The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, March 02, 1916, Page 6, Image 6
MAGICAL POWER OF JEWELS.
The History of Many Legends of
Precious Stones.
In all ages, however civilized or
barbarous, there has been a universal
admiration for stones of unusual coloring
and rarity. Conversely, there
have always been superstitions that
have caused certain other stones to
he regarded with aversion. Even in
our own day it is possible to buy at
almost any book stall works that will
tell of the extraordinary properties
of this jewel or perils of that. Thus
the opal has been considered a bringer
of ill luck to all except those born in
the month of October, and the pearl
is said to pine away and lose its luster
upon the death of one who has a
long worn it. 1
George Frederick Kunz, historian
and epic writer of the lapidaries, who
has already published a volume or
two full of interesting information
about jewels, collected many of the
legends and has sought to explain at
least their probable origins. Handling
his subject with the acute interest
of the true connoisseur, he
has produced a remarkable blend of
ancient lore and modern information.
,
"To certain stones has been attributed
the power to produce musical
tones," he says, "the most famous
examples being the so-called 'Vocal
Memnon' of Thebes. This colossal
."Statute was said to emit a melodious
Bound when the sun rose, and according
to Greek legend this sound
y. *?8 ^ %
was a glCCWUg given .ucumuii I/V/
his mother, the Dawn. It appears,
however, that the statue was a re&
dpector of persons, for when the EmSgvfc-'
peror Hadrian presented himself before
it he is said to have heard it
but once, or at most twice, while occasionally
the statue withheld its
greeting altogether.
"A modern traveller relates a per*
sonal experience that may cast a
sidelight upon this matter. His visit
to Thebes was made in the evening,
but a fellah who standing near the
statue asked him whether he wished (
.
to hear the musical sound. Of course
' the reply was in the affirmative. '
: Thereupon the man climbed up the 5
side of the colossal figure and had
himself behind the elbow. In a mo- :
ment sharp metallic sounds became '
audible; not a single sound, but sev- \
eral in succession.
"Knowing from their quality that '
they could not proceed from the
stone, the traveller asked his donkey ]
boy for an explanation and was told
that the man was striking an iron i
bar. In ancient times the priests v
m probably performed this or a similar ^
trick in a much more skillful way
,
than did the poor fellah, so that the J
mystery of the statue was carefully ]
guarded.
,"The River Hydaspes was said to 1
furnish a 'musical stone.' When the
moon was waxing this stone gave
forth a melodious sound. This 1
should be understood in the sense 1
that when the stone was struck at ]
;] that season -the sound was different 1
from what it was at other times?a
.
fanciful idea based on some supposed 1
sympathy between the stone and the s
moon. <
,^'As moonstones are rarely larger
than a silver dollar, they would not ^
emit a sound upon being struck, and t
it is probable a rock known as 5
'chickstone' (phonolite) that is re- <
ferred to, an ingeneous rock, very ^
hard and resonant, that has been 1
found in elongated and flat pebbles 1
of large size; they ring with the res- 1
onhnce of bells when struck. 1
"The term sarcophagus is to us so ,1
clear and precise in its significance
that we do not stop to think that its
etymology reveals it as literally (
meaning body-devourer. Tradition 1
taught that a stone of this type was ?
to be found near Assos in Lycia, Asia 1
Minor, and also in some parts of a ]
living person it would eat away the J
flesh. !
i
"Another type, already noted by J
Theophrastus in the third century B. 1
C., had*the power of petrifying any
object placed within receptacles made
from it. If a dead person were bur- <
ier in a 'sarcophagus' of this material i
the body would not be consumed, ]
but would, on .the contrary, be turn- i
ed to stone, even the shoes of the
corpse and any utensils buried with
it, would undergo a like wonderful ]
change."
As to stones and the weather:
"An old Mohammedan tradition,
cited by Ibn Wadho Shobah in his i
Tarik al-Jafthi, relates that Xoah, <
after the deluge, on setting out with t
the members of his family to settle
and populate the regions to the east- <
ward and northward of Mount
Ararat, confided to their care a mi- c
raculous stone known to the Turks ;
as Jiude tash, to the Persians as j;
senkideh and to the Arabs as hajer <
almathar, or the 'rainstone.* On it
was impressed the word Aadhem or
Aazem, the great name of God, by
virtue*of which whosoever possessed i
this stone could cause rain to fall
whenever he pleased. a
"In the long laps of time this par- i
ticular 'precious' stone was lost, but1
some of the Turks were said to have i
certain stones endowed with a like
power, and the more superstitious
among these Turks solemnly assever- j
ated that their 'rainstones' could i
beget progeny by a mysterious kind
of generation. >
"Among the many stones of con-!
cretions endowed by mediaeval belief
with wonder!ul powers may be
reckoned the Karmania, south of
Khorassan. The miraculous effect
was produced by rubbing one against j
another. The Arabic author who re- j
ports this declares that this rainmaking
power was a well known fact, j
He adds that similar stones might be j
secured from near Toledo, in Spain, !
and also in the 'land of Kimar,' in-j
-j J? T?
nauneu uv i ui hi&u muco. i
i
"The Orient rainstones, noted the j
psuedo-Aristotle and by many other
Arabic writers of mediaevel times, can j
i)e parallelled by similar rain-mak
ing or rain-inducing stones in many!
other parts of the world and among;
many primitive peoples even in
I
modern times. The rainmakers of,
the African tribe of Wahumas, dwcl-j
ling in the region on the great Albert;
Nyanza lake, in Central Africa, use j
a black stone in the course of their j
magic rites. This is put into a ves- '
sel and water(poured over it; the!
pulverized roots of certain herbs and j
some blood drawn from the veins of:
a black goat are then mixed with;
the water and the resulting liquid
mixture is thrown up into the air by
the rainmaker.
"Rock crystal as a rain compeller
finds honor among the wizards of the
Ta-ta-thi tribe in New South Wales,
Australia. To bring down rain from j
the sky one of them will break off a!
fragment from the crystal and cast;
it heavenward, enrapping the rest of
the crystal in feathers. After immersing
these with their enclosure,
in water and leaving them to soak j
for a while, the whole is removed and
buried in the earth or hidden away
in some safe place."
After enumerating all .the wellknown
precious stones Volmar, in his
"Steinbuch," we are told, proceeds to j
relate that there is one which pro-'
duces blindness, another that enables j
the wearer to understand the lan-i
guage of birds, still another that
saves people from drowning and finally,
one of such sovereign power that
it brings the dead back to life. However,
we are told that because of the
miraculous virtue of these stones God
hides them so well that no man can j
obtain them.
In .the seventeenth century in Denmark,
Mr. Kunz finds, there can have
been no lack of "magic stones," for
it is related that one day, as King
Christian II was strolling along the
beach, he picked up a shining pebble
by the aid of which he could render
himself invisible at will. Similar ,
power was said to exist in stones that .
sould be found in ant hill if hot wa-i^
ter were thrown onto them on St.
Walpurgis's Day or St. Hans's Day.
rhe Danes of the time also shared in 1
:he belief that the stone from the lap
wing preserved from illness and sorrow,
as did the "swallow's stone" as ]
well.
"In Middleville, in Herkimer county,
New York, in a calciferous limestone
gray and brownish gray in
solor, there are numerous cavities
varying in size from that of a pinhead
to that of a man's head. In
hese cavities are found carbonaceous
substances such as asphaltum and
>ther hard, . black, hydrocarbons,
"hese cavities also frequently show
mud or sand adhering to the sides or
mud and sand mixed with the petroleum,
in which are often found
brilliant and transparent rock crystals,
the purest of any found in the
world.
"They are usually perfect hexagDnal
prisms, with both sets of six
pyramid faces?that is, with some
slight modification, eighteen brilliantly
polished faces. These are especially
sought after on account of their
?reat purity, and because it is considered
that he who wears one will
have fair weather and secure the
blessing of fair sailing on the sea of
life."
To a mass of quartz at Jerbourg,
Guernsey Island, local fancy has attached
a wild legend, which finds expression
in the strange designation
of the stones as "The Devil's Claw."
"The old Ghanique de Normandie, J
which, although written much earlier,
was first printed in 1576, at
Rouen, recounts under date of 7 97
A. D., that Duke Richard, when on
his way from one of his strongholds
to a manor where dwelt a damsel of
surpassing beauty, was assaulted by
he evil one. but, like a second St.
Michael, Duke Richard overcame his
dangerous antagonist. Seeing that
he could nor prevail by force, the
levil had recourse to one of his most
perilous wiles and changed himself
into a beautiful, richly attired maiden.
"Tn this disguise he lured Duke
Richard to the seashore and induced
him to enter a boat and put out to
sea. He thus spirited the Duke away
to the lonely Isle of Guernsey, and
it the landing spot, where tne devil
seized his too confiding prey, stands
this mass of quartz, a deep black
splash running right across, indicating
in popular fancy the mark left
by the devil's claws."
The Peace Stone, whose tranquilizing
effects might be appreciated on
these stormy days, "is found by the
union of one crystal of the green and
the red tourmaline, with an intervening
band or zone of white, the latter's
strikingly beautiful effect being due
to the combination at this point of
the red coloring: matter, manganese,
and the iron constituent, the source
of the green hue. These two materials
by their union neutralize each
other, furnishing the transparent,
colorless vein or zone.
"A slightly different combination
of colors appears in a fine crystal
found some years ago at Mount Mica,
Oxford county, Maine. This even offers
a kind of 'triple alliance,' as it
shows blue in its lower half, passing
through white and pink to a grassgreen
at the upper end."
We know that for centuries it has
been believed that amber necklaces
protect children from colds. Dr.
Kunz deduces the fact that necklaces
do not cover the neck! In other
words, they are worn on the bare
throat and the opinion prevails that
an exposed neck means less liability
to colds. However?
Both Juvenal -and Marsial relate
that effeminate Romans used to hold
balls of amber in their hands to cool
them during the summer heat. If
any such agreeable sensation was
really experienced it must have been
due to the well-known electric proper
ties of this substance. It is stated
that the Chinese often place pieces of
amber on or in their pillows, a use
that may have been suggested by the
same considerations.
"As a proof of the extravagant value
set upon amber by the Romans of
the first century, Pliny notes that a
very diminutive figure of a man cut
out of this substance sold for a higher
figure than did a healthy, vigorous
slave."
Writing of the supposed medical
properties of precious stones, .Mr.
Kunz notes that toward the end of
the eighteenth century a famous cordial
medicine, called "Gascoign's
Powder," after the physician who
compounded it, had an immense ?
vogue in England. This man is said j
to have got more than 50,000 pounds ^
($250,000) from the sale of this sin- ^
gle remedy. It is stated to have con- t
tained Oriental bezoar (the most important
ingredient) while amber, red
coral, crab's eyes, powdered hartshorn,
pearl and black crab's claws-?
"certainly a most incomgrous mixture
and one well calculated to test the .
resisting powers of the person to
T*rViAm U nroa o/lminictoroH "
TV liVSlU It *? CW3 UUlXlilAAU WJL V\*t ,
Many virtues are attributed to carbuncles.
It is related that those who
wear them can resist poisons and are
preserved from the pest. They dissipate
sadness, control incontinence,,
avert evil thoughts and dreams, exhilarate
the soul and foretell misfortune
to man by losing their native
splender.
As a cure for hydrophobia, dog collars
set with flint and Maltese coral
were recommended in Roman times;
"sacred shells " and herbs over which
magic incantations had beefi pronounced
were also.attached to or in- s
closed in these collars. $
y Chinese testimony is cited concern- c
ing an alleged property of jade: s
"The learned Ko Kei asserts that j
the body of a man who had taken t
nearly five pounds of jade did not
change color after his death/and that v
the body having been exhumed sev- j.
eral years later did not show the t
slightest alteration. Besides this, it j.
was observed that there were gold f
~ 1/
and jade around the tomb. Since t
hen (in China) in the Kan period, e
the custom was followed by embalm- t
ing the dead bodies of the emperors, t
and of preserving them in a garment c
ornamented with pearls and enclosed
in a cast of jade." j.
After noting the power of the jas- j
per (probably the red variety) to t
check hemorrhages from any part, ^
and its general effect upon the circu- j.
lation of the blood in reducing the jpulse,
thus calming desire and quiet- j.
ing the restless mind, Cardano, as ^
quoted by Mr. Kunz, turns to an- j
other of the reputed virtues of this ?
stone, that of rendering the wearer j
victorious in battle. The true reason (
for this he finds is the stone's tend- E
ency to diminish passion, and hence
to render the wearer timid and cau- .
tious, for "the timid usually conquer ^
since they avoid a doubtful contest if c
possible." ^
"The opal," Mr. Kunz makes note, v
"has long since emerged from the ?
a
slight cloud of disfavor due to a most ^
erroneous fancy that it was in some
way associated with ill luck. This j
idea, possibly in its origin explainable f
by the comparative fragility of the ^
gem, found a consistent and earnest
opponent in the late Queen Victoria,
whose influence did much to make
opals fashionable.
"Of late years they have become ^
favorite bridal gifts, the exceptional
variety of color in the beautiful ex- .
amples from the White Cliff Mines in 0
New South Wales having also con- ^
tributed to the renewed popularity t
of the stone. A parure of these opals
was not long since bestowed upon the
empress of Augusta by Emperor Wil- t
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Get this Prince Albert pipe-peace and
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Buy rrlnce Albert everywhere to- y01* Q^k 3S yC
bacco it told: in toppy red bags, Sc; 3T\Q. ITltlKG flTG I
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iam, of Germany, and one of the
inest Australian opals is a treasured
joss'ession of the Duchess of Marljorough."
The current superstition about
>earls gets this expert blow:
"For years a statement has been * (
joing through the press that pearls f]
ire liable to become diseased and
lie, and that the famous necklace of \Sjps\uJ
)earls presented by President Thiers, Vjf
if France, to his wife, and beq.ueathid
by Mme. Thiers to the French gov- | .
irnment, has lost their luster and (- Wi
lied, perhaps owing to the death of ? - W?
he owner. For there is an old be- fit
ief that pearls, as well as opals and
urquoises, lose some of their lustre
vhen the owner or wearer becomes
11 and change to a dull and lifeless
lue when the owner dies.
"An examination of the necklace
>y the writer showed that, the pearls Long Dl
vere in good condition, and to con- ro/4nic nf
irm his statement to this effect he
tad the director of the Louvre Mu- 1
eum write him a letter. In this of- 111 1
icial communication the director not of flour ;
nly states that the pearls had not
ickened and died, but that >they were 4'SinC
n as "healthy" condition as they n 11 T 1
lad ever been. ajCII 1 CH
"The invariable experience of the most pr<
writer has been that whenever pearls
, ., , . , . rates are
iave been said to have suffered in
his way the true explanation has 111 OflC L
>een that they were old and poor at ^ dozen
he time of their purchase, and that
his romance was started on its trav1s
as an excuse to arouse the belief SOUTHE
hat they had been remarkably beauiful
and valuable when they were AND TE
>riginally acquired."
"A solitary boulder standing on a B(
teath in North Germany is the sub- | =====
ect of a curious legend illustrating
he superstitious reverence inspired m m
>y the thunder. Once upon a time a
tridal procession was traversing the
leath when a violent thunderstorm
>roke out. Taking no heed of this,
he musicians who accompanied the PAS
>rocession continued to play their
;ay and festive music, and as a pun
shment for this lack of respect the
}od of Thunder changed the whole
>arty into an immense rock. ^?- Arrive I
"In the rock of St. Gowan's Chapel 24 Au^eSstatio
n Wales was a natural cavity upon 25 Charleston
vhich the name of the Expanding i and inter
>tone was bestowed by popular tradi- ! tions .... .
ion, because the strange fancy pre- 18 Augusta an
'ailed that this stone automatically a^e statio
idapted itself to the size of anyone 25 Charleston
, . , x, ' mediate s
vdio entered the cavity.
"The legend ran, as quoted by Mr. "" : statio
Cunz, that once, during the Pagan 17 ciiarleston
>ersecutions, when a fugitive Chris- and inter
ian, hotly pursued, reached this tions ....
ock it opened up of its own accord Trains Nos
o that he could slip into it, and then an(j ^tianta
losed about him so as to hide him
ffectually from his enemies. This Sche(
expanding: Stone was believed to
nanifest its magic power by brin^
ng to pass the wish expressed by *j
... 1 . ,1 i 4- A 1,^
iiyone wiiu emereu it, i.'iuviucu uc * <
[id not change his wish while he
urned around within it." S
About 300 species of turtle and tor-' A 11
oises are known. I lYldj
? -? >
mf\ thO >7 CopyriKhtimbrJ^^^S
the reverse side of this tidyred
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e then we have applied the Long Distance
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nn * Tn rDIIflVP
jKIH DJLL1L1 J. ijljLii JLJivri^jLi /?/ \a
XEGRAPH COMPANY
IX 108. COLUMBIA. SOUTH CAROLINA.
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EFFECTIVE JANUARY 23, 1910.
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mediate sta- 25 Augusta and interme
6:25 a. m. diate stations 6:25 a. m.
d intermedi- 1S Branchville, Charleston
ns 8:43 a. m. and intermediate staqnd
inter- ' tions 8:43 a.m. ^
stations ...,10:57 a.m. 3r> Auensta fnd intermedi- M
ate stations 10:o7a. m. ^
d intermedi- ^ 22 Branchville, Charleston
ns ):oi P- m- and intermediate staBrancliville.
tions 6:37 p.m.
mediate sta- _ 17 Augusta and intermedi
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