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Show THE FAIRY STONE. Zt Is Found In Virginia and Is Supposed to Be a Talisman. The "Mother of Statesmen" has produced pro-duced a number of good things from first to last chivalrous men; fascinating, fascinat-ing, soft voiced women; fine horses and the like, but that a popular fad should originate with her is an alto gether new departura Everything must have a beginning, however, and who knows, now that the fairy stone has found such favor in the world of fashion, what possibilities she may develop in this direction? These queer bits of petrified pet-rified earth are indigenous to Patrick, a southern border county of Virginia, cut off from Henry, and called, like the latter, in honor of the statesman and orator, Patrick Henry. They are not excavated ex-cavated for, but lie loose upon the surface sur-face of the soil, and though restricted to two or three parts of the county exist ex-ist in great numbers and various sizes. Upon each stone a representation of the cross is distinctly though delicately traced, and a legend concerning them states that a band of fairies, dwelling at Jerusalem during the life of our Saviour Sav-iour and witnessing the awful scene on Calvary, were so horrified by it that they fled to this remote region and transformed themselves into these petrified pet-rified emblems. The legend has given rise to innumerable superstitions, and from time immemorial the stones have been worn as amulets by thoss living in the vicinity in which they are found. The reputation was looal, however, until that era in Virginia's history known as "the boom. " Then her superstitions super-stitions and sacred traditions, along with her other commodities, became objects of barter. Speculation fixed its calculating calculat-ing eye upon the fairy stone, and it was taken from its native bed and experimented experi-mented with in order that it might be rendered marketable. It was soon dis covered that no tedious process was necessary nec-essary for its development. A sharp instrument in-strument passed along the outline stamped upon its surface converted the jagged stone into a symmetrical cross and a little polishing and a plunge into a bath of boiling oil gave the requisite smoothness and the rich mahogany color one sees in the stone of commerce. A tip of gold at the four extremities and a ring to which a chain might be attached gave the finishing touch to it, and when thus simply mounted fairy stones sold for $1 apiece. The traditions concerning their wonder won-der working power are as inexhaustible as the beds from which they are taken and would furnish endless themes to writers of fairy tales and folklore stories. They are supposed to ward off evil and bring good luck to their possessors, but in order to do this must be worn around the neck and next to the person. Philadelphia Phil-adelphia Times. |