574 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 190(». 



with lodestone and sapphire it would attract such powerful planetary 

 influences as to render its wearer almost invincible. 



In Art Magic; or Mundane, Submundane, and Supermundane 

 Spiritism, it is stated that the diamond is the most powerful of all 

 stones to promote spiritual ecstac3^ 



Emerald. — Emblematic of happiness. As an amulet it was a pi-e- 

 server of chastity, and betrayed or punished its violation by flying 

 into pieces or losing color. It preserved women in childbirth and 

 eased the pains of labor; water in which the stone had stood hastened 

 the afterbirth. (Leonardus.) Applied to the lips it stopped hemor- 

 rhage. When hung around the neck it prevented epileptic attacks. 

 (Al})ertus Magnus.) 



Dedicated to Mercury. 



Much used by^astrologers for the purposes of divination. (Cardanus, 

 De Lapidibus Preciosis.) 



Albertus Magnus cites the case of a certain King of Hungary who, 

 while wearing an emerald, had knowledge of his wife, upon which the 

 stone broke in three parts. 



There is such an enmity betwixt it and illegitimate venery, or the uneleanness of 

 the flesh, as that if it do but touch the skin of an adulterer it will l)reak, and that it 

 doth bridle the reins of lasciviousness and much temper it. (Arcula (remmea. ) 



Avenzoar held that it was an antidote for poisons, and that six grains 

 of its powder taken in water made an excellent cordial. 



Mundella, a sixteenth century physician, calls attention to the pur- 

 chase of '^ fine emerald by Franciscus Maria, Prince of Urbine, for use 

 as a remedy in the treatment of a disorder which he was troubled with. 

 (Arcula Gemmea.) 



Ahmed Ben Abdalaziz, in his Treatise on Jewels, says that if a 

 serpent fix his eyes on the luster of emeralds he immediately becomes 

 blind. Thus Moore in "Lalla Rookh:" 



Blinded like serpents when they gaze 

 Upon the emerald's virgin blaze. 



The Shah of Persia has a small casket of gold studded with emeralds, 

 said to have been blessed by Mahomet, which has the property of 

 rendering the ro^^al wearer invisible so long as he remains celibate. 



The San Greal was a chalice made from a single emerald, and which 

 possessed the power of preserving chastitv, prolonging life, curing 

 wounds and disease, and other wonderful properties. The Holy Grail 

 was used at the Last Supper, and in it were caught the last drops of 

 the blood of Christ as he was taken from the cross. In the legends 

 and poetry of the middle ages are many notices of the Greal. A subject 

 revived by Tenn3'son. 



The Romans used it to rest, strengthen, and preserve the eyes, a 

 practice which persisted through the Middle Ages, during which period 

 water in which the stone had stood was used as a specific for ophthalmia. 



