CATALOGUE OF GEMS. 581 



entiroh' of quartz sand, is sold as a veritable panacea, curino- sore 

 eyes, piles, carbunc-les. indij^estion, sore throat, giddiness, and blood- 

 poisonino. 



In the Middle Ages the elear, transparent ([uai'tz was believed to 

 betray the presence of poison, either by becoming opaiiue or break- 

 ing. The powder, mixed with wine, was given in dvsentery; held in 

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

 and taken with wine and honey, it tilled 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 iu powder, or the salt of it, or the oil (if it, against all u1)strui-tions 

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



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

 that have taken sublimate. (Arcula Gemmea, 1653.) 



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

 ers to foretell the future, review' the past, and conjure up distant 

 scenes. The famous "show'-stone" of Dr. Dee, a sphere three 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 have the same end in view, and each have pro- 

 duced witnesses to show that they attained that end. The methods 

 used to induce a vision as practiced by the mvstic of the Middle Ages 

 are as follows: The cr\^stal, according to Scot, in his "Discovery of 

 Witchcraft,'" when '"charged" with the name of St. Helen written on 

 the stone with olive oil while the operator faced the east, and held in 

 the hands of an innocent child born in wedlock, would, upon the recital 

 of a prayer to the saint, become an oracle and answer an}^ (Question 

 put to it. 



In an eighteenth century manuscript is the following statement — 



Take a christall stone or glasse, most clear, without a craise, and wrape about it 

 a pece of harte's lether, saying, " In the name of the Holy Trinity, and of the 

 hey Deity Amen." Then holde the cristalle in the beam where the (v) is most 

 bright, at the hottest of the day, and say there con (jurations) sul)scril)cd,and by 

 and by you shall sie the spirit peradventer, appeiring hinaselfe. 



The spirit is then to be "'charged." upon which he will point out the 

 whereabouts of stolen property; the location of buried treasure; give 

 information concerning relatives, friends, or enemies, or such other 

 infortuation as may be desired. 



According to Hindu authorities the quartz is — 



cool and cooling, cures hemorrhage from the nose and mouth, and when worn 

 removes baneful astral influences. 



The crystal gives strength and cures biliousness, morbid heat, and fistula. A spe- 

 cific for consumption, leprosy, and poisoning. It may enter into medicines as a sub- 

 stitute for diamonds. (Maui-Mala. ) 



