as monstrous animals having an abnormal number of heads 

 or legs, the teeth of a mermaid captured in the Aegean sea, 

 the horn of an unicorn, the feathers of a phoenix, the claws 

 of a salamander and other natural history specimens of 

 doubtful authenticity. Unscrupulous dealers in fraudulent 

 antiquities palmed off on the Emperor's curator the cap and 

 sandals of Duke Premysl, and two iron nails from Noah's ark! 



The horn of the unicorn was actually the tooth of the 

 narwhal; it was valued as a miraculous remedy for certain 

 diseases. A specimen at Dresden was supposed to be worth 

 seventy-five thousand dollars, and on the rare occasions when 

 a piece was sawed off for medicinal purposes two delegates 

 of princely rank were required to be present at the ceremony. 

 The Duke Premysl, just named, was one of the semi-mythical 

 heroes of Bohemia ; a peasant farmer, he became the husband 

 of Libusa the first judge of the people, and was called from 

 the plough to the throne. Cosmas, writing in the eleventh 

 century, says: "PremysPs boots are preserved at Vyschrad in 

 the Duke's room to this day." 



One of Rudolph's favorite fads was the collection, cutting 

 and polishing of bright-colored stones and precious gems; 

 lapidaries and jewelers sent to the Riesengebirge and other 

 mining regions brought back agates, jaspers and semi-precious 

 stones, which Rudolph had cut and polished so as to bring 

 out the variety and brilliancy of their colors. From such he 

 had a table-top made, of small pieces ornamented with 

 valuable gems, valued at more than one thousand ducats and 

 classed by Dr. Guarinonius as one of the wonders of the 

 world. The Emperor employed many workmen skilled in the 

 arts of the lapidary and these always had free access to his 

 Majesty, while Ambassadors from foreign courts, privy 

 ministers and officers of state often waited for days together 

 to secure an unwilling audience; he preferred to spend long 



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