The horn of a unicorn dipped into a liquor will show if it contains poison. VIPER. Young vipers destroy their mothers when they come to birth. WEASEL. To meet a weasel is unlucky.--Congreve, _Love for Love_. You never catch a weasel asleep. WOLF. If a wolf sees a man before the man sees the wolf, he will be struck dumb. Men are sometimes changed into wolves.--Pliny, _Natural History_. WREN. If any one kills a wren, he will break a bone before the year is out. MISCELLANEOUS. No animal dies near the sea, except at the ebbing of the tide.--Aristotle. ’A parted even just between twelve and one, e’en at the turning o’ the tide.--Shakespeare, _Henry V._ act. ii. sc. 3 (Falstaff’s death, 1599). =Superstitions about Precious Stones.= R. B. means Rabbi Benoni (fourteenth century); S. means Streeter, _Precious Stones_ (1877). AGATE quenches thirst, and if held in the mouth, allays fever.--R. B. It is supposed, at least, in fable, to render the wearer invisible, and also to turn the sword of foes against themselves. The agate is an emblem of health and long life, and is dedicated to June. In the Zodiac it stands for Scorpio. AMBER is a cure for sore throats and all glandular swellings.--R. B. It is said to be a concretion of birds’ tears.--Chambers. Around thee shall glisten the lovliest amber That ever the sorrowing sea-bird hath wept. T. Moore, Lalla Rookh (“Fire-Worshippers,” 1817). The birds which wept amber were the sisters of Meleager, called Meleagrĭdês, who never ceased weeping for their brother’s death.--Pliny, _Natural History_, xxxvii. 2, 11. AMETHYST banishes the desire for drink, and promotes chastity.--R. B. The Greeks thought that it counteracted the effects of wine. The amethyst is an emblem of humility and sobriety. It is dedicated to February and Venus. In the Zodiac it stands for Sagittarius, in metallurgy for copper, in Christian art it is given to St. Matthew, and in the Roman Catholic Church it is set in the pastoral ring of bishops, whence it is called the “prelate’s gem,” or _pierre d’évêque_. CAT’S-EYE, considered by the Cingalese as a charm against witchcraft, and to be the abode of some genii.--S., 168. CORAL, a talisman against enchantments, witchcrafts, thunder, and other perils of flood and field. It was consecrated to Jupiter and Phœbus.--S., 233. Red coral worn about the person is a certain cure for indigestion.--R. B. CRYSTAL induces visions, promotes sleep, and ensures good dreams.--R. B. It is dedicated to the moon, and in metallurgy stands for silver. DIAMOND produces somnambulism, and promotes spiritual ecstasy.--R. B. The diamond is an emblem of innocence, and is dedicated to April and the sun. In the Zodiac it stands for Virgo, in metallurgy for gold, in Christian art invulnerable faith. EMERALD promotes friendship and constancy of mind.--R. B. If a serpent fixes its eyes on an emerald, it becomes blind.--Ahmed ben Abdalaziz, _Treatise on Jewels_.