132 White Quartz Pebbles. 



if for suspension round the neck. One of them bore strong: 

 evidence of having been carried on the person, one side was 

 so smooth and partially polished as to justify the belief that 

 this condition was the result of habitual rubbing against the 

 body of its wearer such as would occur if suspended round 

 the neck.* Speaking of stones of the white quartz type used 

 as a charm or amulet, there occurs the following information 

 about the Clach na Brataich or " Stone of the Banner." It 

 had been in the possession of the chiefs of Clan Donnachaidh 

 since 1315, when the then chief, going to join Bruce 's army 

 before Bannockburn found something glittering in a clod of 

 earth hanging to his flag-staff. The stone in question is a 

 globular mass of rock-crystal artificially polished, an inch and 

 three-quarters in diameter. It is, so to say, the luck of Clan 

 Donnachaidh, and if dipped in water by the chief, the owner, 

 the water cures all manner of disease.! There is a tradition 

 that this stone was the one used by St. Columba. It is 

 thought, says Dr R. C. Maclagan in his book Our Ancestors, 

 lately published, that it is the Moon which is represented by 

 the round dipping stones of rock-crystal, when used for 

 curative purposes, and more especially for those who were 

 insane. At Strathfillan, where the pool of St. Fillan is, it 

 was thought sufficient to duck the insane in it, as the Moon 

 can be seen in the water. 



Ancient British graves that are identified as those of 

 women invariably contain one bead, if not several. Some- 

 times there is one large bead of white quartz. Italian women 

 who wish their infants to thrive wear a lump of white stone 

 attached to their stays. This is mostly of white agate, a 

 kind of silica that has the appearance of milk diluted with 

 water. It is probably the same as the galactitus (milkstone) 

 of Pliny. J , 



Having cited examples of the numerous discoveries of 



* Ed. Wooler, F.S.A., Darlington, ," On Lucky Stones,"' 

 Troc. S. Antiquaries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Ser. 3, Vol. II., p. 240.- 



t Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1860-1, 

 Vol. IV., Parti., p. 219. 



t L. Eckenstein, European Amulets. Read before the Inter- 

 national Congress of Religions, Oxford, 1898. 



