Among the healing virtues ascribed to the ruby is power over ailments of the skin. Held between the palms of the hands, it is supposed to put an instant stop to internal hemorrhage. Worn against the skin a necklace of rubies, strung on silk, similarly made the skin impenetrable to sharpest blade or deadliest venom. In these days of the venomous pen and the deadly fall-out, it is interesting to note that the ruby necklace has again become popular. To dream of rubies, one may read in the Arabic dream-books (which have many more years of authority than Freud), is to be destined to great felicity. Good news, good fortune, good health, all lie ahead. Of those who possess a fine ruby, Sir John Mandeville says: “The fortunate owner of a brilliant ruby will live in peace and concord with all men; neither his land nor his rank can be taken from him.” One cloud only darkens the ruby’s glow. The ruby itself at times is said to cloud; and when the gem grows dull, misfortune is on the wing. The early gemologist, Wolfgang Gabelchower, a seventeenth-century German, compiled a list of misfortunes that befell individuals after their rubies had developed a cloud. He capped his tales with the confirmation of his own sadness: he noticed that his ruby ring was clouded; the next day, of a sudden, his wife died. Against this evidence I can only set my own observation and experience, and the traditions of a family for four generations involved in the creation of jewels: I know of no instance in which the possession of a ruby was the cause of a misfortune. Quite the contrary: a fine star ruby is a fortune in itself. And fortunate is she who knows the natal glow of a ruby. Honest is as honest does. All the country’s in a buzz From squire down to booby. Apples ripening on the farm, Fairies keep us from all harm Binding us with ruby. _August: Sardonyx or Peridot_ Wear sardonyx, or for thee No conjugal felicity. The August-born, without this stone, Must live unlovèd and alone. The reddish brown of the August stone accords with the drying earth, and the leaves that herald the approaching turn of autumn. The sardonyx was the fifth stone in the breastplate of the High Priest of the Hebrews; among Catholics it is given honor as the stone of Saint James. Physically, the sardonyx was used as a charm against warts, boils, and cramps. Spiritually, it was worn to turn away the evil eye and to prevent the transfer to the wearer of wicked impulses and thoughts. No witch could insinuate evil fancies into the mind guarded by this stone. And the most sardonic remark passed harmlessly by one who wore the sardonyx. On the contrary, wearing the stone made one witty, popular, and happy.