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Carbunculus, Ruby

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CARBUNCULUS.
151
feeble, nevertheless it still presents a very fiery appearance."" Alardus, a Dutchman, writing in the year 1539, caps this legend with the following wonderful account of a similar gem : " Amongst other stones of the most precious quality, and there­fore beyond all price and not to be valued at any equivalent of human riches, the gift of that most noble lady Hildegarde, formerly wife of Theodoric Count of Holland, which she had caused to be set in a gold tablet of truly inestimable value dedicated by her to St. Adelbert, patron of the town of Egmund ; amongst these gems I say was a Chrysolampis, commonly called an Osculan, which in the night-time so lighted up the entire chapel on all sides that it served instead of lamps for the reading of the Hours late at night, and would have served the same purpose to the present day, had not the hope of gain caused it to be stolen by a runaway Benedictine monk, the most greedy creature that ever went on two legs. Afterwards, however, from the fear of being convicted of sacrilege by having so notable a gem in his possession, he threw it away into the sea near Egmund. Some traces of this stone still remain in the upper border of the before-mentioned tablet."2 Creuzer, in his 'De­scription of the Tomb of St. Elizabeth at Marburg,' states that the same belief was to the last firmly held by the common folks as to the nocturnal luminousness of the huge " Karfunkel " set above the statuette of the Saviour upon the principal facade of this magnificent Chasse, made in the year 1249. This stone, on examination by him before 1808 ( most of the gems were stolen after the removal of the Chasse to Cassel), proved to be no more than a common yellow Crystal or German Topaz, possess­ing, it is needless to add, no phosphorescent quality whatever.
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