the cat. A Peruvian animal, called the " Carbuncolo," of the
size of a fox, is invisible in the daytime, yet emits a brilliant
light in the dark, from a precious jewel which he carries in his
forehead. The Greeks referred all petrifactions to a certain
kind of stone which had the power to assimilate every substance placed in contact with it. The flesh-consuming Lapis
Assius, used for sarcophagi, would absorb a deceased body in
forty days ; but Boethius, many centuries later, surpasses the
wonders of Theophrastus by his marvellous stone which consumed the flesh of living persons. The eagle-stone, it was
thought by some of the ancient philosophers, propagated its
species after the manner of animated nature, an idea originating, probably, in the existence of géodes, sometimes called
bastard eagle-stones.
The famous lynx-stone has given rise to many conjectures,
some writers considering it the belemnite, others amber,
hyacinth, or tourmaline. It was valued by the ancients for its
medicinal properties, though Pliny discredits not only its healing powers, but also its existence.
The most remarkable stone recorded in history was in the
shape of a helmet found in the River Eurotas. This intelligent species responded to the call of the Spartan trumpet to
arms, by leaping upon the bank of the stream ; but at the
sound of an Athenian signal it had the cowardly instinct of
jumping back into the water — not a very commendable habit
for a Spartan.
Some precious stones were the harbingers of evil : as the
onyx, when worn alone, exposed one to danger from malignant
spirits ; but this objectionable quality was neutralized by
combining the stone with sard. The opal has been considered
an unlucky gem, an opinion which became very prevalent after I
the publication of " Anne of Geierstein." The mystical powers
