PRECIOUS STONES IN LITERATURE. 139
fanaticism to establish and perpetuate his own system, by
placing the stone in the northeast corner of the shrine, to be
kissed by pilgrims. It is described as a dark basalt or lava,
perhaps an aerolite, of an oval shape, four feet in the largest
diameter and two in the shortest — some say, seven inches.
Traditions about the wonderful stone of the Kaaba, called
the Kiblah or Keblah, assume many different versions. It
was one of the precious stones of Paradise, which fell to earth
on the advent of Adam, but was lost and subsequently restored
by the angel Gabriel. The more popular opinion maintained
that it was originally the guardian angel appointed to watch
over Adam in Paradise, but changed into a stone and expelled
with him for not having been more vigilant. At the resurrection, this stone will assume its angelic form and appear as a
witness before God in favor of all faithful Moslems who made
a pilgrimage to Mecca. When first placed in the Kaaba, it
was a jacinth of "dazzling whiteness," but it became gradually blackened by the contact of polluted lips. The southeast
corner of the second shrine is occupied by another venerated
stone, which pilgrims are allowed to touch but not kiss.
The serpent has been invested with mysterious powers from
time immemorial, which may have been partly in consequence
of the gems supposed to be concealed in his head. Some of
these subtle creatures have possessed eyes of jacinth, others
have been decorated with rings or collars of emeralds, while
Milton's serpent had eyes of carbuncle. The famous " Draconius," derived from the head of the dragon, was a black stone
which possessed the attributes of absorbing poison and of
rendering its owner invincible. The toad "wears a precious
jewel in his head " ; hence we have a toadstone, an antidote for
poison, as well as an indispensable agent in the performance of
certain superstitious rites.
