GEMS, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL 



him by placing diamond dust in his salad. Fortu- 

 nately, he says, the "gem" from which the powder 

 was made was a spurious one, and so he suffered no 

 evil effects. 



Besides counteracting the effects of poisons the 

 diamond possessed many other magic powers. It 

 deprived the lodestone of its magnetism, and had mar- 

 velous power against lightning merely touching the 

 corner-stone of a building with a diamond insured the 

 structure against Jove's destructive bolts. If held in 

 the mouth it caused the teeth to drop out; but if worn 

 on the finger it engendered courage, virtue, and mag- 

 nanimity in the wearer. It was a good partisan in 

 case of lawsuits, influencing both judge and jury in the 

 wearer's favor. In this last connection it would seem 

 that the diamond has not entirely lost its power. 



Some of these qualities were shared by the ruby, 

 which possessed the additional power of warning its 

 wearer of impending danger by turning black. For 

 detecting false witnesses an emerald was most efficient. 

 When brought into the presence of such a witness 

 the stone exposed his falsity by " undergoing some 

 extraordinary change." If one desired to be "rich, 

 wise, and honorable" a jacinth should be worn in a 

 finger-ring. The jacinth was a very popular gem. 



CONFUSED NOMENCLATURE 



The danger of putting absolute faith in these re- 

 markable qualities of gems, and the loop-hole for ex- 

 planation in case of failure, lay in the great confusion 



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