386 THE MAGIC OF JEWELS AND CHARMS
Inca
graves of Peru by Senor Emilio Montés, and was exhibited by him in the
Centennial Exhibition of 1913. With the exception of one corner that
has been chipped off, the block is of symmetrical form, the dimensions
being, in inches, 24 χ 14 χ 9, and the weight 312 pounds. The smoothed
surface gives evidence of careful and fairly successful polishing by
the native lapidaries. This exceptionally fine specimen of lapis
lazuli is now in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.18
Evidently in ancient Peru as in the Old World the "celestial hue" of
lapis lazuli was thought to render it most appropriate for use as a
memorial offering to the dead or as a talisman by the aid of which
their heavenward journey might be made easier.
The
so-called "black onyx" has almost entirely replaced jet. This is a
chalcedony impregnated with ar carbonic matter, such as blood or a
solution of sugar, the carbonate of which is charred by sulphuric acid,
giving a rich, velvety, black hue to the stone, which takes a high
polish. However, a certain limited amount of the old "Whitby Jet" once
so highly favored is still mined and worked up into ornaments in the
neighborhood of Whitby on the northeast coast of England, in the
district of Leeds, although but fifty persons are now engaged in this
industry which fifty years ago gave employment to 1500 workers. Some
Spanish jet is also used, a material harder and more brittle than that
found in England.
The
story was current that Pope Leo X (1475-1521) had a precious stone,
probably some type of "moonstone,""* which grew brighter as the moon
waxed, exhibiting the soft, silvery brilliance of our satellite, and
then gradually lost its brightness as the moon waned, growing paler and
dimmer
