582 KEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 190(). 



A good rock cTVf^tal is an iiifalliljle remedy in all cases of poisoning. Wild animals 

 like the leopard, the ele})hant, the lion, and the tiger, can not approach this gem. 

 It neutralizes snake, rat, an<l scorpion poi.sons, and the wearer need never fear 

 drowning, fire, or a thief. A moss-colored, clouded, rough, yellow, dull, dirty, and 

 discolored rock crystal the authorities shun from a distance. (Tagore, a Treatise on 

 Gems. ) 



Riiby. — Einbloniatic of love. 



A sovereign reiiiedy and amulet against plague, poison, evil thoughts, 

 niohtniare, and diverted the mind from sadness and sensuality. (Leon- 

 ardus, Speculum Lapidum. 



It forewarned the wearer of the approach of any misfortune b}^ 

 loss of color. In this connection Wolfgang Gabelchover gives his 

 experience: 



On Decemlier 5, idOO, as I was travelling from Btudtgard in company with my 

 beloved wife, Catherine Adelmann, of pious memory, I observed most distinctly 

 during the journey that a very fine ruby, her gift, which I wore set in a ring upon 

 my finger, had lost almost all its splendid color, and had put on dullness in place of 

 brilliancy and darkness in place of light; which blackness and opacity lasted n(.)t 

 for one or two days only, but for several. * * * Whereupon I warned my wife 

 that some grievous mishap was impending over either her or myself, as I forel)oded 

 from the change of color in my ruby. Nor was I wrong in my anticipation, inasmuch 

 as within a few days she was taken with a fatal sickness that never left her till the day 

 of her death. And truly, after her decease, its former brilliant color returned spon- 

 taneously to my ruby. 



Arabian and Persian writers taught that the wearer of the ruby 

 obtained peace of mind and strength of brain. 



A dimn dose of it, taken internally, cures epilepsy, insanity, cholera, and the spit- 

 ting of blood; causes free circulation of blood throughout the system, and prevents 

 uneasiness of mind. It cures all kinds of poisonings from snake bite or from admin- 

 istration of poison by enemies. It frees the atmosphere from the pollution engen- 

 dered l)y cholera. It purifies the blood and brings back to its normal state the 

 fatally (piick action of the pulse. The wearer of th > ruby in the form of a finger 

 ring obtains from the deity all the desires of his heart and becomes proof against 

 thunder stroke and cholera. Worn over the eyes or applied to them as an ointment 

 it cures all complaints of the vision; over the mouth it takes away the bad smell of 

 it, allays thirst, and gives constant satisfaction to the mind. It brings honor to the 

 wearer. The dose for internal use is from 1 kirat (4 barleycorns) to 1 dang (16 bar- 

 leycorns). (See the work Karabadin Kabir, as cited by Tagore in his Treatise 

 on Gems. ) 



Th(> rul)y enters into the Chinese pharmacopoeia as an ingredient in 

 the ''live precious fragments," supposed to consist of ruby, topaz, 

 emerald, sapphire, and hyacinth. 



The Hindu writers held that those rubies — 



whicli are flawless and of approved color are auspicious, produce health, wealth, 

 wisdom, and happiness. If flawed or offcolored they bring humiliation, loss of 

 friends, lia1)ility to wounds, loss of wealth, and lightning stroke; are fatal to domestic 

 animals, and are inimical to life, wealth, and fame. 



The man who treasures a ruby furnished with every perfection, and which when 

 cast in a quantity of milk a hundred times its bulk, makes the white mass one entire 



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