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24 THE MAGIC OP JEWELS AND CHARMS
which to the minds of many primitive peoples was that of purity,
as indeed it is still among most modern peoples, although the symbolism
may not always be consciously accepted. White marble seems to most of
us the most appropriate and beautiful stone for monuments, and if to a
very considerable degree granite is now used as a substitute, this is
principally because of its greater resistance to the deteriorating
effect of atmospheric changes. Already in prehistoric times, the
cave-dwellers showed a fondness for gathering quartz crystals and
fragments, and specimens of those taken from the Auvergne Mountains
have been found in the cave-dwellings of Les Eyzies; they may have been
used as amulets or talismans.40
A
legend of the great Irish saint, Columba, gives an instance of the
curative use of white pebbles. After this saint had vainly entreated
Broichan the Druid to free a Christian bond-maiden, as a last resort he
menaced the druid with approaching death. The prediction or curse was
speedily on the way to fulfilment, Broichan sickened unto death, and in
his terror consented to free the maiden. Hereupon St. Columba went to
the river Ness and picked up out of its shallows several white pebbles,
announcing that they would, by the Lord's power, work the cure of
heathen people. One of the stones was blessed by the saint and placed
in a vessel filled with water, on the surface of which it floated, and
as soon as Broichan had taken a draught of the liquid he was restored
to perfect health.41
A
famous Scotch amulet was a polished globular mass of white quartz, an
inch and three-quarters in diameter, owned by the chiefs of Clan
Donnachaidh and known as the
"Ibid., 1902, vol. i, op. cit., p. 330.
β
Mona Lebour, " White Quartz Pebbles and their Archœological
Significance "; reprint from Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and
Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, January 30, 1914, p.
11.
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