MAGIC STONES AND ELECTRIC GEMS 61
pillows,105 a use that may have been suggested by the same considerations.
As
a proof of the extravagant value set upon amber by the Romans of the
first century, Pliny notes that a very diminutive figure of a man, cut
out of this substance, sold for a higher figure than did a healthy,
vigorous slave. The popularity of this material was also attested by
the fact that in the gay world of Rome the term "amber hair" was used
to designate a rare and peculiar shade that became fashionable in this
period.106 It seems probable that this modish shade was
somewhat lighter than the "Titian hair" once so much favored, although
the difference may not have been very great.
A change of hue in amber was thought to portend a waning
of love on the part of the giver, as is shown by the following not
especially melodious lines from "The Fruits of Jealousy" published by
Richard Tofte in 1615:107
Thy
tokens which to me thou sent In time may make thee to repent; Thy gifts
do groan (bestow^ on me) For grief that they thee guilty see. The amber
bracelet thou me gave (For fear thou shouldst shortly wave"") - From
yellow turned is to pale, A sign thou shortly will be stale.
Not
only for curative purposes and for general use as an amulet was amber
prized, but an amber necklace was sometimes regarded as an especially
auspicious decoration for a bride at her wedding, as is shown by an
exceptionally fine necklace of facetted amber beads from Brunswick,
Germany, made in the eighteenth century.
"· Pfizmeier, Sitzungsbericht d. phil.-hist. KL, Wien, 1866, vol. zliii, p. 195. M Plinii, " Naturalis Ustoria," Lib. xxxvii, cap. 12. "" Lean's Collectanea, vol. ii, Pt. II, Bristol, 1903, p. 640. "•Waver. Especially interesting as all amber changea in time.
