178 BULLETIN 118, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



childish that they should still continue to exist. In India, the land of 

 occultism, the mystics still pursue their researches after the occult 

 virtues of precious stones. The modern Western spiritualist en- 

 deavors to discover and apply the occult knowledge of the East. 

 He still believes in and teaches the virtues of gems, and is emphatic 

 in his opinion that certain gems facilitate the rapport of a certain 

 class of spirits with the wearers of those gems. 



Swedenborg, the Swedish mystic, in his spirit revelations to L. A. 

 Cahagnet, as cited in his Magic Magnetique (Paris, 1838), gives nu- 

 merous categorical answers to questions asked by the medium concern- 

 ing the spiritual and material powers of certain precious stones. 



In Paris a school has been established which has for its object the 

 study of the magnetic emanations, radiance, and crystals. In Nice a 

 Doctor de Lignieres has issued a prospectus of a work of 644 pages 

 that seriously considers the medicinal properties and virtues of 

 precious stones. 



