SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT GEMS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2132, 2 December 1890, Page 3

SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT GEMS.

Each gem is supposed to possess certain qualities which are its special dowry. The origin of this doctrine can frequently be traced in the etymology of the word or in the myth or story attached to each jewel in the country where it was first found. Adamas, or diamond, was a Cretan youth transformed by Zens and placed among the stars, Amethyst was another godly favorite whom Diana tamed into a purple colored stone, to which Bacchus added the color of wine. To some such origin, and chiefly from the color of the stones, their various i qualities owe their prestige in all ancient and modern lore, The kingly diamond, which has become the attachment of the aristocracy, is the symbol of justice, innocence, constancy, and impassivity of fate. The Koh-i-noor was for centuries the talisman of India, The ruby, the live coal of the Greek, is not less emblematical and potent, and the Brahmin traditions speak wonders of the abodes of deities lit by enormous rabies andjemetalds, It was beliefed to dispel evil thoughts and warned its wearer of disaster by becoming black or obscure. Topaz, the stone of the sroiente, was much valued by them for medical purposes for dispelling enchantment and to calm frenzy. If superstition bad still such a bold as once it had upon the minds of educated people what a favorite the smetbyist would be, since such a stone, especially when as in a cop, renders the poseesor of it incapable of intoxication. According to mordern etiquette, the amethyist is the only stone which may be worn during mourning. The peerless, starry opal, that child of love as it has hben called, far from being an unlucky stone, as it is now supposed to be, was once believed in by Alberlus Magnus, Marbodeus, and several others to rejoice the heart of its owner by rendering him lovable and to bestow upon him invisibility, which made it the patron stone of robbers. To be on the side of this jewel’s influence some say that one should never accept it as a present, It has, however been asserted that the opal was not considered unlucky until Sir Walter Scott published his 11 Anne of Geirelein.”