CATALOGUE OF GEMS AND PRECIOUS STOXES. 171 



cured epilepsy and dysentery; taken with sugar, they were of assist- 

 ance in the cure of pestilential fevers, and that they rendered their 

 wearers virtuous. 



According to Nicols (Arcula Gcmmea) pearls were — ■ 



good against syncopes, and cardiacall passions, that they do comfort the Bpirits, 

 stop the fluxes of blood, cure lienteries and diarrheas, and that they are good for (In- 

 sight. 



Prase. — Supposed to possess all the properties of the emerald, but 

 to a less degree. Lost its color on contact with poison or venom, but 

 recovered it again on being washed. Reported to be an excellent cor- 

 dial and cardiac stimulant. Applied to the eyes, it strengthened the 

 sight. (Arcula Gemmea. 1653.) 



Benoni states that the powder mixed with the milk of a ewe that 

 has had but one lamb will, if applied locally, cure the gout; taken 

 internally, it was a deadly poison. 



Quartz. — The powder mixed with wine was given for dysentery in 

 the north of England during the twelfth century. A crystal held 

 against the tongue assuaged thirst. (Leonardus, Speculum Lapidum.) 



Applied locally to-day in the mountains of Georgia for faintness, 

 headaches, and bleeding at the nose. Used in parts of Virginia to cure 

 styes; the sty is rubbed with the crystal three times a day for three 

 days. In northern New York a so-called "vital ore." consisting 

 entirely of quartz sand, is sold as a veritable panacea, curing sore 

 eyes, piles, carbuncles, indigestion, sore throat, giddiness, and blood 

 poisoning. 



In the Middle Ages the clear, transparent quartz was believed to 

 betray the presence of poison, either by becoming opaque or breaking. 

 The powder, mixed with wine, was given in dysentery; held in the 

 mouth, it assuaged thirst, cured headaches and faintness; powdered 

 and taken with wine and honey, it filled the breasts of nursing women 

 with milk. (Leonardus.) 



Orpheus recommended its use as a medicine for diseases of the 

 kidneys. 



Andrea Bacci, writing in 1605, says: 



It is used either in powder, or the salt of it, or the oil of it, against all obstructions 

 of the bowels, against gouts, swoonings, and all cephalic diseases. 



A drachm of the powder taken with oil of sweet almonds cures 

 those that have taken sublbnate. (Arcula Gemmea. 1653.) 



Quartz balls were and are used by mystics, astrologers, and divin- 

 ers to forestall the future, review the past, and conjure up distant 

 scenes. The famous "show-stone" of Doctor Dee, a sphere 3 inches 

 in diameter, was made of quartz. It is interesting to note that 

 while the modern mystic and the mystic of the Middle Ages differ 

 somewhat in their methods, each has the same end in view, and 

 each has produced witnesses to show that he attained that end. 



