Among the virtues of the turquoise is one which would spare us the shame of a divorce-court, as it was believed to take away all enmity, and to reconcile man and wife. Holinshed, speaking of the death of King John, says: ‘And when the king suspected them (the pears) to be poisoned indeed, by reason of such precious stones as he had about him cast forth a certain _sweat_, as it were bewraeing the poison, &c.’ The turquoise was a supposed monitor of poison from this circumstance. ‘With the Germans the turquoise is still the gem appropriated to the ring, the “gage d’amour,” presented by the lover on the acceptance of his suit, the permanence of its colour being believed to depend upon the constancy of his affection. Inasmuch as this stone is almost as liable to change, and as capriciously as the heart itself, the omen it gives is verified with sufficient frequency to maintain its reputation for infallibility’ (The Rev. C. W. King, on ‘Precious Stones,’ &c.). Camillus Leonardus, in the ‘Mirror of Stones,’ describes the _carbuncle_ as ‘brandishing its fiery rays on every side, and in the dark appearing like a fiery coal. It is esteemed the first among burning gems.’ The ancients supposed this stone to give out a native light without reflection, and they ranked it fifth in order, after diamonds, emeralds, opals, and pearls. The virtue of the carbuncle was to drive away poisonous air, repress luxury, and preserve the health of the body. The wonderful light emitted from the stone is one of the most prolific resources of romance among old writers. Shakspeare alludes to the superstition in ‘Titus Andronicus’ (Act ii. sc. 4). _Martius._ Lord Bassianus lies embruèd here All on a heap, like to a slaughtered lamb, In this detested, dark, blood-drinking pit. _Quintus._ If it be dark, how dost thou know ’tis he? _Martius._ Upon his bloody finger he doth wear A precious ring that lightens all the hole, Which, like a taper in some monument, Doth shine upon the dead man’s earthy cheeks, And shows the rugged entrails of the pit. Ben Jonson and Drayton also refer to the same superstition. The change of colours[41] in stones, portent of evil, was a deep-set superstition in most parts of the world. In the Scotch ballad of ‘Hynd Horn’ we find:-- And she gave to me a gay gold ring With a hey lillelu and a how lo lau, With three shining diamonds set therein, And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie. * * * * * What if these diamonds lose their hue, With a hey lillelu and a how lo lau, Just when my love begins for to rew, And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie. For when your ring turns pale and wan With a hey lillelu and a how lo lau, Then I’m in love with another man, And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie. * * * * *