THE SAPPHIRE. 109
centuries,
and was supposed to cure all those afflicted with cramp, or with the
falling sickness (epilepsy), who touched the ring. From this, it is
said, the quondam English custom arose of hallowing " Cramp Rings" on
Good Friday; whereby '" the Kynge's Majestie hath a great helpe in this
matter, by halowyng Crampe Ringes, and so given without money, or
petition."— Breviary of Health, 1567. Such rings, warranted sovran against epilepsy, were inscribed " Marie Jesu," in the fifteenth century.
There
was a clause in the Will of the late Napoleon the Third, to the effect
that—"With regard to my son, I desire that he will keep as a Talisman
the seal which I used to wear attached to my watch." The ill-fated
Prince Imperial obeyed this injunction, and always carried the seal,
suspended by a string round his neck ; but, alas ! it brought him
anything but good luck. At the time of his death this seal was,
probably, carried off by the Zulus, who stripped his body. The
inscription engraved thereon was (in Arabic characters), if translated
: " The Slave Abraham relying on the Merciful" (God).
The
Sapphire is identically the same stone as the Ruby. It differs in name
on account of the colour, which varies from white to the deepest blue,
or even black. It has the same hardness, composition, electrical
properties, and other such attributes as the Ruby. The difference
between a white Sapphire and a Diamond can be easily ascertained by
taking the specific gravity, or by testing the hardness with another
Sapphire, or Diamond. Sapphires contain small quantities of magnesia,
(as likewise do rubies), with oxide of iron, and silica. In "The General History of Druggs, (1712),
