|
ON THE VIRTUES OF FABULOUS STONES 191
|
||
|
|
||
|
the
Department of Ethnology of the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago, in
1893. They are frequently found at Lake Constance but are from the
ancient fossiliferous formations and not from the lake. They are often
sold as amulets.
Fossils
whose form suggested that of a more or less acutely pointed shaft, were
thought to possess special powers, sometimes offensive as against
enemies, and again defensive for the protection of the wearer. Thus the
belemnites,72 considered to represent the form of a dart,
when dissolved and taken as a potion, were said to prevent nightmare
and to guard against enchantments. They are often either ash-colored or
whitish, and sometimes reddish-black. All these varieties were
frequently found during the sixteenth century in Hildesheim, and in the
marble grotto near the castle of Marienburg, called the "Dwarf's
Grotto."73
The
umbilicus marinus, a fossil shell, which in form bore a great likeness
to the human navel, was called "sea-bean" by sailors. Usually of a pale
saffron hue, some specimens have a reddish or blackish tinge. In the
sixteenth century it was believed to have astringent properties. We are
also told that women used it as one of the ingredients of a cosmetic
for whitening the complexion.74
"
This is the fossilized horny part of the tail of an extinct cuttlefish,
and numerous specimens have been found in the marl of New Jersey as
well as in many other places.
"Gesneri, " De flguris lapidum," Tiguri, 1565, fol. 89, verso, 90, recto.
"Mercati, " Metallotheca Vaticana," Romœ, 1719, pp. 13S-139. Figure on p. 138.
|
||
|
|
||