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2 THE MAGIC OF JEWELS AND CHARMS
this
matter. His visit to Thebes was made in the evening, but a fellah who
was standing near the statue asked him whether he wished to hear the
musical sound. Of course the reply was in the affirmative. Thereupon
the man climbed up the side of the colossal figure and hid himself
behind the elbow. In a moment sharp metallic sounds became -audible ;
not a single sound, but several in succession. Knowing from their
quality that they could not proceed from the stone, the traveller asked
his donkey-boy for an explanation and was told that the man was
striking an iron bar. In ancient times the priests probably performed
this or a similar trick in a much more skilful way than did the poor
fellah, so that the mystery of the statue was carefully guarded.1
The river Hydaspes was said to furnish a "musical stone." When the moon was waxing, this stone gave forth a melodious sound.2
This should be understood in the sense that when the stone was struck
at that season the sound was different from what it was at other
times—a fanciful idea based on some supposed sympathy between the stone
and the moon. As moonstones are rarely larger than a silver dollar,
they would not emit a sound upon being struck, and it is probably a
rock known as "chinkstone" (phonolite) that is referred to, an igneous
rock, very hard and resonant, that has been found in elongated and flat
pebbles of large size ; they ring with the resonance of bells when
struck. A sonorous stone at Megara is reported by Pausanias3
; when struck, it emitted the sound of the chord of a lyre. This was
explained by the tale that, while helping Alcathous to build
1 Rosenfeld, " Singing and Speaking Stones " ; Scientific American Suppl. No. 1720, p. 395, Dec. 19, 1908.
* Johannis Laurentii Philadelpheni Lydi que extant excerpta; ed. Hast, etc., Lipsia; et Darmstadii, 1827, p. 104.
• "
La Statue vocal de Memnon," by M. Letronne, in Mém. de l'Institut de
France, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, vol. i, 42, 1.
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