ancient philosophy\u2014success through knowledge in\nall walks of life.\n\nThe tourmaline in all colours is under the zodiacal Gemini.\n\nTURQUOISE\n\n \u201c_The fair Queen of France\n Sent him a turquoise ring and glove,\n And charged him as her knight and love\n For her to break a lance._\u201d\n SIR WALTER SCOTT.\n\n\u201cTurquoise\u201d has been written in a remarkable number of ways, amongst\nthem being turky, torkey, turquay, turkey stone, turkie, turkeis,\nturkese, turkise, turkes, turkas, turkis (as used by Tennyson),\nturkoise, turkez, turqueis, turques, turchis, turquesse, torchas,\nturcasse, turquez, toorkes, turkesse. The Venetians call it turchesa,\nthe French turquoise, the Germans turkis. Andrea Bacci (\u201cDe Gemmis et\nLapidibus pretiosis,\u201d etc., 1605) says that this stone is called\nTurcicus, \u201cEither on account of its admirable loveliness or for the\nreason that it is obtained from the Turks.\u201d The name as we have it does\nnot seem to go further back than the 13th century when Saxo, agreeing\nwith Albertus Magnus, writes of it and praises its virtues as a\npreventive of accidents to the eye. The old Persians called it PIRUZEH,\nthe Triumphant, and the Arabians, whose special luck stone the turquoise\nis, engrave on specimens the name \u201cAllah\u201d with a verse from the Koran,\nor with some magical sign inserted in pure gold. It is known to the\nMexicans as CHALCHIHUITL. This stone is identified with the Callais of\nPliny, who relates symbolically that it was shot down by means of slings\nfrom unapproachable rock lands. The symbol has relation to the power of\nthis stone of the Heavenly Archer over seemingly terrifying obstacles\nwhen firmly directed by the compelling will.\n\nThe turquoise is favoured by Eastern occult students who employ it\nlargely in the composition of amulets and charms. It was said to have\nsprung up like an eye from its matrix, and is identified with the\nAntares in the Archer of the Heavens. These stars were indicated as\naffecting the eyes in the same degree as the Pleiades and the Asselli of\nTaurus and Leo. In modern Egypt a turquoise is applied to the eye as a\nremedy for cataract and other ophthalmic troubles, specimens thus\nemployed being usually engraved with the sacred name of Allah. The\nturquoise is especially the stone of horses, mules and camels, and from\nmost ancient times specimens have adorned their trappings. Leonardus\nsaid that so long as a horseman carried a piece of turquoise with him\nwhilst riding he would never have an accident, nor would his horse be\nfatigued, for it was believed that the stone would draw the pain of the\naccident to itself. Boetius de Boodt says that when riding to his house\nalong an uncertain road on a dark night he fell with his horse down a\ndeclivity but neither he nor his animal suffered hurt. His turquoise,\nhowever, was shattered. The stone was carried by jockeys, huntsmen and\nhorsemen generally as a symbol of the special protection of Jupiter. In\nthe Middle Ages the turquoise was much worn by young girls who regarded\nit as a religious jewel for the protection of their virtue and for the\nuplifting of their thoughts. In the most ancient science the sign\nSagittarius\u2014the house or mansion of the planet Jupiter\u2014is the sign of\nsport, horses, dreams, high philosophy, religion (not in the sense of\ncreed), the true lamp of life, long voyages, publications (not\nnewspapers), etc. Thus the turquoise\u2014as the stone of Sagittarius\u2014was a\nstone of dreams, the horse, philosophy, religion, etc., and its grand\nsymbolic purpose was to help the spiritual person to resist the\nweakness, evils and temptations so intermixed with material life. The\nturquoise was said to be a charm against the evil eye and evil thoughts.\nThe Arabs say that the stone is sensitive to weather changes and that\nits colour is affected by the state of the atmosphere. They knew Jupiter\nas the \u201cCloud Gatherer,\u201d \u201cThe Thunderer,\u201d \u201cThe God of the Murky Cloud,\u201d\netc., and they connected the turquoise with his powerful works. The\nplanet Jupiter strong at birth is held to indicate riches and worldly\nadvantage. The old Arabian writers note a form of magic for inducing\nwealth and monetary advantages, performed in the hour of Jupiter. During\nthis ceremony a turquoise was held in the right hand and the desires\nspoken into the stone at which a steady gaze was directed.\n\nCarelessness has led to error amongst writers. A 16th century author\nconfuses the topaz with the turquoise, describing the latter as a \u201cgem\nof yellow colour\u201d and recommending it as a charm against the bites of\nreptiles and stings of insects\u2014qualities ascribed by the old masters to\nthe topaz, gem of the sign of the Scorpion. Another writer repeats the\nerror, saying that \u201cthis yellow stone reduced to a powder is helpful in\ncase of stings from scorpions and fearful and venomous reptiles.\u201d The\nturquoise was held in esteem for diseases of the hip\u2014a part of the body\nastrologically under the sway of Sagittarius. In this connection the\nstone was reduced to a paste and bound flat to the part affected, whole\nspecimens being bound above and below the seat of the trouble. The\nturquoise contains a high percentage of Phosphoric Acid, which is\nemployed in modern hom\u0153opathy for affections of the lungs,\nastrologically under the sign Gemini and therefore opposite to the sign\nSagittarius. The ancients advised the turquoise as a lung medicine, not\nto be taken internally. The sign Sagittarius is also the sign of\nprophecy, and the turquoise set in the foreheads of the statues of\nBuddha and other images symbolizes the knowledge of things to come. The\ngolden bow and the turquoise arrow of the Tibetan legend has especial\nreference to the Sun in the sign Sagittarius. Dr. Kunz, quoting from Dr.\nBerthold Laufer of the Field Museum, Chicago, refers to this legend as\nfollows:\n\n\u201cA powerful saint touching the bow and arrow of a blacksmith transforms\nthe bow into gold and the arrow into turquoise.\u201d The bow represents the\nsolar rays and the arrow the Heavens, hence it is little wonder that the\nturquoise was termed the \u201cgem of the Gods.\u201d The turquoise was also\nrecommended for diseases of the throat and heart\u2014as phosphoric acid is\ntoday in Hom\u0153opathy. In harmony with an ancient astro-philosophy\nknown as \u201cPlanetary Interchanges,\u201d the turquoise was considered an ideal\nlovers\u2019 gift\u2014unless the stone was otherwise than fortunate in the\nhoroscope of the recipient\u2014and a gift of friendship.\n\n[Illustration: Specimen of Rough Turquoise, Victoria, Australia]\n\nThe changes of colour in a turquoise have been long noted, and the lines\nof the poet Donne are frequently quoted:\n\n \u201c_As a compassionate turquoise that doth tell\n By looking pale the wearer is not well._\u201d\n\nBoetius tells a story of a wonderful turquoise possessed by a Spanish\ngentleman which so lost its colour after his death that it appeared\n\u201cmore like a malachite than a turkois.\u201d Boetius then says that his\nfather bought it for very little at the sale of the Spaniard\u2019s effects\nand gave it to him. He relates that he had hardly worn it for a month\nwhen \u201cit resumed its pristine beauty and daily appeared to increase in\nsplendour.\u201d Mr. Harry Emanuel gives a somewhat similar story concerning\na turquoise that lost its lustre with the death of its owner \u201cas if\nmourning for its master,\u201d regaining it in its \u201cformer exquisite\nfreshness\u201d when worn by its new owner. A case of this kind came under\nthe writer\u2019s notice: The wife of a well-known pastoralist of New South\nWales had a bangle of turquoises cut into the shape of Egyptian scarabs.\nWhile travelling in Japan she became ill and the stones changed from a\nsoft blue to a dull green, regaining their former beauty when the lady\nregained her health. One of the oldest firms of jewellers in the city of\nMelbourne, Australia, was worried to find that an exquisite Persian\nturquoise entrusted to them to mount in a tiara with diamonds was\nchanging colour whilst in the hands of their chief \u201csetter.\u201d This\ncraftsman had been complaining for some days of indisposition. Strangely\nenough, the gem regained its beautiful colour on being entrusted to\nanother and healthier workman.\n\nThe connection of the turquoise with weather changes is not confined\nmerely to Oriental peoples. The Pueblo and Apache Indians employ it as a\nrainstone, which they say is always found concealed at the foot of the\nrainbow. They place pieces of turquoise on their bows and fire arms as\ndirecting charms for trueness of aim.\n\nThis stone is also called the \u201cgem of liberty and benevolence,\u201d and an\nold Eastern proverb says: \u201cA turquoise given with the hand of love\ncarries with it true fortune and sweet happiness.\u201d Another Eastern\nbelief runs that the turquoise turns pale when danger threatens the\ngiver. Felton in his \u201cSecrete Wonders of Nature,\u201d 1569, states that \u201cthe\nturkeys does move when there is any peril prepared to him that weareth\nit.\u201d Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge identifies Tcheser of the 3rd dynasty (3900\nB.C.) who built the \u201cStep Pyramid\u201d at Sakkarah as the Memphian King who\nworked the turquoise mines of Sinai. His name is still perpetuated on a\nrock at Wadi Magharah. It was at this place that Major C. MacDonald\nfound turquoise in 1849, and Professor Flinders Petrie in 1905.\nProfessor Petrie also discovered evidences here of very ancient mining\noperations. Archaic specimens of worked turquoise are still being found\nin Egypt. The colour appealed to the sons and daughters of Khem who\nimitated it to a very great extent in their scarabs, beads, ornaments\nand other articles of adornment. In the Vatican collection there are\nvaluable intaglios and cameos cut in this stone which in some instances\nretain their heaven-blue colour to this day. Mr. King mentions a\nlaureated head of Augustus and the Head of a Gorgon in the Fould\ncollection, \u201cthe original azure converted into a dull green by the\naction of the earth.\u201d In Persia the stone was always highly esteemed and\nthe most perfect specimens are held by the Royal House. The Khorassan\nmines near Nishapur are still famous for the remarkable beauty of the\nstones won from them. So fashionable was the gem in Europe in the 17th\ncentury that no true gentleman would consider his dress complete unless\nhis hand was adorned with a ring of Turquoise, for it was (as a true\nstone of the Archer) symbolic of the fairness and high sense of justice\nof the wearer. The famous turquoises in the Royal Jewels of Spain were\nbrought from New Mexico somewhere about this period also. Sir Walter\nScott in \u201cMarmion\u201d sings of the turquoise ring and glove which the\nFrench Queen sent to the Scottish King James IV, with 14,000 crowns of\nFrance, begging him for the love she had for him to raise an army for\nher sake. It is a curious fact that the turquoise was the death stone of\nJames IV who was killed at Flodden Field by an arrow from an _archer\u2019s_\nbow. The turquoise was to him a symbol of error and fatality. Henry VIII\nsent the dying Cardinal Wolsey a ring of turquoise by Sir John Russel,\nbidding him say to his fallen favourite that he, the King, \u201cloved him as\nwell as ever he did and grieved for his illness.\u201d For a talisman of\nliberty and freedom Marbodus advises that a perfect turquoise be\nengraved with a man standing under a beetle. It should be then set in a\nbrooch of gold and blessed and consecrated; \u201cthen the glory which God\nhath bestowed shall manifest.\u201d An astrological charm for wealth and\nprosperity takes the form of a centaur firing an arrow upwards, to be\nengraved on a turquoise, preferably in the hour of Jupiter with the Moon\nin good aspect to Jupiter passing the 3rd and 4th degrees of\nSagittarius.\n\nTrue turquoise, termed \u201cde vieille roche,\u201d or Oriental Turquoise,\ndiffers from the fossil turquoise or Odontolite, called \u201cde nouvelle\nroche,\u201d or occidental turquoise. Fossil turquoise can be easily marked\nby a steel instrument, while true turquoise acts as flint to steel. A\ndrop of Hydrochloric acid causes effervescence in fossil turquoise,\nwhich when submitted to fire gives out an animal odour. Fine turquoises\nare of that heavenly blue colour known as \u201cturquoise blue,\u201d and they\npresent a waxy appearance. The variety known as Variscite, supposed to\nbe the Callaina of Pliny, is a soft green stone found in various forms\nin prehistoric graves near Mane er H\u2019rock or Fairy Rock in Brittany, in\nthe State of Utah in the United States of America, and other places.\n\nThe turquoise is under the zodiacal Sagittarius.\n\nZIRCON. The name zircon is said to be derived from the Arabic ZIRK, a\njewel. It was known in the Sanskrit as RAHURATNA or stone of the Nodes\nof the Moon (Caput draconis and Cauda draconis), called the dragons of\nSolar and Lunar eclipses. These dragons were controlled by the magical\npower of Mercury and may also be compared to the snakes of the Caduceus.\nThe Zircon is a transparent to opaque stone and has been noticed more\nfully under the names JARGOON and HYACINTH.\n\nThe Zircon is under the zodiacal Virgo.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXII\n STONES IN SHAKESPEARE\u2019S PLAYS\n\n \u201c_It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night\n Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope\u2019s ear._\u201d\n ROMEO AND JULIET.\n\n\nThose who labour for the world belong to the world, no matter which\nlittle part of it may be claimed as their birthplace. This applies to\nthe humblest as well as to the greatest, as in a play the excellence of\nindividual players contributes to the artistic harmony and influence of\nthe entire production. So it is that William Shakespeare, the inspired\nmaster of the \u201cspacious times of great Elizabeth,\u201d breaks through the\nnarrow limits of sea-girt England and encompasses the whole world of\nwomen and men, detaches his unmaterial self from the period of his earth\nlife and endures\u2014a perpetual source of pleasure, philosophy, wisdom and\nmusic. Throughout his works William Shakespeare mentions seventeen\ndistinct stones of adornment, viz.: agate, amber, carbuncle, chrysolite,\ncoral, crystal, diamond, emerald, flint, jet, lapis lazuli, marble,\nopal, pearl, ruby, sapphire, turquoise.\n\nAGATE\n\nIn Act I, Scene 4 of \u201cRomeo and Juliet,\u201d Mercutio tells of Queen Mab\u2014\n\n \u201c_She is the fairies\u2019 midwife, and she comes\n In shape no bigger than an agate stone\n On the forefinger of an alderman._\u201d\n\nIn Act 3, Scene 1 of \u201cMuch Ado about Nothing,\u201d Hero says that\n\n \u201c_Nature never framed a woman\u2019s heart\n Of prouder stuff than that of Beatrice_\u201d\n\nwho would swear that if a man were tall he would be like\n\n \u201c_A lance illheaded;\n \u201cIf low, an agate very vilely cut._\u201d\n\nIn Act 2, Scene 1 of \u201cLove\u2019s Labours Lost,\u201d Boyet tells the Princess of\nFrance that Navarre\u2019s heart is\n\n \u201c_Like an agate, with your print impressed._\u201d\n\nIn King Henry IV, Part I, Act 2, Scene 4, Prince Hal says to Francis:\n\n \u201c_Wilt thou rob this leathern jerkin, crystal button, knott-pated,\n agate-ring, puke-stocking, caddis-garter, smooth tongue,\n Spanish-pouch,..._\u201d\n\nFalstaff in Part 2, Act 1, Scene 2, of the same play complains to his\npage that he was never \u201cmanned with an agate till now.\u201d\n\n(These quotations all serve to show how popular the agate was as a ring\nstone in Shakespeare\u2019s time.)\n\nAMBER\n\nHamlet, in answer to a question, tells Polonius that the \u201csatirical\nrogue\u201d whose book he is reading says that old men\u2019s eyes are \u201cpurging\nthick amber and plum-tree gum\u201d (Act 2, Scene 2), a thought no doubt\nsuggested by the ancient myth of the \u201cweeping sisters.\u201d\n\nPetruchio asks his \u201cMistress Kate\u201d:\n\n \u201c_Will we return unto thy father\u2019s house\n ... With amber bracelets, beads, and all this knavery?_\u201d\n (\u201cTaming of the Shrew,\u201d Act 4, Sc. 3.)\n\nSays Dumain in \u201cLove\u2019s Labours Lost\u201d (Act 4, Scene 3):\n\n \u201c_Her amber hair for foul hath amber quoted_\u201d\n\nand Biron\u2014\n\n \u201c_An amber-coloured raven was well noted._\u201d\n\nCARBUNCLE\n\nDromio of Syracuse in Act 3, Scene 2, of the \u201cComedy of Errors,\u201d speaks\nof\n\n \u201c_Her nose all o\u2019er embellished with rubies, carbuncles, sapphires._\u201d\n\nTitus Lartius says of Marcius:\n\n \u201c_Thou art lost, Marcius;\n A carbuncle entire, as big as thou art,\n Were not so rich a jewel._\u201d\n \u201cCoriolanus,\u201d Act 1, Sc. 4.\n\nIachimo, the soothsayer, (Cymbeline, Act 5, Scene 5) tells that\u2014\n\n \u201c_He, true knight,\n No lesser of her honour confident\n Than I did truly find her, stakes this ring:\n And would so, had it been a carbuncle\n Of Phoebus\u2019 wheel, and might so safely, had it\n Been all the worth of\u2019s car._\u201d\n\nHamlet speaks to the Players (Act 2, Scene 2) of Pyrrhus:\n\n \u201c_With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus\n Old grandsire Priam seeks._\u201d\n\nAgain the poet uses the \u201ccarbuncle of Phoebus\u2019 wheel\u201d in \u201cAntony and\nCleopatra,\u201d Act 4, Scene 8:\n\n \u201c_He has deserved it, were it carbuncled\n Like holy Phoebus\u2019 car._\u201d\n\nCHRYSOLITE\n\nThe fated Moor says of his poor murdered Desdemona in the last scene of\nthe last act of \u201cOthello\u201d:\n\n \u201c_Nay, had she been true,\n If Heaven would make me such another world\n Of one entire and perfect chrysolite\n \u2019I not have sold her for it._\u201d\n\n CORAL\n\nSays Lucentio in Act 1, Scene 1, of the \u201cTaming of the Shrew\u201d:\n\n \u201c_I saw her coral lips to move\n And with her breath she did perfume the air:\n Sacred and sweet was all I saw in her._\u201d\n\nThe charming Ariel in \u201cThe Tempest,\u201d (Act 1, Scene 2) sings:\n\n \u201c_Full fathom five thy father lies:\n Of his bones are coral made:\n Those are pearls that were his eyes:\n Nothing of him that doth fade\n But doth suffer a sea-change\n Into something rich and strange._\u201d\n\n CRYSTAL\n\n \u201c_But in that crystal scales let there be weighed\n Your lady\u2019s love against some other maid,_\u201d\n\nsays Benvolio to Romeo.\n\n (\u201cRomeo and Juliet,\u201d Act 1, Sc. 2.)\n\nIn \u201cLove\u2019s Labours Lost\u201d (Act 2, Scene 1) Boyet tells the Princess of\nFrance:\n\n \u201c_Methought all his senses were locked in his eye,\n As jewels in crystal for some prince to buy._\u201d\n\nIn Act 4, Scene 3, of the same play, the King says:\n\n \u201c_\u2018Ay, me!\u2019 says one: \u2018O, Jove!\u2019 the other cries:\n One, her hairs were gold, crystal the other\u2019s eyes._\u201d\n\nIn Act 3, Scene 2 of \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream,\u201d the awakening\nDemetrius sings Helen\u2019s praises:\n\n \u201c_O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!\n To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?\n Crystal is muddy._\u201d\n\nIn Act 2, Scene 1, of \u201cKing John,\u201d Queen Eleanor says of the sad\nsensitive Arthur:\n\n \u201c_His mother shames him so, poor boy, he weeps,_\u201d\n\nConstance retorting:\n\n \u201c_Now shame upon you whether she does or no!\n His grandam\u2019s wrongs, and not his mother\u2019s shames,\n Draws those heaven-moving pearls from his poor eyes,\n Which Heaven shall take in nature of a fee:\n Ay, with these crystal beads Heaven shall be bribed\n To do him justice and revenge on you._\u201d\n\nBolingbroke in \u201cRichard II\u201d (Act 1, Scene 1) says:\n\n \u201c_Since the more fair and crystal is the sky,\n The uglier seem the clouds that in it fly._\u201d\n\nSays Bardolph in \u201cHenry V\u201d (Act 2, Scene 3):\n\n \u201c_Go clear thy crystals._\u201d\n\nAt the opening of \u201cKing Henry VI,\u201d Bedford has the famous lines:\n\n \u201c_Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to night,\n Comets, importing change of times and states,\n Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky._\u201d\n\nIn Act 5, Scene 4, of \u201cCymbeline,\u201d the ghost father Sicilius says:\n\n \u201c_Thy crystal window ope: look out._\u201d\n\n\u201cTwo Gentlemen of Verona,\u201d Act. 2, Scene 4:\n\n \u201c_But that his mistress\n Did hold his eyes locked in his crystal looks._\u201d\n\nThe poetic use of crystal has its basis in ancient mystical philosophy,\nwhich is partly noticed in the section under CRYSTAL.\n\n DIAMOND\n\nShakespeare alludes to the diamond twenty-one times, most of all in\n\u201cCymbeline.\u201d\n\nImogen gives Posthumus as a pledge of affection her diamond ring:\n\n \u201c_This diamond was my mother\u2019s: take it, heart._\u201d\n\nThe diamond is mentioned four times as an important part of the plot in\nthe bargain between Posthumus and Iachimo:\n\n \u201c_If she went before others I have seen, as that diamond outlustres many\n I have beheld, I could not but believe that she excelled many: but I\n have not\n seen the most precious diamond that is, nor you the lady._\u201d\n\n POSTHUMUS: \u201c_I praised her as I rated her: so do I my stone._\u201d\n \u201c_I shall but lend my diamond till you return._\u201d\n IACHIMO: \u201c_My ten thousand ducats are yours: so is your diamond too: if\n I come off._\u201d\n\nIn Act 2, Scene 4, poor Posthumus says:\n\n \u201c_All is well yet,\n Sparkles this stone as it was wont?_\u201d\n\nalluding to the ancient belief that the diamond turned dull when lovers\nproved unfaithful.\n\n \u201c_... The stone\u2019s too hard to come by._\u201d\n IACHIMO: \u201c_I beg but leave to air this jewel: see! it must be married\n To that your diamond._\u201d\n\nIn Act 5, Scene 5, Cymbeline asks Iachimo:\n\n \u201c_That diamond upon your finger\u2014say,\n How came it yours?_\u201d\n\nThe diamond is mentioned three times in Pericles:\n\n MAISA: \u201c_To me he seems like diamond to glass._\u201d (Act II, Sc. 3.)\n HELICANUS: \u201c_Whom if you find, and win unto return,\n You shall like diamonds sit about his crown._\u201d\n CERIMON: \u201c_She is alive: behold\n Her eyelids, cases to those heavenly jewels\n Which Pericles hath lost,\n Begin to part their fringes of bright gold:\n The diamonds of a most praised water\n Do appear, to make the world twice rich._\u201d\n\nThe diamond is mentioned three times in King Henry VI:\n\n \u201cTo me he seems like diamond to glass.\u201d\n Pericles, Act II, Sc. 3.\n SUFFOLK: \u201c_So farewell Reignier: set this diamond safe\n In golden palaces, as it becomes._\u201d\n (Part 1, Act V, Sc. 8.)\n THE QUEEN: \u201c_I took a costly jewel from my neck,\n A heart it was, bound in with diamonds,\n And threw it towards thy land._\u201d\n (Part 2, Act III, Sc. 2.)\n\n[Illustration:\n\n HOROSCOPE OF SHAKESPEARE\n]\n\n KING HENRY: \u201c_My crown is in my heart not on my head:\n Not decked with diamonds and Indian stones\n Nor to be seen: my crown is called content\n A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy._\u201d\n (Part 3, Act III, Sc. 1.)\n\nIn the \u201cComedy of Errors,\u201d the diamond is twice mentioned:\n\n THE COURTEZAN: \u201c_Give me the ring of mine you had at dinner,\n Or for my diamond, the chain you promised._\u201d\n (Act IV, Sc. 3.)\n THE COURTEZAN: \u201c_Sir, I must have that diamond from you._\u201d\n (Act V, Sc. 1.)\n\nIn Act 3, Scene 3, in \u201cThe Merry Wives of Windsor,\u201d Falstaff says to\nMistress Ford:\n\n \u201c_I see how thine eye would emulate the diamond._\u201d\n\nThe Princess in \u201cLove\u2019s Labours Lost,\u201d Act 5, Scene 2, speaks of a\n\n \u201c_Lady walled about with diamonds._\u201d\n\nIn \u201cTimon of Athens,\u201d Act 3, Scene 6, the Fourth Lord says:\n\n \u201c_One day he gives us diamonds, next dry stones._\u201d\n\nIn \u201cThe Merchant of Venice,\u201d Act 3, Scene 1, Shylock exclaims,\n\n \u201c_A diamond gone, cost me two thousand ducats in Frankfort._\u201d\n\nIn \u201cMacbeth,\u201d Act 2, Scene 1, Banquo presents the King\u2019s diamond with\nthe words:\n\n \u201c_This diamond he greets your wife withal._\u201d\n\nIn \u201cKing Lear,\u201d Act 4, Scene 3, the gentleman tells Kent:\n\n \u201c_You have seen\n Sunshine and rain at once: her smiles and tears\n Were like a better way: those happy smilets,\n That played on her ripe lip, seemed not to know\n What guests were in her eyes: which parted thence\n As pearls from diamonds dropped._\u201d\n\n EMERALD\n\nEmerald is mentioned but once\u2014in Act 5, Scene 5, of \u201cThe Merry Wives of\nWindsor,\u201d when Mistress Quickly says:\n\n \u201c_And \u2018Honi soit qui mal y pense,\u2019 write\n In emerald tufts, flowers purple, blue and white:\n Like sapphire, pearl and rich embroidery\n Buckled below fair knighthood\u2019s bending knee._\u201d\n\n FLINT\n\nTALBOT: \u201c_God is our fortress in whose conquering name\n Let us resolve to scale their flinty bulwarks._\u201d\n (\u201cKing Henry VI,\u201d Part 1, Act II, Sc. 1.)\nGLOUCESTER: \u201c_Uneath may she endure the flinty streets._\u201d\nDUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER: \u201c_The ruthless flint doth cut my tender feet._\u201d\n (Henry VI, Part 2, Act II, Sc. 4.)\nQUEEN MARGARET: \u201c_Because thy flinty heart more hard than they...._\u201d\n (Henry VI, Part 2, Act III, Sc. 2.)\nYORK: (aside): \u201c_Scarce can I speak my choler is so great:\n Oh, I could hew up rocks and fight with flint\n I am so angry at these abject terms._\u201d\n (Henry VI, Part 2, Act V, Sc. 1.)\nYORK: \u201c_Women are soft, mild, pitiful and flexible:\n Thou stern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless._\u201d\n (Henry VI, Part 3, Act I, Sc. 4.)\nRICHARD: \u201c_Then Clifford were thy heart as hard as steel\n As thou hast shown it flinty by thy deeds\n I come to pierce it or to give thee mine._\u201d\n (Henry VI, Part 3, Act II, Sc. 1.)\nLUCIUS: \u201c_Searching the window for a flint I found\n This paper, thus sealed up._\u201d\n (Julius Caesar, Act II, Sc. 3.)\nBRUTUS: \u201c_O Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb\n That carries anger as the flint bears fire._\u201d\n (Julius Caesar, Act IV, Sc. 3.)\nENOBARBUS: \u201c_Throw my heart\n Against the flint and hardness of my fault._\u201d\n (Antony and Cleopatra, Act IV, Sc. 9.)\nTHERSITES: \u201c_There were wit in this head, an \u2019twould out: and so\n there is, but it lies a coldly in him as fire in a flint,\n which will not show without knocking._\u201d\n (Troilus and Cressida, Act III, Sc. 3.)\nDEMETRIUS: \u201c_But be your heart to them\n As unrelenting flint to drops of rain._\u201d\n (Titus Andronicus, Act II, Sc. 3.)\nMARCUS: \u201c_My heart is not compact of flint nor steel._\u201d\n (Titus Andronicus, Act V, Sc. 3.)\nGOWER: \u201c_Make raging battery upon shores of flint._\u201d\n (Pericles, Act IV, Sc. 4.)\nPOET: \u201c_The fire i\u2019 the flint shows not till it be struck._\u201d\n (Timon of Athens, Act I, Sc. 1.)\nTIMON: \u201c_What, dost thou weep? Come nearer. Then I love thee.\n Because thou art a woman and disclaim\u2019st\n Flinty Mankind._\u201d\n (Timon of Athens, Act IV, Sc. 3.)\nFRIAR LAWRENCE: \u201c_Here comes the lady: oh, so light a foot\n Will ne\u2019er wear out the everlasting flint._\u201d\n (Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Sc. 6.)\nGLOUCESTER: \u201c_I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward\u2019s._\u201d\n (Richard III, Act I, Sc. 3.)\nBELARIUS: \u201c_... Weariness\n Can snore upon the flint, when resty sloth\n Finds the down pillow hard._\u201d\n (Cymbeline, Act III, Sc. 6.)\nFIRST PRIEST: \u201c_... For charitable prayers,\n Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her._\u201d\n (Hamlet, Act V, Sc. 1.)\nBASTARD: \u201c_Till their soul-fearing clamours have brawled down\n The flinty ribs of this contemptuous city._\u201d\n (King John, Act II, Sc. 2.)\nKING RICHARD: \u201c_Go to Flint castle: there \u2019Il pine away;\n A King, woe\u2019s slave, shall kingly woe obey._\u201d\n (Richard II, Act III, Sc. 2.)\nQUEEN: \u201c_This is the way\n To Julius Caesar\u2019s ill-erected tower,\n To whose flint bosom my condemned lord\n Is doomed a prisoner by proud Bolingbroke._\u201d\n (Richard II, Act V, Sc. 2.)\nKING RICHARD: \u201c_How these vain weak nails\n May tear a passage through the flinty ribs\n Of this hard world._\u201d\n (Richard 2, Act V, Sc. 5.)\nKING HENRY: \u201c_He hath a tear for pity and a hand\n Open as day for melting charity:\n Yet notwithstanding, being incens\u2019d, he\u2019s flint._\u201d\n (Henry IV, Part 2, Act IV, Sc. 4.)\nOTHELLO: \u201c_The tyrant custom, most grave senators,\n Hath made the flinty and steel couch of war\n My thrice-driven bed of down._\u201d\n (Othello, Act I, Sc. 3.)\nHELENA: \u201c_Which gratitude\n Through flinty Tartar\u2019s bosom would peep forth,\n And answer \u2018Thanks.\u2019_\u201d\n (All\u2019s Well that Ends Well, Act IV, Sc. 4.)\nDUKE: \u201c_Pluck commiseration of his state\n From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint._\u201d\n (Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Sc. 1.)\nVIOLA: \u201c_My master, not myself, lacks recompense,\n Love make his heart of flint that you shall love;\n And let your fervour like my master\u2019s, be\n Placed in contempt! Farewell, fair cruelty._\u201d\n (Twelfth Night, Act I, Sc. 5.)\nHOLOFERNES: \u201c_Fire enough for a flint, pearl enough for a swine._\u201d\n (Love\u2019s Labours Lost, Act IV, Sc. 2.)\nVOLUMNIA: \u201c_Oh, stand up blest,\n Whilst, with no softer cushion than the flint,\n I kneel before thee._\u201d\n (Coriolanus, Act V, Sc. 3.)\n\n JET\n\nGLOUCESTER: \u201c_What colour is my gown of?_\u201d\nSIMPCOX: \u201c_Black, forsooth: coal black as jet._\u201d\nKING: \u201c_Why then, thou know\u2019st what colour jet is of?_\u201d\nSUFFOLK: \u201c_And yet, I think, jet did he never see._\u201d\n (Henry VI, Part 2, Act II, Sc. 1.)\nTITUS: \u201c_Provide two proper palfreys, black as jet,\n To hale thy vengeful waggon swift away._\u201d\n (Titus Andronicus, Act V, Sc. 2.)\n\nSALARINO: \u201c_There is more difference between thy flesh and hers than\n between jet and ivory._\u201d\n\n (Merchant of Venice, Act III, Sc. 1.)\n\n LAPIS LAZULI\n\nEVANS: \u201c_What is \u2018lapis,\u2019 William?_\u201d\nWILLIAM: \u201c_A stone._\u201d\nEVANS: \u201c_And what is a \u2018stone,\u2019 William?_\u201d\nWILLIAM: \u201c_A pebble._\u201d\nEVANS: \u201c_No, it is \u2018lapis\u2019: I pray you, remember in your prain._\u201d\nWILLIAM: \u201c_Lapis._\u201d\nEVANS: \u201c_That is a good William._\u201d\n (The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act IV, Sc. 1.)\n\n MARBLE\n\nCARD. WOLSEY: \u201c_When I am forgotten, as I shall be:\n And sleep in dull, cold marble._\u201d\n (Henry VIII, Act III, Sc. 2.)\nKING HENRY: \u201c_Her tears will pierce into a marble heart._\u201d\n (Henry VI, Part 3, Act III, Sc. 2.)\nGLOSTER: \u201c_He plies her hard: and much rain wears the marble._\u201d\n (Henry VI, Part 3, Act III, Sc. 2.)\nSICILIUS: \u201c_Peep through thy marble mansion._\u201d\nSICILIUS: \u201c_The marble pavement closes._\u201d\n (Cymbeline, Act V, Sc. 4.)\nLAVINIA: \u201c_The milk from her did turn to marble._\u201d\n (Titus Andronicus, Act II, Sc. 3.)\nOTHELLO: \u201c_Now by yond marble heaven,\n In the due reverence of a sacred vow\n I here engage my words._\u201d\n (Othello, Act III, Sc. 3.)\nHAMLET: \u201c_O, answer me! why the sepulchre\n Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn\u2019d,\n Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws,\n To cast thee up again._\u201d\n (Hamlet, Act I, Sc. 4.)\nDUKE: \u201c_And he, a marble to her tears, is washed with them, but relents\n not._\u201d\n (Measure for Measure, Act III, Sc. 1.)\nMARIANA: \u201c_Let me in safety raise me from my knees:\n Or else forever be confixed here,\n A marble monument!_\u201d\n (Measure for Measure, Act V, Sc. 1.)\nMACBETH: \u201c_I had else been perfect,\n Whole as the marble._\u201d\n (Macbeth, Act III, Sc. 4.)\n3RD GENTLEMAN: \u201c_Who was most marble there, changed colour._\u201d\n (The Winter\u2019s Tale, Act V, Sc. 2.)\nANDRIANA: \u201c_If voluble and sharp discourse be marred,\n Unkindness blunts it more than marble hard._\u201d\n (Comedy of Errors, Act II, Sc. 1.)\n\n OPAL\n\nCLOWN: \u201c_Now, the melancholy god protect thee: and the tailor make thy\n doublet of changeable taffeta, for thy mind is a very opal._\u201d\n\n (Twelfth Night, Act II, Sc. 4.)\n\n PEARL\n\nARIEL: \u201c_Those are pearls that were his eyes._\u201d (See CORAL.)\n (Tempest, Act I, Sc. 1.)\nMACDUFF: \u201c_I see thee encompass\u2019d with thy kingdom\u2019s pearl\n That speak my salutation in their minds._\u201d\n (Macbeth, Act V, Sc. 8.)\nCONSTANCE: \u201c_Those heaven-moving pearls._\u201d (See CRYSTAL.)\n (King John, Act II, Sc. 1.)\nOTHELLO: ... \u201c_Of one whose hand,\n Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away\n Richer than all his tribe._\u201d\n (Othello, Act V, Sc. 2.)\nKING: \u201c_Hamlet, this pearl is thine:\n Here\u2019s to thy health._\u201d\n (Hamlet, Act V, Sc. 2.)\nLEAR: \u201c_As pearls from diamonds dropped._\u201d (See #DIAMOND:DIAMOND.)\n (King Lear, Act IV, Sc. 3.)\nQUICKLY: \u201c_Like sapphire, pearl and rich embroidery._\u201d (See EMERALD.)\n (Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V, Sc. 5.)\nVALENTINE: \u201c_And I, as rich in having such a jewel\n As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl,\n The water nectar and the rocks pure gold._\u201d\n (Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act II, Sc. 4.)\nPROTEUS: \u201c_A sea of melting pearl which some call tears._\u201d\n (Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act III, Sc. 1.)\nPROTEUS: \u201c_But pearls are fair: and the old saying is,\n Black men are pearls in beauteous ladies\u2019 eyes._\u201d\nJULIA (aside): \u201c_\u2019Tis true: such pearls as put out ladies\u2019 eyes:\n For I had rather wink than look on them._\u201d\n (Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act V, Sc. 2.)\nLORD: \u201c_Or wilt thou ride? thy horses shall be trapped,\n Their harness studded all with gold and pearl._\u201d\n (Taming of the Shrew, Induction, Sc. 2.)\nGREMIO: \u201c_In ivory coffers I have stuffed my crowns:\n .... Fine linen, Turkey cushions bossed with pearl._\u201d\n (Taming of the Shrew, Act II, Sc. 1.)\nTRANIO: \u201c_Why, sir, what \u2019cerns it you if I wear pearl and gold?_\u201d\n (Taming of the Shrew, Act V, Sc. 1.)\nTOUCHSTONE: \u201c_Rich honesty dwells like a miser, sir, in a rich house:\n as your pearl in your foul oyster._\u201d\n (As You Like It, Act V, Sc. 4.)\n\nMARGARET: \u201c_I saw the Duchess of Milan\u2019s gown that they praise so By my\n troth\u2019s but a night-gown in respect of yours: cloth o\u2019 gold,\n and cuts, and laced with silver, set with pearls, down\n sleeves, side sleeves, and skirts, round underbone with a\n bluish tinsel._\u201d\n\n (Much Ado About Nothing, Act III, Sc. 4.)\n\nHOLOFERNES: \u201c_Pearl enough for a swine._\u201d (See FLINT.)\n (Love\u2019s Labours Lost, Act IV, Sc. 2.)\nMARIA: \u201c_This and these pearls to me sent Longaville._\u201d\nPRINCESS: \u201c_What, will you have me or your pearl again?_\u201d\n (Love\u2019s Labours Lost, Act V, Sc. 2.)\nLYSANDER: \u201c_Tomorrow night when Phoebe doth behold\n Her silver visage in the watery glass,\n Decking with liquid pearl the bladed glass\n A time that lovers\u2019 flights doth still conceal,\n Through Athens\u2019 gates have we devised to steal._\u201d\n (A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream, Act I, Sc. 1.)\nFAIRY: \u201c_I must go seek some dewdrops here\n And hang a pearl in every cowslip\u2019s ear._\u201d\n (Act II, Sc. 1.)\nOBERON: \u201c_And that same dew which sometime on the buds\n Was wont to swell like round and orient pearls,\n Stood now within the pretty flowerets\u2019 eyes._\u201d\n (Act IV, Sc. 1.)\nSEBASTIAN: \u201c_This is the air: that is the glorious sun:\n This pearl she gave me, I do feel\u2019t and see\u2019t\n And though \u2019tis wonder that enwraps me thus,\n Yet \u2019tis not madness._\u201d\n (Twelfth Night, Act IV, Sc. 3.)\nFALSTAFF: \u201c_Your brooches, pearls and ouches._\u201d\n (Henry IV, Part 2, Act II, Sc. 4.)\nKING HENRY: \u201c_I am a king that find thee, and I know\n \u2019Tis not the balm, the sceptre, and the ball,\n The sword, the mace, the crown imperial,\n The intertissued robe of gold and pearl,\n The farced title running \u2019fore the King,\n The throne he sits on nor the tide of pomp\n That beats upon the high shore of the world._\u201d\n (Henry V, Act IV, Sc. 1.)\nCLARENCE: \u201c_Methought I saw a thousand fearful wrecks:\n Ten thousand men that fishes gnawed upon:\n Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl,\n Inestimable stones, unvalued jewels,\n All scattered in the bottom of the sea:\n Some lay in dead men\u2019s skulls: and, in those holes\n Where eyes did once inhabit, there were crept\n As \u2019twere in scorn of eyes, reflecting gems._\u201d\n (King Richard III, Act I, Sc. 4.)\nKING RICHARD: \u201c_The liquid drops of tears that you have shed\n Shall come again, transformed to orient pearl._\u201d\n (Act IV, Sc. 4.)\nCLEOPATRA: \u201c_How goes it with my brave Mark Antony?_\nALEXAS: \u201c _Last thing he did, dear Queen,\n He kissed\u2014the last of many doubled kisses\u2014\n The orient pearl. His speech sticks in my heart._\u201d\nCLEOPATRA: \u201c_Mine ears must pluck it thence._\u201d\nALEXAS: \u201c_\u2018Good friend,\u2019 quote he,\n \u2018Say the firm Roman to great Egypt sends\n This treasure of an oyster.\u2019_\u201d\n (Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, Sc. 5.)\nCLEOPATRA: \u201c_\u2019Il set thee in a shower of gold and hail\n Rich pearls upon thee._\u201d\n (Act II, Sc. 2.)\nTROILUS: \u201c_Her bed is India: there she lies, a pearl._\u201d\n (Troilus and Cressida, Act I, Sc. 1.)\nTROILUS: \u201c_Why, she is a pearl,\n Whose price hath launched above a thousand ships,\n And turned crowned kings to merchants._\u201d\n (Act II, Sc. 2.)\nAARON: \u201c_I will be bright and shine in pearl and gold,\n To wait upon this new-made empress._\u201d\n (Titus Andronicus. Act II, Sc. 1.)\nLUCIUS: \u201c_This is the pearl that pleased your empress\u2019 eye,\n And here\u2019s the base fruit of his burning lust._\u201d\n (Act V, Sc. 1.)\n\n RUBY\n\nFAIRY: \u201c_The cowslips tall her pensioners be:\n In their gold coats spots you see:\n Those be rubies, fairy favours,\n In those freckles live their savours._\u201d\n (A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream, Act II, Sc. 1.)\nMACBETH: \u201c_You make me strange\n When now I think you can behold such sights,\n And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks,\n When mine is blanched with fear._\u201d\n (Macbeth, Act III, Sc. 4.)\nMARK ANTONY: \u201c_Over thy wounds now do I prophesy\u2014\n Which like dumb mouths do ope their ruby lips,\n To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue._\u201d\n (Julius Caesar. Act III. Sc. 1.)\nDROMIO: \u201c_Embellished with rubies, carbuncles, sapphires._\u201d\n (See CARBUNCLE.)\n (Comedy of Errors. Act III. Sc. 2.)\n\n SAPPHIRE\n\nMISTRESS QUICKLY: \u201c_Like sapphire, pearl and rich embroidery._\u201d\n (See EMERALD.)\n Merry Wives of Windsor.[ Act V., Sc. 5.)\nDROMIO: \u201c_Embellished with rubies, carbuncles, sapphires._\u201d\n (See CARBUNCLE.)\n (Comedy of Errors, Act III, Sc. 2.)\n\n TURQUOISE\n\nSHYLOCK: \u201c_Thou torturest me, Tubal: it was my turquoise:\n I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor: I would\n not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys._\u201d\n (Merchant of Venice, Act III, Sc. 1.)\n\n UNION\n\nIn Hamlet, Shakespeare mentions the pearl twice under the name UNION.\n\nKING: \u201c_The King shall drink to Hamlet\u2019s better breath;\n And in the cup an union shall he throw,\n Richer than that which four successive kings\n In Denmark\u2019s crown have worn._\u201d\nHAMLET: \u201c_Drink of this potion. Is thy union here?_\u201d\n (Act. V, Sc. 2.)\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIII\n FORMS, COMPOSITIONS, CHARACTERISTICS,\n ZODIACAL CLASSIFICATION, AND\n PLACES OF ORIGIN\n\n\n AMBER\n\n _Hardness_: 2-2.5.\n _Lustre_: Resinous.\n _Chemical Composition_: Carbon 78.96. Hydrogen 10.51. Oxygen 10.52.\n _Specific Gravity_: 1.10-1.13.\n _Properties_: Becomes highly electric by friction. When submitted to\n heat, organic compounds escape and leave a black residue.\n _In the Zodiac_: Amber is under the heavenly Taurus.\n _Where found_: Chiefly on the Baltic coast. On the Danish coast. Parts\n of Asia, etc.\n\n BERYL\n EMERALD\u2014AQUAMARINE\n\n _Crystalline System_: Hexagonal.\n _Hardness_: 7.5-8.\n _Lustre_: Vitreous or Resinous. Transparent to translucent.\n _Refraction_: Weakly double.\n _Chemical Composition_: Silicate of Aluminium and Beryllium.\n _Chemical Symbol_: Be_{3 Al_{2 (SiO_{3})C.\n _Specific Gravity_: 2.63-2.75.\n _Dichroism_: Distinct.\n _Properties_: Exhibits frictional electricity. The emerald clouds\n before the blowpipe flame without fusing but under intensified heat\n the edges curve. With Borax the stone melts into a pale green bead.\n It resists acids but is affected by microcosmic salt. The stone is so\n fragile when taken out of the mine that friction crumbles it.\n _In the Zodiac_: All varieties of Beryls are under the Heavenly Taurus.\n _Where found_: Generally all over the world. Chiefly in Ekaterinburg,\n Brazil, India, United States, Australia.\n\n CHRYSOBERYL\n ALEXANDRITE\u2014ORIENTAL CHRYSOLITE\u2014CYMOPHANE OR CHRYSOBERYL\u2014CATSEYE\n\n _Crystalline System_: Orthorhombic.\n _Hardness_: 8.5.\n _Lustre_: Vitreous. Transparent to translucent.\n _Refraction_: Double.\n _Chemical Composition_: Alumina 80.2. Glucina 19.8.\n _Chemical Symbol_: BeAl_{2}O_{4}.\n _Specific Gravity_: 3.7-3.86.\n _Dichroism_: Strong in Alexandrite. Distinct in Chrysoberyl.\n _Properties_: Crystals exhibit remarkable twinning at times.\n Chrysoberyl is highly electric and when submitted to frictional\n agitation holds electricity for a long time. Not affected by acids.\n Under the blowpipe it is unaltered and infusible, but it fuses\n tardily with borax or microcosmic salt. The Alexandrite variety\n which, as Professor J. G. Dana says, bears the same relation to\n ordinary Chrysoberyl as Emerald to Beryl, displays curious changes of\n colour from leafy green to raspberry red in real and artificial\n lights.\n _In the Zodiac_: Chrysoberyl is under the Heavenly Pisces; Alexandrite\n is under the Heavenly Aquarius.\n _Where found_: Ceylon, Brazil, Russia, Ireland, Australia, etc.\n\n CORUNDUM\n SAPPHIRE, RUBY, ORIENTAL AMETHYST, ORIENTAL EMERALD, ETC.\n\n _Crystalline System_: Rhombohedral.\n _Hardness_: 9.\n _Lustre_: Transparent to translucent.\n _Refraction_: Moderately double.\n _Chemical Composition_: Aluminium 53-53.2. Oxygen 46.8.\n _Chemical Symbol_: Al_{2}O_{3}.\n _Specific Gravity_: 3.90-4.16.\n _Dichroism_: Strong.\n _Properties_: Submitted to friction exhibits electrical properties\n which withdraw very slowly. Acids do not affect Corundum, but under\n the blowpipe in borax or microcosmic salt it gradually melts to a\n transparent globule. Radium influences the colour strongly, so much\n indeed as to impart it in achromatic specimens. The stone is\n variously affected by heat. Treated by Sir William Crooks by exposure\n to high tension electric currents in a similar way to the diamond the\n ruby phosphoresced with an intense red light, and the sapphire with\n an intense blue. Dr. T. Coke Squance of Sunderland, well-known in\n connection with radio-therapeutical research, has succeeded in\n transforming a faint pink sapphire into a fine ruby. During the\n process of transformation the lustre of the stone was so intensified\n that it nearly assumed the brilliancy of a diamond. Dr. Squance\n observed that both radium and X-rays cause a diamond to glow with a\n green light. \u201cBesides the diamond,\u201d he says, \"a mineral called\n Kunzite glows with a lovely red hue. I submitted a sapphire to the\n Radium rays for a long period and it turned to a glorious red. In\n fact, it had become a ruby. I have similarly transformed other\n stones, a faint green sapphire, for instance, turning into an\n oriental emerald.\" Sir William Crooks noted the sage-green colour of\n the diamond under Radium, but found that the colour could easily be\n removed by mechanical means.\n _In the Zodiac_: Blue and green sapphires are under the Heavenly\n Aquarius; white are under the Heavenly Pisces; yellow or Oriental\n Topaz and Rubies are under the Heavenly Leo. Oriental Amethyst is\n under the Heavenly Sagittarius.\n _Where found_: Ceylon, China, Burma, Russia, East Indies, United States\n of America, Australia (chiefly Queensland), etc.\n\n DIAMOND\n DIAMOND\u2014BOART\n\n _Crystalline System_: Isometric.\n _Forms_: Octahedron, dodecahedron. Crystals frequently twinned.\n _Hardness_: 10. Scratches every other stone.\n _Lustre_: Adamantine. Transparent and when dark, translucent.\n _Refraction_: Single.\n _Chemical Composition_: Pure Carbon.\n _Chemical Symbol_: C.\n _Specific Gravity_: 3.50-3.55.\n _Properties_: Exhibits positive electricity when rubbed, but is itself\n a non-conductor of electricity. When intensely heated it burns,\n yielding Carbonic Anhydride. When heated so as to exclude chemical\n combination it dilates and forms into a black concretion. It displays\n phosphorescence under Radium, when submitted to strong sunlight and,\n when put in a vacuum tube, to a high tension electric current. Dr. G.\n F. Herbert Smith found that \"some diamonds fluoresce in sunlight,\n turning milky, and a few emit light when rubbed.\" Dr. Kunz proved\n that diamonds phosphoresce when exposed to the rays of Radium,\n Polonium, or Actinium, even when glass is interposed. These phenomena\n formed special object of experiment with the late Sir William Crooks,\n who showed that exposed to high tension electric currents in greatly\n rarified atmosphere, the diamond phosphoresced with an intense green\n light. Prismatic colours are radiated by this gem.\n _In the Zodiac_: The Diamond is under the Heavenly Aries, Leo and\n Libra.\n _Where found_: India, Borneo, Brazil, South Africa, Siberia, Australia,\n United States of America.\n\n GARNET\n ALMANDINE, PYROPE, HESSONITE, (GARNET HYACINTH), UVAROVITE\n\n _Crystalline Form_: Isometric.\n _Hardness_: 6.5-7.5.\n _Lustre_: Vitreous.\n _Refraction_: Single.\n _Chemical Composition_: Silica Alumina, Red Iron Oxide, Lime Magnesia,\n Manganese, Protoxide.\n _Chemical Symbol_: Dr. Smith has the following formulae:\n Hessonite Ca_{3} Al_{2}(SiO_{4})_{3}.\n Pyrope Mg_{3} Al_{2}(SiO_{4})_{3}.\n Almandine Fe_{3}Al_{2}(SiO_{4}O)_{3}.\n Andradite Ca_{3}Fe_{2}(SiO_{4}O)_{3}.\n\n _Specific Gravity_: 3.4-4.3.\n _Properties_: Exhibits positive electricity by friction. With the\n exception of Uvarovite, all varieties of Garnets fuse before the\n blowpipe flame. The stone generally does not contain water.\n _In the Zodiac_: The Almandine is under the Heavenly Sagittarius; the\n Pyrope, Aquarius; Hessonite, Virgo; Uvarovite, Aquarius.\n _Where found_: Generally all over the world.\n\n OPAL\n\n _Crystalline System_: None.\n _Form_: Amorphous.\n _Hardness_: 5.5-6.5.\n _Lustre_: Waxy to subvitreous.\n _Refraction_: Single.\n _Chemical Composition_: Silica 91.32. Water 8.68.\n _Chemical Symbol_: SiO_{2}, n=SiO_{2}nH_{2}O.\n _Specific Gravity_: 1.9-2.3.\n _Properties_: No electrical properties. Opal exhibits characteristic\n colour reflections known as Opalescence. It is susceptible to heat\n and weather changes, exhibiting greater brilliancy on hot than on\n cold days. The opal has never yet been successfully imitated, and\n certain peculiar properties yet remain to be investigated. Professor\n Frank Rutley F. G. S., emphasises the fact that \"the nature of the\n Silica (Hydrous Silica) is not yet definitely determined.\" It is\n infusible before the blowpipe, but turns opaque.\n _In the Zodiac_: The Opal is under the Heavenly Leo, Libra and\n Aquarius. Leo favours red and fire opal; Libra, light translucent,\n pure colours, etc.; Aquarius, dark, black Opal, etc.\n _Where found_: Hungary, Honduras, Mexico, United States. The finest\n opal is now found in Australia, principally at Lightning Ridge, White\n Cliffs, Stuart\u2019s Range, Charleville, etc. (Mr. Conrad H. Sayce gives\n (\u201cAustralasian,\u201d March issue, 1920) an analysis of Stuart\u2019s Range\n opal, bearing earth which contains about 35 per cent each of Alumina\n and Sulphur trioxide. He opines that this may account for the harmful\n effect it has on the men\u2019s eyes and lungs.)\n\n PEARL\n\n _Hardness_: 3.5-4.\n _Lustre_: Translucent.\n _Chemical Composition_: Carbonate of Lime and Organic matter.\n _Specific Gravity_: 2.65-2.89.\n _Properties_: Affected by acids. Benefitted by some skins, adversely\n affected by others. Destroyed by fire.\n _Where found_: Persian Gulf, Ceylon, Red Sea, South America, New\n Guinea, Thursday Island, Australia, etc.\n _In the Zodiac_: Pearls are under the Heavenly Cancer.\n\n PERIDOT\n CHRYSOLITE\u2014OLIVINE\n\n _Crystalline System_: Orthorhombic.\n _Hardness_: 6-7.\n _Lustre_: Vitreous. Transparent to translucent.\n _Refraction_: Double.\n _Chemical Composition_: Silicate of Magnesium and Iron.\n _Chemical Symbol_: (Mg,Fe)_{2}SiO_{4}.\n _Specific Gravity_: 3.3-3.5.\n _Dichroism_: Distinct.\n _Properties_: Friction induces electricity in the stone which is\n infusible before the blowpipe, but is affected, whitening and forming\n with Borax, a yellow bead. Decomposes in Hydrochloric acid.\n _In the Zodiac_: The Peridot is under the Heavenly Pisces.\n _Where found_: United States, Ireland, Australia, (Queensland\n particularly), etc. A large number of Meteorites contain Peridots.\n\n QUARTZ\n ROCK CRYSTAL, AMETHYST, CAIRNGORM, CHRYSOPRASE, CATSEYE, PLASMA, JASPER,\n CARNELIAN, AGATE, ONYX, SARDONYX, MOSS AGATE\n\n _Crystalline System_: Rhombohedral.\n _Hardness_: 7.\n _Lustre_: Vitreous. Splendent to dull and resinous.\n _Refraction_: Double.\n _Chemical Composition_: Silicon 46.67. Oxygen 53.33.\n _Chemical Symbol_: SiO_{2}.\n _Specific Gravity_: 2.5-2.8. In pure crystals 2.65.\n _Dichroism_: Distinct.\n _Properties_: Generates positive electricity by friction. It is\n infusible under the blowpipe, but effervesces with Carbonate of Soda.\n Although it resists the common acids it may be dissolved in\n Hydrofluoric.\n _In the Zodiac_: Rock Crystal is under the Heavenly Pisces; Amethyst is\n under the Heavenly Aries; Cairngorm under the Heavenly Scorpio;\n Chrysoprase under the Heavenly Cancer; Catseye under the Heavenly\n Capricorn; Plasma under the Heavenly Virgo; Jasper under the Heavenly\n Virgo; Bloodstone under the Heavenly Leo; Camelian under the Heavenly\n Leo; Agate under the Heavenly Scorpio; Onyx under the Heavenly\n Capricorn; Sardonyx under the Heavenly Leo; Moss Agate under the\n Heavenly Taurus.\n _Where found_: Distributed plentifully about the world. Rock Amethyst\n is found in the United States, Brazil, India, Ceylon, Ekaterinburg,\n Australia, etc. Mr. R. J. Dunn, late Victorian Geologist, discovered\n large quantities of Rose Quartz in South Africa. It is also found in\n the United States, Russia, Australia and other places. Catseyes are\n found in Ceylon and India. Cairngorm is found in Scotland, United\n States, Australia, etc. Chrysoprase is found in the United States and\n other places.\n\n SPINEL\n SPINEL RUBY, BALAS RUBY, RUBICELLE, PLEONASTE OR CEYLONITE\n\n _Crystalline System_: Isometric.\n _Hardness_: 8-8\u00bd.\n _Lustre_: Vitreous.\n _Refraction_: Single.\n _Chemical Composition_: Alumina 72. Magnesia 28.\n _Chemical Symbol_: MgAl_{2}O_{4}.\n _Specific Gravity_: 3.5-4.0.\n _Dichroism_: None.\n _Properties_: Does not display electricity when submitted to friction\n or heat, but under heat the red spinel changes to brown. On cooling\n it becomes green, after which it is nearly colourless; then it\n resumes its pristine hue. Spinel crystals also change into\n Hydrotalcite, a soft pearl-like stone of similar chemical\n composition. Infusible alone under the blowpipe but yields slowly\n with Borax. It is soluble in concentrated Sulphuric Acid.\n _In the Zodiac_: Spinel, Balas, Almandine, Ruby and Sapphirine are\n under the Heavenly Virgo. The Chloro-Spinel and the Pleonaste are\n under the Heavenly Capricorn.\n _Where found_: United States, Canada, Burma, Siam, Ceylon, Australia,\n etc. It is discovered in granular limestone, in gneiss and rocks of\n volcanic origin.\n\n SPODUMENE\n KUNZITE\u2014HIDDENITE\n\n _Crystalline Form_: Monoclinic.\n _Hardness_: 6.5-7.\n _Lustre_: Pearly. Translucent to subtranslucent.\n _Refraction_: Double.\n _Chemical Composition_: Silicate of Aluminium and Lithium.\n _Chemical Symbol_: Li A1 (Si O_{3})_{2}.\n _Specific Gravity_: 3.5-3.20.\n _Dichroism_: Strong.\n _Properties_: Electrical. Unaffected by acids. Under the blowpipe flame\n expands and melts into a clear or opaque glass, indicating lithia by\n colouring the flame red. Kunzite exhibits phosphorescence under\n Radium.\n _In the Zodiac_: Spodumene and Kunzite are under the Heavenly Libra.\n Hiddenite may be under the zodiacal Taurus.\n _Where found_: United States of America, Madagascar, Brazil, Sweden,\n etc.\n\n TOPAZ\n\n _Crystalline Form_: Orthorhombic.\n _Hardness_: 8.\n _Lustre_: Vitreous. Transparent to translucent.\n _Refraction_: Slightly double.\n _Chemical Composition_: Silicate of Aluminium.\n _Chemical Symbol_: [A1(F,OH)]_{2}SiO_{4}. (Penfold and Minor.)\n _Specific Gravity_: 3.4-3.65.\n _Dichroism_: Distinct.\n _Properties_: Becomes strongly electric by friction, heat and pressure.\n Infusible alone before the blowpipe flame, but with Borax melts into\n a bead. Changes colour when heated.\n _In the Zodiac_: The Topaz is under the Heavenly Scorpio.\n _Where found_: Brazil, Ceylon, Mexico, United States, Australia, etc.\n\n TOURMALINE\n\n _Crystalline Form_: Rhombohedral.\n _Hardness_: 7-7.5.\n _Lustre_: Vitreous.\n _Refraction_: Double.\n _Chemical Composition_: Varied, but all varieties include silicate of\n alumina, boracic acid, iron, magnesia, lime and soda, sometimes\n lithia in small quantity, with fluorine and trace of phosphoric acid.\n _Chemical Symbol_: Professors Penford and Foote refer all\n varieties of Tourmaline to\n (H_{6}Na_{6}Mg_{3}Al_{2})_{3}(Al,Fe)_{6}(B,OH)_{4}Si_{8}O_{38},\n _Specific Gravity_: 2.39-3.3.\n _Dichroism_: Strong.\n _Properties_: Becomes charged by heat and friction with positive and\n negative electricity. Before the blowpipe flame the darker varieties\n fuse easily but the lighter more tardily.\n _In the Zodiac_: The Tourmaline family is under the Heavenly Gemini.\n _Where found_: Brazil, Russia, California and other parts of the United\n States, Ceylon, Australia, etc.\n\n TURQUOISE\n\n _Crystalline Form_: None.\n _Hardness_: 6.\n _Lustre_: Waxy.\n _Chemical Composition_: Dr. Smith gives the composition as a complex\n phosphate of Aluminium, iron and copper.\n _Chemical Symbol_: Dr. Smith gives Penfold\u2019s formula as\n [Al(OH)_{2}Fe(OH)_{2},Cu(OH),H]_{3}PO_{4},\n\n approaching nearly to H_{5}Al_{2}PO_{8}.\n\n _Specific Gravity_: 2.6-2.8.\n _Properties_: Infusible before the blowpipe flame, but changes its\n colour to brown. Dissolves in Hydrochloric acid. Is affected by\n acids, oils, the health of the wearer, etc.\n _In the Zodiac_: Turquoise is under the zodiacal Sagittarius.\n _Where found_: Chiefly in Persia where the best specimens are found.\n Also found in Mexico, Russia, United States, Australia, etc.\n\n ZIRCON\n ZIRCON, JARGOON, HYACINTH OR JACINTH\n\n _Crystalline System_: Tetragonal.\n _Hardness_: 7.5.\n _Lustre_: Adamantine. Transparent to opaque.\n _Refraction_: Strongly double.\n _Chemical Composition_: Silica 33. Zirconia 67.\n _Chemical Symbol_: ZR SiO_{4}.\n _Specific Gravity_: 4.6-4.86.\n _Properties_: Exhibits frictional electricity. The Zircon is infusible\n before the blowpipe flame but coloured specimens lose their colours.\n With borax Zircon melts under the blowpipe into a transparent bead.\n Heated with lime the Zircon is transformed into a straw-coloured\n stone which so closely resembles the yellow diamond that it is sold\n to travellers by some unscrupulous Eastern dealers as the more costly\n gem. Scientists have not yet been able to explain the constitution\n and distinct characters of the Zircon satisfactorily. Professor Sir\n A. H. Church has made a technical study of the zircon for over half a\n century, and is universally accepted as its most authoritative\n student. In his researches he found that in certain varieties of\n zircon the green and yellow stones, ground on copper wheel with\n diamond dust, exhibit a sparkling orange light, and the intermediate\n golden types radiate orange tints in the flame of a Bunsen burner.\n Students are seeking for the unknown element which, blended with\n zirconium, defies detection. The Zircon is very little affected by\n acids, except sulphuric acid after very long steeping. It is also\n peculiar that when first heated the stone exhibits strong\n phosphorescence, but as its colour leaves it, its specific gravity is\n magnified and it will not again phosphoresce when reheated after\n cooling.\n _In the Zodiac_: All varieties of Zircon are under Heavenly Virgo.\n _Where found_: In almost every part of the world.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIV\n GEMS IN HERALDRY, MAGICAL SQUARES OF\n ABRA MELIN THE MAGE, CHARUBEL\u2019S\n GEM INFLUENCES, GEMS OF\n COUNTRIES\n\n GEMS IN HERALDRY\n\n \u201c_Sweet mercy is nobility\u2019s true badge._\u201d\n \u201cTITUS ANDRONICUS.\u201d\n\n\nWithout doubt the science of Heraldry was evolved from ancient\nastrological philosophy.\n\nVarious distinctive badges, shields and tokens were employed by the\npeoples of the past, but the system as known today did not properly\nevolve much before the 13th Century. In the present book, that section\nof Heraldry known as Blazoning by Planets and Precious Stones deserves\nsome passing notice. By Blazoning the Sovereigns and Peers were\ndistinguished, the former by the Planets and the latter by precious\nstones, as shown in the following table:\n\n _Tincture_ _Planet_ _Precious Stone_\n\n Or Sun Topaz\n\n Argent Moon Pearl\n\n Sable Saturn Diamond\n\n Gules Mars Ruby\n\n Azure Jupiter Sapphire\n\n Vert Venus Emerald\n\n Pupure Mercury Amethyst\n\n Tenny Caput Draconis (Moon\u2019s Jacinth\n North Node)\n\n Sanguine Cauda Draconis (Moon\u2019s Sardonyx\n South Node)\n\nThe planetary gem grouping is not quite accurate according to\nastrological science, and the errors can be referred to the early\nchroniclers. For example, the ruby is given to Mars and the topaz to the\nSun, whereas the ruby is a stone of the Sun and the topaz a stone of\nMars. Mars is termed Warlike and Violent in old works, whilst the Sun is\nthe emblem of Faithfulness and Constancy. At the coronation of a British\nSovereign a ruby ring emblematical of Faithfulness and Constancy is\nplaced on his finger.\n\nThus it is in harmony with the royal sign Leo\u2014the sign of the Sun\u2014and\nthe Monarch who is astrologically ruled by the Sun. The pearl is correct\nfor the Moon; the diamond is not a stone of Saturn; the sapphire is not\na stone of Jupiter; the emerald is correct for Venus; the amethyst is\nnot a stone of Mercury. The assigning of jacinth and sardonyx to the\nNorth and the South Nodes of the Moon has not the support of\nastrological science.\n\n MAGICAL SQUARES OF ABRA MELIN THE MAGE\n\n \u201c_The Wisdom of the Lord is an inexhaustible fountain, neither hath\n there ever been a man born who could penetrate its veritable origin\n and foundation._\u201d\n\n \u201cThe Second Book of the Sacred Magic.\u201d\n\nIn that remarkable ancient magical work, \u201cThe Book of the Sacred Magic\nof Abra Melin the Mage,\u201d skillfully translated by a past Rosicrucian\nadept, Monsieur le Comte Macgregor de Glenstrae, are a number of\nsymbolic Name Squares which were variously employed by the old masters\nwho so well knew the use of them. For the finding of certain treasures\nwhich are not \u201cmagically guarded\u201d (\u201cmagically\u201d may here be accepted in a\nwide sense) the following symbolic power figures were employed:\n\n\nFor JEWELS:\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 B \u2502 E \u2502 L \u2502 I \u2502 A \u2502 L \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 E \u2502 B \u2502 O \u2502 R \u2502 U \u2502 A \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 L \u2502 O \u2502 V \u2502 A \u2502 R \u2502 I \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 I \u2502 R \u2502 A \u2502 V \u2502 O \u2502 L \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 A \u2502 V \u2502 R \u2502 O \u2502 B \u2502 E \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 L \u2502 A \u2502 I \u2502 L \u2502 E \u2502 B \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\nThis square, the Comte notes, is a square of 36 squares, and the name\nBELIAL that of one of the four great chiefs of the Evil Spirits.\n\n\nFor PEARLS:\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 I \u2502 A \u2502 N \u2502 A \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 A \u2502 M \u2502 E \u2502 N \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 N \u2502 E \u2502 M \u2502 A \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 A \u2502 N \u2502 A \u2502 I \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\nA square of 16 squares.\n\n\nFor DIAMONDS:\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 B \u2502 I \u2502 C \u2502 E \u2502 L \u2502 O \u2502 N \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 I \u2502 R \u2502 O \u2502 L \u2502 A \u2502 T \u2502 O \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 C \u2502 O \u2502 R \u2502 A \u2502 M \u2502 A \u2502 L \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 E \u2502 L \u2502 A \u2502 M \u2502 A \u2502 L \u2502 E \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 L \u2502 A \u2502 M \u2502 A \u2502 R \u2502 O \u2502 C \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 O \u2502 T \u2502 A \u2502 L \u2502 O \u2502 R \u2502 I \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 N \u2502 O \u2502 L \u2502 E \u2502 C \u2502 I \u2502 B \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\nA square of 49 squares.\n\n\nFor RUBIES:\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 S \u2502 E \u2502 G \u2502 O \u2502 R \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 E \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 G \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524 \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 O \u2502 \u2502 E \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2502\n \u2502 R \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 B \u2502 S \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\nA border of 12 squares from a square of 25 squares.\n\nThe Comte translates SEGOR as \u201cto break forth\u201d or \u201cto shut in,\u201d\naccording as the root begins with S or SH.\n\n\nFor BALASSIUS RUBIES:\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 H \u2502 E \u2502 T \u2502 I \u2502 S \u2502 E \u2502 R \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 E \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 T \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 I \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 S \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 E \u2502 C \u2502 I \u2502 N \u2502 E \u2502 S \u2502 E \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 R \u2502 \u2502 H \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\nTwenty squares from a square of 49.\n\n\nFor EMERALDS:\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 A \u2502 S \u2502 T \u2502 A \u2502 R \u2502 O \u2502 T \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 S \u2502 A \u2502 L \u2502 I \u2502 S \u2502 T \u2502 O \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 T \u2502 L \u2502 A \u2502 N \u2502 B \u2502 S \u2502 R \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 A \u2502 I \u2502 N \u2502 O \u2502 N \u2502 I \u2502 A \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 R \u2502 S \u2502 B \u2502 N \u2502 A \u2502 L \u2502 T \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 O \u2502 T \u2502 S \u2502 I \u2502 L \u2502 A \u2502 S \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 T \u2502 O \u2502 R \u2502 A \u2502 T \u2502 S \u2502 A \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\nA square of 49 squares. ASTAROT is set down in the Comte\u2019s notes as one\nof the 8 Sub Princes of the Evil Spirits.\n\n\nTo find stolen jewels, the following is given:\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 K \u2502 I \u2502 X \u2502 A \u2502 L \u2502 I \u2502 S \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 I \u2502 R \u2502 I \u2502 N \u2502 E \u2502 Q \u2502 I \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 X \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 A \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524 \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 L \u2502 \u2502 M \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510 \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518 \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 I \u2502 Q \u2502 \u2502 \u2502\n \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518 \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524\n \u2502 S \u2502 \u2502 K \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\nThe square consists of 22 squares taken from a square of 49 squares.\n\nThese and many similar figures were used by the Hermetic philosophers in\ntheir occult scientific practices.\n\nThey can be nothing but interesting curiosities to the majority who are\nignorant of the trials, sufferings and disappointments of those brave\nand faithful Fraters and Sorores who regarded no sin so great as\ningratitude and no tendency so foolish as incredulity. \u201cFor,\u201d says Abra\nMelin, \u201cyou must have Faith. Neither should you dispute concerning that\nwhich you understand not. God out of nothingness hath created all\nthings, and all things have their being in Him. Watch, labour and you\nwill see.\u201d\n\n \u201cPSYCHOLOGY OF BOTANY, MINERALS AND PRECIOUS STONES\u201d\n\nIn the year 1907, a remarkable book bearing the above title, written by\na gifted student who preferred to veil his identity under the pen name\nof \u201cCharubel,\u201d was published by R. Welch, Esq., 92 Shuttle St.,\nTyldesley, England. This work is now difficult to obtain. The author\ninsists on a direct sympathy between the human soul and surrounding\nnature, and his work illustrates his method of linking together these\neternal immortal powers so that the human can draw from these elements\nexactly that force he needs. The \u201cPsychological Properties of Precious\nStones,\u201d includes his occult researches into hidden properties which he\npresents in certain order. The stones mentioned are the topaz, amethyst,\ncoral, rock crystal, emerald, diamond, ruby, turquoise, sapphire, red\ngarnet, carbuncle. \u201cThe realm of precious stones,\u201d he writes, \u201cabounds\nwith wonders which transcend everything I may have hitherto been made\nconversant with. Hence, I am very much fascinated with these lustrous\nspecimens of a chemistry which transcends the skill of the ingenious to\nidentify or to produce the same. It is true that so far as appearance\ngoes, modern skill can produce from a kind of paste what resembles the\ngenuine stone, but he can no more produce a living stone than he can\nmake a living tree. The true stone has a life and it is in this life\nthat its true virtue consists.\u201d\n\nThe virtues of the topaz, writes Charubel, are to be appreciated by\n\u201cfair people with weak or fragile constitutions, inclined to become\ndespondent, of cold habits. A help to those who are out of sight or in\nthe shade. It begets hopefulness in the hopeless. Strengthens and\nfortifies the soul against evil, wicked persons.\u201d The seal of the topaz\nis according to our author\u2014[Symbol: topaz]\n\nand the sacred name by which it is invoked is\nSOO-MAH-THU-EL-DI-VOO-MATH-EL.\n\n -------\n\nThe virtues of the amethyst are set down as a cure for false vision, bad\nmemory, colour-blindness, intoxication, etc. The seal is given\nas\u2014[Symbol: amethyst]\n\nand the sacred name by which the life of the amethyst is invoked is\ngiven as AVRUTHEL.\n\n -------\n\nThe virtues of the coral, according to Charubel, benefit decrepit\npersons and those prematurely old. It quickens the senses, is good in\ndefect of the eyesight from gradual loss of energy in the optic nerve,\nand it strengthens the mental faculties.\n\nThe seal is given as\u2014[Symbol: coral]\n\nand the sacred name of invocation AG-ATH-EL.\n\n -------\n\nThe virtues of the Rock Crystal include, writes Charubel, safeguard\nagainst deception or imposition. \u201cIt is for the pure in heart and those\nwho think of a better life.\u201d\n\nThe seal is given as\u2014[Symbol: crystal]\n\nand the sacred name of invocation EV-AG-EL.\n\n -------\n\nThe virtues of the emerald are for those \u201cwho aspire to wisdom and seek\nenlightenment, and for those who seek the good of life,\u201d etc.\n\nThe seal is given as\u2014[Symbol: emerald]\n\nand the sacred name of invocation AM-VRADEL.\n\n -------\n\nThe diamond is for \u201cKings, Monarchs, Presidents and people of high\nstanding, etc., State Authorities and the advanced Occultists. The\ndiamond is a gem by the virtue of its homogeneity and belongs to the\ndomain of the true life. The diamond is _sacred_: one of the most\n_sacred_: yes, the most _sacred_ of all gems. I am not allowed to give\nword and seal for this gem.\u201d\n\n -------\n\nCharubel hails the ruby as \u201cthe most precious of gems, a balm in the\nhour of trial, grief, bereavement, disappointment, a soother of\nagitation and disburdener of the oppressed soul.\u201d\n\nThe seal of the ruby is given as\u2014[Symbol: ruby]\n\nand the sacred word of invocation as DER-GAB-EL.\n\n -------\n\nThe turquoise is set down as the \u201cSympathetic Stone, an invaluable\ntreasure to the thoughtful and meditative, a connector of souls, a\ndeveloper of Inner Powers.\u201d\n\nThe seal is given as\u2014[Symbol: turquoise]\n\nand the sacred word of invocation HAR-VAL-AM.\n\n -------\n\nThe sapphire is written down as \u201ca cure for doubt and despondency, a\nreviver of blighted hopes, which robs the future of its dread and\nrenders the Valley of Death redolent with sunshine.\u201d\n\nThe seal is given as\u2014[Symbol: sapphire]\n\nand the sacred word of invocation TROO-AV-AL.\n\n -------\n\nThe red garnet is hailed as the stone of inspiration and a remedy for\ndiabolical influences, etc.\n\nThe seal is given as\u2014[Symbol: garnet]\n\nand the sacred word of invocation as AR-HU-GAL.\n\n -------\n\nThe carbuncle \u201cphysically strengthens and vivifies the vital and\ngenerative forces in human nature, those that lack energy, sufferers\nfrom anaemia, and those wanting in animal courage. It sharpens business\npropensities and is invaluable to the dull, lethargic, sluggish,\nlymphatic, and people of cold habits.\u201d\n\nThe seal is given as\u2014[Symbol: carbuncle]\n\nand the sacred word of invocation APH-RU-EL.\n\n\n GEMS OF COUNTRIES\n\nOld philosophy allots a particular talismanic gem to every country in\nthe world. Those of the following countries are:\n\n Abyssinia Lapis Lazuli\n Afghanistan Catseye\n Albania Dark Onyx\n Algeria Banded Agate\n Arabia Flint\n Argentina Spodumene\n Australia Opal\n Austria Opal\n Bavaria Topaz\n Belgium Marble\n Brazil Jasper Bloodstone\n Bulgaria Striped Onyx\n Burma Malachite\n China Pearl\n Denmark Hematite\n Egypt Jasper Opal\n England Diamond\n France Ruby\n Germany Hematite\n Greece Dark Onyx\n Holland Pearl\n Hungary Carbuncle\n India Catseye\n Ireland Emerald\n Italy Sardonyx\n Japan Jade\n Judea Topaz\n Mexico Onyx\n Morocco Banded Agate\n New Zealand Nacre\n Norway Topaz\n Nubia Crystal\n Palestine Limonite\n Persia Mocha Stone\n Poland Emerald\n Portugal Chrysolite\n Prussia Sapphire\n Rumania Lapis Lazuli\n Russia Chrysoberyl-Alexandrite\n Scotland Chalcedony\n Sicily Carnelian\n South Africa Pearl\n Spain Turquoise\n Syria Limonite\n Sweden Sapphire\n Switzerland Jasper\n Turkey Jacinth\n Transvaal Cairngorm\n USA Tourmaline\n Wales Marble\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXV\n THE INEVITABLE LAW OF TRANSMUTATION\n\nCHAMPIONS OF PROGRESS, XENOPHANES, PLATO, ARISTOTLE, ZENO, LEONARDI DA\n VINCI AND THEIR SPECULATIONS: THE HARNESSING OF INVISIBLE AGENCIES:\n THE WAY OF THE SPIRIT: DESTINY, THE LAW: POINT OF UNION OF FORCES\n KNOWN TO THE HERMETIC PHILOSOPHERS: UNIVERSAL ORDER AND HARMONY.\n\n \u201c_Each change of many colour\u2019d life he drew,\n Exhausted worlds and then imagin\u2019d new._\u201d\n JONSON.\n\n\nTransformation, under the various forms of transfiguration,\ntransmutation and change, forms the subject of many fascinating stories\nwhich adorn the pages of romance, mythology, science and symbology. It\nmay be said to exhibit itself as the dominant force in the world of\nmatter\u2014the changeful, restless world with which we change and to which,\nwhile dressed in its elements, we are held. The disobedience of Lot\u2019s\nwife changed her material form into a pillar of salt; the fated Niobe\nwas transformed into a rugged rock which forever was bathed by her\ntears; the glance of Medusa turned her victims into stone, her blood\nturned trees into coral; the stone which Rhea duped Cronus into\nswallowing in the belief that it was one of his children\u2014indeed, the\nwhole legend concerning the devouring of his offspring by the old god,\nis illustrative of the process of nature which forever consumes that\nwhich it produces. Nature is a veritable alchemist, a royal transmuter,\nturning the precious into the base and the base into the precious,\nregardless of dignity, rank or name. Parable and symbol have ever been\nthe ornate coverings beneath which lie securely hidden from the\nsuperficial gaze the secrets with which searching man has played for\nages. The work of these intrepid scientists had, at certain periods of\nthe world\u2019s history, to be carefully concealed from the vulgar and\nintolerant mind which was continually endeavouring to bind the thoughts\nof men within the slavery of a fixed dogma. The true meaning of this\ndogma was indeed far better known and understood by the faithful\nsearchers into the mysteries of nature than by all the narrow agents\nseeking to suppress them. But they were compelled to wait till the\nchampions of liberty in the material world had swept back the devils of\nintolerance which darkened the way to spiritual and material freedom.\nThe waiting for the right time to present their discoveries to the\npeople did not suspend their researches\u2014it rather advanced them. Nearly\n600 years before the Christian era the poetical philosopher Xenophanes\nwrote of fossil fishes, shells and other petrifaction found on high\nmountains and in quarries, which he instanced as indicating changes on\nthe earth\u2019s surface, certain lands sinking beneath the sea and certain\nlands rising out of it. The earlier examinations of these remains were\nconsidered as evidence of a subtle tractable power inherent in the\nearth. Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno taught that God entered His Spirit\ninto eternal matter, producing the earth, thus eternally filled with the\npotential Spirit.\n\nThat many-sided genius of the 15th and 16th centuries, Leonardo da Vinci\nwas rightly regarded by Dmitri Merejkowski as \u201cThe Forerunner,\u201d in his\nhistorical story of that name. Leonardo was most precise in his\nremarkable deductions on fossilization, which, he wrote, occurred from\nthe accumulation of mud in the cavities of shells discovered in rivers\nwhich were at an ancient period beneath the sea near the coast. Nature\u2019s\nwonderful workings are exhibited in the metamorphoses of the various\nstones. This process is noticed in the silification of wood, shells,\ncoral, etc. It is observed in the incrustation of one substance on\nanother, the expulsion of one mineral matter by some chemical agency, by\nthe gradual yielding of original substance to new and foreign invaders\nand by the occurrence of one mineral in the form of another, etc. So far\nas is considered necessary this subject has been already dealt with. And\nso Nature is continually proving to man that all is change and that\ndissolution is impossible. Continually, lower forms are giving place to\nhigher, and the work of the world goes on with the persistent regularity\nof a huge machine. \u201cNothing is lost,\u201d says chemistry, and even the voice\nof man, the cries of animals, sounds of breaking rocks, the restless\nsea, the moaning of the winds amongst the trees, etc., can now be easily\nimpressed on the modern phonograph plates which provide a material\nworking body. Every action can be recorded and reproduced by the\nphotographic camera; even the air can be harnessed to convey a desire.\nEverything in the Universe, from the stars of Heaven to the atom, or to\nthe minutest subdivision of the atom, is mathematical, law abiding, and\nunder the mysterious and controlling Force which we reverence as God the\nInfinite.\n\nNature claims her own, the material goes to the material, \u201cdust to\ndust,\u201d and earth processes turn the visible parts of animals and plants,\netc., into its identical crystal form. And the controlling powers about\nwhich these perceptible forms materialize, seek the realms of finer\nforces to which they truly belong. Rightly say the venerable\nphilosophers whose inspired utterances have taught us so much, \u201cThe\nSpirit strips itself to go up and clothes itself to go down.\u201d The writer\nhas tried to make this palpable truth clear in these pages, and trusts\nthat the links in the ancient chain are now left in a little better\nrepair than they were, and that the power within the stone will be\nbetter appreciated and better understood. The order of the Infinite\nUniverse is exact and sincere. From its inception the work, trials and\nstruggles of the smallest atom are determined and Mind is compelled to\nexpress itself. The exact point of union between the visible and the\ninvisible forces has been long known to the hermetic scientists and\nphilosophers whose thoughts are echoed by Wilks, the English poet of\nGeology, in the following lines:\n\n \u201c_God is a God of order, though to scan\n His works may pose the feeble powers of man._\u201d\n\n FINIS\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n Transcriber\u2019s Note\n\nErrors deemed most likely to be the printer\u2019s have been corrected, and\nare noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original.\n\n vi.8 Sir Edward Mackenzie-Mackenzie, Bart[.], for Inserted.\n his original\n\n 14.10 wearing the Breas[t]plate Inserted.\n\n 19.30 redeems from wor[l]dly sin Inserted.\n\n 34.2 upon which the Cameo artist works[.] Added.\n\n 81.16 Milon had done the deed[.] Added.\n\n 215.31 Mad[a/e]moiselle de Hautville Replaced.\n\n 247.5 \u201ca stone of good counsel for traders[\u201d] Added.\n\n 264.7 All marble is under the celest[r]ial Gemini. Removed.\n\n 307.27 JULIUS C[AE/\u00c6]SAR, Replaced,\n for\n consistency\n\n 334.21 LI[\u00c9/\u00c8]GE CATHEDRAL Replaced.\n\n 340.21 These workings are of ver[y] great age Restored.\n\n 384.32 that tourmaline specimens [w]ere used by Restored.\n\n 396.16 a perpetual source of pleasure[,] philosophy Added.\n\n 408.4 with thy k[ni/in]gdom\u2019s pearl Transposed.\n\n 410.5 ALEXAS: [\u201c]_Last thing he did,_ Added.\n\n 410.9 ALEXAS: [\u201c]_\u2018Good friend,\u2019 quote he,_ Added.\n\n 418.44 C[U/u](OH)>,H]_{3}PO_{4} Copper, not\n \u2018CU\u2019","title":"The Magic and Science of Jewels and Stones","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":105373}