In the British Museum is a thin highly polished celt of jadeite, reputed to be from Scotland, in form like Fig. 52, mounted in a silver frame, and with a hole bored through it at either end. It is said to have been attached to a belt and worn round the waist as a cure for renal affections, against which the material nephrite was a sovereign remedy. In most parts of France,[201] and in the Channel Islands, the stone celt is known by no other name than “_Coin de foudre_,” or “_Pierre de tonnerre_”; and Mr. F. C. Lukis[202] gives an instance of a flint celt having been found near the spot where a signal-staff had been struck by lightning, which was proved to have been the bolt by its peculiar smell when broken. M. Ed. Jacquard has written an interesting paper on “Céraunies ou pierres de tonnerre.”[203] In Brittany[204] a stone celt is frequently thrown into the well for purifying the water or securing a continued supply; and in Savoy it is not rare to find one of these instruments rolled up in the wool of the sheep, or the hair of the goat, for good luck, or for the prevention of the rot or putrid decay. In Sweden[205] they are preserved as a protection against lightning, being regarded as the stone-bolts that have fallen during thunderstorms. In Norway they are known as Tonderkiler, and in Denmark the old name for a celt was Torden-steen.[206] The test of their being really thunderbolts was to tie a thread round them, and place them on hot coals, when, if genuine, the thread was not burnt, but rather rendered moist. Such celts promote sleep. In Germany[207] both celts and perforated stone axes are regarded |58| as thunderbolts (_Donnerkeile or Thorskeile_); and, on account of their valuable properties, are sometimes preserved in families for hundreds of years. I possess a specimen from North Germany, on which is inscribed the date 1571, being probably the year in which it was discovered. The curious perforated axe or hammer found early in the last century, now preserved in the Museum of Antiquities at Upsala,[208] seems to have been a family treasure of the same kind. It bears upon it, in early Runes, an inscription thus interpreted by Professor Stephens—“Owns Oltha this Axe.” Another, with four[209] Runic characters upon it, was found in Denmark, and it has been suggested that the letters on it represent the names of Loki, Thor, Odin, and Belgthor.[210] The appearance of the American inscribed axe from Pemberton,[211] New Jersey, described by my namesake, Dr. J. C. Evans, and published by Sir Daniel Wilson, is not calculated to inspire confidence in its authenticity.