THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



203 



able that the extensive 0])aUzati()n of 

 the sandstones of Wliite Cliffs, Stuart 

 Range, and the other locahties where 

 opal is found in quantity, results from 

 " weathering " under arid conditions, 

 whereby silica in solution is deposited 

 in seams and cavities, and replaces the 

 material of shells, beleinnites, bones, 

 and other fossils. 



THE GREAT OPAL SUPERSTITION. 



It is almost incredible that, in this 

 supposedly enlightened age, many 

 peo})le the world over are firmly con- 

 vinced that the opal brings bad luck. 

 No more striking proof could be offered 

 of the frailty of the human mind than 

 this " monstrous legend." It is difficult 

 to trace the oi-igin of this superstition. 

 In the Middle Ages the opal was con- 

 sidered a luck-bringing and beneficent 

 gem, symbolical of hope ; it stimulated 

 the heart, preserved from contagious 



diseases, and drove away despondency. 

 It is only in comparatively modern 

 times that the opal has contracted its 

 evil reputation, which has affected its 

 pojiularity and its value to a very 

 considerable degree. In Scott's novel, 

 A7i7ie of Geierstein, evil influence is 

 ascribed to the opal clasp worn by the 

 beautiful Persian wife of the Baron of 

 Arnheim, and it is said that within a 

 year after the publication of the book 

 the price of opal declined by half. A 

 recent Australian visitor to Paris was 

 informed that the opal is regarded as 

 unlucky in France for the following 

 reason. In 1500 there were several 

 large stage coaches in Paris, which were 

 named after the various precious 

 stones, and several notables, including 

 Napoleon in later years, had suffered 

 calamities while passengers in the 

 " Opal," and that even now it would 

 almost be considered disloyal for a 

 Frenchman to wear an opal ! 



An Example of Parallelism in Human Culture. 



By W. W. Thorpe. 



THE attention of those who handle 

 and study the implements and other 

 manufactures of so-called savage 

 man is frequently arrested by the strik- 

 ing similarity between the implements 

 made by native peoples, often Avidely 

 separated in origin and habitat. The 



Barbed Fish Trap from Fly River, 

 New Guinea. 



[Photo. — O. C. CluUon. 



resemblances are, of course, governed 

 by local conditions and requirements, 



Barbed Fish Trap from British Burma. 



[After I. H. Burkill. 



but they go to prove that the adaptive 

 mind of man, wherever situated, will 

 often attain the same result, '^j^ For 

 instance, the Melanesian of the Bis- 

 marck Archipelago, and the Papuans 

 of New Guinea, have racially, nothing 

 in connnon with the Chins of Arakan, 

 British Burmah, yet these three folk 

 manufacture barbed fish traps so similar 

 in idea and effectiveness, that a com- 



