TALISMANIC USE OF PRECIOUS STONES 97
was very small, weighing but a few ounces, the judge ordered that the money should be refunded.84
For some reason not easy to fathom, malachite was considered to be
a talisman peculiarly appropriate for children. If a piece of this
stone were attached to an infant's cradle, all evil spirits were held
aloof and the child slept soundly and peacefully.95 In some
parts of Germany, malachite shared with turquoise the repute of
protecting the wearer from danger in falling, and it also gave warning
of approaching disaster by breaking into several pieces.96
This material was well known to the ancient Egyptians, malachite mines
having been worked between Suez and Sinai as early as 4000 b.c.
The
appropriate design to be engraved upon malachite was the image of the
sun. Such a gem became a powerful talisman and protected the wearer
from enchantments, from evil spirits, and from the attacks of venomous
creatures.97 The sun, as the source of all light, was
generally regarded as the deadly enemy of necromancers, witches, and
demons, who delighted in the darkness and feared nothing more than the
bright light of day.
The
moonstone is believed to bring good fortune and is regarded as a sacred
stone in India. It is never displayed for sale there, except on a
yellow cloth, as yellow
**Kunz, "Gems and Precious Stones of North America," New York, 1890, p. 192.
" Marbodei, " De lapidibus," Friburgi, 1531, fol. 51 ; Camilli Leonardi, " Speculum lapidum," Venetia, 1502, fol. xxxviii.
" Chiocci, " Museum Calceolarium," Veronas, 1622, p. 227.
"* De Boot, " Gemmar.um et lapidum historia," Lug. Bat., 1636, p. 264, lib. ii, cap. 113. 7
