an
apothecary to place powdered Diamond in his salad, but was saved by the
apothecary substituting some powdered Beryl. Truth is probably with
both sides: an unbroken Diamond can be swallowed by a Kaffir with
intent to steal without harm to his system, but sharp fragments of
Diamond would be as much an irritant poison as powdered glass in the
same quantity. Diamond, again, dispels unfounded fear, and is a
protection against insanity; and Boyle (op. cit.) instances a
quaint belief in the following words: " If it happen that the Mineral
Corpuscles, that are wont to impart a certain Virtue to the stony
matter of one Gem, should, by some lucky hit, be so united with that of
another sort of Gems (of which case I formerly gave an Instance in
green Diamonds,) though the quantity of this unusual Ingredient may be
but very small, yet, if it's efficacy be great, it may innoble the
Stone with a notable degree of some such Virtue as is supposed not to
belong to that Species, but to an other."
