Turquoise

While there was a tendency to attribute the virtues originally ascribed to one particular stone to others of the same or similar color and appearance, certain stones were regarded as possessing special virtues not commonly attributed to others. A notable instance of this is the quality supposed to inhere in the turquoise. This stone was known in Egypt from a very early period and is later described by Pliny under the name of callais. For Pliny, and for all those who derived their information from him or from the sources he used, the turquoise only participated in the virtues assigned to all blue or greenish-blue stones; but from the thirteenth century, when the name turquoise was first employed, we read that the stone possessed the power to protect the wearer from injury by falling, more especially from horseback; later, this was extended to cover falls from a building or over a precipice. A fourteenth century authority, the “Lapidaire” of Sir John Mandeville, states that the turquoise protected horses from the ill-effects resulting from drinking cold water when overheated by exertion, and it is said that the Turks often attached these stones to the bridles and frontlets of their horses as amulets. They are also so used in Samarcand and Persia. We might therefore be justified in supposing that the turquoise was originally used in the East as a “horse-amulet,” and the belief in its power to protect from falls may have arisen from the idea that it rendered the horse more sure-footed and enduring. As the horse was often regarded as a symbol of the sun in its rapid course through the blue heavens, the celestial hue of the turquoise may have caused it to be associated in some way with the horse. We can only hazard this as a plausible conjecture.

Probably the earliest notice of the peculiar superstition in regard to the turquoise—namely, that it preserves the wearer from injury in case of falling—is contained in Volmar’s thirteenth century “Steinbuch,” where we read:

Whoever owns the true turquoise set in gold will not injure any of his limbs when he falls, whether he be riding or walking, so long as he has the stone with him.[157]

Anselmus de Boot, court physician of Emperor Rudolph II, tells a story of a turquoise that, after being thirty years in the possession of a Spaniard, was offered for sale with the rest of the owner’s property. Every one was amazed to find it had entirely lost its color; nevertheless De Boot’s father bought it for a trifling sum. On his return home, however, ashamed to wear so mean-looking a gem, he gave it to his son, saying, “Son, as the virtues of the turquoise are said to exist only when the stone has been given, I will try its efficacy by bestowing it upon thee.” Little appreciating the gift, the recipient had his arms engraved on it as though it had been only a common agate and wore it as a signet. He had scarcely worn it a month, however, before it resumed its pristine beauty and daily seemed to increase in splendor. Could we accept this statement as true we would have here an altogether unique instance of the recovery by a turquoise of the blue color it had lost.

Not long after, the powers of De Boot’s turquoise were put to the test. As he was returning to Bohemia from Padua, where he had just taken his degree, he was forced to traverse a narrow and dangerous road at night. Suddenly his horse stumbled and threw him heavily to the ground, but, strange to say, neither horse nor rider was injured by the fall. Next morning, while washing his hands, De Boot remarked that about a quarter of his turquoise had broken away. Nevertheless the stone did not lose its virtue. Some time afterward, when the wearer was lifting a very heavy pole, he felt all at once a sharp pain in his side and heard his ribs crack, so that he feared he had injured himself seriously. However, it turned out that he had not broken any bones but had simply strained himself; but, on looking at his turquoise, he saw that it had again broken into two pieces.[158]

TURQUOISE NECKLACE, THIBET.
Field Museum, Chicago.

A singular virtue ascribed to the turquoise was that of striking the hour correctly, if the stone were suspended from a thread held between the thumb and index-finger in such a way that a slight vibration would make the stone strike against the side of a glass. De Boot states that he made the experiment successfully, but he very sensibly explains the apparent wonder by the unconscious effect of the mind on the body. The expectation that the stone was going to strike a certain number of times induced an involuntary movement of the hand.[159]

The turquoise seems to have been worn almost exclusively by men at the beginning of the seventeenth century, for De Boot, writing in 1609, said that it was so highly regarded by men that no man considered his hand to be well adorned unless he wore a fine turquoise. Women, however, rarely wore this gem.[160] This custom was much in vogue among the Englishmen who travelled in the Orient, until a score of years ago.

The Persians fully appreciate the beauty and power of this, their national stone, and they have a saying that to escape evil and attain good fortune one must see the reflection of the new moon either on the face of a friend, on a copy of the Koran, or on a turquoise,[161] thus ranking this stone with two most precious things, a friend and the source and warrant of religion. Possibly we should take this proverbial saying to indicate that whoever has a true friend, a copy of the sacred volume or a turquoise will be preserved from harm.

The turquoise of the Los Cerillos mines in New Mexico is rudely extracted by building large fires at the base of the rock until it becomes heated, when cold water is dashed over it, the sharp change of temperature splitting up the rock. Some of the fragmentary material thus secured is worked up in the region into heart-shaped ornaments, or amulets, locally called malacates. The religious veneration with which many of the New Mexico Indians still regard the turquoise was noted by Major Hyde, when he explored the region in 1880, for some Pueblo Indians from Santo Domingo, New Mexico, expressed strong disapproval of his action in extracting turquoise from the old mine, as they looked upon this as a sacred stone which should not pass into the possession of those whose Saviour was not a Montezuma.[162]

The ruins called Los Muertos, situated nine miles from Tempe, Arizona, have furnished a peculiarly interesting amulet or fetish of Zuñi workmanship. This is a seashell which has been coated with black pitch, in which are encrusted turquoises and garnets so disposed in mosaic as to represent clearly enough the figure of a toad, the sacred emblem of the Zuñis.[163]

The sacred character with which this stone was invested is shown by the wealth of turquoise ornaments found in some of the burials, notably in those of Pueblo Bonito, unearthed by Mr. George H. Pepper in 1896.[164] This is one of the Chaco Cañon groups of ruins, in the northwestern part of New Mexico. In one case nearly nine thousand beads and pendants of turquoise were found on or about a single skeleton. There was abundant evidence in the special care bestowed upon the burial that the deceased must have been a man of high rank, and the condition of the skull plainly indicated that he had met a violent death. The 1980 beads found on the breast of the skeleton are believed to have been strung as a necklace, and the position of other masses of these beads renders it probable that they had been used for bracelets or anklets, the strings having decayed and disappeared in the course of time. The most interesting of the turquoise objects are, however, the pendants worked into various forms designed to favor the entrance of some guardian spirit into the stone. In this single burial were found pendants shaped more or less roughly into the forms of a rabbit, a bird, an insect (?), a human foot and a shoe. Around another burial in the same chamber were strewn nearly six thousand turquoise beads and pendants.[165] In all 24,932 beads were found in these burials.

Another very interesting object from Pueblo Bonito, and one having probably a special ceremonial use and value, is a turquoise basket,—that is to say, a cylindrical basket three inches in diameter and six inches long, originally made of slender splints with a coating of gum in which 1214 small pieces of turquoise have been set. These are very closely set and form a complete mosaic covering for the object. The legends of the Navahos contain allusions to “turquoise jewel baskets,” and Mr. Pepper raises the question whether or no this can refer to those made by the Pueblo Indians.[166]

The Apache name for the turquoise is duklij, which signifies either a green or a blue stone, no distinction being made between the two colors. This stone is highly prized for its talismanic virtues. Indeed the possession of a turquoise was indispensable for a medicine-man, as without it he would not receive proper recognition. That some of the powers of the thunder-stone were ascribed to the turquoise by the tribes appears from the fancy that a man who could go to the end of a rainbow after a storm and search in the damp earth would find a turquoise. One of its supposed powers was to aid the warrior or hunter by assuring the accuracy of his aim, for if a turquoise were affixed to a gun or bow the shot sped from the weapon would go straight to the mark.[167]

A lady prominent in the London world is said to possess the power of restoring to their pristine hue turquoises that have grown pale. According to report, this lady is often called upon to use her peculiar gift by friends whose turquoises have faded.[168] While the improvement supposed to be noted may be more imaginary than real in many cases, there is little doubt that this stone is exceptionally sensitive to the action of certain emanations, and may, at times, be influenced by the wearer’s general state of health. The writer believes that a turquoise, like an egg, can never be restored to its original state.

[IV]
On the Use of Engraved and Carved Gems as Talismans

The virtue believed to be inherent in precious stones was thought to gain an added potency when the stone was engraved with some symbol or figure possessing a special sacredness, or denoting and typifying a special quality. This presupposes a considerable development of civilization, since the art of engraving on precious stones offers many mechanical difficulties and thus requires a high degree of artistic and mechanical skill. It is true that the earliest engraved stones, the Babylonian cylinders and the Egyptian scarabs, were both designed to serve an eminently practical purpose as well, namely, that of seals; but in a great number of instances these primitive seals were looked upon as endowed with talismanic power, and were worn on the person as talismans.

The scarab, so highly favored by the Egyptians as an ornamental form, is a representation of the scarabæus sacer, the typical genus of the family Scarabæidæ. They are usually black, but occasionally show a fine play of metallic colors. After gathering up a clump of dung for the reception of the eggs, the insect rolls this along, using the hind legs to propel it, until the material, at first soft and of irregular form, becomes hardened and almost perfectly round. A curious symbolism induced the Egyptians to find in this beetle an emblem of the world of fatherhood and of man. The round ball wherein the eggs were deposited typified the world, and, as the Egyptians thought that the scarabæi were all males, they especially signified the male principle in generation, becoming types of fatherhood and man. At the same time, as only full-grown beetles were observed, it was believed these creatures represented a regeneration or reincarnation, since it was not realized that the eggs or larval and pupa stages had anything to do with the generation of the beetle. Thus the scarab was used as a symbol of immortality.

While, however, this was the popular view, it seems unlikely that such close observers as were the more cultured Egyptians should have been entirely unfamiliar with the real genesis of the Scarabæus sacer; but, in this case also, there would have been no difficulty in finding it emblematic of immortality in the various stages through which it passed. The larval stage might well signify the mortal life; the pupa stage, the intermediate period represented by the mummy, with which the soul was conceived to be vaguely connected, in spite of its wanderings through the nether-world; and, lastly, the fully developed beetle could be regarded as a type of the rebirth into everlasting life, when the purified and perfected soul again animated the original and transfigured form in a mysterious resurrection.

Scarabs are frequently engraved with the hieroglyph ☥(anch, “life”) and

(ha, “increase of power”). The emblem of stability

(tet) is also employed, as well as many others. In addition to these simple symbols, many scarabs bear legends supposed to render them exceptionally luck-bringing. The following are characteristic specimens.[169]

maat ankh neb, “Lord of Truth and Life.”

“abounding in graces” (very deeply cut as a seal).

“May thy name be established; mayst thou have a son.”

(within ornamental border), “good stability.”

ikht neb nefer, “All good things.”

(Inlaid). “A good day” (a holiday).

“A mother is a truly good thing” or “Truth is a good Mother.”

The scarab, for the Egyptians a type of the rising sun and hence of the renewal of life after death, was copied by the Phœnicians from the Egyptian types and modified in various ways to suit the religious fancies of the various lands to which they bore the products of their art. Much of the original significance of this symbol must have been lost; probably in many cases little was left but a vague idea that an amulet of this form would bring good luck to the wearer and guard from harm.

Funeral scarabs were often made of jasper, amethyst, lapis-lazuli, ruby, or carnelian, with the names of gods, kings, priests, officials, or private persons engraved on the base; occasionally monograms or floral devices were engraved. Sometimes the base of the scarab was heart-shaped and at others the scarab was combined with the “utat,” or eye of Horus, and also with the frog, typifying revivification. Set in rings they were placed on the fingers of the dead, or else, wrapped in linen bandages, they rested on the heart of the deceased, a type of the sun which rose each day to renewed life. They were symbols of the resurrection of the body.[170]

Some of the Egyptian scarabs were evidently used as talismanic gifts from one friend to another. Two such scarabs are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. One bears the inscription “May Ra grant you a happy New Year,” the text of the other reading as follows: “May your name be established, may you have a son,” and “May your house flourish every day.” It is a curious fact that the modern greeting “Happy New Year” was current in Egypt probably three thousand years ago.[171]

On the Egyptian inscribed scarabs used as signets were engraved many of the symbols to which a talismanic virtue was attributed. The uræus serpent, signifying death, is sometimes associated with the knot, the so-called ankh symbol, denoting life. Often the hieroglyph for nub, gold, appears; this symbol is a necklace with pendant beads, showing that gold beads must have been known in Egypt in the early days when the hieroglyph for gold was first used. All these symbolic figures, of which a great number occur, served to impart to the signet a sacred and auspicious quality which communicated itself to the wearer, and even to the impression made by the seal, this in its turn acquiring a certain magic force. Few of us would be willing to confess to a belief in the innate power of any symbol, but the suggestive power of a symbol is as real to-day as it ever was. Any object that evokes a high thought or serves to emphasize a profound conviction really possesses a kind of magical quality, since it is capable of causing an effect out of all proportion to its intrinsic worth or its material quality.

Many scarabs and signets exist made of the artificial cyanus, which was an imitation lapis-lazuli made in Egypt. This was an alkaline silicate, colored a deep blue with carbonate of copper. Often a wonderful translucent or opaque blue glass was used. The genuine lapis-lazuli was also used to a considerable extent for scarabs and cylinders, in Egypt and Assyria, and gems were also cut from it in imperial Roman times.[172] A notable instance of the use of lapis-lazuli in ancient Egypt was as the material for the image of Truth (Ma), which the Egyptian chief-justice wore on his neck, suspended from a golden chain.[173]

In Roman times some of the legionaries are said to have worn rings set with scarabs, for the reason that this figure was believed to impart great courage and vigor to the wearer.[174]

The Egyptian amulets of the earliest period, up to the XII dynasty (circa 2000 B.C.), differ considerably from those made and worn after the beginning of the XVIII dynasty (1580 B.C.). Those of the earlier period are not numerous and present but a small number of types, animal forms or the heads of animals constituting the most favored models. The precious stone materials are principally carnelian, beryl, and amethyst. After the close of the so-called Hyksos period, the age during which foreign kings ruled over Egypt, came the brilliant revival and development of Egyptian civilization that characterized the XVIII dynasty. Some of the old forms were entirely cast aside while others were greatly modified in form and significance, the animal forms losing much of their fetichistic quality and coming to be more and more regarded as images of the multifarious divinities worshipped in this later period. In many cases the animal type was entirely or partially discarded and the amulets figured the conventional types given to the various divinities. However, while some of these images were wholly human, many of them show a human body with an animal head. Various symbolic designs were also favored, one believed to signify the blood of Isis having the form of a knot or tie. A frog fashioned out of lapis-lazuli and having eyes of gold is one of these amulets of the XVIII dynasty or later.

An interesting Egyptian talisman in the Louvre is engraved with a design representing Thothmes II seizing a lion by the tail and raising the animal aloft; at the same time he brandishes in the other hand a club, with which he is about to dash out the lion’s brains. The Egyptian word quen, “strength,” is engraved beneath the design and indicates that the virtue of the talisman was to increase the strength and courage of the wearer, the inscription being a kind of perpetual invocation to the higher powers whose aid was sought.[175]

The children of Israel, when in the desert, were said to have engraved figures on carnelian, “just as seals are engraved.”[176] This statement, repeated by many early writers, may perhaps have arisen from an identification of carnelian with the first stone of the breastplate, the odem, unquestionably a red stone, and very possibly carnelian. There can be no doubt that this was one of the first stones used for ornamental purposes and for engraving, as a number of specimens have been preserved from early Egyptian times. Because of the cooling and calming effect exercised by carnelian upon the blood, if worn on the neck or on the finger, it was believed to still all angry passions.[177]

A class of amulets even older than the Egyptian scarabs is represented by the engraved Assyrio-Babylonian cylinders. There has been much discussion among scholars as to the original purpose for which these cylinders were made, some holding that they were exclusively employed as seals or signets, while others incline to the belief that many of them were intended only for use as amulets or talismans.

These cylinders are perforated and were worn suspended from the neck or wrist, as is most frequently the case with talismans, and the engraved designs often represent religious or mythological subjects, the accompanying inscription merely consisting of the names of the gods. Cylinders of this type could not have been used as personal signets, and it is quite possible that Dr. Wiedemann is right in supposing that their imprint on a document was considered to impart a certain mystic sanction to the agreement, and render the divinities or spirits accountable for the fulfilment of the contract.[178]

The oldest known form of seal is the cylinder. Babylonian and Assyrian cylinder-seals are known of a date as early as 4000 B.C. From the earliest period until 2500 B.C. they were made of black or green serpentine, conglomerate, diorite, and frequently of the central core of a large conch shell from the Persian Gulf. From 2500 B.C. to 500 B.C. the cylindrical form was prevalent, and the materials include a brick-red ferruginous quartz, red hematite (an iron ore), and chalcedony, a beautiful variety of the last-named stone known as sapphirine being sometimes used. On the cylinders produced from 4000 B.C. to 2500 B.C. the designs most frequently represent animal forms; on those dating from 2500 B.C. to 500 B.C. are generally inscribed five or six rows of cuneiform characters. Up to the last-named date the work was all done by the sapphire point, and not by the wheel, and it is not until the fifth century B.C. that wheel work is apparent in any Babylonian or Assyrian stone-engraving. In the course of the sixth century B.C. the cylindrical seals became less frequent, and the tall cone-like seals came into use.[179]

A new type makes its appearance about the fifth or sixth century B.C., namely, the scaraboid seal introduced from Egypt. From the third century B.C. until the second or third century A.D., the seals became lower and flatter, and the perforation larger, until they sometimes assumed the form of rings; later the ring form becomes general. They are usually hollowed a little in the middle, which gives them the shape and size of the lower short joints of a reed; indeed, it has been suggested that the original seal was rudely patterned after a reed joint. The materials used for these cylinders include lapis-lazuli, very freely used and probably from the Persian mines, jasper, rock-crystals, chalcedony, carnelian, agate, jade, etc.; a hard, black variety of serpentine is perhaps the most common of all the materials used for this purpose.[180]

PHOENICIAN SCARAB, WITH ENGRAVED SCORPION. (See page [115].)

ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CYLINDER IMPRESSION, BEARING FIGURES OF THE GOD NEBO AND A WORSHIPPER, AND SYMBOLS OF SUN AND MOON.
From Fischer and Wiedemann “Ueber Babylonische Talismane,” Stuttgart, 1881, Pl. 1, fig. 3.

A SMALL JADE CELT ENGRAVED WITH GNOSTIC INSCRIPTIONS IN THE FOURTH CENTURY.

On one side are seven lines of characters, principally consisting of the seven Greek vowels used to denote the Ineffable Name. On the reverse is cut a laurel branch with 18 leaves, enclosed within each of which are characters expressing the name of one of the personifications of Gnostic theosophy. Brought from Egypt and deposited by its possessor, General Lefroy, in the Rotunda at Woolwich. Now in the Egyptian Department of the British Museum. (See page [129].)

A good example of these talismanic cylinders shows the figure of the god Nebo, seated on a throne and holding a ring in his left hand. Before him are two altars, over which appear, respectively, a star and the crescent moon; in front of the god is the figure of a man in an attitude of adoration. Borsippa, where the cylinder was found, was the special seat of the worship of Nebo, whose name appears in those of the kings Nebuchadnezzar, Nebopalasser, and Nabonaid. Regarded as the inventor of writing and as the god of learning, Nebo was the lord of the planet Mercury, and this shows a close connection between Babylonian and Græco-Roman ideas in reference to the god associated with that planet. Nebo was also believed to be the orderer of times and seasons, and this character is indicated by the star and the crescent.[181]

The Cretan peasants of to-day set a high value upon certain very ancient seals—dating perhaps from as early as 2500 B.C.—which they find buried in the soil. These seals are inscribed with symbols supposed to represent the prehistoric Cretan form of writing. Of course these inscriptions, which have not yet been deciphered by archæologists, are utterly incomprehensible for the peasants, but they undoubtedly serve to render the stones objects of mystery. The peasants call them galopetræ, or “milk-stones,” and they are supposed to promote the secretion of milk, as was the case with the galactite.[182] The careful preservation of these so-called galopetræ by Cretan women has served the purpose of archæological research, as otherwise so large a supply of these very interesting seals would not now be available.

1. ENGRAVED HELIOTROPE.

Head of Serapis surrounded by the twelve Zodiacal symbols. From Gori’s “Thesaurus Gemmarum Antiquarum Astriferarum,” Florence, 1750. Vol. i, Pl. XVII.

2. ENGRAVED RED JASPER.
Head of Medusa, Museum Cl. Passerii.

Many engraved stones of the Roman imperial period bore the figures of Serapis and of Isis, the former signifying Time and the latter Earth. On other stones the symbols of the zodiacal signs appear, referring to the natal constellation of the wearer. The astrologers, who derived their lore from the Orient, were consulted by all classes of the Roman people, and it is therefore very natural that the signet, or the ring worn as an amulet, should frequently have been engraved with astrological symbols. These designs were usually engraved on onyxes, carnelians, and similar stones, in Greek and Roman times; but occasionally the emerald was used in this way, and more rarely the ruby or the sapphire. Here the costliness of the material was probably thought to enhance the value of the amulet. The emerald ring of Polycrates must have possessed some other than a purely artistic value in his eyes, when it could be regarded by him as the most precious of his possessions.

In Roman times the image of Alexander the Great was looked upon as possessing magic virtues, and it is related that when Cornelius Macer gave a splendid banquet in the temple of Hercules, the chief ornament of the table was an amber cup, in the midst of which was a portrait of Alexander, and around this his whole history figured in small, finely engraved representations. From this cup Macer drank to the health of the pontifex and then ordered that it should be passed around among the guests, so that each one might gaze upon the image of the great man. Pollio, relating this, states that it was a common belief that everything happened fortunately for those who bore with them Alexander’s portrait executed in gold or silver.[183] Indeed, even among Christians coins of Alexander were in great favor as amulets, and the stern John Chrysostom sharply rebukes those who wore bronze coins of this monarch attached to their heads and their feet.[184]

Nowhere in the world was the use of amulets so common as in Alexandria, especially in the first centuries of our era, and the types produced here were scattered far and wide throughout the Roman world. Amulets made from various colored stones had been used for religious purposes in Egypt from the very earliest period of its history, so that the custom was deeply rooted in that land. When, therefore, Alexandria was founded in the fourth century B.C., and became a great commercial centre, attracting men of all races and all religions, it is not surprising that the population eagerly adopted the various amulets used by the adherents of the different religions. The result was a combining and confusion of many different types. With the rapid rise and growth of the Christian religion, a new element was introduced. Unquestionably the leading Christian teachers were strongly opposed to such superstitious practices, but the rank and file of the faithful clung to their old fancies.

In the second century the Gnostic heresy gave a new impulse to the fabrication of amulets. This strange eclecticism, resulting from an interweaving of pagan and Christian ideas, with its complicated symbolism, much of which is almost incomprehensible, found expression in the creation of the most bizarre types of amulets, and the magic virtues of the curious designs was enhanced by inscriptions purposely obscure. The incomprehensible always seems to have a mysterious charm for those devoted to the magic arts, and the adepts willingly catered to this taste, so that we can often only guess at the signification of the words and names engraved upon the Gnostic or Basilidian gems. So widespread was their use throughout the Roman Empire, that there were factories entirely devoted to the production of these objects.[185]

Regarding the sacred name Abrasax, which was inscribed on so many Gnostic gems, we read in St. Augustine’s treatise De hæres., vi, “Basilides asserted that there were 365 heavens; it was for this reason that he regarded the name Abrasax as sacred and venerable.”

1. Gnostic gem, heliotrope, with Abraxas god. Gorlaeus Collection. From the “Abraxas seu Apistopistus” of Macarius (L’Heureux) Antwerp, 1657, Pl. II.

2. Another type; with seven stars.

3. Gnostic gem. Type of Abraxas god and mystic letters I A W. From Gori’s “Thesaurus Gemmarum Antiquarum Astriferarum,” Florence, 1750, vol. i, Pl. CLXXXIX.

4. Abraxas gem, jasper, mystic letters I A W. From Gorlaeus, “Cabinet de Pierres Gravées,” Paris, 1778.

5. Jasper engraved with the symbol of the Agathodaemon Serpent. The type of amulet noted by Galen as that used by the Egyptian king “Nechepsus” (Necho 610-594 B.C.). Original at one time in the collection of Johann Schinkel. From the “Abraxas seu Apistopistus” of Macarius (L’Heureux) Antwerp, 1657, Pl. XVII. See page [385].

According to the Greek notation the letters comprising this name give that number:

α =1
β =2
ρ =100
α =1
σ =200
α =1
ξ =60
365

It is, however, not unlikely that the 365 days in the solar year are signified; and this enigmatical name might thus be brought into connection with Mithra, the solar divinity, who was worshipped throughout the Persian and Roman empires in the first and second centuries of our era.

A very recondite but ingenious explanation of the Gnostic name Abrasax is given by Harduin in his notes to Pliny’s “Natural History.”[186] He sees in the first three letters the initials of the three Hebrew words signifying father, son, and spirit (ab, ben, ruah), the Triune God; the last four letters are the initials of the Greek words ἀνθρώπους σώζει ἁγίῳ ξύλῳ or “he saves men by the sacred wood” (the cross). This seems rather far-fetched, it must be confessed, and yet to any one familiar with the vagaries of Alexandrine eclecticism, and with the tendency of the time and place to make strange and uncouth combinations of Greek and Hebrew forms, there is nothing inherently improbable in the explanation. Indeed, the Hebrew and Greek words in this composite sentence might have been regarded as typifying the union of the Old and New Testaments, and such an acrostic would certainly have been looked upon as possessing a mystic and supernatural power.

ANTIQUE JADE CELT CONVERTED INTO A GNOSTIC TALISMAN.
Enclosed within the outlines of the 18 leaves are as many names of the personifications of Gnostic Theosophy.

Many explanations have been offered as to the origin and significance of the characteristic figure of the Abrasax god engraved on a number of Gnostic amulets. There seems to be no doubt that this figure was invented by Basilides, chief of the Gnostic sect bearing his name, and who flourished in the early part of the second century A.D. While the details of the type as perfected were undoubtedly borrowed from the eclectic symbolism of the Egyptian and western Asiatic world it is almost impossible to conjecture the reasons determining the selection of this particular form.

A jasper engraved with the famous Gnostic symbol was set in the ring worn by Seffrid, Bishop of Chichester (A.D. 1159). This ring was found on the skeleton of the bishop and is now preserved in the treasury of the Cathedral of Chichester. Undoubtedly the curious symbolic figure was given a perfectly orthodox meaning, and, indeed, it was not really a pagan symbol, as the Gnostics were “indifferent Christians,” although their system was a fanciful elaboration of the doctrines of the late Alexandrian school of Greek Philosophy and an adaptation of this to the teachings of Christian tradition. In many cases, however, gems with purely pagan designs were worn by Christians, designs such as Isis with the child Horus, which was taken to be the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus.

A curious amulet, apparently belonging to the Gnostic variety, and intended to bring success to the owner of a racehorse, is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York. The material is green jasper with red spots. On the obverse the horse is figured with the victor’s palm and the name Tiberis; on the reverse appears the vulture-headed figure of the Abraxas god and the characters, “ZACTA IAW BAPIA,” which have been translated, “Iao the Destroyer and Creator.”[187] Possibly this amulet may have been attached to the horse during his races to insure victory, as we know that amulets of this kind were used in this way.

As illustrating the eclectic character of some of the amulets used in the early Christian centuries, we may note one in the Cabinet de Médailles, in Paris. This has upon the obverse the head of Alexander the Great; on the reverse is a she-ass with her foal, and below this a scorpion and the name Jesus Christ. Another amulet of this class, figured by Vettori,[188] also has the head of Alexander on the obverse, while the reverse bears the Greek monogram of the name Christos.

After the third or fourth century of our era the art of gem-engraving seems to have been lost, or at least to have been very seldom practised, and it is noteworthy in the matter that after this period writers who treat of the virtues of engraved gems as talismans rarely, if ever, use the words “if you engrave” such or such a figure on a stone, but write “if you find” such a figure.

The figures engraved on precious stones were supposed to have a greater or lesser degree of efficacy in themselves independent of the virtues peculiar to the stone on which they were engraved, and this efficacy depended largely upon the hour, day, or month during which the work was executed. For the influence of the planet, star, or constellation which was in the ascendant was thought to infuse a subtle essence into the stone while the appropriate image was being engraved. However, to exert the maximum power, the virtue of the image must be of the same character as the virtue inherent in the material, and the gem became less potent when this was not the case. Certain images, those symbolizing the zodiacal signs for instance, were looked upon as possessing such power that their peculiar nature impressed itself even upon stones inherently of different quality; others again were only efficacious when engraved on stones the quality of which was in sympathy with them.[189]

Naturally, many of the ancient gems which had been preserved from Greek and Roman times were recognized as being purely products of art, but in medieval and later times the idea of the magic quality of all engraved gems had become so deeply rooted that in many cases a magical character was ascribed to them entirely foreign to the intention of the engraver. Great ingenuity was often displayed in seeking and finding some analogy between the supposed significance of the design and the fancied power of the stone itself. Taking the agate as an illustration, Camillo Leonardo says that its many different varieties had as many different virtues, and he finds in this an explanation of the multiplicity of images engraved on the various kinds of agate, without realizing that the true reason was that this material lent itself more readily to artistic treatment than did many others.

The idea that some special design should be engraved upon a given stone became quite general in the early centuries of our era. The emerald, for instance, according to Damigeron, was to be engraved with a scarab, beneath which was to be a standing figure of Isis. The gem, when completed, was to be pierced longitudinally and worn in a brooch. The fortunate owner of this talisman was then to adorn himself and the members of his family, and, a consecration having been pronounced, he was assured that he would see “the glory of the stone granted it by God.”[190] Possibly this may have meant that the stone would become luminous.

A list of these symbolic designs is said to have been given in the “Book of Wings,” by Ragiel, one of the curious treatises composed about the thirteenth century under the influence of Hebrew and Greco-Roman tradition. Although it owes its origin to the Hebrew “Book of Raziel,” it bears little if any likeness to that work. As will be seen in the following items, the fact that the design is on its appropriate stone is always insisted on:

MOSS AGATE MOCHA STONES, HINDOOSTAN.

The beautiful and terrible figure of a dragon. If this is found on a ruby or any other stone of similar nature and virtue, it has the power to augment the goods of this world and makes the wearer joyous and healthy.

The figure of a falcon, if on a topaz, helps to acquire the goodwill of kings, princes, and magnates. The image of an astrolabe, if on a sapphire, has power to increase wealth and enables the wearer to predict the future.

The well-formed image of a lion, if engraved on a garnet, will protect and preserve honors and health, cures the wearer of all diseases, brings him honors, and guards him from all perils in travelling.

An ass, if represented on a chrysolite, will give power to prognosticate and predict the future.

The figure of a ram or of a bearded man, on a sapphire, has the power to cure and preserve from many infirmities as well as to free from poison and from all demons. This is a royal image; it confers dignities and honors and exalts the wearer.

A frog, engraved on a beryl, will have the power to reconcile enemies and produce friendship where there was discord.

A camel’s head or two goats among myrtles, if on an onyx, has the power to convoke, assemble, and constrain demons; if any one wears it, he will see terrible visions in sleep.

A vulture, if on a chrysolite, has the power to constrain demons and the winds. It controls demons and prevents them from coming together in the place where the gem may be; it also guards against their importunities. The demons obey the wearer.

A bat, represented on a heliotrope or bloodstone, gives the wearer power over demons and helps incantations.

A griffin, imaged on a crystal, produces abundance of milk.

A man richly dressed and with a beautiful object in his hand, engraved on a carnelian, checks the flow of blood and confers honors.

A lion or an archer, on a jasper, gives help against poison and cures from fever.

A man in armor, with bow and arrow, on an iris stone, protects from evil both the wearer and the place where it may be.

A man with a sword in his hand, on a carnelian, preserves the place where it may be from lightning and tempest, and guards the wearer from vices and enchantments.

A bull engraved on a prase is said to give aid against evil spells and to procure the favor of magistrates.

A hoopoo with a tarragon herb before it, represented on a beryl, confers the power to invoke water-spirits and to converse with them, as well as to call up the mighty dead and to obtain answers to questions addressed to them.

A swallow, on a celonite, establishes and preserves peace and concord among men.

A man with his right hand raised aloft, if engraved on a chalcedony, gives success in lawsuits, renders the wearer healthy, gives him safety in his travels and preserves him from all evil chances.

The names of God, on a ceraunia stone, have the power to preserve the place where the stone may be from tempests; they also give to the wearer victory over his enemies.

A bear, if engraved on an amethyst, has the virtue of putting demons to flight and defends and preserves the wearer from drunkenness.

A man in armor, graven on a magnet, or loadstone, has the power to aid in incantations and makes the wearer victorious in war.[191]

An Italian manuscript, dating from the fourteenth century, gives the following talismanic gems:

If thou findest a stone on which is graven or figured a man with a goat’s head, whoever wears this stone, with God’s help, will have great riches and the love of all men and animals.

If a stone be found on which is graven or figured an armed man or the draped figure of a virgin, bound with laurel and having a laurel branch in her hand, this stone is sacred and frees the wearer from all changes and haps of fortune.

When thou findest a stone on which is graven the figure of a man holding a scythe in his hand, a stone like this imparts strength and power to the wearer. Every day adds to his strength, courage and boldness.

Hold dear that stone on which thou shalt find figured or cut the moon or the sun, or both together, for it makes the wearer chaste and guards him from lust.

A jewel to be prized is that stone on which is graven or figured a man with wings having beneath his feet a serpent whose head he holds in his hand. A stone of this kind gives the wearer, by God’s help, abundant wealth of knowledge, as well as good health and favor.

Shouldst thou find a stone on which is the figure of a man holding in his right hand a palm branch, this stone, with God’s help, renders the wearer victorious in disputes and in battles, and brings him the favor of the great.

Finding the stone called jasper, bearing graven or figured a huntsman, a dog, or a stag, the wearer, with God’s help, will have the power to heal one possessed of a devil, or who is insane.

A good stone is that one on which thou shalt find graven or figured a serpent with a raven on its tail. Whoever wears this stone will enjoy high station and be much honored; it also protects from the ill-effects of the heat.[192]

The original meaning of the swastika emblem has been variously explained as a symbol of fire, of the four cardinal points, of water, of the lightning, etc. Still another explanation is given by Hoernes, who inclines to the belief that it is simply a conventionalized representation of the human form, the lower shaft being the two legs joined together, the two horizontal shafts the outstretched arms, and the upper shaft the trunk of the body; the four projections would stand for the feet, the two hands and the head.[193]

The Egyptian crux ansata, the hieroglyphic symbol for “life,” and the Phœnician Tau symbol, the “mark” that was to be stamped upon the foreheads of the faithful in Jerusalem (Ezek. ix, 4), and which in Early Christian art was frequently substituted for the usual cross, are both explained by Hoernes in a similar way, and he notes the fact that the swastika symbol does not appear in Egyptian or Phœnician art, drawing the inference that all three symbols originated in the same form or figure.[194] To all these symbols were attributed talismanic virtues and they were frequently engraved on precious stones.

MONOGRAM OF THE NAME OF CHRIST ENGRAVED ON AN ONYX GEM.
From the “Cabinet de Pierres Antiques Gravées,” of Gorlaeus, Paris, 1778, Pl. XCV.

The so-called “Monogrammatic Cross” was very freely used in work of the fifth century. This is simply a modification of the monogram formed of the first two letters of the name Christ as written in Greek, a device which first appeared after the time of Constantine the Great (d. 337 A.D.). This monogram usually assumed the following form: ☧, and the “Monogrammatic Cross” was made by changing the position of the Greek X (chi), and making one of its arms serve as the straight stroke of the P (r), thus giving the following form: ⳨.

A curious amulet to avert the spell of the Evil Eye is an engraved sard showing an eye in the centre, around which are grouped the attributes of the divinities presiding over the days of the week. Sunday, the dies Solis, is represented by a lion; Monday, the dies Lunæ, by a stag; Tuesday, the dies Martis, by a scorpion; Wednesday, the dies Mercurii, by a dog; Thursday, the dies Jovis, by a thunderbolt; Friday, the dies Veneris, by a snake; and Saturday, the dies Saturni, by an owl.[195] In this way the wearer was protected at all times from the evil influence.

Because of its peculiar markings, some of which suggest the form of an eye, malachite was worn in some parts of Italy (e.g., in Bettona) as an amulet to protect the wearer from the spell of the Evil Eye. Such stones were called “peacock-stones,” from their resemblance in color and marking to the peacock’s tail. The form of these malachite amulets is usually triangular, and they were mounted in silver. It is curious to note, as a proof of the persistence of superstitions, that in an Etruscan tomb at Chiusi there was found a triangular, perforated piece of glass, each angle terminating in an eye formed of glass of various colors.[196]

On many of the amulets fabricated in Italy for protection against the dreaded jettatura, or spell of the Evil Eye, the cock is figured. His image was supposed in ancient times to assure the protection of the sun-god, and his crowing was regarded as an inarticulate hymn of praise to this deity. He was also a type of dauntless courage. All this contributed to make him a defender of the weak, especially of women and children, against the wiles of the spirits of darkness.[197] Rostand, in his “Chantecler,” has enlarged this conception, and endows the cock with the proud conviction that it is to his matutinal chant alone that the world owes the daily recurrent phenomenon of the sunrise.

TWO GOLD RINGS SET WITH ENGRAVED ONYX GEMS.
On the right, a Victory; on the left, game-cocks. From the Dactyliotheca, of Gorlaeus, Delft, 1601, Figs. 171, 172.

In Palestine the Evil Eye is supposed to be the baleful gift of men who have light-blue eyes, more especially if they are beardless. Possibly this is the power in which some of our blond and beardless “mashers” repose their trust. As an antidote to the awful influence of these blue-eyed monsters, the Syrian women decorated themselves with blue beads, on the principle similia similibus curantur. A maiden with beautiful hair will tie a blue ribbon about it, or wear a blue bead in it, so as to ward off any evil spell cast by the blue eye that might rob her of her fair dower.[198]

It is a well-known fact that many amulets were made in forms suggesting objects offensive to our sense of propriety. These were thought to protect the wearers by denoting the contempt they felt for the evil spirits leagued against them. Some such fancy may have induced the peculiar designs of certain of the jewels alleged to have been pawned in Paris by the ex-Sultan Abdul Hamid for the sum of 1,200,000 francs ($240,000). According to rumor, these pledges must be sold, as the sultan has failed to redeem them, but the designs are so risqué that they cannot be offered at public sale; therefore the stones and pearls are to be removed and the gold settings are to be melted and sold as metal.

It is not exclusively characteristic of our commercial and industrial age that the price paid for a work of art should influence the popular estimation of the merits of the work, as appears in an anecdote related by Pliny. An emerald (smaragd), upon which was engraved a figure of Amymone (one of the Danaidæ), having been offered for sale in the Isle of Cyprus, at the price of six golden denarii, Ismenias, a flute-player, gave orders to purchase it. The dealer, however, reduced the price and returned two denarii; upon which Ismenias remarked, “By Hercules! he has done me but a bad turn in this, for the merit of the stone has been greatly impaired by this reduction in price.”[199]

A variant of the design directed by Damigeron to be placed on the emerald is recommended in a thirteenth century manuscript, where we read that to fit this stone for use as a talisman, it should be engraved with the form of a scarab, beneath which there should appear a crested paroquet.[200] According to the same manuscript, a jasper should bear the figure of Mars fully armed, or else that of a virgin wearing a flowing robe and bearing a laurel branch. It should then be “consecrated with perpetual consecration.” The mythical author Cethel asserts that the owner of a jasper engraved with the sacred symbol of the cross would be preserved from drowning.[201]

A curious quid pro quo appears in a fifteenth century treatise on gems written in French. Here, in a list of engraved gems suitable for use as amulets, we read, “If you find a dromedary engraved on a stone with hair flowing over its shoulders, this stone will bring peace and concord between man and wife.” The original Latin text read, “If you find Andromeda on a stone with hair flowing over her shoulders,” etc.[202] The translator’s art which could turn Andromeda into a dromedary almost equalled that of the enchantress Circe.

A few even of the early writers were disposed to be sceptical as to the virtues ascribed to these engraved gems, and did not hesitate to assert that the Greek and Roman engravers executed their designs for ornamental purposes rather than to fit the gems for use as talismans. This was undoubtedly true in a large number of cases but nevertheless, as we have seen, many engraved talismans were really cut in the early centuries. As the art of gem engraving was not practised in the Middle Ages, some medieval writers suppose that the engraved talismanic gems current in their time were not works of art, but of nature, and Konrad von Megenberg accepting this view, gave it as his opinion that “God granted these stones their beauty and virtue for the help and comfort of the human race,” adding that when he hoped to receive help from them he in no wise denied the grace of God.[203]

Damigeron writes of the sard that, if worn by a woman, it is a good and fortunate stone. It should be engraved with a design showing a grape-vine and ivy intertwined.[204]

A celebrated topaz was that noted by George Agricola as being in the possession of a Neapolitan, Hadrianus Gulielmus.[205] It bore, in ancient Roman characters, the terse and pregnant inscription:

Natura deficit,

Fortuna mutatur.

Deus omnia cernit.

This was very freely rendered by Thomas Nicols as follows:[206]

Nature by frailty doth dayly waste away.

Fortune is turn’d and changed every day.

In all, there is an eye know’s no decay.

Jah sees for aye.

There is in the Imperial Academy at Moscow a turquoise two inches in diameter, inscribed with a text from the Koran in letters of gold. This turquoise was formerly worn by the Shah of Persia as an amulet, and it was valued at 5000 rubles by the jeweller from whose hands it came.[207]

It is well known that Napoleon III was inclined to be superstitious, and there is not, therefore, anything inherently improbable in the report that he left the seal he wore on his watch-chain to his son, the unfortunate Prince Imperial, as a talisman. This seal is said to have borne an inscription in Arabic characters, signifying “The slave Abraham relying on the Merciful One (God).”[208] The talisman lost its virtue on that unlucky day when, in far-off Zululand, the heir to so many hopes was cut off in the first flush of early manhood (see page [64]).

[V]
On Ominous and Luminous Stones

THE OPAL

Mother. Come, let me place a charm upon thy brow,

And may good spirits grant, that never care

Approach, to trace a single furrow there!

Daughter. Thy love, my mother, better far than charm,

Shall shield thy child—and yet this wondrous gem[209]

Looks as though some strange influence it had won

From the bright skies—for every rainbow hue

Shoots quivering through its depths in changeful gleams,

Like the mild lightnings of a summer eve.

Mother. Even so doth love pervade a mother’s heart;

Thus, ever active, looks through her fond eyes.[210]

THERE can be little doubt that much of the modern superstition regarding the supposed unlucky quality of the opal owes its origin to a careless reading of Sir Walter Scott’s novel, “Anne of Geierstein.”[211] The wonderful tale therein related of the Lady Hermione, a sort of enchanted princess, who came no one knew whence and always wore a dazzling opal in her hair, contains nothing to indicate that Scott really meant to represent the opal as unlucky. Lady Hermione’s gem was an enchanted stone just as its owner was a product of enchantment, and its peculiarities depended entirely upon its mysterious character, which might equally well have been attributed to a diamond, a ruby, or a sapphire. The life of the stone was bound up with the life of Hermione; it sparkled when she was gay, it shot out red gleams when she was angry; and when a few drops of holy water were sprinkled over it, they quenched its radiance. Hermione fell into a swoon, was carried to her chamber, and the next day nothing but a small heap of ashes remained on the bed whereon she had been laid. The spell was broken and the enchantment dissolved. All that can have determined the selection of the opal rather than any other precious stone is the fact of its wonderful play of color and its sensitiveness to moisture. Hence we are perfectly justified in returning to the older belief of the manifold virtues of the opal, only remembering that this gem is a little more fragile than many others and should be more carefully handled and guarded.

The opal, October’s gem, recalls in its wonderful and varied play of color the glories of a bright October day in the country, when earth and sky vie with each other in brilliancy and the eye is fairly dazzled with the bewildering variety of color.

It rarely happens that Pliny gives any information as to particular jewels, almost all his notices of precious stones being confined to descriptions of their form and color, and data regarding what was popularly believed as to their talismanic or therapeutic power. In the case of the opalus, however, he writes as follows: “There exists to-day a gem of this kind, on account of which the senator Nonius was proscribed by Antony. Seeking safety in flight, he took with him of all his possessions this ring alone, which it is certain, was valued at 2,000,000 sesterces ($80,000).”[212] The stone was “as large as a hazel-nut.”

This “opal of Nonius” would be the great historic opal if we had any assurance that it was really the stone to which we now give this name. As, however, the principal European source of supply in Hungary does not appear to have been available in classic times to the Romans, and as opals are not found in the places whence, according to Pliny, the opalus was derived, we are almost forced to the conclusion that he had some other stone in mind when he gave his eloquent description of the opalus. And yet, in spite of all this, Pliny’s words so well describe the beauties of a fine opal that it is difficult to determine what other stone he could have meant. For it can well be said of opals that “There is in them a softer fire than in the carbuncle, there is the brilliant purple of the amethyst; there is the sea-green of the emerald—all shining together in incredible union. Some by their refulgent splendor rival the colors of the painters, others the flame of burning sulphur or of fire quickened by oil.”[213] Possibly some brilliant varieties of iridescent quartz—“iris” quartz, possessing an internal fracture, displays with great brilliancy all the colors of the rainbow, sparkling with wonderful clearness in its field of transparent mineral—might excite the admiration of one who had never seen an opal. Referring again to these quartz crystals, they are often cut so as to form a dome of quartz and are even used as distinct jewels. The fact that Pliny could praise the Indian imitations of the opalus in glass, and could state that this stone was more successfully imitated than any other, is an almost decisive argument against identifying the opalus with an opal, for it is well known that no stone is more difficult to imitate.

About the middle of the eighteenth century, a peasant found a brilliant precious stone in some old ruins at Alexandria, Egypt. This stone was set in a ring. It was as large as a hazel-nut and is said to have been an opal cut en cabochon. According to the report, it was eventually taken to Constantinople, where it was estimated to be worth “several thousand ducats.”[214] The description given of this gem, its apparent antiquity, and the high value set upon it have contributed to induce many to conjecture that it was the celebrated “opal of Nonius.” Of course this was nothing but a romantic fancy. It is also quite certain that an opal would scarcely hold its play of color or compactness for twenty centuries, for most opals lose their water—slowly perhaps, but surely—within a lesser space of time. Even the finest Hungarian opals show some loss of life and color within a century or even less, and some transparent Mexican opals lose their color and are filled with flaws within a few years’ time.

The Edda tells of a sacred stone called the yarkastein, which the clever smith Volöndr (the Scandinavian Vulcan) formed from the eyes of children. Grimm conjectures that this name designates a round, milk-white opal. Certainly the opal was often called ophthalmios, or eyestone, in the Middle Ages, and it was a common idea that the image of a boy or girl could be seen in the pupil of the eye.

THE “ORPHANUS JEWEL” IN THE GERMAN IMPERIAL CROWN.
From the “Hortus Sanitatis” of Johannis de Cuba [Strassburg, Jean Pryss, ca. 1483]; De lapidibus, cap. xcii. Author’s library.

Albertus Magnus describes under the name orphanus a stone which was set in the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire. This gem is believed to have been a splendid opal, and Albertus describes it as follows:

The orphanus is a stone which is in the crown of the Roman Emperor, and none like it has ever been seen; for this very reason it is called orphanus. It is of a subtle vinous tinge, and its hue is as though pure white snow flashed and sparkled with the color of bright, ruddy wine, and was overcome by this radiance. It is a translucent stone, and there is a tradition that formerly it shone in the night-time; but now, in our age, it does not sparkle in the dark. It is said to guard the regal honor.[215]

Evidently this imperial gem was regarded as sui generis, for Albertus has just described the ophthalmus lapis, a name frequently bestowed upon the opal in medieval times, reciting the virtues usually ascribed to the opal for the cure of diseases of the eye, and the magic power of the stone to render its wearer invisible, wherefore it was denominated patronus furum, or “patron of thieves.”

In the Middle Ages the opal mines of Cernowitz, in Hungary, were very actively exploited, and at the opening of the fifteenth century more than three hundred men are said to have been employed here in the search for opals. At that time, and for many centuries after, no breath of suspicion ever tarnished the fame of the opal as not only a thing of rare beauty, but also a talisman of the first rank. We are told that blond maidens valued nothing more highly than necklaces of opals, for while they wore these ornaments their hair was sure to guard its beautiful color. The latter superstitions probably arose from the frangibility of the stone and its occasional loss of fire.

From the earliest times the baleful influence of the Evil Eye has struck terror into the souls of the ignorant and superstitious. It is believed by some that the name “opal”—written “ophal” in the time of Queen Elizabeth—was derived from ophthalmos, the eye, or ophthalmius, pertaining to the eye, and that hence the foolish superstition regarding the ill luck of the opal had some connection with the belief in the Evil Eye. However, this is altogether incorrect, since the stone called ophthalmius by early writers, and which seems to have been the opalus of the ancients and our opal, was believed to have a wonderfully beneficial effect upon the sight, and if it was thought to render the wearer invisible, this was only an added virtue of the stone.

The eye-agates were sometimes used to form the eyes of idols. At a later period some of these “agate-eyes” were removed from the statues and cut with a glyptic subject on the lower side. Some of the most interesting antique gems are of this kind. In Aleppo (and elsewhere in the East) there is a certain type of sore known as the “Aleppo button” or “Aleppo boil.” The boil frequently does not appear for a long period after infection has taken place. It often appears as a swelling surrounded by a white ring, and there is a belief among the natives that there are “Aleppo stones,” these being the so-called “eye-agates” frequently produced by cutting a three-layer, naturally pale yellow or pale gray agate, with intervening white zones in such a way that it looks like an eye or a double-eye, and such stones are used in alleviation of the Aleppo sore. What beneficial influence they may have is due to the fact that the agate is cold and furnishes a little relief for the time.

This “Aleppo boil” or “Oriental sore” so prevalent in many parts of western Asia, is produced, according to the best authorities, by a pathogenic organism Leishmania tropica (Wright) 1903. As to the means by which this organism is introduced into the human subject nothing very definite is known, but mosquitoes or Phlebotomus have been suggested as possible transmitting agencies.[216]

The eye of some invisible monster, the eye of the dragon, the eye of the serpent, were all regarded as possessed of malign power. It is well known that in the East Indies a peacock’s feather is thought to bring ill-luck, the eye in the feather being the baleful point. Even in our own time, and among those for whom this primitive superstition has no terrors, the humorous use of the idea—as shown, for instance, in the “Dick Dead-Eye” of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pinafore”—proves that the Evil Eye is familiar to our thoughts. For this reason, stones such as those which have been named the cat’s-eye, the tiger’s-eye, or the oculus Beli, always possess a certain strange interest.

One of the earliest descriptions of the opal in English is that written in the reign of Queen Elizabeth by Dr. Stephen Batman (d. 1584). While the passage is essentially a translation from the “De proprietatibus rerum,” of Bartolomæus Anglicus, the English version is interesting in itself as showing what was accepted by English readers of the time regarding the virtues of the opal. There is, of course, no trace of the foolish modern superstition touching the ominous quality of this beautiful gem. Batman writes:[217]

Optallio is called Oppalus also, and is a stone distinguished with colors of divers precious stones, as Isid. saith.... This stone breedeth onely in Inde and is deemed to have as many virtues, as hiewes and colours. Of this Optallius it is said in Lapidario, that this Optallius keepeth and saveth his eyen that beareth it, cleere and sharp and without griefe, and dimmeth other men’s eyen that be about, with a maner clowde, and smiteth them with a maner blindnesse, that is called Amentia, so that they may not see neither take heede what is done before their eyen. Therefore it is said that it is the most sure patron of theeves.

The opal seems to have appealed to Shakespeare as a fit emblem of inconstancy, for in “Twelfth Night” he makes the clown say to the Duke:[218]

Now the melancholy God protect thee, and the Tailor make thy garment of changeable taffeta, for thy mind is very opal.

That the beauty of the opal was fully appreciated in the sixteenth century is shown by the words of Cardano, who states that he once bought one of these stones for fifteen gold crowns and found as much pleasure in its possession as he did in that of a diamond that had cost him five hundred crowns.[219] Although superstitious beliefs were rather the rule than the exception in Cardano’s time, none of the silly fancies regarding the ominous quality of the opal were then current. It was reserved for the nineteenth century to develop these altogether unreasonable—and indeed almost inexplicable—superstitions. The ownership of so fair an object as a fine opal must certainly be a source of pleasure, and hence add to the good fortune of the owner.

Although opal has been considered by some a stone of misfortune, black opal is regarded as an exceptionally lucky stone. Formerly black opals were artificially made by dipping the light-colored stone into ink, or by allowing burnt oil to enter cracks in the stone produced by heating. About the year 1900, however, a number of deposits of natural black opals were found in the White Cliff region of New South Wales, whence exceedingly beautiful gems have been secured, with wonderful flames of green, red, and blue in a black field. Some of these have sold for $1000 and even for a higher price, the smaller ones bringing from a few dollars upward each. It has been claimed that $2,000,000 worth have been sold from New South Wales. A remarkable example is figured on the frontispiece of this volume. The late F. Marion Crawford was a great admirer of this strangely beautiful variety of opal.

That ill-luck and good-luck are relative terms is shown us published of an opal by Paris newspapers. A shopgirl, plainly clad, in crossing the Place de l’Opéra, when the street traffic was at its greatest, stopped at one of the “refuges” halfway across the street. To the girl’s great surprise, an elegantly attired lady standing there slipped an opal ring from her finger and gave it to the girl, who took it to a jeweller’s shop to sell it. Here she was arrested on suspicion of having stolen it. The magistrate before whom she appeared was inclined to believe her story and ordered a “personal” in a widely read journal asking the lady to clear the girl of the charge. A titled lady presented herself, substantiating the girl’s statement. She feared ill-luck would befall her if she wore or kept the ring, which was returned to the shopgirl.

A possible explanation of the superstitious dread the opal used to excite some time ago may be found in the fact that lapidaries and gem-setters to whom opals were entrusted were sometimes so unfortunate as to fracture them in the process of cutting or setting. This was frequently due to no fault on the part of the cutters or setters, but was owing to the natural brittleness of the opal. As such workmen are responsible to the owners for any injury to the gems, they would soon acquire a prejudice against opals, and would come to regard them as unlucky stones. Very widespread superstitions have no better foundation than this, for the original cause, sometimes a quite rational one, is soon lost sight of and popular fantasy suggests something entirely different and better calculated to appeal to the imagination.

The belief that the diamond fractured the teeth if it were put in the mouth, and ruptured the intestines if it were swallowed, already appears in pseudo-Aristotle,[220] and can therefore be dated back to the ninth and perhaps to the seventh century. This fancy evidently owes its origin to the fact that the diamond, because of its hardness, was used to cut all other stones, and the idea of its destructive quality was strengthened by the old legends regarding the venomous serpents which guarded the place where it was found. Hence the firm conviction that it would bring death to any one who swallowed it.

According to Garcias ab Orta (1563), the diamond was not used for medicinal purposes in the India of his time, except when injected into the bladder to break up vesical calculi. He notes, however, the prevalent belief that diamonds, or diamond dust, when taken internally, worked as a poison. As a proof of the falsity of this belief, Garcias adduces the fact that the slaves who worked in the diamond mines often swallowed diamonds to conceal them, and never experienced any ill effects, the stones being recovered in a natural way. The same author notes the case of a man who suffered from chronic dysentery and whose wife had for a long time administered to him doses of diamond dust. If this did not help him, neither did it injure him; finally, by the advice of the doctors, this strange treatment was abandoned. The man eventually died of his disease, but many days after the doses of diamond dust had been discontinued.[221]

The Hindus believed that a flawed diamond, or one containing specks or spots, was so unlucky that it could even deprive Indra of his highest heaven. The original shape of the stone was also considered of great importance, more especially in early times, when but few, if any, diamonds, were cut. A triangular stone was said to cause quarrels, a square diamond inspired the wearer with vague terrors; a five-cornered stone had the worst effect of all, for it brought death; only the six-cornered diamond was productive of good.[222]

The Turkish sultan Bejazet II (1447-1512) is said to have been done to death by a dose of pulverized diamond administered to him by his son Selim, who mixed the diamond dust with the sultan’s food.[223] It is also related that the disciples of Paracelsus (1493-1541) spread the report that he died from the effects of a dose of diamond dust. Ambrosius[224] conjectures that this was only an excuse to explain the demise of the master in the prime of life—he was but forty-eight years old at the time of his death—although he had promised long life to all who made use of his medicaments.

While Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), the unrivalled goldsmith, was imprisoned in Rome, in 1538, he strongly suspected that his enemies were seeking to poison him by tampering with his food. Cellini shared the belief of his contemporaries that there was no more deadly poison than diamond dust. One day, while eating his noonday meal, he felt something grate between his teeth. He paid no particular attention to this, but when he had finished eating his eye was caught by some bright particles on the plate. Picking up one of these and examining it carefully, he was terrified to find what he supposed to be a diamond splinter, and he straightway gave himself up for lost, thinking that he had swallowed a quantity of diamond dust. He prayed to God for an hour and finally became reconciled to the thought of dying, but suddenly it occurred to him that he had not tested the hardness of the fragment he had found in his food. He immediately took the splinter and tried to crush it between his knife and the stone window-sill; to his joy the attempt succeeded, and he became convinced that what he had swallowed was not diamond dust. Later, after his release, Cellini learned that an enemy had given a diamond to a certain Lione Aretino, a gem-cutter, instructing him to grind it up so that the dust could be placed in Cellini’s food. The gem-cutter was very poor and the diamond was worth a hundred scudi, so the man yielded to temptation and substituted a citrine for the diamond. To this circumstance alone did Cellini attribute his escape from death.[225]

In England, more than seventy years after Cellini’s experience, diamond dust was selected as a poison to do away with a luckless prisoner. Sir Thomas Overbury had incurred the bitter animosity of the Countess of Essex, because he opposed her marriage with the favorite of James I, Robert Carr, Viscount Somerset, whom he had befriended and whose career he had furthered. The marriage took place, however, and, in 1613, Overbury was imprisoned in the Tower, through the machinations of the countess. She then sought the aid of one James Franklin, an apothecary, directing him to concoct a slow and deadly poison, which should be mixed with Overbury’s food. In the minutes of Franklin’s confession, he is said to have stated that the countess asked him what he thought of white arsenic. His reply was that this poison would prove too violent. “What say you (quoth she) to powder of diamonds?” He answered, “I know not the nature of that.” She said that he was a fool, and gave him pieces of gold, and bade him buy some of that powder for her. It appears, however, from the testimony, that a number of ingredients were employed, quite probably small doses of mercury, cantharides, etc., as well as the baleful diamond dust. Poor Overbury lingered on for more than three months, but was finally put out of his misery by a clyster of corrosive sublimate.[226]

As a proof of the deadly effects caused by the diamond, the Portuguese Zacutus relates the case of a merchant’s servant who surreptitiously swallowed three rough diamonds belonging to his master. On the following day this man was seized with violent abdominal pains, all the remedies administered to him were without effect, and he soon died from the extensive internal ulceration produced by the sharp edges of the diamonds.[227]

This old fancy that diamonds or diamond dust had deadly effects when swallowed is pretty well exploded by this time, little or no confirmation being afforded by the instances cited in the matter. However, quite recently it has been shown that swallowing a diamond can prove fatal to a fowl. While a prize-winning cockerel was being fondled by his proud owner, it spied a flashing diamond set in a ring on his hand, and immediately pecked out the stone and swallowed it. Not long after, the fowl died—not, however, because it was poisoned by the diamond, but because it was chloroformed to insure the speedy recovery of the stone.

An old English ballad, treating of the loves of Hind Horn and Maid Rimnild, recounts that when Hind Horn, who loved and was beloved by the king’s daughter, went to sea to escape the wrath of the king, the princess gave him a ring set with seven diamonds. We are told that when far from home:

One day he looked his ring upon

He saw the diamond pale and wan.

Hereupon, he hastened back, for the paleness of the stone was a sign the loved one was unfaithful to him. On his return, he succeeded in preventing her marriage to another, and everything ended happily.[228]

In a fourteenth century MS. of the Old English romance upon which the ballad is founded, the stone in the ring is not named; in giving it Rimnild says:[229]

Loke thou forsake it for no thing;

The ston it is well trewe.

When the ston wexeth wan

Than chaungeth the thought of thi leman,

Take than a newe.

When the ston wexeth rede,

Than have Y lorn mi maidenhed,

Oghaines[230] the untrewe.

In this older form of the tale, the stone either grows pale or red as a sign of misfortune. It is interesting to note that Epiphanius, writing a thousand years earlier, states that the adamas of the high-priest grew red as a presage of bloodshed and defeat for the Jews.

Regarding the old fancy that a serpent could not look upon an emerald without losing its sight, the Arabian gem dealer, Ahmed Teifashi, in 1242 writes as follows:[231]

After having read in learned books of this peculiarity of the emerald, I tested it by my own experiment and found the statements exact. It chanced that I had in my possession a fine emerald of the zabâbi variety, and with this I decided to make the experiment on the eyes of a viper. Therefore, having made a bargain with a snake-charmer to procure me some vipers, as soon as I received them I selected one and placed it in a vessel. This being done, I took a stick of wood, attached to the end a piece of wax, and embedded my emerald in this. I then brought the emerald near to the viper’s eyes. The reptile was strong and vigorous, and even raised its head out of the vessel, but as soon as I approached the emerald to its eyes, I heard a slight crepitation and saw that the eyes were protruding and dissolving into a humor. After this the viper was dazed and confused; I had expected that it would spring from the vessel, but it moved uneasily hither and thither, without knowing which way to turn; all its agility was lost, and its restless movements soon ceased.

Wolfgang Gabelchover, in his commentary on the sixth book of the treatise “De Gemmis,” by Andrea Baccio, gives the following account of a strange and tragic experience in regard to a ruby:[232]

It is worthy of note that the true Oriental ruby, by frequent changes of color and by growing obscurity, announces to the wearer some impending misfortune or calamity; and the obscurity and opacity is greater or less according to the extent of the coming ill-fortune. Alas! that what I had often heard proclaimed by learned men, I should myself experience; for as, on the fifth of December, 1600, I was travelling from Stuttgart to Calw with my beloved wife Catherine Adelmann of pious memory, I plainly observed in the course of the journey that a very beautiful ruby which she had given me, and which I wore on my hand, set in a gold ring, once and again lost its splendid coloring and became obscure, changing its brightness for a dark hue. This dark hue continued not for one or two days only, but so long that I was greatly terrified, and, removing the ring from my finger, concealed it in a case. Wherefore, I repeatedly warned my wife that some great calamity was impending either for her or for myself, the which I inferred from the change and variation of the ruby. Nor was I deceived, for within a few days she was seized with a dangerous illness, which resulted in her death.

A story explaining one at least of these supposedly ominous changes of color in precious stones, is given by Johann Jacob Spener, who states that it was told him by a trustworthy informant:[233]

There was a jeweller, expert, prudent, and rich, three essential qualities in a jeweller. One day, after having washed his hands, this man sat at a table, when, glancing at a ruby ring he wore on his finger, he remarked that the stone, which usually delighted the eye with its splendor, had lost its brilliancy and become dull. Since he believed what others had related to him, he was firmly persuaded that some misfortune threatened him, and, having removed the ring from his finger, he placed it in its case. A fortnight later, one of this man’s sons died of varioloid. Reminded by this event of the phenomenon observed in the ruby, the jeweller took it from the case and found, on examination, that it had regained its pristine brilliancy. This fact confirmed him in his belief in the ominous quality of the stone. Once more, shortly after washing his hands, he remarked anew that the splendor of the ruby was dimmed, and he again fell a prey to anxiety, lest some fresh misfortune was impending. Since, however, his apprehensions proved vain and no untoward event happened, he investigated the matter carefully, and discovered that the obscuration of the color was due to a drop of water which had penetrated between the ruby and the foil, as the jewellers call it, and that the former brilliancy returned when the water had evaporated.

The ominous character of the onyx is especially noted in Arabic tradition, as is shown by the Arabic name for the stone, el jaza, “sadness.” The following passage from pseudo-Aristotle offers an illustration of the strength of this prejudice against the onyx, which was said to come from China and the Magreb:[234]

Those who are in the land of China fear this stone so much that they dread to go into the mines where it occurs; hence none but slaves and menials, who have no other means of gaining a livelihood, take the stone from the mines. When it has been extracted, it is carried out of the country and sold in other lands. Those men of the Magreb also who are gifted with any wisdom will not wear an onyx or place it in their treasuries. Indeed, no one is willing to wear it, unless he be bereft of his senses; for whosoever wears it, either set in a ring or in any other way, will have fearful dreams and be tormented by a multitude of doubts and apprehensions; he will also have many disputes and lawsuits. Lastly, whoever keeps an onyx in his house, or places it in a vessel, or puts it in food or drink, will suffer loss of energy and capacity.

An ominous character was attributed to the red coral, especially the more highly colored varieties. If worn so that the substance came in direct contact with the skin, it was asserted that the color would pale, the coral also losing its brightness if the wearer became ill, or even if he were only threatened with severe illness. The same effect was said to be induced if some deadly poison had been taken. Cardano writes that he more than once observed this phenomenon, and he thinks that in these cases, where the wearer was not yet attacked by disease, its threatening “vapor,” though not strong enough to provoke decided symptoms in the human body, was sufficiently powerful to offset the more delicate and subtle essence of the mineral substance. Of course, for us the mineral would be much less sensitive than flesh and blood, but the sixteenth century writers, and to a still greater degree those of an earlier time, attributed to stones not only life in a general way, but old age, disease, and death, in a very positive sense.[235]

Rabbinical tradition tells of a wonderful luminous stone placed by Noah in the Ark. This stone shone more brilliantly by day than by night, and served to distinguish the day from the night when, during the flood, neither sun nor moon could be seen.[236] According to another Jewish legend, Abraham is said to have built a city for the six sons Hagar bore to him. The wall with which this city was surrounded was so lofty that the light of the sun was cut off, and to offset this Abraham gave to his sons enormous precious stones and pearls. These exceeded the sun in brightness, and will be used in the time of the Messiah.[237]

Ælian relates the following tale of a luminous stone. A woman of Tarentum, named Heracleis, who was a pattern of the domestic virtues, lost her husband and mourned sincerely for him. Her grief made her compassionate, for when a young stork just learning to fly lost its strength and fell to the ground before her, Heracleis picked up the helpless bird and tended it carefully until its strength returned and it was able to fly away. A year later, when the woman was outside the house enjoying the bright warm sunshine, she saw a stork flying toward her. As the bird passed over her head, it let fall a precious stone into her lap. Heracleis took the stone with, her into the house, feeling by an infallible instinct that the stork which had dropped it was the one she had cared for in the previous year. During the night she woke up, and was astonished to see that the room was lighted up as though by many torches, the radiance proceeding from the stone bestowed by the stork as a proof of its gratitude.[238]

In German, the stone called Donnerkeil (thunderbolt) has several synonyms; among these is Storchstein (“stork-stone”). It is evident that the stone of Heracleis was identical with the precious and brilliant variety of cerauniæ mentioned by Pliny, “which drew to themselves the radiance of the stars.” The flashing and ruddy light of the ruby suggested an igneous origin, and induced the belief that rubies were generated by a fire from heaven,—in other words, by the lightning flash.[239]

The analogy between the flame of a lamp or the glow of a burning coal and the radiance of a ruby, suggested some of the names given to this stone, or those resembling it in color, as, for instance, the Greek anthrax and the Latin carbunculus and lychnis. Probably the fancy that such stones were luminous in the dark was nothing more than the logical result of the quasi-identification of them with fire in some of its manifestations. Still, it is a well-known fact that some stones possess a high degree of phosphorescence. This circumstance must have been observed by chance, and may have had something to do with the legends of luminous stones, although this peculiarity is not characteristic of the ruby.

According to Pliny, the lychnis, perhaps a spinel, was so called a lucernarum accensu (from the lighting, or the light, of lamps). The author of the poem “Lithica” says that the diamond (adamas), like the crystal, when placed on an altar, sent forth a flame without the aid of fire.[240] If this did not refer to the use of rock-crystal as a burning-glass, we might see in the passage an indication that the phosphorescence of the diamond had already been noted before the second or third century of our era.

From the Lydian river Tmolus a marvellous stone was taken which was said to change color four times a day. This surpasses the properties of the “saphire merveilleux” which changed its hue at night. Only innocent young girls could find the Lydian stone, and while they wore it they were defended from outrage.[241] Is it possible that the ancient writer intended to hint at the proverbial fickleness of woman, when stating that this changeable stone could only be discovered by one of the fair sex?

The temple of the Syrian goddess Astarte contained an image of this divinity crowned with a diadem in which was set a luminous stone. Such was the splendor of the light emitted by this gem that the whole sanctuary was lighted up as though with a myriad of lamps. Indeed, the stone itself bore the name lychnos (“lamp”). In the daytime this light was fainter, but was still very noticeable, as a fiery glow.[242]

Two fabulous stones are noted by pseudo-Aristotle, and one of these, the “sleeping-stone,” must have possessed marvellous soporific power. It was a luminous stone of a bright ruddy hue, and shone in the darkness with a bright light. If a small quantity of this stone were hung about a person’s neck, he would sleep uninterruptedly for three days and nights, and, when awakened on the fourth day, he would still be almost overcome by sleep. The other stone, of a greenish hue, had the opposite quality and induced prolonged wakefulness; so long as it was worn, sleep was banished. Our author gravely states that “some men who must watch at night suffer greatly from lack of sleep.” If, however, they wore the “waking-stone,” they suffered no inconvenience from their enforced vigils.[243] Evidently this stone would be a precious possession for night-watchmen, and a more satisfactory guarantee for their employers than “timeclocks” or other tests of wakefulness.

In his commentary on Marbodus, Alardus of Amsterdam relates the history of a wonderful luminous stone, a “chrysolampis,” which, with many other precious stones, was set in a marvellous golden tablet dedicated to St. Adelbert, apostle of the Frisians and patron of the town of Egmund (d. 720-730), by Hildegard, wife of Theodoric, Count of Holland. The gift was made to the Abbey of Egmund, where the saint’s body reposed. Alardus tells us that the “chrysolampis” shone so brightly that when the monks were called to the chapel in the night-time, they could read the Hours without any other light. This wonderful stone was stolen by one of the monks, whom Alardus terms “the most rapacious creature who ever went on two legs”; but, fearing to keep so valuable a gem with him, he cast it into the sea and it was never recovered.[244]

Strange tales were told of a luminous “carbuncle” on the shrine of St. Elizabeth (d. 1231) at Marburg. This stone was set above the statuette of the Virgin, and it was said to emit fiery rays at night. However, Creuzer informs us that it was only a very brilliant rock crystal of a yellowish-white hue. The shrine was an elaborate work of art in silver gilt, and was literally covered with precious stones to the number of 824, besides two large pearls and a great many smaller ones. All these gems were stripped from their settings when the shrine was taken from Marburg to Cassel in 1810.[245]

At the Dusseldorf Exhibition of 1891, the writer saw what was called “The Ring of St. Elizabeth,” purporting to be set with her miraculously luminous ruby. The stone in the setting proved, however, to be a large almost flat carbuncle garnet of no great brilliancy, set in a narrow rim of gold.

After noting the reports of medieval travellers regarding the wonderful luminous rubies of the sovereigns of Pegu and repeating the tale that the night was illumined by their splendor, Cleandro Arnobio adds that it did not appear that any such rubies were to be found in his day. Nevertheless, he had heard from an ecclesiastic of a certain jewel that shone brightly at night. This stone, however, was not a ruby, but was of a pale citron hue, and hence Arnobio inclines to believe that it was either a topaz or a yellow diamond.[246] This probably refers to the Marburg “carbuncle.”

The luminous “ruby” of the King of Ceylon is noted by Chau Ju-Kua,[247] a Chinese writer of about the middle of the thirteenth century and hence a contemporary of the Arab Teifashi. He says: “The king holds in his hand a jewel five inches in diameter, which cannot be burned by fire, and which shines in the night like a torch.” This gigantic luminous gem was also believed to possess the virtues of an elixir of youth, for we are told that the king rubbed his face with it daily and by this means would retain his youthful looks even should he live more than ninety years.

The glories of Emperor Manuel’s (ca. 1120-1180) throne are celebrated by the Hebrew traveller Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Constantinople in 1161 A.D. This splendid throne was of gold studded with precious stones and, suspended from the canopy by gold chains, hung a magnificent golden crown set with jewels of incalculable value and so bright and sparkling that their glitter rendered needless any other illumination at night.[248]

When Henry II of France (1519-1559) made his solemn entry into the city of Boulogne, a stranger from India presented to the sovereign a luminous stone. It was rather soft, had a fiery brilliance, and could not be touched with impunity. According to De Thou, this story was vouched for by J. Pipin, who saw the stone himself and described it in a letter to Antoine Mizauld, a writer on occult themes, well known in his day.[249]

Although Garcias ab Orta did not believe in the tales current in his time regarding luminous rubies, he relates a story of such a stone told to him by a gem-dealer. This man stated that he had purchased a number of fine but small rubies from Ceylon, and had spread them out over a table. When he gathered them up again, one of the stones remained hidden in a fold of the table-cloth. In the night he remarked something like a flame emanating from the table. Lighting a candle, he approached the table and found there the small ruby; when this was removed and the candle extinguished, the light was no longer visible. Garcias admits that the gem-dealers were fond of telling good stories, but he concludes with the dictum, “we must trust in them nevertheless.”[250]

Not only the ruby, but the emerald also had the reputation of being a luminous stone, for, besides the shining “emerald” pillar in the temple of Melkart at Tyre, Pliny records the tale of a marble lion, with eyes of gleaming emeralds, which was set over the tomb of “a petty king called Hermias.” This tomb was on the coast, and the flashing light from the emerald eyes frightened away the tunny-fish, to the great loss of the fishermen.[251] Whether the eyes of the magnificent chryselephantine statue of Athene by Phidias were supposed to be luminous we do not know, but they were incrusted with precious stones.[252]

The collection of works by the English alchemists, published by Elias Ashmole, contains the tale of a worthy parson who lived in a little town near London, and who wished to immortalize himself by building across the Thames a bridge which would always be lighted at night. After relating several expedients which suggested themselves to him, the poet continues:

At the laste he thought to make the light,

For the Bridge to shine by nighte,

With Carbuncle Stones, to make men wonder,

With double reflexion above and under:

Then new thought troubled his Minde

Carbuncle Stones how he might finde;

And where to find wise men and trewe,

Which would for his interest pursue,

In seeking all the Worlde about,

Plenty of Carbuncles to find out;

For this he took so mickle thought,

That his fatt flesh wasted nigh to naught.[253]

It is scarcely necessary to add that the poor parson never realized his dream, but the story shows how popular was the belief that carbuncles or rubies shone with their own light.

A luminous or phosphorescent stone, which has been named the Bologna stone, is the subject of a treatise published by the physician Mentzel in 1675.[254] The writer describes various experiments made to test the peculiar qualities of this mineral, which is partly a radiated or crystalline sulphate of barytes, and phosphoresces when calcined. It was sometimes called the “lunar stone” (lapis lunaris), because, like the moon, it gave out in the darkness the light it received from the sun. Mentzel also relates that the stone was first discovered, in 1604, by Vincenzio Casscioroli, an adept in alchemy, who believed that it would be a great aid in the transmutation of the baser metals into gold, on account of its solar quality. The place of its occurrence was Monte Paterno, near Bologna, where it appeared in the fissures of the mountain, after torrential rains.

TITLE PAGE OF ROBERT BOYLE’S WORK ON THE ORIGIN AND VIRTUES OF GEMS.
Printed in Cologne in 1680.

The various phenomena of fluorescence and phosphorescence undoubtedly explain some at least of the legends regarding luminous stones, superstition or fantasy having here as in most other cases a certain substratum of fact. This class of physical phenomena has been made the subject of special investigation by the author, as many as 13,000 specimens of various minerals having been subjected to the most searching tests in order to determine their qualities in this respect.[255] His interest in this field of research was greatly stimulated by a fortuitous happening. In 1891 his wife, while hanging up a gown in a closet one evening, saw that the diamond in a ring she was wearing gave off a faint streak of light which was very noticeable in the dark, and this fact led to a long series of experiments on the fluorescence, phosphorescence, and triboluminescence of the diamond.[256] More than two centuries before, Robert Boyle made a similar set of experiments at night with a diamond which must have been an Indian stone, and which he describes as table cut, about one-third of an inch long and somewhat less in width; he remarks that it was a dull stone of very bad water, having a blemish with a whitish cloud covering nearly a third of the stone.[257]

The “Journal des Sçavans” for 1739 gives certain tests of the luminous quality of diamonds made by Mons. Du Fay. In order successfully to observe this phenomenon, he prescribes that the experimenter shall remain in a darkened room for fifteen minutes, taking the additional precaution of closing one or both of his eyes. The diamond to be tested should be exposed to the sun’s rays, or to strong daylight, for less than a minute, and when taken into darkness the luminosity, if observable, lasts twelve or thirteen minutes at longest. Not all diamonds show this quality, and nothing in their form or appearance serves to determine their possession of it. However, Mons. du Fay observed that the yellow diamonds, of which he tried a considerable number, were luminous. A single emerald, out of twenty that were tested, proved to be luminous.[258]

Boyle’s experiments led to the discovery that some diamonds, when rubbed against wood or other hard substances, and even against cloth or silk, will emit a ray of light which seems to follow them; this is what is called triboluminescence.

The power of absorbing sunlight or artificial light and then giving it off in the dark is only possessed by certain diamonds. These are Brazilian stones, slightly milky in tint, or blue-white as they are often termed, and it is an included substance and not the diamond itself that possesses the power of storing up light and then giving it out. Willemite, kunzite, sphalerite (sulphide of zinc) and some other minerals possess the same power. Their peculiar property may be due to the presence of a slight quantity of manganese or to that of some of the uranium salts. That it is only the ultra-violet rays that are thus absorbed by these diamonds is proved by the fact that the phenomenon is not observable when a thin plate of glass is interposed between the sunlight or artificial light and the diamond, as glass is not traversed by these rays. The still undetermined substance to whose presence in diamonds of this type the special class of phenomena must be due, was named by the author tiffanyite, in honor of the late Charles L. Tiffany (1812-1902), founder of the firm of Tiffany & Company.[259]

On the other hand all diamonds phosphoresce when exposed to the rays of radium, polonium, or actinium, even when glass is interposed. Treating of some of the aspects of phosphorescence in diamonds, Sir William Crookes says:[260]

In a vacuum, exposed to a high-tension current of electricity, diamonds phosphoresce of different colours, most South African diamonds shining with a bluish light. Diamonds from other localities emit bright blue, apricot, pale blue, red, yellowish-green, orange, and pale green light. The most phosphorescent diamonds are those which are fluorescent in the sun. One beautiful green diamond in my collection, when phosphorescing in a good vacuum, gives almost as much light as a candle, and you can easily read by its rays. But the time has hardly come when diamonds can be used as domestic illuminants!

By permission of Mrs. Kunz, wife of the well-known New York mineralogist, I will show you perhaps the most remarkable of all phosphorescing diamonds. This prodigy diamond will phosphoresce in the dark for some minutes after being exposed to a small pocket electric light, and if rubbed on a piece of cloth a long streak of phosphorescence appears.

The luminescence produced by heat is wonderfully marked in the case of chlorophane, a variety of fluorite. A Siberian specimen of a pale violet color emitted a white light merely from the heat of the hand; boiling water caused it to give out a green light, which was so greatly intensified when the specimen rested on a live coal that the radiance could be discerned from a considerable distance. Similar phenomena were observable in the case of chlorophane from Amelia Court House, Va., and the writer found that specimens from this source also exhibited strong triboluminescence, resulting either from contact with one another, or with any hard substance.[261]

As the terms fluorescence and phosphorescence are sometimes rather carelessly employed, it may be well to note here that while both terms are used to denote the luminescence of a non-luminous body resulting from the action of light rays, of the electric current, or of radiant energy of any kind, as well as from heat, fluorescence signifies a luminosity which only continues so long as the exciting cause is present, while phosphorescence means a luminosity persisting for a longer or shorter period after the exciting cause has ceased to operate directly. The latter term therefore denotes a luminous energy stored up in the formerly non-luminous body and emitted by it for a certain time, at the expiration of which it again becomes non-luminous. Other special designations of induced luminosity in minerals are triboluminescence, the emission of light as a result of friction and thermoluminescence, a term used to denote light-emission excited by moderate heating, even by the warmth of the hand.

An old treatise in Greek, said in its title to come from “the sanctuary of the temple,” and containing material, partly of Egyptian origin, may help us to understand something of the processes employed by a temple priest to impress the common people by the sight of luminous gems. The writer of the treatise declares that for the production of “the carbuncle that shines in the night” use was made of certain parts (he says “the bile”) of marine animals whose entrails, scales and bones exhibited the phenomenon of phosphorescence. If properly treated, precious stones (preferably carbuncles) would glow so brightly at night “that anyone owning such a stone could read or write by its light as well as he could by daylight.”[262]

In the Annales de Chimie et Physique, the great French chemist, M. Berthelot, discusses this matter and expresses the following opinion[263]

“The texts leave no room for doubt as to the employment by the ancients of precious stones rendered phosphorescent in the dark by the superficial application of tinctures composed of materials whose phosphorescent quality is known to us. Although this luminescence, due to an application of organic oxidizable materials, could not well be durable, still it might be made to last several hours, perhaps several days, and it could always be renewed by repeating the application.”

The use of jewelled ornaments to heighten by their luminosity in obscurity or in darkness the effect produced by a sacred image, and to stimulate religious awe in the beholder, is testified to by the ultra-Protestant traveller, Fynes Moryson, Gent., who went to Italy in 1594. Of his visit to the Santa Casa in Loreto, he says that he himself and two Dutchmen, his companions, were permitted to enter the inner chapel of the sanctuary, “where,” he proceeds, “we did see the Virgin’s picture, adorned with pretious Jewels, and the place (to increase religious horror) being darke, yet the Jewels shined by the light of wax candles.” Although there is no question here of naturally luminous gems, this might have been the impression produced upon a more sympathetic pilgrim.[264]

Writing of the traditions in regard to luminous stones, Sir Richard F. Burton says, “There may be a basis of fact to this fancy, the abnormal effect of precious stones upon mesmeric sensitives.”[265] However, while some instances are recorded of psychic impression produced by precious stones on the minds of persons possessing a highly sensitive nervous system, it seems likely that some legends of luminous stones had their origin in the refractive powers of cut gems, by means of which a dim and distant light would be reflected from the surface of the stones and would seem to spring from them. Quite possibly, in other instances, there was a disposition to cater to the popular belief by placing a light so that the hidden beams traversed the stone and appeared to emanate from it.

[VI]
On Crystal Balls and Crystal Gazing

WE have evidence of the use of crystal balls as means of divination in medieval times, and “scrying” in some of its many forms was by no means rare in the Greek and Roman periods. The essential requisite for the exercise of this species of divination is a polished surface of some sort upon which the scryer shall gaze intently; for this purpose mirrors, globules of lead or quicksilver, polished steel, the surface of water, and even pools of ink, have been employed and have been found to insure quite as satisfactory results as the crystal ball. The points of light reflected from the polished surface (points de repère) serve to attract the attention of the gazer and to fix the eye until, gradually, the optic nerve becomes so fatigued that it finally ceases to transmit to the sensorium the impression made from without and begins to respond to the reflex action proceeding from the brain of the gazer. In this way the impression received from within is apparently projected and seems to come from without. It is easy to understand that the results must vary according to the idiosyncrasy of the various scryers; for everything depends upon the sensitiveness of the optic nerve. In many cases the effect of prolonged gazing upon the brilliant surface will simply produce a loss of sight, the optic nerve will be temporarily paralyzed and will as little respond to stimulation from within as from without; in other cases, however, the nerve will be only deadened as regards external impressions, while retaining sufficient activity to react against a stimulus from the brain centres. It is almost invariably stated that, prior to the appearance of the desired visions, the crystal seems to disappear and a mist rises before the gazer’s eye.

ROCK-CRYSTAL BALL PENETRATED BY CRYSTALS OF RUTILE. MADAGASCAR.

The Achaians, as Pausanius relates, frequently used a mirror to divine diseases or to learn whether there was danger of sudden death. Of the Temple of Demeter, or Ceres, at Patras, he writes:[266]

In front of the temple of Demeter there is a well. A stone wall separates this well from the temple, but steps lead down to it from the outside. Here there is an infallible oracle, although it does not answer all questions, but only those touching diseases. They attach a slender cord to a mirror and let it down into the well, balancing it carefully so that the water does not cover the face, but only touches the rim. Then, after making a prayer to the goddess and burning incense to her, they look into the mirror, and it shows whether the sick person will die or recover. Such is the power of truth in this water.

This sacred well with its oracle of the magic mirror must have been in Lucian’s mind when, in his description of the palace of the Moon-King, he says:[267]

Another wonderful thing I saw in the palace. Suspended over a rather shallow well there is a large mirror, and anyone who goes down into this well will hear every word that is spoken on earth, while, if he gazes on the mirror, he will see there every city and every nation just as clearly as though he were looking down upon them from a slight elevation. At the time I was there, I saw my native country and its inhabitants. Whether I myself was seen by them in turn, I am not sure.

Lucian adds, with a fine touch of irony, “Anyone who doubts this assertion needs only to go there himself and he will find out that I speak the truth.” As no one has yet made a trip to the moon, the assertion is still uncontradicted.

In their religious legends the ancient Mexicans taught that their god Tezcatlipuco had a magic mirror in which he saw everything that happened in the world.[268] He was sometimes named Necocyautl, “sower of discord,” because he often stirred up war and strife among men, but he was also lord of riches and prosperity, which he bestowed and took away again at his will. To the influence of this divinity were attributed many omens and certain strange visions, announced by repeated knockings.[269]

In the Orphic poem “Lithica,” a magic sphere of stone is described. The substance is called “sideritis” or “ophitis,” and is said to be black, round, and heavy; possibly some metal, rather than a stone, is designated by these names. Helenus, the Trojan soothsayer, is said to have used this sphere to foretell the downfall of his native city. He fasted for twenty-one days and then wrapped the sphere in soft garments, like an infant, and offered sacrifices to it until, by the magic of his prayers, “a living soul warmed the precious substance.”

A strange variety of divination by means of mirrors placed on the heads of boys, who, with eyes blindfolded, were supposed to perceive forms or signs of some description in the mirrors, is noted by Spartianus in his life of the Emperor Didius Julianus (ca. 133-193). This ruler is said to have resorted to this form of divination, and the boy entrusted with the task is asserted to have announced the approaching accession of Septimius Severus (146-211) and the dethronement of Didius Julianus.[270]

An indication that the usage of divination by means of a silver cup existed among the primitive Hebrews has been found in the story of Joseph and his brethren. In Genesis xliv, 1-5, we read that Joseph concealed a silver cup in the sack of grain borne away by Benjamin, making of this a pretext for requiring the return of his brethren. He sent messengers to overtake them and directed them to demand the return of the cup, using these words: “Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth?”

The Arabic author, Haly Abou Gefar, tells of a golden ball used by “the Magi, followers of Zoroaster,” in their incantations. It was incrusted with celestial symbols and set with a sapphire, and one of these magicians, after attaching it to a strip of bullhide, swung it around, reciting at the same time various spells and incantations.[271] Probably the magician, by fixing his gaze upon the brilliant revolving sphere, gradually fell into a hypnotic trance, during which visions appeared to him. These he could afterward interpret to those who had sought his aid to read the future, or obtain information regarding things that were happening far away.

An important side-light on the beliefs of Western Europe, in the fifth century, regarding crystal-gazing, is afforded by one of the canons of the synod held about 450 A.D. by St. Patrick and the bishops Auxilius and Issernanus. Here it is decreed that any Christian who believes there is a Lamia (or witch) in the mirror is to be anathematized, and is not to be again received into the Church unless he shall have renounced this belief and shall have diligently performed the penance imposed upon him.[272] In this case, as in many others, the vision in the crystal or mirror did not represent some former or contemporaneous happening, but the figure of an evil spirit, who, either by signs or words, imparted to the scryer the information he was seeking.

The power to see images of evil spirits on the surface of water was claimed by those called hydromantii in the ninth century. This is attested in a work composed about 860 A.D. by Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, who characterizes the supposed appearances as “images or deceptions of the demons.” These diviners asserted that they received audible communications from the spirits, and they therefore evidently believed that the appearances were realities.[273]

Although, as we have seen, many different materials were used for scrying, the preference was often given to polished spheres of beryl; in modern times, however, the rock-crystal is considered the best adapted for the purpose.

In his introduction to “Crystal Gazing,” by N. W. Thomas,[274] Andrew Lang writes of what he terms hypnagogic illusions—images which appear when the eyes are closed and before sleep supervenes. When faces appeared to him in this way, they were always unfamiliar ones, with the single exception of having once seen his own face in profile. The same was almost invariably true of landscape and inanimate objects. These forms seemed to grow out of the bright points of light which frequently appear when the eyes are closed, and Lang suggests a similar origin for the visions of the “scryers”—namely, the development of the images from dark or light points in the glass.

In regard to this, we have an interesting passage in the works of Ibn Kaldoun, a Persian writer, born in 1332, who gives the following very acute analysis of the phenomena accompanying crystal-gazing.[275]

Some believe that the image perceived in this way takes form on the surface of the mirror, but they are mistaken. The diviner looks at this surface fixedly until it disappears, and a curtain, like a mist, is interposed between him and the mirror. Upon this curtain are designed the forms he wishes to see, and this permits him to give indications, either affirmative or negative, concerning the matter on which he is questioned. He then describes his perceptions as he has received them. The diviners, while in this state, do not see what is really to be seen (in the mirror); it is another kind of perception, which is born in them and which is realized not by sight but by the soul.

As to the character and quality of the crystal to be used, Abbot Tritheim, the master of the famous Cornelius Agrippa, says:[276]

Procure of a lapidary a good, clear, pellucid crystal of the bigness of a small orange,—i.e., about one inch and a half in diameter; let it be globular, or round each way alike; then you have got this crystal fair and clear, without any clouds or specks. Get a small plate of pure gold to encompass the crystal round one-half; let this be fitted on an ivory or ebony pedestal. Let there be engraved a circle round the crystal; afterwards the name: Tetragrammaton. On the other side of the plate let there be engraved, Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, which are the four principal angels ruling over the Sun, Moon, Venus, and Mercury.

The four letters constituting the Tetragrammaton are the Hebrew characters yôdh, hê, wâw and hê, יהוה. As this divine name was regarded in later Judaism as too sacred to be pronounced, the word lord, adonai, was substituted for it in the reading of the Scriptures. For this reason, when the vowel signs were added to the text to indicate the traditional pronunciation, the consonants Yhwh were provided with the vowels of adonai and the name was therefore read Jehovah by Christian scholars.

The Persian poet Jâmi writes thus of a magic mirror in the poem “Salamân and Absal”:[277]

Then from his secret Art the Sage Vizyr

A Magic Mirror made; a Mirror like

The bosom of All-wise Intelligence,

Reflecting in its mystic compass all

Within the sev’nfold volume of the World

Involved; and looking in that Mirror’s face

The Shah beheld the face of his Desire.

Roger Bacon (1214-1292) was probably the most gifted man of the thirteenth century, and his writings testify to an extraordinarily clear perception of the essential principles of scientific research. However, his true greatness was not generally appreciated in his own age, and popular fancy wove about his name a fabric of legend in which he appeared as an arch-necromancer and magician. The curious old work entitled “The Famous Historie of Fryar Bacon” gives a number of the strange recitals which became current in England in regard to Bacon’s wonderful powers.

GLASS BALL, PERFORATED AND MOUNTED IN METAL, SO THAT IT CAN BE SUSPENDED AND USED FOR OCCULT AND CURATIVE PURPOSES.

Period of about tenth or twelfth century. Collection of Sir Charles Hercules Read.

BALL OF JET, PERFORATED, MOUNTED IN METAL, SO THAT IT CAN BE SUSPENDED AND USED FOR OCCULT AND CURATIVE PURPOSES.

Period of about tenth or twelfth century. Collection of Sir Charles Hercules Read.

EYE AGATE, SHOWING A NUMBER OF CIRCULAR MARKINGS.
Mounted in metal and kept in a box, as a votive or curative stone. About fourteenth century. British Museum. (See page [149].)

One of these treats of a marvellous “glass” made by the friar, in which events happening at far-distant places were mirrored. On one occasion two young men, between whom the friendliest feelings existed, came to Bacon and requested him to let them see in the mirror what their fathers were doing at the time. The friar consented, but the experiment, while successful, was the cause of a terrible misfortune. The story is as follows:

The Fathers of these two Gentlemen (in their Sonnes absence) were become great foes: this hatred betweene them was growne to that height, that wheresoever they met, they had not onely wordes, but blowes. Just at that time, as it should seeme, that their Sonnes were looking to see how they were in health, they were met, and had drawne, and were together by the eares. Their Sonnes seeing this, and having been alwayes great friends, knew not what to say to one another, but beheld each other with angry lookes. At last one of their Fathers, as they might perceive in the Glasse, had a fall, and the other, taking advantage, stood over him ready to strike him. The Sonne of him that was downe could then containe himselfe no longer, but told the other young man, that his Father had received wrong. He answered againe, that it was faire. At last there grew such foule words betweene them, and their bloods were so heated, that they presently stabbed the one the other with their Daggers, and so fell downe dead.

The sceptre of the Scottish regalia is surmounted by a crystal globe, two inches and a quarter in diameter, and the mace by a large crystal beryl. In former times these stones were regarded as amulets and their use was traced back to the Druids. Sir Walter Scott tells us that in his time they were still known among the Scottish Highlanders as “Stones of Power.”[278]

The testimony of John of Salisbury (1120?-1180) shows that in the twelfth century, in England, divination by means of the arts of the specularii was often practised. The prelate writes that when a boy, he himself and a companion a few years older received instruction from a priest who was addicted to the use of these magic arts. This priest used to polish the finger-nails of the boys with a consecrated oil or ointment, and then direct them to look upon the polished surface until some figure or form should appear. Sometimes the smooth, polished surface of a basin was used. John of Salisbury regarded it as a mark of divine favor that he himself saw nothing upon the smooth and lustrous surface, but he states that his companion observed certain vague and shadowy forms. Certain names pronounced by the priest on these occasions terrified the boy, for he believed them to be the names of evil spirits; indeed, such was his reluctance to participate in the unholy rites that his presence was believed to interfere with the production of the phenomena.[279]

In another part of his “Policraticus,” John of Salisbury states that the specularii claimed that their gift of seeing visions on polished surfaces was never used to injure any one, but was often useful in the detection of theft and in counteracting magic spells.[280]

Under the comprehensive chapter heading: “How to conjure the crystal so that all things may be seen in it,” Paracelsus (1493-1541) declares that “to conjure” means nothing more than “to observe anything rightly, to learn and to understand what it is.” The crystal was of the nature of the air, and hence all things movable and immovable that could be seen in the air could also be seen in the crystal or speculum.[281]

Paracelsus showed keen insight, and his conclusions are excellent. One might add, however, that it is a fact that these are images condensed in the double convex lens, forming as it were, an internal crystal sphere. These images are reversed, distorted and twisted, and when they become visible to one who is expecting strange things, they form mental impressions which it is often very difficult to erase. Many crystal gazers are frequently very highly wrought, nervous and susceptible, and other influences uniting with the impressions produced, may give the brain for a time the power to evolve kaleidoscopic effects.

Directions for the use of an Erdenspiegel, or “earth-mirror,” are given in an old German manuscript written in 1658 by a Capuchin priest.[282] The mirror is to be set about two inches above a board, and the questions to be answered are to be placed beneath it. The scryer is recommended to place three grains of salt upon his tongue, whereupon he is to repeat a prayer and cross himself. He now takes the mirror in his hand and breathes upon it three times, repeating the words, “In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

These preliminaries having been accomplished, the following prayer, or rather invocation, is repeated:

O thou holy Archangel N. N., I pray to thee most fervently through the great and unsearchable name of the Lord of all Lords and King of all Kings, Jod, He, Vau, He, Tetragrammaton, Adonay, Schaday, receive my greeting and give ear to the humble petition which I offer in the name of the great and highest God, Elohim, Zebaoth, that thou shalt appear to me in the world-mirror, and give me knowledge and instruction in answer to my questions.

The strong religious tone of these directions for the use of the mirror and the fact that it is a priest who gives them, shows that there was a disposition to tolerate the employment of such “white magic.”

In medieval times it was believed that the vision in the crystal was produced through the agency of an indwelling spirit, and, therefore, it was necessary to use some very potent spell to force this spirit to enter the stone. Many of these ancient spells have been preserved, and they contain a strange and incongruous mixture of religious and magical formulas. In one of these, dating from the end of the fifteenth century, after a recitation of a long and rambling conjuration, we read: “And yen ask ye chylde yf he seethe any thyng, and yf no, let the mr begin his conjuratyō agayn.” As usual the scrying was done by a child, the conjuration being spoken by the minister. An important part of the conjuration consisted in the repetition of a number of divine names, most of them originally Hebrew, but so much corrupted by reciters who did not know their meaning that it is now exceedingly difficult to interpret them correctly.

A proof that this form of magic was often regarded as quite compatible with religion is offered us in a passage from a sixteenth century manuscript,[283] where we read that the crystal should be laid on the altar “on the Side that the gospell is read on. And let the priest say a mass on the same Side.” If the conjuration is successful, the same manuscript tells us that “these angells being once appeared will not depart the glasse or stone untill the Sonne be sett except you licence them.” It also seems that “scrying” was looked upon as a special gift, only granted to a favored few as a peculiar privilege, and we read that “Prayer and a good beleefe prevailed much. For faith is the cay to this and all other works, and without it nothing can be effected.” The child scryer, either maid or boy, should not be more than twelve years old.

That a certain religious spirit, however mistaken, often animated the crystal-gazers of the sixteenth century, is shown in the case of the “speculator” of John a Windor, who confessed that when he led an impure life the “dæmons” would not appear to him in his glass. He would then proceed to fumigate the apartment, as though believing that the very air was contaminated by the sins of the operator. We may hope that the seer was not content with this, but also tried to reform his evil ways. Another scryer, a woman named Sarah Skelhorn, declared that the spirits that appeared to her in the glass would often follow her about the house from room to room, so that she at last became weary of their presence.[284] Both of these scryers had regular employment, for it was quite customary for a gentleman to have a household seer, just as he would have a body-physician, if he could afford it.

A sixteenth century work on magic, the “Höllenzwang” of Dr. Faustus, whose name has been immortalized for all ages by Goethe, gives very particular and detailed directions for the preparation and consecration of a crystal, whether glass or quartz. Faust asks his “Mephistophelis” whether such crystals can be made, and the spirit replies: “Yes, indeed, my Faust,” and directs Faust to go, on a Tuesday, to a glass-maker, and get the latter to form a glass. It was requisite that this work should be done in the hour of Mars, that is, in the first, eighth, fifteenth or twenty-second hour of Tuesday. The crystal when completed must not be accepted as a gift, but a price must be paid for it. When the object had been secured, Mephistopheles directs that it be buried in a grave, where it must be left for the space of three weeks; it was then to be unearthed; if a woman purchased it, she must bury it in a woman’s grave. However, these preliminaries only served to prepare the crystal for the final consecration, as the mere material mass was regarded as inert and possessing no virtue until certain spirits were summoned to dwell within it. Mephistopheles confesses that he alone would not be powerful enough, and he directs Faust to call upon the spirits Azeruel and Adadiel also. Faust is assured that the three spirits will show him in the crystal whatever he may wish to know. If anything has been stolen, the thief will appear; if any one is suffering from disease, the character of his malady will be revealed, etc.[285]

Another way of preparing a crystal glass or mirror is given in the same work. After the glass has been bought it is to be immersed in baptismal water in which a first-born male child has been baptized, and therein it is to remain for three weeks. The water is then to be poured out over a grave and the sixth chapter of the Revelation of St. John is to be read. Hereupon the following conjuration should be pronounced:

O crystal, thou art a pure and tender virgin, thou standest at one of the gates of heaven, that nothing may be hidden from thee; thou standest under a cloud of heaven that nothing may be hidden from thee, whether in fields or meadows, whether master or servant, whether wife or maid. Let this be said to thee in the name of God, as a plea for thy help.[286]

The visions seen in crystal gazing were often supposed to be the work of evil spirits, seeking to seduce the souls of men by offering the promise of riches or by according them an unlawful glimpse into the future. Here, as in other magical operations, there was both white and black magic, recourse being had in some cases to good, and in others to evil spirits. As an illustration of the latter practice, a sixteenth century writer relates that in the city of Nuremberg, some time during the year 1530, a “demon” showed to a priest, in a crystal, the vision of a buried treasure. Believing in the truth of this vision, the priest went to the spot indicated, where he found an excavation in the form of a cavern, in the depths of which he could see a chest and a black dog lying alongside it. Eagerly the priest entered the cavern, hoping to possess himself of the treasure, but the top of the excavation caved in and he was crushed to death.[287]

The famous charlatan, Dr. Dee, who was for a time a prominent figure at the court of Emperor Rudolph II, was highly favored by Queen Elizabeth. The queen visited him several times, and even appears to have consulted him on political matters. In his diary the doctor relates that the queen called at his house shortly after his wife’s death, which took place March 16, 1575. Of this visit he gives the following details:

The Queen’s Majestie, with her most honorable Privy Council, and other the Lords and Nobility, came purposely to have visited my library: but finding that my wife was within four hours before buried out of the house, her Majestie refused to come in; but willed to fetch my glass so famous, and to show unto her some of the properties of it, which I did. Her Majestie being taken down from her horse by the Earle of Liecester, Master of the Horse, at the church wall of Mortlake, did see some of the properties of that glass, to her Majestie’s great contentment and delight.[288]

It was at Mortlake, on December 22, 1581, that Dr. Dee made his first essay with his crystal ball. The proceedings were conducted with a certain religious ceremonial, and began with a pious invocation to the angel of the stone. This celestial being soon graciously deigned to manifest himself in the stone and—presumably by the voice of the scryer—answered the questions put by those present.

There can be little doubt that Dee used more than one crystal in the course of his experiments; that now in the British Museum is of cairngorm, or “smoky-quartz.” This variety of quartz may have been chosen because of the Scotch superstitions regarding its virtues; for, as a rule, charlatans seek to avail themselves of already existing superstitions in order to make their innovations more acceptable.

DR. DEE’S SHEW STONE.

Natural size. British Museum. This sphere of smoky-quartz came to the British Museum in 1700 with the Cottonian Library, donated at that time by the grandson of the original collector, Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631).

OBSIDIAN MIRROR, WITH NATIVE TEXTILE STRING.

Used by Aztecs and ancient Mexicans for various purposes. British Museum. Identical in shape and size with that known as “Dr. Dee’s Mirror,” now in the possession of Prince Alexis Soltykoff, of Russia. This was enclosed in a leather-covered case.

To give assurance to those who consulted such crystals that no diabolical agency was involved in the production of the phenomena, it was customary that a child should be the crystal-gazer. In Dr. Dee’s experiments, however, it was usually the notorious Kelley, his âme damnée, who undertook this task of interpreting the crystal visions. The description given by Dee of a little girl who frequently acted as the intermediary of the higher powers suggests one of the fanciful creations of our great novelist Hawthorne. Her mystic name was Madimi, and she is depicted as a pretty girl about eight years old, and with long flowing hair. To make her appearance more conspicuous, she was attired in a silk dress with chatoyant effects in red and green. At times, during the séances, this gay little figure could be seen flitting about the study, rendered even more whimsical and strange from its contrast with the piles of dusty old books, the curiosities, and the magical instruments collected there.[289]

This visionary maiden Madimi, of whom Dee relates so much in his diary, was apparently a child of fancy, a creation of Kelley’s fertile brain. The diary is somewhat obscure in this particular and easily misunderstood; but there can be little doubt that where Madimi is represented as speaking, it is Kelley’s voice that transmits to Dee her revelations. One passage, often overlooked, gives evidence of this. Madimi has appeared and is addressing her remarks to Kelley and to Dee by turns; finally, Dee says, “I know you see me often and I see you only by faith and imagination.” To this Madimi quickly retorts, “pointing to E. K.” (Kelley), “That sight is perfecter than his.” Evidently we must understand this to signify something that Kelley has told Dee, for the latter’s words show that he did not himself see the little fairy pointing to his friend. In many respects little Madimi may recall another “spiritual” maiden of whom we heard much a few years ago, the sprightly little Indian spirit “Bright Eyes,” whose love for candy and jewelry was so very earthly.

Not only the quality of the crystal had to be considered, but also its support and surroundings. Of this we have an interesting instance in the case of Dr. Dee’s crystal. In one of his manuscripts is recorded the fact that on the 10th of March, 1582, Kelley saw in the crystal a representation of the form and arrangement of the table on which it should be set; particular instructions on the matter were also directly imparted to the scryer by the angel Uriel. The table was to be square, measuring two cubits each way and two cubits in height; and it was to have four feet. The material was to be “swete wood” and upon it was to be placed the Sigillum Dei (Seal of God) impressed upon the purest, colorless wax, the disk being 1⅛ inches thick and 9 inches in diameter. It bore a cross and the magic letters A. G. L. A., a transliteration into Roman characters of the initials of the Hebrew words signifying “Thou are great forever, O Lord.” Four other and smaller seals were to be provided, one to be placed under each leg of the table; each of these seals being impressed with geometrical figures within or upon which were the seven sacred names of God and the names of the seven angels ruling the seven planetary heavens; Zabothiel, Zedekiel, Madiniel, Semeliel [Semeshiel], Nogabiel, Corabiel [Cocabiel] and Levaniel, the angels, respectively, of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. There then appeared to the scryer the figure of the table with the crystal resting upon it. Of this it is said:[290]

“Under the table did seeme to be layd red sylk to lye four square somewhat broader than the table, hanging down with four knops or tassells at the four corners thereof. Uppon the uppermost red silk did seme to be set the stone with the frame, right over and uppon the principal seal, saving that the sayd sylk was betwene the one and the other.”

It therefore seems that the prejudice in favor of a black or at least a dark background for the crystal did not appeal to Dr. Dee, and indeed the effect of color may perhaps better serve to neutralize troublesome reflections than does black.

The personages Kelley pretended to see in or around the magic crystal were described by him to Dr. Dee in the greatest detail, and this undoubtedly served to lend more reality and authority to their communications. As an illustration of Kelley’s inventiveness in this matter, we may take his description of “Nalvage,” a spirit that first appeared while the doctor and his famulus were in Cracow, April 10, 1584, and was subsequently a frequent visitor. The seer introduces his new “control” as follows:[291]

He hath a Gown of white silk, with a Cape with three pendants with tassels on the end of them all green; it is fur, white, and seemeth to shine, with a wavering glittering. On his head is nothing, he hath no berd. His phisiognomy is like the pictures of King Edward the Sixth; his hair hangeth down a quarter of the length of the Cap, somewhat curling, yellow. He hath a rod or wand in his hand, almost as big as my little finger; it is of Gold, and divided into three equal parts, with a brighter Gold than the rest. He standeth upon his round table of Christal, or rather Mother of Pearl.

When reading the words spoken by Kelley and so carefully preserved by Dr. Dee, we are reminded, aside from the archaic turn of speech, of the minute descriptions so glibly given by modern mediums. It is true that lately, in America, the spirits of the former owners of the land, of the blameless aborigines, seem to have acquired a quasi monopoly of the intercourse with the other world.

Most of the early records of crystal-gazing show conclusively enough that the images revealed in the stone were produced by the expectations, the hopes, or the fears of the gazer. In many cases, indeed, the vision is only prophetic because it determines the future conduct of the person who consults the stone. Fully persuaded that what has been seen must come to pass, he, or she, proceeds more or less consciously to make it happen, to fulfil the prediction.

As an instance of this we may take from an old German book[292] the tale of a lovelorn maiden who seeks the aid of an enchantress to learn whether she will marry her lover, upon whom her parents look with disfavor. The mystic crystal is brought out wrapped in a yellow handkerchief, and is placed in a green bowl beneath which is spread a blue cloth, the reflections from these different colors being probably calculated to stimulate the optic nerve and favor the appearance of some picture upon the polished surface of the crystal. The young girl, in rapt attention, looks long and earnestly; at last she cries out that she sees her own form and that of her lover. Both look pale and sad, and they appear to be about to set forth upon a long and perilous journey, for the lover wears riding-boots and carries a brace of pistols. The girl is so terrified at the sight that she faints away. The sequel of this vision is a runaway match, and we can easily understand that when the lover proposed this adventure, the girl believed that it was written in the book of fate and willingly agreed to undertake it.

The great humorous poem “Hudibras,” wherein all the foibles of the seventeenth century are castigated, does not fail to make mention of Dee and Kelley and their crystal. Of the sorcerer whose aid Hudibras seeks we are told:[293]

He’d read Dee’s prefaces before,

The Dev’l and Euclid o’er and o’er;

And all th’ intrigues ’twixt him and Kelley,

Lascus and th’ Emperor, would tell ye.

Kelley did all his feats upon

The devil’s looking-glass, a stone

Where, playing with him at bo-peep

He solved all problems ne’er so deep.

In his experiments in crystal-gazing, Dr. Dee evidently used more than one crystal, and did not indeed confine the operations of his scryer or scryers to brilliant spheres. In the collection of Horace Walpole, at Strawberry Hill, was a polished slab of black stone, obsidian, from Mexico. This came into the possession of Mr. Smythe Piggott and later (1853) into that of Lord Londesborough; it is now in the collection of Prince Alexis Soltykoff. Horace Walpole wrote a label for the stone, in which he says that it had long been owned by the Mordaunts, Earls of Peterborough, and was described in the catalogue of their collection as the black stone into which Dr. Dee used to call his spirits. Later it was owned by John Campbell, Duke of Argyle, who gave it to Horace Walpole.[294] Undoubtedly any polished surface, whether flat or convex, might serve the purpose of the scryer almost equally well; the possible advantage of a convex or a spherical form consists in the multiplying of the reflections and light points so that the sight is induced to wander from point to point, and that forms and even motions are suggested by the superposition and combination of the various reflections. Often, too, a light point visible to one eye will not be so to the other, this sometimes provoking the phenomenon of binocular vision, which asserts itself for a moment or two, when the diverse images coalesce again, though imperfectly, giving an impression of movement. For one gifted with imagination and the natural quality of visualizing brain-pictures, these shifting light-points and the more or less definite and repeated reflections of surrounding objects offer abundant material out of which to construct lifelike pictures apparently seen in the crystal. That the brain-pictures thus thrown out, so to speak, upon the crystal, may or may not have a peculiar psychic value, other than their value as mere phenomena, depends upon the significance we are inclined to attribute to the processes of the subconscious intelligence; of its existence, indeed, there can be no doubt, and many of our best thinkers incline to the belief that through it the narrow limits of our personality are occasionally transcended.

1, 2, 3. Rock-crystal spheres having portions of the surface ground so that they are rendered partially opaque.

4. Natural cross of rock-crystal. On dolomite, Ossining, New York.

The following history and description of a crystal ball is given by John Aubrey (1626-1697):

I have here set down the figure of a consecrated Beryl—now in the possession of Sir Edward Harley, Knight of the Bath, which he keeps in his closet at Brampton Bryan in Herefordshire amongst his Cimelia, which I saw there. It came first from Norfolk; a minister had it there, and a call was to be made with it. Afterwards a miller had it and he did work great cures with it (if curable), and in the Beryl they did see, either the receipt in writing, or else the herb. To this minister, the spirits or angels would appear openly, and because the miller (who was his familiar friend) one day happened to see them, he gave him the aforesaid Beryl and Call; by these angels the minister was forewarned of his death. This account I had from Mr. Ashmole. Afterwards this Beryl came into somebody’s hand in London who did tell strange things by it; insomuch that at last he was questioned for it, and it was taken away by authority (it was about 1645). This Beryl is a perfect sphere, the diameter of it I guess to be something more than an inch; it is set in a ring, or circle, of silver, resembling the meridian of a globe; the stem of it is about ten inches high, all gilt. At the four quarters of it are the names of four angels, viz: Uriel, Raphael, Michael, Gabriel. On the top is a cross patee.[295]

In his “Saducismus Triumphatus,” Joseph Glanvil writes that “one Compton of Summersetshire, who practised Physick, and pretends to strange Matters,” demonstrated his power to evoke the image of a distant person on the surface of a mirror. Glanvil relates that Compton offered to show to a Mr. Hill any one the latter wished to see. Hill “had no great confidence in his talk,” but replied that he desired to see his wife who was many miles distant. “Upon this, Compton took up a Looking-glass that was in the Room, and setting it down again, bid my Friend look in it, which he did, and then, as he most solemnly and seriously professeth, he saw the exact Image of his Wife, in that Habit which she then wore and working at her Needle in such a part of the Room (then represented also) in which and about which time she really was, as he found upon enquiry when he came home. The Gentleman himself averred this to me, and he is a very sober, intelligent, and credible Person. Compton had no knowledge of him before, and was an utter stranger to the Person of his Wife. He was by all accounts a very odd Person.”[296]

A contemporary record recites that when a certain Sir Marmaduke Langdale (of the seventeenth century) was in Italy, he went to a sorcerer and was shown in a glass his own figure kneeling before a crucifix. Though a Protestant at this time, he shortly after became a Catholic.[297] If we exclude all idea of trickery, it is likely enough that the idea of becoming a Catholic was already present to the scryer’s mind and called up this picture before him.

The celebrated Cagliostro, a Sicilian whose real name was Giuseppe Balsamo, among his other arts to excite curiosity and play upon the superstition of his contemporaries, had recourse to a species of crystal-gazing. In the only authentic biography of this extraordinary impostor occurs the following passage, which we give in Carlyle’s version:[298]

Cagliostro brought a little Boy into the Lodge, son of a nobleman there. He placed him on his knees before a table, whereon stood a Bottle of pure water, and behind this some lighted candles: he made an exorcism round the boy, put his hand on his head and both, in this attitude, addressed their prayers to God for the happy accomplishment of the work. Having bid the child look into the Bottle, directly the child cried that he saw a garden. Knowing hereby that Heaven assisted him, Cagliostro took courage, and bade the child ask of God the grace to see the angel Michael. At first the child said: “I see something white; I know not what it is.” Then he began jumping, stamping like a possessed creature, and cried: “There now! I see a child like myself, that seems to have something angelical.” All the assembly, and Cagliostro himself, remained speechless with emotion.... The child being anew exorcised with the hand of the Venerable on his head, and the customary prayer addressed to Heaven, he looked into the Bottle, and said he saw his sister at that moment coming down stairs, and embracing one of her brothers. That appeared impossible, the brother in question being then hundreds of miles off; however, Cagliostro felt not disconcerted; said they might send to the country-house where the sister was, and see.

Taken all in all this experiment does not seem very satisfactory; but we have in it all the essential phases of crystal-gazing. Excitement and expectation produced their usual effect upon an impressionable child, and suggestion did the rest; the final vision may have been corroborated in some way, or, if not, it would be explained so as to convince those present at the experiment that the child had really seen a representation of some actual happening.

During the Terror, among those upon whom fell the suspicions of the Jacobins was General Marlière. He knew that a trial and quite probably a condemnation awaited him. A few days before the date fixed for his appearance before his judges, he met a colonel in the French army, who had served in the American Revolutionary War, and who was a firm believer in the truth of the visions seen in crystal balls. In the course of the conversation this subject was alluded to, and the general immediately declared that he was eager to put the matter to the test, and learn, if possible, what fate was in store for him. The colonel was at first very unwilling to undertake the experiment, probably he thought that General Marlière’s doom was sealed, and, believing as he did in the revelations of the crystal, he dreaded the results; however, the general insisted and the experiment took place. As usual, the medium was an “innocent child.” In the crystal appeared a man wearing a private’s uniform of the National Guard struggling with one wearing a general’s uniform. The child was much excited and terrified by the sight, exclaiming that the general’s assailant had thrown him down and was beheading him. That the vision portended the general’s execution was clear enough, but the peculiar dress of the executioner was a mystery to those present at the test, for the official garb bore no resemblance whatever to a soldier’s uniform. The prediction was, however, fulfilled to the letter. General Marlière was tried, found guilty, and guillotined. This in itself did not mean much in view of the innumerable executions in the time of the Terror; but, on the day of this execution, Samson, the official executioner, desiring to gratify his personal vanity and to attract the gaze of the spectators, dressed himself in the uniform of a national guardsman.[299] That this altogether unusual circumstance, which could scarcely have been known to any of those who assisted at the crystal-gazing, should have been revealed in the crystal, is certainly very mysterious. If we had positive assurance that the events narrated happened exactly in the way they are said to have happened, this would be one of the few instances in which the vision seen in the crystal reproduced something entirely unknown to the scryer.

Many extraordinary visions are said to have been seen in crystal balls by a French scryer whose grandmother had clairvoyant powers and was sometimes consulted by Napoleon I. It is claimed that the grandson has enjoyed the patronage of many royal personages, and had predicted, in a more or less definite way, the assassination of King Humbert of Italy, and the attempted assassination of Alfonso XIII and of his young bride, when they were returning to the palace after the conclusion of the marriage ceremony. This French scryer has stated that he is powerfully affected when he is consulted by any one destined to die a violent death; on such occasions he feels, in his own organism, a modified form of the particular kind of suffering they are fated to experience. This exceptional sensitiveness to occult influences was also shown when the crystal-gazer went to the Boulaq Museum in Cairo, and gazed upon the rows of mummies exhibited there; he immediately felt, as intensely as though it were a personal experience, the mingled sorrow and rage of the disembodied spirits at seeing their embalmed bodies exposed to the view of the idle crowd, when they should have been permitted to rest in their tombs until the hour of the Resurrection.

In England all those who attempted, with a greater or less degree of success, to reveal the hidden secrets of the future, were expressly designated as rogues and vagabonds according to the terms of an act passed June 21, 1824.[300] Such offenders, on being duly convicted before the Justice of the Peace, could be committed to the House of Correction, “there to be kept at hard Labour for any time not exceeding Three Calendar Months.” This class of undesirable citizens comprised all using “any subtle Craft, Means, or Device, by Palmistry or otherwise” for the deception of his Majesty’s subjects.

The h’men, or diviner, of Yucatan, places great reliance upon his zaztun, or “clear stone.” This may be a quartz crystal, or else some other translucent stone; but in order to serve for divining purposes it must be sanctified according to special rites, gum-copal being burned before it, and certain magic formulas recited, which have been transmitted from generation to generation in an archaic dialect. When thus rendered fit for use, the diviner claims to be able to see in the depths of the crystal the whereabouts of lost articles, and also what absent persons are doing at the time he makes his observation. Not only this, but the future is also laid bare before his eyes. As these stones are supposed to possess such miraculous powers we need not be surprised that one of them should be found in almost every village in Yucatan.[301]

The Apache medicine-men are also fully persuaded that crystals possess the virtue of inducing visions, and they have used them for the purpose of finding lost property. To aid in the recovery of stolen ponies is one of the most important tasks of the Apache medicine-man, and to this end his crystal offers great assistance. Capt. John G. Burke relates that he made a great friend of a medicine-man named Na-a-che by giving him a large crystal of denticulated spar, much superior to the crystal he had been in the habit of using for his visions. That this was thoroughly satisfactory to the medicine-man at least, is shown by his statement to Capt. Burke that by looking into his crystal he could see everything he wanted to see. Of the way this came about he did not attempt any explanation.[302]

The magic power supposed to dwell within rock-crystal has been recognized in a peculiar way by some natives of New South Wales. They have the barbarous custom of knocking out one or more of the front teeth of their boys at the obligatory initiation ceremonies, and on one occasion Dr. Howitt was entrusted with the care of a number of these teeth, which are believed to preserve a certain undefined connection with the health and fortunes of their former possessors, and on this account great fear was expressed lest the custodian should place the precious teeth in the same bag with some rock-crystals, for the natives thought that the magic power of these crystals would injuriously affect the teeth, and through them the boys, from whose jaws they had been broken.[303]

In a paper entitled “The Origin of Jewelry,” read before the British Association, Professor W. Ridgeley says:

Australians and tribes of New Guinea use crystals for rain-making, although they cannot bore them, and this stone is a powerful amulet in Uganda when fastened into leather. Sorcerers in Africa carry a small bag of pebbles as an important part of their equipment. So it was in Greece. The crystal was used to light the sacrificial fire and was so employed in the church down to the fifteenth century. Egyptians used it largely under the XII Dynasty, piercing it along its axis after rubbing off the pyramid points of the crystal, sometimes leaving the natural six sides, or else grinding it into a complete cylinder. From this bead came the artificial cylindrical glass beads made later by the Egyptians.

Professor Ridgeley believes that the primary use of all these objects was because of their supposed magic powers. He holds the same view in regard to cylinders and rings, considering that the use of these as signets only became habitual at a later time, and he finds a proof of this theory in the fact that unengraved Babylonian cylinders and Mycenean gems have been discovered. This is, of course, perfectly true, but does not in the least prove that such ornaments may not have been originally worn simply for purposes of adornment; unquestionably, the custom of engraving them so as to render them signets must have arisen at a much later date.

Flacourt stated that the natives of Madagascar used crystals to aid them in divining. These stones, which were said to have fallen from heaven, were attached to the corners of the boards whereon the sorcerers produced their geomantic figures.[304] Here, however, the crystals were not directly used, but were only supposed to attract influences propitious to the diviner’s efforts.

In the notes to the 1888 edition of the Chinese criminal code, some curious details are given of a practice called Yuan-kuang-fuchou (the magic of the round glittering). While this designation certainly seems to indicate the use of a polished sphere of some description, the details given refer to a different practice. We are told that when anything was stolen appeal was sometimes made to a certain Sun-Yuan Sheng, who would then hang up a piece of white paper and utter a spell, while a boy gazed upon the paper until he saw the figure of the thief. This magician was punished for carrying on an unlawful practice.[305]

BABYLONIAN CYLINDERS AND PERSIAN BEADS.
Of hematite, rock-crystal, lapis-lazuli, chalcedony, banded agate, and other stones. From 3000 B.C. to the Christian era. (See page [121].)

The Mexicans made images of their god Tezcatlipoca of obsidian, and the name of this divinity is interpreted as signifying “shining mirror.” This is supposed to refer to, or to have been expressed by, the brilliant effect of the polished surface of the obsidian. Mirrors of this material are said to have been used for divination in ancient Mexico and the neighboring countries.[306] One of these Mexican mirrors seems to have been employed by Dr. Dee in his experiments in crystal vision.

A remarkable series of tests in the art of scrying, given in the presence of Lane, the great Arabic scholar, and translator of the Arabian Nights, illustrates the fallibility of most of the evidence adduced in such matters, for, at first, Lane was strongly impressed by the exhibition. Although no crystal was used, the process of scrying was precisely the same as in crystal-gazing,—that is to say, the vision called for by the visitors was seen by the scryer on a polished surface. The master of ceremonies was an Arab magician, though, of course, he did not do the scrying himself, but employed a boy for this purpose, for it is generally thought that half-grown boys or girls are more receptive. Although Lane himself was perfectly familiar with Arabic, an interpreter was always present in the interest of the other Europeans who assisted at the experiments.

After invoking many mysterious geniuses and burning incense and scraps of paper inscribed with magic formulas, the magician drew a magic square on a large sheet of paper and dropped a quantity of ink in the centre. On this the boy was directed to fix his gaze, and after he had shown that he was thoroughly under the magician’s influence, by describing the images suggested to him, the visitors were permitted to ask him questions. The answers were successful in most cases; a single instance will suffice. When the boy was asked to describe Admiral Nelson, he replied: “I see a man clothed in a dark garb; there is something strange about him, he has but one arm.” Then, quickly correcting himself, he added: “No, I was mistaken, he has one of his arms across his breast.” This correction impressed those present more than the first statement, for it was well known that Nelson usually had the empty sleeve of his coat pinned to his breast. It also seemed as though there could be no collusion, for both the magician and the boy were ignorant of everything English and evidently knew nothing of Nelson. Unfortunately, however, for those who would fain believe that there is something supernatural in scrying, it was later discovered that the interpreter was a renegade Scotchman, masquerading as an Arab, and there can be little doubt that he managed to suggest the boy’s answer. The fact that no satisfactory results were obtained when this interpreter was absent, makes this explanation almost certainly the correct one.

The Armenians sometimes practised divination by watching the images that appeared, or were supposed to appear, on the smooth surface of the waters of a well, and the person who saw such images was called hornaiogh, “he who looks into a well.” An Arab woman living in the neighborhood of Constantinople enjoyed a great reputation for her power in this respect, and was frequently consulted by Armenians and by other dwellers in the Turkish capital. Whoever wished to question this woman regarding the cause of an illness, the whereabouts of stolen objects, etc., usually took along a child of the household, and the actual scrying was generally performed by this child, who would describe or identify the forms it saw on the water’s surface. If, however, for one reason or another, no child was brought, the witch herself did the scrying. In regard to illness, a distinction was made between “natural” maladies and those directly caused by some spirit. Should the spirit (peri) supposed to cause the dire malady known as drsévé, a kind of consumption, be seen to glide over the surface of the water, the sorceress would find it necessary to invoke the whole race of peris to come to the aid of the patient, who was expected to pay more than the usual fee for this very special service.[307]

The peris of Armenian legend were sometimes good and sometimes evil spirits; in the former case these were supposed to perform the functions of guardian angels, and every one was said to have a peri especially delegated to watch over him. This found expression in the fact that when one Armenian felt at first sight an instinctive sympathy for another, he would say, “My peri loves you dearly (peris chad siretz kezi).” In the contrary case, the feeling of antipathy was also attributed to the attitude assumed by the guardian spirit toward the new acquaintance.[308] These spirits were therefore supposed to encourage or discourage greater intimacy with newcomers in accord with the true interests of those over whom they watched.

The power to see images in a crystal does not appear to depend to any great extent upon a morbid nervous condition of the seer, for many of the most successful experimenters have been of good and even of exceptionally vigorous physique. Indeed, illness seems to diminish or destroy this power, at least in the case of those who are habitually healthy.[309] This does not imply that some highly nervous and even hysterical individuals have not been favored with “crystal visions.” Very probably the rule here is the same as in ordinary hypnotism. Those persons who have a strong will and sound nerves are able to hypnotize themselves, while those whose nerves are disordered are subject to the hypnotic influence of others.

A well-known lady in New York City, in conversation with the writer, a few years ago, on the subject of crystal balls, was advised by him to try a ball herself and see what results she obtained. At the end of two years she found that by concentration she had been able to better her understanding of herself; and this effect is not only obtainable now by means of a crystal ball, but by fixing her gaze upon any bright object. This visual fixation has centred her whole being in such a way that her health has notably improved.

What are the laws that govern the production of these phenomena? That the “visions” are real enough has been proven time and again, but it seems almost certain that they do not offer anything but the ideas or impressions existing in the minds or optic nerves of the gazers. One of the most painstaking students of the subject, Miss Goodrich-Freer, gives many instances in proof of this, which show how easy it would be for a less critical observer to suppose that the crystal revealed something unknown to the gazer. On one occasion this lady was at a loss to remember the correct address of a friend whose letter, received a few days before, she had torn up. She resorted to her crystal, and after a few minutes saw in it, in gray letters on a white ground, the address she had forgotten. She mailed her answer to this address, and the reply came duly to hand, with the address stamped in gray upon the white paper of the note, which was identical with that she had first received.[310] The visual impression had been stirred up and “externalized” itself when she gazed upon the crystal. We believe that this explains the larger number of such visions, and that the rest are only inexplicable because the scryer has forgotten the source of the impression that is projected on the surface of the crystal.

ROCK-CRYSTAL SPHERES. JAPANESE. (See page [217].)

It is true that both Miss Goodrich-Freer and many other crystal-gazers note instances in which the vision appears to represent something the scryer does not and cannot know. However, even in these cases, when carefully examined, there is little difficulty in finding an explanation. Coincidence accounts for much, and imagination for more, since it is not the vision itself, but the memory of the vision, that is later brought into comparison with actual facts. We all know how exceedingly hard it is to repeat, after a short lapse of time, all the circumstances and details of any occurrence. There is a natural growth and modification of mental impressions, due to association of ideas, and where there exists the least wish to make the prophecy accord with the event, or the vision with the coincident happening, this growth and modification will be in the direction of agreement. This takes place quite unconsciously, and the informant will be fully persuaded that all the circumstances are related exactly as they occurred.

The attempt to identify either persons or scenes observed by the scryer with real persons and real scenes unknown to him, must always be open to the objection that the one who makes the identification has no photographic impression upon which to base his judgment, but merely the words of the scryer. When we remember what mistakes have been made in identifying individuals from photographs, we can easily appreciate the great chances of error entailed by the use of a verbal description of a visionary experience, even when the person giving the description is both willing and able to make it as exact and adequate as possible.

A very impartial witness, Andrew Lang, states that, in the course of a series of experiments he made in crystal-gazing, he saw nothing himself, but found that a surprisingly large proportion of those who tried were successful in seeing pictures of some sort on the polished surface. Almost invariably, when the gazer fixed his eyes upon the sphere, it appeared to grow milky-hued and then became black; upon this dark background the pictures showed themselves. One of the scryers, a lady, said that as a child she had seen pictures in ink that she had spilled for the purpose.[311] This method has been much favored by Orientals. While Lang does not quite venture to assert that all the “visions” reported to him were genuine ones, he inclines to the belief that this was the case with many of them. Experience has shown, however, that not all of those who see pictures in, or on, a glass or crystal sphere, can also see them in ink.[312] Nevertheless, in view of the fact that the crystal sphere is said to appear black to the eye before the pictures are seen, it would seem that some naturally black surface would be particularly adapted for the purpose.

An interesting point regarding the phenomena of crystal-gazing is the effect produced by magnification upon the images seen in, or on, the crystal ball. As to this matter there is considerable difference of opinion, for, while some experimenters assert that the interposition of a magnifying-glass enlarges the image, others have not remarked any difference in its size under these conditions. Indeed, one of the most critical witnesses, Mrs. A. W. Verrall, declares that her vision entirely disappeared when she held a magnifying-glass before her eyes. On the other hand, we have the case of a subject who had been told, while in the hypnotic state, that he would see a play-bill on the crystal. When he was awakened and the crystal ball was placed before him, he said that he could see only detached letters, but when he looked through a magnifying-glass he saw all the letters distinctly and read the name of the play, in perfect accord with the suggestion.[313]

This image may have been reflected from some part of the room where the gazer had not noticed it, and may have been either before or behind the operator. The magnifying-glass would naturally make the small, condensed letters legible, as a play-bill would be many times larger than a crystal ball, and its minute image naturally too small to read, being reduced by the circular surface.

Usually, however, the image is not on the surface of the crystal, but in the beholder’s eye; therefore when this image appears more clearly under magnification, the result is due to the expectation of the gazer based upon his experience of an invariable rule. This acts as a stimulus upon the visual function, which must be in an exceedingly sensitive state to produce visions at all. When, however, no result or a negative result follows the use of the glass, then we can safely assume that the gazer was naturally of a critical turn of mind, and was disposed to distrust sensual impressions; hence the glass became a disturbing influence, interfering with or even completely obliterating the eye-picture.

Many attempts have been made to establish distinctions between the different materials used for crystals, proceeding on the theory that subtle emanations from them affected the gazer and played an important part in producing the desired vision. That the beryl produced a greater number of these visions than any other mineral was the old belief which is still upheld in some quarters to-day; one scryer, indeed, asserts that his clearest and most satisfactory visions were seen in a cube of blue beryl, the beautiful color appearing to dispose the soul to a harmonious unfolding of its latent aptitudes.[314]

Among the instructions given to a would-be crystal gazer, the question of a proper and wholesome diet is not overlooked, as anything which tends to disturb the serenity of the organism will also interfere with the due exercise of the special clairvoyant faculty that expresses itself in crystal visions. A curious special recommendation made by one of the exponents of the art is that good results can be had by drinking an infusion of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), or of chicory (Cichorium intybus), because of their tonic and antibilious qualities. Moreover, we are told that these herbs are under the influence of the zodiacal sign Libra, the sign controlling the virtues of the beryl.[315] Above all the portion of the lunar month when the moon is on the increase is said to be far the best season for scrying, as the old astrologers recognized an affinity between the moon and rock-crystal.

The claim is made that the adept at crystal-gazing can determine by the apparent difference in proximity of the visions whether they refer to the present or to a more or less remote past or future, that is to say, are nearer or farther removed in time from the period when the vision appears. The distinction between past and future is admitted to offer greater difficulty and a decision as to this point must depend upon a kind of intuitive and undefined impression on the part of the scryer.

Those who have made a sympathetic study of crystal-gazing recognize that the “visions” seen in or on the crystal differ according to the mental and psychic temperament of the scryer. Two broad distinctions are sometimes established, the one class comprising those whose mental attitude is a “positive” one while the second class includes the “passive” subjects. In the former case the crystal visions are more apt to be symbols denoting some past or future event than a clear picture of the event itself, the mentality of the “positive” subject being, perhaps, too strong merely to mirror the image cast upon it. Instead of so doing it transforms the impression received from this image into some symbolic form. This process is not, however, consciously done, but the scryer of this type is supposed nevertheless to have an instinctive appreciation of the fact that what he sees is purely and simply a symbol, and he proceeds to interpret this in accord with certain generally received rules, or in accord with his own personal experience.

The passive subject on the other hand is more apt to see a clear and definite picture of the persons or events revealed to him. Sometimes that picture is distinctly perceptible on or about the surface of the crystal, while at other times the visual perception will be rather indefinite and clouded, although accompanied by a strong mental impression in itself equivalent to that which would have been induced by an actual and objective vision.[316]

The proper use of the crystal is the prime factor in the art of scrying and great attention is paid to this point by all those who treat seriously of the subject. Among other things they recognize that freedom from pain, or even from a sense of physical discomfort, is quite essential, for the mind must assume a purely passive and receptive attitude, and not be forced to take cognizance of bodily discomfort. Moreover the nervous system must be in repose, for which reason a reasonable time should be allowed to lapse after taking a meal, before trying for crystal visions.[317]

An author on “psychomancy” affirms that fixing the gaze upon a crystal ball is one of the very best means of bringing out the latent faculty of astral vision, and he finds a reason for this in the atomic structure, the molecular arrangement of the material. He does not, however, impart any definite information as to what special structural characteristics render glass or rock-crystal particularly efficient in this direction.[318] The help that may be derived from crystal-gazing by those who are striving to pierce the veil that separates the “real life” about us from that spiritual life which is so much more real for those who believe in it, is also admitted by many.[319]

We cannot refrain from citing here the words spoken by Sir Oliver Lodge at Birmingham, Sept. 10, 1913, before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, affirming his conviction, as a result of scientific investigation of occult phenomena, “that memory and affection are not limited to that association with matter by which alone they can manifest themselves here and now, and that personality persists beyond bodily death.”

One of the latest types of glass balls for crystal-gazing has a small, circular, flat surface on the sphere. This may possibly be of service in furnishing a better field for the expected vision, and may also lessen the troublesome and baffling reflections which interfere so seriously with the projection of the mental picture.

A method that has been recommended to crystal-gazers is to place the crystal on a table, protect it from the reflections of surrounding objects by means of a velvet screen, and set seven candlesticks with wax tapers in front of the screen. The tapers are then to be lighted, the room being otherwise in perfect darkness, and the would-be scryer is to seat himself comfortably before the table, laying his hands flat upon it, and to gaze fixedly upon the crystal for half an hour or longer. The light from the tapers will certainly ensure a multitude of light points in the crystal. That the molecules forming the sphere may always remain en rapport with the gazer, he is advised to put it beneath his pillow when retiring to rest.[320]

The crystal gazer is strongly advised by some to limit the duration of his experiment at first to five minutes, during which he is to avoid thinking of anything in particular while keeping his eyes fixed intently upon the ball, but without any undue straining of attention. Should the eyes “water” after the test is concluded, this is to be regarded as an indication that the gazer has persisted too long; for brain-fag is to be strictly avoided, as such a state depresses instead of arousing the hidden and higher psychic faculties. Even after considerable practice, the scrying should not be carried on for more than a few minutes at a time. The faculty of visualization plays a most important part in crystal-gazing. The image thought to be seen on, before, or behind the surface of the crystal, is in its essence a fancied projection of a purely mental image conceived in the brain; such an image as is present to the consciousness of many when they call to mind a scene of some vivid past experience, or the face of someone they have known, and see it as an element of consciousness. When it is possible to externalize this interior vision, then we have at least a beginning of successful scrying. That it may go far beyond this, that it may reveal to the gazer events happening in some distant place, or even events yet to transpire in the dim future, is often claimed. An acceptance of this claim must depend largely upon our attitude toward premonitions and prophecies in general. Here, as in the simple picture evolved by an image of the past, the crystal is merely the background upon which are cast the mind-pictures or soul-pictures arising within our being.[321]

A use of crystal gazing to aid literary composition has been reported in the case of an English authoress of note, who, if she lost the thread of the story she was writing, would resort to her crystal, and would see mirrored therein the scenes and personages of her tale, the latter carrying on the plot in dramatic action. Aided by this suggestion she was able to resume her composition and successfully terminate her story.

CRYSTAL BALL, SUPPORTED BY BRONZE DRAGON. JAPANESE.

In Japan the smaller rock-crystals were believed to be the congealed breath of the White Dragon, while the larger and more brilliant ones were said to be the saliva of the Violet Dragon. As the dragon was emblematic of the highest powers of creation, this indicates the esteem in which the substance was held by the Japanese, who probably derived their appreciation of it from the Chinese. The name suisho, used both in China and Japan to designate rock-crystal, reflects the idea current in ancient times, and repeated even by seventeenth century writers, that rock-crystal was ice which had been so long congealed that it could not be liquefied.

For the Japanese, rock-crystal is the “perfect jewel,” tama; it is at once a symbol of purity and of the infinity of space, and also of patience and perseverance. This latter significance probably originating from an observation of the patience and skill shown by the accurate and painstaking Japanese cutters and polishers of rock-crystal.

A crystal ball, one of the largest perfect spheres ever produced, has been made from rock-crystal of Madagascar. It is a very perfect sphere and of faultless material. The diameter is 6⅛ inches and the ball was held at about $20,000.

Many fine crystal balls are made in Japan, the materials being found in large, clear masses in the mountains on the islands of Nippon and Fusiyama and also in the granitic rocks of Central Japan. It is stated, however, that much of the Japanese material really comes from China. The Japanese methods of working rock-crystals are extremely simple and depend more upon the skill and patience of the workers than upon the tools at their command. Our illustration, taken from a sketch made by an Oriental traveller, shows the process of manufacturing crystal balls. The rough mass of crystal is gradually rounded by careful chipping with a small steel hammer. With the aid of this tool alone a perfect sphere is formed. The Japanese workmen thoroughly understand the fracture of the mineral, and know just when to apply chipping and when hammering. The crystal, having been reduced to a spherical form, is handed to a grinder, whose tools consist of cylindrical pieces of cast iron, about a foot in length, and full of perforations. These cylinders are of different curvatures, according to the size of the crystal to be ground. Powdered emery and garnet are used for the first polishing. Plenty of water is supplied during the process, and the balls are kept constantly turning, in order to secure a true spherical surface. Sometimes they are fixed on the end of a hollow tube and kept dexterously turning in the hand until smooth. The final polishing is effected with crocus or rouge (finely divided hematite), giving a splendid lustrous surface. As hand labor is exclusively used, the manufacture of crystal objects according to the Japanese methods is extremely laborious and slow.[322]

By permission of the “Scientific American.”
METHOD OF GRINDING CRYSTAL BALLS AND OTHER HARD STONE OBJECTS IN GERMANY AND FRANCE.

By permission of the “Scientific American.”
JAPANESE METHOD OF CHIPPING, GRINDING AND POLISHING ROCK-CRYSTAL BALLS.

In Germany and France and in the United States, the fabrication of rock-crystal is accomplished almost entirely by machinery. The crystal to be shaped into a ball is placed against a semicircular groove worn in huge grindstones. This is illustrated in the case of the method practised in Oberstein, Germany. The workman has his feet firmly braced against a support, and, resting upon his chest, presses the crystal against the revolving grindstone. It is unnecessary to add that the practice is extremely unwholesome and develops early consumption among the workers. A constant stream of water is kept flowing over the stone so that the crystal shall always be moist, as the friction would otherwise hurt it, and the subsequent addition of water would be liable to cause a fracture. The final polishing is done on a wooden wheel with tripoli, or by means of a leather buffer with tripoli or rouge.[323]

There are three fine crystal balls in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History. One, apparently perfect, measures 5½ inches in diameter and was cut from a crystal found in Mokolumne, Calaveras Co., California; the second is 6½ inches in diameter and is from the same locality, but not entirely perfect. These were shown in the department of the Tiffany Collection prepared by the author, and were exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900 as part of the J. Pierpont Morgan gift to the American Museum of Natural History. Another fine crystal ball is now to be seen in the American Museum of Natural History, New York; this was donated to the institution. It measures 411/16 inches in diameter, is of wonderful purity, and the cutting has been executed with such a high degree of precision that an ideally perfect sphere has been produced.[324]

Crystal balls have been found occasionally in tombs or in funerary urns, and their presence in sepulchres may perhaps be considered to have been due to a belief that they possessed certain magic properties. In the tomb of Childeric (ca. 436-481 A.D.), the father of Clovis, a rock-crystal sphere was found which was for a time preserved in the Bibliothèque Royale, Paris, and later in the Louvre Museum; it measures 1½ inches in diameter.[325] The chance discovery of a number of crystal balls is related by Montfaucon. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, the canons of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome, wished to have some repairs made to a house they owned, just outside of the city walls, and sent thither some workmen with the order to break up or remove two large, superimposed stones, which were much in the way. The workmen proceeded to break the upper stone, but were much astonished to find embedded within it an alabaster funerary urn with its cover. This had been hidden between the two stones, a space for its reception having been hollowed out in the upper and lower stones, so that it fitted within them. Opening the urn there were found inside, mingled with the ashes, twenty crystal balls, a gold ring with a stone setting, a needle, an ivory comb, and some bits of gold wire. The presence of the needle was taken to indicate conclusively that the ashes were those of a woman.[326]

The discovery of the tomb of Childeric was made, May 27, 1653, by a deaf-mute mason, named Adrien Quinquin, while he was excavating for the restoration of one of the dependencies of the church of Saint Brice de Tournai. One of the most interesting objects found in the tomb was the golden signet of Childeric bearing his head and the legend Childerici regis. The earliest description is given in a work by Chiflet entitled “Anastasis Childerici,” “Resurrection of Childeric,” published by Plantin of Antwerp in 1655. The various ornaments were sent by the Spanish Governor-General of the Netherlands to the Austrian treasury in Vienna, and were not long afterward, in 1664, graciously donated by Emperor Leopold I to King Louis XIV, at the instance of Johann Philip of Schonborn, Archbishop of Mainz, who was under great obligation to the French sovereign.

ROCK-CRYSTAL SPHERE.
Japan, five inches diameter. Morgan collection, American Museum of Natural History, New York.

In Paris the various ornaments were preserved in the Bibliothèque Royale until the night of November 5-6, 1831, when many of them, with other valuables, were stolen by an ex-convict. Closely pursued by the police, the thief threw his booty into the Seine; much of the plunder was subsequently recovered, but the signet of Childeric was lost for ever. The crystal ball had not seemed of sufficient value to tempt the thief and was left undisturbed; it was later, in 1852, deposited in the Louvre Museum.[327]

In a personal communication to Abbé Cochet made in 1858 by Mr. Thomas Wright, the latter stated that he had seen at Downing in Flintshire with Lord Fielding five crystal balls, bearing labels declaring that they came from the sepulchres of the kings of France violated at the time of the French Revolution. They had been purchased about 1810 at the sale of the Duchess of Portland’s effects.[328]

Among the crystal balls found in French sepulchres may be noted one discovered by Rigollot in 1853 at Arras, and preserved in the Museum of that city; this still has the original gold mounting serving to attach it to the necklace from which it had been worn suspended. Another found at or near Levas was in the possession of M. Dancoise, a notary of Hénin-Liétard, dept. Pas de Calais.[329] In the Bibliothèque at Dieppe there is a crystal ball, 32 mm. in diameter, found at Douvrend, dept. Seine-Inferieure, in 1838, in a Merovingian tomb; this is pierced through.[330] The department of Moselle supplied three discoveries of this kind, crystal balls having been found in a tomb at St. Preux-la-Montagne, Sablon and Moineville near Briey, the latter measuring 36 mm. in diameter.[331]

The Saxon tombs of England have also furnished a contingent of crystal balls, for example at Chatham, at Chassel Down on the Isle of Wight, where four were discovered, at Breach Down, Barham, near Canterbury, at Fairford, Gloucestershire, and also in Kent.[332]

We should also note a crystal ball found in a funerary urn at Hinsbury Hill, Northamptonshire;[333] this as well as the one found at Fairford was facetted.[334] From St. Nicholas, Worcestershire, is reported a crystal ball 1½ inches in diameter.[335]

In his “Hydrotaphia, or Urn Burial,” published in 1658, Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682), author of the “Religio Medici,” relates that there was at that time in the possession of Cardinal Farnese, an urn in which, besides a number of antique engraved gems, an ape of agate, and an elephant of amber, there had been found a crystal ball and six “nuts” of crystal.[336]

One of the largest and most perfect crystal balls is in the Dresden “Grüne Gewölbe” (Green Vaults). This weighs 15 German pounds and measures 6⅔ inches in diameter; it was undoubtedly used for purposes of augury. Ten thousand dollars was the price paid for it in 1780.

A crystal ball known as the Currahmore Crystal, because it is kept at the seat of that name belonging to the Marquis of Waterford, has long enjoyed and still enjoys the repute of possessing magical powers. It is of rock-crystal, and the legend runs that one of the Le Poers brought it from the Holy Land, where it had been given him by the great crusader Godefroy de Bouillon (1058-1100). The ball is a trifle larger than an orange and a silver ring encircles it at the middle. The chief and much-prized virtue of this crystal is its power to cure cattle of any one of the many distempers to which they are subject. Its application for this purpose is rather peculiar, for the cattle are not touched with it, but driven up and down a stream in which it has been laid. Not only in the immediate neighborhood of Currahmore is resort had to this magic stone by the peasants, but requests for its loan are often made from far distant parts of Ireland. The privilege is almost always accorded and has never been abused, the crystal being in every case conscientiously returned to its rightful owner.[337]

The names “ghost-crystals,” “phantom-crystals,” “spectre-crystals,” “shadow-crystals,” etc., are applied to a form of quartz in which the crystallization was interrupted from time to time, so that in the transparent successive layers there is an occasional opaque layer, often no thicker than the finest possible dusting of a whiter material. Sometimes as many as fifteen or twenty of these successive growths are observable, one over the other. When these crystals are in the natural form, they show beautifully from the sides and ends. Sometimes such crystals are found after they have been rolled in the beds of mountain torrents until they have become entirely opaque, but when the surfaces are polished, the “phantom,” “spectre,” or “ghost,” appears with wonderful beauty. Occasionally the entire crystal has been worn down to a small part of the original prism, in which case it is cut into a ball. The ball may seem to be absolutely pure, but when held in certain lights little tent-like markings can often be observed; sometimes only one marking is visible, but there may be as many as twenty. These are occasionally due to a layer of smoky material, and, though they add a charm to the ball, they detract from its value. Nevertheless, crystal-gazers may find an additional interest when the “ghostly” or “spectral” interior exists in a crystal ball. This growth is similar in kind to that seen at times in opaque quartz, forming what is known as cap-quartz; here the crystallizations can frequently be broken apart so that they fit one over the other in many successive layers. Occasionally the regular crystalline development will be interrupted, as it were, and in place of the original crystal continuing its growth harmoniously, a larger crystal will form on a smaller one, forming a sort of mushroom, or “cap,” or “stilt” quartz, as it is termed.

“PHANTOM CRYSTAL” OF QUARTZ (ROCK-CRYSTAL) MADAGASCAR.
In possession of the author.

1. Rock-crystal, engraved with a map of the world. Russian work.
2, 3. Rock-crystal balls (one elipsoidal) mounted in silver. Probably twelfth or thirteenth century. Used for ornaments and possibly for scrying purposes. Collection of Sir Charles Hercules Read.