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Show STONES OF MEDICAL VALUE. Precious Goms and Other Minerals Havo Strange Legendary-Qualities. Legendary-Qualities. The sacred, anagicol and curative properties of certain stones large and small appear to have ranked among the Items of the Pseudodoxla epldemlcu, among all races and nations, and throughout all recorded ages The colossal co-lossal monolith and the small "graven image" of stones arc well known examples exam-ples of tho first of theso properties. Among tho prominent specimens of the second may be noted the Items of popular popu-lar medlevaL belief, that a diamond put under the pillow would notify the conjugal con-jugal infidelity of a wife; that the wearing wear-ing of a sapphire was a preservative against all enchantments; that the fume of an agate would effectually avert the approach of a tempest; that tho wearing of a chrysoprase would "make one out of love with gold"; .and that the carrying carry-ing about of an amethyst surely pro-served pro-served the owner from being "overtaken" "over-taken" by drunkenness1 an Item of belief be-lief to which tho etymology of Its name Is due. To a kindred form of creduh'ty must be ascribed the wondrous properties proper-ties which were ascribed to China dishes dish-es when first Imported to Europe from the Celestial empire. It was confidently wild of these "by Scallger and others," "that they admit no poyson, that they strike no fire, that they will grow hot no higher than the liquor In them ari-eth." ari-eth." With regard to the curative powers pow-ers of various stones we may seasonably season-ably quote the remark of the celebrated author of Rellglo Medici: "He must have more heads than Janus, that makes out half of those vertues ascribed Into stones, and not their onely medlcall, but Maglcall properties, which are to be found in authors of great name, In Pselluy, Seraplon, Evax, Albertus, Alcazar Alca-zar Marbodeus; In Malolus, Itueus, Myl-lus Myl-lus and many other." And the same author au-thor goes on to state some of his own opinions in this connection: "That La pis Lazuli hath In ro' purgative farul-ty farul-ty we know, that L...oar Is Antidotall, Lapis Judalcus Dluretlcall, Corall, An-tlepllcptlcall, An-tlepllcptlcall, we will not deny, that Cornelians, Cor-nelians, Jaspla, Heliotropes, and blood stones, may be of vertuo to thotc intentions inten-tions they are Implied; experience and visible effects will make us doubt." And Just now the fact of the persistence of such forma of belief Is forcibly brought home to us by the- announcement In a diurnal (lay) contemporary of the unquestioning un-questioning faith which Is placed in tho efficacy of "madFtones" by a largo proportion pro-portion of our own follow-cltlzens. There are even now many of those pivclous talismans In this country; and "tho believers be-lievers In their efficacy always know where tho nearest one Is kept." One of them had long been the property of an Ohio negro, and was placed after death of Its owner In tho State library at Columbus. Co-lumbus. There it waa recently applied to the wound caused by the bite of a supposedly rabid dog. Tho dog recovered, recov-ered, and the woman to whom It was applied died of blood poisoning, caused by the unclean contact. We are also informed, that such a stone was kept In the Virginia State penitentiary for years and was open to all comers for application to the bite of a mad dog, or other allied wound. One such (perhaps the same) waa at a later dato sold at auction for 39. Still more famou? was that brought from "Russia In I8S7 by a physician of that country who settled In Nevada. It had previously been exploited ex-ploited in that country for at least a century and a half a fact supported by documentary evidence. Tho document was written in native Kusslan and as nobody concerned could read it everybody every-body Implicitly believed what they were told of It. The owner offered the stone for sale at ?1500 and a Joint stock company com-pany was formed for the purchase. A thousand shareholders advanced Ji each and the balance wau made up by a farmer who became Us keeper when the purchase was completed. Its fame itlll nourishes and It la said that an ofTer of $30f)0 has been refused for it. American Amer-ican Medicine. |